County? Will sure as hell save us some time.”
Steele nodded. “Sam’s getting it worked out now. They’re pretty pissed and they want
blood. He’s called up Rio and his team. This could get messy. I told him we were staying
with P.J. unless he absolutely needed us. I don’t want to leave her, but I don’t want
any member of KGI getting killed either.”
Cole studied his team leader for a long moment. Steele wasn’t much of a talker. He
rarely volunteered more than a terse order or a very cut-and-dried summary of a situation.
But this had shaken that legendary composure of his and melted some of the rigid ice
that seemed to encase him. Anger—no,
fury
—burned in his eyes, making them colder than ever. His jaw was set in a permanent
bulge, and he looked like he wanted to physically put his hands on someone—anyone—and
make them suffer a long, painful death.
But then Steele was all about the team. The team was it for him. He lived it, breathed
it. He performed his duties, and he’d never failed in a mission.
Until now.
It was a weight they all had to bear. They weren’t used to failing. They always did
whatever it took and they accomplished their goal.
Well, they’d accomplished what they set out to do, but one of their own had paid a
very dear price, and for Cole, that was unacceptable. It was an epic fail on their
part that they couldn’t keep P.J. from harm and succeed in their mission.
It was a truth they’d all have to confront, live with and deal with in their own way,
but Cole knew his team and he knew this weighed heavy on their minds and would for
a long damn time.
* * *
WHEN they landed at Fort Campbell, they were met by Sam and Garrett along with the base
commander who’d given permission for the jet to land. A medical team hurried in with
a stretcher, and P.J. was loaded and quickly hustled away.
Cole put up a fight when they wouldn’t allow him in the transport with P.J. She was
still out. Donovan had kept her medicated during the flight so she’d be pain free,
but Cole didn’t want her to wake up and feel like she was back in that nightmare.
Dolphin, Baker and Renshaw restrained him, pushing him back against one of the vehicles
parked nearby.
Sam and Garrett both wore fierce expressions.
“What the fuck happened, Steele? What went wrong?” Sam demanded.
Steele’s demeanor was normal for him. Cold and formidable. But his eyes told another
story. Usually cool, icy even, they blazed with a fury Cole hadn’t seen in all the
time he’d worked for his team leader.
Steele met Sam’s gaze unflinchingly. “I failed my team.”
Garrett swore. “Bullshit.” He glanced around at all the members of Steele’s team,
almost as if he could see the same thought in all their heads. “Look, I get that you’re
all feeling shitty over this but you can’t get so down on yourselves. We need facts.
Not guilt.”
Steele’s lip curled but he gave the report, not leaving a single detail out. Cole
closed his eyes as Steele repeated what Brumley and Nelson had done to P.J. The rest
of the team stood stiffly. Dolphin looked down as if he didn’t want anyone to see
his eyes or expression.
Cole just wanted to get all the chitchat over with so he could go to P.J.
“Son of a bitch,” Sam swore, closing his eyes momentarily.
“What are you doing for the shipment of girls?” Steele demanded. “We belong here,
with P.J. She needs her team right now.”
“Rio and his team are already en route, and Nathan, Joe and Swanny are meeting them
in Vienna. They’ve been briefed. Resnick wants Brumley alive, and he might very well
get him that way, but after Rio and his team heard what the son of a bitch did to
P.J., I think he may be missing a few body parts when he’s delivered.”
Cole curled his hand into a fist. He wanted to be there when Brumley was taken down.
He wanted it badly. He’d never wanted to hurt someone as much as
Steele nodded. “Sam’s getting it worked out now. They’re pretty pissed and they want
blood. He’s called up Rio and his team. This could get messy. I told him we were staying
with P.J. unless he absolutely needed us. I don’t want to leave her, but I don’t want
any member of KGI getting killed either.”
Cole studied his team leader for a long moment. Steele wasn’t much of a talker. He
rarely volunteered more than a terse order or a very cut-and-dried summary of a situation.
But this had shaken that legendary composure of his and melted some of the rigid ice
that seemed to encase him. Anger—no,
fury
—burned in his eyes, making them colder than ever. His jaw was set in a permanent
bulge, and he looked like he wanted to physically put his hands on someone—anyone—and
make them suffer a long, painful death.
But then Steele was all about the team. The team was it for him. He lived it, breathed
it. He performed his duties, and he’d never failed in a mission.
Until now.
It was a weight they all had to bear. They weren’t used to failing. They always did
whatever it took and they accomplished their goal.
Well, they’d accomplished what they set out to do, but one of their own had paid a
very dear price, and for Cole, that was unacceptable. It was an epic fail on their
part that they couldn’t keep P.J. from harm and succeed in their mission.
It was a truth they’d all have to confront, live with and deal with in their own way,
but Cole knew his team and he knew this weighed heavy on their minds and would for
a long damn time.
* * *
WHEN they landed at Fort Campbell, they were met by Sam and Garrett along with the base
commander who’d given permission for the jet to land. A medical team hurried in with
a stretcher, and P.J. was loaded and quickly hustled away.
Cole put up a fight when they wouldn’t allow him in the transport with P.J. She was
still out. Donovan had kept her medicated during the flight so she’d be pain free,
but Cole didn’t want her to wake up and feel like she was back in that nightmare.
Dolphin, Baker and Renshaw restrained him, pushing him back against one of the vehicles
parked nearby.
Sam and Garrett both wore fierce expressions.
“What the fuck happened, Steele? What went wrong?” Sam demanded.
Steele’s demeanor was normal for him. Cold and formidable. But his eyes told another
story. Usually cool, icy even, they blazed with a fury Cole hadn’t seen in all the
time he’d worked for his team leader.
Steele met Sam’s gaze unflinchingly. “I failed my team.”
Garrett swore. “Bullshit.” He glanced around at all the members of Steele’s team,
almost as if he could see the same thought in all their heads. “Look, I get that you’re
all feeling shitty over this but you can’t get so down on yourselves. We need facts.
Not guilt.”
Steele’s lip curled but he gave the report, not leaving a single detail out. Cole
closed his eyes as Steele repeated what Brumley and Nelson had done to P.J. The rest
of the team stood stiffly. Dolphin looked down as if he didn’t want anyone to see
his eyes or expression.
Cole just wanted to get all the chitchat over with so he could go to P.J.
“Son of a bitch,” Sam swore, closing his eyes momentarily.
“What are you doing for the shipment of girls?” Steele demanded. “We belong here,
with P.J. She needs her team right now.”
“Rio and his team are already en route, and Nathan, Joe and Swanny are meeting them
in Vienna. They’ve been briefed. Resnick wants Brumley alive, and he might very well
get him that way, but after Rio and his team heard what the son of a bitch did to
P.J., I think he may be missing a few body parts when he’s delivered.”
Cole curled his hand into a fist. He wanted to be there when Brumley was taken down.
He wanted it badly. He’d never wanted to hurt someone as much as
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