“So you’re not going to?” he asked. If things kept progressing the way there were and Trin and Amber decided to pull the trigger on this thing, it could get awkward with Rycroft fast.
The guy had done a lot to help them in the past. Stuck his neck out and risked his security status along with his reputation in the intelligence community by assisting them on ops that resided firmly in the gray area, and then smoothing everything over after. If they went ahead with something like this behind his back, he wasn’t going to be happy about being left in the dark.
“I don’t want to say anything until I know for sure. No point in putting him in an awkward position if nothing’s going to happen.”
He nodded, but already had his own view of what was going on here. The odds of nothing happening when eight Valkyries and their former military partners had gathered here ready to go, were pretty much nil.
They passed the gatehouse where Megan and Ty were staying, and turned left onto the quiet, two-lane road running along the front of the estate. It was pretty countryside. Softly rolling hills in every shade of green imaginable, made up of fields bordered by ancient hedgerows and dotted with copses of trees. In some ways it reminded him of his family’s horse farm in the Shenandoah.
The range Marcus had secured for them was located in between some farmers fields down in the valley a few miles northeast of Stow-on-the-Wold. When they arrived, the others were already waiting.
“Thought you guys would never get here,” Briar said, striding toward them.
Another couple was already set up on the range with a sniper rifle. The blonde turned to them with a half-smile. “Hey. Good to see you.”
“Georgia.” Brody nodded at her, then focused on her husband, standing next to her. “Bautista. Been a long time.”
The former cartel enforcer dipped his head and held out a hand. His reputation as a stone cold killer preceded him, and even though he’d gone straight a few years ago, he was still a menacing bastard. “Colebrook.” Then he looked at Trinity, and his hard features softened into a half-smile. “Mrs. Colebrook.”
“Hi.” Trinity reached up for a hug. Bautista returned it, then she hugged Georgia too.
Brody couldn’t help but grin. There was a shitload of history between these four, not all of it good.
Trinity, Briar and Georgia had been close early on in their training, before being separated and eventually turned on one another. Bautista had gotten involved in the mix not long after that and fallen hard for Georgia, and then Brody had met Trin that fateful night when he’d found himself staring down the barrel of her pistol.
Life had never been dull since. And even though they were all on the same side now, everything that had led them to this moment still seemed incredible.
“So? We gonna shoot, or what?” Briar asked impatiently, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.
Trin laughed. “You remind me of Chloe right now. About to burst with pent-up energy.”
Briar grunted. “I’ve been stuck behind a desk all week, I’m across the damn ocean from my kid and husband, and it’s been way too long since I shot anything. I’m ready to put some rounds downrange. Anyone wanna join me, or you wanna hug it out some more?”
“I’ll spot you. Then hug you after,” Trin said, walking over to one of the two M110s set up and ready to go.
Georgia tossed a sharp-edged smile at her husband. “You wanna shoot?”
“I’m good. Promised Chloe we’d throw some knives for a bit later. You go ahead, I’ll spot you until she gets here.”
Both Georgia and Briar wasted no time in getting set up behind their weapons, lying prone on the mats laid out. Soon the reports of the powerful rifles echoed across the field. Marcus had said the farmers on either side were used to it and wouldn’t bother coming to investigate, since he and Kiyomi came here to shoot occasionally.
Brody watched both women shoot for a while, admiring their technique and skill. They were both damn impressive shooters, as good as him or any of the guys on his sniper team.
It also gave him a chance to admire his wife in action. He didn’t often get to see Trin use her training anymore, and seeing her now as she expertly spotted Briar was yet another reminder of how damn sexy and incredible his wife was.
His wife. He still loved how that sounded, how it felt. It had taken a long time to get her to say yes, but they’d finally been married in May, back at his family home in the Shenandoah. And marrying him wasn’t all she’d said yes to.
After a while Trin got up and sauntered back to him with that sexy walk that called attention to every luscious curve on her body, her smile and the sparkle in her eyes telling him just how much she’d needed this. He’d been hesitant to fly here at first, with good reason, but now he was glad he’d come.
Even if the others went ahead with the op and she decided not to be part of it, coming here to at least spend this time with the others had definitely been the right decision. Valkyries would never truly assimilate into a regular life. The way Brody saw it, all of them getting together at least once a year was necessary for their mental and emotional wellbeing.
He caught Trin by the waist and tugged her around in front of him, pulling her back tight to his chest as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. “When are you gonna tell them?” he murmured against her ear in between shots.
“Soon,” she answered.
He was leaving that up to her. It was her call. “Sweetheart… You know I can’t stay.” Not only because of his job. But because something even more important could be put in jeopardy by what was about to happen. He needed to be back stateside to ensure that didn’t happen.
“I know.” She squeezed his forearm. “But I’m glad I had you here with me for at least a little while.”
****
The sudden yet necessary departure of her husband left Trinity with a bittersweet ache in her chest, but with Laidlaw Hall full to bursting with other people she loved, she couldn’t help but smile. Though it had only been seven months since they’d all last been together, with them all living so far apart now it felt much longer.
“Hey, you,” Chloe said, coming over with a plate of snacks in her hand, wearing a T-shirt that read: Explosives expert. I’m a blast at demos.
It seemed she was always eating. Had to keep her hands busy, or at least some part of her busy, or she would explode. “I don’t have to ask how you are, I can see how pumped you are to be here.”
Chloe grinned. “I’m sooo ready to get back in the field.”
Trin chuckled. “Poor Heath.” His nickname of firecracker for her couldn’t be more perfect.
“What? He’d be bored without me. I make his life interesting.”
She put her arm around Chloe’s waist and squeezed her. “I don’t doubt that for a second, babe.”
“Where’s Brody?” Chloe glanced around the room.
“He had to fly out.”
“Oh. Work emergency?”
“Security issue.” At least that wasn’t a complete lie.
“Okay, let’s get this meeting started,” Amber called out from the front of the library where she had the big screen set up along with Lady Ada.
“Here we go,” Trin murmured, releasing Chloe as everyone gathered around on the plush velvet and leather furniture.