She looped her arms through both men, then headed back to where they’d come from. “The team’s in the break room.”
Once he got there, everyone flocked around him. Not one to get mushy, he couldn’t help but feel like this wasexactlywhere he belonged.
A hearty handshake from Nicholas Hawk, a hug from his wife, Addison. Dakota pulled him in for a hug, as did Dakota’s twin, Sinclair Develin. To his surprise, his mentor, Stryker Truman, and Stryker’s wife, Emerson, were also there.
Slash made her way into the break room, shot the team a smile before welcoming Teddy back with a bear hug. “I missed my target-practice partner.”
“I missed my ice-cream bud,” Addison added.
“I missed all of you,” Teddy said with a smile.
“It’s been a long four months,” Dakota said. “You got me listening to audiobooks on my commute. We gotta sync up. I finished the one you recommended.”
“The one about the WWII prisoner?”
“Yeah.” Dakota slapped him on the back. “What’s next, boss?”
Teddy reveled in the good vibes washing over him. The past months had been intense, but mostly they’d been lonely. After grabbing his metal bottle from the cabinet and filling it withwater, he said, “I need to update everyone. When’s a good time?”
“Now,” Dakota replied.
They moved as a pod toward the executive conference room. Hawk flanked him on his left, Stryker on his right.
“We gotta catch up,” Teddy said to Stryker. “Some private chat rooms have popped up. I want you to take a look. I’m hoping you can help decode some of the cryptic messages.”
“You got it, Tank.” Stryker entered the conference room.
The team filed in and pulled up chairs around the large table. To Teddy’s surprise, Dakota didn’t sit at the head. Greystone pulled up a chair at the near head, tossed him a nod. “Sit at the other end.”
“I’m not into hierarchy,” Teddy said as he sat catty corner to his brother.
All eyes on Dakota, the head of BLACK OPS.
“Tank, welcome home,” Dakota began. “Before you update us on The Day of Destruction, I have something I need to tell everyone.”
Silence filled the space.
“As most of you know, my business partner at Goode Luck Real Estate, Juanita Goode, passed away a few weeks ago.”
“I’m sorry, Dakota,” Teddy said.
“Thank you.” Dakota paused. “I’ve got twenty-two real estate offices in the DMV, and Juanita had been managing them, along with our fifteen-person exec team. She was running the biz solo, so I could manage BLACK OPS. I’m taking a leave of absence here, for a few months, so I can make sure my real estate company stays solid. Losing Juanita has been rough for our employees. She’s been the backbone of our company for years. For the foreseeable future, Greystone is stepping in to run BLACK OPS.”
“Because I don’t have enough to do,” Greystone said, and the team laughed.
“Greystone agreed under one condition,” Dakota continued. “He asked for a co-lead, since we have to share him with the Navy.”
“Caroline?” Slash asked.
Caroline shook her head. “My name was floated, but—and I know this won’t be well-received by the badass women on our team—I love being Grey’s second.”
“You’re my first,” Greystone said to her, and she and Greystone shared a smile.
“I actually missed the googly eyes and make-out sesh’s between you two,” Teddy said, and the team burst out laughing.
“Someone else was recommended as Greystone’s co-lead,” Dakota said after the room quieted.
“Sin?” Teddy volunteered.
