Black Flagged Apex

Chapter 21





3:55 PM

Charleston International Airport

Charleston, South Carolina



Arranging to meet Jessica in the private lounge had turned out to be one of his better ideas. If she had been given the opportunity to blend into a larger group in the "arrivals" area, he may not have recognized her. She wore a stylish, colorful sleeveless turtleneck top with designer jeans and black narrow strap sandals. As always, she looked stunning, but he wasn't sure if he cared for her short hair.

"Like my new hairstyle?" she asked, immediately testing him.

"It looks incredible. I never pictured you with short hair, but it really works," Daniel said, dropping his carry-on bag.

"Bullshit."

He embraced her, mindful of her injuries, and kissed her passionately. He wished that they could fully test the privacy of this lounge. He'd been gone for seven days, but it felt like a lifetime. He couldn't imagine how Jessica felt. Despite her advertised self-reliance and confidence, he knew that she depended on him emotionally. Sanderson had been wise to keep the details of her attack a secret until the Stockholm operation had run its course. He would have left the operation to Farrington and jumped on the next plane to Buenos Aires, which could have led to disastrous results across the board. The mission might have failed, and he would more than likely have been picked up at the Buenos Aires airport.

By the time Sanderson had shared the details of Jessica's harrowing experience, she had recovered enough to convince him that he could shepherd the last stage of the mission in Germany. He felt guilty delaying his return, but she sounded stable, and he trusted Munoz and Melendez implicitly to guard her. He eased his embrace, but she showed no sign of releasing him.

"You're back," she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm back."

She let go and backed up a few steps to look him over. "Not a scratch? Amazing."

"A few scratches and bruises, but nothing more than that."

He didn't dare go any further. He'd been chased down by Mi-28 Havoc helicopters, ambushed by a regional Spetznaz platoon, fired upon at point-blank range by armored vehicles, swarmed by virus-crazed "zombies," and caught in a crossfire by Zaslon operatives. All of this, however, paled in comparison to Jessica's ordeal. She had narrowly escaped a fate worse than death—being gang-raped for hours by the most detestable, heartless group of men to ever walk the planet. He would never leave her side again, except for one final mission to kill Srecko Hadzic. He'd make that one exception.

"I'm so glad you're back. We can't be apart again. Ever. It's not good for me," she said.

He could see her eyes watering and felt his own start to moisten. "Never again. We're a team," he said and kissed her lips.

"I'm really digging the new look. Seriously. Sexy and smart," he said.

"Unlike before?"

"I think I'll shut up for now. How's your hand?" He took her left hand gently in his own and examined the tight bandage.

"Not so bad. It's healing pretty quickly. I can bend the fingers without too much pain. Looks like hell underneath the bandages."

"And your neck?" he said, gently caressing the soft skin just under her right cheek.

"Turtlenecks are my new fashion. I even found a bathing suit. Looks a little retro, but it works."

"Let's get out of here. I rented a Jeep for us," he said and paused to hold her again. "I missed you so much. I love you more than you could possibly know."

"I love you even more," she said.

They held each other for another minute, before slowly letting go.

"A jeep? I was thinking more like a convertible BMW. Less jostling around."

"Whatever you desire, my beloved princess."

"Right now I want to get us checked into our villa. I have a few desires that can't be fulfilled in this lobby," she said.

"Maybe we should rent a van," he suggested.

"I figured you'd be sick of vans at this point," she said.

"Good point. We can wait."


**

Several hours later, Jessica and Daniel lay next to each other, listening to the surf crash onto the beach in front of their villa. Naked in a tangle of sheets, their breathing slowly returned to normal after another intense session exploring each other's bodies. He didn't want her to feel rushed and would have been fine waiting as long as she needed, but she didn't hesitate. They had picked up Thai takeout and a few bottles of white wine on the way back in their BMW 3 Series convertible, enjoying a private dinner on the small wooden deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Warm sea breezes washed over them, fueling their desires as the wine magnified the experience. Halfway through dinner, Jessica had grabbed his hand and pulled him through the sliding door to the bedroom. They had started off tentatively, as he had expected, but this uncertainty dissolved quickly as passion and arousal smothered them unchecked. Neither of them seemed to notice that night had descended, and they still hadn't cleaned up dinner when the moon finally made an appearance over the eastern horizon, casting a pale blue light onto their bed. He rolled over and held her tightly. She sighed and didn't say a word.

Daniel woke up as the first tendrils of sunlight reached the wicker headboard of their cottage bed. He was lying next to Jessica, both of them buried under the sheets and blankets that had been tossed from the bed at some point the night before. The temperature had dipped significantly after midnight, changing the breezes that flowed freely off the ocean into their cottage. He vaguely remembered picking up the bed linens and haphazardly tucking them back into the bed before closing the patio slider.

Jessica lay asleep on her side, facing his side of the bed. Her makeup had faded during the night, and he could see the black eye that dominated the right side of her face. She had removed her contacts at some point in the evening, which exposed the broken blood vessels surrounding her naturally brown iris. He felt anger and guilt rising within him, which was never a good combination for Daniel. Her neck was the worst part. Several horizontal scabs marked the ordeal that had nearly killed her. They must have restrained her by the neck with piano wire or some kind of game fish line. Still rubbed raw, a band of red puffy skin and dark scabs circled her entire neck. Srecko would suffer a painful death for putting her through this. Anger and guilt. Bad for Daniel, but even worse for Srecko.

He reached out and caressed her left cheek. She settled into a smile, keeping her eyes closed.

"How does Frankenbride look without her disguise?"

"Positively beautiful, as always," he said, without hesitation.

"Uh-huh. What time is it?" she muttered, finally opening her eyes.

"Ten after seven. The sun just peeked over the water. I'll make us some coffee if you're getting up."

"That sounds nice. I'll get dressed and meet you out on the patio," she said.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Daniel said, kissing her inviting lips.

"Yes. You may not have a problem with the way I look, but I do. Quick change and makeup job. I promise."

"I meant what I said. You look beautiful."

Jessica sat up in the bed, pulling the sheets up to her chin. "I know you did. I just don't feel right displaying my injuries to the public."

"Who cares?"

"I do. I don't play the role of victim very well. It's hard not to feel like a full-time victim bearing these scars. Plus, everyone will think you're a wife beater."

He stared at her for a moment, neither pitying her nor trying to process her logic. He just wanted to gaze at the woman he loved and would sacrifice anything to protect. His love for her had no boundaries and no other loyalties. He knew this would be tested again, but from this point forward, they would remain together. He had long ago committed to spending the rest of his life with her, no matter what the circumstances. Long before either of them had been swallowed up by devils disguised as government agents and military heroes.

He'd started carrying a small diamond ring around with him during the spring of their final semester of college. He kept waiting for the right moment to spring the question, thinking he had all the time in the world. When she said goodbye and suddenly disappeared from his life a few days after graduation, he'd been devastated. He regretted waiting more than anything in his life. The ring could have changed everything and put them on a path that didn't consume them from the inside, corrupting their morality and burying the deepest scars in their subconscious. All of this was his fault for waiting to make a decision that he knew was inevitable.

"You there, Danny?" she said, waving a hand in front of him.

He nodded and shook his head at the same time. "Yep. Sort of. Sorry. I was just thinking out everything at one time. Not a good idea for this tiny brain," he said and leaned over to kiss her on the forehead.

"We'll have plenty of time to think through all of this. Just you and me," she said.

"I like the sound of that. See you on the patio."