“You remember Dawson, our team leader?” Matt motioned to Gabe.
“Of course.” The two men shook hands.
“And this is Kole Jameson. He stayed back last time, to protect his wife.”
“Heard a lot about you,” Kole offered Ghost his hand.
“It’s all bullshit,” Ghost teased.
With a chuckle, Kole shook his head. “Seriously, man. Appreciate what you did for my sister-in-law.”
“How is Gracelynn?” Ghost asked, sounding sincere.
“Great. Actually, she and Nate are on their honeymoon.”
With a smirk, Ghost said, “Ah, so that’s why the smartass isn’t here.”
Matt laughed, remembering Nate’s hesitation to work with Ghost and his men. Knowing these guys were going to help him get Katherine back made him even more grateful their two teams had crossed paths.
“Heard King ran into some trouble.” Ghost looked at Matt. “He good?”
“He will be. Took a hit to the shoulder. Busted his collar bone, but he’ll be back with the team in no time.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“Since these three assholes have no manners, I guess I’ll have to introduce myself. Derek West.” Derek held out his hand.
“Shit. Sorry, D.” Matt gave the other man a chagrined smile before turning back to Ghost. “Derek’s actually on Jake’s team. Former SEAL and Alpha’s tech guy. He’s helping us out until Nate gets back.”
“No, I remember. You’re the one who found the pics on Gracie’s phone. The ones who helped us take down that prick Yavuz.” Ghost gave Derek an approving nod. “From what Ryker’s said, you’ve done quite a bit to help figure this clusterfuck out.”
Derek shrugged. “Some. Wish I could’ve figured it out sooner.”
“You guys are here, now. That’s all that matters. Come on.” Looking at Derek and Kole, Ghost tilted his head toward one side of the room, where his men were standing. “I’ll introduce you to the others and then we can get started.
Wearing camo gear similar to Matt’s, the brown-haired captain began introducing Derek and Kole to his men. First up was Fletch. An inch taller than Ghost, the Delta operative’s muscular, brightly tattooed arms were what had stuck in Matt’s memory of the man.
Next were Beatle, Hollywood, and Truck. The one and only time he’d met these three was when they’d flown the team and Gracie back to the States from Turkey. Though they hadn’t worked the actual op with them, Matt had no qualms about doing so now.
At barely under six foot, Beatle was the shortest of the group, the man with the slightly auburn hair had a southern drawl that could possibly out-do Derek’s. With his tall, dark, and handsome feature, Hollywood reminded Matt a bit of Alpha Team’s Trevor.
And then there was Truck.
The last time Matt saw him, the guy was flying the chopper. He’d known the dude was big, but seeing him standing upright was like…holy fuck! The guy was seriously over six and a half feet.
Between his enormous frame, a scar on his face, and a nose that had been broken more than once, the dude could probably just look at Bukhari and send the man running.
If only it were that easy.
Last up was the man who went by the nickname “Coach”. Minus Truck, the six-five, naturally tanned giant also towered over every other man in the room. Matt remembered him as being fairly serious, though his strong, square jaw may have attributed to that thought.
“Heard your girl’s special, like me,” Coach shook Matt’s hand.
“That’s right. You have an eidetic memory, too.” Matt dropped his hand. “Forgot about that.”
“Can’t imagine what that’s like.” Then, the man smirked.
“Funny.” Matt flipped him off with a grin before turning serious. Addressing Ghost, he asked, “Can we get to work, now?”
