by Margaret Kay
Annaka was impressed with this tiny young woman. When she spoke, she sounded much older than her appearance suggested. The peace about their job and the faith she had in them was remarkable. Annaka wanted to feel that way, but she wasn’t sure she could. And she was sure she didn’t know the half of what the men did.
She watched Danny come back into the kitchen. He got out paper plates and plastic forks from the pantry. He set them on the island. “Pizza will be here in forty-five minutes. Did you tell them about your interview down at the Shedd Aquarium next week?” He asked her, hoping to change the topic of their conversation.
“No, I haven’t.”
“An interview next week already? That’s great,” Brielle said.
“And I have you to thank for it. I didn’t even know there was an aquarium in Chicago and was so surprised when you told me they have beluga whales there. I talked to the head of their HR department and the institution’s president called me later. I also looked at all the universities in the area but was disappointed that none of them offer marine biology. I think I would like to teach, but the whole idea is to stay in this area.”
“Most programs have online classes,” Sienna said. “Don’t rule out distance teaching at any university with a program.”
“That’s true. I hadn’t thought about that,” Annaka said.
“If I were you, I would start looking at where you graduated from, both undergrad and grad. I’m sure you will find at least a few schools that offer classes online who would be thrilled to have you teach for them. One of my friends at school also teaches online classes as an adjunct professor at three different colleges. Keep your mind open to nontraditional arrangements. You may be able to coddle several part-time jobs into a full-time one for you,” Sienna said.
“That would solve the salary issue. I’ll still need medical benefits though.”
“You can go on the Shepherd Security plan. It’s a really good one, low-cost deductibles and low copays for visits and prescriptions. The plan allows for domestic partners,” Kaylee said. “Danny,” she called to the family room, “are you planning to add Annaka to your health and dental insurance plans with Shepherd?”
Danny stood and came back into the kitchen. “Seriously, Annaka just got here yesterday. We haven’t had time to go into everything.” He felt bad, again, that they were having this conversation before he’d had a chance to with her. Yes, he planned to add her as a dependent if she wanted.
“Danny’s right, we haven’t had the chance to discuss all these things. I’m sure we will soon.” She flashed a smile at him. She hoped he could see in her gaze that she trusted him and knew he’d tell her what she needed to know, and they would discuss all the important items. She had faith in him and trusted him. For her, that was enough.
X-Ray
“I am so sorry the ladies brought up so much we haven’t talked about,” Danny said when the door was closed after their last guest left.
“Danny, really, it’s okay. As you said, I have only been here for two days.” She kissed him passionately.
He turned her and pressed her against the door. Their kiss was lengthy. When he pulled his lips back, her half-closed eyes gazed at him with desire and trust. “I promise we’ll discuss all we need to tomorrow. Right now, I want to take you back up to bed and make love to you again.”
“I like that,” she whispered.
He led her up the stairs to his bedroom. There, he released her hair from the bun she had on the top of her head. He loved how her hair framed her beautiful face when it hung loose. Then he took her sweater off. He pressed her to the bed. He kissed her lips and then trailed his way down her neck and over her collarbone. His kisses made their way to her round breasts, which were nicely displayed in the black lace bra he’d be taking off her momentarily.
Annaka loved how Danny looked at her, touched her, how he made love to her. She loved him. His focus on her pleasure was amazing and absolute. Their bodies fit together perfectly. It was exciting and comfortable, a rare combination. She’d watched him all night, appreciating his solid form and how confidently he moved. He was more than her lover. He was her friend, had been for a long time through their game chat screen.
They spent time teasing and pleasuring each other. She brought him to the brink repeatedly, but he insisted she back off to lengthen the time. She could scream through several releases, and she did, but he had one and then he’d be done. He didn’t want that to come too soon. By the time he pressed into her, he was ready to let the kissing, caressing, licking, and sucking culminate in a mind-blowing orgasm. And it did.
After, they laid dazed, holding each other on the edge of sleep. Mother thought about the evening and the conversations the women had. He felt bad that Annaka heard it the way she had, rather than from him. He knew they had a lot to discuss about his job, about the team, about Shepherd Security. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t realize she had shifted position and was gazing at his face.
“You’re frowning. What’s the matter?”
“Am I? I was just thinking. I am sorry about the things we haven’t talked about. I didn’t want you to feel how you must have felt when the topic came up of how dangerous our job is.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that Sherman had been shot the night you flew to Alaska? When we talked that morning, I specifically asked you if your job was dangerous.”
“What was I supposed to say, Annaka? Was I supposed to say yes, it is so dangerous that we got shot at the night before and Sherman took one in his vest? I didn’t want to freak you out or worry you.”
“But it is dangerous,” she recapped.
“Yes, it can be dangerous,” he admitted.
“I love you, Danny. Of course, I’ll worry about your safety. But I’d never ask you to not do your job.” She felt over the two tattoos on his upper arm that she knew concealed scars from prior bullet wounds. “I just hope I don’t ever have to see you injured. It would break my heart if I saw you lying in a hospital bed all shot up. Or worse, if I had to go to your funeral.”
Mother embraced her tightly. “Oh, cariño, please don’t think about that. Anything can happen to anyone at any given moment. There are no guarantees for any of us. I’m more worried about walking into a convenience store robbery like Doc and Elizabeth did than executing the missions we do.”
Annaka said nothing. She was still processing all he’d said. She believed that he hadn’t been deceptive on purpose. She believed he did not want her to worry. But this was a lot to take in.
She was quiet for too long. “Annaka, please tell me you can live with this, with me doing this job.”
She was thoughtful for a long moment. “I’d like to think I can be. Those other women, who are all very nice by the way, they have a peace and acceptance about it. I’m not sure how they got there, but I hope I can too.”
“You can,” he said softly. “So, you did like them?”
Annaka nodded. “Yes, they were all very nice and accepting of me. Sienna said she thinks of the others as sisters-in-law and that just because I’m with you, she includes me in that. The others said this group is like a family. I can understand that.”
“But the question is, is it a family you want to be a part of, knowing everything you do?”
“I love you, Danny. And as Kaylee said about Sloan, I’d rather have you in my life with the job you do, then not be with you.”
He kissed her, overwhelmed with emotion. “I love you more than you know.”
“There were a few other things they said that I wanted to clarify with you,” she said.
Mother’s eyes probed hers. “Anything.”
“They mentioned agency phones and trackers.”
“Yes, everyone who works for Shepherd Security and their wife or girlfriend has a special phone assigned to them. Agency phones. They are secure, can’t be hacked. Because we need to be able to communicate with our significant other while we’re away, that’s why you will get one too. I talked with
Garcia about it this evening. Once he gets yours approved with Shepherd, he’ll set up a time with you to import your phone line in and get it set up.”
“I’m not sure I even understand what that means. But is that how he was able to answer your phone when I called you?”
Mother chuckled. “Yes, he’s the phone system’s administrator.”
“And he tracks our phones?”
“Ops, our Operations Center does. You will get access to calling Ops with any problems. They watch out for everyone. Remember the panic code into the alarm panel I told you about?” She nodded. “It’s Ops that will get the alert when someone enters the code. They scramble all available manpower to respond as well as call the local police when a code is received.”
“Elizabeth said she called them when she was bleeding and her husband was out of town.”
“Yes, I was on in Ops that night. It was a busy night. Alpha Team was on a mission we were overseeing and then Elizabeth called. Because of the agency phone and the tracker, we were able to get help to her right away.”
“That’s good,” she agreed.
“Annaka, I know you just heard tracker but didn’t ask. I want you to understand what that means.” He tapped his right shoulder. “There is a tracker injected into my shoulder. Ops can pull up the tracker display for all agency personnel and see exactly where we all are at any given moment. We all have one, including Shepherd, all the wives. They have anklets on the babies with trackers in them. We’re all covered. Being with me, you’ll be considered agency personnel too.”
Annaka took a second to process that. She knew her face was twisted into a grimace. “One of the women mentioned a tracker, but I didn’t think much about it. I certainly didn’t think it meant that.” She shook her head no. “I don’t understand why anyone needs one of those things in them.”
“For the Operators, it’s obvious. When we’re on a mission, Ops needs to know exactly where we are every second. And if God forbid, something happens to us, they can find us or our remains through the trackers. About a year and a half ago, Doc got taken by a warlord while we were on a mission in Somalia. His tracker let us know right where they took him.”
Annaka’s mind swirled. “You were on a mission in Somalia?” That was only one of the things he’d said that she couldn’t wrap her mind around.
“Yes, we work out of the country when our regular military can’t go in, just like I told you.”
“Like that mission before Christmas,” she replied.
“Yes, just like that.”
“Danny, I am really trying to be okay with this.”
“You’re doing good with it. I get it. It’s a lot to take in.”
“Okay, I understand why you guys have them. But why do the wives and babies have them?”
Mother thought about how he would word his reply. He couldn’t tell her that the other women were all involved in cases that Shepherd Security had worked. Those were not his stories to tell. He’d never violate anyone’s privacy by sharing that with Annaka or anyone else. Plus, for a few of the ladies, they could be put in danger if anyone knew who they really were or their entire story.
“The easiest answer is so we don’t worry. Thousands of women disappear or are murdered each year. Knowing what we know, seeing what we see, it gives us peace of mind, so we don’t worry as much when we are away on missions.”
Annaka took a second and thought about it. “I get what you’re saying, but isn’t that a bit extreme? Injecting trackers into their bodies so you won’t worry?”
“Annaka, we see the extreme every day. Think of it this way. A car with a LoJack is found fast if it is stolen. The concept is no different.”
“I’ll have to think about that one. Did your last girlfriend agree to it?”
“Cariño, I’ve never had a woman live with me, be what you are to me. No, no one else has ever been this close that I’d want them protected like this.”
His words warmed her. This relationship was special to him, just as special as it was to her. She kissed him. “I love you. I’ll think about it.”
He would bring it up again, but it would help if she’d get the chance to talk with one of the other women about it. He’d approach Brielle and ask her to broach the subject with Annaka. Brielle was saved only because of her tracker. Annaka needed to hear about that. “Yes, please do think about it. I’d like Sloan or Doc to get one in you before I leave on the next mission.”
“I’ll let you know,” she said. Then she yawned deeply and snuggled in close to him for the night.
Mother got a ride to the office the next morning again with Sherman. He left his car keys with Annaka in case she had to go out. They were only scheduled to be in the office for half the day. After Sherman pulled away from the curb, he told him about the conversation the night before with Annaka.
“Did Shepherd approve a tracker for her?” Sherman asked.
“I’m still waiting to hear. But he’ll approve it. He’s approved everyone else’s.” Mother paused and glanced out the window. “The thing is, I’d like to ask Brielle to talk with her about it, tell her how it saved her life when those guys broke into your old place.”
“She’s not keen on the tracker idea, huh?”
“No, she’s not,” Mother confirmed. “I’d never tell her what Brielle went through. It’s not my place. But,” he paused.
“But it wouldn’t hurt for her to know that Brielle went through some crap and was in danger.”
Mother shrugged. “More or less.”
“It’s Brielle’s decision. Call her and ask her. She’s up.”
Mother placed the call. Brielle eagerly agreed to talk with Annaka. After all, she of all people knew the importance of having the tracker. She even volunteered to find a reason to go over that morning.
“Thank you, Brielle. I owe you one,” Mother said before disconnecting the call. “That woman of yours is special.”
Sherman chuckled. “Damn straight she is.”
Annaka opened the front door and let Brielle in. “Can I get you a cup of coffee?” Annaka offered.
“Yes, thank you,” Brielle answered. She took a seat at the kitchen table as she had nearly every morning while they had stayed with Danny. “My kitchen faces west, so I don’t get the early morning sun in like this. I love sitting in the sun in the morning.”
Annaka sat the coffee cup in front of her and took a seat across the table. “I’m just glad to have sun for so many hours. Don’t get me wrong, Alaska is beautiful, but with only six hours of real sunlight a day during the winter, it is just too dreary.”
“So, does that mean you’re happy you’re here?”
Annaka smiled. “Yes, I am for more reasons than just the sun.”
“Danny’s a good guy. There is no doubting that,” Brielle said. “I’m sorry we brought things up last night that you two hadn’t talked about.”
“It’s okay. You didn’t know. Brielle, can I ask you how you can be so calm about the job they do? Hearing last night that Sherman got shot in the vest the night before they came to Alaska, I have to wonder, doesn’t that just worry the crap out of you?”
Brielle sipped her coffee. “It would if I let it. I can’t allow myself to think about that or think about that I almost lost him when he was shot a few months ago.”
Annaka set her coffee cup down. She stared at Brielle questioningly. “A few months ago?”
“Oh, man, Danny didn’t tell you about that either. I’m sorry. I’m making this worse.” She frowned. So much for her helping Danny by talking with Annaka.
“Making what worse?” Annaka asked.
“Your worries.” Brielle took another drink of her coffee. “I was with him when he was shot, was right next to him.” She stared ahead without seeing Annaka, reliving it. “I was a journalist back home and had written some blogs on a new business opened by Yankees. I just knew there was something off with that plant. Brian helped me. The team came down. It turned out I was right. Yay! Go me!
But I put Brian and the whole team in danger to rescue me. Brian got shot while they were trying to get me out of there. It was some really bad people, drugs, human trafficking. It was really fucked up.”
“And he went back to the job?”
Brielle forced a smile. “It’s who he is, not just what he does, Annaka. It’s who Danny is too, all of them. Is there a chance I could lose Brian? Yes, but he would never be happy doing anything else. I love him and would never ask him to change his life for me.”
