Page 82 of Russian Rescue

“I’ll email it to you.” Lucia walked away and joined Irene, who held her baby son while she played with her daughter on the floor.

“Oh!” Irene said. “I want that too. I’m not a good cook, but I bet Marcus and I can figure it out.”

“You’re a chemist,” I said as I stood up. “How can you not be a good cook? Isn’t cooking like a really basic form of chemistry?”

Irene pushed a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear and shrugged. “You’d think, right? But really, I’m quite awful at it.”

“At least you’re not a vegetarian anymore,” Marcus called from the porch.

Irene sucked the air through her teeth. “Yeah. Got pregnant with the second one, and suddenly I was as carnivorous as a freaking hyena.”

“Best thing ever.” Marcus smiled and tossed a meat patty on the grill. “Still won’t eat iguana, though.”

Irene and Lucia pulled a face, but Piper’s lit up. “Oh! Chicken of the trees! I love iguana. Remember that time in Guam we had to hide out for like three days in the jungle? Man, we were eating like kings!”

“Oh, yeah. That mission was freaking fun!” Knox agreed, rising and joining Piper and Marcus on the porch.

The three of them started swapping stories about their missions, and I stepped behind Piper and pulled her back against me as I smiled and listened. I hadn’t been there physically for those missions, but I’d been there virtually, and I loved reminiscing about all the crazy things we used to do as a team.

A team I missed terribly.

I cleared my throat. Piper glanced back at me, her face getting serious as she understood what was happening.

“So,” she started. “Part of the reason we invited you guys to our home was to have a little reunion on the beach.” She waved a hand over the ocean right out our back door. “And the other part was to talk to you about something.”

“What’s up?” Marcus asked as he closed the grill, the smoke from the brats and burgers settling down as the lid captured it.

I stepped up to Piper’s side and slid my arm around her shoulder. “Well, as you guys know, Piper and I kinda have a little side mission, uh...” I cleared my throat again.

“I know you two have been up to something, but I have no idea what,” Marcus said.

Piper and I exchanged a look. “I trust you guys, but don’t freak out,” she said just before she went into a quick recap of what we’d been up to.

When she got done filling them in, they stared at us with blinking eyes.

“Well?” I asked. “You guys gonna call the cops on us, or are we cool?”

Knox blew out a breath. “Damn. That is some seriously awesome shit. I give it two huge thumbs up. And I’ve got big hands and big thumbs. Those sick fucks don’t need to breathe.”

I let out a breath as we turned to Marcus.

“Same,” Marcus agreed. “I think what you’re doing is amazing. And if you ever need help, you know I’ve got you.”

Piper and I glanced at each other. “We are so happy to hear that because actually, we do.”

Knox crossed his arms over his expansive chest. “Yeah? What’s up?”

“Well,” Piper went on. “We were getting proof that this dude in Texas was dealing in kiddie porn, and while Wes was hacking around in his shit, he discovered it’s not just kiddie porn... he’s part of a huge sex trafficking ring. Like, global.”

Marcus’s jaw tightened. “How can we help?”

“Piper and I want to take it out. Not just the dude, but the entire organization. It’s too much for just the two of us.”

“We’re in, man,” Knox said quickly. “Women and kids? Fuck yeah. Just tell me where to aim my grenade launcher.”

Marcus glanced over at Irene and his two children. “I’m all in. Anything to save some kids from that life.”

Piper and I exchanged a smile. “We were hoping you’d say that. We want to take these sickos out. It may even be too big for just the four of us, so if you’re in, Wes is going to talk to Brooks from Delta team and see if they can assist if we need it.”