In the Requiem (Metahuman Files Book 5)

by Hailey Turner

  “We trust you,” Kyle reminded him. “I trust you. So trust yourself, okay?”

  Jamie didn’t say anything to that, just kissed him one more time before stepping away. “I need to get on the road.”

  “I’ll finish your coffee.”

  Jamie shook his head, but there was a smile on his face now. “You do that.”

  The fondness in his tone had Kyle returning the smile. Jamie set aside his coffee mug before lifting Kyle’s left hand to his mouth, kissing his knuckles and the engagement ring. Kyle tried not to hold his breath as Jamie removed the ring, feeling momentarily bereft after it left his finger.

  Jamie closed his fingers over the ring and stroked his other hand down Kyle’s face. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. We both chose this and I wouldn’t change a damn thing.”

  The words came out fiercely, quietly, a wealth of stubborn love behind them. As much as Kyle looked forward to the day he could wear the ring Jamie had given him outside the walls of their home, he didn’t regret having to hide their relationship. Doing so would mean he regretted Jamie, and nothing could be further from the truth.

  Jamie stepped away from Kyle and left the kitchen for the bedroom, presumably to put the ring away for safekeeping until it was time for Kyle to wear it again. When he returned, Jamie kissed Kyle one last time before leaving for his meeting with the director. Kyle slumped against the kitchen counter and morosely finished both their cups of coffee. He was contemplating making another pot when the tone that meant Alexei was calling filled his ears, so he answered.

  “<>” Kyle asked.

  “<>” Alexei said through a yawn.

  “<>”

  Alexei muttered something rude that Kyle ignored as he put the empty coffee mugs in the sink.

  “<>”

  “<>”

  Kyle ordered the attending computer to turn off all the lights in the condo and set the security protocols behind him as he left. He took the private elevator down to the lobby and headed outside where Alexei’s car was parked at the curb.

  Sean was in the front passenger seat and Kyle waved at him in greeting, earning a tired smile in return. Kyle climbed into the back seat and the door was barely even closed before Alexei was pulling into the street.

  “I asked Alexei to marry me last night,” Sean said in lieu of hello.

  Kyle froze in the process of buckling his seatbelt. Leaning forward between the two front seats, he craned his neck to get a good look at Alexei’s left ring finger. The obscenely gaudy ring that Alexei was more than willing to show off made Kyle snort.

  “The fact that Sean beat you to the proposal is why he’s forever staying in the family,” Kyle said.

  “I bought him ring,” Alexei protested.

  “Yeah, but he still asked first.” Kyle leaned back, but not before thumping his fist against Sean’s shoulder. “Congratulations. Welcome to the family. I need the exact second you proposed for betting purposes.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t bet on us,” Sean groaned.

  “I mean, if you want me to lie I will, but I’m still going to need that number.”

  “I don’t know, we were distracted.”

  Kyle rolled his eyes at the leer he could see on Alexei’s face in the rearview mirror. “Think really, really hard, Sean. A lot is riding on what you tell us.”

  “How much?”

  Kyle waved off the question. “Doesn’t matter. I just want to see who won the pot.”

  “Of course you do,” Sean muttered.

  “Was 1834? 1835? Not sure. Like Sean say. Was distracted,” Alexei said.

  Kyle groaned, slouching in the seat. “I think Madison had that time slot even if she didn’t have the day. She’s going to be insufferable.”

  “What was yours?” Sean asked.

  “I had Alexei proposing on your birthday with a ridiculously over-the-top gesture. I wasn’t even close.”

  “Was perfect proposal,” Alexei told him.

  “I’m sure it was. This is Sean we’re talking about.”

  “Thanks,” was Sean’s bland reply.

  “Have you told Mama and Papa yet, Lyosha?”

  Alexei shrugged. “Will call later. Maybe next week. Today too hectic. Not have time for family calls.”

  Considering how gossipy their entire family could get with everyone demanding personal calls for big news, Kyle could see how Alexei would want to wait until things died down with the MDF first.

  “Just don’t wait too long. They like good news.”

  “Haven’t told mine yet, either,” Sean said. “But I agree with Alexei. We’ll let our families know after all this has died down a little.”

  Kyle nodded. “I see a lot of parties ahead of us.”

  “Jamie supply alcohol,” Alexei said. “And coffee.”

  “The base has synthcaf. You can drink that.” Alexei made a disgusted face that had Kyle laughing. “Fucking snob. I’ll get you your damn coffee if that’s what you really want. It can be your eventual wedding present.”

  “Lifetime supply.”

  “Ask Jamie.”

  “Don’t worry. Will ask.”

  “Both of you are getting ahead of yourselves. We haven’t even discussed a wedding date yet,” Sean said.

  Kyle smiled, but it felt a bit wistful, if he were honest. “Don’t wait too long.”

  Alexei glanced at him in the rearview mirror, a questioning look in his eyes, but luckily he didn’t speak up. Kyle didn’t pursue the conversation, and Alexei followed his lead.

  It’s not that he didn’t have any idea on what his and Jamie’s wedding might look like, it’s that it was impossible to go forward with any decision made. They couldn’t set a wedding date, couldn’t plan out a guest list, couldn’t do anything while pretending to be something they weren’t. Someday, they’d get to stand in front of their families and friends and exchange vows, but it wouldn’t be anytime soon.

  Kyle mentally shook off the melancholy that came with his thoughts, pushing it all aside. He loved Jamie, and Jamie loved him. Right now, amidst everything going on, that was enough.

  They spent the rest of the drive to base arguing over their basketball brackets—none of their chosen teams were doing well at the moment—and made tentative plans to watch the conference finals at his and Jamie’s place. Whether or not they’d get to watch it live remained to be seen.

  Alexei was parking his car in the subterranean parking garage when Annabelle pulled up alongside him, with Madison in the front passenger seat. As everyone got out, the sharp eyes of their teammates didn’t miss the new piece of jewelry Alexei wore.

  “Wait, wait, hold up!” Madison yelled, her voice echoing around them as she practically lunged for Alexei’s left hand. “That’s an engagement ring! When did this happen?”

  Annabelle rolled her eyes. “Congratulations first, Madison. Interrogation second.”

  “Congratulations,” Madison sincerely said, still staring at the gold and diamond ring Alexei sported. “Now when and how and where did this happen? Details, Alexei! Details are important to my bank account.”

  “I proposed last night over dinner, and no, we don’t remember the exact time,” Sean said, trying to head off a barrage of questions from their friends.

  It didn’t work.

  Madison and Annabelle kept pressing for more information during their trek up to Level 36 and the conference room used for briefing and debriefing. When Donovan and Trevor arrived, they joined in with everyone trying to nail down who won the pot. Kyle stayed out of it since his pick wasn’t even close.

  Alexei leaned across the space between their seats and said, “<>”

  “<,>>” Kyle rattled off.

  Alexei nodded sagely. “<>”

  “I did,” Katie replied in English as she stepped into the room. “And while Madison had the particular timeframe blocked off for this week, Trevor had the correct date, location, and who did the proposing. So he’s the winner of the betting pool.”

  Trevor immediately stood up and raised both arms in victory. “Yes!”

  The amount of groaning and heckling that came from everyone else around the table was expected. Trevor ignored them all as he grinned and spread his arms wide. “Pay up, assholes.”

  Trevor walked around the table, getting sulky high-fives from everyone as their RealIdent chips transferred funds to his account.

  “Hit up Jamie later,” Katie told him as she high-fived him.

  “Will do.”

  Trevor was just sitting back down when the door to the conference room slid open. Jamie and Nazari stepped inside, the former carrying a cup of synthcaf with the latter clutching a can of Zing! The director nodded brusquely at everyone.

  “We have a lot to go through, so everyone settle down,” Nazari said as he claimed the seat at the head of the table.

  Jamie took the seat to Nazari’s right, the last two terminals switching on. Holoscreens opened up in front of everyone and in the center of the table. Kyle turned his attention to the data and information layering itself in the air in front of him.

  “As I informed Callahan, chatter hasn’t spiked in any of the normal areas. Considering who we are going up against, this isn’t surprising. We’ll be conferencing in with our counterparts in other agencies at 0700. Until then, we need to discuss your mission.”

  Kyle settled in for the long haul, focusing on what the director was telling them. The plan called for a synchronized response to a terroristic threat across multiple agencies and branches of the military. Whether or not they were crying wolf remained to be seen.

  The meetings seemed endless, but necessary. A lot of time was spent in the military or bureaucracy in a hurry-up-and-wait mode. Kyle was used to it, but that still didn’t make the restlessness afflicting his nerves easy to ignore. He knew he wasn’t the only one getting impatient, but everyone, himself included, was adept at hiding it.

  They broke for lunch close to noon, with no one feeling any better about the situation. Nazari was off to a restricted meeting via video conferencing with the president and Joint Chiefs of Staff. Jamie wasn’t needed for that meeting, so he joined them all in the mess, filling up a tray of food like the rest of them.

  “What’s your take on this?” Donovan asked Jamie once everyone was seated in a corner table.

  Jamie took his time to chew his way through a bite or two of his sandwich. Kyle pressed his knee against Jamie’s under cover of the table, giving him silent support.

  “We do whatever it takes to win,” Jamie finally said, looking each of them in the eye.

  It wouldn’t be easy; they all knew that. War was many things, but never easy. Perseverance wasn’t always enough to make it through the bombs and the gunfire and the political takedowns that compromised too many missions, too many lives. But they were in this together, and Kyle had to believe that counted for something.

  “Oorah,” Katie said, the battle cry echoed by everyone at the table, even Sean.

  Kyle had faith in his team, in Jamie, and always would.

  That would never change, no matter what came at them.

  13

  Lay the Past to Rest

  Jamie eyed his reflection in the mirror, meticulously appraising every detail of his United States Marine Corps evening dress uniform. Despite being an MDF officer now, the story Jamie had to uphold in the face of the Congressional and Special Counsel investigations was that of an officer in the Marine Corps. Which meant the uniform in question had been delivered that morning, the full regalia something he’d worn only a handful of times in his life before now.

  This particular style of evening dress was the equivalent of civilian white-tie. The thin red stripe down the side of his midnight-blue pants was set inside a gold embroidered one. His evening coat was fastened at the embroidered collar but instead of buttoning down the middle, it opened away to the sides, exposing the white dress shirt and white vest.

  The two bars representing his captain’s rank were sewn onto the epaulettes over his shoulders, bordered by scarlet and gold piping. The stiff sleeve cuffs carried quatrefoil ornamentation embroidered in gold thread, detailing out his company grade rank. Miniature medals and badges were pinned on the left side of the chest. Jamie double-checked those placements, and it was a good thing he did, because one was off-center.

  “Goddamn it,” he muttered. The Purple Heart with its cluster of oak leaves on the medal was his least favorite of the chest candy he’d accrued over the years. Maybe that was why it never cooperated.

  “Looks like you could use some help.”

  Jamie turned his head, taking in where Kyle lounged in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. Unlike Jamie, he wasn’t in mess dress but civilian clothes, though he’d change soon enough. While the MDF, along with several other agencies overseen by the Department of Defense, were coordinating security around the White House tonight, every MDF field team not currently in the middle of a mission had been reassigned to megacities across the nation.

  Alpha Team and some of the teams with heavy hitters were remaining in Washington, D.C. on standby. If an attack happened, the director wanted them within the central and middle zones of the megacity. Aside from the MDF, SOCOM had freed up more Strike Force operatives for the endeavor beyond Matthew’s team at the DOD’s request. With more boots on the ground backed by metahuman power, theoretically, they should be prepared.

  Jamie’s gut said otherwise.

  “Are you going to stand over there or help?” Jamie asked.

  “Just admiring the view. Not every day I see you in evening dress.” Kyle pushed away from the door and came closer. “Stand up straight. If I let you leave looking ate-up, I’ll never hear the end of it from Katie.”

  “I am standing up straight.”

  Kyle gave him a look reminiscent of the one Katie always gave him when he was being particularly stubborn in the field. Jamie was certain it was a look taught to every NCO in a training course officers were never allowed to set foot in. It still made Jamie automatically square his shoulders, and he made a face at Kyle’s knowing smirk.

  “That’s more like it,” Kyle drawled. “Now hold still. These coats take a little more work to get the medals on just right.”

  “I know. I’ve only been fighting it for the past five minutes.”

  Kyle ignored him, smoothing the coat over his chest with firm hands, eyeing how it fell. With nimble fingers, he unpinned then re-pinned two of the six miniature medals Jamie wore. He patted Jamie’s chest and nodded at the mirror.

  “Take a look.”

  Jamie turned and checked his reflection again, relieved to see the problem had been fixed with the help of Kyle’s keen eyes. “Thank you.”

  “I think I should be the one thanking you. When things settle down and we can have a night to ourselves, you should put this uniform on again.” Kyle’s smile in the mirror was downright lascivious. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

  Jamie stepped closer to Kyle, getting into his personal space. Kyle lifted his chin, that smirk still in place, and Jamie kissed it away. He didn’t let things get too far, mindful of the fact the Secret Service were picking him up in less than ten minutes. He couldn’t just drive himself to the White House tonight, not with all the security in place.

  Reluctantly Jamie ended the kiss, but didn’t move away. He rested his forehead against Kyle’s, letting his eyes slide shut. “I love you.”

  “I know. I love you, too,” Kyle said, the teasing gone from his voice. “I hear they’re serving Wagyu steak tonight. Eat one for me.”

  Jamie sighed wistfully. “Wish it were you going wit
h me.”

  “Maybe one day.”

  Jamie wished it were now. He wanted Kyle on his arm tonight, not the president’s son. The truth of who they were together existed only inside their home and nowhere else. Wishing wouldn’t change that.

  “Come on,” Kyle murmured. “Let’s get you out the door.”

  They separated, with Kyle picking up Jamie’s white gloves off the dresser and handing them to him. Jamie slipped them on, finding them to be a perfect fit. No cover would be worn tonight, as the event was too formal and being held indoors. No officer’s ceremonial sword would be worn either, though Jamie wished he could carry a gun.

  “Katie has the central zone near the National Mall and the White House under telepathic watch. She’s got your gear with her, just in case you need it and can get to it in time,” Kyle said as they headed for the front door.

  Jamie nodded. “I know.”

  Jamie knew every spot the director had assigned each of his teammates. While he hated having them separated from him, he understood why the order had been issued. They needed to be able to access any part of the city in the event of an attack within a short window of time. Staying on base would’ve made that impossible.

  Katie’s and Trevor’s apartments weren’t anywhere close to the National Mall, so the MDF had rented out a hotel room for them inside the central zone. They needed Katie’s telepathy to ensure stable communication, so she wouldn’t be allowed near where the MDF thought the fighting would take place. If Katie became caught up in Ella Blanchett’s nullification field, she would need to reposition herself outside Blanchett’s reach. Trevor was partnered with Katie to watch her six. The second Blanchett was eliminated, they’d regroup with the rest of the team.

  Kyle would remain at the condo, his sniper gear close at hand. The penthouse offered roof access, and Kyle’s role as overwatch would start there. He’d reposition on another building by way of a pickup from any of the metahuman fliers on roster with the MDF. Jamie had offered up the location with a straight face to the director that morning, easily keeping up the pretense that Kyle didn’t live there. Nazari had agreed to the placement, just as he’d agreed to most of Jamie’s other suggestions.