Page 40 of SEAL's Providence
As the men filed out, Kern picked up his files. Tony needed more answers, and he wouldn’t let him leave without them. “Hold on a minute, Rick.”
Kern turned to face Tony with a sigh. “I was so fucking close to escape. What’s bothering you, commander?”
“Everything. This mission stinks like week-old shit. Care to share anything else before you get on the transport and risk my men’s lives? My gut says there’s a lot more to this than the briefing contained.
“If it’s your gut talking, grab something to eat. Maybe you’re hungry. Or it could be indigestion.”
Tony clenched his fingers into fists by his side. What he wouldn’t give to tear the asshole a new one. “Don’t be a fucking smart ass. I need answers, Kern.”
“Your team will be fine. All they need to do is find the woman and bring her home.”
“Fuck you. We both know it’s never that simple. And if that’s true, why are you going?”
Kern puffed out his chest. Tony didn’t care if he was pissing him off. Something about this entire mission felt off.
“I need to debrief Ambassador Roland. Satisfied?”
Tony crossed his arms over his chest to keepfrom punching the asshole in the face. “No, I’m not satisfied, and I don’t believe you. But I guess I don’t have any other option. Just make sure my men come home alive.”
“Will do.”
As he pulled open the door and walked out, Tony heard Kern mutter, “fucktard” under his breath. He smirked. The feeling was entirely mutual.
By the time Tony got to his office, it was eleven hundred hours. His schedule had been full, and he’d been in back-to-back meetings all morning. He hadn’t even taken a piss, let alone been able to text Providence.
During one of his five-minute breaks, he’d seen a text from Pat asking Tony to call him. Hopefully, it meant he had some intel on the traffickers operating in their area.
Now that they had confirmation of the women’s location, he’d put together a rescue plan. He also needed to check on Providence. She’d want to know if he’d heard anything. After her reaction last night, Tony wouldn’t be able to put her off for long orshe’d take matters into her own hands. He couldn’t let that happen.
At least he’d know where she was. The tracker he’d installed on her phone when she’d gone upstairs to take a shower took care of that. She’d promised to trust him, but he needed to know where she was for his own sanity. The situation was too risky. He didn’t trust that the John guy at the salon wouldn’t hurt her if he thought she was causing trouble.
He pulled up the app and checked Providence’s location. Relief that she was in her office helped ease some of the tension in his shoulders. She was safe for the moment.
Opening his contacts, he clicked on Patrick O’Shea and leaned back in his chair.
“O’Shea.”
“It’s Knox. Do you have anything for me?”
The other man chuckled. “Anxious much?”
“Hell yeah. The doctor is chomping at the bit to conduct a rescue. Only the lack of intel is keeping her from storming the damn building. And that won’t work for long.”
“Fuck. Well, let’s get to it then. Just warning you, it’s not good news.”
Tony ran his fingers through his hair. Of course it wasn’t. “I figured as much.”
“The group you’re dealing with is based in Marikistan.”
“You’re fucking kidding me, right? That country is becoming the bane of my existence.”
“Care to share?”
“I wish I could, but it’s classified. Did those mutherfuckers hook up with the Russians?”
“Yeah, and an Italian family in New York. They’ve been branching out.”
“Fuck.” Thank God Lucky didn’t know any of this shit yet, because Tony could guarantee he’d lose it. Especially after what he went through with these fuckers to rescue Hope.
