to return to Mexico. There had been very limited communication with North Rock, and the last we’d heard from Chamness was that they were missing another man. We were told that the four other team members in the hospital would not be returning to duty anytime soon, if ever. Frank mentioned something about filing the paperwork for their honorable discharges.
What the ever-loving fuck was happening here?
A selfish part of me was happy they hadn’t been called out while I was on leave, but then guilt and rage filled the holes when I remembered I wasn’t the one trying to survive in the bush being hunted by the enemy.
“When is Sloane coming back?” Cole asked.
“Tomorrow sometime.” I neatly packed my duffle bag to prepare for my return to Shadows. I just needed to wait for clearance from Frank. “However, I think it might be more like three before she’ll get here. She went flying down a rabbit hole, and I was warned to let her be because this is what she does best.” I chuckled as I thought of Frank’s face when I told him she still wasn’t home. He told me a story about how she went rogue for weeks and didn’t surface until she’d found something to prove her client’s innocence. Scared her parents pretty good.
“Hang on one second. What?” There was a pause, and I heard a scuffled sound. “Livi wants to talk to you.”
“Sure.” I pulled my Army boots from the bag and put my snow boots in their place.
“Uncle John.” Livi’s little grown up voice carried over the line clearly and assertively, just like her father.
“Hi, Livi. How are you doing?”
“Well, thank you. Have you been practicing?”
I smirked. “I was going to ask you the same thing. Yes, I have. Have you been?”
“Of course. How are you feeling? Are you sure you’re okay to…” She didn’t finish her sentence because we had been keeping this secret for nearly four months.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” I grinned and pictured her happy face. “Why do you think I rested up?”
She laughed. “Sloane’s been outing you, Uncle John. She texted Uncle Mike and Daddy and told them you weren’t listening to the doctor’s orders.”
Oh, is that so? Now I knew why she was smirking the night she left.
“Sloane hasn’t been here for nearly seven days. She doesn’t know if I’m resting or ignoring doctors’ orders.”
“When, Daddy?” Her voice muffled a bit as she spoke to Cole. “Can I stay on the phone until then?” She giggled, which made me miss home even more.
“How have the twins been?”
“Ugh, they were misbehaving the other day, so I convinced them to play a barrel roll game, and, well, you know those barrels that you guys use for your workouts?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“You know the ones with the lids?”
I started to respond, then I caught what she was saying and burst out laughing.
“How long did you trap them for?” I loved this kid.
“Until Auntie Mia was looking for them. Butters gave them away.”
“What did Daddy do?”
“Nothing until Auntie looked away, then he high fived me.” I could hear her giggle again.
“Not everything has to be repeated, Liv,” Cole said from somewhere.
“When it’s funny, it should be, Daddy.”
I chuckled but perked up when I heard Tripper and then wheels on the driveway.
“Sounds like they deserved it.” I took the stairs three at a time and whisked past my mother, who was complaining about making dinner.
“What are you doing?” Livi must have sensed I was distracted.
“I see one of our SUVs coming up my driveway.”
“Really?” She seemed interested.
I could picture her sitting at Cole’s big desk chair while he was probably stretched out on his couch looking over a file. He loved when she came into his office. He was always so busy that he didn’t get as much time with her as he’d like. He even went so far as to build her a little desk and chair so she could work alongside him. She used it sometimes but preferred to sit at his desk when she could.
“What the hell?” Mike, Keith, Mark, Savannah, and Mia all piled out of the SUV with bags in their hands. “Um, Livi, I have to go.”
“Don’t be mad, Uncle John. They have a good reason for it.”
My mind did a circle as her words sank into my head. What was going on? Panic spread through me. The guys didn’t know what Ellie was really like. I’d hadn’t shared that, and it was a choice I’d consciously