"Okay, so I think we've got everything you need from the Beast." Dropping the last two duffle bags on the bed nearest the door, she glanced over at Dodge, who lay on the other queen sized bed in the hotel room and made it look small. She'd propped pillows behind his back as he lay on his side to take the pressure off his shoulder. The television was on but he was already nodding off.

Wyatt dug around in his duffle and nodded. "Okay. We'll be listening on the comm units here. I hope you find the jeweler, the diamond, and that fucker Mangus."

"That's the plan. I'll talk to you later." She glanced over to Dodge and he was fast asleep. That was good, it would help him heal, but if she were honest, she wanted him to tell her to be careful and good luck. Or maybe just a little kiss. Something.

She left their room and walked next door to Josh and Ford's room, knocked once and the door flew open. Josh stood in front of her with a scowl on his face.

"You and Dodge got something going?"

"It's none of your business."

"It is if it brings harm to the team."

"It won't bring harm to the team."

"These things have a way of spiraling out of control, Jax."

"Mind your own business, Josh."

She turned and stalked toward the elevator, she wasn't listening to his bullshit. Jabbing the down arrow on the wall she took in a deep breath as she heard Josh come to stand just behind her.

"I'm sorry." His voice was low.

Glancing over her shoulder she looked at her brother, her rock and her best friend. Ford had quietly joined them but stared straight ahead, not saying a word.

"It's okay. But, my love life, or lack of one, is no one else's business. I don't judge you or any of the guys for that matter, for who they are with or not. I'd appreciate the same courtesy."

She heard her brother's deep intake of breath. "I said I only worried because of the team."

Ford finally interjected. "Dodge would never do anything to hurt the team. And, for what it's worth, he's a good guy, he'd never get involved unless he had strong feelings."

Her eyes glanced at his. They were strangely dark, it was hard to tell where his pupil ended and the iris began, but she could see sincerity in them.

The elevator door opened and she stepped in and stood at the back of the elevator, time to get her head into their mission. She closed her eyes as they descended to the first floor and tried to get the images of Dodge out of her head. What was happening to her? She'd shut her brother down and in the same moment, allowed him to think there was something between her and Dodge. They'd shared a couple of kisses. Nothing more. And, she did care. Just a few days ago she hated him and was so damned mad at him, but that seemed like a distant memory now.

The doors slid open with a whoosh, and the threesome stepped out walking silently out to the Beast - time to rock.

She immediately climbed into the backseat while Josh and Ford jumped into the front. Reaching into the tool boxes in the back behind the seat she began pulling weapons and ammo. She'd reloaded her pistol from earlier today as soon as Dodge had been taken into surgery. Needing the distraction, she'd gone out to the Beast and reloaded, organized and kept herself busy for about a half hour. She'd also prayed he'd be alright. They'd not known each other long, but there was a pull between them. A thing. An indescribable something.

Checking that her pistols were all in place, she also tucked a small knife into her left ankle holster on the inside.

Ford opened the console between the driver and passenger seats and began pulling comm units out. Handing one back to her, she whispered, "Thanks." And tucked it behind her ear, draping the short wire behind her neck at her nape, and using a piece of tape Ford held for her, taped it in place. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

Josh called out, "Twenty-five minutes. Questions on the mission?"

"No." She replied, they'd gone over it before and doing it again would just make her nervous.

Ford replied in kind, then added. "Check, check."

Wyatt came over the comm first, "Copy."

Then Gaige. "Lincoln and I are here."

Her turn. "Check, check."

Both of their distance teams replied, "Copy."

She spent the next few minutes running their mission through her head and sending up a silent prayer or two that Dodge would get stronger soon. Tapping her cell phone to the “dark screen” mode, which wouldn't emit a bright light as she used their apps, she debated on sending Dodge a text, then told herself to play it cool.

Pulling onto a lane in the woods about a mile from Stan's house, Josh cut the lights and hooked up his comm unit. He went through the checks and opened his door.

She scooted out of the back, reaching in for the weapons she'd just readied and handed Ford his rifle; she walked around to the driver's side and handed Josh his. She slung hers over her shoulder with the strap.

Josh tapped her nose lightly, "Be careful, heads up, no superwoman moves, got it?"

"Same to you, brother. Ford."

She looked at each of them in turn and received nods in return. They entered the woods and split up, each of them going in a different direction to surround the house on three sides. She was a half-click out when her comm unit cracked. "Be careful, Little Mama. Comm units are all live now."

Her heart raced at the sound of Dodge's voice. She responded. "You got it, Tarzan."

She could feel the smile on her face and she allowed it to remain for a few moments. She wanted to bring that pink diamond back to him just as bad as she wanted Mangus. That was a thought that surprised the shit out of her. Shaking her head, she silently navigated the thick brush, listening for any sounds that told her she wasn't alone.

Nearing the edge of the woods, she knelt down and peered at Stan's house. Faint yellow light poured from the downstairs windows on this side of the house, the rest of the house was dark. She told her team, "Target in sight. Faint light from the lower east side windows. I can't see any cars from this vantage point. Over."

Ford replied first. "One female visible through the west windows, appears to be a living room. Only a small area visible. West side of upper is dark and there's one car, a white Ford Taurus in the drive, in front of the backdoor. Over."

Josh responded. "South side clear. I can see the Taurus, faint lights here, and using my looking glass one man visible downstairs, sitting at the table in the living room. Over."

Pulling her portable night vision goggles, which they called their “looking glasses”, up she looked into the house through the lighted window. "I can see the one man sitting at a table, too. Man two walking the perimeter of the house - armed. Over."

Josh called out. "Proceed."

She eased herself from the woods and ran to the house, pushing her back against the closest wall. Listening for sounds that she'd been seen she waited and willed her heart to slow down. This was always the most exciting part. The hunt. The thrill of getting close to your prey undetected. The next best part was the look of surprise on their faces.

She pulled her cell phone from her back pocket and tapped the icon for detecting if they had a security system installed. Watching for any red glow showing her how strong a system they had, nothing came onto her screen. They wouldn't have had enough time to set one up, but you couldn't underestimate Mangus. She whispered, "No security."

"Proceed." Josh replied.

She eased along the side of the house, making her way to the front porch. Peeking around the corner, she waited to see if the armed man she’d seen walking the perimeter was patrolling this area and he wasn’t. Easing herself up onto the porch, she again flattened her back to the wall and waited for Josh and Ford to signal that they were in place.

Seconds later, two signals happened in her headset, then two more. She tapped hers twice letting them know she was in place, turned, waited until she heard the backdoor kicked open and the yelling. The guard watching the front turned and ran through the house to the commotion. She instantly entered the living room with her rifle raised in front of her.

Two shots rang out from the back while in the living room she saw a blond woman, sitting at a table, a large pink stone in front of her and cutting materials on the table. She wore headgear that looked to be lighted, magnifying goggles which she quickly raised with the back of her hand. Her eyes were large and round as she looked down the barrel of Jax's rifle and, if not for the seriousness of the situation, Jax would have chuckled. She just loved this part.

"Pack it all up. Quickly, but efficiently, and keep your hands where I can see them or I'll break them."

Her lips quivered slightly, but she began rolling the soft cloth with the pink stone and the smaller pieces that lay in front of her. Jax's eyes landed on a black box laying alongside the table and she pointed to it saying, "Slowly open the lid on that box with your foot."

The woman did as she was told and a quick look inside showed it to be empty. "Put it in there. Quickly."

Moving as fast as her shaking hands would allow, the woman did as she was told. "Set it on the table."

With one hand Jax reached back and pulled zip ties from her back pocket. Ford walked into the room from the back and said to her. "Josh has her guards."

"Roger. You got her?”

"Yep."

Resting her gun on its strap she stepped to the woman, grabbed her hands, and zip tied them behind her back. She picked up the box, then saw strapping tape on a nearby table, she quickly wrapped tape around the box to secure the diamonds inside. Turning to look at Ford she nodded and he ordered the woman, "Move."

Jax grabbed her upper arm and lead her to the door. Josh stepped from the kitchen, his gun aimed at the blond woman. He nodded at Ford then slung his gun over his shoulder as he began rummaging through the boxes and bags laying around the living room. Searching the next room, which seemed to be Stan's bedroom, he came out with a suitcase. The blond woman's eyes grew large as she saw it. He grinned. Ford's eyes grew big, too.

"That suitcase was at the barn earlier today."

"Where's the guards?" Jax asked him.

"Dead." Josh said. "I'll go get the Beast and call Gaige."