Chapter Sixteen
Etta sat on a towel she’d spread on the ground, watching as a group of children played in the shallows of the lake. The days were growing progressively warmer. Summer would be upon them soon, a fact that made most children happy. Summer vacation meant no school, sleeping late if they were lucky enough to be able to be home and spending more time with their friends.
She smiled as she watched. The children belonged to people who worked at Sanctuary, staff for the rehab center, ranch, or farm. Since she’d been here, more dwellings had been built. It was becoming a real community. Families were becoming friends, cooking out on the weekends, sometimes at the lake, letting kids play while adults chatted or threw horseshoes or played cards.
It was, in her opinion, an idyllic way for children to live. If we can insure their safety. It had been ten days since the assassination attempt and nothing else had happened. The Admiral had called earlier and said he felt the danger had passed and it was time the SEALs returned to their units. He’d send a transport in two days. She told him to send it in the morning.
Etta couldn’t dismiss the niggle of guilt at not letting Angel know that her phone wasn’t secure. She’d argued long and hard with Mason and Grady to keep that fact under wraps and not share the information with anyone. They’d determined that she’d been hacked and she’d purposely not used her cell phone. Until now. She wanted whoever was listening to know that the SEALs were being pulled out.
What bugged her more than anything was none of them, from Admiral Angel down through the chain, had been able to determine who the mole was. It didn’t make sense. Someone had to be responsible. But who?
There had to be a way to flush out the mole, and that meant setting a trap. Despite what the others thought, she knew the next attack would come when the enemy was convinced she would be unguarded and vulnerable.
“Penny for your thoughts.” JJ sat down beside her.
“I’ve something to tell you, but want to tell Deacon at the same time.”
“So call him.”
“Bugged, remember?” She held up her phone.
“Use mine.” He fished it from his pocket.
“Thanks.” She dialed and put the phone on speaker.
“Johns,” Deacon answered.
“It’s me, Deac.”
“Etta? Is everything okay?”
“Fine. I talked with Angel this morning. He said he was going to call you as well.”
“He did.”
“Did he say he was sending transport in the morning for the SEALs?”
“He did. Said you specifically asked for them to leave tomorrow.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because when our mole sees them leave, they’ll pass on the word and the enemy will make a move.”
“A possibility. But how wise is it to send them away?”
“Not at all, probably. Which is why I need you to call Angel and ask him to have the SEALs taken only as far as Rockridge and arrange for them to have ground transportation, so they can come back without being seen.”
“You want to set a trap.”
“I do.”
“Smart. I’m on it. I’ll stop by your place in an hour.”
“Thank you.”
She handed the phone back to JJ and he pocketed it. “You seem awfully eager to prompt an attack.”
“I’m just ready to get this finished. You’ve seen the others; hell, look at yourself. You’re all starting to get temperamental and edgy because of inactivity. I know you’re all training every day but it’s not the same. It’s time for everyone to get back to what they do best.”
“Including me?”
“Yes. We have one final session before I submit your discharge.”
“You’re letting me go? Why?”
“Remember the wolf?”
JJ looked at her for a moment, then nodded. “He was never a prisoner and wasn’t meant to be a pet.”
“Exactly.”
“My leaving won’t change anything between us.”
“Sure it will.” She stood and offered him a hand, which he took.
Etta picked up her towel, shook it out, and slung it across her shoulder before heading in the direction of her house. JJ fell in step with her. “Why do you say that?”
“Because it’s true.”
“I love you, Etta.”
“And I love you, but it will still change and we both have to be honest about that. You’ll be with your unit and your focus will be on whatever it has to be. You’ll eat and sleep and breathe being a SEAL again.”
“You make it sound like being a SEAL prohibits someone from having a life outside their unit.”
“It does, in a way. Think about it. You all live within spitting distance of one another. When a mission is over, you spend as much of your downtime together as you do with your families. You are a family and one that doesn’t let one another get out of sight for too long.
“So, you’ll find yourself with a furlough and you’ll have to choose. Spend it with your teammates, or come here to see me. At first, you’ll come here, and God knows, I’ll be happy to see you, but there’ll come a time you’ll ask me to come to you. I will, but it will be different because we’ve never been a couple anywhere but here and we’ve never been a couple in front of your teammates.”
“That doesn’t mean it won’t work.”
“No, it doesn’t. But we have to be realistic and be prepared for challenges. It won’t ever be the way it is here, JJ.”
“I still want to try. Don’t you?”
“Oh, yes. I do. I am just trying not to get my hopes up.”
“Why?” He stopped and took her hand to stop her.
“Because I’m terrified you’re going to break my heart and I honestly don’t know if I can take it, so I’m trying to protect myself as much as possible.”
“I will never hurt you.” JJ pulled her into his embrace. “I love you and I want a life with you. We can make this work. I know we can.”
“I really hope you’re right.”
“I am.”
Etta made no further comment. She hadn’t lied about being scared. As much as she wanted to believe that she and JJ could move forward and build a life together, her life experience made it difficult to trust that merely hoping for something would make it so.
In her experience, love led to loss and pain and she truly didn’t know how much more of either she could weather.
They were nearing the fork in the road. Taking the left fork led to the ranch. The right led to the medical center. The sound of an engine had them both looking to the left. A few moments later, a UTV appeared around the bend. Brodie was driving.
“Hey, Grady wants us to meet at the training course. Want a ride?”
JJ looked at Etta and she smiled. “Go on. I have some things to take care of.”
“Okay, see you later?”
“Yes.”
She watched JJ get into the passenger seat. Both men waved, then Brodie turned the vehicle and headed back the way he’d come. The training course they’d improvised was in a pasture at the moment. Soon construction would begin on the actual training center and the course would be moved.
Etta thought about the new developments for Sanctuary and what it would mean for Mason and Grady. They’d have a complex unlike any other in the country, one geared toward training and rehabilitation.
They’d be adding onto the main complex with a new three-story medical facility that was being funded in part by Mason and his wife, and also by Annie Morgan. Much to Etta’s surprise, it turned out that Annie was quite wealthy and asked if she could contribute to what they were doing. To the tune of millions.
When the family who owned the windmill farms and natural gas fields found out, they not only matched Annie’s contribution, but doubled it. That certainly gave Etta newfound respect for Governor Legacy and his family.
Grady and Mason had cut a deal with the military. They’d staff the training center with military personnel and run it to military specifications and code. The military would have complete control over the training center personnel and trainees, and would lease the space for a fair price.
The medical center would be staffed by military professionals as well, which meant Etta had a big decision to make. She’d been offered the position of Director of Medical Services. As much as Mason had tried to talk her into accepting, she had not yet made up her mind. She’d love to stay on as a therapist, but management was a ball of yarn she wasn’t sure she wanted to try to keep from getting tangled.
Besides, there was plenty of time for that decision. Right now, the matter at hand was dealing with what she was convinced was an imminent threat and one she wanted to handle and be done with.
Which meant she needed to speak with Deacon, Grady, and Mason. She’d come up with a plan and needed to convince them to go along with it. If it worked, she would be out of the crosshairs from now on. If it failed, she’d probably be dead, but either way, the threat would be over and everyone at Sanctuary could breathe easy again.
*****
JJ climbed out of the UTV as soon as it stopped. Silas, Billy, and Logan were standing outside of the ranch foreman’s office, talking with Grady. They all looked as JJ and Brodie approached.
“Okay, the gang’s all here,” Brodie announced. “What’s up?”
“I’ll fill you in when I get back.” Grady replied. “Need to take a quick meeting with Mason and Deacon. Be back in an hour.”
Everyone watched him leave, then looked at one another.
“Start without him?” Billy asked.
“Hell no,” Brodie answered. “Then he’ll be fresh and we’ll be whipped and he’ll kick our ass.”
“Good point,” Billy answered and looked at JJ. “So, you and Doc Hotness, huh?”
JJ was shocked at the surge of anger Billy’s jest evoked. “You might want to drop that particular moniker.”
“Oh shit, it’s true.” Billy said and quickly followed with. “My apology, bro. I didn’t realize this was the real deal. I figured it was like all the others.”
“Nothing like the others,” JJ replied and for the first time realized the truth of his own words. He’d been with a lot of other women, had cared for a few, but had never felt about anyone the way he felt about Etta.
“Is she the one?” Silas asked.
“Yeah.”
“Then what say we have a quick beer to commemorate the moment?”
“You heard Grady,” JJ pointed out.
“Yeah, but his meetings never last an hour and it’s just one beer so…”
“So, let’s head for the bunkhouse. We just stocked the fridge,” Brodie interrupted.
JJ didn’t argue. At that point, he wasn’t capable of thinking about much except the fact that all of a sudden, he wasn’t sure what to do next. If Etta signed his release, he’d return to his unit. But what then? Spend a weekend with her every month or so? He didn’t think he wanted that kind of relationship.
But what were his options? Being a SEAL was all he knew.
Suddenly he felt like he had a lot of thinking to do and very little time to do it, because now everything was different, and he needed to know for sure what his next move was going to be.
*****
Grady’s meeting with Mason, Deacon, and Etta didn’t last long. She presented her plan to them, they worked out the details, and Grady left to go speak with the men. They were in the bunkhouse, playing cards.
“What’s up?” Billy asked as Grady entered.
“What’s up is you’re all shipping out,” Grady announced.
“What about the threat to Doc?” Silas asked.
“It’s still there.”
“Then we shouldn’t leave,” Billy argued.
“But you will. Zero six hundred in the morning a helo will be here. So will all of you. Well, all but you, Jasper. We have to wait for Doc to release you. But you need to hear this. The transport will take you all north of Cotton Creek to a private airfield owned by the governor. Ground transportation will be waiting for you. You’ll return here, but you’ll make sure you’re not spotted.”
“Sounds like an operation,” Logan commented.
“That’s exactly what it is. Doc thinks that if our enemy thinks we’re vulnerable, they’ll make a move. With all of you here, it’s too much of a danger. So we eliminate the four of you, and Mason and I make it public that we’re taking time off and won’t be back before the first of the week. As far as anyone knows, Deacon is going to be out with the ranch hands rounding up cattle all weekend.
“So they’ll think it’s however many they send against her and JJ.” Billy looked around at the others. “Except we’ll be here.”
“Exactly. Are you on board?”
“You know it, boss.” Billy was the first to agree.
The others didn’t hesitate to agree as well. Grady’s phone pinged, and he pulled it out to look at it. “I have some things to take care of but we’re going to meet up after dinner and go over plans. Come to the main house at eight.”
He started to walk away, and JJ followed. “Grady, you have a minute?”
“Sure.”
“Are you sure about this plan?”
“As sure as we can be. The Admiral isn’t going to leave these guys here forever and there’s been no chatter, no flags raised at any airport, and no moves made against us. We believe the best way to make our enemies slip up is to present them with an opportunity too tempting to ignore.”
“Why does Etta have to be here? Couldn’t we put her in a hotel or have her stay with Charli?”
“You really think she’d agree to that? This is more her fight than anyone’s, JJ. It’s her enemies. Well, hers and Deacon’s. They took a lot from her and they want to take more.”
“And she’s determined to see them all behind bars.”
“Or six feet under. Look, I get the need to protect the women we love, but don’t forget, Etta’s military, too. She’s seen action and she knows how to handle herself.”
“I don’t doubt it, but I still don’t like it.”
“And I don’t blame you. But this is the plan and we’re sticking with it. She believes they’ll make a move tomorrow night.”
“Why tomorrow night?”
“Because she’s going to be alone and they’ll think they can take their time with her.”
“They’ll not lay a hand on her. I promise you that.”
“I’m with you on that. Now go get in a workout with the rest of the men and meet up at eight at the main house.”
“Sure thing.” JJ turned to walk away, but stopped when Grady called out to him.
“You sure you’re ready for this, bro?” Grady asked.
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear. See you later.”
As he made his way back to the main complex, Grady thought about what they planned to do. He hadn’t made a big deal of it in front of Etta, but like JJ, he wondered if maybe the smart move would be to get her out of harm’s way and let the SEALs do what they were trained to do.
That thought prompted a snort. He hadn’t known Etta long, but one thing he did know. When she made up her mind about something, she stood firm.
A lot like Charli. A flash of her face in his mind brought a smile to his face. He and JJ shared something in common. They’d both fallen for women who were warriors in their own right. Charli would never stand for being taken out of the action and he respected her for that, so he’d give Etta the same respect.
After all, it was true what he’d told JJ. This was her fight and he’d show her the same respect he gave any other soldier and wouldn’t do anything to keep her from it.