Chapter Five

Agent Brad Tucker was in the master bedroom closet packing the last of his gear when the call came in. The text prior to it had woken him from a dead sleep five minutes ago in his bed. His empty bed. Even at two in the morning the other side of it was still undisturbed, the covers all neatly in place, telling him Celida hadn’t come to bed yet. Burning the midnight oil and then some on the case she was currently working on.

Tuck checked his phone. No surprise, his commander’s number showed on the screen. Never a good sign when DeLuca called at this time of night. “Tuck here,” he answered, grabbing a second tactical shirt from the shelf.

“Got an update,” DeLuca said over the rumble of voices in the background. “You and the boys will be heading to Atlanta as soon as we can get you on a flight down there. I’m about to hop a transport. I’ll meet you all at the head office there with more detailed intel.”

“Sounds good.” He walked to the bathroom, his mind clear but his body protesting being hauled out of bed during a night he was supposed to be able to sleep in. Nights at home were precious, and he savored them all. Just sucked that he hadn’t spent it tangled up in bed with his wife. “Any details I can pass to the guys?” Although he had a pretty good idea what this was about.

“You heard about the hostage situation with a barricaded subject in a rural area outside Atlanta?”

“Yeah.” It had been on the news last night, he and Celida had heard about it on the way home from the team barbecue. A Bureau SWAT team had been deployed along with the rest of the usual taskforce for that kind of situation. Things must have escalated substantially overnight if Tuck’s team was being called in. The HRT was the U.S.’s premier civilian unit for responding to hostage crises and other high-risk situations. They only got deployed when the stakes were high.

“Well, things started to go to hell a couple hours ago. Just got confirmation that negotiations have failed. Suspect has cut off contact with agents and is threatening to kill anyone who approaches the cabin. He’s former MARSOC and heavily armed, so we got the call.”

“I’ll let the guys know. Call you once I get to base.”

After getting ready and grabbing his gear, he headed out of the bedroom. He found Celida at the kitchen table, her cheek propped in one hand as she stared at her glowing laptop screen. She glanced over at him when he entered, her eyes bleary.

“Still up?”

She gave a tired smile and rubbed at the back of her neck. “Unfortunately. That DeLuca?”

Tuck nodded and closed the distance between them. He pushed her hand away and took over massaging the back of her neck, earning a grateful groan that ended in a sensual purr. Damn shame he didn’t have time to pick her up, carry her back into their room and make her feel even better. “Team’s being deployed to Atlanta.”

Her shoulders stiffened. “Is it the barricaded Marine?”

“Yeah.”

She blew out a breath. “Thought so. DeLuca say what’s going on?”

“Just that the suspect cut all contact with negotiators.”

“Yeah, I would too if an FBI sniper shot my daughter.”

Tuck’s insides went cold, his hands stilling on her shoulders. “What?”

Celida turned her laptop screen toward him. He stepped to the side and gripped the edge of the circular table as he bent forward to read the message from one of her FBI contacts. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered. One of their SWAT snipers had shot the suspect’s teenage daughter by mistake when she’d stepped out onto the back porch. “How bad is she?” he asked, scanning the rest of the email. Information was sketchy.

“According to my source it was a center mass shot, so she’s probably critical. The father is providing medical assistance, but won’t let anyone approach the residence to help.”

Any trust the man might have had in the federal officers and first responders had been destroyed with the bullet that had struck his daughter, and like Celida, Tuck couldn’t say he blamed him. Hell…

He cursed and straightened, dragging a hand over his face. It was shades of Ruby Ridge all over again, a nightmare and public relations disaster the Bureau was still trying to recover from. The media and public would go apeshit if the report was true. “DeLuca didn’t mention anything about this.”

“He probably doesn’t know yet. But I’ll bet he’ll be getting the call any minute now.”

Tuck set his hands on his hips. Dammit. This put his team in more danger in an already volatile and high-risk situation. “How many other people are in the cabin?”

“Including the suspect, last count was four—him, the wife, and two younger kids. Twins.” She twisted her head to look up at him, concern in her bloodshot, deep gray eyes. “I’ll keep monitoring it on my end. If I hear anything else important I’ll text you.”

Be careful, Tuck.

She didn’t say it, but the words were clear in her expression and it warmed him inside. As a fellow special agent and his former partner, Celida understood him better than any other woman could have. She knew exactly the kinds of danger his job entailed, and though she handled it well, she still worried.

It just made him love her that much more.

“You should go to bed,” he murmured, brushing a lock of coffee-brown hair back from her right cheek to expose the long-healed bullet graze there. She had shadows under her eyes, the result of too many all-nighters recently.

She shook her head, the stubborn tilt of her chin both familiar and endearing. “Not when you’re heading down there to deal with this.”

There was no point arguing with her about it. With Celida he had to pick his battles, and he already knew this was one he wouldn’t win. She would sit here at her computer with her cell next to her, watching for any intel that might be useful to him. And she wouldn’t sleep until he called to tell her the job was done, and that he was safe. Just another thing in the long list of why he adored her.

He took her face in his hands. “I ever tell you I love you?”

“No.”

His lips quirked at her serious tone. Always so saucy. She never complained about his job, the insane hours it demanded, or how often they were apart. It meant a lot that she fully supported him in his career, just as he supported hers. “Well I do.”

She curled her fingers around his wrists and leaned her cheek into his right palm. “Love you back.” She released one of his wrists to cup the back of his head and pull him into a hard kiss, then let go and eased away. “You watch yourselves out there.”

“Will do.” His team’s safety was paramount, and the most important part of his role as team leader. Taking care of his guys and making sure they all went home safe at the end of the day was always his top priority. The mission came second. “Bye. I’ll call you when we get to Atlanta, give you an update. Probably be gone for at least a couple days.”

“Just come home safe.”

“You know it, sunshine. Miss me.” He dropped another kiss on her upturned lips then grabbed his gear and walked out into the cool pre-dawn darkness to face yet another mission and its uncertain outcome.

****

Distant honking made Nate look up just as a V-formation of geese flew overhead in the pre-dawn sky, heading south for warmer climates now that fall was here.

Still overwhelmed by the news of becoming a father, he hoisted the straps of his bags higher onto his right shoulder and followed his teammates across the darkened tarmac toward the waiting Air Force C-130 parked near the end of the runway. DeLuca had briefed them via speakerphone from Atlanta, and arranged this flight for them. Between then and now, things down there had gotten damn ugly.

Rumors had been flying around that a SWAT sniper had shot the suspect’s teenage daughter when she’d stepped out onto the porch wearing her father’s hat and hunting jacket. Five minutes before leaving base, DeLuca had called back to say the fourteen-year-old had subsequently died.

Now the grieving father was even more traumatized and unpredictable. He’d threatened to blow up the side of the mountain his home sat on rather than surrender, and refused to allow his wife and two remaining children to leave, or to allow anyone to take away his daughter’s body. Right now, the teenage girl was wrapped in a plastic tarp, lying in the middle of the living room.

That was the scene Nate’s team would confront in a few more hours, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t have a gut-deep, bad feeling about this one. Dog teams and explosive ordinance disposal units were on site to search and clear the area below the cabin, but they could only do so much, and if they got too close, the suspect would likely open fire on them. So if Nate and his teammates received the order to make the assault and moved in, they’d be going in blind.

The C-130’s tail ramp was down, other members of the critical incident response group already on board. Nate strode up it, stored his gear, then planted his ass in a jump seat along the left-hand wall beside Bauer. Maybe not such a great idea, since Bauer was freaking huge, his shoulder shoved up against Nate’s. Too late to move now, though, because Tuck sat on Nate’s other side, taking the last empty seat.

Bauer was too bulky and hard to make for a comfy pillow. Covering a yawn, Nate folded his hands atop his belly, leaned his head back and closed his eyes, intending to catch some Zs on the way to Atlanta. But as the ramp closed and the engines throttled up, sending vibrations through the deck of the aircraft, he thought about Taya and found himself smiling secretly.

Bauer elbowed the side of Nate’s arm. “What’s funny?”

“Nothing,” he said without opening his eyes. “Just happy.”

“Yeah?” Tuck said from his left. “What about?”

Nate opened his eyes and turned his head toward his team leader, his smile widening. “Taya’s pregnant.”

Tuck’s eyes widened, his dark blond eyebrows shooting upward. “Are you serious?”

“Yep. Five weeks.”

As Tuck grinned, Bauer slapped a big hand on Nate’s shoulder, gave him a little shake that would have rattled a lesser man’s teeth. “That’s so awesome, man. Happy for you guys.”

“Thanks.” He couldn’t wipe the grin from his face. He was gonna be a father in a few months’ time.

“Happy for who? And for what?” Cruzie called out from across the cargo hold, seated between Vance and Evers, who were all staring at Nate with curiosity.

“Nate and Taya. Doc’s gonna be a daddy,” Tuck announced to the entire cargo bay.

Twenty-three pairs of eyes turned toward him, five of them familiar, the others not. A chorus of whistles and congrats filled the cavernous space and he lifted a hand in acknowledgment.

“Were you guys trying?” Blackwell asked from Bauer’s right, leaning forward and craning his neck to see Nate past Bauer’s bulk.

“Not officially. We both wanted to start a family soon, so we decided to pull the goalie a few months ago. Never thought it would happen so quick.” The news had come as a shock. He’d assumed it would take a while. They’d only been married a few months, tying the knot in a small wedding on her dad’s farm back in Kentucky, with only DeLuca and Briar there for Nate. He hadn’t wanted to drag the entire team down there just for them, but he appreciated his commander and wife being there.

“When did you find out?” Evers asked.

“Few hours ago.” Nate still couldn’t believe she’d managed to wait that long. She’d been so damn excited about it.

“It’s life changing, man,” Bauer said in his deep voice, folding his thick arms across his chest and giving Nate a couple inches more elbow room. “It’s gonna be so awesome, you’ll love it.”

“Except for the no-sleep part, right?” Bauer bitched about that all the time, and the guys constantly gave him a hard time about it. It was how they showed the love.

Bauer’s hard mouth twisted into a wry grin. “Yeah, except that. But hey, sleep deprivation’s nothing new for guys like us.”

No, it wasn’t. He’d be fine.

“You’re gonna be a great daddy,” Tuck said with a slap to Nate’s leg.

“Thanks.” He’d do his best. He didn’t remember his father, but Taya’s dad was awesome, and both Bauer and Blackwell were pretty damn good examples to follow. DeLuca, too, because Nate pretty much idolized him. He’d figure it out, basically do the opposite of what his mother had. That would be a good start, anyhow.

“The whole birthing thing is no joke though, man,” Bauer added. “With your medical background you’ll be fine. That stuff’s way more up your alley than mine.” He winced, shook his dark head. “Zo’s already talking about baby number two, but for damn sure I’m not ready to go through all that again.”

“You’re not ready to go through it again?” Nate said with a laugh.

“Dude.” Bauer half-turned toward him, his bright blue eyes serious. “You ever witness a birth?”

“A few, yeah.” Once at a hospital during one of his training rotations, and a couple times during his service as a PJ.

Bauer blinked at him in surprise, then sobered. “Well have you ever seen one when it’s your wife and kid involved?”

Okay, he had a point there. “No.”

“Yeah, well. Wait for it. It ain’t pretty.” He shook his head again, that hard mouth twisting in distaste. “I’ve seen things, man. Things you can’t unsee.”

It tickled Nate’s funny bone, to think of a badass former SEAL like Bauer going pale and weak in the knees at witnessing the birth of his own child after all the violent, gory and fucked-up things he’d seen over the course of his career. Bauer was no stranger to blood and guts. None of them were.

“That’s funny?” Bauer said, raising a dark eyebrow when Nate smirked.

“So freaking funny,” Nate said with a chuckle that turned into a full-on belly laugh the more he pictured his teammate’s reaction in the delivery room.

The laugh must have been infectious because all his teammates started grinning and chuckling too. Nate couldn’t help himself. Couldn’t stop now that he’d got going.

“Poor Zoe,” he managed between gasps, holding his aching middle as he imagined the scene in the delivery room. “She’s the one in agony, trying to hold it together while she pushes Libby out, and her former SEAL husband can’t handle it.”

Bauer’s brows snapped together in a foreboding frown that didn’t intimidate Nate in the least. “I handled it. I handled it fine—better than fine. She told me I was awesome.”

That only made Nate hoot louder. Zoe having to soothe Bauer’s giant ego afterward by praising his efforts at trying not to be a useless boob during the delivery. He wiped his watering eyes with the heel of one hand. “Did you at least find your balls long enough to cut the cord?”

Bauer’s jaw clenched and he turned his head away, facing the others across the cargo hold. “I didn’t have the option.”

Huh? “Why not?” Had there been some kind of complication Nate hadn’t heard about, and the docs had taken over?

Big guy still wouldn’t look at him, seemed to flounder for the right words. Not that Bauer was very wordy in the first place. “I was…busy doing other shit, okay?”

“Yeah? Like what?” Because Nate couldn’t imagine not doing that honor. He planned to be right in there during the birth, couldn’t wait to help bring their child into the world. His biggest problem was going to be resisting the urge to take over from the doc and nurses.

Bauer waved a hand around in exasperation. “Shit was going down, all right? Zoe was screaming, and there was blood everywhere—and yeah, it’s way different when it’s your wife screaming, and it’s her damn blood all over the place. Plus I was holding one of her legs back for her,” he finished.

Nate still didn’t understand. “After the baby came out?” That made no sense whatsoever.

Bauer’s jaw worked. “Yeah, after.”

“But why?” As far as he knew, women didn’t need anyone to hold their legs back while delivering the placenta. That was supposedly the easy part. Or so he’d heard, and the few births he’d attended had seemed to confirm it.

Bauer was quiet a moment, his nostrils flaring. “Because I was still in my chair.” he muttered in a low voice.

Wait, what? Nate stared at him, not sure he’d heard right. “They put you in a chair? What for?” Nate eyed him. Unless… His eyes widened as he stared at Bauer’s hard face. No way. “Did you pass out?”

“What?” Cruzie called out across from them, staring avidly at Bauer. “You fainted?”

Answering snickers and chuckles from the rest of the team were drowned out by the plane’s engines powering up.

“No,” Bauer snapped, giving them all the evil eye as they began moving down the runway. “I just had to sit down for a while near the end. And fuck you all, until you’ve seen that happen to your wife and her lady bits, you don’t know shit about it, so you can’t judge.” He raised his chin in defiance, bumped Blackwell with an elbow. “Blackwell gets it.”

Blackwell, ever the peacemaker, slung an arm around Bauer’s shoulders in silent support. He and his wife Summer had been to hell and back trying to have a baby. The entire team had been ecstatic when little Sam was born healthy without any complications. “It’s okay, man, I hear you. It’s intense.”

“Yeah, see? It’s intense,” Bauer echoed to everyone else, arms folded across his wide chest, jaw set in defiance.

Blackwell paused a heartbeat before adding, “But I still managed to man up, stay vertical and cut the cord.”

A roar of laughter rang out at the diss. The tops of Bauer’s cheeks turned red, and he threw Blackwell’s arm off him as the plane picked up more speed, hurtling them along the runway. “Don’t touch me,” he growled.

Blackwell shrugged good-naturedly and grinned. “Just giving you a hard time, brother.”

“Whatever. Backstabber.”

The plane’s nose angled upward, easing them up into the air. Nate was still smirking to himself as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, ready for a snooze.

He let the motion of the aircraft lull him as they climbed skyward, the lift pushing him down into the seat.

A series of loud, rapid bangs pummeled the fuselage of the aircraft, loud as gunshots.

Nate’s eyes flew open. Everyone was frozen and quiet in their seats, looking at each other.

The sound of the engines changed, dropping audibly. And then the aircraft pitched downward with enough force to practically lift them out of their seats.

Nate threw both hands down to clutch the bottom of his. He grunted when the plane suddenly jerked upward, slamming his ass down with enough force to make his teeth clack together. He reached for the nylon straps of the seatbelt to tighten it, but it was too late.

A deafening bang split the air.

The aircraft seemed to stall in midair, then tipped sharply to the left and began dropping like a stone out of the sky.