purposes. Make sure you don’t use call signs when not on a mission. You will be living two lives from this point forward. You’ll have two identities, two different job titles, and two different residences. I know each of you can handle that. If you couldn’t you wouldn’t have been invited in. This week, the mission is to bond. Now, let’s get out of the conference room and look at the facility.”
Chad stood, and the rest of the team came to attention. He looked at them and smiled. “Have at it. This is your place now. Nothing is off limits.”
With that, the men exited the room. Chad had no doubt that within an hour, two at most, these men would know routes to escape the building, know every nook and cranny to check for security, and be prepared for outright war if it came knocking. There was a fight headed their way, and they’d be more than ready for it.
Each room was stocked with all types of clothes they’d need from luxury suits, to jeans and polos, to sweats and tanks. They had all of the essentials and several luxury items. But Chad could tell this team couldn’t care less about any of that. What they cared about was doing the best damn job they were capable of — and that was pretty much everything. They had secure phones, secure computers, and unbreakable software — well, unless it was Brackish breaking in.
Chad ended their first day together by leaving another packet with a bit more information then headed out. It had been a very long week — a very long week indeed. He wanted nothing more than to sit on his back deck with his wife cradled in his arms and a cold beer beside him.
He’d have more action than he could stand soon enough. He was taking the quiet moments when he could to appreciate the life he was so blessed to have with a woman he’d do anything for. He got into his car and hit the gas. It was time to head home.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Avery was shell-shocked as she stood in the hospital room with her mother. There were no words to express how she was feeling. This had been the worst possible week of her life, and it kept falling further and further into an abyss she was sure she’d never be able to climb out of.
“Oh, Sweetie, it will be okay,” her mother said as she pulled her in tight and hugged her. They sobbed out their pain together.
The doctors and nurses had departed fifteen minutes earlier, apologizing for their loss and offering to make calls or send them anything they needed. They hadn’t been able to say a word.
Avery let go of Bobbi and turned, facing the bed where her uncle lay so very still. They’d removed the tube they’d used to try to resuscitate him. None of their efforts had worked. He was gone. She couldn’t believe it. This man, this larger-than-life man who’d been her hero, had been stolen from her.
She walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, lifting her hand and trailing it down his cheek. He still felt warm. He was a bit bruised, but he looked as if he was simply taking a nap. She so desperately wanted him to open his eyes, look at her, and tell her this had been nothing more than a nightmare.
But he didn’t do that. She moved her hand to his chest, pressing her palm against it, praying the doctors were wrong, praying for a miracle, praying she’d feel the steady thump of his heart signaling that he was still alive, that he’d live another thirty years so he could make her laugh and hold her when she cried.
But his chest didn’t move. His heart didn’t beat, and oxygen didn’t fill his lungs. She leaned down, pressing her forehead to his as her tears dripped down on him. She shook as her sobs broke free.
“He’s no longer in pain, sweetie. We’re in pain because we didn’t want to set him free, but we can’t be selfish. We couldn’t expect him to keep hanging on just for us. He was hurting every single day, but he stayed for us. You did the right thing by telling him we were okay, that we loved him. You might be his niece, but I assure you, in his heart you were his daughter. Love him like a father, and be glad for him that he’s