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VIRGINIA – TWO MONTHS LATER, AUGUST 2024
Hanging back from where everyone was gathered outside, I removed my sunglasses at the sight of Camila holding my teammate’s son in her arms. She’d accompanied me to Gray and his wife’s party, and they’d just announced Tessa was pregnant.
Aside from Griffin and the love of his life, Savanna, who were back home with Tomas, their newborn, the rest of my teammates were at the party. Not to mention several of the Navy SEALs I’d worked with what felt like forever ago to take down my wife’s killer.
Would it really be three years in October since I’d confronted Rebecca’s murderer, and was it fucked up I kept track of the time?
A chill rolled down my back at the memory as I refocused on Camila. A strange feeling formed in the pit of my stomach as she held Jesse McAdams’s son in her arms, and it took me a minute too long to realize why.
Instead of being parents ourselves, Rebecca had wanted us to be the “cool aunt and uncle” to Camila’s kids one day. I wasn’t so sure if I’d ever get that chance to be an uncle to her kids, though, since she didn’t seem to have plans to settle down. But I knew one thing for damn sure, Rebecca had been right about the fact I shouldn’t be a dad. Not with all the things I’d done in my life.
Not to mention I was getting older. Forty-five as of this past June. And unless I accidentally knocked someone up—God help me, I hoped not—I’d be dying one day as I deserved—alone.
“You okay?” I looked over to find Mason Matthews at my side. He was a former Marine who accompanied Falcon Falls on missions from time to time.
“Better than ever,” I said with enough sarcasm to warrant a smile from him.
But in truth, I wasn’t half bad. Our last mission had the unexpected outcome of finally removing me from Uncle Sam’s lists. Watch lists, wanted lists—all the fucking lists. Not that I planned to live my life much differently, but it’d be nice to walk down the streets without worrying about someone trying to cuff me.
I remained by Mason as he casually drank his beer, despite the fact I was in the mood to be alone. His focus wasn’t on me, though. It was solidly trained on Oliver Lucas and Mya Vanzetti, two team members at Falcon. Oliver tossed Mya over his shoulder, and she squealed and slapped his back, begging him to put her down.
I wasn’t in the business of knowing my teammates’ love lives, but it’d been hard not to hear about the triangle situation that’d been happening between Mason, Oliver, and Mya. From what I didn’t want to know but did, Mason and Mya once had the same friends-with-benefits thing going on as Zoey and I did—minus the friends part in my case. But now Mason was supposedly moving out of the way for Oliver. Not that Mya or Oliver would admit they liked each other. Their hate game was pretty strong.
But what’d I know? I’d predicted Gray would’ve wound up with his ex-girlfriend, Sydney Archer, who worked with us. Instead, Sydney married Jesse’s brother-in-law, Beckett Hawkins, leaving the path clear for Gray to find his way to Tessa.
Realizing my sunglasses were still in my hand, I put them back on. “I’m getting the feeling you may not be working with us anymore after our last op.”
“I think it’d be best for all of us if I didn’t,” he said, then gave me a light nod—his cue to exfil from the conversation—and he walked over to Gray’s brother-in-law, Wyatt Pierson.
I could barely look at Wyatt after what’d happened with his daughter, Gwen Montgomery, on our last mission. Hell, I didn’t want to think about it now. Or ever. I need a drink.
I started for the makeshift bar set up in the yard, but stopped when I heard chatter from behind me. Distinct fucking chatter. As in the name Susan Mackenzie rolling off one of the SEALs’ tongues.
“Mackenzie’s stepping in as Secretary of State as of Monday,” one of them said.
“The current Secretary had a heart attack, and he’s not up for the job anymore, so . . .”
The next voice I recognized as Jack London’s from our team. “Susan’s daughter is apparently some genius, too. She’s off saving?—”
“The world.” I hadn’t intended to be heard, but despite the music still blasting, it went quiet behind me.
“You know her?” Jack asked.
I twisted around to face him and the Teamguys standing there. They stared at me from behind their shades, and I felt the curiosity in their eyes. “I need air, if you’ll excuse me.”
Jack smirked. “We’re outside.”
I tipped my head toward the street. “Other air,” I said, then started for the gate, accidentally catching Camila’s eyes on my way.
Not waiting for her to try and stop me, I started down the road lined with vehicles, searching for my rental.
“Wait up,” Camila called out.
Against my better judgment, I did as she asked.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, a little breathless from running after me.
“I need a drink,” I said through my teeth.
