Operation: Departed Angel (Shepherd Security Book 5)

by Margaret Kay

  Knowing they had just been dismissed by Shepherd, the men stood.

  “Wait! No! I’m not going back to L.A.,” Kennedy argued, still seated.

  “Relax, we’ll be with you the entire time,” Sloan assured her, his hand on her shoulder.

  “Do you understand shot dead? That’s what they’ll do to me. It won’t matter if you’re with me.”

  “If we do this right, no one but the girl and her mom will know you’re alive and in L.A. We’ll get you in and out fast and quiet,” Garcia guaranteed.

  Kennedy fidgeted under his intense gaze. Her eyes shifted to Shepherd, who sat beside him. His dark eyes were just as serious. She knew that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Don’t be afraid,” she heard Gary’s voice say. Her gaze went to his. “This is what we do and we’re good at it.”

  “You have to trust us,” Shepherd said. “This team is the very best.”

  “Cooper and I will be here too,” Madison said, drawing Kennedy’s eyes back to the monitor. “You’ll have six of the best Operators protecting you. Nothing is going to happen to you. You have our guarantee on that.”

  “We’ll fly you in this afternoon and you’ll rendezvous with Cooper and Miller at the hotel. Tomorrow morning you’ll go into that school and meet with the girl again, except this time, she’ll leave that school in our custody, knowing she can trust us because you will be there, Kennedy,” Shepherd said.

  “Then we’ll take her to her mother and put both of them into protective custody,” Cooper continued.

  “Why not go to their house before Kaliah leaves for school and talk to them both?” Kennedy asked.

  “Because we need to talk with her away from her mother. We’ll never get her to crack with her mother sitting beside her,” Garcia answered. “And once we have the daughter, we crack the mom.”

  “We have a sting set up that includes Stanley Angus’ phone line being tapped by the FBI. Thanks to the intel you provided, they’ve obtained a warrant for the tap. The girl’s mother will need to make a call to him to get him to admit to trying to pimp the girl out. I’ll pass the script along as soon as I have it,” Shepherd said. “The plane leaves at sixteen hundred. Side arms, ARs, and body armor are approved for this mission. Dismissed.”

  Kennedy was stunned. Her eyes were still locked on the stone-faced leader of this group. What if she refused to go? She felt Gary pulling on her arm, prompting her to stand.

  She came to her feet and looked Gary in the eye. “I don’t want to go back.”

  “That girl needs you. You’re the only one who can get her to admit what happened,” Sloan said.

  “She needs your help, Kennedy,” Lambchop added. “I know you are not going to turn your back on her.”

  She sighed and gazed across the table just in time to see Shepherd roll his wheelchair from his spot. He made eye contact with her. “I know you’re afraid. I promise you; we will protect you.”

  All she could do was nod. Then Gary pulled on her arm, prompting her to leave the room. From there they got back on the elevator and went back to the apartment on nine.

  “So, we’ll be in L.A. at least one night, maybe two. Use the backpack Angel brought you and figure out if you need anything else clothes wise. We have a few hours and I can have Angel round up anything you may need. We’ll be going back down to get lunch in about a half-hour, so you need to know by then.”

  Kennedy nodded. “How did your boss end up in a wheelchair?”

  A frown pulled Sloan’s lips down. He remembered that night well. He and Doc worked like madmen to save Shepherd after he’d been shot. Angel was hurt that night too, but they were too busy tending Shepherd, who was critical, to even offer her any care. Thank God for the trackers! His eyes were locked on Kennedy. That’s when he remembered that he needed to get one in her too.

  “He was shot, and a fragment near his spine caused nerve damage.”

  “Doing this job?”

  Sloan nodded. “Protecting a witness. She’s just fine, by the way.”

  A chill gripped Kennedy. What Gary and this team did, was dangerous. “I’d feel terrible if anyone was hurt protecting me. I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”

  Sloan stepped into her and wrapped his arms around her. “This is our job. You didn’t drag anyone into anything. Hell, I’d rather protect you than some stranger.”

  She rested her head against his chest and allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of his arms around her. It brought her a sense of safety. “I’ll cooperate fully when we are in L.A. You don’t have to worry about me trying to get away or anything. I promise.”

  “Kennedy, I’d like to put a tracker in you. If anything happens, and we get separated, it will enable us to find you.”

  “I promise, I won’t run away.”

  Sloan pushed her an arm’s length away and held her by her upper arm. “Listen to me. I believe you. The tracker is for if we accidentally get separated or if by some unforeseen reason, they get you. I don’t anticipate it, but I want to ensure you are safe. Will you let me inject a tracker into you?”

  “Inject? Hell no! Are you high?”

  “We all have one,” he said, motioning to his shoulder.

  She shook her head no.

  “Please, Kennedy. I need you to trust me on this one.”

  “Not happening. I won’t agree to anything being injected into me.”

  Sloan closed his eyes and thought hard what to say to convince her. “How about a tracker in the charm of a bracelet?” It wasn’t ideal, but if Michaela could put it on tightly like she had on Sammy and Olivia’s ankles, it would be better than nothing.

  “Yes, I’d agree to that.”

  Sloan smiled and nodded. He released her and typed out a text message to Michaela on his phone. Kennedy went through the backpack. She pulled out the blue jean shorts and a burgundy girly t-shirt. She’d wear them on the plane. She’d wear the same dress the next day. She went into the bathroom and changed. Then she gathered up the makeup from where she’d left it on the counter.

  He was still texting on his phone when she returned to the main room. “Should we strip the sheets on the bed or anything?”

  He glanced up. “No, we’ll probably stay here when we get back and no one else should need it before then.” Then he returned his eyes to the phone to read the last text from Michaela. She’d have the bracelet and charm ready after lunch. He’d bring Kennedy to her lab then.

  Kennedy stood awkwardly waiting. “I hope we’re only gone one night.”

  He looked up and put his phone away. “We’ll be in and out as fast as possible while accomplishing our mission objectives.”

  Her lips pulled into a grin of admiration. Wow, Gary Sloan sounded so official. He really was a SEAL and a federal agent. All she could do was nod.

  “Come on, Angel should have lunch out by now.” He nodded to the door.

  Sloan led Kennedy into a packed kitchen. Doc and Elizabeth were there with baby Olivia. “Doc!” Sloan greeted.

  Kennedy watched the men clasp hands and draw each other in close for a shoulder bump and an embrace. Then she watched Gary’s big smile turn to the young woman holding the baby. He engulfed her in a fierce hug which she eagerly returned; Kennedy noticed. Then, without asking for permission, he took the baby from her arms and nestled her in close, his smiling face beaming at the little baby.

  He looked up at Kennedy and flashed her that smile of his that made time disappear. “Kennedy, this is baby Olivia, the most precious little girl in the world. Oh, and her parent’s Doc and Elizabeth.”

  Kennedy smiled. Her eyes shifted to the couple. Doc was quite a few years older than Elizabeth. Doc had short clipped hair, dark blond, speckled with a lot of gray. He was fit, solid looking. He wore a t-shirt and a pair of cargo pants, with a gun on his hip. Elizabeth had blond hair, bright blue eyes, with a girl-next-door look to her. She wore a casual multicolored sundress and flat sandals. She was at least a good foot shorter than her husband.

&
nbsp; “Hello, it’s nice to meet you both,” Kennedy said. “Your little girl is beautiful.”

  They both greeted her as well.

  Kennedy watched Gary cradle the infant. She was surprised he was so comfortable handling her. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before passing her to Landon. Kennedy watched with an even greater fascination, the big man’s ease with holding the child. He kissed her, nuzzled her, and said a prayer over her.

  “So, your trip was good?” Lambchop asked, his eyes on the baby’s parents.

  “Yes, we had a great time. My family loved Elizabeth,” Doc said.

  Elizabeth smiled. “And I loved them too. I felt accepted by them right away. I went from not really having any family at all after I left the Sisters, to having this Shepherd Security family, and now the Williams’ clan.”

  Kennedy watched Doc press a kiss to his young wife’s cheek. She wasn’t sure what all that meant, but she did gather that it was the first time she’d met his family, which she found odd. She also picked up on her calling this group the Shepherd Security family. Shepherd Security must be the full name of this organization that Gary was trying very hard to keep from her, along with other details about them. She tucked that information away in her head, in case she’d ever need it.

  Kennedy watched the baby get passed from one armed man to another in the room. The mother of the child was perfectly at ease with all these men handling her baby.

  Garcia came into the room and made a beeline for the child. “Wow, she’s still so tiny,” he said, taking her from Mother, who had held her up to his shoulder.

  “How is Sienna feeling?” Elizabeth asked. “She’s past the first trimester now, isn’t she?”

  “She is, and she’s good. She never really had much morning sickness, but the little she had, is gone.”

  “Man, this is so weird that Garcia’s gonna be a father,” Sherman said. His eyes went to Sloan. “I guess it can happen to any of us.”

  Sloan’s eyes reprimanded him.

  “Fuck you,” Garcia said. “There’s nothing weird about it.”

  “Yeah, we all knew you couldn’t wait to get Sienna knocked up,” Sloan replied with a laugh.

  “You’ll be surprised one day when the feeling hits you that you want one of your own.” He held baby Olivia out in front of Sloan, cradled and supported in his large hands. “Just look at the innocence and think about the possibilities for her life. When you look at her tiny face, can you really tell me you don’t want to gaze into the eyes of your own child someday?”

  Kennedy was surprised by Garcia. Her impression of him up till now was that he was hardened and scary. She saw a much different side of him, holding this fragile infant. She was impressed by him and his honest words.

  “Besides, Sienna has always wanted children, and she is so good with them. How could I not want to give her everything she has ever wanted? That’s what love is, man, making sure your woman has everything she wants, knows you’re there with her to provide for her and protect her. I knew the first time I held Sammy I wanted a baby of my own, of course I already was in love with Sienna by then.”

  Kennedy’s heart melted, hearing Garcia’s profession of love. Who did that in a group like this?

  “That’s so nice, Anthony,” Elizabeth said. “Sienna is lucky to have you. I know she thanks God every day that you are in her life.”

  “Amen,” Lambchop said. His eyes were on Kennedy, who he noticed watched everyone intently. This was good for her, to be surrounded by this group. She had been in a much different place, a dark place, where he was sure it was not common for her to hear declarations of love openly professed or the appreciation of others and their presence in someone’s life.

  Angel came into the room then. “Food’s getting cold. I didn’t order it to be looked at. Come on, people, fill your plates.”

  Laughter rose in the room in response.

  Garcia handed baby Olivia back to Elizabeth. “I have to get back to the lab.” He grabbed two to-go containers and loaded servings into both, for himself and Michaela. Then he left the room.

  Then Angel filled one too and left with it, Shepherd’s lunch.

  Sloan prompted Kennedy to go in front of him along the buffet that was set up on the counter by the sink. Doc and Elizabeth followed, taking seats at the table across from them.

  “Are you working today, Elizabeth?” Sloan asked.

  “No, I just came in to visit, so everyone could see Olivia.”

  “I’m taking her home so they can rest, but I’ll be back to work this afternoon,” Doc said. “Shepherd has a new project for me.”

  Sloan nodded. Yes, he knew it was to check out the medic Shepherd wanted to recruit for Echo Team. Kennedy’s case had derailed Shepherd’s timeframe for getting Echo Team recruited and trained. BT was supposed to be training with Cooper and Lambchop on the team leader protocols, but neither were available, so he was back manning Ops. Cooper’s brother Michael was supposed to be training with Lambchop and Mother, and that wasn’t happening either. He wasn’t sure what they had Michael doing.

  “Hopefully, we’ll have this case wrapped up in a couple of days,” Sloan said.

  Kennedy felt nervous under Doc’s intense gaze. His steely gray eyes were trained on her. “Shepherd has a hard-on for this case. He wants to get these guys, bad. Don’t worry if it goes on longer, get it done right,” Doc said to Sloan.

  So, he did know about her and what this was about, Kennedy thought. Her eyes snapped down to her plate.

  “Kennedy,” she heard Doc’s voice say. She didn’t look up. A few seconds later, she heard his voice again. “Look at me.”

  Her eyes slowly raised until she met his gaze.

  “Be proud. It took courage to get that girl out of the situation she was in and report it to the police. Yes, I know what you did. Shepherd filled me in on this mission. Doing the right thing and putting your own life in danger doing it, isn’t something everyone can do.” His eyes went to his wife, and he smiled lovingly at her. “It’s what my Elizabeth did. I have one of the bravest people I know as a wife and the mother of my child. Don’t underestimate or negate your worth. You were everything to that girl when she needed you.”

  Kennedy forced a smile. “Thank you. That’s nice of you to say.”

  “There’s nothing nice about it. It’s the truth,” Doc said. He stabbed a fork-full of chicken and paused his fork half-way to his mouth. “And now you need to do it again. That girl still needs you, from what Shepherd told me. But this time, you have this team backing you up. You shouldn’t feel frightened in the least. You’ve got better backup than you could ever hope for.”

  Kennedy felt a warmth creep through her. He was right on that. The first time, she was alone, and she acted on pure instinct to get Kaliah out, and to convince Melody to go with her, to get away from L.A. This time, she did have these people to help. “There’s what you know to be true and what you can prove,” Kennedy said. “These people have a whole system in place to cover their illegal acts and it’s been going on for a long time. They’re powerful and people are afraid of them.”

  “We’re not,” Sloan said confidently. “Look, Kennedy, we want to get them and bring them down. That’s the goal. But our primary goal is to protect you and ensure you have a life free of them going forward.”

  “Amen, to that,” Lambchop said, sitting his plate on the table beside Kennedy. “This whole case is on the radar of the right authorities. We have backup from DC, which is huge. This case will go on long after your involvement in it is over,” he told Kennedy.

  She could only hope he was right.

  “Hey, before I forget,” Sloan said, let me show you the bracelet and charm. He stood and reached his arms across the table, towards Doc, who held the baby in one hand, up against his chest. “Let me have Olivia for a second.”

  Doc handed her over. Sloan retook his seat and unwrapped her from the blanket, pulling her bare little foot into view. Around her ankle was a bracel
et and a heart charm.

  “Her tracker is in the charm,” Sloan said.

  Kennedy’s surprised gaze went to the baby’s parents. “You have a tracker in your baby’s ankle bracelet?”

  “It’s the whole idea of it,” Doc said.

  “I wish we could inject one into the babies, like the rest of us,” Jackson said as he joined them at the table with a plate of food. “Very little scares me, but the thought of someone getting Sammy and cutting his anklet off scares the shit out of me.”

  Kennedy’s stare went between Jackson, Doc, Elizabeth, and Gary. Were these people for real? “That’s what you’re going to put on my wrist?” She said to Gary.

  He nodded.

  “Why not just inject the tracker in?” Doc questioned him.