Operation: Departed Angel (Shepherd Security Book 5)

by Margaret Kay

  “You don’t know what you’re missing,” Sherman said. “Bring her a cup of Gus’ famous cream of chicken rice soup to have with that salad, will you?” He asked the waitress.

  “Really, I don’t eat that much,” Kennedy argued.

  “Then take two bites to try it. Trust me, this soup is what people come here for,” Sherman said.

  Sloan ordered a French dip and fries, and a cup of that soup. Then his eyes focused on Sherman, who looked like he had more to say. “What?”

  Sherman waited until the waitress was out of earshot. “Kaylee, right?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, Kaylee, but I don’t think you know what you’re getting into by being with someone who does what we do. We’re not home much.”

  “I know. Gary told me. It’s better than not being with him at all.”

  “I don’t want to see either of you get hurt,” the Cajun said. “It sounds good that you’ll take what you can get, but it’ll get old, being alone so much.”

  Sloan embraced Kennedy again. “You trying to scare her off?”

  “No, it’s just that there is a reason none of us are in relationships. I want you two to work out, it's just that the odds are stacked against you.”

  “Wow,” Kennedy remarked. “I love the support.”

  A grin spread over Sherman’s face. He ignored her and continued. “So, here is what I’m going to do. I’m going to give the two of you time without me hanging around.” His eyes focused on Sloan. “I won’t call when we’re in town. You call me if you want to grab a beer or something. It’s not because I don’t want to do what we normally do, it’s because I understand your time together will be limited and you need to focus on each other.”

  “Whoa! You don’t need to do that,” Sloan argued.

  “Brian, really, you don’t need to,” Kennedy agreed.

  “You two need time and that’s what I’m going to give you,” Brian reiterated. “So, don’t waste it. And don’t fuck it up, this time.”

  A grin spread over Sloan’s face. Brian Sherman was indeed his best friend. If and when he married Kennedy, Sherman would be his best man. They’d have to name their first kid after both him and Mother though, as had it not been for Mother bursting into Shepherd’s office, Kennedy would be gone. This thought made him smile.

  The waitress brought their meals. They ate and chatted, well, mostly the guys chatted, and Kennedy listened. She enjoyed listening to their easy banter, picking up on the deeper meaning in some of their innocent statements.

  “Okay, this soup is amazing,” Kennedy said as she scraped the sides of the cup to get the last drops from it.

  “Told you,” Sherman said.

  She excused herself to go to the restroom. She glanced back at the booth when she was near the hallway to the bathrooms. She smiled, realizing that no one else in the place knew who they were or what they did for a living. They were both heroes, yet here they sat in this little fifty’s inspired diner like regular people, joking with the two waitresses who turned out to be the owner’s sisters. They were both the sweetest ladies she’d ever met, and they showered all the customers with personalized attention, she noticed. She realized that the people who passed within the turquoise walls of this diner were friends, not just customers.

  “You sure about this?” Sherman asked after Kennedy disappeared into the hallway the bathrooms were in.

  Sloan chuckled. “I know you don’t understand it.”

  “The last you said to me was that you couldn’t forgive her for what she’d done over the last twelve years.”

  “When we were in L.A., I saw a different side of her and came to really understand why she did what she did. Nothing is as black and white as it seems.”

  “No, it isn’t. But this is like really big, having her move in with you.”

  Sloan laughed. “I love her, man. I know I do.”

  “So, what? Are you going to be next to get married and start popping out little Sloan puppies from that momma?”

  Sloan laughed again. “Not so fast. We’re taking it a day at a time. I have no plans for any of that yet, but if I ever do, I promise you that you won’t hear it from anyone else but me.”

  “So, you really decked Mother, right there in Shepherd’s office?”

  Sloan frowned and nodded. He was probably in trouble for that. “It was a misunderstanding.”

  “That’s what he said too.”

  Kennedy came back to the table. Sloan rose so she could retake her seat. “You spoke with him? Is he pissed at me?”

  “Just for being a dumb-shit that almost let her go.”

  “Well, I was stupid too,” Kennedy said. “I should have told everyone I wanted to stay. I was just so afraid that Gary didn’t want me to.”

  “Momma, we all knew he did. Next time, listen to Mother. Mother knows best.”

  Kennedy grinned sheepishly. “Is Danny in trouble for what happened in Shepherd’s office?”

  Sherman considered his words. “It isn’t so much that he’s in trouble as shall we say he disappointed Shepherd.”

  “I’m sure I fall into that category too,” Sloan said.

  “You’re not the first and you won’t be the last, I’m sure,” Sherman said.

  Sloan locked eyes with Kennedy, who looked confused. “None of us want to disappoint him. The respect we all have for the man is, well, I can’t even tell you.”

  Kennedy rolled that around for a moment. “Is there any way to repair the damage?”

  Sherman laughed. “Pop out a baby and name it after him. Worked for Jackson.”

  Sloan laughed as well.

  Kennedy was odd man out on the joke. “I don’t understand.”

  “Sammy, he’s named after Shepherd, Samuel Shepherd,” Sloan informed her.

  “And after Garcia too, Samuel Anthony Jackson,” Sherman interjected. “Shepherd was really pissed at Jackson, the first to break protocol and get involved with Angel during a mission.” His voice was a barely audible whisper. No one in the surrounding booths would even be able to hear him.

  “I hate that word, protocol.”

  Both Sherman and Sloan laughed.

  “Now that’s one word you’ll have to get used to. All we do is driven by agency protocols, not too different from the ones that ruled the Teams,” Sloan said.

  “There’s just more of them and they actually make sense. Shepherd runs a tight but fair ship that’s powered by common sense and respect. Many of us wouldn’t be doing this job if it wasn’t run by Shepherd,” Sherman said.

  Kennedy rolled that around in her head. She didn’t understand the loyalty or the respect they had for Shepherd, of course, she hadn’t been surrounded by many people who deserved it either, not since she’d moved to L.A. But she did have respect for all the members of the team that she had interactions with up to this point. They were good people who did a job that was demanding and dangerous and they were a tight group who genuinely seemed to care about each other. That too garnered her respect.

  Quebec

  Kennedy knew she’d been quiet on the drive to the townhouse community where Garcia and Sienna lived. Gary had asked her several questions, all of which she’d answered with short replies. The windows on the SUV were down. He’d asked if she was ok with the swirling air or if she’d prefer the air conditioning be turned on.

  “This is fine,” was her reply.

  They’d stopped at a liquor store on the way. Gary ran in to get some beer. He asked her if she wanted him to pick up anything special for her.

  “Whatever you get is fine,” she answered.

  “Is something wrong?” He asked.

  “I’m fine,” she insisted.

  The truth was, she was anything but fine. She wasn’t sure why she was so nervous about spending time with these people, but she was. His other team members all knew about her past. Many knew she also would have killed Phil if Gary hadn’t stopped her. And even though Gary insisted
none of the women knew her whole story, she didn’t believe him. Even if they didn’t, most of the women she knew were extremely judgmental against other women.

  If they didn’t know, they would probably be grilling her all night to get the dirt on what had happened to land her in this situation. The other thought that replayed through her head was that these women were all very close. Great, nothing like trying to crash into a tight little group. Gary didn’t understand that with women, it just didn’t work like he thought. They didn’t reach out and embrace new women as easily as men did.

  Sloan couldn’t imagine what Kennedy’s problem was, except he knew she was nervous about getting to know the other women. He knew after a few short minutes; she would feel accepted and relax. Angel and the other wives were good people. He knew they would embrace her as a friend immediately. Even so, he had text messaged Angel before they left and told her of Kennedy’s nervousness. He hoped that Kennedy would never find out as he knew she’d be pissed.

  He turned into the townhouse complex, and then onto the street the three couples lived on. It was his goal to buy a place in this same subdivision soon, to get her over by these women. But he hadn’t shared that with her yet. He was sure that would freak her out.

  He pulled into Garcia’s driveway. He called her over to his side of the car after she’d gotten out. He pointed across the street. “Jackson and Angel live in that house.” Then he pointed further down the street to another grouping of four townhouses. “And Doc and Elizabeth live there.”

  “Seriously, they all live on the same street?” She knew her voice sounded snarky. Her apprehension multiplied. These women were all so close they actually all chose to live near each other too. This was feeling way too clicky for her taste. She was now dreading the evening.

  She watched Gary grab the case of beer he’d bought at the liquor store from the back seat. Then he took hold of her hand and led her up the flower-lined sidewalk to the open front door. As they got closer, the music got louder. Someone was rocking out to the Rolling Stones, Time Is on My Side. A smile came to her face when they reached the screen and gazed into the house to see Garcia and who she assumed to be Sienna dancing in the living room. She witnessed a long, passionate kiss shared between the couple, and felt like a voyeur. She turned away.

  “Oh, hey,” Garcia’s voice called from within the house. He took his phone from his back pocket and silenced the music. “Come on in, it’s unlocked.”

  Sloan opened the screen and motioned Kennedy to go inside. He was a little surprised that they were the first to arrive. He glanced back at Angel and Jackson’s place. It was sealed up tight.

  Kennedy forced a smile at the couple. “Hi,” she greeted.

  “Kaylee, my wife, Sienna,” Garcia introduced.

  Even though she picked the name, it felt odd to hear herself introduced as Kaylee. She knew it would just take time to get used to it. “It’s nice to meet you.” She reached her hand out to shake hands, but Sienna engulfed her in a hug.

  “It’s great to meet you, welcome.”

  Kennedy gazed into her face after she broke the embrace. Sienna smiled a natural and relaxed smile. Her face beamed happiness. She was a girl-next-door beauty with soft blue eyes and radiant skin surrounded by brown hair that was highlighted with perfectly placed honey-blond tresses. She wore a loose summer sun dress in multiple shades of blue that hung halfway down her calves. She was barefoot. Kennedy couldn’t help but chuckle. She was barefoot and pregnant.

  Garcia took the beer from Sloan. “Thanks for stopping and picking this up. Cooper is also bringing a case and Madison made up a batch of her sangria. That should be enough. They’re on their way now. They got held up at the office and had to stop by their place to change clothes and get the beer and sangria. They should be here in about ten minutes.”

  “We’re just grilling up some burgers and brats,” Sienna added. “And I made a pasta salad. Angel’s bringing a potato salad and Elizabeth made a dessert, something with berries.”

  “You should have let us know. I could have made something,” Kennedy offered.

  “You guys brought beer, no worries,” Garcia said.

  “I was just cutting up some lettuce, tomatoes, and onions for the burgers,” Sienna said, smiling at Kennedy. “Come keep me company while I finish.” She led her to the kitchen.

  Kennedy watched Gary and Garcia go out the kitchen door to the back patio. They put the beer in a cooler, each helping themselves to one in the process. Then she glanced back at Sienna and nearly laughed out loud. Now she was barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen. She wasn’t sure why this thought crossed her mind or why she found it so amusing, but she did.

  “Did you want a beer, or will you wait for Madison’s sangria?” Sienna asked her.

  Even though she was dying for a drink of anything to take the edge off right now, she could wait until the sangria arrived. It was what she really wanted. “The sangria sounds good.”

  “It is. I’m even going to have a small glass. My OB said it would be okay on the rare occasion.” Sienna smiled wide.

  “That’s right. I did hear you are pregnant, congratulations.”

  “Thanks,” Sienna gushed, beaming pure joy. “I have always wanted children. I thought I’d have at least two by the time I was thirty. I was married the first time when I was twenty-three and my first husband and I had always talked about having kids, but then one day he just decided he didn’t want any and the topic wasn’t open for discussion.”

  Kennedy was surprised, surprised by the candor of Sienna in this conversation. “Is that why you divorced?”

  Sienna stopped chopping and gazed up at her. “You don’t know, do you?”

  “Know what?” Kennedy asked.

  Sienna smiled. “I always forget how good the guys are at keeping confidences. It’s their job. I shouldn’t be. My first husband and I didn’t get divorced. He was murdered. Turns out he was a CIA Agent, and I never knew. Pretty observant of me, huh?” She said in a self-deprecating voice. “One of his cases went bad, and they killed him in our house, and then someone came after me. I ran and ended up with Anthony, well, he was undercover as this really despicable biker, but I fell for him. He and the team figured it all out, they kept me safe, and here I am.” She did a Vanna White wave over herself.

  Kennedy was sure her mouth was hanging open, as shocked as she was. “All I heard was you and Garcia met during a mission. I thought you were a waitress at a diner or something.”

  Sienna giggled. “Well, technically we did meet during a mission, but I was not a waitress.”

  “Wow, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Kennedy stumbled through her words.

  “Well, obviously, I can’t tell too many people. None of my friends at school know, but you’re a part of the team now, like the rest of us, so I could tell you. Besides, everyone else knows. You may as well too.” Sienna sat the knife down. She took hold of both of Kennedy’s hands. “All I know about you is that you went through something traumatic recently and were a mission of the team as well. Tell me, don’t tell me or any of the other girls the details, it doesn’t matter. I just wanted to offer that if you ever need someone to talk with, I’m here and I understand. I walked in and found my husband shot in the head, dead at our kitchen table. I think that qualifies me as knowing trauma.” She smiled supportively, squeezed Kennedy’s hands and then released her. She picked the knife back up and went back to slicing the tomatoes.

  Kennedy’s eyes settled on the kitchen counter. There were hamburger and hotdog buns, a few different bags of chips, ketchup, mustard, mayo, pickle relish, and a stack of paper plates, napkins and a container of plastic eating utensils. Sienna was cutting up enough tomatoes, lettuce, and onions to feed an army. Not knowing what to say to Sienna, she reached into one of the bags of chips and took one out, popping it into her mouth.

  “Can I help you do anything?” Kennedy finally asked.

  “Thanks, no, I’ve got it. I’m going to make up a quick g
arden salad too.” She opened her pantry and grabbed a large blue plastic bowl. “I’ve got more than enough lettuce, tomato, and other veggies.” She giggled. “I kind of went overboard cutting it up.”

  Kennedy chuckled as well. “I noticed but didn’t want to say anything.”

  Sienna laughed out loud as the front door opened and Doc and Elizabeth came in. Doc held the baby. “Hi, sorry we’re late.”

  “No worries,” Sienna said.

  The others arrived shortly thereafter, Madison and Cooper first, then the Jackson family. Angel sat Sammy onto the floor near a toybox, that Kennedy noticed only after the little boy started to pull toys from it. Madison served up solo cups of the sangria over ice to the women and the men all went out on the back patio.