“Do you and Anna have something going on?” I ask.
I don’t need him to speak to get my answer. His horrified expression tells me I read that wrong. “God, no. What the hell, Bebe? She’s just a friend. Practically a family member, really, just like everyone here. She just lost her husband, and—”
I hold my hands up. “I’m sorry for asking. Don’t get so defensive. It’s not like there would be anything wrong with it if it were true.”
“Well, we don’t,” he reiterates sharply before returning to his breakfast. His voice drops slightly. “But… we have become good friends. I think she’s just extra grateful I’m going back.”
“Back” would be to Syria. I knew we’d had some leads on finding Malik Fournier. He’s our teammate who has been missing since the FUBAR mission that killed Anna’s husband, Jimmy, and one of our other members, Sal Mezzina.
“You going by yourself?” I ask as he digs into his second roll.
He shakes his head. “Small team. We’re going in black as the government wouldn’t sanction us.”
He means this is black ops and off the books. “Why aren’t we getting government support?”
Cage chews his roll. After he swallows, he wipes his mouth with a paper towel. “It’s not just that we aren’t getting support, but we’ve also been told we can’t go in to look for him.”
I blink in surprise. We do a lot of work for the government. We’re one of, if not the, most trusted of their contractors. “But why not?”
He shrugs. “No clue. Probably because it’s such a political mess over there. They don’t want to risk any more U.S. citizens.”
I scoff, the noise rumbling and deep. “As if we’d leave him behind. Surely they realize that.”
“Oh, I’m sure they do. But none of us give a shit what the government says. We’re not leaving Malik behind.”
Amen to that. “Well, you’ve got the full support of us back here. Dozer and I will have a close eye on you.”
“Of course you will,” he replies with a grin.
God, I hope he finds Malik. We have no clue at this point if he’s alive or dead, but even if he’s dead, we can’t leave him behind. At least Anna got to bury Jimmy and Sal’s family got to say their goodbyes when their bodies were brought back.
“She seems to be doing well,” I muse. I pick up my coffee to take a sip, my thoughts returning to the young mother who lost so much so early.
“Anna’s strong,” Cage replies, and there’s no hiding the hint of pride in his voice. They must indeed be close for him to feel that way, but I take his word there’s nothing romantic between them. I tend to believe him as Cage isn’t the settling-down type, but he’s one of those guys who could have a good friendship with a female for sure.
I nod, deciding to switch the subject. It feels too much like gossiping, and that’s just not me. My general curiosity has been appeased.
“I need you to stop by R&D sometime today. I’ve got some new satellite phones I can send with you. The GPS tech in it is off the hook. I can follow you in real-time regardless if the phone is on or off, and with new satellite relay, there won’t be reporting delay.”
“Sure thing,” he replies.
We finish our breakfast in silence, then I head back to the elevator. Our new Research and Development division is housed in the sub-basement level, and Kynan has spent a ton of money to give Dozer and me our dream facility. It officially opened last month. I love hiding down there trying to figure out better ways to communicate with and protect our guys. It’s what I would have been doing with my life—had I stayed the course at MIT and not ruined my entire life over the prospect of easy money.
There’s no solace in knowing the extra money was not for me, but to take care of Aaron and my mom. The fact is I turned my life to shit by choosing the wrong path.
The only thing I can do now is try to be the best at what I do for my coworkers and my family, while hoping it’s enough to earn me some type of redemption before I die.CHAPTER 3BebeAaron’s going to be tall like his dad, but everything else about him is all me, even down to the way he frowns. His combination of blue-black hair and pale blue eyes means I’m going to be beating the girls back soon.
Or maybe it will be boys.
Don’t know, don’t care, as long as he’s healthy and happy. Of course I want him to fall in love, but not any time soon. For now, I’m happy being one of two strong loves in his life.
Whether it’s due to his age or the fact he’s happy to have me solidly back in his life, Aaron doesn’t mind spontaneous acts of affection from me. So I loop my arm over his shoulders as we saunter over to one of the grassy areas of the park not currently occupied by other people. It’s the last week of September and the first full week of fall, but the grass is lush and green. It’s still incredibly warm in the western Pennsylvania area and today it’s in the mid-eighties. I know we’ll treasure this weather for as long as we can take it.