Chapter 17
“Who are these men again?” Ellena whispered softly so no one else could hear.
Nate tilted his head toward hers. “That guy there is Ghost. He’s their team leader and a total badass. The man standing next to him is Coach, those two over there are Fletch and Hollywood, and the big one at the end is Truck.”
While Gabe, Ryker, and Walker gave the new team a rundown on the situation, Ellena studied them closely.
When Gabe first told her they were meeting up with another group of guys, she’d had no choice but to go along with it. She knew he was doing everything he could as quickly as he could, but for Ellena, it wasn’t nearly fast enough.
An image of her friend’s smiling face flashed through her mind, striking a match to the pile of guilt burning inside her stomach. Aside from being her friend, Jenna hadnothingto do with any of this. But yet, she’d been taken from her home by a man posing as a world-renowned assassin, having no idea he was actually working undercover for the CIA.
When Ellena discovered Walker hadn’t bothered to share this little tidbit with Jenna, she’d nearly come unglued.
Knowing the friend who’d been there for her through everything—the good, the bad, and all of her many, ugly cries— was locked away somewhere, terrified and probably thinking she was going to die, made Ellena physically ill.
Walker claimed he needed Jenna’s fear to be genuine so she wouldn’t do or say anything to tip off the man keeping watch over her. When Ellena asked him who that was, he’d said Chris Hall.
The same man who caused my wreck.
The thought of Jenna being anywhere near someone like him…or Adrian Walker…was terrifying. But Walker had assured them all that he’d do whatever it took to keep Jenna safe, and there was something about the way he’d said it that made Elle believe him.
After Matt had finished cleaning and sewing up Adrian’s wound, they’d all gathered back in the tiny living room to hash out the details of Walker’s crazy plan. Halfway through, after even more back and forth bickering and finger-pointing than before, Gabe told Ryker they weren’t going through with it unless they had more men there to help protect both her and Jenna.
They’d all waited while Ryker called the man Nate had just pointed out as Ghost, informing him that his team’s services were needed ASAP. Though Ryker had done his best to say the last part quietly, Ellena had still heard the mysterious man’s whispered words.
Off the books.
After a few more phone calls—to whom, Ellena had no idea—a meeting had been called at the location they were in, now. When Ellena had asked why they couldn’t stay at the cabin, Nate had laughed and told her she’d understand once she saw who they were meeting.
So, here they were. Standing inside an old barn in the middle of nowhere with some other team. A team Gabe assured her was every bit as good—and deadly—as Bravo Team.
“Hey.”
Gabe’s soft voice made Ellena jump. She looked around and realized he’d finished bringing the others up to speed.
“Hey.” She offered her ruggedly handsome husband a hint of a smile. “Sorry. Guess I got lost in my thoughts for a minute.”
“Understandable. You doing okay?” His concern for her obvious as he slid a comforting hand against her cheek.
“Yeah.” Her smile grew slightly as she covered his hand with hers. “I’m just worried about Jenna.”
“Walker gave us his word that she’s safe.”
“I thought you said you couldn’t trust him.”
“I don’t.” One corner of his mouth twitched. Resting both hands on her shoulders, he attempted to reassure her. “But I’ve worked with Ryker long enough to still trust him, and he backed up Walker’s claim, so…”
His unspokenWhat choice do we have?hung in the air between them.
Wrapping her arms around his waist, Ellena closed her eyes and held on tightly, just long enough to send up a silent prayer that her friend would be okay.
“This will work, baby.” Gabe pressed his lips to her forehead. “I promise.”
She wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince more. Her or himself.
With a nod, Ellena dropped her hand and stepped out of his reach. “Are we about done here?” The sooner they could put their plan into action, the sooner this would all be over.
“Almost. Walker is outside right now calling Price to let him know he made contact with you. He’s setting up the details of the trade, and as long as Price agrees with the plan, we’ll head out as soon as we can.”
