“What happened, Talia?” Liam asked, the worry for his friend reflected clearly in his eyes.
Moments from that morning flashed through Natalia’s mind.
Waking up to Jagger’s spicy male scent intertwined in the fabric of her pillows and bedding. Feeling a bit sore in the most incredible way. Jagger’s smile when she’d first walked into the kitchen. The embarrassment she’d felt—and his immediate amusement—when her need for caffeine caused an unintended comment about being in love with him.
“We were having coffee in my kitchen when I got a call from work. One of Sanchez’s men was starting to crack, and I was the one tasked with making him break.”
“So you and Jagger were just leaving your place when the explosion happened?”
She gave a jerky nod as her gaze remained on Liam’s. “I was trying to remote start my car.” Natalia frowned. “My fob wouldn’t work, and Jagger wanted to try. I gave him the fob, and when he pushed the button, the engine struggled to fire up and then…”
Boom.
“Do the authorities have any suspects or leads?” Christian asked next.
“Not yet, but Ryker’s got people looking into whether it’s connected to Sanchez.”
It’s not, and you know it.
Liam’s handsome face softened as he put an arm around his fiancée’s shoulders. “Jag filled me in on the situation with your former CIA cohort who was working the docks. For what it’s worth, he never truly thought you were playing us.” He looked at his teammates and back to her. “None of us did, really. Still, we hope you understand that we had to be sure.”
“I get it.” She may not like it, but as an agent, she understood. “And thanks for believing in me. It really means a lot. Especially when I’m the reason Jagger was almost killed.”
“Bullshit.”
All eyes turned to Rocky’s wife, Raegan, who stepped away from her husband to come closer to Natalia. The FBI agent was petite and looked like the girl next door. But her record was beyond impressive. The fact that she’d played an instrumental part in saving the city of Chicago not so long ago pretty much said it all.
“I’m sorry?” Natalia frowned, meeting the other woman’s light brown eyes.
“The only one responsible for Jagger getting hurt is the asshole who set that bomb. But don’t worry. We’re going to do whatever we can to help you find them…and stop them.”
“I will find the person responsible for hurting Jagger,” she vowed to his team. “You have to know, I won’t stop until?—”
“He wasn’t the only one who could have died, Talia.” Ro rejoined the conversation. “And Christian didn’t just borrow a client’s jet to fly us all here when he got the news because of Jagger. We also came because of you.”
They…did?
She frowned. “Why me?”
“Simple.” The spunky brunette gave one of her shoulders a shrug. “From what Brody’s told me—and don’t worry, he’d never share anything that’s classified—but he’s mentioned multipletimes how good you are at your job, and how you always make sure the team has what it needs.”
“You make sure our husbands come back home to us after every op.”
Natalia’s gaze swung to Megan’s. “Not just me,” she responded humbly. “There’s a whole team who’s?—”
“Only as good as their leader,” Rocky interrupted. The muscular blond shared a look with his FBI wife before bringing his blue eyes back to hers. “Their actions are a direct result of your direction and leadership. So Ro’s right. You’re as much a part of the Delta Team family as the rest of us.”
“Even if you didn’t know it.” Megan grinned.
Tears threatened to form, but by the will of God alone, Natalia was able to keep them at bay. With a quick clearing of her throat, she offered them all a sincere, “Thank you.”
At the moment, it was all she could think to say.
“I see the calvary arrived.” Ryker reappeared. “I just got off the phone with Shaw from Echo. He and his team should be here within the hour.”
“Echo’s coming here?” Liam asked.
Ryker nodded his salt-and-pepper head. “The second I told Shaw that Jagger and Talia were the ones involved in today’s explosion, he said he was gathering the team and heading this way.”
