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Remy’s heart swelled. “That’s great. I’m glad you’re as excited as I am to get started. But for now, I’d like to keep it simple. Gerard, if you’re serious, I’d like to take you along in case I need backup. As soon as I secure a location to set up shop, I’ll send for the rest of you. You’ll want to drive down with your own vehicles. Speaking of which…” He turned to Hank.
Hank opened his mouth, but Swede was first to speak.
“There will be a rental vehicle waiting at the airport for you,” Swede said from where he sat at his computer.
Hank grinned. “I swear he—”
“—reads your mind?” Swede finished. “Damn right, I do. And right now, you’re thinking you need to have someone fuel up one of the SUVs that brought these men here so it can head back to the airport in Bozeman.”
Hank’s lips twisted. “Again, he’s reading my mind.”
Swede nodded. “You might not have noticed that Chuck left the war room a few minutes ago to put fuel in the SUV he drove. He’ll drive Remy and Gerard to the airport.”
“I’ll pack,” Remy said. He turned to the others with an apologetic shrug. “I guess I’ll see you all soon.”
“Don’t worry about them. Swede and I will bring them up to speed,” Hank said. “Go.”
Remy sprinted up the stairs leading out of the basement. His gear was in one of the guest bedrooms. When he’d separated from the Navy, he’d sold almost everything in his apartment, packed what he could fit in his truck and donated the rest to a shelter. A week’s worth of clothes, his rifle and handgun, boots, running shoes and his Navy dress uniform were all he’d brought with him.
He hadn’t wanted to move furniture across the country as most of it was second-hand and not worth dragging into his new life as a civilian. He’d figured when he got where he was going, he’d furnish his place a piece at a time. Now that he was retired from the military, he had the rest of his life to establish a home. He was looking forward to buying a house where he could change the color of the paint on the walls or build a deck out back.
Because he’d deployed so often, he hadn’t felt the need to own a house. Renting an apartment had meant he could button up and leave at a moment’s notice, and someone else would maintain the building and yard. He hadn’t lived in a house with a yard since he’d left home twenty years before.
Call him crazy, but Remy looked forward to home ownership with grass he had to mow. At the back of his mind, he’d even had thoughts of finding someone to share that house and yard. Granted, he’d even considered getting a dog if the right person didn’t come along.
Then, on his fishing vacation in Bayou Mambaloa, he’d run across Shelby Taylor, adrift in a boat with a dead motor, rain pouring down on her.
With a storm bearing down on them, he’d taken her to the fishing hut he’d rented for the week. The storm outside had nothing on the storm of passion that had consumed them inside the hut.
Now, Shelby lay unconscious in a hospital after she’d had possibly two attempts on her life. One that put her in the hospital and another to finish the job while she lay unable to defend herself.
Anger burned deep in Remy’s gut. He couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt Shelby. Then again, she was a sheriff’s deputy. She’d been in the bayou when they’d found her. Someone must think she’d witnessed something worth killing her to keep her from reporting it to her sheriff.
Remy jammed his clothes into his duffel bag and hurried into the adjoining bathroom to collect his comb, shaving gear and toothbrush. He slid his toiletries into a shaving kit and shoved the kit into the duffel bag.
Lastly, he removed the handgun from the nightstand where he’d kept it since he’d arrived, slid his arms into his shoulder holster and tucked the gun into place. He pulled on his leather jacket, settled his favorite ball cap on his head and slung the duffel bag over one shoulder. He grabbed his rifle case and left the bedroom.
Hank met him in the living room with a gym bag.
“Are you coming with us?” Remy asked.
Hank laughed. “I would, but I promised Sadie that the kids and I would accompany her to LA for the premier of her latest movie release. She supports me in all I do with the Brotherhood Protectors. I want to support her in her amazing work as an actor. She’s a gifted performer, and I’m proud she chose me to share her life.”
The few weeks he’d stayed with Hank and Sadie, he’d witnessed the love the couple had for each other and their children. “You’re a lucky man, Hank.”
Hank nodded. “Don’t I know it.” He walked with Remy out of the house to the waiting SUV.
Chuck Johnson, the ex-Navy SEAL who’d also worked for the FBI after he’d left the Navy, stood beside the driver’s door.
Gerard opened the hatch. “I already stowed my gear.”
Remy tossed his duffel into the back and laid his rifle case beside it. He reached up to close the hatch.
Hank stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Take this bag with you. I’ve loaded it with some things you might need, or maybe not, but you’ll have them in case you do.” He handed Remy the bag.
“What’s in it?” Remy asked.
“Communications equipment, a tracking device and tracker chips, zip-ties, rope, carabiners, bear spray and other stuff.”
