Page 79 of Operation: Valiant Angel

“Thanks, Joe, that would be great. I really don’t want to hang around here for another hour. We need to stop at the grocery store on the way to my place. Not knowing when we mightreacquire Stella Adams and Blake Henning, I want to make sure I get Rae and Lilly settled as fast as I can.”

“One more question,” Joe said. “Why did you take Shepherd’s offer when he recruited you to this team in the first place? From what I understand you were killing it with Delta.”

Wilson had to laugh at that. Yeah, he had been killing it. He served with honor and distinction during a time when what they did mattered. He’d been a decorated sniper with Delta. He had more confirmed kills than most and he was proud of his record. Target after target was eliminated. “I know we’ve talked about this before.”

“Humor me,” Lassiter pressed.

“We’d defeated ISIS. Things were changing. I wasn’t sure what the mission was going to be. With the little red tape Shepherd’s team would be restrained by, it was appealing. No other team would get done what Shepherd’s team was going to get done, and I wanted to be a part of it. And it’s true, we’ve really accomplished a lot that no other team could have.”

“That’s true,” Lassiter agreed. “So, you had no hesitation when joining this unit?”

“None, it just felt right.”

“Much the same as this relationship with Rae and taking on the child?”

“Yes, exactly like that.”

“If you’re having any problems coping with your new role, I expect to see you,” Lassiter said.

X-Ray

“I’m glad you agreed to talk to him today,” Wilson said. “Just text me when you’re done, and I’ll come back and get you. I’m going to go get Lilly from Angel and bring her down to our gym to play. Angel has all kinds of bikes and ride-on toys down there. There’s a lot of room for them to ride around. She even has a climbing fort for the kids set up.”

Reina wasn’t surprised she did. From what she’d seen already, Angel seemed to be the kind of person that had everything in her life mastered, so of course she’d have an area set up for the kids. “Good, Lilly needs to run around and play. It’ll be good for her.”

Wilson pressed a kiss to the top of her head. They were outside the black door with gold lettering that said J. Lassiter. He opened the door for her and motioned her in. She stepped into an outer office area that looked like any other doctor’s waiting room. Watering one of several plants on a table was a man with severe scars on his face and neck.

“Hi, you must be Rae,” he said with a smile. He set the watering can down. “I’m Joe. It’s nice to meet you.” He extended his right hand to her.

“Hi,” she said, shaking his hand. She tried not to stare at the scars that littered his face and neck.

“I’ll come back when you text me,” Wilson said. He pressed a kiss on her lips and then nodded at Joe before he left.

Joe opened the door to his inner office area. “Come on back.”

Reina reluctantly walked through the door. He directed her into the kitchen just a few steps inside the suite.

“I don’t have as many good tea choices as Angel, but I can offer you a water or some coffee.”

“A coffee would be nice, thank you.”

He swung a cabinet open above the long counter the sink and the Keurig maker were on. “Pick a mug and have a seat.”

She glanced over what had to be a hundred different mugs lining three shelves. “Wow, you have quite a collection.”

Joe smiled. “Yes, everyone gets me a mug when they go someplace.”

She reached into the cabinet and pulled down one adorned with beautiful flowers. Then she sat, so she faced the window and looked out at the mall parking lot. It was crazy that this place, a military black ops headquarters, was next to a huge shopping mall.

Joe had a water bottle. He set it in front of a chair kitty-corner from her. When her coffee had brewed, he set her cup in front of her along with a selection of creamers and sugars.

“Do you prefer Rae or Reina?” he asked.

“Either is fine,” she said.

“Is one attached to either of the past lives you’ve lived?”

She chuckled. “Yeah, that’s exactly what it was, two past lives. I was just starting to feel like Reina Ellis, but always had to remind myself who she was, the cover the Marshals had built forher.” She wouldn’t tell him that the only time it wasn’t in her thoughts was when Jimmy kissed her.

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