Читать книгу Reid's Deliverance - Nina Crespo - Страница 11

Back at The Song, a week after the mission, Thane’s announcement hit Reid like a sucker punch.

“I’m leaping into the future.” Thane widened his stance. The thud of his booted feet on the wooden floor echoed in the empty nightclub. “If I can get there the day before the mission went wrong, I might be able to save Celine.” As he pulled up the sleeves on his white pullover, Thane met Reid’s gaze. Then he turned his attention to the rest of the team, sitting on stools in front of the bar. “And I won’t be coming back.”

“Hold up.” The snap in Reid’s voice drew the team’s attention and a frown from Thane. “You’re leaving us for a woman you barely know?”

“I don’t have a choice.”

“Like hell you don’t.”

“I’m not going to stand by and let her die. Too much time has already passed. I have to leave now. Dalir said she’s fine here, but her future is disappearing. Eventually, she’ll vanish altogether. She’s paying for my actions. It’s my responsibility to make sure she’s safe.”

“You can’t—”

West lifted a hand. The tribal ink on his bicep rippled. “Can’t we all make the jump?”

Thane shook his head. “Time two years from now is barely being held together. All of us phasing permanently would cause too many changes.”

“So this is temporary.” Mace’s deep, raspy voice flowed into the stillness. “In two years, we’ll catch up, and you can rejoin the team.”

“Maybe. There’s no guarantee.”

“I don’t like it.” Mace ran his hand over his brown, shaved head and released a long exhale. “But it sounds like this is something you have to do.” He walked to Thane. In one fluid movement, Mace pulled him into a bro-hug and thumped him on the back. “I won’t say goodbye because I’m betting on seeing you again.”

Colby followed up on Mace’s goodwill and embraced Thane. “We won’t be there to watch your back so keep your damn head on a swivel.”

A sick feeling spread through Reid. Just like that? Thane was jumping out and no one had a word to the negative but him? He caught West’s gaze. If the rest didn’t see that it was a bad move, West would.

West stood, clasped Thane’s hand, and bro-hugged him. “Go handle business, brother. Be safe.”

As Mace, Colby, and West walked out of the club, Thane’s gaze landed on Reid. “If you’re going to take over leading the team, you have to wrap your head around this and focus on supporting Dalir.”

“No. You need to wrap your head around what this thing with Celine is really about. You like her. You made a mistake, and now she’s part of the collateral damage. It’s hard to accept. We’ve all been there.”

“She’s more than collateral damage.”

“More than the team?”

“It’s not the same.”

“Damn right it’s not the same. We’re your family.” Reid vaulted from his seat. “I know you feel guilty about what’s happening to her, but going on a suicide mission won’t make it right.”

“I don’t plan on dying.” Thane’s golden gaze reflected the same solid determination that made him the one you wanted fighting at your side. “I plan on being with Celine. I care about her. I can see us making a life together.”

Reid stopped cold in his tracks. She was a one-night hookup. Hell, she didn’t even remember him. “You’re not thinking this through. There are too many unknowns. What if she doesn’t let you back into her life? What are you going to do aside from look after her?”

As Thane shrugged, his dark brown hair met his shoulders. “I can play music. It doesn’t matter. I’ll figure it out once she’s safe.”

“Music isn’t our career. It’s a fucking diversion. Infiltrate, fight, take down targets. That’s what we do.” Reid stalked forward. “Damn it, Thane. Snap out of it. Normal for us ended when we agreed to join Dalir. We accepted that as a part of the deal.”

“I’ve made a new one.” Thane’s expression grew more resolute. “I’m not changing my mind. Dalir’s signed off on my decision. Why can’t you?”

Because he understood firsthand what happened when you mistook obligation for love. Once the shine wore off, Thane would see the damage and hate himself. Why? Because he’d let his dick instead of facts lead the way. No. He wouldn’t let him sacrifice himself. Reid curled his hands into fists. Evenly matched in muscle and fighting skill, neither one of them would go down easy.

Thane, cool under pressure, subtly shifted his stance. “We’ve always been on good terms. The last thing I want to remember about our friendship is me kicking your ass.”

“Fucking idiot.” Reid lunged.

Dalir appeared in solid form. His jeans, boots, and a dark T-shirt glowed with energy as he held them apart. “While you fight, Celine fades. You don’t have time for this.” He looked to Thane. “Go.”

Thane focused on Reid. “Someday, you’ll understand.” He disappeared.

Dust floated where his best friend once stood. Understand what? That he’d failed to stop Thane from ruining his life over one night. “Why did you tell Thane about Celine?”

Dalir frowned. “How could I not?”

“Are you serious? From day one, you told us not to let anyone get too close.”

“But he did.” Dalir snapped out. “And there’s nothing we can do to change the situation. As she disappeared in the future, she would have faded away here. Would you have wanted to put him through that? You know as well as I do that he would have carried that burden forever.”

“I would have made sure he got through it.” Reid shrugged Dalir’s hand off his shoulder. “We were looking out for each other long before we met you.”

“I get that you’re pissed, but he’s gone. You have to let him go. If you don’t, you’ll force the team to take sides. That happens, we all lose.” Dalir’s gaze glittered. “You had a hard mission. Because of that, I’ve been giving you the benefit of my understanding.” His eyes grew cold. His tone even colder. “It’s about to come to an end.”

Reid’s breastbone tingled where Dalir had given him a mere tap earlier. Before he took another risk, he wanted answers. Even if it meant having the ancient go medieval on his ass. “Can you even guarantee we’re not phasing into a shitstorm on the next mission?”

As Dalir’s gaze darkened, the florescent bulbs flickered. “You won’t be around to encounter any shitstorms.”

An electricity-like buzz danced uncomfortably up Reid’s spine. Nerve endings raised, ready to fire in pain. “So you’re going to light me up because I won’t keep my mouth shut and blindly follow?”

“No.”

The lights brightened. Tension trickled from Reid’s back.

“Because like I said, division only hurts us.” Dalir’s gaze faded to gray. “You’re angry and second-guessing what you shouldn’t. You need to remember that you answer to me. I decide what you will and will not do. I choose where you will and will not go. Not the other way around. The guys need you, but I won’t let you poison them with your attitude. You’re all grounded from missions for the next month. You need to go somewhere. Get drunk. Get laid. Do whatever the hell you need to do to come back and lead my team.” The ancient shimmered and disappeared.

Thane had let his personal life get in the way of the job. Dalir’s intel had suddenly become unreliable. Their last mission had gotten screwed and now he’s the asshole? How did that happen? Forced vacation. Fine. No problem. He was done. As Reid shoved open the door to the club, an unseasonably cold wind blew over him. Late afternoon Florida sun glimmered off the large glass picture frame holding their poster. He did a double take as the picture morphed into their new reality. The band minus Thane.

* * * *

Reid walked into the beach house. Silence. Relief flooded in. He went to the upstairs living room. West owned the place along with everything else, but no one had a permanent claim on it. They used it as needed. Two weeks of waiting to get off Dalir’s shit list and into the next mission was grating on his nerves. Time at the piano and hanging out on the beach would help.

He launched into one of his grandfather’s favorite pieces, by Rachmaninoff. Quiet chords moved back and forth, creating a melody similar to a lullaby. He could phase anywhere in the world. Do anything he wanted. Why was he still there? Back in the day, he and the team had gotten off on changing the scenery. Coffee in Paris. Surfing on the Gold Coast. Skiing in Argentina. Gambling in Monte Carlo. Finding a random hookup in Ibiza. All before sunset. When had it changed? That day in Switzerland or in New York…or was it London? He’d sat in the lobby of the hotel watching people at the checkout desk. They were returning to their normal, familiar lives while he faced starting from scratch.

Sure, West maintaining the essentials made the transition easier. Still, when they got back, having to constantly explain the same basic crap over and over again to people killed. This time around, he’d forgotten the barber no longer knew how he liked his hair faded. The friendly barista at the corner spot hadn’t automatically added the extra shot of expresso as she’d done before he’d left. His neighbor was back to hounding him about buying a garage full of shit he’d told them more times than he could count he wasn’t interested in. He couldn’t lose his cool over the inconvenience. The guy didn’t remember the conversations.

He transitioned into the next movement, lush, romantic. Lauren’s image floated in. The guys razzed him about not dating. He didn’t even hang onto a woman guaranteed to let him back in, no questions asked, for recreational sex. His fingers flew over the keys, building the concerto into a passionate melody. Thane rarely double-dipped with the same woman either, and if he did, it was for a quick visit. Nothing serious. Thane couldn’t believe he was in love, but that explained why he was so off at the start of the mission. They’d talked about Celine. Thane was going to drop her and move on. If Thane had a different take on it, why hadn’t he told him? Yeah, he would have tried to change his mind, but after all they’d gone through… Fuck. Now who wasn’t letting shit go? He sounded like a jilted girlfriend.

The front door opened. Heavy footfalls coming up the stairs ended with West stalking into the room. “We need to talk.”

“About?” Reid kept playing, reluctant to break from the music high.

West leaned against the back of the couch and crossed his arms. “When Colby phased into the future to recon intel for the last mission, he cultivated info from Speaks, one of my informants. He believes every conspiracy that pops up, but he’s a damn good hacker, now and in the future. What he gave Colby didn’t have anything to do with Xenia or Red Path Anarchy, so I shelved it.”

Reid ended the song. “But now you’ve taken a look.”

“I have.” As West exhaled, his frown deepened. “Back when we were in Regimental Recon, do you remember when all that chatter popped up about the Pentagon’s interest in technology that would increase our physical capabilities? Then later on all those rumors about command putting together a unit for a classified experiment?”

“You mean the cyborg unit?” A cross branch project of SEALs, Rangers, and other special ops areas. The assignment had sounded tempting at the time. Extra pay, a chance to spend a few months playing with newer and deadlier toys.

West slipped papers out his back pocket and handed them to Reid. “It went through a year ago. A company called Greenhill Technologies has the contract. The top sheet, that’s what they’ve created. Body armor with a mechanical skeleton integrated into the fabric. An onboard computer adjusts the skeletal frame to enhance strength and endurance. It even monitors metabolic function. The headgear has a threat identification system to increase situational awareness. That’s only a part of what it can do.”

Reid flipped to the second page of eight names. “What’s this?”

“Some of the operatives selected for a special assignment called Project Samson. Do you recognize any of them?”

“Hurley, Moore, they’re Rangers.” Reid scanned through the rest of the names. “Hayes, Fordham, Fuentes, aren’t they Navy SEALs? Where are they? Did something happen?”

“Not yet.” West’s expression clued Reid in on the bad news before he finished. “They’re going to die in the future in Yuma, Arizona.”

“Damn.” Reid breathed out. Sadness shifted to resignation. Every guy on the list had known the risks of being an operative. They’d willingly taken an oath to do what they believed in. “How?”

“Plane crash during a demonstration. That’s the official word. Speaks claims they were already dead and the crash was used to cover it up.”

“And maybe it is. Come on, West.” Reid stood. “An accident could be a cover story for a classified mission gone wrong. It’s about protecting national security. You know the drill.”

West gripped the couch. “I still think one of us needs to phase into the future and look into this. Hurley and Moore were on team two. They saved us eight years ago when we were ambushed in Afghanistan.”

Knots tightened in Reid’s gut. That day in the valley, bullets flying, pinned down by insurgents. He still had nightmares about it.

“Hell, Reid, just send me.” West held up a hand. “I know what you’re going to say. Take it to Dalir. I already tried, but he wouldn’t listen. He said we’re grounded. Period. I also know I’m logistics. It’s my job to keep things solid while the team is on assignment, but one of you can handle it until I get back.”

“I hear you, but Speaks is paranoid. Do you honestly think we can trust him on this?”

“He rarely leaves his mother’s basement and only eats canned food. So yeah, there’s a chance he’s full of shit, but he’s hacked into systems that would take me weeks to get into. The intel he’s provided in the past has been solid. This isn’t just about me wanting back in the field. I can’t ignore what my gut is telling me. A few months ago, a former project manager from Greenhill made claims to a reporter about falsified reports. He changed his story after he got his job back with a bonus. As crazy as it is, I think Speaks is right.”

And West’s gut instincts were on target more often than not. “What’s your plan?”

“Thread the needle. I can create a dummy profile here that sets one of us up as a perfect candidate for Samson. We have to phase in at least two years six months before the accident. That also meets the parameters Thane laid out about not jumping in on his timeline with Celine. In the future, with the right buzzwords, Speaks will get on board. His hacking skills can solidify the cover and get us into the program.”

Reid walked to the sliding glass door overlooking the pool. Their last roll call would have been at Arlington Cemetery if Hurley and Moore’s team hadn’t backed them up. They were alive because of them. If Project Samson was part of some fucked up plan, they had to act. Leave no man behind. They lived by that creed. Sitting on their asses was like leaving Hurley and Moore behind to die. If Dalir wouldn’t spare time for West, he damn sure wasn’t going to listen to him. Once the Ancient was pissed and made up his mind on something, he was immovable.

“All right. Let’s take a look.”

West stepped forward. “Who are you tapping for this?”

“No one.” Reid met West’s gaze. “I’m taking it.”