Page 89 of Betrayed

“Sheppard,” she said.

“Exactly. John, as the oldest and CEO of SSI, is Sierra One, Jamie signed on first so he’s Sierra Two, and Jack is Sierra Three.”

“So, Jaden should be Sierra Four, but didn’t you just answer that way?”

“After Jack, we’re numbered in the order we signed our contracts. I’m four, Doug is five, Maxwell is six, and Jay, the last one hired, is seven.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“SSI is growing, and will hire more people sooner rather than later, and we’re thinking of breaking into two teams.” Not thatshe’d care, but I wanted to keep her talking, so she didn’t have time to freak out.

“What team will you be on?” she said, sounding less irritated.

“I’m not sure. I’ll probably stay on Sierra, given my history with Jack.”

“Your history?” she asked as she placed her hand back in mine.

It was enough to make me momentarily forget how Jack and I met. I laced my fingers with hers and smiled.

Right, we served together in the Army.

I shared a few Army stories, killing time until we were five minutes from the office.

My phone rang.

“Sierra Four, you’re on speaker.”

“Sierra Six and I will wait in back and escort you in. Seven will park in front and watch the door. Three will follow you to the lot.”

“Copy that.”

Jamie ended the call.

I hated what we were about to do, but if it had to be done, there was no one I’d rather have at my back than the SSI team.

My family.

I escorted Blake through the back door and directly up the stairs to the conference room. I didn’t move fast enough to prevent my eyes from glancing at Meg’s empty desk.

Maxwell was right behind us, and quickly joined Doug at the far end of the table. They were arranging a mountain of audio and surveillance equipment while Jack and Jamie focused on the maps and schematics projected on the big screen.

Jay and John walked in a few seconds afterwards.

Blake’s grip tightened on my hand as the organized chaos overwhelmed her.

John’s eyes darted to our joined hands before he made eye contact with me. We shared a nod before he greeted Blake.

He knows what’s at stake.

“Thank you for coming in. We’ll do everything in our power to see that you don’t get hurt,” he said, ushering her to a chair.

Blake stared at the large windows along the side of the room, now blacked out.

“Have a seat,” John’s tone held just enough command that she didn’t argue.

“Can I take this off?” she asked, pointing at the vest.

I was about to say yes, knowing the windows were bulletproof, but looked to John for confirmation. After he nodded, I helped her take it off.

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