She gasps, looking at me as if she’s seen a ghost. “Is he okay? Are you okay?” The questions don’t end there. “Does Piper know? Of course she does. That’s why she’s acting so strangely.”
Mom adores her nieces and nephews and treats them as if they were her own. The hurt in her face is jarring. “Why do my children have to suffer?”
Dad hugs her tighter since he doesn’t have an answer for her.
“Is he the one who saved her?” Dad asks, as if trying to put things together.
“Yep. He’s the sniper at the bookstore. Sanford was right, that job could’ve only been done by one of ours.” I tap my head. “He learned a lot from the Z’s, but I’m sure part of his abilities are just muscle memory.”
“He can’t remember anything?” Mom asks, tapping her head. “That sounds like dissociative amnesia. It’s not easy to treat, more so if they fed him new memories. But with—”
“Mom, he doesn’t want to think about his past or go back to his family.” I have to stop her before she gathers all the family to find solutions.
Don’t get me wrong. I want my friend back, but we can’t force him to do as we say. That’d be selfish.
Dad asks. “Do you trust him?”
“Oddly enough, I do. There’s a part of Archer inside him. He wouldn’t cross us, if that’s what you’re worried about. We’ve been working well together, just like old times.”
We spend the next hour discussing all the operations we ran for the past few months. Once I’m finished, Dad lets out a breath. “It’s not my place to say anything, but he should give his family a chance. If one of you had gone through some trauma like this one, I hope you would come to me even if you didn’t remember anything.”
I agree, but would I be willing to do it? Archer’s family would want to be a part of his life, but would they accept Finnegan? It’s all too complicated. After all the time I’ve spent with him, I’m willing to take what he offers. A partnership where I work with him when he needs me.
His family… I doubt they’ll want to accept anything less than having him back home. Mr. St. James will have him committed. Kingston might help. This might destroy them. I can’t think of what’s going to happen with the St. Jameses.
Is it better if they never learn that Archer is alive? I almost groan as I remember that Lang opened his big mouth and told them. This is going to be a clusterfuck. And not something I should be thinking about.
“Why don’t we finish this operation and then we can deal with the rest?” I suggest not knowing what the rest implies.
“I needed to have all the information before I agreed. We’re having another meeting before we start training.”
“Dad, this isn’t optional. Either you help us or I’m going with him to finish it.” I swallow a grunt and try to use the most rational voice I can muster.
“You work for me.”
“Usually, but this is different. I gave him my word that I would help him as long as he helped me rescue Teddy. It’ll be great if you’re part of this mission, but I understand if you can’t do it.”
He scrubs his face with both hands. “You’re putting me in a difficult position.”
“It’s pretty simple.”
“We almost lost you,” he growls. “Twice. What if this time we really lose you?”
I point at the door. “That man saved my life twice and helped me get Teddy. I owe him a lot. The least I can do is finish this mission with him. It’ll be helpful if you and the guys could come along but I understand if you won’t do it.”
“Mase,” Mom whispers and whatever goes between the two of them other than a long staring contest is unclear to me.
“Fine. Just—”
I show him the palm of my hand as if to stop him. “I need you to quit threatening me or treating me like a child when I don’t do what you want. Either you trust me, or you don’t.”
He takes a step back, blinking a couple of times. After swallowing hard he says, “I’ll still have the meeting with Harrison and Hawk while we’re flying your mom to Seattle. We should be back tomorrow morning. I trust you can begin the training and while you plan, contact us via videoconference.”
“Thank you.”
Dad releases Mom and she hugs me. “I’m glad you’re back.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to remind her that I won’t be home until this is over, but instead I say, “Love you, Mom.”
I hope this is over and I can return to my old life. The one where Teddy and I can be together and figure out a way to make our marriage possible.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Seth
We spend three days in Knox Ridge running simulations for both teams, and also training. Finnegan and my father came to some sort of agreement. He’s no longer in charge of the entire operation. We’re partners. The Organization will send a few more men to Monaco—Finnegan agrees to let more of our men join the last mission.
I convinced him it’d be easier to just use the people we have here in Knox Ridge. The rest of us are heading to Rock Harbor, Vermont. A town bordering Canada where Ricardo Zamudio hides.
Nathan and Lang will be helping us with the air and land bots in Vermont. They were the first ones to fly to the Northeast, where they set up the base. The A team is supporting us, not leading.
“We should hire him,” Grace whispers as we’re in the storage room, choosing armor.
“Who designed this?” Finnegan asks. He is either ignoring my sister’s comment or he didn’t listen to her.
“It’s a work in progress. Dad and someone else began to develop it…” I whistle. “A long time ago. Every so often, our engineers update the design and the material.”
Finnegan nods. “The utility belt could use some improvements.”
“We’re always open to suggestions,” Grace says. “Have you thought about working for us?”
She’s not letting it go, is she. I wish I knew what her angle was because Grace isn’t always that insistent. She’s really good at reading the room moving on from a conversation.
Finnegan’s laugh bounces against the walls. “Why would I want to work for you?”
“You’d be a great addition to our team.”
He smirks. “Why don’t you work for me? I don’t offer dental or pretty uniforms, but we work for the common good.”
“You have a company?” Grace frowns.
She and I haven’t spoken much. Once we’re back home, I’ll sit with her and Beacon and give them the entire story. For now, they have to deal with the summary I gave them when we arrive at the base. Unless she gets any information out of Finnegan—which is doubtful.
“No, I have the assets to run these kinds of operations.”
My sister frowns. “Meaning?”
“I call people when I need them.” He shrugs a shoulder as if saying, it’s pretty self-explanatory.
Grace shivers. “That’s chaotic.”
“Another one with OCD. It must run in the family.”