Dangerous Pursuit (OSI Dark Ops #3)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Calliope drove down the long driveway to the rental house with Lucas behind her in his truck. They had a mission brief scheduled for oh six forty-five, and she’d planned to get back before any of the guys were up and about. Lucas had had other ideas—ideas that involved more mind-blowing sex. She’d eagerly caved and ended up staying with him the entire night.

She had no clue what a whole night together meant for them or if there even was a them. They hadn’t really discussed or put a label on their relationship. If you could even call it that. And the reality of their situation—him having a business and living in Palomino, her living in Virginia—wasn’t exactly conducive to anything long-term, which made her sad to think about.

So, she decided not to—at least, not right now—and climbed out of the van.

“You ready?” Lucas strolled up to her in that sexy way of his .

Calliope was surprised when he held his hand out to her. Was that standard morning-after protocol? She had no clue—she wasn’t exactly well-versed on the topic.

“You bet.” She accepted his hand, and they walked up the path to the door.

Contrary to her outward I-do-this-every-day attitude, her guts actually churned at the prospect of facing the guys. Since when did she care what other people thought? Their opinion of her personal life shouldn’t matter. But she’d worked hard to earn their respect and didn’t want them to think less of her for sleeping with a man she’d basically just met.

You’re being dumb, she scolded herself. She was an adult and could sleep with whomever she wanted.

She knew for a fact Eddie was a man-whore who unabashedly enjoyed the company of many willing women. Hawk was a cards-close-to-the-vest kind of guy who didn’t talk much, so she had no clue what his dating life was like or if he even had one. Though she had noticed him staring at Charlotte Cavanaugh, a victim advocate and therapist who’d consulted with OSI on a few cases. Viking, Jonathan, and Cole … well, they didn’t count because they were super in love with their significant others.

She and Lucas stepped into the great room area, and multiple sets of eyes swung their way, then dropped to their joined hands .

Hawk was sitting with one leg draped over the arm of an oversize, upholstered chair, an electronic tablet in his lap, a cup of coffee in his hand.

Eddie was sprawled out on one side of the sectional holding a half-eaten breakfast sandwich. He’d been clicking through channels on the television.

They both acknowledged their arrival with an unspoken “s’up” kind of chin lift.

“Are there any more of those breakfast sandwiches left?” Lucas kissed the back of her hand, released it, and sauntered into the kitchen.

“They’re in the big freezer, bottom shelf, right-hand side.” Viking was swiping through photos on his phone—probably from his fiancée.

Marigold liked to send him pictures of Nicky, their adorable orange kitty. Someone had dumped the poor little thing in her garbage can, and he’d rescued it.

“Morning, Calliope.” He looked up with a smile.

“Morning, Vike.” She looked around at her teammates, all doing their own thing.

Not one of them asked why she was wearing one of Lucas’s company T-shirts and a pair of his basketball shorts that hung well below her knees, even with the waistband rolled up multiple times. Nor did they comment on her and Lucas strolling into the house holding hands.

She’d expected at least Eddie would say something, but he just smiled at her around a mouthful of breakfast sandwich and returned his attention back to the TV, where a very striking, very well-endowed woman in a skintight red dress now delivered the weather report in Spanish.

He was such a horndog.

Cole came from the hallway and said, “Good morning,” as he walked past Calliope.

“Um, good morning,” she said.

“Jonathan’s in his room, getting an update from Sammy.” He went straight into the kitchen and clapped Lucas on the back. “Hell of a storm last night, huh?”

“Yeah, should make for an interesting op today.” He ripped a sheet of paper towel from the roll, wrapped it around a frozen breakfast sandwich, and popped it into the microwave. Over the beep of the buttons, he looked back at her and asked, “Can I get one for you?”

“Sure.” All she’d had to eat since yesterday afternoon was the grilled cheese sandwich he’d made for her around two this morning. “I can’t wait to hike into those woods. It’ll be just like when I was a kid and used to head outside after one of our big Florida thunderstorms to scout around.”

“You’ll be up high today, providing overwatch, right?” The microwave beeped. Lucas removed his sandwich and replaced it with hers. He set the timer and started it up again .

“Yep.” She sensed something in his voice but couldn’t pinpoint what it was. “I’ll find a spot between the boat and the hut where the girls are.”

“Good morning, everyone.” Jonathan was tucking his phone in his back pocket as he entered the room. “Go ahead and grab a seat. We need to talk through today’s op plan again.”

Calliope accepted her sandwich from Lucas, wove her way around furniture, and stepped over legs, then plopped down on a love seat that matched the chair Hawk occupied.

A minute or two later, Lucas followed her path and sat down next to her.

“Here ya go.” He handed her a can of soda. “I know you don’t like coffee.”

Okay, that was really sweet.

“Thanks.” She popped the top and took a big swallow.

Once everyone was settled, Jonathan began the mission brief.

“First things first: Is everyone wearing their bio-patch?” He tapped behind his ear, and they all nodded or gave him a thumbs-up. “Good, because Sammy will have limited satellite visibility due to cloud cover over the op site, but she’ll still be able to track your bio-patches.”

The bio-patch was invented by Luna Pannikos, Caleb O’Halleran’s brilliant sister-in-law, when she was only eighteen years old. It was about the size of a small round bandage and could be customized to match each operator’s skin tone. They were placed behind their ear with a powerful adhesive, and no matter where they were on a mission, they appeared as a red blip on a massive screen back at the OSI PacNW operations center. From there, Sammy and the other techs could pinpoint each individual’s exact location, heart rate, blood pressure, body temp, etc.

“Update.” Jonathan turned to Lucas.

“Felix is in position at the marina with eyes on the yacht,” Lucas said. “He’ll keep us apprised of their movement as needed.”

“Good.” Jonathan held his hand out, and Eddie tossed him the remote. A few taps to his phone screen later and the terrain map of the op site replaced the weather reporter. “The Zodiac is tied up here, at this small, abandoned dock.” He tapped the map, near the mouth of the river. “At oh seven thirty, we’ll depart there and make our way toward the op site. Calliope and Viking, we’ll let you off here.” He pointed at a spot along the riverbank, well before the much larger dock where the yacht would eventually be. “You’ll hike in together to this location.” He dragged his finger over the map and circled a heavily wooded area. “That’ll put you about one and a half klicks from where the girls are being held. From there, you’ll split up, find your perch, and neutralize any sentries. ”

“Do you think having them split up that far from the site is the best idea?” Lucas reached over and smoothed his hand up and down her thigh in what felt like a weirdly possessive move. “Maybe one of us should provide cover for them?”

What the hell? Calliope’s brows drew together, and she turned to look at him. Her glare was wasted on him because he kept his attention on Jonathan.

They’d already gone over this plan multiple times. And why did it feel like when he said “provide cover for them” he’d really meant “provide cover for her”?

“They know what they’re doing,” Cole interjected. “They’ll be fine.”

Thank you very much.

As their team leader, he was keenly aware of how skilled they both were. Still, Calliope got the impression Lucas’s hesitance had less to do with Viking and more to do with her.

Maybe she was being hypersensitive because of the overprotective way he’d reacted at the bar last night. She shut down those thoughts and refocused on the mission, not on what doubts Lucas might or might not have about her abilities.

“The rest of us will continue upriver to this spot here, where Hawk and Eddie will jump off and make their way to the shack.” Jonathan pointed at an area about a quarter mile before the dock. “Cole, Lucas, and I will continue upriver, pull the Zodiac ashore here and secure it. This will also be our rendezvous point.” He indicated a small cove just beyond the dock. “We’ll neutralize everyone on that boat before they ever make it to the shack. Once the area is secured, Lucas will give Felix the all clear, and he’ll bring in a larger boat to transport the girls.” He scanned the group. “Everyone clear?”

“Clear,” they said in unison.

He set the remote on the coffee table and looked at his big watch. “We’ll head out in ten minutes.”

“Let’s gear up.” Cole pointed at Lucas. “Can I see you for a minute?”

“Sure.” He pushed up off the love seat, winked at Calliope, and followed Cole to the entertainment room.

She ran back to her bedroom, took off Lucas’s clothes and threw them on the dresser. She had a job to do, just like the rest of the team, and his protectiveness was disappointing and pissed her off. Especially since he didn’t seem worried about any of the guys being able to handle their responsibilities.

Calliope dropped her duffle bag on the bed, yanked the zipper open a bit too aggressively, and dug out a fitted, long-sleeved jungle camo tech shirt, camo tactical pants, and her black field boots. Once she was dressed, she rushed into the adjoining bathroom and quickly swept her hair up into a high ponytail, wrapped it up into a tight bun, and secured it with a bunch of bobby pins. After giving her head a good shake to ensure the bun would hold, she grabbed her dark green ball cap and tugged it on.

Calliope darted back into the bedroom and swung open the door to the walk-in closet. From the back, she grabbed her rifle bag and protective vest and made sure the camo jungle face paint was in one of the mesh, side pockets.

Time to take out the bastards who put those poor girls through hell and took Lucas’s wife from him.

Lucas followed Cole to the entertainment room and became suspicious when he closed the door. “What’s up?”

“Maybe I should be asking you that?” Cole crossed his big arms across his wide chest. “What was that about in there?” He tipped his head in the direction of the great room.

“What do you mean?” Lucas asked.

Cole was a big, intimidating dude, but Lucas was no slouch either.

“What’s the deal with you and Calliope?” He dropped his hands to his hips.

“What’s happening between the two of us is personal and none of your damn business.” Lucas didn’t know Cole very well and didn’t appreciate where this conversation seemed to be going .

He turned to reach for the doorknob, and Cole stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m not interested in what’s happening between you two personally.” His hand fell away. “I want to know why you have a problem with her on this op.”

“I don’t have a prob—”

“Bullshit.” Obviously, he was an astute fellow who could see right through Lucas.

“Okay, fine.” He curved his hand over the back of his neck and squeezed. “Triano is a brutal, sadistic killer, and if given the chance, he won’t hesitate to put a bullet in her head. Trust me, I know this from personal experience.”

“Care to elaborate?” Cole leaned his butt against the credenza below the big screen and propped his hands on the edge.

Lucas debated about sharing what happened and decided it was best to get it all out in the open. He sat on the arm of the chair directly in front of Cole.

“Three years ago, in the farmers’ market right down the road, my wife and unborn child were murdered by Triano’s men.” He spent a few minutes recounting what happened. When he was done, the agony he usually experienced whenever he spoke of Norah wasn’t quite as sharp.

Perhaps Calliope’s influence was helping to soften the pain of loss and chipping away at the anger he’d been packing around all these years .

“Shit, Lucas, I had no idea,” Cole said. “I am so fucking sorry.”

“So, you can see why I might not be too keen on the idea of Calliope being anywhere near that murderous son of a bitch.”

The thought of losing Calliope was enough to bring him to his knees.

Lucas would never survive losing her, too.

“Look, after what you’ve been through, I get it. I do. Your concern for Calliope is understandable. But you need to hear me on this—she is really fucking good at her job.” He emphasized, “I mean really fucking good.”

Yeah, he’d heard the same from his cousin.

“I think it’s important for you to understand that what Calliope does for OSI is not just a job to her; it is a bone-deep part of who she is as a person.” Cole stood, and Lucas followed suit. “You need to seriously consider whether you can be okay with that, because if you can’t …” One shoulder lifted and dropped.

I could lose her anyway.