Millie lets out a soft gasp. All eyes turn to her. She looks at Alex. “So no one left the house alive, huh?”
“We were told no,” Alex says slowly.
Millie walks up to the screen and points at Fareed’s picture. “He drove the car the day I was kidnapped. He helped Yusef Hadzic take me,” she says. “So that means they definitely know I was there that day. Everyone knows—so much for me not being a target.”
Chapter Twenty-One
In-Flight
Virginia Beach to Baghdad
July 30, 2011
“Hey, asshole,” Chase said, kicking Mack’s hammock. “I asked you a question. Twice. You want to give me an answer? Or do I need to slap it out of you?”
Mack’s mind snapped back into focus. “What was the question?”
“Man, what’s wrong with you? You’ve been out of it all day,” Chase said. “You better get it together before we land, or I’m pulling you from the mission.”
“You thinking about that curvy, little brunette at the bar the other night?” Harry let out a long whistle. “Because I’m going to be honest, I’ve been thinking about her myself.”
“Shut up, Culver.” Mack reached over and gave the side of Harry’s hammock a hard tug, almost sending him tumbling to the floor.
“What’s the matter, man?” Harry said as he repositioned his body. “Don’t tell me you couldn’t close that deal?”
“Yeah, like that’s ever happened,” Mack said. “But you’re welcome to call her now. The only thing you’re ever going to get around me is sloppy seconds.”
Chase laughed. “So what were you thinking about? I’ve never seen you that deep in thought. You trying out meditation or something?”
“Naw, I was thinking about Millie.” Mack paused a second to control the shaking that was trying to come out in his voice. “If something ever happens to me, y’all have to promise that you have her—that you’ll take care of her no matter what’s happening in your lives.”
Chase pulled himself up and looked over at Mack. “What are you talking about? You’re two months away from retirement. You trying to jinx yourself? Keep that bullshit quiet.”
Mack sunk down deeper into his hammock, so no one could see the tears that started forming in his eyes. “Just promise me, man. I’m all she’s got. If something happens, go get her away from my mom and take care of her. Please.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to you,” Chase said. “But you already know we’ve got her if something does. Mar and I will adopt her. She’ll be a part of our family. I will never let her out of my sight. I promise you that.”
“I’ve got her, too,” Harry said. “If anything happens to you, she’s going to be smothered with attention from all her new uncles. She’s going to be so sick of us, she’ll probably try to hide.”
Mack cracked a smile. “Actually, she probably will. She’s developed a feisty, little independent streak. Don’t let her push you away.”
“When has anyone ever been able to resist me?” Harry said. “Everyone loves me—mothers, daughters, babies, animals.”
“Those goats in Ramadi really liked you a few months back,” Clem chimed in from across the plane. “A little too much, for my liking.”
Harry scooped up one of his boots from under his hammock and sent it flying across the plane—landing perfectly on Clem’s stomach.
Mack turned to Chase and said quietly, “Just swear to me—”
“I’ve got you,” Chase said. “Man, what’s wrong with you? You’re putting off some weird vibes. You starting to second-guess your retirement? Honestly, I am. I’m not sure if I’m ready to leave yet. The only thing that makes it right is that we’re going out at the same time. And we’re both moving to San Diego. You know?”
Mack took a deep breath. “Yeah. It’s all going to be different now. But we have to do what’s right for our families. Everything’s about them. Have to keep them safe. Millie is the only reason I do anything. Since the day I first saw her in Sarajevo, everything has been for her. It’s always going to be for her. Do you think she knows that?”
“What are you talking about, man?” Chase said. “That girl absolutely lives for you. She’s devoted to you. You think she doesn’t know you would walk through fire for her? Believe me, she knows.”
“Yeah. I know she does,” Mack said quietly.
“Whatever’s bothering you, snap out of it. You’re going to be with her in a few days,” Chase said.
Mack looked across the plane and saw their CIA strap trying to discreetly signal him to the other side of the plane.
“I’m going to hit the head,” Mack said to Chase as he walked away.
“It’s going to happen tomorrow,” George whispered as Mack got close to him. “You’ll be clearing a little village outside of Fallujah. There’s a house with a tunnel underneath. It has a red door, and it will have a black X on the side of it. Get in there alone. The tunnel is under the only table in the front room. We’ll have agents in the tunnel. They’ll blow the house when you’re clear.”
“How are we going to make sure no one else gets hurt in the blast?” Mack said.
“You need to be fast. See if you can bring up the rear of your clear line. We’re going to have some distractions pulling the team forward and away from your house. They’ll be fine. Our agents have radios. If anyone tries to follow you in, we’ll call it off and try again later. You clear?”
Mack nodded his head. “Yeah. What happens after the house blows?”
“We’ll get you to Baghdad, and then your buddy Azayiz is going to have some of her people meet us there. They’ll help you get out of Iraq. I’m not sure how. Once we get you to Baghdad, we’re done.”
Mack nodded again. “Roger that.”
“Good luck, Mack. I mean it,” George said as he walked away.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Millie
Virginia Beach, Virginia
2020
Raine closes her office door behind me as I whip around to face her.
“What the fuck is going on?” I say as she cautiously walks by me to get behind her desk. “Did you know Mason and Alex were going to be here?”
“Mason got here yesterday. I only knew his team was going to be assigned to you this morning.” She sits down in her chair and rolls it against the back wall, clearly trying to distance herself from the tirade that’s about to come her way. “I figured he told you. Are you not together anymore?”
“We’re not going to talk about my love life right now.” I fling myself down in the chair across from her and scoot it back against the opposite wall.
“Oh, I think that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about. Your ex-boyfriend and your maybe-more-recently ex-boyfriend are both here preparing to go on a mission with you,” she says, annoyingly not trying to suppress her laugh. “This is like a really bad government version of The Bachelorette.”
“That’s not helpful, Raine,” I say, shaking my head. “Did you know Alex was going to be here?”
“Absolutely not. That I definitely would have told you. How long has it been since you’ve seen him?”
“I haven’t seen him since he took the assignment in Moscow. So, what, like three or four years?”
“He’s such an asshole, but he’s still the prettiest man I’ve ever seen.”
“Does he look good? Seriously, I didn’t even look at him. I was so shocked. I think my eyes stopped working for a second.”
The door opens slowly and I see Alex peeking his head through the crack like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. “Ladies, may I come in? Or is this a private conversation?” He comes in and closes the door without waiting for a reply.
“What are you doing here, Alex?” I say as he takes the chair next to me.
“What do you mean? I told you,” he says as he pats my knee. �
��This is my assignment. I’m sorry George didn’t tell you. I’m sure it was a shock to see me walk into that room.”
“Why don’t I let you two have a second to talk,” Raine says, standing up.
“Wait, Raine. Stay for a second,” Alex says. “I need to talk to both of you.”
Raine stares at him coldly as she sits back down. She has never been a fan of his, and I’ve never understood why. She and I started at the agency together. We met Alex on our second day working at Langley. I thought he was charming. Raine thought he was full of shit. Despite her ardent warnings, I started dating him a month after we met. We dated for almost a year until he got assigned to Moscow. He wanted me to move there with him—so much so that he proposed to me. I said no. He got pissed. After he got to Moscow, he called me nonstop for a month, trying to get me to change my mind. I finally had to tell him to quit calling. He got more pissed, but he stopped calling. I haven’t heard from him since—until today.
“Millie, George told me you’ve tried to resign from the agency. I don’t know what that’s all about, but I know you’re not particularly into this assignment. That was very apparent in the meeting.”
“I’m fine. I’ve committed. I’ll do my job.”
“No, I know you will. You’re good at your job, and I trust you. It’s just that George told me you were in a relationship with the team leader, and that complicates things. His behavior—and yours, frankly—were inappropriate.” I try to interrupt, but he holds up his hand. “No. Let me finish. That wasn’t a personal comment. You know as well as I do, it’s a conflict of interest having him on this mission. I’ve tried to get another team without any luck, so it is what it is, but I need you and Raine to be on my side on this. On the agency’s side. We need to keep this circle tight.”
Before I can say anything, Raine jumps in. “This isn’t high school, Alex. There are no sides. We’re all on the same side. Master Chief Davis is the best operator in this entire building. I’m sure he’ll be professional. We need to let him do his job.”
“Raine,” Alex says smoothly, “I know working in this building can start swaying your loyalties. These people are your co-workers now. But you work for the agency, and that’s where your loyalty needs to be.”
“I know where my loyalty needs to be. I am loyal to the mission. And to complete this mission successfully, we all need to be on the same team. All of us—regardless of who signs our paychecks.”
They stare at each other so intensely that I wouldn’t at all be shocked if fire started shooting out of their eyes. “Everyone needs to settle down,” I say as I wave my hand to try to break their intense focus on each other. “Alex, you’re in charge. Raine and I will follow your lead. Let’s just get over there and get this done.”
Raine stands up abruptly. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”
Alex laughs as she closes the door loudly. “So I guess she still doesn’t like me, huh?”
“In her defense, you’re kind of being an ass. What’s all this Team Agency bullshit?”
He smiles. “I guess I’m feeling a little nostalgic for when we used to work together.”
It’s the first time I really look at his face. There are more wrinkles around his eyes than I remember, but the pale blue color still twinkles when he smiles. He has his beautiful, thick black hair slicked back away from his face—a few gray hairs around his temples. Raine was right about one thing: he is beautiful. That hasn’t changed a bit.
“Millie,” he says, reaching out to take my hand, “it’s really good to see you again. You look absolutely gorgeous. You haven’t changed at all.”
I smile and squeeze his hand. “It’s good to see you, too. You’re as handsome as ever.”
“I always did say we would make beautiful babies.” He squeezes my hand softly before he lets it go. “Are you doing okay? With the kidnapping and everything . . . I wanted to call you after it all went down, but I wasn’t sure if that would help or hurt.”
“I’m fine. It was a lot, but it actually helped me answer some questions. It would have been nice if they could have been answered in a less traumatic fashion, but you know.”
“I’m glad you found out about your mom. I know that’s always nagged at you,” he says, looking down at his feet. “That and your dad. It’s coming up on nine years since he died. Has it gotten any easier?”
I’m assuming by the way he’s talking he doesn’t know about the agency helping my dad disappear—or at least claiming they did. I decide not to tell him.
“Yeah, it has,” I say cautiously. “Mason’s been really good at helping me mourn him.”
He looks up. “Yeah. I mean, them doing the same job . . . I can understand that. So you’re serious with this Mason guy or what?”
“Yeah. We’ve only been together for a few months, but we’re serious.”
“So no room for me to slip back in?” He smiles, his eyes twinkling like Christmas lights.
“Alex.”
“I’m kidding, Millie,” he says, laughing. “I know we’re done. But maybe we can get back to being friends. I miss having you in my life. Seeing you has made that way more apparent.”
“Maybe,” I say as I smile back at him.
“Hey. I need to do a few things before we’re wheels up,” he says. “I’ll see you on the plane. Save me a seat. I really want to catch up with you.”
He pulls me up and hugs me. This time it doesn’t feel shocking or weird. Honestly, it feels kind of nice—like coming home.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Mason
Virginia Beach, Virginia
2020
“Shut up, Mason. Shut up and let me finish,” Raine says, quickly looking over her shoulder again.
“Shut up? Really? Someone has started feeling herself a little more in the few months I’ve been gone.” I stop laughing when she grabs my shoulders and leans closer to my face. Raine is ultra-professional. There is absolutely no way she would ever touch me, especially not like this.
“I don’t have much time. I think he’s watching me. Shut up and let me finish,” she says. “There’s something off. I don’t know what it is yet, but something’s not right. The agent Alex they sent in for this—it’s really suspicious. He and Millie have a history. It’s a weird choice for this assignment. I don’t trust him at all.”
“What do you mean they have a history?”
“She met him when we were first at the agency. They dated for about a year.” She pauses for a second. “She really needs to tell you the rest.”
“Raine. Just tell me.”
She shakes her head and sighs. “Fine. When he got transferred to Moscow, he asked her to go with him.” She looks away from me. “He proposed to her. She said no. It got sticky.”
“Sticky how?”
“He was pissed. He stalked her for a while. More than normal breakup stuff. He was obsessed.”
“So you think she feels uncomfortable having him around? It’s only for a few days.” I’m trying to process why Millie would date such a douche, but I’m not understanding the urgency in Raine’s voice. “I’ll take care of her. I won’t let him do anything to her.”
“No. It’s more than that,” she says, starting to pace. “He gave us a pep talk about how we needed to be loyal to the agency—at the expense of our partnership with the teams. It was a real “them or us” kind of vibe. It’s off. I can’t explain.”
“Does he know Millie and I are together? Maybe he’s just marking his territory. It’s a guy thing. It’s no big deal,” I say, shrugging.
“Mason. What have you said about my intuition?”
“That it’s freaky.”
“That it’s freaky accurate. Trust my intuition on this. Something is off.”
I take a deep breath. “Did she tell you about her dad?”
“What about her dad?” S
he scrunches up her face and grabs the side of my locker wall like she’s bracing for a hurricane-force wind.
“That George guy she works for told her he might still be alive.”
“Excuse me? What the fuck!” she says, slamming her hand against the wall. “I wondered why she changed her mind about coming back. George is an asshole. He will play any card to win.”
“That’s what Chase and I told her.”
“Chase? You mean her dad’s friend?” She stops herself from saying more.
“Yeah. Why? Does that mean something to you?”
“No. It’s just . . . you know, I met him when they got back from Bosnia.”
She’s not nearly as good a liar as Millie is. “Raine, what are you holding back?”
She looks at me blankly. “I don’t know enough to tell you. Really. I’m supposed to be briefed on something this afternoon that apparently involves Chase.”
“Huh,” I say, stroking my beard. “I can’t imagine what Chase’s involvement would be in this. He’s been retired for a while now. Did you know George was the spook assigned to his team—to Millie’s dad’s team?”
“What? No. George didn’t know Millie’s dad.”
I nod my head slowly. “He did. He had your job here when Millie’s dad was on the teams. He knew him well.”
“Wow,” she says, leaning against the wall. “This is even weirder than I thought.”
“Yeah. Millie—” I’m cut off by the sound of someone punching the security code into the door. Raine dives behind the back of the lockers as the door opens. It’s Alex.
“What are you doing in here?” I stand up to block his view of where Raine is now hiding.
“Hey. I’m looking for Raine. Have you seen her?” He smiles broadly like he’s trying to hypnotize me with alarmingly white teeth.
The Only Reason: A Novel (Trident Trilogy: Book Two) Page 11
