Page 7 of Nightstalker

Jasmin wheeled to me, “And you! What do you have to do with Zane and I being captured?”

“Back up.” This was going downhill fast. Jasmin was asking questions I did not want to answer.

“I see we’re back to bullshit answers. Once again you care to elaborate on what ‘back up’ means exactly?” Jasmin pushed.

“No.” I was going to keep it short and sweet.

“No? Un-fucking-real.” Jasmin was definitely at the end of her rope.

“Why don’t we all just break for the night? It is damn near zero two hundred. We obviously are not going to finish the Deepweb336 case tonight. We can go over it in the morning, everyone back here at ten hundred.” Zane was trying to defuse the hostility building in the room. More specifically the rising hostility that was rolling off Jasmin, all of which was directed at me.

“Copy that.” Jax was the first to stand. He kissed Jasmin on the forehead and was headed towards the door when he turned to me, “Linc, glad to have you on the team.”

“Thanks, Jax.” I made my way to him to shake his hand before I could extend my hand, he slapped my shoulder. I tried to hide my wince as his hand made contact with a freshly stitched bullet wound. Damn that hurt like a son of a bitch.

“Welcome home, brother, long time,” Leo said before shaking my hand. Damn I missed him.

“Thanks man, two fuckin’ years long. We’ll catch up soon, yeah?” I asked pulling him in for a quick embrace.

“Hell yeah!” He lowered his voice, and continued, “One thing, Linc. All due respect, you’d better tread real careful where Jasmin is concerned. You eye fucking her did not go unnoticed. It also did not escape anyone’s attention she was returning the favor. Handle that shit with care.” His suggestion pissed me right the fuck off. I was not one to be told what to do. With anything.

“You tellin’ me how to handle my business?”

“Never that, but every single man in this room has that woman’s six, and they will get in her business,” he warned.

“Noted. Thanks brother. All that shit will be handled in due time.” There was no need to elaborate any further. Leo understood exactly what I meant.

The rest of the team said their goodbyes and hugged Jasmin as they made their way out of the conference room. It took every bit of my control not to beat the shit out of my new team for touching her. I heard her sweet voice down the hall yelling for someone to wait up. I strained to hear who she was talking to but she was too far away.

Zane flipped the switch on the wall, opening the blinds. Once again, the city lights shone into the room, reminding me I was back on American soil after two years in hell. Two fucking years in filth and waste, just praying I’d make it out to breathe clean again. Two years lost, two years to make up for.

“Let’s go to my office. You need a drink.” Zane pulled me from my thoughts.

“Abso-fuckin-lutely.” I picked up my pack and threw it over my good shoulder, following him down the hall to his office.

As we walked down the main corridor I scanned the large office space, and, not for the first time, I thought how proud I was of my older brother. We walked up a flight of stairs to the loft area where Zane’s office, sat high above the main floor. I walked over to the glass wall that allowed Zane to oversee the battalion of commandos he employed. Down below there were several doors open to private offices and a large command room enclosed in smart glass. This room housed all the surveillance monitors and was supervised 24/7. In the middle was a maze of cubicles with high tech work stations. Zane had spared no expense. All clean lines with grey walls and chrome accents. Not bad for a boy who grew up in a trailer park in the back woods of West Virginia.

Zane walked directly to the liquor cabinet, pulled out a bottle of whiskey and held it out for me to inspect.

“This ok?” he asked.

I couldn’t help but laugh. He was a multi-millionaire who owned his own jet, for shit sakes, but he pulled out another bottle of cheap ass Knob Creek.

“You know me brother. I am just a simple country boy. Cheap whiskey, fast women, and American made pick-up trucks,” I replied in a thick West Virginia accent.

Zane pour two glasses and walked to the sitting area of his office. He motioned me to follow and sat down. I carefully slid my pack off and joined him.

“How’s your shoulder? Blue called and said it was a through and through. Just a little patch job,” Zane inquired.

He didn’t need too, I knew he already had all the information. Hell he probably already had my medical records. My brother is such a control freak I sometimes wondered if the CIA actually let him plan my missions.

“I’ll live. How’s business?” I tried to deflect, moving the conversation around to him.

“Fuck, man, I have more cases then I know what to do with. I am thinking about bringing in another team, but it is damn hard pulling in six new men.” Zane answered thoughtfully.

“Or women…” I shot back with a wink.

“Jasmin Smith is an anomaly. She is the only woman I have ever met that can handle herself in combat and outperform most men in the company. Hell, you know she saved my ass in Russia. Jasmin has earned her place on this team. Never underestimate that woman. She is smart as shit and as tough as any man I ever served with in the teams. She will slice your dick off with a sweet sexy smile still on her face. You need to handle her with care.” Well, that sounded like a warning if I ever heard one.