CHAPTER TWO
Jordan picked up the ringing phone, never taking his eyes of the situation report he was reading. “Major Grant.”
“It’s Major Bella. The commander wants to see you.”
“Got it. Thanks.” He set the receiver back on the cradle. Sitting back in his chair, he rubbed his hands over his high-and-tight and yawned. Christ, he was tired. The dreams had come back in force after the camping trip a month ago and he hadn’t been sleeping for shit. Those trips were supposed to be his escape. Get out, shoot the shit with some friends, relax, reminisce about all the stupid shit they’d done early in their careers.
Seeing Bree Marks had thrown him for a loop. Brought back memories he didn’t like to remember. If he’d known, he could have prepared himself, but he hadn’t expected to see the person who’d help save him and his team. Fuck, he still cringed thinking about what an ass he’d made of himself in front of Bree and his camping buddies.
So much for getting past all his issues — he’d been fooling himself. He needed to get his head in the game and go back out. Back to the fight. That’s where he belonged. The only place the world seemed to make sense anymore.
Sucking back the dregs of coffee, he tossed the cup in the trash before yanking his ID card out of the reader and locking his computer. He took a sharp right out of his office, his movements precise as he walked down the hall to the commander’s office.
“Good morning, Betty.”
The commander’s long-time secretary looked up from her computer screen. “Good morning, Major. Go on in, he’s expecting you.”
Uh, yup.He nodded, biting back his sarcastic reply. The XO had just called him — stood to reason the commander was expecting him. Rapping twice on the doorframe, he waited.
“Send him in when he gets here.” Colonel Bates waved him in and hung up the phone. “Close the door and have a seat, Major Grant.”
Jordan sat in one of the well-padded leather chairs opposite the commander’s desk.
Colonel Bates folded his hands on top of the desk and leaned forward. “There’s no easy way to tell you what I’m about to say, so I won’t bullshit you.”
His scalp prickled.Well that’s never good.It wasn’t his family — that call would have been direct. Could one of his soldiers have been injured between PT that morning and now?
“You’re being pulled off the deployment.”
“What?” He fisted his hands on thighs, digging his nails into his palms. The sharp sting helped reign in his anger. “Sir, we’re three days away from movement. What the hell? Why?”
The Colonel sighed. “You’ve been by-name requested.”
“For what? By who?”
“By me,” a voice said from the door.
Jordan’s spun in his chair. He’d been so focused on the Commander, he hadn’t heard the door open. The guy who stepped in was tall, built, and carried himself like an operator.
“Who are you?”
“This is Jared Westin,” Colonel Bates said. “He’s the owner of an organization called The Titan Group.”
“Never heard of it,” he said. How the hell did a private org have the pull to by-name request him?
“Good.” Westin slipped his hands into his pants pockets. “Then we’re doing our job.”
If he had hair on the back of his neck, it would be standing on end. What the fuck was going on? “And what is your job?”
Westin shrugged. “It depends on the customer. This job is a retrieval mission.”
“Retrieval of what?”
“Who. We’re retrieving a who.”
Jordan growled low in the back of his throat. “Fine,” he ground out. “Whothe hell is so important that you by-name request me and pulled me off a six-month deployment? One we’ve trained the last three months for.”
“It’s Emme,” a fourth voice said from the doorway.
