Attempted Assassination(6)

She wondered what type of problems they'd encounter.

"Get some sleep, Ava. I know this is a stressful time for you, but you need to be rested. The next few days are going to be difficult at best."





6





As she looked out over the Puget Sound, the water lapped quietly below her, the sun shining high above while puffs of white clouds hung in the sky. Ava hadn't known they'd actually be staying on Whidbey Island, in a house right outside of Langley.

They'd driven through town on their way up, and her heart had twisted in her chest when they'd passed the small park in the center where Jordan had proposed to her. 

The house turned out to be gorgeous-three stories with a basement, and seven bedrooms. The glass wall facing the Sound offered beautiful views of the neighboring islands, and a back door led down to a private beach. Joe had given her one of the rooms facing the water, and she stood at the floor-to-ceiling glass pane and just admired the beauty. She didn't particularly care for the Northwest during the winter months where the sky seemed to be the same shade of grey every day and it rained as if it would never stop. However, the summer months, especially July and August, proved to be beautiful with the crystal blue water, the immense greenery and the white, puffy clouds that floated by looking like marshmallows.

Joe had said that Brody, Lucas, Zachary, and Ruben would be showing up this evening. She couldn't wait to see them. When she'd been told Jordan's whole unit had been killed, she'd not only lost her husband, but her family.

The unit had always been tight, and she'd bonded right away with Gabby, Lucas' wife. When she'd received the horrible news of Jordan's death, she'd called Gabby, but it was as if she'd disappeared off the face of the Earth. Now, she'd learned that she'd been relocated to be with Lucas.

The doorbell downstairs interrupted her thoughts, and she jumped. Someone had arrived.

She hurried down the steps, excited to see whoever stood on the other side of the door. Thomas, Joe's security guy who seemed to live in sweat suits and not say much, had beat her to it. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed a gun in his hand as he looked at the security screen. As she slowly walked up behind him, she saw Brody and Lucas on the panel.

She couldn't contain her excitement and felt like jumping up and down as she placed her hand over her mouth, like a child who'd just received exactly what they'd wanted on Christmas day. "Oh my God!"

Thomas glanced over his shoulder and gave her a small smile, then he opened the door.

Brody and Lucas grinned at her as they entered and dropped their duffel bags. Lucas took her into a big bear hug while Brody said hello to Garrett and Thomas. Joe wheeled himself in as Brody grabbed her and enveloped her in his strong arms.

Happiness washed through her, and as they all moved into the living room, all talking at once, sheer joy beat from her heart. The only thing that would make things better would be to have Jordan here with her, with all of them.

As they sat down, she looked at Lucas; she'd never seen him happier or healthier. His shirt stretched over his wide shoulders, and his eyes glittered with cheerfulness.

"Where's Gabby?"

"She stayed in Switzerland, but she wanted me to tell you hello and said she wishes she could be here."

"Why didn't she come?"

He shrugged. "I thought it would be safer for her there. I don't want her anywhere near Group Nine."

Brody nodded. "Same thing here with Rayna. I left her in the Caribbean. Group Nine's nothing to mess with. I didn't want to worry about her."

She furrowed her brow. "Who's Rayna?"

Brody had always been a playboy, and it surprised her that it appeared he'd found someone special and settled down.

He shrugged as a small smile tugged on his lips. "She's my girl. Best damn thing that's ever happened to me."

She wished she could have seen Gabby, and definitely wanted to meet Rayna, but maybe after all this was over, she'd get to do both. "I'm happy for you, Brody!"

The doorbell rang again, and Thomas rose to answer it.

Although she'd been told Zach had been completely blinded, it still surprised her to see him with sunglasses on and being led by a dog. A dark-haired woman walked in behind him.



       
         
       
        

Zach strode over to her, his steps confident, as if he knew the layout of the room.

She stood, and he opened his arms to her.

"Come here, Ava. I've missed the hell out of you."

As she wrapped her arms around his stomach, she once again marveled at how good it felt to see all of these guys. The sadness and devastation that had been her constant companions for over a year seemed to be overtaken with love and hope with each hug she received.

Joe introduced her to Ella, explaining that she worked for him, but as he looked over at Zach's significant other, Ava couldn't help but feel there was more to the story than her just being an employee. It almost seemed love shone from his eyes, and she made a mental note to ask Brody or Lucas about it later.

Joe raised his hand, and the room quieted down. She took her seat next to Lucas on the couch.

Joe smiled and glanced around the room. "Now that we're all here, I want to thank you all for coming. Ruben will be by a little later, but I've already spoken to him about everything. He'll arrive tonight fully up to speed."

"I think I can speak for all of us when we say that we'd do anything for you, Joe. You saved our lives, and you wanting us to help to get Jordan back  …  I think we're all damn happy to be here," Lucas interjected.

Murmurs of agreement sounded from around the room, and Ava's confidence that they would get Jordan back increased. These men loved him like a brother, and they would do everything in their power to make sure he returned back into their folds safe and sound.

Joe smiled and bowed his head. "I appreciate that, Lucas. Thank you. I want to go over our plan, then Thomas has had dinner catered in, so the chefs should be arriving soon.

"Now, as we know, Jordan is not the same man he was before the explosion. None of you are, but it's as if Jordan came out of the jungle with a black slate for a mind, and they reprogrammed him, making him a very efficient killer, as well as having no memories of his prior life."

Zach laced his fingers with Ella's, his head positioned as if he stared at the floor in front of him. "Damn, that's bad. How are we going to make him remember?"

Joe glanced over at her. "That's why Ava's here, and why we're on Whidbey Island. The meeting where we think he will try to kill me is happening in three days in downtown Seattle at the Four Seasons. Before that meeting, I want him to see Ava. We're going to use her to try to jog his memories."

"That could be dangerous for her," Lucas said. "And what's this about him trying to kill you?"

"I'll let Ella explain."

The woman looked around the room for a moment, almost as if she gathered her thoughts. "We've been locked out of the Group Nine server for a while now. It wasn't until recently that I was able to get back in. Joe's always been on their hit list, but they've never been able to track him down. Apparently, when I was able to hack into their server, they found out about it, and hacked me right back. It was a two-way information grab, and now they have Joe's schedule. Thankfully, his more personal information, like addresses to his safe houses, is stored on another server, so none of us are in any harm's way." 

A chill went down Ava's spine as she stared at the woman and wondered how she could be so comfortable in such a clandestine and scary world.

Ella continued. "While poking around in there, I found Jordan's file. I was able to copy most of it, but they shut me out before I could get the full thing."

"How do you know Jordan's coming for Joe?" Brody asked.

"Because there was a list of names in the part of the file I was able to get. I did some more digging, and some are dead, while some aren't. I figured it's Jordan's list of people to kill. Joe's name was on there, and now they have his schedule."

Brody nodded. "I see. They know exactly where Joe's going to be and when, so they're sending in the killer to check off another name as deceased."

"Yes."

The room sat quiet for a moment as everyone contemplated Ella's words. Finally, Joe spoke.

"So, I would like Jordan to see Ava over the next two days. I reached out to a friend in Homeland Security, and he's confirmed that Jordan has arrived in Seattle. The Four Seasons has him listed as a guest, which also happens to be the exact hotel where I'm supposed to have my meeting."

"I hope you canceled it," Lucas mumbled.

"I did. I certainly don't want an innocent client to get caught up in this mess."

Brody leaned forward. "So, what's the plan, Joe? I'm not okay with Ava heading into the city alone. What if he sees her and it makes his brain short-circuit? What if he tries to kill her?"

She cringed, trying to imagine her husband wanting her dead, and murdering her with his own hands.

"I'm not comfortable with her going alone, either, Brody. Garrett will accompany her downtown. The rest of you are to stay in this house. You, Lucas, and Thomas will be acting as my security when he does try to kill me. I'm depending on the three of you to make sure he's not successful."