CHAPTER SIX
Miller had mistakenly thought that sitting at the conference table next to Tess would make things feel more normal. But in reality, she felt like she’d been placed in the middle of someone else’s story, and she was waiting to see what was going to happen next.
She didn’t know any of the men who worked for Tess well, though she’d spent her fair share of time ogling them with the rest of the women in town. When men like that dropped into a place like Last Stop, people were bound to notice.
Before Tess and Deacon had married, the men had been a great source of entertainment, especially at the Clip n’ Curl, which was pretty much gossip central for Last Stop.The women in town were relentless in their pursuit of Tess’s five sexy gravediggers, coming up with outrageous stories and opportunities just to be in the same vicinity.
Dorothy Whitmire hid behind the trash cans at the funeral home one morning and then jumped behind the Hummer as it was backing out of the driveway. The way she carried on and lay down in the driveway, you’d have thought they’d backed over her at full speed. And she’d almost hyperventilated when Axel picked her up and brought her inside the funeral home.
Tess had told her Dorothy’s behavior had been shameful, the way she kept undressing them all with her eyes. And she wouldn’t let Axel put her down. Thank goodness Tess’s grandmother had come in and summed up the situation pretty quickly, because she told Dorothy she was making a fool of herself, and that she should let Axel put her down because it looked like she’d put on a lot of weight. Tatiana Sherman didn’t suffer fools lightly.
Since Tess and Deacon’s marriage, the relentless pursuit of the remaining bachelors had grown to unknown heights. As Wanda Carmichael had so rudely stated, “If someone like Tess Sherman can bag a hottie like Deacon Tucker, then there is hope for us all.”
Miller’s feelings toward Wanda had never been very warm—not since high school, when Wanda had entertained herself and most of the other students by the lies she wrote on the bathroom stalls. And Miller had killed off someone in one of her books who looked and acted suspiciously like Wanda, though she’d go to her grave denying it.
Miller had a tendency to stand back and observe people in their natural habitat. Their quirks, sayings, facial expressions, and the way they talked about other people fascinated her. It’s how she researched characters in her books. So she’d always seen herself as outside the fray of fascination when it came to the men. Or maybe it was just because her close friendship with Tess gave her everyday access that most people didn’t have. Either way, she’d gotten to know them since they’d arrived. At least, as well as they allowed themselves to be known by anyone.
And now, to find out they weren’t what everyone believed was just mind-boggling. Though she had to say it made a hell of a lot more sense now that she knew the truth. The Gravediggers. She supposed the name was apt enough since they did, in fact, dig graves for Tess, along with a myriad of other interesting jobs that required latex gloves. Tess was going to have a lot of explaining to do once she got her alone.
Miller looked at the larger-than-life men sitting around the conference table. They dwarfed her and Tess, and she wondered how they breathed with all the raging testosterone. The fight had obviously been a good one, as Axel and Levi both had a few cuts and bruises already forming, and they’d recounted the action that the other two had missed in a pretty graphic play-by-play.
Levi Wolffe was the newest recruit to Last Stop, and Miller had only seen him a handful of times in the past couple of months. He was the one Elias had said was an expert at getting information out of people. She shuddered to think how, exactly, he went about getting that information. But looking at him now, it was hard to imagine. He was quiet and watchful, his soft brown eyes taking in every movement and every word. He was tall and lean, but powerfully built. He was the most classically handsome of all the men. Between his chiseled face and body, swarthy skin, and dark eyes, he’d given the ladies of Last Stop a whole lot to talk about since his arrival.
Because she was observant, she’d also noticed he didn’t quite see himself as part of the team yet. He held himself off from the others, sat pushed slightly back from the table so he could see everyone—a part of the group, but not really. He didn’t joke or banter with the others. He was there to do a job, and nothing more.
She’d gotten to be friendly with Axel Tate. He’d been around almost as long as Deacon, and he seemed to be second-in-command. He looked to be a few years older than the others, and had a maturity and wisdom that seemed ingrained.
His Australian accent slipped out the longer he was in conversation with someone, and he reminded her a bit of an untamed lion. He moved like a predator, smooth and graceful for someone of his size. He was built like a brawler and had the inherent good looks that most she’d met from down under seemed to share. It was a country of beautiful people. And if you could get past the heartbreaking sadness in his eyes, the clearness of the blue would take your breath away.
He’d always been friendly, and whenever she’d run across him the last couple of years he’d always been busy doing something. He was one of those types of men who couldn’t stand to be idle. It was also curious that of the five of them, he was the only one who wore a wedding ring, though she’d never heard him speak of his wife. It was something she planned to ask Tess about later.
“We need to decide how we’re going to extract Justin from the islands,” Deacon said. “I think we’ll all agree that going in full force is going to put us in unnecessary danger. Those islands and the surrounding areas are cartel owned. We’d be flying into the lion’s den.”
“A one-man operation would be enough,” Axel said. “Slip in and out as a tourist. Extract Darling and we’d pick you both up in one of the stealth aircraft.”
“It’s doable,” Elias said. “It’s just figuring out where he is.”
“Which is why it’s going to be a two-man operation instead of a one-man operation,” Miller said. “I’m going too.”
Elias looked at her and then back at Deacon. “I’ll pass,” he said. “Anyone here is capable of going and getting the job done.”
Miller tried not to let it sting that he’d rejected her. Again. The level of dislike he had for her was unexplainable.
“I’m grateful for the help from anyone,” she said, the hit to her pride making her voice stiff.
“I hope you mean that,” Deacon said. “Because it’s going to be Elias. No one has experience on the water like he does. And this is a mission where saving a few seconds in the water might make a difference between life and death.”
“I said I pass,” Elias said again.
“You don’t always get to make that choice,” Deacon said. “There’s no one better to go find a SEAL than another SEAL. Justin is going to use the water to his advantage, just like you would. And it’d be easier for the two of you to slip under the radar of Cordova’s men, posing as a couple, than it would for you to go alone.”
“Nope, nope, nope,” Elias said, shaking his head. “She’s a romance writer, for Christ’s sake. She’s never even been out of the country. What’s she going to do if we get shot at or get stranded in the jungle? Write her way out of it?”
“Hey, I’m not an idiot,” Miller said. “Just because I haven’t experienced the same kinds of things you have doesn’t mean I don’t have the knowledge. Besides, you’re going to need me to find Justin. He left clues to the treasure in his last letter to me.”
“You keep assuming I’m going to be with you,” he said. “I can assure you I’m not.” Then he turned back to Deacon. “I can’t spend a couple of weeks in close quarters with her. She’s inexperienced and she could get us both killed. I’ll go in alone or not at all.”
Before Deacon had a chance to respond, there was a series of beeps and the coded door that led back toward the tunnel opened and Dante Malcolm stepped into the room. He didn’t look happy to be there.
He was dressed in what looked like a cashmere sweater and a pair of charcoal slacks. He’d obviously had plans for the evening that had been interrupted. He looked at the group of them sitting around the table, and then his gaze landed on her.
“This should be interesting,” he said, brows raised. “But hardly worth pulling me in for.”
“Are you familiar with Emilio Cordova?” Deacon asked.
“Drug lord,” he answered. “He’s taken over most of the day-to-day operation from the Black Widow. If I recall, her health has declined in the last year or so, and she doesn’t trust her son enough to hand over the reins. Cordova dabbles in a little bit of everything, including weapons and priceless artifacts.”
“Which would certainly explain his obsession with finding King Solomon’s table,” Axel said.
“Well,” Dante said. “Now you have my attention.”
Miller had always had an instinct about people, and rarely was she ever wrong. But there was something about Dante that wasn’t quite as it seemed. He was more polished than the others—more practiced. His accent was British and his attire and manners always impeccable.
He wore three-thousand-dollar shoes and business suits that could pay a year’s rent for most families in Last Stop. He was handsome and he knew it, and of all the men, he was always ready to flash a smile at an adoring woman. He was too practiced. Too . . . calculating. And there was part of her that didn’t trust him.
Deacon took a few minutes to bring him up to speed, and no one interrupted this time when he mentioned the idea of her and Elias traveling to the Galápagos Islands to retrieve her brother, and possibly the treasure.
“Ahh, well,” Dante said. “I knew it was too good to be true. We’ll never get approval for this. You all know as well as I do that this is outside the scope of our parameters. It’s best left for a paid-for-hire contractor. Finding Justin Darling isn’t a threat to the world as we know it.”
“Or maybe someone should step up because she’s our friend and that’s what friends do,” Tess said, the anger vibrating in her voice. Her skin was flushed and her red hair practically sizzled.
“I’m not disagreeing with you about friendship, darling,” Dante said, giving Miller a nod. “My statements are based in reality. Eve will never approve an op like this, nor will she fund it.”
“The men who broke into her house tonight were professionals,” Deacon said. “They’re a threat, and they could become a bigger threat. Once Levi is finished with the one we have in detainment, we’ll know more about their purpose. We need to find out as much as we can about the mess Justin has gotten himself in. What’s the story on this table he supposedly stole?”
“He didn’t steal anything,” Miller said.
“That’s why I said ‘supposedly,’ ” Deacon said. “It’s admirable to defend your brother, but he’s not in this situation because he did everything on the up-and-up. He’s a SEAL, so he can handle himself in most situations, but dragging his sister into it is dangerous and shows a serious lack of forethought.”
Elias snorted again, but Miller ignored it. There were large screens on the walls, and Miller jumped when they came on by themselves and a woman’s face graced the screen. She was beautiful. Her Asian heritage was strong in her bones, and her jet-black hair was pulled back starkly off her face. It didn’t detract from her beauty, but enhanced it. Her lips were slicked red, and despite the fact it was after midnight, she wore a black suit. She had on no jewelry, but she didn’t need it. It wasn’t until Miller looked into her eyes that she realized beauty was only skin deep.
She’d never cowered before anyone. But there was something about the woman on the screen that made Miller want to take her chances with Emilio Cordova and the men she’d just evaded.
“Eve,” Deacon said, settling back in his chair. “Sorry to interrupt your sleep.”
“I was up,” she said coolly.
The tension in the room had ratcheted up about a hundred degrees with the appearance of Eve Winter, but by outward appearances, no one would know it.
“Status report,” she said.
“At approximately seventeen hundred hours, a package was delivered to Miller Darling’s door containing the finger of a male, possibly her brother. We later confirmed it when we ran the prints. Darling’s classified military files came up, so there could be a possible flag at the Pentagon.”
“I’ll take care of it,” she said. “Continue.”
“Also inside the box was a handwritten letter from Emilio Cordova. It seems he feels Justin Darling stole a priceless artifact from him, so he’s sending little pieces of Justin to his sister in hopes she can help recover the missing treasure. He’s been searching for close to twenty years. He must want it pretty bad, and Darling is all that stands in his way.”
“I’m familiar with Cordova,” Eve said. “He doesn’t get out of bed unless he knows he’ll make close to eight figures, so yes, I’d say he must want it pretty bad. Working for the Black Widow has treated him well. I can think of very few artifacts that would fall into the eight-figure category.”
“Rumor is Darling has a piece of King Solomon’s table,” Deacon said.
“And for a man like Cordova,” Eve interjected, “a piece won’t be enough. I’m familiar with the legend. Without the entire table, its power is impotent.”
“I’m sure Cordova is trying his best to convince Justin to talk. It’d be hard to put a number value on something like that, but it would far surpass his standard eight figures. Justin sent a letter to his sister separately, and we believe it contains clues on where to find the treasure. We currently have the letters and Justin Darling’s ring in our possession for testing.”
“That’s all fascinating,” she said, “but the last I checked we’re not treasure hunters.”
“No, but a group of cartel members using military tactics and equipment descended on Last Stop tonight. We were able to defuse the situation and rescue Justin’s sister, and take one of the attackers captive for questioning. Local police are currently looking into the damage, but they have no leads and nothing to go on. We’ll take care of dealing with them.”
“Good,” she said. “Then I’m not sure why I’m wasting my time here. It seems Justin Darling can reap the consequences of his actions. Quests for glory and treasure rarely lead to staying alive. There’s always someone out there who is more dangerous and who wants it more. It sounds as if Emilio Cordova wants it more.”
“If the table ends up in Cordova’s hands, then it will definitely become our problem,” Axel said. “Because if what legend says is true, then Cordova and the Black Widow will become the kind of evil that’s rarely defeated.”
“That’s all fascinating,” Eve said, “and I’m sure we’ll deal with Cordova at some point or another, but as of now, neither Cordova nor the Black Widow are in our line of sight. There is no mission where they’re concerned.”
Her black eyes met each face around the table, but they skimmed over Miller as if she weren’t there. “What I’d like to know is why you’ve brought this woman into HQ? We keep secrets for a reason. Her life and her choices are her own, and they have nothing to do with the missions you’re currently assigned, nor the ones you’ll have in the future. By rescuing her instead of letting Cordova’s men take her and the situation resolve itself, you’ve put the organization at risk. And that’s unacceptable.”
“Bullshit,” Elias said, coming to his feet, his knuckles resting on the table. “We’re not monsters. It’s not our job to let innocent people suffer because it doesn’t fall in line with the mission.”
“You don’t answer to your conscience, Agent Cole. You answer to me. And you answer to The Directors. Sometimes the few must suffer for the majority. It’s the way of war.”
“It’s also the way of assholes. We do our job here. We do it better than anyone else in the world could hope to. You think Cordova is going to stop hunting her because she managed to escape his men tonight? What about the fact that Tess was with her? Are we supposed to let one of our own die, anyone die, because it doesn’t fit within the parameters of the mission?”
“He won’t kill her,” Eve said coldly. “At least not until he has what he wants from her. The Gravediggers are not babysitters. Put her through debriefing, erase her memory of the events, and then set her free. I won’t give the same orders twice.”
The screen went black, and Miller felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. She looked around at the faces at the table, the urge to run thrumming through the pulse in her veins. This was real. This wasn’t a book or one of her dreams. These were real agents who had a real job to do, and she wasn’t the job. The sacrifice of the few for the safety of the many. Isn’t that what Eve had said?
She pushed her chair back, and Tess grabbed her arm, keeping her in her chair. Miller looked at Tess like she’d never seen her before. They’d been best friends their entire lives, and Tess felt like a stranger. She didn’t know this part of her life. What secrets she had. Or how far she’d go to keep those secrets. She couldn’t trust her, not after the orders Eve just gave.
“Don’t panic,” Tess told her softly. “I can see all the scenarios going through your head. No one is going to let anything happen to you. We’ve all gotten quite good at working around Eve’s direct orders.”
“Elias,” Deacon said, saying more in that one word than he could in a sentence.
“Fuck,” Elias said, pounding his fist against the table. “I’ll do it. I’ve got vacation time coming.” He was still vibrating with anger after his conversation with Eve, and Miller had a feeling there was something deeper there to cause that kind of hatred for someone. And make no mistake, it had been hatred in his eyes when he’d looked at her.
Deacon nodded. “I was just thinking you looked like you needed a vacation. I’ll submit the paperwork to The Directors, and I’ll date it as of yesterday. Sometimes I’m bad about filing paperwork,” he said, shrugging.
“Careless of you,” Elias said, finally relaxing back in his chair. “Is it worth Eve’s wrath? We won’t be able to keep it from her for long. Hell, she probably already knows. Damned witch.”
“I’ll let Tess deal with her,” Deacon said. “They’ve come to an understanding of sorts, and Eve hasn’t tried to have her killed yet.”
“I haven’t tried to have her killed yet either,” Tess said. “That’s a two-way street. I do not like that woman.”
“If it makes you feel better,” Dante said, “I doubt she loses any sleep over it.”
“No, that really doesn’t make me feel better,” Tess said dryly. “I’d prefer she appreciate my wrath like the rest of you do.”
“I don’t understand any of this,” Miller said. “Who you are, what you do, where I am, how I’m supposed to save my brother, or why the hell Elias is taking vacation time.”
“We’re The Gravediggers,” Axel said.
Miller rolled her eyes. “Yes, that’s very helpful. Thank you.”
“She gets snarky when she’s scared,” Tess said. “Or hungry. Or when she hasn’t had coffee.”
“I think they get the point,” Miller said, glaring at Tess. “Of course I’m scared. I had a bunch of masked men break into my house, and then I was rescued by Mission Impossible.”
“She makes a lot of movie references,” Elias said to Tess. “Is that normal?”
“She says movies help cleanse her writing palate. She watches a lot of them.”
“I’m actually sitting right here,” Miller said. “It’s weird you’re talking around me.”
“Just giving you a chance to settle some,” Tess said.
“The Gravediggers are an elite ops team. Our agents are the best representatives from all over the world—MI6, Mossad, ASIS, CIA, SEALs—the best of the best working together to fight terrorism. We all had former lives, and we died in those lives so we could do what we do now.”
Elias rubbed a hand across his rough cheek and leaned back in his chair. “And sometimes it’s worth it.”
Miller looked at the men around her in awe, but she felt the struggle from each of them. There had indeed been a sacrifice, and they each wrestled with those demons silently. She watched as Tess took her husband’s hand and squeezed, and she felt a lump form in her throat at the connection they shared. Axel and Dante stared off, not making eye contact with anyone, but Elias stared straight at her, almost daring her to look too close. It unnerved her, but she didn’t break his gaze.
“We’re The Gravediggers because that’s how we’re reborn,” Elias said, finally looking at her. He looked resigned. And sad. “When we go from our old life to this one, we’re dug up from the ground and new life is breathed into us.”
Miller felt the blood drain from her face. “Well, that sounds awful.”
“It wasn’t my best day at work,” he told her. “To answer your other questions, you already know where we are. Our HQ is beneath the funeral home. That information is yours to keep, and if you can’t keep it, the memory serum Eve talked about does exist, though I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s not pleasant.”
“I’m starting to miss the days of ‘ignorance is bliss,’ ” she said.
“There’s something to be said for it,” Axel said. “It’s still a possibility. We can take care of Emilio Cordova and the threat presented there. And you can go back to writing your books and drinking wine with Tess.”
“What about my brother?” she asked, afraid she already knew the answer.
“Your brother made his own path,” Dante said. “Even if we take care of Cordova and his men, it doesn’t guarantee we’ll find your brother. Or that he’s even alive at all.”
“You can’t find him without me to decipher the letters,” she said. “If I go back to the way things were, then I’m leaving him to die. And I can’t do that.”
Elias nodded. “Which leaves us with your final question about why I’m taking vacation. The team can’t defy direct orders from Eve. Not unless we’ve been assigned the mission. But I can do what I want on my own time, and I’ve got plenty of vacation days stored up. We’re not on an active mission right now, just preliminary research, so now is as good as any a time to take it. I guess you found your John Cena after all. Though, for the record, I could kick his ass.”
“This is all grand in theory,” Dante said. “But how are we going to get them out of here without the sheriff or Cordova’s men being able to pick up their trail?”
“How are you going to keep this from Eve?” Miller asked. “I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”
Tess snorted out a laugh, and it was the first time Levi had an expression other than an impassive scowl on his face. His mouth twitched with a smile before settling back into its usual grim lines.
“Eve knows all, sees all,” Elias said. “And she could stop us before we even got started. But Eve has a weakness. She likes to play with her pawns. She’s a mastermind at the game. And she’ll watch and wait and see what we do and what we discover before deciding what to do with us or what actions to take. You think she wouldn’t want King Solomon’s table if it was handed to her on a platter?”
“Frightening thought,” Deacon said. “But before you can be her pawns, you need to get out of here without anyone else noticing.”
“Actually,” Tess said. “I have an idea on that.”