He glanced across the seat at Tori and relaxed slightly. The woman had quickly become a soothing balm on his raw nerves. She glanced at him and smiled. Leaning over she kissed his cheek. “Everything will work out. They’ll be okay.”
Damn, she knew. She could read him. He lifted his arm over her shoulder and pulled her into his side.
“Are you sure you don’t mind getting married in a judge’s chambers tomorrow morning?”
Her laugh was melodic and carefree. “I’m the luckiest woman on the face of the earth. I don’t have to stress over the details of the wedding for months, go crazy over insignificant issues, or pull my hair out because someone ordered chicken and then changed their mind at the last minute and wanted beef.”
Her hand fell to his thigh and moved up slowly. Laying her head on his shoulder, she sighed. “As long as our team can attend, I’m good. Dad and I talked before we left. He’s happy as long as I come back and have a reception. He said mom always wanted a big wedding and never got one. Me? I don’t give two cents about a large event. I’d like Keelee to be there, but she won’t come to D.C. It would take the second coming of Christ to get her off that ranch.”
“The judge who is going to marry us tomorrow is a friend. He worked with my older brother, Joseph, when they were both in the Corps. Judge Mathias got out and put himself through law school. His appointment to the federal bench several years ago didn’t surprise anyone. He’s one of the good guys.”
“You work with him? The judge, I mean. I thought you only worked international issues.” Her curiosity was natural. Having told her the infrastructure of the business, he mapped out how each sibling fit into the overall company. “No, I know him from social events. The international laws that pertain to the ops Joseph and I work are…I guess tenuous is the best way to classify them.” Jacob checked the rearview before signaling his turn into the airport access road from the interstate.
“You said Joseph worked alone. I take it he works in the dark.” Her comment shocked him, but it shouldn’t have. She was smart.
“Joseph works black door ops. So yeah, he works in the shadows.” Jacob merged into traffic to get to the backside of the airport. “He’s probably the strongest man I’ve ever known. After our dad was killed, he took over as the head of the family. Joseph was sixteen. I think you’ll like him. He’s gruff, takes shit from absolutely no one, and has a laser focus, almost to a fault. But unlike the rest of the family who will definitely flock to meet you, I don’t know if you will ever meet Joseph. He rarely surfaces and when he does, it is usually for a particular reason known only to him. He’s a loner.”
The team unloaded the equipment onto the tarmac and assisted the ground crew loading it into the luggage compartment of the jet Gabriel had sent to bring them home. The glistening Bombardier 5000 was his boss’s private bird. The plane was one of the fleet of seventy-three aircraft used to transport, deploy, and stage people and equipment around the world. The massive golden Guardian International Logo left no doubt who paid the team’s wages. The luxury David Xavier commanded belied the ruthlessness of the man. Five people within the multi-billion dollar company knew David Xavier and Gabriel was the same person. By necessity, Jacob was one.
The team settled into the deep leather seats as the plane taxied down the runway. Once the jet was at cruising altitude, the flight attendant came forward and asked Jacob to access the com bank for an incoming message.
Jacob motioned to Chief, who initiated the secure link. When Chief established communication, he nodded to Jacob and moved out of the way. Jacob donned the headset, signed in, and listened. The news could not have been worse. Cold devastation gripped him as he listened to Jared’s words. Instinctively Jacob shut down, blocking the pain, moving away from the emotions. Survival demanded the cold detachment he had honed with years of practice. Jacob asked the question he dreaded hearing the answer to. “Survivors?” He felt the eyes of the entire team on him but closed his eyes refusing to meet any stare until he gained composure. He felt the color drain from his face. He shook his head slowly from side to side silently rejecting the reality of the words he had just heard. Taking the headset off, he lowered his head in his hands. When he finally lifted his eyes he found his team’s attention focused on him with a grim intensity.
*
Nobody moved. Tori realized the team already understood. She stood and walked to Jacob. Kneeling beside him, she touched his leg. The haunted look in his eyes scared her. “What is it? What’s happened?”
“Jason’s team. They flew into a barrage of shoulder-launched, air-to-ground missiles. The aircraft crashed. Fury, Joseph, confirmed all aircrew are dead. Six parachutes deployed—low level. He counted the parachutes from about five clicks away so we know the team made it out of the bird. When he made it to the crash site, he reconned the area. Carlos Rivera, one of the best weapon’s specialists we have, was buried in a hasty scrape and marked by Bravo team. There were tire tracks, signs of fighting—blood and shell casings. Jason and the four remaining members of Bravo team are MIA.”
“Was the operation compromised? Was it leaked somehow?” Her question vocalized the entire team’s concern.
“Gabriel and Jewel believe coordination with outside agencies may have been assimilated. Somehow elements of the mission may have been gathered and filtered to hostile hands. Even Guardian may have been compromised. Right now the organization is on lockdown. If anyone can find a leak, Jewel can. My sister’s is on it.” He pulled Tori up and into his lap. She wrapped around him, trying to ease the weight the phone call had placed on him until he pulled away.
Looking across the cabin, he made eye contact with his men. “We’re hot. Flying into hostile territory tomorrow night as soon as intel and logistics are solidified.” He looked at Doc and Chief. “Are you two in?”
Doc’s head snapped up. “What the fuck kind of question is that? Try benching me, Skipper, and I’ll shoot your ass.”
Chief turned his head and looked at Doc. The big man’s eyes narrowed as he turned back to Jacob. “Ditto.”
Chapter Sixteen
Sleet blasted against the window as the plane taxied to a stop on a far corner of the tarmac at Dulles International Airport. Tori peered out the window. The man waiting by the SUV would be Jacob’s brother, Jared. From where she sat, his resemblance to his brother was eerie. The team disregarded the cabin and flight attendant’s warnings and pushed the door open as soon as the plane halted. The twins disembarked first, followed by Chief and then Doc. Jacob stooped through the door and straightened, looking for his brother, before he turned and offered Tori his hand. Doc and Chief’s attitude could be felt from where she now stood. Jacob’s questioning their abilities had pissed them off. I wonder if he did it on purpose. She wouldn’t put it past him. His words forced a focus they didn’t have before.
Jared nodded to the members of the team as they filed by and loaded in a waiting black Suburban. When she and Jacob approached, he extended a hand to his brother. Jacob grasped his hand and jerked him forward for a massive bear hug. The two men held each other. The emotion that radiated from the brothers stood as a testimony to the pain the brothers shared over Jason’s situation. Clearing his throat, Jared finally drew away and turned to her. “Your clearance pictures don’t do you justice, Victoria. No wonder my little brother fell hard. I’m sorry you aren’t going to get a honeymoon.”
“Jared, I’ve heard a lot about you. Jacob and I’ll take a rain check on the honeymoon if it gets our guys back safe and sound.” Tori leaned into Jacob as he pulled her to him blocking her from the most of the force of the arctic-cold wind.
“I’m a little late on the introductions, but Jared, this is Victoria, the woman you are going to watch me marry tomorrow morning.”
He nodded to her. “Victoria, I wish we could meet under different circumstances.”
She nodded. “We’ll get them back.”
Jacob nodded and kissed her forehead. He murmured, “From your lips to God’s ears” before he turned his attention once again toward his brother.
Jacob started them towards the SUV. “I need a sit-rep.”
“There was nothing in the intel reports to indicate we were flying into a hot landing zone. The deployment followed all established protocols. Gabriel approved the op. Bravo team asked for Jason. They felt comfortable with him stepping in. He’d been training with them to stay fresh on the new tactics coming out. He never would’ve gone if the team hadn’t approached him first.”
Jacob nodded and cleared his throat. “Yeah, I got the brief on the plane. Any word on the team?”
Jared looked at Tori and shook his head. “Not yet. Jewel is working her staff like a woman possessed. She blames herself. She’s devastated.”
Tori watched the men as they spoke. Jacob could be a clone of Jared. His features were nearly identical. The only exception was Jared’s lighter hair color and a thin, smooth scar that ran from the corner of Jared’s eye to his chin, silver against his tanned skin. His eyes were harder and deeper blue, but the men could easily have been twins.