Reborn by Melody Anne

Chapter Three

Eyes and Courtney stepped inside the building. Eyes didn’t even blink as they walked forward. She was silent as he gave her the nickel tour. He was sure the investigator in her was taking it all in and making notes. He’d already warned her she couldn’t write on any of it, but that didn’t mean her brain would shut down. She was a reporter after all, and this building was a treasure trove.

Her obvious astonishment prior to entering the main hub of their secret lair had been justified. When they’d stepped inside the conference area where all of the guys met, she was speechless. He tried to look at it through her eyes. The level of information and sophistication surrounding the walls would be impressive to even those who didn’t fall under the spell of awe.

To top off all of the gadgets Brackish came up with on what seemed a daily basis, the sight of the entire team, including Chad, sitting around their table was enough to stop anyone from entering the room.

“Almost everything in here is due to the brilliant mind of Brackish,” Eyes told her.

Courtney looked over to Steve, who was sitting at the end of the table typing away on a laptop. “I’m assuming you’re Brackish?” she said to Steve.

“I am,” Brackish replied, still furiously typing while barely looking up long enough to give her a nod before instantly going back to whatever data he was working on.

Eyes knew that in normal circumstances Courtney would have four or five questions lined up and ready to ask by the time a subject finished their first answer. However, in the overloaded room, with massive amounts of information coming at her, she couldn’t seem to process a single question. She stared at the large television screens showing images streaming in from all parts of the city, as closed caption videos looped, and news channels showed clips from the fire burning at the warehouse they’d left less than an hour earlier.

“How? What? Who . . .” Courtney finally started speaking only to stop and start again without a full sentence forming.

“We’ll discuss it all in the morning. I need to put my gear away and debrief the team. Let’s go to the kitchen and get you some food and something to drink. Then I’ll ask that you relax in a bedroom for the rest of the evening. Before you start with the hundred and one questions, I promise I’ll answer any and all of them in the morning,” Eyes said. Courtney started to interrupt, and he held up his hand to stop her.

“I promise to do just that.” She seemed as if she wanted to argue, but it was clear she was exhausted from the exciting night. “We have plenty of toiletries here, and if you need anything specific let me know now so I can get it for you,” Eyes finished. He waited as he watched her reaction. He could see when she gave up the fight.

“The only thing I need is a change of clothes. I have a bag in my car,” Courtney said.

“I’ll bring it to you in a bit,” Eyes said. He could see that she was aware she wouldn’t be allowed to wander all over the building or go in and out of the exits. She’d been in enough situations in her career to know when in a military situation, which they operated as, you had to have permission and an escort for anywhere you might need to go.

“Okay. Thank you,” Courtney let out, barely audible.

Eyes and Courtney went to the kitchen, grabbed a couple of snacks, a couple of bottles of water, and a nice red wine. They quickly moved through the building to the sleeping quarters. Eyes opened the door to her room and watched as she walked inside. She didn’t give him a reaction to the functional space. It wasn’t decorated, but it had everything she’d need, and it was a lot more comfortable than a person might expect. He should know as he was the last man standing who still lived in the building.

“Please, stay here. I need to speak with the men and then I’ll bring your bag to you,” Eyes said.

“You’re asking a lot of me, locking me up in this dungeon,” Courtney said with a slight smile.

“I know for a fact that you’ve been in worse places than this,” Eyes said.

Courtney looked around again, then passed by him, her hair gently brushing against his cheek. His body instantly reacted. Each time he was with this woman, his internal thermometer cranked up several degrees, overheating his entire body. It took a strong will for him not to pull her up against him and take the kiss he’d been wanting since the first moment he’d sat across from her years ago in Germany. He’d never been hung up on a woman for as long as he’d been hung up on this one. He was ready to shut the door to her bedroom and give her a new story to write that could be published as soft-porn.

Instead of doing just that, he gripped the door handle tight, told her he’d be back soon, then slowly closed the door. He stood in the quiet hallway for a minute to calm his racing heart.

The last thing he wanted to do was go back to the conference room, but there was a job to do, and work had to come first. There was plenty of time for playing when the job was done. He walked from her door and swiftly made his way back to the conference room where he knew he’d take some shit from the men.

He wasn’t wrong. Sleep perked up as soon as he entered. Eyes knew what was coming before his friend began speaking.

“Tsk, tsk, Eyes. You’re the first to bring a lady to the secret hideaway. You’ve had quite the night, though, so I guess you get a pass. You saved the damsel in distress, then brought her to the castle to stay the night. Have you done the sweeping kiss yet? Do we need to post a sentry outside of her room so you don’t deflower her before the wedding night?”

“Shove it where the sun doesn’t shine,” Eyes retorted.

“I think that’s what you’ll be doing later tonight,” Sleep shot back, cracking himself up, and drawing a few chuckles from the other men.

Eyes slammed his fist hard onto the table, staring firmly at Sleep. “Enough.”

Sleep stared at Eyes and silence filled the room. He then raised an eyebrow. “Really, Eyes?”

“Shit, sorry,” Eyes said as he scrubbed his face with his hand. They always flicked crap at each other. He wasn’t sure why he was getting mad about it. Maybe because he was sleep deprived. He knew for sure he was sex deprived — and all because of one dynamite package who was only a few hundred yards away.

“Why don’t we get back to work mode?” Chad suggested. The last of Eyes’s attitude disappeared as he sent an appreciative nod to their leader. If it hadn’t been for Chad, they wouldn’t be a team. Eyes was grateful they’d all come together.

“Let’s discuss the warehouse. Brackish, can you please give an update?” Eyes asked in a much easier tone.

“Yep, sure thing,” Brackish said and began speaking.

For the next thirty minutes the six men discussed their operation that night, how much data they’d received, and gratefully confirmed that not a single person had been hurt from the smoke plume that had drifted high into the sky.

The entire time Brackish spoke, he also typed on his computer. It was fascinating to watch how easily the man multitasked. Just as Eyes had that thought, Brackish froze.

“What’s going on?” Eyes asked. All of the men gave their full attention to Brackish.

“Hold on,” the man said as he pushed more buttons.

It didn’t take long for the room to fill with sound.

“Who is that?” Chad asked.

Brackish was grinning ear to ear. “I tracked down the owners of the containers,” he said, referring to the hundreds and hundreds of shipping containers they’d destroyed earlier that night. “It’s Vladimir Lebedev, who just so happens to be a Russian oligarch. He and his son, Gavrie, are equal partners. They live just over four miles from Joseph Anderson’s property in a home they’ve owned since the late nineties. They’re on the phone together right now.” It wasn’t often Brackish showed excitement, but at that moment, he practically bounced in his chair.

The father and son were speaking perfect English as Gavrie thundered into the phone, the sound surrounding the six men raptly listening.

“We’ve lost over ten billion dollars in products,” Gavrie shouted.

“Was anything saved?” Vladimir asked, seeming more resigned than upset.

“Nothing! Nothing was saved,” Gavrie spit out.

“Do we know who did this?” Vladimir asked, the deadly steel in his voice showing how the man had gotten into the position of power he had until Eyes and his crew had come along.

“I have no leads at the moment,” Gavrie said. “But I will find out. If it’s the Germans, they will pay.”

“Whoever it is will pay,” Vladimir said, ice running through his voice.

Their conversation was soon over and Brackish leaned back with a smile. “I have it all recorded,” he told the team. “And I’ve already sent it over to Sherriff McCormack, who will notify the Feds immediately. Both Vladimir and Gavrie should be picked up by morning and spend the rest of their days in a nice cozy prison cell.”

“Do you think the sheriff ever gets sick of being grilled on where he’s getting his information?” Smoke asked as he munched on a donut. There were three boxes on the table that had been full of sweets but were now almost empty. The men had incredibly healthy appetites. Of course, they burned a crapload of calories every day and needed to replenish.

“He might get sick of high-ranking starred badges grilling him, but he won’t ever cave and tell them about us,” Chad said with confidence.

“Yep, his standard answer of a package arrived on my doorstep has got to infuriate all of the brass,” Sleep said.

“The boys on top are just pissed because their egos and their itty-bitty feelings are getting crushed as the press hounds the big wigs about how a small-town sheriff continues to capture all of these big-time drug kingpins while the agencies with all of their federal funds are sitting on their thumbs and twirling around like schoolgirls on recess,” Green said with a laugh.

“It pisses the big boys off even more when McCormack’s interviewed and sticks to his story that he was only a messenger for the guardian angels of his city, who drop off invaluable evidence and incriminating material.”

Smoke reached for the final donut. The man should weight five hundred pounds. He yawned. “I’d say it was another beautiful day of work.”

“Yes, it was, Smoke,” Chad said. “With that, we can adjourn.” There were sighs of relief. They loved their work, but at the end of the day they were done with it.

“One more thing,” Eyes said as the men began to stand. They gave him their full attention. “Please bring your wives tomorrow morning. Be here at 0700. Smoke, you don’t have to bring Amira, but she’s invited as well,” Eyes finished.

“Mallory and I will come early and cook breakfast for everyone,” Green said as the men began moving toward the exit.

“Need me to bring anything?” Smoke asked.

“Nope. It’ll be a simple breakfast. I’ve got it covered,” Green replied.

Everyone smiled, knowing that Green cooking anything was as good a culinary experience as one would ever have, even if he did call it simple. His idea of simple wasn’t scrambles eggs and ham, it was a three-course gourmet breakfast that would have mouths watering and stomachs bloating.

“Okay, that’s a wrap. See you guys at 0700,” Eyes said. He then turned and walked from the conference room without looking back.

Eyes made his way to Courtney’s vehicle, popped the trunk and instantly let out a laugh. The woman had more junk in her trunk than he could’ve thought possible. That line, junk in her trunk, made his mind go to other places which he tried to squash while pulling out the only zipped bag among the books, blankets, random re-usable water bottles, writing pads, magazines, and a bag of Tootsie Rolls that had lost its battle of staying intact, leaving candy scattered everywhere. He decided to throw a couple of the small fake chocolates into her bag. Women seemed happier when they were given candy and he wanted her as happy, and sweet, as possible.

He picked up his pace as he made his way back to her room. He was glad the other guys had scrambled quickly after their meeting. It was now just him and Courtney in the vast building. He smiled as he knocked on her bedroom door.

“Come in.” He loved the sound of her voice even through thick wood.

Eyes opened the door to find Courtney sitting on the bed, a couple of plates laid out in front of her, almost all of the dried meats and cheese consumed. The bottles of water were still full, but the wine was at the stage where people defined your outlook on life by whether you said it was half-full or half-empty. She seemed much more relaxed than she had when he’d left her there about thirty minutes earlier.

“Oh, good, my change of clothes.” Courtney smiled as she leapt from the bed and walked up to Eyes, grabbing the bag. “I feel disgusting. I had a shower, but then had to put these things back on. I should’ve waited.” With that she went over to the bathroom and pushed on the door, but not hard enough to fully close it. She quickly ripped off her shirt, exposing just enough of her shoulder, arm, and back for Eyes to know he needed to look away. He didn’t want to, but he wasn’t going to cross the line of being a peeping Tom.

“Is there anything else? If not, we’re all meeting in the conference room tomorrow morning at 0700,” Eyes said as he moved away from the door, losing sight of the strip show he wouldn’t mind watching when she was aware she was doing it in front of him.

“Just a second,” Courtney called. A moment later she reappeared in a new outfit of a long sleeve shirt and sweats. It was painfully obvious to Eyes she’d removed her bra during the transition of clothes.

“Hey, Eyes, I know I can handle myself, and that I’ve been in some pretty rough positions, but I wanted to say thank you for what you did tonight,” Courtney said. She looked young and fresh and he clenched his fingers to keep from grabbing her. She moved up to him and leaned in, giving him a heartfelt hug of gratitude.

Her scent engulfed him, the mixture of a sweet fruity lotion with the bouquet of the red wine she’d been drinking thrown in. It was more than enough to make his body react. As much as he wanted to grab her tight and satisfy both of them, he knew it wasn’t the right moment. Before he could change his mind, he gave her a quick hug back, said something to the effect of it not being a problem, and then ended the hug between them.

“Unless you need anything else I’m going to call it a night,” Eyes said.

“I might have a hard time sleeping, but I think I’m good,” Courtney told him.

He nodded, then turned and left without saying anything more. He knew it was late, he knew he could have her, but he also knew neither of them would have much respect for the other in the morning if they rushed this. He found he didn’t want to rush anything when it came to this woman.

Instead of going to bed, though, he went to the gym and tried to work out his frustration for the next hour and a half. He ran fast and hard, lifted weights, cycled at the most difficult setting, then went back and lifted more weights. By the time he finished he was certain his brain would shut down from pure exhaustion, but that wasn’t the case.

After a shower, Eyes lay in bed thinking of Courtney, and that led to too much time wondering why he spent so much time thinking about her. She was a woman, one of billions in the world, and while she was very attractive, he’d been around many, many, many attractive women throughout his life. What was it about Courtney he couldn’t seem to shake? He tried his breathing exercises, he tried meditating, he even tried lying on the floor. No matter what he tried he couldn’t stop thinking of the woman who was only a couple of doors down from him.

By the time the 0600 alarm went off, Eyes only had forty-five minutes of sleep. He rarely allowed his emotions to control him or let his thoughts become fantastical, but all of that had been thrown out the window in the span of a few hours.

He’d literally gotten little more than a catnap because of one blonde, blue-eyed reporter, but at least he’d gotten a few minutes of shut eye. That was better than some days. He jumped from his bed and took a two-minute shower, on the coldest setting possible, then dressed.

When he stepped from his room and the smell of breakfast hit his nostrils; he felt his lips turn up. His mind had been so consumed with a certain female he’d forgotten that Green and his wife were making breakfast. At least some good was coming from this new day.

His mood vastly improved as he entered the kitchen. A podcast discussing wind variances on long range shooting was blasting over the kitchen speakers, which if nothing else, made everyone in the building know Green was there. No one else could stand his boring podcasts, but that’s what made Green so great at what he did. His laser-like focus made him one of the best special ops snipers of all time — and that same focus made him one of the best chefs of all time as well. The smells that had tantalized Eyes outside of the kitchen sent his taste buds into overdrive as he was hit full force with the aromas steaming from the stove.

“Good morning, Green. It smells fantastic in here. What’s cooking?” Eyes asked.

“Mornin’ Eyes. It isn’t that big a deal today. I don’t have a lot of time and we have a large group gathering so trying to make it simple,” Green replied.

One of the many things Eyes appreciated about Green was how calm he stayed under pressure. If Eyes had to make breakfast for four people, let alone ten or more, he’d have been fumbling all over the place and the food would be, at best, barely edible. Green though, went about his business with flawless precision, no look of stress or worry over his face.

“Yeah, by the smell of it I’ll probably need to go to a Seven-Eleven to get a two-day-old breakfast sandwich so my taste buds will have something with flavor,” Eyes joked as he poured himself a cup of hot coffee.

Something came flying through the air and Eyes barely managed to catch it before it slammed into his face. When he realized what it was the rest of his morning fog evaporated as he looked at Green and began laughing.

“I have you covered since you’ve made that joke before,” Green said. “Enjoy your breakfast as the rest of the men eat my tasteless creation.”

In Eyes’s hand was a Seven-Eleven sandwich, which was cold and about as appealing as a termite.

“Okay, okay, you win. I’m in awe of your food and will never say anything bad about it again if you let me throw this away and eat at the big boys’ table.” Eyes didn’t care if he was begging.

“That’s more like it. You’re forgiven,” Green said, continuing to stir what appeared to be gravy. If part of the breakfast was biscuits and gravy, it wouldn’t be like what you got in a diner. Oh no, it would be a masterpiece with flavors bursting on the tongue hours after the food was consumed.

The realization that Green’s wife wasn’t in the kitchen finally dawned on Eyes. “Where’s Mallory?” he asked.

“She and Courtney went for a walk about thirty minutes ago,” Green said, then gave Eyes a wicked smile. “Are they going to have anything good to gossip about?”

“Not from my side,” Eyes said too quickly.

“Boring,” Green replied. Before Eyes could respond, Green kept talking. “Since you’re about as useless as a rock under a tree, set these into the oven.” Green handed him two cookie sheets with a bunch of white flakes on it.

“Coconut,” Green said with his back turned while working on the next part of his recipe.

“Okay then,” Eyes said as he did as he was told.

“I need to get some emails finished before the group gets here. Need anything else?” Eyes asked.

“Nope, all’s good in here, brother,” Green replied, his focus still on the food directly in front of him.

Eyes left, then immediately went to his computer and started going through email. But it didn’t take long for the team to arrive, making him shut down and pay attention to the conversation.

Chad and Brianne, who’d picked up Courtney and Mallory as the women were almost to the entrance of the driveway, were the last to arrive, and once they were in the conference room Green and Smoke, sans Amira, started serving breakfast. Everyone was silent as they dove into their meal, not coming up for air until every last bite was gone. It was by mutual agreement that the meal was among the best they’d ever had; it started off their day, and their meeting, on a very high note.

“Okay, Eyes, why don’t you start us off?” Chad said as he sipped on his fourth cup of coffee.

“Copy,” Eyes replied.

Eyes stood, gave a quick head nod to Brackish — indicating for him to turn on some pre-set videos. “On behalf of all of the men in the room — ladies, welcome to our operations center. All of you have agreed to take a part in opening the world’s eyes to what Anna Miller did and how that relates to the crime in the city. With approval from Chad and Mr. Anderson, it was decided that each of you learn what we do here. I doubt it’s much of a secret to any of you, but our team has come together to rid the city of drugs and the criminal acts they bring.”

“We’re glad to be here,” Courtney said. It was the first words she’d spoken to him since he’d left her room the night before. He nodded at her before he continued.

“To date we’ve either apprehended, or given law enforcement the information to apprehend, all but one of the largest drug lords in the city. We’re still awaiting confirmation on the accuracy but if it holds true, in financial terms we destroyed the largest single compilation of drugs in U.S. history last night. It’s said to have had a ten-billion-dollar value. Yes, that is ten billion — with a B,” Eyes said before continuing.

“On the screens you’ll find a few clips of what we’ve been involved in, and what the communities have become since those drugs have been taken away. Previously, they were suffocating entire areas all over Seattle.” There were murmurs of agreement.

“Our focus still remains on one more person so we can’t give you ladies our undivided attention, but for whatever free time we do have, I give you my word the men here will assist you in whatever way we can.”

Sleep, for the first time Eyes could remember, actually stopped himself from saying something in regard to how he could assist — specifically his wife. All of the special ops men saw his internal battle and smiled in unison.

“Why did Joseph decide to bring us in?” Erin asked. “I have my talents but taking down bad guys has never been on my résumé. I’m just curious.”

Chad held up a hand, indicating he wanted to take this question. Eyes nodded at him.

“Joseph loves people, he loves family, and he loves friends. He also believes in everyone in his life. He clearly sees how all of your relationships have progressed, and he wants you to be a team, husbands and wives working together, as well as couples working together. I think he hopes to keep all of you around for a long time to come,” Chad said.

“So, it was a pity assignment,” Courtney said, not seeming at all happy with that.

Chad chuckled. “Joseph doesn’t do anything out of pity. If he didn’t see true talent in you ladies, he never would’ve made the offer.” He gave Courtney his undivided attention. “And, Courtney, you’re a shark. Joseph could see that immediately. He knew he had to bring you in and make you a part of the team, or you would’ve busted the entire operation.”

Eyes nodded his agreement. Courtney smiled. She enjoyed being good at her job. Eyes felt the same way about his work. The more he was around this woman, the more he wanted to be right where he was.

A few more questions were fired off, and then the group agreed to split up and focus on where each person was needed the most. The first time in the operations center was a privilege, and the women didn’t want to waste a moment of their time.

Courtney, Erin, and Eyes stayed in the conference room, and before the last person left Courtney was back in reporter mode, ripping off questions quicker than Eyes could process what was being asked. She had an uncanny ability to know how to dig into a subject so deeply that the person being interviewed didn’t know which way was up or down.

Eyes held up his hand and Courtney stopped speaking . . . for a second. “I told you I’d answer all of your questions, and I will, but there needs to be just a little bit of patience while I give you answers.” He then looked at Erin. “Don’t forget we also have a third partner here,” he said with a wink to Erin who he was a big fan of.

“I don’t know if I want to interrupt. I like watching Courtney when she’s on a roll,” Erin said with a laugh.

Eyes gave her a mock glare. “And I was just thinking about how much I liked you,” he told her. That made both Erin and Courtney laugh. “Okay, ladies give me your best,” he finished.

And boy, did they. For the next hour, they grilled Eyes, demanding video, asking intelligent questions on the operation, and trying to drag out every ounce of information he had. He wouldn’t be surprised if they had his birth time, weight, and size of his newborn feet by the time the day was finished. Erin might come off as somewhat shy, but when she was in the zone she was as much of a shark as Courtney.

“Okay, enough,” Eyes finally said, his eyes burning, and his mind fried. He hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep to do this any longer.

“We’ve barely even started!” Courtney said with a huff.

“I’m going to find Brackish and see what I can drag out of him,” Erin said with a wink before she exited, leaving Eyes and Courtney alone.

“Come on, Eyes, just a few more questions,” Courtney said, her voice seductive, her smile innocent, and her eyes sparkling. Eyes could see how the woman always got her story. Damn, she was good. He smiled right back, coming up with an instant plan.

“I have a proposition for you,” Eyes said smoothly.

“What?” Courtney asked, looking suspicious.

“If you agree to go to dinner with me, I’ll give you three hours of questions with no excuses or breaks,” Eyes said. He might regret the three hours part but he really wanted this woman to go on a date with him, and she hadn’t been cooperative so far, even though the sexual chemistry between them was enough to light up an NFL stadium.

“I don’t know why you think you’re so slick. Trying to bribe me into going on a date with you isn’t the most romantic gesture in the world. Also, I could always tell Joseph you aren’t playing nice,” Courtney replied, a mischievous smile forming on her soft pink lips.

“You’re correct, you could tell him. I could also tell him I’m too busy working on my mission to help you,” Eyes said. He could play chicken with the best of the best. She didn’t stand a chance.

Courtney assessed him and he could see the wheels turning in her brilliant brain. He also knew the second he won. He wanted to jump into the air and have a Rocky moment. Victory was so sweet.

“One dinner. That’s it. And if you try to back out of answering my questions, I’ll make your life a living hell, don’t think I won’t,” Courtney said, her eyes putting some weight behind what she said.

“Deal.” Eyes stuck out his hand for a shake to finalize the verbal contract.

She took it and both of them let the hold last a little bit longer than what would otherwise be socially acceptable. Eyes knew it was only a matter of time before they were both deeply and fully satisfied. He’d have no trouble sleeping that night — not when he was getting closer to the prize he hadn’t known he’d wanted until he’d crash-landed into this woman who made his heart soar.

It was time to play — and he made sure he was always the victor.