AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t tell me.”
“Been a bit naughty I hear. Not typical for my assistant so I’m surprised but expect, when Carter comes home, he’ll take care of that issue. Come and eat your lunch. You have just enough timeto do that and get ready for our next meeting with your favorite people.”
Becky groaned as they entered the elevator. “Can’t I sit this one out?”
“Nope, I need you there, and that FBI agent enjoys it better when you are there. I get him so confused that I get my way before he figures out that he has been bested.”
“Jac, I’m not sure that’s very ethical.” Becky laughed.
“Maybe not, but hey, those alphabet agencies are underhanded, too.”
“True,” said Becky as she sat the curry on the desk.
JUST AS THE MEETINGwas ending, Jac’s phone rang.
“Reynaud.” Jac stiffened. “Where are you?” He placed his hand over the receiver. “Get Garrett and Monroe here and call Sharlee. I want them ready to receive a call from me.”
Sharlee was calling before Becky got to the phone while Jac was still talking into his cell. Becky ended the video meeting in Jac’s office and answered his desk phone.
“Sharlee?”
“Becky, I’m triangulating on the plane, and I’ll watch so if they go down, we will know exactly where to grab them from.”
“When who goes down? Oh, God, is Carter’s flight in trouble?”
Everyone in Jacquard and Associates was hard working, hard playing, and super intense when a situation was going FUBAR. Those times didn’t happen often because they were well-trained men in well-rehearsed situations. When things did seem to fall apart, even when he sent others home to rest, Jac didn’t go home.
Over the years, she’d found him bent over his desk the next morning, still worrying about a problem, or watching his teamin a tricky situation. Since he had married Sharlee, he did that mother-hen behavior from home more than in the office. But he still did it. Tonight was one of those times.
Before too long, everyone who wasn’t already committed or out on a job had assembled in Jac and Becky’s offices and the adjoining conference room. It was early yet, but Jac had canceled his staff meeting and the support staff continued to work not knowing that three of the company’s agents were in a situation. The women all showed up for support. Finley, Storm’s nanny, stayed home with Storm and Sharlee, who didn’t dare leave her computer.
Ivy sat close to Becky. Mallory, who seemed to be the most maternal of them all, fussed over the women and kept them occupied. Callie was more in the role of operative than one of the girls right now which left Mallory to do what needed doing. The guys and Callie were in a huddle working on possible exfil solutions if needed.
When Garrett came over to check on the women, Becky asked, “Why don’t we know anything?”
Garrett, like the others, was incredibly protective of Becky because she was the first female employee in the company. She was special but so were all the women. He grabbed her hand. “Because your man is an excellent pilot. He is doing what he has to do to get the plane down safely. The closer to his destination he can get, the better.”
“But what happened?” she asked for the tenth time in the last hour.
Monroe walked up and sat on the other side of Ivy and took hold of her hands in his and massaged them absently. Ivy had gone silent, and Becky was worried about her.
Monroe spoke. “We don’t actually know. Carter will tell us more when this is over. The one thing we do know is Carter, Levi, and Kaden have been through things like this before. They arewell versed in how to handle emergencies and if they know you girls are okay, then they will be able to concentrate on dealing with the problem at hand.”
“I know,” said Ivy in a low voice. “Kaden says he’ll do fine if he knows I’m safe. He knows I’m safe, right?”
“He does, honey. Just as he trusts us to take care of you girls, trust them to take care of business and get back home safe and sound.” Ivy nodded and went back to being quiet.
Becky, however, looked at Garrett who stood back a little now, and said, “So, how long before we know?”
Jac walked up to the small group, and Mark, Callie, and a couple of Levi’s old team joined them. “They’ve landed safely.” Jac looked at Becky and Ivy.
“How did he do it? Where are they?” asked Becky.
“Carter made it happen somehow. He found an area that might have been used for a landing strip some years ago and he touched down there. Thing is, they’re about forty klicks or twenty-five miles from where they were going.”
“And it’ll be dark in a few hours,” added Becky, understanding the decision they needed to make.
“So, what’s going to happen?” asked Ivy.
