“Yes,” Teddy and Slash replied in unison.
Greystone raised his hands in mock surrender. “Got it. What can I bring?”
“You’re welcome to bring Caroline,” Slash replied.
Silence.
“Oh, come on.” Slash chuffed out a laugh. “It’s not like it’s a secret or anything.”
“It is to me,” Prescott replied.
“Prescott, are you married?” Greystone said, refusing to discuss his personal relationship with Caroline.
“Yeah, my wife, Jaqueline, is an ALPHA Op, but she’s taking time off. We’ve got two at home and she’s two weeks from having our third.”
“Congratulations,” Caroline said.
Prescott grinned. “Thanks. The first is my nephew, who we adopted. The second is our biological son. We’ve got a daughter on the way.”
Greystone appreciated that the intensity of the mission could be lightened by the close bonds of the group. He’d been working alone for so long, he wondered how life would be if hedidn’tjump right back into the fray of a mission, especially one outside the country.
“Hello,” called Haqazzii.
Everyone whipped their heads toward the wall screens.Haqazzii was staring at one of the cameras. “Can I have something to drink,please?”
Greystone hit the intercom button. “Ready to talk?”
“Yes,” Haqazzii replied.
“Where’s your cousin Muhammad?”
A knowing look flashed in Haqazzii’s eyes, then they went flat. “Who?”
Anger surged through him. He wanted to beat him senseless, force him to answer his questions, but Haqazzii would never break.
“Muhammad is the Haqazzii cell’s leader,” Caroline explained to Slash and Prescott.
When Greystone slid his gaze to Caroline, the anger fell away. Her confidence and calmness helped assuage the constant agitation that had penetrated his tortured soul.
“He’s playing us again,” she said. “We should step away for a few.” She turned to Slash and Prescott. “We’re gonna question the owner of a government-contracted, janitorial service company we suspect hired the terrorists, which is how they’re getting into the buildings.”
“That’s a big break,” Slash said.
Greystone piled up the empty dishes. “Text or call for any reason.”
“We got this,” Prescott said. “Take a break and clear your heads.”
“If he gets out of hand again, I’ll chop off a few of his fingers.” Slash flashed them a smile.
“I’m here ’til six,” Teddy said. “Then, I’m headed to Carrera’s for a family thang. Greystone, I’ll meet you and Caroline there.”
“Not me,” Caroline protested.
With their weapons holstered, Greystone collected their night-goggle helmets. Caroline brought the dirty dishes to the kitchen. Ten minutes later, the break room was cleaned up. With their computer bags slung over their shoulders andtheir helmets in hand, they made their way toward the hangar.
At ten-fifteen on Saturday morning—after pulling an all-nighter thatdidn’tinclude sex—Greystone had a damn chip on his shoulder. With no option but to push on, he backed out of the hanger, slid on his shades.
“Where to, boss?”
