She spoke quickly, hating that it had come to this, knowing there was no other way. “I know you don’t understand,” she said as a tear fell from her eye onto his cheek. She wiped it away, repeating the motion with the pads of her fingers, wanting just one more touch. “But I have to go. It’s for the best.”
She leaned over and added quietly in his ear, “Take care of Nick, okay? He thinks the world of you; you’re the only one he’ll listen to. And tell him I love him.” Nicki brushed one last kiss over his lips then forced herself away.
She set the lock and pulled the door tightly behind her, following the others down the stairs.
“You’ve got my gear?” she asked, her voice stronger as she hastily wiped the tears away with the back of her hand.
“Is she crying?” the one called Fisher said in disbelief. “You know, I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself...”
“Fucktard,” she rumbled. “Give me my shit.”
“Now that’s the Nix I know,” grinned Brookes as he tossed her a badge and her piece. “For a minute there I thought we rescued the wrong girl.”
Nicki snorted in response. “You didn’t rescue anyone. I had the situation under control.”
“Yeah, that was obvious.” The taller of the two shot her a questioning look. “So what’s up, Nix?”
“What the hell are you guys doing here anyway?” she asked, blatantly ignoring his question.
“Looking for you.”
“Why?”
“Because we miss your smiling face and loving arms, darlin’.” Brookes allowed his native Southern drawl to color his words. He did it solely to annoy her; he knew the sound was like nails on a blackboard to her because she told him every damn time.
“Fuck you.”
Fisher chuckled. “You say the sweetest things. Relax, Nix. We know what’s going on. The boss man dispatched us the minute word came through about your mom. Your leave is officially rescinded, effective immediately. Just in the nick of time, too, by the looks of it.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” she snorted. She knew the rules as well as they did - they weren’t allowed to have family or relationships. In agreeing to join them she had given up all ties to her former life, to become a spook. She’d broken all the rules in coming to Pine Ridge – caring for her mother, staying with her brother, hooking up with Sean.
And she was stupid to think she’d ever get away with it. They’d probably been using the tag imbedded in her tat to monitor her activities all along. They all had them; it was how they remained accessible anywhere, anytime without any actual trail. Between assignments they were allowed to disappear, as long as they heeded the call to return when it came.
“Goddamn it, Nix! Quit fucking around.” Brookes tossed his DEA badge into a bag in the truck. Nicki already knew the bag held similar ID tags and papers for the FBI, NSA, CIA, and various other agencies. Their little organization didn’t actually have an official name. Like the animals after which they had been named, the Chameleons became who they needed to be at any given time. Nicki was a natural. “Do you have any idea who that guy is?”
“Former SEAL, maybe a black ops man,” she rattled off, voicing what her instincts had already told her. “Owns the garage in town now.”
Fisher laughed. “All true, sweetheart. But he’s also a member of the special forces team we call when we need help.”
That gave her pause. She looked into his eyes, waiting for the punchline, but he was dead serious.
“The Ghost Team?” she breathed in disbelief. That was the name she and her crew had given the group of independent Irish ops men who tackled jobs not even they would touch.
“The same. Yeah, no shit, Nix. Remember that shit in Kazakhstan a year ago? That was your boyfriend and his brothers.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” she said emphatically.
Fisher laughed. “Yeah, that’s why his team fired off all those sniffers looking for info about you, sweetheart. Because there’s no interest.”
Nicki paled as her heart studded against her chest, but she’d be damned if she’d show weakness in front of these guys. Her partners, like her, however, were trained to simply know. Their lives so often depended on it.
“Relax, babe. We’ve got you covered. But Jesus, couldn’t you have just scratched your itch with a regular guy? You know, one that doesn’t kill people for a living? Christ, woman, you just attract trouble, don’t you?”
Despite the roiling of her stomach, Nicki’s lips quirked. “Yeah, so everyone keeps telling me.”
“Seriously, Nix, you’re playing with some intense shit here.”
“Don’t sweat it, sweetie. Game’s over, I won. I always win.”
“It’s not, and you haven’t. Not yet, anyway.” Brookes breathed. “We know about Marscone, Nix. We know all about the recon you’ve been doing.”
“Fuck,” she hissed. They were supposed to be using their resources on everyone else, not on her. Another thing she should have known. With any luck, they knew only of Benny’s business dealings and not of her personal history with him.
“No worries. We’re here to help you.”