Relentless (Option Zero 2)

“Is she still going ahead with her documentary?”

Since that was one of the many items they’d yet to talk about, he just shook his head. “Hard to say.”

“How’s she doing?” Sean asked. “Sorry I couldn’t be there to help at the memorial. Serena said she looked like death.” He winced and added, “Sorry. Poor choice of words.”

He couldn’t argue with the assessment. The light had gone from her eyes, and he feared he’d never see it again. Her entire world had been upended. She had barely talked to him since their return from LA. It was like she’d gone inside herself to hide.

“Becca was like a sister to her; her uncle a second father. Having him die in front of her, on top of all the things she just learned from him, that he had something to do with her abduction, and all the abuse she endured…” He shrugged. “That’s a lot to deal with in one lifetime. She got all this in the span of an hour.”

“Just one of those things would destroy many people,” Jules said. “But your Aubrey is made of sterner stuff. The ordeal she survived in Syria might’ve broken a weaker person. She just needs time.”

“I can’t believe her mother didn’t even come to the memorial,” Serena said.

He couldn’t either. Though he’d yet to meet her, he wasn’t much of a fan of Elizabeth Starr. She had left it up to her daughter to take care of all the arrangements for the double memorial, saying she wanted to remember Becca and Syd in good times.

And since Aubrey’s safety was Lia

m’s primary concern, they’d had their first argument. Having her front and center at a memorial for two well-known celebrities had nightmare written all over it. He wasn’t sure which had infuriated her more—the bulletproof vest she’d had to wear beneath her elegant black dress, or having several OZ team members covering her every step.

The paparazzi had been in a frenzy. The tragic story of two deaths, father and daughter, both famous, had caught their imagination and they couldn’t get enough. The memorial had been limited to invited guests only, but hundreds of people had parked themselves outside the large cathedral, clamoring for any kind of news or photo op.

As the only family member in attendance, Aubrey had received the brunt of attention. That attention was the last thing he’d wanted for her, but he couldn’t ask her not to attend. Not that it would have done any good. He was learning that Aubrey Starr was an independent, very stubborn woman. And as he loved that independent, stubborn woman with every fiber of his being, he’d been determined that she stay safe.

Having protection twenty-four seven, giving her almost no privacy, had been smothering. Though she had handled herself with grace and dignity, he knew she’d been hanging by a thread.

They’d all flown back to Montana together on the OZ plane. She had sat silently in her seat with only minimal interaction with anyone. Other than the empty look she’d given him each time he tried to talk to her, they’d had no communication. He was giving her space and time. She was hurting, and he was hurting for her. He had to believe she would come around. She had to.

“Will Green’s cause of death just remain a mystery?” Xavier asked.

And that was one of the most infuriating things that had happened. The heart attack had been too coincidental. Had something been in the tea he’d seen Green drinking? Which nurse had brought it to him? When questioned, no one had admitted to delivering it to him. The paper cup, which could have provided evidence about what might have been in the tea, had mysteriously disappeared from the room.

At his urging, Aubrey had insisted on an autopsy. When Liam had called for the results, he’d learned that paperwork had suddenly appeared, ordering an immediate cremation. The autopsy had been canceled, and Syd Green’s body had been cremated, destroying any evidence that could have explained his death.

Liam had lived with the need for secrecy most of his adult life. He understood the need for them. Having been a SEAL, then a covert agent, and now an OZ operative, almost everything he did was undercover and hidden from the world. But at least his secrecy usually resulted in saving lives. From what he could tell, the secrets these people kept revolved around destroying and taking lives.

“Where do we go from here?” Jazz asked.

“We start digging even deeper,” Serena answered. “My team is working overtime.”

“There’s another link that we hadn’t considered,” Ash said. “Aubrey was taken to the same prison that I was. A prison that somehow Syd Green and Nora Turner apparently knew about, or this organization has some connection to.”

“It’s like a gigantic spiderweb that’s intricately tied together,” Eve said.

“True.” Ash sent a smile over to Serena. “But we’ve got one of the best teams for untangling spiderwebs.”

“Yes, we do,” Serena said. “We’ll find them. It’s just going to take some time.”

Liam checked his phone to ensure he had no messages from Aubrey. He’d been away for several hours. He didn’t like being away from her this long. The grief would come out one way or the other. He intended to be there for her when it came.

Standing, he looked around the room. “Thank you guys for being there. Don’t know what I’d do without any one of you.”

“That’s what we’re here for, brother,” Gideon said.

“Unless something comes up,” Ash said, “Liam’s going to take a few days off.”

“Give Aubrey a hug for me,” Jazz said.

“Tell her I’ll call her soon,” Serena added.