Soleneblushed but her glare remained. “Whatever. So Noel, you’re apparently retired now. Hammer talked to someone who knows someone, and you’re out.”
Hammer nodded. “And not on any lists, so you’re clean. I had a talk with Big Joe.” He frowned. “But we’ll discuss that later.
“No, now.” He saw Hammer and Deacon exchange a glance. “Addy, would you and Solene take the baby out? I need totalk to the guys.”
She gave him a peck on the cheek and caressed his hair. “Sure thing, sexy.” She stood, and Solene took the boy from Deacon. “I love you, Noel.”
He smiled back. “I love you too, Addy.” He watched her leave, able to put up with any amount of pain for the sight of his woman.
Hammer made a face. “Okay, just stop. I’m hurting watching all this sap.”
“Propme up, would you?” Noel hated being supine, even if he did have a pillow or two under him. “What’s my damage?”
Deacon answered. “Blood loss, mostly. You took a bullet that bounced off a rib, a miracle in itself. So you have bruising. Lots of cuts because of that window you dove through. Impressive, Noel. I saw you go through before I had to take on a few guys in hot pursuit. Brent had asquad staged around the outside of the house, but they had orders to wait until you were in. I didn’t.” He smiled.
Noel sifted through his memories. “Some of what he said made no sense. He was a contractor, I think. One of Big Joe’s, he said.”
Hammer shook his head. “That’s part of the problem. He wasn’t. Big Joe told me he’s never seen or heard of Brent Morgan under that name orany other alias. Fingerprints don’t show him in the system either. This guy was a ghost.”
Noel shifted on the pillows, feeling better about being upright even if his belly protested. He glanced down at his forearms to see them all bandaged up. He looked like a mummy, but he didn’t care. “Something else he said…” Another thought struck him. “There was a woman there, at the end. Who was she?”
“The chick Addy bulls-eyed? Annette Fusco, expensive informant and a woman with ties around the world? I gotta say, I’m impressed. Addy nailed her right between the eyes.” Deacon sounded proud.
“Fusco… That name is familiar.”
Hammer nodded. “It should be. We’ve used her before. The fact that Brent was using her too is telling. He might not be in our system, but I’d bet he wasone of us. Big Joe is looking into the other handlers and their off-book missions. This might go deeper than anyone realizes. Shadow ops even we’re not supposed to touch.”
“Hmm.” Noel considered it. “That could be. Maybe Brent did work for one of the others. He had a similar background. No family that would care if he went missing, tough, resourceful. But something he said at the end. Idon’t know if we’re done with all this yet.”
Hammer and Deacon frowned.
“He mentioned something about ‘nine,’ about Angel man coming. But I don’t know what it means.”
“I don’t know either.” Deacon shook his head. “But we have time to figure it out. Hammer and I are on leave until this is all cleared up. We’ll start plugging in the new info while you heal up.”
“And Violet?What about her?”
“I’m keeping an eye on her.” Hammer scowled. “I don’t trust her, though I have no reason not to. Something about her rubs me wrong.”
“Nah, don’t worry so much, Noel,” Deacon said with a grin. “She bothers Hammer the way Solene bothers me. I think it’s a case of deluded women not appreciating a godlike male in their presence when they should.”
At that, Hammer’sscowl turned into a smile. “You really do have a way with words, Deacon.”
“I know.”
The pair left after a few more reassurances about their new security arrangements.
Addy returned.
Noel wanted to sleep, but he couldn’t. Not yet. When she held his hand, stroking the bandages on his palm, he breathed her in and closed his eyes. And he slept.
Two weekslater
Addy rolled her eyes and ordered Noel to stop annoying Vi—for the tenth time in two days.“You really are the worst patient.”
“I need to get back up and training.” She knew he hated being weak. And as much as he said he loved hearing how Addy had shot the Fusco woman and saved his life, he hated that she’d needed to defend herself in the first place. Noel had a bad case of the guilts going on. Ice, apparently, had made a return, hurling cold insults at anyone in the vicinity.
Except for Addy.
