was taller than him, which put him over six feet tall, but with a rangy build. Solid, but nervous. And exhausted. That came through loud and clear in the tone of his voice.
Jameson cocked his head and said quietly, “You don’t have to tell us anything. If Alex needs an assist on the home front, we’ll handle that as soon as we find Maddie.”
“He… he just found out his old man has Alzheimer’s,” Harley blurted, “at least that’s what Kelsey thinks. That’s where he probably is right now. Man hasn’t slept in over forty-eight hours, but he had to take his dad to a specialist, and… shit.” There went Harley’s hand again, over his head and down his neck. Every muscle in that shoulder felt strung as tight as a rod.
“I should’ve guessed,” Eric muttered. He must’ve sunk down onto Maddie’s bed. His voice came from there. “Thought Alex was going to knock him out when his old man showed up out of the blue. Never seen the boss that ready to fight before.”
“Mel’s never been part of Alex’s life and, yeah. He can’t leave his family right now,” Harley said. “He’s super pissed his dad even showed up. Hadn’t seen him in years. The old guy’s a loser, and Kelsey’s got the new baby, and—”
“Alzheimer’s is life changing for the entire family,” Eric added somberly. “And now Alex has one more emergency to take care of.”
“And it’s killing him,” Jameson surmised from the little time he’d spent with his tightly strung boss. “So let’s do this, guys. Best defense is a good offense. Let’s wrap this up before the sun sets today. Alex has the resources. Let’s use the fuck out of them and go get Maddie, so he doesn’t have to deal with this disaster, too.”
Harley’s entire body seemed to relax. “Good idea. Only where do we start?”
Jameson turned to face Eric. “She needed a ride out of here without being seen. I’ll bet she’s inside one of the utility trucks that were in the neighborhood.”
“I’ll call Mother,” Eric said. “She can contact the power company and have them track those vehicles. At least find out where they are now.”
“She’ll need to ask those drivers to check their vehicles to see if they’ve picked up a passenger they don’t know about. Tell her to tell them to be nice. Maddie will be scared. She’s only doing this to help.”
“We should go to the airport,” Harley said. “Head her off at the pass.”
“Good thinking,” Jameson said. “Maddie’s smart. She’ll trade vehicles the first chance she gets. Might already have done that. Let’s get to Reagan, guys.”
And when I get her back, I’m never letting her go.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Alex stood over his sleeping wife with his cell still in his hand after the latest bad news from Eric, loving her with every fiber of his warrior’s heart and wishing he didn’t have to leave her again. Especially not today. Not with Mel so close at hand.
But the need to join his TEAM in the field was a fire breathing monster prowling under Alex’s skin, demanding to be set free to get the job done. For years, he’d lived for his TEAM, buried too many of them, but always stood by them. When operations turned to shit, as they sometimes did, he’d stopped heaven and earth to rescue them, called in any and every favor he’d ever earned to get to them in time, and he would’ve died for them. They were his livelihood and his friends, the epitome of everything his Devil Dog soul stood for. If he were bleeding right now, he knew damned well he’d bleed red, white, and blue. He loved his country and his TEAM. He loved all he’d ever given, and he’d live every second of it again.
But this gentle woman lying there with crimped dark chocolate curls spilling over her pillow…
This goddess with the pretty little elfin princess sleeping in one arm and her sound asleep son—their son—in the other…
They were his real reasons for breathing and living. They were his whole heart.
Alex swallowed hard at the father and son reunion he’d never expected he’d have to face, and the quandary he’d never planned for. He’d always thought he’d meet his Maker at the end of a bloody gunfight, with that legendary round of hot lead he’d never heard coming, imbedded in his head or his heart. Guess not. But he hadn’t seen his TEAM ending like this, hadn’t seen it ending at all. And