Well, none of the men. If asked privately who the most important person in their world was, each would say one name, and it would be the same.
Elizabeth Renee Blackhawk.
As the mother and matriarch of this tribe, she held them together as the glue that was unbreakable.
She was the one who comforted the children and made sure everyone felt safe.
Now, no one felt safe.
Not.
Even.
Close.
Without her there, it was as if a very important part of their unit was missing her.
Oh, and losing her was just as bad as losing any of them—possibly worse, and they knew it.
So, they were trying desperately to hold together as the world imploded around them.
It was nuclear strength explosions too that were threatening to rock them to their core.
When Devon Slater blew that car, with enough explosives to take down a whole building, they got lucky, and no one died.
Thankfully, while sick in the head, and a piece of shit, he was also really bad at math. His numbers had been slightly off, if he had been the one building the bomb, and the worst of the situation was Ivan taking all the glass to his face.
It could have been far worse than some headaches, vertigo from their ears ringing, and a lost blacked-out ride.
Far.
Worse.
None of them died, and that was a win in their book. Only, now, they knew that it was only going to escalate at some point to bite them in the ass.
As they were sitting in the living room of the mansion, with more than enough Marines surrounding them, the three men were twitchy.
That word was an understatement, too.
Ethan was off in the office making a phone call, and the men suspected it was to get them help.
HIREDhelp.
Of all of them, he was the twitchiest, and that was to be expected. While they all wanted to protect Elizabeth, she was Ethan’s emotional support spouse. He clung to her like his life depended on it, and when something was off between them, he was most definitely not in a good way.
In a way, all of their lives depended on her, and the strength she carried as their talisman.
“He’ll be okay,” Callen said, as Gene was pacing like a caged tiger.
The bulky man was wearing a path in the carpet as he worried about his husband.
Only, his words didn’t help.
Gene knew a crashout when he saw one, and Ethan was notorious for them.
This wouldn’t end well.
Gene didn’t believe that.
