Grant’s short, light brown hair matched the perpetual five o’clock shadow that covered his strong jaw and often-pursed mouth. Jake couldn’t remember a time he’d seen the guy smile.
In fact, it seemed he was incapable of showing emotions of any kind, but tonight, even he looked at Jake with something akin to sympathy.
“Been doin’ some redecorating, boss?” Coop’s voice cut through the thick silence.
The young sniper glanced at Jake’s bruised knuckles and nodded toward the two fist-sized holes in the wall. With his chin between his thumb and forefinger, he pretended to study the damage with an expert eye.
“I like it. Gives the room an airy feel.” He waved that same hand in the air as he spoke, giving his best impersonation of a flamboyant decorator. Mac punched his arm and glared at him, and Derek snickered then coughed to try to cover it up.
Ignoring Coop’s obvious attempt to lighten the mood, Jake stood with his hands on his hips and addressed the group.
“I asked you here tonight because I need a favor.”
“I’m in,” Trevor said without hesitation.
Though understanding and appreciative of Trevor’s instant agreement, Jake shook his head. “It’s not that simple. It’s an unsanctioned job. Completely under the radar, and you all know what that means. No government support or acknowledgement of any kind. Something goes sideways, there’s a good chance we’ll all either end up dead, or left to rot in some hole-in-the-wall prison somewhere. I need to know that each of you is clear on what you’d be agreeing to. You also need to know if you want to bug out on this one, I will in no way hold it against you or think less of you. You have my word on that.”
Jake’s team knew his word was everything. He watched and waited, hating the looks they were all giving him. Mac spoke up first.
Scooting to the edge of her seat, she rested her elbows on her knees, her delicate-but-deadly hands folded together in front of her.
“Boss, I’m pretty sure I speak for the team when I say how sorry we are about your friend. We know she meant a lot to you.”
Jake wanted to tell them all to take their pity and shove it up their asses. Thankfully, what little sanity he had left won out.
“I appreciate that Mac, but I’m not looking for anyone’s sympathy. I’m going after the bastards who did this to her, and I just need to know whether you’re in or out.”
Mac smiled slowly and glanced around at her teammates. “Well, I don’t know about these other yahoos, but I’m definitely in.”
Jake thought he saw Coop give Mac a concerned glance, but it was gone before he could be sure. Turning to Jake, he said, “Hell, yeah, I’m in.”
As usual, Grant’s deep voice remained steady. “Whatever you need, boss.”
D was next, his southern drawl prevalent. “Hell, man. You didn’t even have to ask.”
Trevor looked at Jake incredulously. “You honestly think I’m gonna let you do this without me?” He glanced at the others and back to Jake. “That any of us would leave you alone in this?”
Trevor did his best to clear the emotion from this throat before continuing on. “I know what she meant to you.” He looked around at the others. “We all do. I cared about her, too, but I’ve already lost too many friends to shit like this. I’m not about to lose another one.”
The man looked pissed off at the world. Oddly, Jake found that comforting. His damn eyes started burning again, but this time,thank Christ, he was able to push it back.
“Thank you.” Inhaling deeply, he went into mission mode. “Derek, I need any and all info you can get on what went down. More than what you got before. We’ll need exact locations, known hostiles in the area. Everything.”
“On it, boss.”
“The rest of you...use your contacts. Call in favors. Do whatever it takes to gather as much intel as possible. I want to know exactly what we’re up against. No surprises. My gut’s telling me there’s more to this than local drug runners. The way the camp was hit,”—that damn knot was there again, but he swallowed past it—“the manner in which they were...disposed of,” he shook his head. “This wasn’t a simple tag and grab. I’ll give everyone time to get what you need.” Jake glanced down at his watch, “We’ll reconvene in the war room at fourteen hundred tomorrow. I know this isn’t a rescue mission, so we’ve got some time, but...I want this done ASAP.”
A moment of silence passed before Jake added, “This mission is revenge, plain and simple.Myrevenge. So, at any point in time if you want out, say the word. Just know, I won’t back down from this. Those bastards need to pay for what they did to her.” His fucking voice broke.
“We understand what we’re signing up for, boss.” Coop looked squarely at Jake.
“And this is not justyourrevenge,” Trevor added angrily.
The rest of the team muttered their agreements. Moved by their support, Jake ran a hand over his jaw to compose himself. “Thank you.”
“No thanks needed, boss,” Mac quickly responded. “You’d do the same for us.”
She spoke the truth. Jake would do whatever he could for each and every person before him. This wasn’t just his team. They were his family. He just prayed they all survived his bloodthirsty act of revenge.
