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Chapter 20: Thomas, Mark
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Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 21: Erin
SUNDAY. ERBIL ROTANA, ERBIL, KURDISTAN.ERIN TWISTED THE LONG sleeves around and around until the fabric created a vice on her forearm."Anything yet?" she asked."Nope, and they aren't going to contact us until we tell them it's time for the pickup." Riley was cool as could be. Not even the least bit phased with the knowledge that they'd been carting the enemy around with them."I don't understand how you're so calm." She turned around as though she could discern if any of the vehicles were following them. That wasn't her skill set. It wasn't like a vehicle would have a sign on it that said I'm following you."Off the record?" He glanced at her. "We did a job a couple months back where we had the guy who'd kidnapped our asset with us the whole time. We didn't suspect it. This time? I think we all had reservations about Thomas.""What happened? On that op?""That's a long story." He shook his head and chuckled. She guessed that it worked out okay, but the between bits
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 22: Erin
Erin carefully controlled her reaction.No wonder the head office wanted her to skip the office and head straight home. They weren't admitting the attack even happened.Riley nudged her. Erin glanced at him, then back to Lilan before clearing her throat."I think we got ahead of ourselves and the facility isn't ready yet." Erin clasped her hands in front of her, hating the lie.It was crazy to think that a facility had been partially blown up, and no one knew."Sad to hear that." Lilan sighed."Hey, it was good to see you. I'm heading home, family emergency and all, so we'll have to schedule a time to talk later, okay?" Erin sidestepped the women and set her eyes on the security office sign.Riley kept pace with her. She could feel him staring. Did he get it? Had he thought through the implications of what'd been said?Erin pulled herself together enough to handle the key request. Riley was signed in as her guest. A Ruddy Brothers Security guy escorted them up to her of
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 23: Riley, Mark
RILEY WAS USELESS. THE remainder of the files weren't in English. All he was good for was shuffling stacks, manning the overflowing box and keeping an eye on the time.He wished there was something else he could do. The more Erin pored over the backlog of things in her office, the deeper the lines across her brow and around her mouth became. He was powerless to lift the fog of sadness settling around her. He didn't know what conclusions she was coming to, but they were breaking her world.His phone vibrated, signaling their time was up.With any luck Grant and the others had Thomas by the balls and they'd get more answers that way. If not, they'd complete their mission and get Erin home. "Erin? Hey, we need to go." Riley reached across the desk and grabbed her hand."I'm missing something. It has to be here, but all I'm seeing is..." She slumped in her chair and sighed."We have to go.""I know." She placed the stack in her lap on the desk and glanced around the office.
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 24: Erin
SUNDAY. NEXGEN OFFICES, ERBIL, KURDISTAN.HEADERHERE.ERIN COULDN'T BREATHE. EVERYTHING hurt."Riley?" She rolled and pain shot up her spine.That wasn't good."Erin? Erin!" He shouted her name, grasping for her."I'm right here." She grabbed his hand and squeezed.The other SUV shielded them, but for how long? Would the sniper reposition and fire again?"Erin?" Riley rolled toward her.She stared down at his body, bracing herself for the worst, but there was no blood.He wasn't bleeding.She'd heard the shot, felt the air displaced by the bullet. God, she'd just known he was dead. She pushed up to her knees, her bones screaming in agony, and cupped his face."You're okay," she shouted. Whatever had knocked him off his feet, it hadn't signed his death warrant.Movement from the parking lot caught her eye. Two white men in plain clothes carrying guns was by no means a normal sight. She doubted they were with Ruddy Brothers Security.Erin snatched Riley's side
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 25: Mark, Riley
"GOD DAMN IT." MARK hurled his phone out the window.They couldn't get to her now.If it weren't for that damn box or those men or the SUV or any number of things that were going wrong-this would be over with. Now, Erin Lopez and the rest were in custody. He wouldn't be able to get to them unless they were charged, and he doubted that. NexGen wanted her out of the way, somewhere she couldn't stir the pot, which meant she was bound for America."Sir?""What?" Mark whirled toward the man."No one has seen or heard from Thomas, so I checked with our local law enforcement contact, and it appears he was arrested at Erin Lopez's home."Mark closed his eyes.Another fucking thing going wrong.Should he cut his losses?He could cut his ties with America, wash his hands of the Middle East and go somewhere else. Couldn't he? Not if the video got leaked. The list of places he could go to hide out for the rest of his miserable life would be short if the American government wanted
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 26: Riley
Riley closed his eyes.It was the stress talking. That was it. For her sake, they needed distanceHe liked Erin. He'd liked her the moment he saw the picture of her with that crooked smile. But it didn't mean they were anything special to each other."Melody wanted to update us when you were done. You up for that?" He curled his hands into fists to keep from smoothing her unruly curls, and instead, took a step back."Yeah. I'm ready for some damn answers." Erin frowned up at him and pressed a hand to her ribs.It was better this way."Hurt?" he asked."Only when I breathe.""Oh, then you should be fine.""Jackass." One side of her mouth hitched up, and she chuckled."Where?" He glanced over his shoulder and tried his best to smother the voice telling him to hold onto her."I can't with you right now." Her smile slowly turned into a frown, complete with furrowed brow and an intense stare. "What's the matter? You've been weird ever since we got here."Riley glance
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 27: Erin
SUNDAY. BAKHTIARI POLICE STATION, ERBIL, KURDISTAN.ERIN WATCHED RILEY'S FACE. The muscles in his cheeks, around his mouth and eyes, were tight. The difference was in his eyes. The smile didn't linger. There was no good humor. He couldn't fucking look at her.He'd felt something for her, even if it was just lust. But now he was scared and running.She was beginning to remember why she didn't date. Why it was better to be alone. After getting out of the army her tastes ran in one direction-to guys like Riley. And they were all a little battered. She got that. Her pieces didn't fit quite right, but she made it work. Maybe Riley wasn't there yet. It wasn't her problem if he couldn't figure his shit out.And here she'd wanted to invite him to Miami for a long weekend. Fuck that. He was doing her a favor showing her this side of him before she let herself get any more wound up by him.Erin needed that box. She couldn't believe that everything they thought could help solve this
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 28: Erin
"Has anyone talked to my family yet?" Erin asked to say something."No, when I spoke with Riley he said you wanted to do that." Melody took a few steps toward her until she was at the far edge of the vanity."I have to call them and tell them I'm coming home." There wouldn't be any ducking questions then. At least she'd have more pressing things to think about than Riley."I can arrange that."It would be good to go home and see her family. Figure things out. Chances were, she could squeeze some sort of severance package out of NexGen to tide her over for a while. "Thanks." Erin tucked the clothes under her arm and pushed her hand through her hair."How are you doing? Really? Did Riley do something?" Melody leaned against the sinks, hands at her hips.That last question stopped Erin in her tracks.Her silly heart clenched at the sound of his name.She barely knew the guy. Her attachment was born out of a high stress situation and vulnerability. That was it."No." E
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Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 258: Epilogue.
Three Months Later. Aegis Group Offices, Seattle, Washington.MELODY PLACED HER SERVICE weapon in the case and clicked the lid shut. This was the real moment for her when she got to switch off from a job. Used to it was when they turned a newly rescued asset over to whoever had paid to have them rescued, be that family, coworkers or other loved ones. However, after Ibiza everything had changed.She smiled at the newly hired munitions clerk and slid the case over. Unlike the guys she didn't feel the need to keep her weapons at home."I'm done with this. Thanks," she said."There's the sharp shooter," Vaughn said coming into the small room, Nolan and Riley bringing up the rear.Melody flushed and inwardly preened. That had been a rather exceptional shot there at the end."It was just a shot." She rolled her eyes and leaned an elbow on the counter as the guys all requested their own secure cases. "What are you three doing?""Carla's birthday," Vaughn said as if that expla
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 257: Melody, Grant
Tuesday. Forgery Front, Chicago, Illinois.MELODY WANTED NOTHING MORE than to let Grant take over. He was good at that. It was kind of his thing. But she knew he wasn't on Ethan's side. No one was. They didn't understand him. Not that she did either, but after spending a few days around him she had some insight to the man, he'd become.But first...She took Grant's face in her hands and pulled him down for a quick, hard kiss."I missed you," she whispered."You're safe." He squeezed her.She nodded then let go of him and turned her attention on Ethan.The man had taken two central mass bullets. He needed a damn doctor.She grabbed Grant's hand. No matter what came next, she wanted him by her side. She marched across the small space to where Ethan leaned on the only still-standing desk. Nolan had his gun trained on Ethan while a man she didn't recognize spoke to him."Who are you?" She stepped between Ethan and the newcomer. "Why aren't you getting him a doctor?"
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 256: Melody, Grant
Tuesday. Forgery Front, Chicago, Illinois.MELODY STOOD FROZEN TO the spot, the visual of the crackling electricity up lighting the faces of Ethan and Liman burned into her mind. It was like something out of an action movie.Ethan hauled back and rammed the bathroom door with his shoulder. He roared his rage.Liman was trapped. There was no way out of that bathroom. Eventually Ethan would get in or Liman would have to come out. Either way, it was going to be an explosive conflict.This was her chance to get out of here. The back door was unlocked. She could slip out and be gone. Call the cops, Grant, anyone more capable to deal with this. And yet she remained rooted to the spot, unable and maybe a little unwilling to move.They'd already left Ethan once and look where that got him.Ethan planted his back against the wall and kicked. She heard the pop of hinges. Another kick and the door clattered to the floor. Her stomach clenched. Ethan shoved off the wall, only to be h
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 255: Grant, Liman
Tuesday. Aegis Group Headquarters, Chicago, Illinois.GRANT PUSHED UP OFF the cot. Some thoughtful person had brought four of them into the ops room at some point. He'd actually managed half an hour of sleep. It was better than he'd gotten trying to crash back in his room. Something about being near the constant buzz of activity helped ease his mind.He stretched, paying attention to the twinges of muscle protesting. The soreness was worse now post-crash.How was Melody feeling? Did she have any injuries?Watching the video, the ambulance had more or less driven off the road and tipped over. With any luck she wasn't badly injured.Grant gave Marco and Luke a wide berth. Both men had chewed his ass out for potentially risking Hannah and running into a situation by himself. Grant wasn't keen on rehashing that. Instead headed for the computer in the corner where Ghost had set himself up. Most people avoided him, which was fine for Grant. He didn't have to like the guy to use
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 254: Liman, Melody
Tuesday. Hotel, Chicago, Illinois.LIMAN LAID OUT EVERYTHING he'd spent the last thirty-six hours gathering. When he'd left their safe house he'd wanted to take supplies with him, but didn't dare beyond some cash. All he'd had was what he was wearing, some jewelry and a couple things he knew he could hawk at the pawn shop around the corner.It had taken some work hustling the goods he had, turning them into more profitable items, but he had a couple thousand in US dollars, three new to him guns and a small collection of ammunition, and if all went as planned, in another day he'd have a passport that would grant him an escape from this dammed country.He knew he couldn't go home. That bridge was burned. As soon as his government learned about the utter disaster, they'd want to bring him in for questioning. It wouldn't end in a simple debrief. There were no answers he could give his superiors that they'd accept. The only true end would be Liman's death.He had no intention of
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 253: Melody, Grant
Tuesday. Unknown.MELODY'S TOES HURT.That was her first coherent thought as her mind rose from the groggy sleep of the dead. She remained exactly where she was, as if even her subconscious was aware that there was a predator nearby.The handcuff secured to her left wrist bit into her skin and her fingers were numb, no doubt from the way she'd been laying.She strained to listen harder. There was no sound of traffic or horns. She couldn't even hear someone walking around, the whish of fabric or the soft sounds of someone breathing.If she didn't know better, she'd think she was alone.What did she smell?The air was musty and she recalled a vague memory from last night that included a sneezing fit."I know you're awake," a man said slowly.He was so close his voice seemed to rumble across her skin.Melody sucked in a breath and her eyes popped open.Ethan sat next to the bed, his clasped hands resting on the edge of the mattress. He was watching her."Jesus."
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 252: Grant
Monday. Aegis Group Headquarters, Chicago, Illinois.GRANT KEPT STARING AT the map, as if it would suddenly reveal where Melody was. He knew it wouldn't, but as the hours ticked by his hope was beginning to wane. Eventually they'd get a lead. They always did. But would it be too late for Melody?"I know who he is," Gavin announced.Grant straightened and stared at the younger man holding his tablet up like a beacon."And?" Marco prompted.Gavin referenced the tablet screen. "Liman Fahed. Intelligence officer for the General Directorate of General Security.""And that tells us, what?" Grant asked."A name is a start," Ghost said.Grant ground his teeth together and focused on the map.A name was just a name, especially when they didn't know how to find the man.He'd hoped that with Ghost's arrival, they might make some sort of forward movement on locating Melody, but they were still stuck in a holding pattern.They needed a lead."So I guess it's not useful to
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 251: Melody, Liman
Monday. Unknown, Chicago, Illinois.MELODY KNEW SHE WAS dozing. She hadn't actually fallen asleep, even if the odd, twilight state between sleep and wakefulness made her question that knowledge. Exhaustion had won out, more or less. But she couldn't relax enough to become totally unaware.A soft jangle of metal lured her consciousness back into the land of the living. It wasn't a suspicious noise. More like she'd moved and maybe disrupted the coil of chain. Or Ethan had finally decided to stop playing at being a statue.Thinking the man's name caused Melody to shiver. She opened her eyes, blinking into the relative darkness. The light filtering in around the door from the next room over provided enough light for her to make out shapes.Ethan was no longer sitting.He stood. Judging by the way his shoulders hunched, his back was to her, his attention on the handcuff securing him to the wall.The chain jangled again. He grunted.The hair on the back of her neck stood up.
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 250: Grant
Sunday. Aegis Group Headquarters, Chicago, Illinois.GRANT STARED AT HIS new phone. Zain had a bundle of them delivered via a courier about an hour ago. Since Aegis Group hadn't contacted Lepta Team's family beyond a few of the guy's girlfriends, it was imperative they have a means of communicating.The gut-punch had been opening up his photo gallery to see pictures of Melody. They'd gone to a nice dinner last week before leaving on the job. She'd looked beautiful in a goldish-pink dress that had shimmered. She'd rolled her eyes when he took a picture of her with the city lights behind her.Zain was nothing if not thorough. Of course their new phones would be updated with all their information and preferences, right down to the custom sound Grant had picked for Melody's texts.He tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling.Following the outburst earlier Grant had opted to wait in the hall where he wouldn't be tempted to stick his nose in things and slow people down.
