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The pressure in Julia’s chest eased. Her husband was back. Maybe not for overnights until their new house was built, but her family was, nonetheless, complete.
She wished she and James weren’t closed down telepathically right now, but it had been his wish. Said he had to get through the meal, the evening on his own, without her holding his hand, anticipating or running defense. For a fraction of a second she’d been offended, but she also understood. This was his milestone.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted Dhillon slipping something from his plate to his lap, where she knew Chance would retrieve it. Nothing about pot pies the boy didn’t like, all he was doing was sharing with his best friend. She caught the nudge Angie gave her son, and the smile they shared.
Yep, she’d raised good kids, and the next generation was looking just as imperfect and confident and wonderful. Julia couldn’t imagine growing up in such a group. She’d been alone with her mother, a woman who’d worked day and night to pay their rent and put food on their table. To keep them one step ahead of unpaid landlords, and parents who wanted their daughter back, but had no room in their hearts for an illegitimate grandchild. Julia’s mom got to eat at the restaurants where she worked, and brought home food for her daughter. Meals were eaten in solitude while her exhausted mother slept.
Was that why she’d created this big, noisy family? Who knew? It never occurred to her to try not to get pregnant. Making love with James when he returned home from missions had been a time of celebration, not caution. And she was lucky childbirth was something she’d obviously been built for. Eight deliveries, with not a single labor over six hours—or at least not the serious part. Sure, she’d been uncomfortable for a day or so before going to the hospital each time, but there was no point being there just to lie around and feel sorry for herself. She always stayed home, made sure everything was ready in the house, the kids were set up for her absence, and the nursery prepared for the new baby.
And then, of course, she had Consuelo, who’d first taken over the cooking, and then the children, once they were out of diapers.
And look at us now, with the new generation of Dhillon, Lola, Katie, and Jamie. All miracles in their own ways.
Rachel had believed she’d never have children, but the universe intervened. Dhillon survived cardiac arrest at the age of ten, and Gage’s twins had been in the crosshairs of the Minnows until very recently.
Nothing about Julia’s family was easy, or what others might call normal, but she was blessed. And now Alexandra had been added to the fold.
***
When James tuned back in to the conversation around him, there was discussion going on about a gala. At Haven, he presumed. They’d be raising funds for more beds, more treatment options. As it was, they had room for dozens of people as outpatients, but only took on a fraction of that number as residents.
What had begun as Rachel’s dream of a rescue and rehab for racehorses had blended well with Quinn’s needs. He’d been based in the city, counseling as a PTSD specialist, and treatment was limited to what he could do in an office. Sure, he’d set it up like a man-cave, complete with a pool table, but more was needed.
That’s when James signed over an abandoned property he’d bought right beside the Meyer ranch. Gave them a place to build what they needed, and build they had, from a huge lodge and barns to small cottages far from the others for people like James.
Then Julia jumped on board with her ideas about fund-raising and corporate sponsorship, and things had become very big, very fast.
“When is this bash?” asked James.
“New Year’s Eve,” said Rachel. “Quinn thought it was a good idea to do it on a night when so many of his guys suffer from what people think are nothing more than big noises and pretty colors in the sky. We’ll raise funds and create awareness, all in one go.”
“Good thinking.” Sometimes he wished the sound of fireworks or gunfire were his triggers, because they were easier to avoid than the subtle push of a crowd, or the sound of water splashing. Those were his worst. Well, aside from—
No. He wrestled his mind back to the present.
Only a few weeks away. Dare he try? He’d never made it through the gates last time, let alone into the building. But that had been over a year ago. Maybe...
“I hope your op is over by then,” said Rachel. Not, I hope you can come this time. Rachel was a smart and compassionate woman. Exactly right for Quinn, because she also didn’t lack for backbone, and James was thankful the two of them had managed to sort things out and get their lives back on track after a very bumpy start.
“I tried to get them to have a theme, so we could wear costumes instead of monkey suits, but they wouldn’t budge,” said Dhillon, with a frown for emphasis.
A tux wouldn’t be James’s first choice either, but the last time he’d worn his—he glanced at Julia and caught the tiny twitch of her lips—they’d been barefoot in the moonlight.
He had to get Rollins before New Year’s. He owed it to his wife.
“I told Alexandra about the gala today,” said Dhillon. “That there’d be dancing and awesome grub, so she’d have to stop lazing around and living on IV sugar water, so she could come with us, and I bet she was wishing she could laugh then. Chance and I hung with her for a while. I told her about my heart deal and how I was really scared for a while, so I got that she was probably scared, but since Eve and my dad were working on her case, she’d be up in no time, and I’d take her riding. And ya know, I think Broughton’s getting hung up on her.” Nothing got by this kid.
James couldn’t help the laugh that burst from him.
“What’s so funny?”
“Your endless and convoluted delivery of information. You definitely take after your mother.”
“Hey,” said Angie.
“Sorry, but at his age? You were exactly the same. All brains and a burning need to share.”
***
They’d barely settled into Julia’s office when there was a tap on the door. She glanced at James. “There went our evening.”
“Yeah, even money on that.”
He opened it to find Grace waiting. “A development,” was all she said.
Grace and Logan had been manning the communications center to facilitate the family dinner.
“Full debrief, or just us?” asked Julia, hoping it wasn’t something major.
“Everyone. There will be strategies and travel to discuss. Logan’s in conference with Kelton now.”
Julia fought to dial back her disappointment. She’d managed to have the whole family together at her table the way she wanted—and they needed. And chances were, James wouldn’t have stayed the night with her anyway, so maybe this had ultimately saved her from having him leave her bed as he had so many times before.
There was a huge difference between going to bed alone, and waking up alone when you’d fallen asleep in someone’s arms. And she much preferred the former to the latter.
The mood in the conference room was somber, a long way from the festive air earlier.
Once the team was seated, Logan began.
“Kelton and I both picked up a sudden change of plans from Rollins.” Everyone in the room sat up straighter, leaned forward ever so slightly.
“Until now, he’s been hard to read—hell, hard to find—and although we’ve been aware of when he’s on the move, we couldn’t pin down his exact locations. Today he had a moment of panic when he received a phone call.” He focused on James now while he spoke. “I got nothing on the caller, but Rollins suddenly contacted his pilot for immediate pickup.”
“How long ago?” asked James.
“Twelve minutes. I sent Grace for you right away.”
“Any chance we can intercept?”
“Not unless we can reach a private airfield in Iceland in the next fifteen.”
“Iceland? Not Alaska?” asked James.
“Affirmative.”
“Is there any other information?”
Logan shook his head. “Nothing. Once he had pickup coming, he got control of himself again, and his usual mind block was impenetrable.”
“No destination discussed, then?” Gage asked, although they all knew Logan would have said so already.
“None.”
“Since you were—even though just briefly—inside his head, do you have any impressions, guesses where he’ll run to?”
“Not a clue. But I think the last place he’d go would be Luna. He won’t want to mess with that if it’s going to be a long-term base of operations. No point tossing away what he’s put time and money into setting up. That said, he’ll be itching to go there, to where he anticipates being safe.”
As though on cue, the communications center blinked to life. Grace, sitting at the console said, “Your Clinton contact, James.”
“Perfect. Put him on speaker.”
“Bud.”
“James. Sorry to call so late, forgot about the time zone thing, but Gerald called to tell me the client’s put a rush on the new equipment. Wants installation to begin tomorrow. The dishes have already arrived, and the cameras have been moved to a rush delivery, so ETA between twenty-four and forty-eight hours from now. But here’s the bonus. Property owner asked if Gerald could find anyone to help get it done faster.”
Smiles flashed.
“Brilliant. What time do you need my guys tomorrow?”
“Gerald’s promised to be there by eight. That means leaving town before seven, because it’ll be slow going on the mountain roads.”
“That works. They’ll pick up the truck as arranged and meet Gerald at your place.”
“You coming?”
“Not right away. Better to get them in and working first.”
“Great. Well, I’ll let you go, then.”
“I appreciate you helping us this way, Bud. You have no idea what it means to my family.”
“Hey, family’s everything. Take care.”
When he hung up, James said, “We’re going to make sure that delivery gets slowed down so things are happening by our schedule. Rollins won’t be arriving at Luna until we’re damned good and ready for him.”
“Ah...” Everyone’s attention swung to Grace. “I’m one click away from rerouting the cameras to Clinton, Nebraska. Work for you?”
“Affirmative,” said James.
“Done. But I’ll keep an eye on the shipment, just in case someone notices the previous Canadian addy on file.”
James nodded, then turned his attention to Nathan and Tyler. “Transport will be the Steed. Angie’s already been briefed on the drop-off point, which is Bud’s hunting cabin. Very remote, a good couple of feet of snow, and hunting season is over, so it’s unlikely anyone will be in the area.”
“That helps. And just for background,” said Nathan, “if there’s no hunting, no big mountains for skiing, and too much snow for hiking or riding, what’s the guest ranch’s draw?”
Julia supplied the answer. “Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. According to the website, their exclusive, well-groomed trail network has about a dozen shelters, complete with wood stoves, and a guarantee of no motorized vehicles to worry about.”
“Too bad, wouldn’t have minded commandeering one of those cool ski-dos if the need arose,” said Nathan.
James's posture had stiffened. He shook his head. “Bud services their snowmobiles and four-wheelers. The place is well stocked with utility vehicles—trails are machine-groomed during off hours.”
“Good to know.”
James gave him a look that said if you’ll just shut up and listen, I’ll tell you exactly what you need to know. After a few more beats of silence, his shoulders relaxed. “Luna is a high-end resort. They’ll have everything you need, but you’re going to go in with tool kits, laptops, and cases of equipment for electronic installations. You’ve just been snagged for the job, and know nothing about the setup, except that it’s too far from town to be driving back for something you’ve forgotten.” He had the full attention of the twins now.
“There’s a truck waiting for you at Bud’s cabin. You’ll drive it to his home in Clinton, where Gerald will pick you up. You’re strangers to him, only on this job because you’re friends of a friend. Me. But Bud knows me as Mason, so that’s your connection. Mason is your dad, a trucker out of California who comes up once a year to hunt with Bud. You two live in Washington State.”
“You arrive, get the satellite dishes set up, get connected, and check in, then move to recon. The cameras will be delayed, but no one will know for how long. You’ll offer to stay there so you’ll be able to start the minute they arrive. If the owner, or manager, whoever you’re dealing with, isn’t biting, make sure they hear you chatting Gerald up about what to do with your down time. Mention maybe driving over to Kamloops to a bar you’ve heard of. Purpose? It’s a couple of hours away, and that means snowy roads could keep you from making it back when they need you.”
The boys nodded.
“Meanwhile, I’ll be setting up at the mountain house,” said James. “Send me everything you get. I want to see every inch of the place, just in case we don’t get Rollins on his way in. And I want photos of everyone on the property.”
“Tyler, your latest creations will work well,” said Julia. And for the benefit of the others, she added, “Clunky man-earrings would suit the nerdy but free-spirited personas.”
“I’d rather call it an outdoorsy techy look,” said Tyler.
“Perfect setting for the antler slices,” said Nathan.
“No, that would draw interest. Go for the wood, or the plain black oval. And Nathan can use a button.” They had an endless array of micro-camera applications, from earring and fingernail embellishments to ID badges and beauty marks.
“Use several each, just in case the cold bothers them. Forecast is clear with a temp between zero and fourteen,” said James.
“I don’t expect Rollins to show up until his security cameras are installed, which should give you about forty-eight hours based on the ETA of the shipment, but stay in tune with things just in case. He could also send his own recon team in ahead, so you need to pay attention.”
Why couldn’t James trust them to think for themselves? Julia bit her lip. Brought up an aerial photo of the guest ranch and surrounding area. First she used red to highlight. “This is the only road into Luna, so, by way of function, it’s the private drive. Now these that I’m marking in green are the only way out. You’ll see other tempting turnoffs, but trust me, they’re dead ends.” With a click of the mouse she brought up bright yellow lines. “These private cross-country trails all loop back to the ranch.” With another click an orange line appeared. “This one is a public trail that’s easy to access from the yellow ones if you know where to look. As you can see it’s a wide loop from the main highway. If you have an option, go south for the shortest distance.”
James added, “If we can access all of this information, so can Rollins and his men, so remember,” he held up his thumb. “One, maintain full disguise at all times to bounce any facial recognition software.” He held up his first finger. “Two, they’ll be doing surveillance before they arrive, so for the installation work you need to be in full view.” Up came the second finger. “Three, when doing recon, follow heat-masking protocol.”
They had access to an extensive array of clothing made from a specially developed cloth that would make them invisible to heat-seeking cameras. The only issue would be their faces. Julia waited a beat and when James made no effort to enlarge on his instruction, she did.
“Wear the second skin version of blackout undergarments, complete with gloves and balaclavas. As for the putty to change your faces, I’ll get you set up with what you’ll need for that climate. Something that won’t freeze when you’re working outdoors, and won’t slide off your skin when you go indoors.”
James flicked a glance her way, and when she nodded said, “Angie, you’re prepared with the coordinates for drop-off.”
“Affirmative.”
With the click of his mouse, he took over the map and carefully placed four colored stars. “These are the possible extraction points. Everyone commit them to memory. The runway, where the driveway meets the exit road, the highway where the public loop comes out, and this one as a last resort.” He circled it with the cursor. “If the whole thing goes sideways and you can’t get out as planned, work your way over the ridge north of the ranch. There will be two more ridges and a gully to get through before you reach this logged-out area, where Angie will pick you up.”
He leaned back in his chair, elbows on the arms and fingers steepled together—a posture belying the tension she could feel emanating from him. “Questions?”
When none were raised, James shot to his feet with the agility of a jungle cat. “It’s time to get this bastard out of our lives. Dismissed.”
Julia stayed in her seat while the team dispersed, then watched James prowl the empty room. Something was on his mind for sure, and he was probably trying to figure out how to slap at her for stepping on his command. Speaking up and giving instructions. She could make it easy by apologizing, but that wasn’t going to happen. She wasn’t sorry for adding something that was needed.
Last month, when her op suddenly expanded beyond what they’d thought it was, James had not only rejoined the team for the first time in years, but had taken over and assigned himself a co-leader. Without consulting her, he’d stated each of their positions of command. And she said nothing, because she absolutely agreed with the strategy, even though the way he went about it set her teeth on edge.
Today, she’d turned the tables on him, albeit with no intention of doing so. She was used to running this family’s ops, or assigning command if she simply wanted to be a figurehead.
James had stopped and was leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed. Arms no longer bulging with muscles, but still strong, thick, tanned, and tat-free. Being old school, the last thing he’d do was put an identifying mark on his body. “I should be pissed, and for the life of me, I don’t get why I’m not.”
It took some doing to keep her mouth firm and not give in to the twitch of her lips. Bafflement was something she was certain no one else ever saw on her husband’s face. But she was able to baffle him now and again.
She couldn’t resist a bit of a dig. “Do you recall any of the times when you were fresh back from an op, and the kids played you, got permission for things I’d denied?”
Now it was him apparently fighting a smirk.
“Yeah,” she said. “Payback’s a bitch.”
“But here’s the difference. You’d get pissed, and I’d have to charm you out of it.”
“Charm is an interesting word. Seems to me you’d just find a way to get me somewhere you could lock the door for ten minutes.”
There was a definite twinkle in those blue eyes now. “When you were pissed? More like twenty if I knew what was good for me. But here, today, I’m in agreement with what happened.”
She glanced at the open door. Should she go over and lock it? No, it was past time to discuss this.
“The dynamics have shifted,” he said. “Normally when I’m working I expect total control. I don’t share my team, or let anyone else step in, unless I need intel on something last-minute, and there’s no time to brief me first.”
He went silent. Motionless, as though he’d gone inward to search for his answers. Julia waited. This was not the time to give him words.
He blinked and focused on her. “I was good with your stepping in today, and that confused the hell out of me.”
She did smile then. “Here’s something to chew on. You’ve aged, and, your time away from both family and business took the edge off.” Oh, he didn’t like that. At all. “You’re a much easier person in some ways, and your leadership style has evolved into something that includes a partner. You must admit, we tag-team very effectively.” In spite of her not wanting to share leadership. But that wasn’t something she was ready to talk about.
He came around the table, drew her from the chair, and held both her hands. “I’m not only not pissed, but I’m looking forward to working with you.”
And wasn’t that the most amazing miracle? She stepped in so their bodies touched. “I’d say that’s a good thing.”