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With the lobby cordoned off with black ropes, we’re funneled into a screening line behind four other employees.
After the desk guard inspects my purse and laptop, he swabs them for explosive residue. Another guard waves a handheld metal detector up and down everyone’s body a few feet away. When he scans Cal, he pauses to check a list before letting him enter with his sidearm.
Once we’refinallycleared, we drift to the elevator in stunned silence.
The second the doors close, I lose it. “What the frickety truck was that about?”
Cal raises his palm in front of him. “Your guess is as good as mine. Something is up. In fact, let me text Kate to remind them to stay locked inside today.”
He taps the message on his phone and slips it into his pocket before the doors open on the top floor.
“I’m glad we’re meeting with Big Al this morning. Although my need-to-know shit might be tempered, it’s not gone. The pimp demands answers.”
Through his quiet chuckles, he wraps his arm around my shoulders and kisses my head as we stroll down the hall.
Fifteen minutes later, we gather in the conference room and wait for Boss to join us.
My sexy man takes the seat on my right. We have our laptops open, ready for whatever Boss might throw at us. Shep’s here, along with a few guys from the trafficking op— Jonesy and Junior. We’re waiting on Tomer and Aaron to round out that team. As the clock ticks on, a few other guards enter the room and take seats along the wall. The topic of today’s briefing must extend beyond the trafficking case and the fallout from my rescue.
While we wait for the meeting to begin, Shep catches my attention from across the table. “How you feeling, Ghost?”
“Good. No permanent damage.”
He points at his throat in a sweeping gesture. “A little bruising around your neck, though.”
Cal stiffens beside me. “If Lisa weren’t already behind bars, I’d seriously consider breaking my rule about violence toward women.”
I pat his thigh to calm him. “I’d have taken a crack at her, but I was emotionally spent at that point.”
Shep’s grin widens. “Kri’s seething that she isn’t back to work. She’d have had no problem breaking Lisa’s face before the cops got there.”
I laugh at the visual of my girl crush going off on that freaking witch. “The perks of being a kick-ass female operative are few, but having no guilt at taking out any combative is nice.”
Jonesy edges closer to interject. “I was so close to making it a kill shot.”
“You did the right thing, big guy,” I reassure him. “I doubt the cops would buy that one of the best sharpshooters to ever wear the SEAL Trident wasn’t able to take out a stationary target at fifty feet in perfect lighting and wind conditions without using lethal force.”
A smirk teases his mouth. “It wasn’t that. I just didn’t want to get on the FBI’s shit list. It’s bad enough I’m on Big Al’s.”
Tomer shuffles in, takes the seat on my left, and opens his laptop. My grin fades as I catch the vibes coming off him. It’s tension galore.
“Hey, Tomer. How are you?”
“Fine,” he snaps without looking up from his laptop. He’s not working on anything. It’s just the home screen displaying the Redleg logo. His fingers rap silently on the conference room table.
Rather than ask about the threat, which obviously has him tense, I try for a safer topic. “How’s Lettie doing?” I ask.
His tense demeanor sags, and regret wafts from him.
Uh-oh.
“She decided to stay with some of the other girls we rescued at the house the Langley Foundation provided.”
A sad lump settles in my chest. Reaching out, I squeeze his shoulder. He slams his eyes shut, attempting to mask his emotions.
“Did you ever tell her about… you know?”
He nods slowly and blinks his eyes open. “That’s what sent her packing.”
