Jana Leigh (14 page)

Diego slammed the phone down.  “Where are they?” he yelled, making the men in the office jump. 

“
Sir, we have done everything we can to find them, it is like they dropped off the face of the earth,” his second said.

“
I have been waiting for weeks for them to show themselves.  That little gift should have gotten them on the right track.  And what about that idiot FBI agent who was snooping around.  You told me it would only be a matter of days before we found him, it has been weeks.  I cannot stay here for much longer without raising eyebrows.  My stupid brother is beginning to get suspicious,” Diego said.

“
But,” his second started.

“
No, I had this planned.  We were supposed to be able to sweep them all together in a nice little bow.”  Diego pointed.  “One week, you have one week to find someone on my list.  This needs to get started.  I am growing impatient with the incompetence.”

“
We have found the last known hideout of the agent.  Our men are going there now,” his man said.

“
Good, I want him brought to the warehouse, maybe a live incentive will draw these bastards out.”  Diego laughed. 

None of the men noticed the red light on the bottom of the desk as they continued to plan.  Nor did they know that right down the hall, someone sat listening to the whole thing
.  Taking notes and frowning.

When Diego called the meeting to an end, the listener took out the phone they had kept turned off for weeks and powered it back up.

Typing quickly, they sent a message to the Team.  Soon, they would be able to gather enough evidence to show the authorities what was going on.  Because of where they were, any recordings would never be cleared so they could be taken out of the gates.  If they didn’t search bags so well, it would have been easy.  However, the law was the law.

Even though they were in the United States, the soil where the building sat was on foreign soil.  There were so many laws pertaining to Embassies, and none of them were in the
listeners' favor.

So they would do what they could, leak as much information as they safely could without being caught and getting killed.  Messages were monitored, calls listened to, and bags searched. 

However, soon they would be able to get help, an unexpected ally had shown themselves.  One that was more than willing to lay their life on the line as the listener was.

“Listen, it has been long enough, slap me some crutches and I will take it easy,” West said.

Brin frowned and looked at her pissed off patient who was lying in the bed.

Arden snorted and rolled her eyes.  “In other words, he wants to be mobile so he can go down to the command center and get involved.”

Mason laughed behi
nd a hand he put up to his face.  “She got you, bro.”

“
Come on,” West whined.  “This sucks, I have the pain under control, and the only thing I have not had was a rectal exam.  Come on.”

Brin pressed her lips together and looked at Arden who was trying not
to laugh as well.  It had been hard to keep West in the room as long as they had.  If it weren’t for the fact that his pain had been so intense, it would have been a lot worse.  The women had all talked about what control freaks the men were.

After he wok
e a week after being brought to the island, he began to ask when was he going to be allowed to move around.  The complaints had only last for two days because when they started cutting back on his pain medication, West knew he wasn't ready to get out of the bed.  But Brin had started to see the aggravation and restlessness settling in on him just this last week.  These men were not meant to be idle.

“
Only a few hours at a time.  I won't have you overdoing it and ending up back in bed.  You still have a lot of healing to do,” Brin said sternly and then laughed when she saw the look of determination on West’s face.  He looked like he had just received parole.

“
Woot,” West said and waved to Mason.  “Get me the crutches.”

“
What crutches?” Mason said innocently.

“
The ones behind the fucking door you all tried to hide from me last week,” West growled and they all laughed. 

“
I have a timer, two hours,” Arden said and held up a stopwatch.

“
Fine, fine, whatever,” West said and grinned.  “I can do a lot in two hours.”

Mason snorted as he helped his best friend up off the bed.  When he was finally standing, everyone stepped back and let him take the first tentative steps with the crutches.  “
Ya, like walking up and down the stairs, by the time you get down there it will be time to come back up.”

“
Fuck off,” West muttered and began to move slowly to the door.  “Make yourself fucking useful and get the doors.”

“
What about the stairs?” Arden asked.

“
Hidden elevator in the back,” Mason said and laughed when both women and West turned to look at him in shock.  “What, you never asked.”

“
Asshole,” West glared at the trio and left the room. 

Brin finished cleaning up her mess and then went downstairs to find where everyone was.  And she hoped she didn't run in to her men along
the way.  They were driving her crazy on purpose.  Brin knew their little plan to woo her, and she was all for it, until she had to sleep alone.  She already had to replace her batteries twice because of the damn dreams of them taking her.  They touched her all the time, and at this point, she was going to break one of their hands.  Every touch set her body on fire. 
Not even a full week left
, she thought. 
That is if her nerves didn't just snap.

In the kitchen, that was where they congregated most of the t
ime.  Brin had been very entertained to hear the discussions everyone had while in the room.  They ranged from business with the ranch, to the investigation for the men.  The women talked about stretch marks and feeding schedules.  Lou was cooking up a storm when Brin walked into the kitchen.

“
Wow, who is all this for?” Brin asked.  Granted there were a lot of people in the house, but the stacked plates were more than they needed.

“
Alex’s family is coming over from the other island,” Lou explained.

Brin had met them a few times, but mostly the men.  The women and kids were guarded on the other island.  With the exception of two dinners, which had been loud and boisterous, she had not seen them.  But she had wanted to get to know them more, they look
ed like good people.

“
Oh, well how can I help?  Grant and Jessie have Marcus for a few more hours,” Brin said. 

Soon the other women came strolling in.  Brin loved this time when all the women were together, they could talk without the men interrupting the
m.

“
What’s new?” Brin said quietly.  They all shared information with each other since the men seemed to think they were too delicate to know what was going on. 

“
They are getting closer to figuring out what the pictures mean.  Last night, Alex and Slone said they had narrowed the ops they worked on.  They still can’t figure out how they are connected though,” Sable said.

“
Drake has been trying to get a hold of Brian Lipit's brother as well.  So far nothing, they are tracking his movements with the help of the FBI, but nothing is coming up.  And the last thing Joel was looking into was my parents,” Arden said softly.

They all knew Arden was still feeling guilt over the fact that somehow her parents were involved in illegal activities.  Not that it was her f
ault but she still felt guilty.

“
I'm not sure but Gage and David were talking last night, I think they are going to have to go to San Diego soon,” Jolie said.  They all looked at her in surprise.

“
Why?” Brin asked.

“
That is where Joel’s apartment is.  That is where all the files are,” Sable said. 

Brin bit her lip, the thought of Jessie leaving the island had not occurred to her in weeks.  They had settled into a pattern here, sure she knew they wouldn
’t be staying here forever, but she sincerely thought they would go back to the ranch after they got things settled.  The men were retired.  They shouldn't be on the front lines anymore.  Damn, when she actually thought that she felt a ball form in her stomach.  That was not how these guys worked.  Retired or not, they would figure this out and help take out the threat.  There was no other option.

“
Shit,” Brin whispered and felt herself panicking.

“
Oh no,” Sable said and came to where she was standing.  “What is wrong?”

“
All of this,” Brin said, tears gathering in her eyes.  “They are trying to move on, trying to form a new life, and here they are dragged back into danger.”

They all knew what she was talking about.  They had all lost someone so they knew the risks.  If their men were going to help with this, the
n they would be directly in the line of fire once again.  They could lose someone else, one of their men.

“
Are you okay with this?” Brin whispered, looking at each woman.

“
Hell no,” Jolie said stepping forward.  “But we have no alternative.  They are coming for us whether we like it or not.  Every night I go to bed thinking the next day may be the last time I see Gage or David.  They are both cops, but then I see their dedication.  The way they talk about their friends, and the people in the community.  They are committed to making things right.  I can't and won’t take that away from them.  It is ingrained in who they are.  If I love them, I love all of them.”

Brin nodded, she understood, because damn it over the last few weeks Jessie and Grant had both worm
ed their way into her heart.  What had started out as a one night deal turned into a lifetime commitment of love with two men?  Just because Grant was a vet didn’t mean he wasn’t an alpha male.  He was, and over the last few weeks she had seen him helping the others figure this out.  She had asked him about it before.

His response was that Jessie and the others were trying to figure this out, and as a partner in a mé
nage, you took the good with the bad.  He was involved as much as Jessie was because it could affect him just as much if something happened to Jessie or to her.  That protective instinct had kicked in, and nothing they could do would stop that.

“
I don’t have to like it though,” she muttered.

Arden and the others laughed.  “
Join the club.”

Jessie and Grant walked out of the office to go looking for Brin.  Marcus was down for his morning nap and they wanted to see what she was up to.  Both of them agreed that it bothered them when
Brin was out of their sight.  Their relationship still seemed so new, even after all the time they spent with her.

They heard the laughter coming from the kitchen and grinned.  She was in there with the other women, Jessie liked the fact that Brin got alon
g so well with Sable, Jolie, and Arden.

As they approached the kitchen, they heard Sable laugh.  “
Yeah, last night Alex and Slone decided they were going to use a few toys they ordered off line.  I gotta tell you, it blew my mind.”

“
Jess, they are talking about sex!” Grant whispered.

“
Yeah,” Jessie said quietly.

“
Gage and David like to be all commanding.  I gotta tell you when they get that tone in their voice, I am ready.  No toys needed.”  Jolie laughed.

“
Hey at least you are getting some.  Not that I am complaining, I mean West is hurt and all.  But Mason has decided until his friend is well, we have to abstain,” Arden growled.  “I even tried to entice him a few nights ago.  West said he didn’t care, even said he wanted to watch, but Mason said it would be cruel.”

“
Well, I for one can't wait until my six weeks are up.  Big Blue has been lonely.  And Arden, maybe next time you should take care of West before you try to get Mason to mess around.  If he sees his friend satisfied, I bet he would be more than happy to take care of you,” Brin whispered.

Jessie looked at Grant and mouthed,
‘Mr. Blue’?  Jessie shrugged. 

“
You only have a few more days, Brin,” Sable sympathized.  “I love that I am pregnant, but that is one of the things I am not looking forward to.  I have talked to several women who have kids.  Obviously right after birth they we too busy to care about the whole sex thing.  But a month after, they say those last few weeks is enough to drive a person batty.”

“
Most doctors advise the wait giving the woman to heal, and chances of infections decrease the longer that a woman waits.  Also if there were any incisions at the site would need to be given time to heal also,” Brin said.  “Of course, this is by the book.  Many doctors say that a woman knows her own body.  As long as she is feeling up to it and they use protection, since a woman’s hormones are elevated and pregnancy is possible, it is safe.” 

“
Really?  Then why are you waiting?” Sable asked. 

“
I needed to heal, but I have now.  I was actually thinking that maybe…”  Brin said and Jessie burst into the room.  Grant was close behind.

“
Oh,” Sable laughed.  “I think someone heard what we were talking about.”

Brin felt her cheeks burn as she wondered exactly how much they had he
ard, and then she got her answer.  Without taking his eyes off Brin, Jessie said, “Can you watch Marcus for a while?”

“
Of course,” Lou laughed.

“
Good,” Jessie said and threw Brin over his shoulder and ran for the stairs. 

Grant grinned and followed
, throwing over his shoulder, “We may need to have dinner sent up.” 

The women all laughed
, shaking their heads, and took three plates from the stack and set them aside.