Page 54 of Her Loving Hero

“Black Rifle Coffee,” Gray grinned.

“Never heard of it.”

“Buddy of mine sent me five pounds. It’s a veteran owned company and a portion of their profits go to veteran causes.”

“It’s damn good shit,” Wyatt said as he took another sip. “So, either you’re giving me a last good cup of coffee before my execution, or you’re not as mad after talking to Lieutenant Hogan.”

“Oh, I’m still pissed at you,” Gray said. “Why the fuck didn’t you talk to me?”

Wyatt sat down the mug, making sure the handle was parallel to the table’s edge. He nudged it just a little more.

“You’ve got nothing.”

He looked up at Gray and nodded. “You’re right, I’ve got nothing. Normally I’m into this shit with Dex, and he’s giving you a blow-by-blow. Dex was out of the loop because of Kenna and I was working with Kane. Kane was talking to his lieutenant.” Wyatt’s voice trailed off because he felt like the biggest loser in the world.

Gray stared at him.

“You’re damn lucky that you and Kane brought home the golden ticket, that’s all I’ve got to say.”

Wyatt’s mouth went dry as he nodded.

“Okay, here’s the official dressing down. Never be so stupid again. Got it?”

It took a moment for Gray’s words to sink in. When they did, he grinned. He’d just skated.

“Now I’ll tell you what Max told me at midnight. We were on the damn phone for two damn hours. That’s the reason for all the coffee.”

Gray got up from the table and got his laptop and brought it back and opened it up. “They were able to download the video, want to see it?”

Gray started to play it before Wyatt even nodded. Wyatt had done some studying up, Hamza al Libi had aged from his last siting six years ago, but it was him. And he could understand now why the reporter need that one portion translated. If Wyatt hadn’t known that he was talking about a bombing of an orphanage, he wouldn’t have been able to make out the words either.

“Max is walking on cloud nine that you guys plucked this video out of the sky. The suits in Washington are scraping through every bit of chatter that’s been going on in Oman and Yemen for the last two months with a fine-tooth comb. Things that they’ve put down as run-of-the mill talk they’re now tracking down to its source.”

“Do we know what they’ve found? I think that this party that the Ambassador is having is an A-1 target,” Wyatt said vehemently.

“Already cancelled,” Gray nodded.

Wyatt couldn’t wait to share that bit of news with Emily, she’d be overjoyed.

“The suits have their guys looking into it. They told Max that Kane could stand down.”

Wyatt had only met Max Hogan once, but he was sure that didn’t go over well. He slowly grinned at Gray. “So, let me guess, Dex and Kane are working on this.”

Gray’s lip twitched. “Can’t say. What I can tell you, is that Dex took additional time off to be home with Kenna and their daughter Cora, so we won’t be seeing him on base.”

“And Kane? Does he have a newborn he needs to stay home with in Virginia?” Wyatt asked with a laugh.

“No, he came down with a bad case of the flu, now that you ask.” Gray’s lip twitched.

“Did I catch the same flu bug?” Wyatt asked hopefully.

Now Gray actually grinned. “Don’t be stupid, if you had you couldn’t be near the newborn.”

Wyatt laughed.

“But seriously.” Gray set down his mug and leaned over the laptop to look Wyatt dead in the eye. “Wy, I want your eyes on this, know that. But only give what you can. Take care of your family first. Ben needs you.”

“I can’t believe he’s here. I called the hospital this morning before coming over. He had a good night, he’s already awake and hungry and complaining about orange jello. He always was a picky eater.”

“And your other brothers?”

“I’m going to get this sorted out ASAP.”

“That’s what I mean. You are definitely someone I want working on this mission, but family comes first. And your family is our family.”

Gray held out his fist and Wyatt bumped it. Getting assigned to Black Dawn had been the best thing that had happened to him before Emily.