Ranger let his chair tip back down to the floor with a thud, a look passing to Grey.
Ethan tensed. “What?”
“We won’t be doing any R&R. We’ve got to do a detail for Senator Cotter.”
“As in the Senator over JSOC?”
Grey nodded. “Yep.”
Aaron sat back in his chair, surveying the bar. “Why’s he need us? He’s got his own security detail.”
“His daughter is marrying General Rainier.”
“As in our commander?” The four-star general in charge of the entire Joint Special Operations Command at the Pentagon.
“Yep,” Grey said.
Ethan grunted and flagged the waitress for a refill. “Isn’t he in his fifties?”
Ranger nodded and then lifted his hand and rubbed his fingers together. “It ain’t a love match, bro. It’s a business merger. Those two run JSOC and Cotter’s got enough money to run a small country. They’re just keepin’ the power up top.”
“How old is she?” Aaron asked.
“Caroline Cotter is twenty-six,” Grey said.
Ethan’s stomach turned. Fucking rich people and politicians, they were all the same. Cotter was serving up his only daughter on a silver platter to a man old enough to be hergrandfather just to maintain his seat. “So Cotter’s making sure he keeps his position anyway he can.”
Grey’s steely eyes narrowed, but he didn’t shift his posture. “The reason behind the union isn’t any of our damn business. We have our orders and we will follow them, your opinion doesn’t matter.” Grey got to his feet, locking his gaze. “You leave tomorrow. I’ll follow in two days after I’ve finished building the team for the security detail.”
“A team?” Ethan asked quietly. They had a full-team of highly-trained operatives.
“Cotter doesn’t want his daughter to feel uncomfortable. He’s ordered we use two females as her personal bodyguards during the ceremony.”
“Where?” Aaron asked.
“A couple hours south of here. He's rented out a plantation a few miles out of Natchez.”
“Hell yeah, my grandma lives down there,” Aaron said. “I haven’t gotten to visit her in months.”
Ethan held back his grimace. “You really want to bring in two strangers we’ve never worked with before? You would trust them?”
“It’s not a choice.” Grey turned to leave. “You head out tomorrow at 0500.”
Ranger stood and clapped Aaron on the shoulder. “Well boys, the wife is waiting. I’ve wasted enough time with you two ugly mugs.”
After Ranger left, Ethan turned to Aaron, who’d taken on a thoughtful look. “What?”
Aaron downed his beer and stood, slapping a ten on the table. “I just remembered I needed to do something.” Aaron glanced over Ethan’s shoulder and grinned. “Looks like you’ve got something to do, too.”
Ethan followed his teammate’s gaze to the bleach blonde weaving her way over, pausing to give her a closer look. He’dlied when he said she wasn’t his type. She was exactly the kind of woman he preferred. A one night stand might be enough to get rid of some of his pent up frustration and get him through the next couple of weeks. “Ah, hell.”
Aaron gave him a wink. “Don’t stay up all night, you’re driving tomorrow.”
Ethan glared at Aaron’s back as he left the bar, but he didn’t fight the blonde when she slid onto his lap and said, “you look like you could use a friend.”
“Got a place nearby?”
She slipped her arm around his neck and leaned in close to his ear. “About a mile from here. Wanna give me a ride?”
