Page 89 of Raven's Curse
“Of course, I have. I work for the CIA. It’s literally in my job description.” He padded into the room. “Besides, I had to wait until you stopped sucking face.”
Greer laughed. “Kids, today, call it kissing.”
“Whatever, I wasn’t convinced you wouldn’t take it farther.”
Greer smiled when Chase rolled his eyes. She’d been a bit anxious when she’d realized Nick had hopped on a flight — had arrived in Raven’s Cliff shortly after Chase and his teammates had rescued her and Buck. Nick had never really played well with others, but he’d merely clapped Chase and his buddies on the back and thanked them for saving her life.
Then, he’d apologized for missing Royce’s involvement. That he should have scoured the available footage faster. Chase had brushed it off, and they’d all fallen into an easy friendship since.
Nick moved over to the end of the bed. “You’re actually starting to look human. How’s the pain?”
Greer eyed Chase. “I’m fine. Pain’s mostly gone.”
Nick laughed. “You know your nose scrunches up when you’re bullshitting, right?”
Greer flipped him off. “I’m well enough to go home.”
“By home, you mean Chase’s place, right? Because Foster’s been letting me crash, and the last thing I need is another perfect couple walking around being happy all the time.”
She frowned. “Sounds like there’s something you need to share about you and Kate.”
Nick’s smile fell. “Another time. Unlike Chase, I’m not here for a social visit. At least, not fully.”
Chase inhaled. “You’ve got news?”
“Wait.” Greer shifted on the bed, careful not to visibly wince. “Why would you have news?” She looked at the door when Foster and the crew walked in carrying a few paper bags, the scent of fresh bread wafting through the room. “What did I miss?”
Nick eyed Chase, and she knew they had an internal conversation.
She tossed a pillow at Nick. “Don’t look at him to see how much you should tell me because you’re spilling all of it.”
Nick laughed. “You always were a straight shooter. Grabbed everyone by the balls whether they deserved it or not. And yeah, you missed a few things. First, I had a friend pick through all the lodge video from when Rhett was abducted. She couldn’t recover much, but she was able to capture a few stills, and Royce definitely took him. Looked as if Hodges took Rhett’s place for a while – kept all those machines beeping — so it took longer for the staff to realize your teammate was missing. Not that I’m excusing them, but…”
He shifted on his feet. “Second, I’ve had a team retracing Hodges and Carver’s steps. It took a while to get the appropriate clearance, but we traced them back to a similar compound south of that mission. We’d been led to believe the entire echelon had been eliminated, but it looks like enough of the leaders survived, they simply moved camp. Started fresh.”
Zain inched forward. “Are they still there?”
Nick nodded. “Their numbers were reduced, but we just sent a drone overhead, and the live feed wasn’t encouraging. Looks like they’re gearing up for some kind of massive strike. Which means Carver and Hodges did us a favor. We can send in a team before our friends realize they’ve been compromised.”
Chase crossed his arms. “What about Dalton? Royce made it sound as if he might be alive.”
Greer inhaled. Carver had hinted that Dalton was still alive?
Nick shook his head. “No visuals on anyone fitting his description, but it’s been five years. I’d expect him to look different. Either way, I’ll be tagging along, and I’ll make recovering any viable hostages my prime directive.”
Greer coughed. “You’re going into the field?”
Nick grinned. “I know. Damaged goods, but this one’s personal.”
She shook her head. She could argue, but Nick rarely wavered once he had his mind made up, and she knew the old injuries still haunted him. “When’s the team going in?”
“Unsure. I’m heading back to Virginia tomorrow. I need to assemble a team — get eyes on our group. Maybe some boots on the ground over there. But it won’t be long when it’s evident they could launch an attack at any time.”
Nick glanced at Chase’s team. “I’d gladly take all of you but… I have a feeling you and the CIA don’t quite see eye-to-eye.”
Foster shrugged. “We haven’t killed you, yet.”
“I’ll take that as a win. I’ll keep you all in the loop as much as possible without getting arrested for jeopardizing national security. And I’ll personally tell you whatever I discover about Dalton, good or bad, but I’m confident that the immediate threat’s over.”
