I wasn’t busting down doors and storming in, guns blazing. Not because I couldn’t; I had the physical skills required, but because I didn’t have the experience the team guys did.
The experience Jay and Gibson had. That Blazsek and Robinson had.
I’ll need them to get Nina through this safely.
“We’re used to adjusting our schedules around protection duty needs,” John said.
I doubted John did much of that anymore. He was mostly a desk jockey now. Not that I’d say that out loud. My uncle was still more than capable of leading an op, and he wouldn’t hesitate to remind me.
Mary will kill me if I’m the reason John gets hurt.Again.
The domestic terrorist who’d kidnapped Ashley had stabbed John under his body armor in an attempt to escape. He failed.
He and his minions did some serious damage that day, including almost killing Nathan.
SSI was outgunned three-to-one that day, but the numbers didn’t matter. According to the report, no terrorists survived.
I was beyond stupid for underestimating them.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gibson signal to John that we needed to talk without Nina.
“Cate, will you take Nina downstairs to visit the girls and their babies?” John asked.
Cate laughed, “Sure thing. Come one Nina, it’ll do you some good to get spit up on.”
“Christ, Cate,” John said. “Nina, forgive her, she’s anti-baby.”
Unphased, Cate laughed again. “I love my nieces and nephew; I just don’t like all the body fluids they spew forth like gross little fountains.”
Before the situation got out of hand, I stood and offered Nina my hand. “She’s right, sans the baby spit part. Take a few minutes away from this and laugh while we sort through a few things.”
After the door closed, I asked, “What happened?”
“Rogers agreed to the under skin trackers. He’ll be here in the morning to inject them.”
“For all three of us?”
“Yes. Are we telling Nina?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. Keeping this from her went against everything I believed in.
“Let me know what you decide,” G said. “I’ll back you up.”
“Thanks, G.”
“Do you want my opinion?” John asked, interrupting my racing thoughts.
“Please,” I said, shocking everyone in the room.
“Don’t tell her. I know lying to her sucks and I don’t like it either, but if something goes wrong, and she says or does something that alerts your captors…”
John let the rest go unsaid, but my mind finished for him.They’ll kill us immediately.
“I agree. Gibson?”
“Agreed. We keep Nina in the dark.”
Fuck. Doing shady shit like this was the part of the job I hated.
