Mexico City
Eighteen hours later
“What do you mean he got away?” Kayla stared at Big Tag. Even in the confines of Josh’s massive, super-pimped-out million-plus trailer, Big Tag made everything look small. “How the hell did Levi Green manage to get out? We called the authorities. We called the Agency.”
Big Tag had hustled down to Mexico. Even as he’d been shooting his way out of the compound, Shane had called and updated Ian. Ian had gotten on a plane as quickly as he could, showing up this morning with Tennessee Smith at his side.
They were all sitting in Josh’s trailer. The shoot was going on outside, but Josh was taking the day off due to having a bullet cut out of his left bicep. He looked over at the former CIA agents. “How could the Agency let a rogue operative slip away like that? Are they looking for him?”
“They don’t have to,” Ten said, his mouth a tight frown. “They can walk into his office at Langley if they want to know where he is.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Declan asked, a cup of coffee in his hand. “He just walked back into the office after shooting Fain? They don’t give a crap about him attempting to murder another agent?”
Declan and Riley had turned around and gotten back in time to get her and Josh out of Morales’s compound before the police showed up.
But not John Bishop. He’d faded into the shadows and disappeared again before she’d even had a chance to tell him off the way she’d wanted to. Or given him a hug and a thank you for saving them all.
She moved closer to Josh, his arm immediately coming out and wrapping around her. He didn’t hide his affection at all now. Something deep had broken inside Josh the night before, some seal that had kept much of his emotion buried. After they’d had his arm looked at, he’d wrapped himself around her and held her for the longest time, telling her all the things being in a room with Hector Morales brought back, all the horrors. Somehow in telling them, in letting it all loose, in holding her while she cried for the child he’d been, a new Josh had been born. A warm and loving man. A man who knew he was worthy of being loved, too.
But this afternoon he was going to get a lesson in how shitty life in the intelligence community could be sometimes. She cuddled close to him but looked up at Big Tag and Ten. “They’re taking Levi’s side, aren’t they?”
She hated to think about what that meant for them all.
Big Tag nodded. “I don’t have the whole story, but I’ve already got Case and Theo picking up Ezra from the hospital. I know he shouldn’t be moved yet, but I can’t risk leaving him in a hospital bed when they could come and arrest him at any moment. Luckily Faith was in town with Ten. She’s going to oversee him all the way home and then we’ll let him recover at a safe house.”
It was good to have a doc on call. The Dallas team had Faith Smith and London had just gotten their own in Stephanie Carter.
She was going to miss her team, but her heart was always going to be in California. Or wherever Josh was.
“Arrest the dude who nearly got killed trying to save us?” Josh asked. “That’s insane. I’ll testify for him.”
There was a knock on the trailer door.
“There won’t be a trial for Fain,” Ten said grimly. “The Agency is going to choose the story that best fits the narrative they want. The Jiang Kun mission will remain top secret, potentially scrubbed from the files. Fain will be attached to Morales. Levi Green will be the good guy, the one who tried to find out what happened to the agent there.”
Josh held up his hand. “I know. Levi Green killed him. I do not get this. This is a poorly written script because the bad guy is getting away.”
“Yeah, that’s how it works sometimes,” a quiet voice said as he stepped up the stairs and into the trailer. “That’s one of the reasons I got out, though not the most important one.”
Everyone stopped, all eyes on the newcomer. He looked so different. The Bishop she’d known had worn mostly black. His hair had been longer, his eyes flat much of the time. Every now and then she would coax a smile from him, but there had always been a darkness about John Bishop that she’d been sure nothing could banish.
The man in front of her wore a T-shirt that proudly stated that life was better in Bliss, Colorado. He had a touristy Cuban-style shirt over the T and khaki shorts that her dads might pick out and say were sporty. They weren’t. Nor were the Birkenstocks on his feet or the Tilley hat covering his trimmed brown and gold hair.
He stood back as though afraid of his welcome.
Ian Taggart’s face actually went soft. “Sir, it’s a pleasure to see you again. Never thought I would.”
“Ian.” Bishop held a hand out.
“Hell,” Big Tag said before pulling the smaller man in for a bear hug. “We thought you were dead, Henry.”
When Bishop pulled back there was surprise in his eyes. “You called me Henry.”
Big Tag looked deeply pleased with himself. “You’re Henry Flanders now. That’s what all this was about. You’re Henry and you’re Nell’s husband, and that’s the truth. That’s why you did everything you did. You did it so you could be the kind of man your wife would be proud of. Why is everyone looking at me like that? I’m fucking sensitive, too. I can figure things out.”
Ten rolled his eyes. “I told him all that on the plane ride here. Henry, it’s nice to meet you, man. And thank you for letting my old friend Bishop come out to play this time. I think we would have lost a lot had you not.”
“I had to come,” Henry said, his eyes finding Kay’s. “I owed it to you. Kayla, I did what I did…”
She gave him her middle finger. “You suck, Bishop.”
His face flushed.
He really was a different person. A happy person. Josh could be that with the right love. Her love. She bounced up off the couch to her feet and crossed the space between them. “But this Henry guy seems awfully lovable. It’s good to see you.”
She threw her arms around her old mentor, forgiving him in that moment. He’d done his job and known when to take that off-ramp he talked about. He’d found his and now she had hers. Forgiveness wasn’t hard when he’d been the one to save Joshua.
His arms wrapped around her. “You, too. Do you have any idea how proud I am of everything you did? Including saving these two numbskulls a couple of times. Just because I’ve been dead doesn’t mean I haven’t kept up with my people. Well, a friend of mine who’s quite good at hacking a system got your mission files for me. I was happy to hear Ian got out when he did. I worried about him, especially after his wife died. I was thrilled to hear she’s back. I’m not the only one to pull the old ‘I’m dead’ routine. Ten, though, I always knew would find a nice woman and settle down.”
“Glad you knew,” Ten shot back. “Someone might have mentioned that to me. I always thought I was a broody son of a bitch no one would ever love.”
“I need more punches,” Tag said. “When he says shit like that I need more punches.”
Ten’s eyes narrowed and he pointed at Tag. “Don’t you dare. You used up your last punch.”
Tag turned to Henry. “Did those reports tell you about the time that asshole stormed my building with a full Special Forces team? My building. I have a daycare there.”
Ten shook his head. “Are you seriously tattling on me like a damn four-year-old?”
Henry’s smile was brilliant as he put a hand on both the badass ex-operatives. “Boys, let’s go grab a beer and you can tell me all about it. I was kind of hoping I could catch a ride back to the States. After all, we have more to talk about. I need you to fill me in on what’s left of Hope McDonald’s experiments. I think it’s all about those boys.”
“Yeah, we know about that.” Ten looked back at the three bodyguards. “Come on, then. Let’s leave the lovebirds. We’ve got a plane to catch in a few hours.”
They would be going home, but she was staying here with Josh. They would need bodyguards, but she would find some who lived in the area and not in her house. She could handle his protection when they were alone.
But she would miss her boys.
Tag stayed for a moment while the men filed out. He stared at Josh. “You take care of her or you’ll deal with two mad dads and me. Not sure which is worse.”
Tears misted her eyes. “Thank you for everything, Ian. And don’t think I’m gone. We got word this morning that the studio is looking for someone to play Tex Jones in the new Soldiers and Doms movie. I’m going to convince Josh. He would definitely have to do his research.”
“No, he wouldn’t if he’s playing Ten. He just has to talk real slow and pretend he’s got a brain in his head. Well, he shouldn’t pretend too hard.” Tag smiled. “Seriously, don’t be a stranger. Either one of you. And if you see anything suspicious, call. You might not be on the payroll any longer, but you’re both family now.”
He strode out the door.
“Your family is scary,” Josh said, standing up and closing the space between them. “I like them.”
She went up on her toes, wrapping her arms around him. “I think they like you, too. And I know I love you.”
He kissed her, a sweet brushing of his lips. “I love you, too. Does that mean you’ll marry me? You know after I sufficiently wow you with a spectacular proposal?”
Her whole soul felt light and happy. “I think as long as the proposal is suitably extravagant, the answer will probably, absolutely be a yes. But you should know my dads are going to want a hell of a wedding.”
“Jared is trying to train the dolphins even as we speak. I thought they would make excellent bridesmaids,” he teased and then got sober. “Baby, I’m going to tell my story to the press. To everyone.”
Her jaw nearly dropped. “You don’t have to now. There’s no more blackmail.”
“But I do have to. I have to tell it for every kid who’s in danger. I have to tell it for everyone who went through it. I have to tell it for Hannah. I have to tell it for me because I’m done being ashamed. I was a victim then and now I’m a survivor. If I can help one person, then all the flack I’ll get will be worth it.”
Now she was crying for another reason. Because she was proud of him. “You are the strongest man I know. And I’ll be by your side the whole time. Anyone says shit and I’ll assassinate him.”
His smile took her breath away. “My own personal bodyguard.”
“You better believe it.”
She would protect him for the rest of their lives. Hey, a girl couldn’t ask for more.
She kissed him again and looked forward to the rest of her own personal happily ever after.
* * * *
London, England
Two Weeks Later
Ezra Fain stood outside the door, looking straight up into the camera. It was the first time in weeks he’d wanted someone to see his face. After a second the door clicked open.
It was time.
It had been two weeks since he’d woken up in a hospital in Mexico City, barely hours out of surgery and knowing damn straight he wasn’t going to lie in that room and recover like a normal person. Oh, no. He’d known from the grim look on Case and Theo’s faces that his rest period was over.
Burned. Disavowed.
A decade of his life he’d given to the Agency and they had chosen Levi Green over him without even giving him a trial. It seemed that the powers that be at the Agency were more interested in what Green had promised them than in what was right or moral. It had been naïve of him to think it would be different.
His chest still ached where he’d pulled out the tube. Luckily, Faith Smith had been waiting on the plane with her husband, Tennessee. Faith had stabilized him again while Ten and Ian and Bishop talked about what to do now.
After a week recovering in Dallas, his chest had hurt for another reason. Mia had come to see him. She’d been sweet and kind and everything he would never have. She’d promised she would look into the story and try to clear his name. Of course, her massive husband had stood behind her, promising to keep her safe while she looked into the Agency.
It was better she’d picked Case Taggart. Ezra was cursed and he knew it.
Still, even a cursed man could do some good, and he was about to prove it.
If the Agency wanted a war, McKay-Taggart would give them one. And Ezra Fain would play his part. He had a new team now.
He strode into the lobby and past the pretty blonde who waved him through. He moved through The Garden, to the back of the club where he’d been told his new job awaited him.
There they were—six men who’d had their memories wiped, their whole worlds taken from them so Hope McDonald could prove she could. Now their bodies held secrets every intelligence agency in the world would kill to get hold of.
“I thought I was only taking five.” He settled his duffel bag over one shoulder. Everything he owned in the world was in that bag, the rest left behind because like these men, life as he knew it before was gone.
Damon Knight stood amid what looked like his whole team. His wife, Penelope, was dabbing at her eyes, her small son on her hip as she moved around the men they’d come to affectionately call the Lost Boys.
But he’d thought Owen Shaw was staying here in London. They’d made the call because Owen was different. He’d had his memory wiped, but he knew his real name, had all the documentation he needed to be safe. The Agency wasn’t going to swoop in and take Owen. He had too many ties. Like Theo Taggart.
Unlike the rest of the men who didn’t even know their real names.
Yet, Owen had a backpack on. “This is my family. You’re not leaving me behind. If we’re going to ground, I’m going, too. Robert can’t leave me behind like he’s leaving her.”
More than one face frowned Robert’s way. Robert was the oldest of them, well, in Lost Boys’ years. He’d been around the longest. He’d been in the first group. Only he and Theo Taggart had survived that first round of experiments.
“It’s better that she stay here,” Robert said, his eyes staring straight ahead and not back at the gorgeous woman named Ariel Adisa.
Damon stepped in, his voice going low so only Ezra could hear him. “Ariel wanted to come along. Robert won’t allow it. It had to be a unanimous thing or you would be dealing with disharmony where you need peace, brother.”
“I take it the others wanted to bring the good doc along?” Ezra looked at her, her face strained and tight in a way she normally wasn’t. Ariel was the group’s psych expert.
She was also firmly in Levi Green’s line of fire, according to Kayla. Well, and Levi himself.
Damon sighed. “Yes, they disagree with how to deal with the threat against her. Levi Green called her last week. Bold as brass, that one. He asked if she wouldn’t mind forwarding the files on the lads. Of course she said she had no idea who he meant. He asked if they could discuss it over dinner, said he would be in London soon and would love to see her.”
Bastard. “We can take her along, but it might be smarter to keep her here. Green is trying to provoke a response. Does Robert have a thing for her?”
“Robert is hopelessly, madly in love with her,” Damon replied. “Not that he’s done anything about it. They’ve kept it professional up to this point. He’s panicked and not thinking straight. Give him some time. We might be shipping her out to you soon. In the meantime, she’s left you profiles of all her boys, as she calls them. We’ll keep her safe.”
“Do that,” Ezra replied. “I don’t trust Green. He’ll do anything to win.”
Damon held a hand out. “Everything is set. The plane is waiting. Good luck to you all.”
Ezra looked at his new team. “Men, I know it sucks to leave home, but we’re going to make it through this. We keep our heads down and let the men and women of McKay-Taggart figure a way out of this for us. We’ll go to ground, but not to hide. We’ll do our best along the way to earn our keep, to use our talents for the betterment of those around us. Up until now very little has been asked of you, but that changes today. We’re on our own in a few short hours. We’re going into a war where you are the prize.”
“Have you seen my abs?” That had to be Tucker. He pulled up his shirt and slapped his cut stomach. “I’ve been told they are a prize in and of themselves.”
“Stop talking about yer abs, ye bastard,” Owen said, his thick Scottish accent coming out. “You painted those things on.”
“I did not,” Tucker shot back.
“I could shoot you both and put us all out of misery,” a Hungarian-accented voice said. “This would be good fun, no?”
They were bickering like siblings.
Damon slapped him on the back. “Good luck, brother.”
Luck had nothing to do with it. There was a plan in place. An audacious plan that only McKay-Taggart could have come up with. It was time to hide in plain sight. “Let’s go, boys. We’ve got to get to our new home. I think you’re going to like it.”
“Where are we going?” Jax asked. “Because I was thinking someplace tropical. Girls in bikinis.”
Well, there would be naked people. “Colorado. We’re going to spend some time with a friend.”
Then they were off debating and fighting and arguing over where they should be going and who got the window seat.
Ezra took it all in. This was his army and they were going to war.
It was a war he intended to win.
The Lost Boys will return in the exciting spinoff to Masters and Mercenaries—Masters and Mercenaries: The Forgotten. Coming to all retailers August 2018.