Because of You: Covert OPS 1

by Kymber Jones

  “What about all the bikers? Are they there?” Melana asked.

  “Yes,” Chrys told her. “But they won’t hurt you at all. They will do everything in their power to keep you and your sister safe. That’s what this fight was about. Keeping your sister safe.”

  “What about Marla? She’s here, right?”

  “She’s going by Marcie now. That’s the name your Mom gave her. Annie changed her name to Marla to help hide her.”

  “But they’re both here?”

  “Yes, they’re both here, and they both want to meet you.”

  Melana sighed, then nodded. She stepped out of the Hellcat and had Chrys help her walk into the Compound, where everyone gathered in small groups, waiting anxiously to meet the daughter Melodie had believed dead for so many years.

  Once inside, Melana stopped to look around, to see if she recognized anyone, then kept her eyes on Marcie and slowly moved them over to Melody, shocked to see how much they looked alike.

  “Oh dear God,” Melodie choked out. “How could he do this to his child?”

  Holding fast to his wife, Axel helped her to her feet and kept Melodie steady as he joined her in welcoming her long-lost daughter.

  As soon as she reached her daughter, Melodie held out a hand as if to touch Melana’s face but never made contact, trying to respect her space.

  “I’m so sorry, Baby Girl,” Melodie told her. “If I knew you were still alive, I would have been searching for you, I swear to God. I would have been moving heaven and Earth to find you, the same as your sister. Can you ever forgive me?”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong,” Melana said. “As much as I blamed everyone around me, I didn’t blame you or Marla because I knew you were victims too.”

  “Oh Mel, that’s no excuse. I’m your Mother. I should have known. I should have known you were still alive and in trouble.”

  “Well, unless you’re superhuman, you can’t expect to pull off everything, so don’t beat yourself up. I survived.”

  “But you didn’t have to survive this. And you shouldn’t have. This was asking too much from anyone.”

  Melana shrugged. “Oh, well. Not everything in life is fair.”

  “No,” Melodie agreed sadly. “Life’s not fair. But you didn’t have to learn that lesson this way.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Those Bastards are gone, and I’m still here. That’s all that matters.” Melana said matter of factly.

  Melodie nodded. “You’re right; that’s what matters. And I’m so proud of you for surviving the way you did. It just goes to show what an amazing young lady you are.”

  “Well, I don’t care about being amazing. I just care about surviving. And I can thank Chrys for helping with that. If it weren’t for her or her friends, I wouldn’t be here.”

  “We will be thanking them. I don’t know how yet, but we will be coming up with something to thank them for bringing you back to me - back to us.”

  Chrys spoke up. “We don’t need anyone to thank us. First of all, we just did our job. Secondly, we only did what any human would do and helped someone out of a horrendous situation. This job is what we do, and we’ll do it again with someone else when the time comes.”

  “Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean we won’t do what we can to thank you for bringing our girl back home. You have no idea what this means to us.”

  “Yes, I do,” Chrys told her, motioning to her biological brothers standing at the back of the room. “My sisters and I were kidnapped at a young age. Those men there are my biological brothers. I just reunited with them almost three weeks ago. I’m going to meet my parents for the first time in a few days. So yes, I know exactly how Melana feels in the aspect of meeting a new family as she’s doing.”

  Melodie was shocked. “I’m so sorry.” She said.

  “Don’t be,” Chrys told her. “I’m not. Nor are my sisters. We have a wonderful family, regardless of being removed from our original families. And none of us would trade the family we have for anything.”

  “And you’re going out of your way to help my daughters. I will never be able to thank you for this.”

  “As I said, we don’t do this for thanks. We do this because it’s the right thing to do.” Chrys turned to smile again at Melana. “You have my number. If you need me, or you just want to talk, give me a call anytime. And I told you, we’re going to be practically neighbors soon, so you’ll be able to visit any time you want as well. We just have to finish some business and visit my parents, and then we’ll be back.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you when you get back then, promise?” Melana wanted to know.

  Chrys nodded. “I promise.”

  “Alright. Thank you.”

  Chrys turned to Axel and Daelan. “We have to hurry back to Base. I’m borrowing some of the men, and they have to go back to their command while the rest of us have to head back to our current Headquarters. Stella, Spence, I know it’s sudden, but your Uncles would love it if you will go with us while we finish up what we need to, then go to Italy while we visit my family there. We’re going to make it a huge family vacation. But somehow, I don’t think you’ll go without Marcie, and I’m pretty sure Melodie and Axel won’t let Marcie leave their side yet, especially without Melana right now. So, if Axel and Melodie would be willing, I will have a plane pick them all up in Tucson, and they can meet us in New York, where we will fly out to Italy together.”

  All four of the teens looked at Chrys with their mouths hanging open. Not once in their wildest dreams did they ever think they would get an offer to go to Italy. When it was clear Chrys wasn’t about to say something like sike or just kidding, all four of them looked at Axel and Melodie, making sure their puppy dog eyes were up to full force.

  “Dear God!” Axel exclaimed. “It was bad enough when we were going to have one girl under our roof. Now we have three fucking girls and a young man. How the fuck do I say no?”

  Daelan laughed along with the Teams.

  “You don’t.” Captain Hopkins informed him, chuckling. “You’re going to tell them one thing while they agree and happily do whatever the fuck they want, letting you think you’re in charge. All you can do now is sit back and enjoy this ride.”

  Chrys and her sisters looked at each other and shrugged. What could they say? It was the truth.

  “At least we let you think you’re in charge.” Pryce laughed.

  “Yeah!” Bri agreed, trying to hold her laughter in. “I mean, we could just tell you guys to bend over and not give you any lube.”

  All the men groaned.

  “Damnit, Brat! You’re not supposed to know about shit like that!” Sven growled.

  The Triple D’s practically rolled on the floor laughing.

  “You can’t blame us!” Chrys cried. “It’s because of you we no longer have virgin ears!”

  Instantly Sven covered his ears. “You can’t say shit like that! You three are still babies! You don’t get to know what virgins are!”

  Without looking at each other, the Triple Ds began chanting, “Virgins! Virgins! Virgins!”

  Sven suddenly dropped his hands. The room was full of laughter as he let out a roar and charged at the sisters, sweeping his arms out and gathering Chrys and Bri up before they had time to move out of the way. Pryce jumped out of his reach but just barely, causing her to trip over her own two feet and choke on her laughter.

  As Sven lifted the girls, the keys to the brand new SRT Hellcat fell out of Chrys’s pocket, catching his attention.

  “What the hell are those?” Sven demanded, looking at the keys and their keychain.

  “Duh shit for brains, it’s a set of keys.” Chrys rolled her eyes, trying to pretend she didn’t know what Sven was asking.

  “Are those the keys to a fucking Hellcat?”

  “I don’t know about the fucking part, but if by Hellcat you mean me, then yes, they go to a Hellcat. Why?” Chrys asked, trying her damndest to keep a straight face.

  Sven’s face fell but quickly
went back into his easy-going smile. Everyone could see how much he wanted the Hellcat, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he just dropped the girls and swooped the keys up, shouting at Chrys.

  “You’re going to be stranded here until I come back! I’m taking this baby out for a spin!”

  Chrys just shook her head, watching him go. “Should I call him and tell him that’s his car?” She asked no one in particular.

  Captain Hopkins laughed. “You just bought him the car he’s wanted for years and didn’t tell him it’s for him. What color did you get him?”

  “Maroon.”

  “What color did you get yourself?” Captain Hopkins wanted to know.

  “Metallic Grey. But it’s going to be delivered after we get back to HQ. We needed an extra car today, and I saw it. I knew Sven would shit his pants when he saw it, so I got it for him. As you said, it’s what he’s wanted for years.”

  “You know, though; he doesn’t regret taking care of his parents or his family’s property the way he has been. If he had a choice, he’d do it the same all over again.”

  “Of course I know that. That’s part of what makes the Lug so great. He keeps taking care of everybody else and never asks anything for himself, nor does he ever get anything for himself. Everything he buys is for other people: his parents, his extended family, me. The property alone takes up a good portion of what he brings in. I’m advising him as best I can on stocks, but until his father is gone and he has control of the entire estate, I can’t do anything other than that. When Sven has control, I will start having him move companies around, purchasing new equipment where it’s needed, hiring new help. I’ll even have him sell off some of the businesses he doesn’t need and focus more on certain businesses he needs to build up. It won’t work overnight, but it will start bringing in a steady cash flow for the estate.”

  “He’s damn lucky to have you on his side, Baby Girl.” Captain Hopkins gave her a firm but quick hug.

  Chrys rolled her eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you I’m the lucky one? Without any of you, I never would have survived. It’s because of all of you I am who I am.”

  “You just keep telling yourself that, Baby Girl. If it makes you feel better, you keep telling yourself that.”

  “Whatever,” Chrys smiled, kissing her father on the cheek, then turned back to Axel and Melodie. “What do you two say? Would you be willing to meet up next Monday to head over for a holiday in Italy? You won’t have to worry about lodging, we have a Villa in Naples that we will be staying at, and it will be plenty big enough for everyone to stay and have their room. Your entire MC is welcome if you want to trust the rebuilding of your Compound to the Contractors and hire a security team for a couple of weeks just to keep an eye out and make sure nothing happens. You all can do whatever you want while I visit my parents, or you’re welcome to join us. The choice will be up to you.”

  Axel shook his head. “I have no idea what to say to this.” He said.

  “You can say yes.” Chrys urged. “You would be doing us a huge favor. Uncle Tate and Uncle Jack aren’t going to want to leave Stella and Spence here, and we all know they aren’t going to want to leave Marcie. And since your wife just got Marcie and Melana back, you know, there’s no way in Hell she’s letting them out of her sight. So, agreeing to go would be the best help you can give us.”

  “You don’t play fair, do you, girl?” Axel asked, looking from Chrys to the children he never thought to have in his life.

  “No, I don’t,” Chrys admitted. “I just play to win.”

  “Aw, fuck it,” Axel swore. “Fine. If we can get a contracting company to come out and start the repairs and a security company to watch over the place, we’ll go with you on your trip.”

  Marcie and Stella let out a loud shriek, jumping up and down. They couldn’t believe they were going to get to see Italy!

  * x * x * x * x * x * x * x * x *

  After the men were dropped off at Fort Huachuca and everyone had debriefed the C.O. about what went down, the Teams were getting ready to pick up their bags from the Windemere when Chrys got a phone call.

  “Hey,” she greeted Bret. “What’s going on? You haven’t gotten enough of me yet?”

  “How would you feel about an extra stowaway?” Bret asked.

  “To Italy? Sure, you’re welcome to go with us. You can meet the MC at the airport and fly out to New York with them.”

  “I mean right now, to go back to Virginia.”

  “Really? Your C.O. will let you go?”

  “If you’ll have me for a while.”

  “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why would you want to go?”

  “Because I think there could be something special here, and I want to see where it goes. I’m not willing to just let you walk away, so I got my CO to pull a couple of strings for me.”

  For once, Chrys was at a loss for words. No one had ever told her they were interested in her, especially someone of the opposite sex.

  “Okay.” She said. “We’re about to leave the hotel. We can pick you up if you want.”

  Bret gave her his address, and Chrys told him they would pick him up as they got on the road.

  “Great. I’ll see you guys shortly.” Bret said and disconnected the call, leaving Chrys feeling stunned.

  Then, forcing herself out of her stupor, Chrys hurried up and picked up her bag, and walked out of her room, hurrying to meet everyone down in the lobby.

  Once everyone was gathered, they put their bags in the vehicles and climbed inside. Chrys programmed Bret’s address into the navigation and began the trip back to the airport.

  “This isn’t the same way we arrived.” Captain Hopkins stated as he watched Chrys make her way to an apartment complex.

  “No, we have a stowaway,” Chrys told him.

  “A stowaway. Anyone, I know?”

  “Bret’s coming along with us. He’s going to go to Virginia, then go with us to Italy.”

  “I see. Any particular reason why?”

  Chrys shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m guessing he has friends in Virginia or something. And I’d want to go to Italy if I had a chance, so that’s no hard guess.”

  Captain Hopkins just looked at Chrys and repeated, “I see,” his lips pulling up in a slight smirk.

  “Good. Because nothing’s going on between us.” Chrys defended herself.

  “If you say so.”

  “I do say so!”

  “I didn’t say anything. Why are you getting hostile?”

  “I’m not getting hostile.”

  “Okay, you’re not getting hostile. I’d sure hate to see you passive.”

  Chrys glared at her father, causing him to laugh. “Just shut the Hell up!” She snapped at him.

  “Yes, Ma’am!”

  Pulling up at Bret’s apartment, Chrys saw him standing on the curb as she entered the parking lot. Barely stepping down, Chrys let Bret climb inside then hurried to get back on the road to the airport. It was already mid-day, and she wanted to hurry up and get to the plane.

  “You ready?” She asked Bret.

  “Absolutely. This trip is going to be an absolute treat.”

  Chapter 10

  The following week flew by faster than Chrys had ever known one too. Everyone was either busy debriefing from the last mission or getting ready for the Command picnic that took place two days before the Team took off to Italy to meet Chrys’s family.

  Leading up to the picnic, Chrys’s brothers and Bret spent a lot of time speaking with each other and getting to know one another, much to her dismay. It wasn’t that she disliked her brothers or Bret, for that matter. It was the fact that they were letting her know they approved of each other before she had made up her mind whether or not she was interested in someone. By the time the picnic finally rolled around, they seemed to be better friends than Chrys was to any of them.

  Virginia Beach was packed, children running around screaming, having fun as their
parents chased after them. Barbeque pits were scattered about with meat grilling next to several long tables set up full of different types of food and drinks laid out for everyone to eat.

  The Triple D’s each took a section of the beach the group claimed for the day’s picnic, making sure to keep the group between the three of them. However, they tried to keep what they were doing subtle, not to alert the spouses and children that the three of them were still on watch, even though they were at the picnic. There was no such thing as time off in their line of work, and the Triple D’s refused to be caught with their guard down, even at home.

  Sitting on a lounge chair under an umbrella, Chrys was reading a book when Bret flopped down on the chair next to her and pulled the book out of her hands.

  “Hey!” Chrys cried, reaching out to take her book back.

  “Let’s see what you’re reading,” he laughed as he held the book away from Chrys.

  “Give me that!” Chrys growled, her cheeks blushing.

  “I have to see what has you so embarrassed.” Bret continued to laugh. “This is going to be good.”

  “Don’t you dare!”

  “Why? What am I going to see? Anything good?”

  “It’s none of your business. Now give it back!”

  “Now I have to check this out!” Bret said, turning to the side so he could read the page Chrys was on without her being able to reach the book.

  As soon as he finished the first couple of pages past Chrys’s location, Bret looked at her and laughed once again. “And here I thought you were reading a dirty part! What the heck is a Demigod?! And a lightning thief? How the hell does one steal lightning?”

  “Hey, there is nothing wrong with Rick Riordan**! His Percy Jackson*** books are amazing. I just wish they did more with the movies.”

  “And this is what has you blushing? Really?” Bret asked her.

  “I have to hide my books because Sven likes to take them and hide them from me.”

  “Ah,” Bret said. “So tell me, what was it like growing up with this group?”

  “What do you mean?”