“All right, I’ll get your food, too,” she acquiesced as she walked inside the pantry and scooped out his dog food. Then she went to the fridge and pulled out pieces of chicken she saved for a topper to celebrate his coming home. “Don’t get used to this. I’m feeling a bit lenient tonight since it’s your first day back. What did you think of Liam? He has a dog friend he might introduce to you once you’re feeling better. Apollo can’t play with you all the time. He’s a working dog.”
She waited until he finished eating and took him outside for a bathroom break. Sitting at the picnic table, Addyson’s thoughts drifted back to Liam. Why did it bother her? Zeus finished sniffing about the yard and lay at her feet.
When the timer went off, she returned to the kitchen and took out the bubbling casserole dish. She cut a piece out for her dinner and returned to the patio to watch the sunset over the mountains. Her usual peace never came as the man she craved all day intruded into the life she built for herself. It no longercontented her. Before, she wanted solitude. Now, she wanted companionship and laughter.
Giving up on trying to push him from her mind, Addy took out her phone.
Thank you for the lovely flowers. They brightened my day. I hope your meeting doesn’t take long. Zeus and I wouldn’t mind some company.
He didn’t reply, making her feel wary. Something felt off, and she couldn’t shake it.
* * *
“Listen up,”Leo called out in the mission room. He turned the whiteboard over, showing the current connections between Sergeant Ford and the recent attacks, and went all the way back to when Cole served. Names, dates, and what each convoy carried were outlined on the map.
“We know Sergeant Ford must be connected, but I think the orders come from higher up,” Leo said, flipping the screen showing the numbers. “Every month, he receives his military pay, and then another amount shows up separately. It’s deposited directly into his account by a Swiss bank. After speaking with Cole, he’s positive Ford doesn’t have the cajónes to pull this off on his own. Someone knows about the shipments and where to attack in advance.”
“Sparky, you’re to always stay at our base. You and Ice are the most vulnerable among us. I need you there to speak the language and explain the territories. Saint and Taco, they expect to see us repairing weaponry. Ensure we have the tools to pull this off. Patch, you’re the corpsman and lookout. Knight, you’re our sharpshooter. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for any information. Shadow, I want you mingling with the soldiers.Keep to our story. I’m sure it won’t be difficult for you, Taco, since you’re the town gossip.”
The men laughed as Shadow punched Taco in the shoulder.
“Bear will stay with Sparky as our IT specialist and try to find a way to hack into the emails of anyone we consider suspicious. We have a warrant, but we’re not revealing ourselves.”
“Cole and Liam, you’ll be assigned to the routes with the K-9s. I want you to take casual walks for a cigarette or something to drink. Blend in with the others and see if you hear anything. Cole will be recognized and will stick with the story that he was hired by a private contractor. Remember, we don’t discuss anything until Bear gives us the go-ahead. He will ensure our communications remain private.”
Leo paused. “We spin up at six hundred tomorrow morning. Spend the rest of the evening with your families. We’ll debrief again once we’re in the air.”
“Shit,” Patch muttered. “Will we be able to contact our families once we leave?”
“As you know, sometimes the connections suck, but we’ll do our best to keep up communications at the home base. I authorized Bear to assign a security code to the wives’ or significant others. They’ll come here to video chat with you, where it’ll be secure and the signals will be scrambled. We don’t need to jeopardize our loved ones. Bear has instructed Stormy on how to set up the calls, and she can reach Sparky if any emergency arises.”
Knight hung his head. “How long will we be gone?”
“I don’t have an answer for you. The transfers happen in four days. If we’re lucky, we’ll find the fucker and be home in a couple of weeks,” Leo said firmly.
When no one responded, he leaned on the table before him.
“I know the timing sucks. There’ll never be a good time since we all have families,” he said. “Believe me, I don’t want to leaveany more than you do. We owe it to Cole’s brother to find out who killed him. We made a vow to protect each other, and I don’t want some traitorous asshole picking off innocent men and women to make a profit.”
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
“Whiskey’s in charge of the daily operations here. If there’s nothing else, go home,” he said emphatically.
The team rose together and trickled out of the room one by one. Liam walked over to Cole.
“You mentioned taking Striker along with us. Do you mind if I take Apollo back to the facility? He’s used to it there, and I don’t want a bunch of changes at once. He’ll have enough with the plane ride and the desert.”
“I’ll take him. I want to double-check the supplies and food,” Cole offered. “Stormy’s upset about us leaving. I’m sure you’re anxious to see Addy, too.”
‘Thanks, man,” Liam said. “I don’t want you thinking I’m not committed to him.”
“Nonsense,” Cole replied. “Get outta here,” he said, taking Apollo’s lead.
Liam got into his truck and pulled out his phone. He saw the text from Addy. Usually, he’d smile at her sentiment, but doubts crept into his mind.
He decided to text her.
I’m done with the meeting. Can we talk?
