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  “Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up!” Alex repeated over and over again.

  The call went to voicemail. Tucking the phone between her chin and shoulder, called again. Voicemail again.

  Still dialing, she put checked her weapon and put on the holster. She took the basement stairs two at a time and dialed again.

  “What?” Joseph’s voice was laced with irritation. “Nancy’s sleeping, and I . . .”

  “They’re coming for you,” Alex said.

  “What?” Joseph asked.

  “Soon,” Alex said. “You have to go underground.”

  “Got it,” Joseph said. “Did you call command?”

  “No, but I will,” Alex said.

  “Thanks,” Joseph said. “Love you.”

  “I . . .”

  Joseph clicked off the call.

  “ . . .love you, too,” Alex said.

  She stood in the entryway to their rented house. Looking up at the ceiling, she said a desperate prayer to any God, Goddess, or Angelic being that might be listening. She wrote a note to John and walked out of the house.

  She made it to the porch stairs before she remembered the twins.

  Alex had given Quince the day off to do some shopping for her upcoming wedding to her boyfriend, Jason. Their nanny wasn’t due home for another two hours. John and Troy were on a long run to prepare for their next ultramarathon. They wouldn’t be home for hours.

  When Alex had started this day, she could never have imagined this moment.

  Alex stood on their front porch seething with rage. How could she have been so stupid? If she’d taken the time to write the dream down sooner, she wouldn’t be in this situation! Why did her life have so many distractions?

  She needed to go! She needed to save Joseph! She needed to make damn certain that he and his family were safe! They lived right there on the street behind this retched house. She needed to . . .

  General Fonti’s voice echoed through her mind: “If you come back, you’ll no longer be a combat frontline soldier. Make no mistake, this is a staff position. You, and possibly your entire team, will be a rear operations or possibly rear detachment.”

  She sat down on the step. The baby monitor popped off her jeans and flew into the air. She scrambled to catch it, but it bounced out of her hand. She watched helplessly as it bounced on the cement walk and broke into pieces. Defeated, she picked up the pieces of the monitor and let herself into the house. She stood in the entryway and listened. The twins were still asleep. Maggie was sitting next to the basement stairs and looking up at Alex.

  There was nothing left for Alex to do. She called command.

  “Fey Team,” a computer voice said.

  “Fey,” Alex said.

  The phone line clicked and then clicked again as the system analyzed her voice, the phone number the call came in on, and her assumed location.

  “Fey Team,” Margaret Peaches answered.

  “Joseph’s underground,” Alex said.

  “Roger that,” Margaret said.

  “Out,” Alex said and hung up her phone.

  One phone call. That was the sum total of all Alex could do.

  She felt impotent. The only other times she’d been unable to be right there, to make a real difference, she’d been sick or injured.

  She was healthy! Fit! Strong! She should be right there, making things happen! She should be in the very center of everything.

  For the first time in her entire life, it was no longer her role to make things happen.

  She’d never felt so lost. She wandered through the house until she found herself peering into the refrigerator. Outside of last night’s nightmare, she’d never done this before. She sighed and closed the refrigerator door.

  The answer was not in there.

  What was the question?

  Joseph had her plan. He didn’t need her help.

  The truth hit Alex like a ton of bricks.

  General Fonti was right. No one needed her body on the frontline. There were, in fact, thousands of young men and women whose job it was to do the heavy lifting.

  “Ever wonder why you wanted to be a Green Beret?”

  Charlie’s question from her dream rang in her ears. Her mind went blank. She stood in the entryway for what felt like a long time thinking about nothing.

  Why had she wanted so badly to be a Green Beret? Why was she still fighting so hard to be one, when, clearly, she wasn’t needed to do the work?

  She looked at her cell phone and dialed.

  “I’ve been waiting for you to call.”

  “Would you mind coming to the house?” Alex asked.

  “I’ll be right there,” Patrick Hargreaves said.

  F

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Sunday early morning

  November 6 — 1:12 a.m. PST

  Oceanside, California

  Alex’s eyes popped open when Joey whimpered. Within a second, Máire was crying in sympathy for her twin. John and Alex jumped into action. They pulled on their clothes while walking. Alex picked up Joey, and John got Máire. Joey was wet so Alex changed his diaper while John cuddled Máire.

  Neither twin wanted a bottle. They simply wanted to know they weren’t alone in the world. Alex and John got the babies settled back in their shared crib before heading back to their room. John went into the bathroom, and Alex lay down again.

  Her eyes drifted closed.

  BAM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Their entire house shook with each explosion to the foundation of the house. Maggie jumped off the bed and barked at the air. Joey and Máire screamed at the top of their lungs. Alex rolled onto the floor, and John ran from the bathroom.

  Camp Pendleton’s sirens blared! Police cruisers and fire engines wailed in their direction! Alex gestured with her hand down, and John dropped to the ground.

  Brattta tat tat! Brattta tat tat! Brattta tat tat! The sound of at least one assault weapon firing in a military three-shot pattern broke the morning quiet.

  With Maggie barking and jumping over them, they belly-crawled into the twins’ room. Alex unhooked the crib rail and reached in for Joey. She passed him to John and got Máire. Alex lay on her side with Máire on her knees. John mimicked her position so that the twins were together on the floor. Completing the circle, Maggie lay down near their feet. John reached over the twins to hold Alex’s shoulder.

  Alex and John tried to calm and comfort their twins. The windows flickered with the bright light of a big fire on the street behind them. Sirens filled the night. Carrying a handgun in each hand, Quince slipped into the room from her apartment above the attached garage.

  “Get down,” Alex said.

  John gestured to her to join them and she lay with her head on Maggie.

  “Hello?” Margaret Peaches called from the entryway to the house.

  Alex started to get up. Margaret’s daughter and her husband, John’s brother Cian, had stayed in Denver rather than move to Oceanside. Margaret was living on her own in an apartment a few doors down.

  “I’ll go,” Quince said.

  Alex shook her head and took one of Quince’s handguns. Alex left the room.

  “Margaret?” Alex asked. She held the weapon behind her back. “What’s going on?”

  She peered down. Margaret was wearing pajamas. Her black hair was in long braids as if she’d fallen out of bed and rushed to their house. Margaret ran up the stairs.

  “Oh, Alex,” Margaret said with uncharacteristic informality.

  The young woman threw her arms around Alex. She shivered in Alex’s arms.

  “I didn’t know what to do,” Margaret said. At the top of the stairs, Margaret hugged Alex. “I just came over. I’m sorry if I’m . . .”

  “We’re in the kids’ room because it has its own filtered-air system.”

  “Good idea,” Margaret said.

  Alex had turned to show Margaret the way when Matthew and Erin arrived with their two daughters. They looked up at her with horrified eyes. Behind Matthew s
tood Trece, his very pregnant wife, Luz, their high school-aged -daughter, and infant. Trece and Matthew hugged, as did Erin and Luz.

  Wearing a dress shirt and boxer briefs, Raz came in the entryway. He skirted the families and went straight upstairs. He hugged Alex so tight that she was sure she was bruised. She kissed his cheek.

  “We’re in the kids’ room,” Alex said. “Can you . . .”

  “We’ll move to the basement,” Raz said. “The rest of the team is here.”

  “I’ll help,” Margaret said.

  Raz and Margaret moved past her in the hallway, and Alex went downstairs. Alex took Grace, Erin and Matthew’s oldest daughter, and showed Trece and his family to the basement. When they got down there, Troy Olivas was pretending to be asleep in one of the lounge chairs. She touched his shoulder and set Grace in his lap. Troy’s boys Hector James and Hermes ran to give Alex a tight hug. Cliff dropped down into an armchair, and the Mister and Mammy’s daughter sat on his lap.

  When Alex looked up again, her entire team and their families had filled the basement. They’d each been drawn here out of love and loyalty to Alex. To a person, they were surprised that anyone else was there. Used to being together, the families carved out spaces in the basement for themselves.

  By the time the police knocked on Alex’s door, most of the children were asleep. Because John had to be at work in a few hours, he was asleep with the twins in her office. Raz, Matthew, and Alex went to the door.

  “We’re moving house to house,” the uniformed police officer said. Another officer was standing behind him. “There was a bomb planted at a house on the street behind you. There also seems to have been an assault on the house.”

  The man looked from Alex to Raz to Matthew and gauged their various states of dress.

  “We’re a military team,” Alex said. “Everyone lives in the neighborhood and gathered here.”

  The police officer nodded. He didn’t move from his spot on the front porch, but his eyes looked around the house. His hand didn’t move from his weapon.

  “Who’s in charge?” the police officer asked.

  “She is,” Raz said before Alex could answer.

  If the police officer had a judgment about her leading a team, he kept it to himself. He simply nodded while his eyes searched the entryway. He was clearly trying to make a decision.

  “Was anyone injured?” Matthew asked.

  “According to the neighbors, the family left the house suddenly yesterday afternoon,” the police officer said.

  “And the neighbors?” Matthew asked. “Were they injured?”

  “No, sir,” the police officer said.

  “That’s a good thing,” Alex said with a smile.

  She started to close the door. The police officer put his foot in the door to keep it open.

  “Is there anything you can tell us about the house or the family who lived there?” the police said.

  “He was a member of our team,” Alex said with a nod. “He was called out of town yesterday afternoon.”

  “Due to a threat?” the police officer asked.

  “That’s correct,” Alex said. “Our command is aware of the threat. If you need information, they can provide it to you.”

  The police officer nodded.

  “There were two shooters at the property when our guys arrived,” the police officer said. “You probably heard the assault weapon.”

  “AR-15,” Matthew said. “Semi-auto, non-military grade, but fired in bursts of three.”

  “I’ll make a note,” the police officer said. “SWAT was first on the scene. They engaged the shooters, but the shooters disappeared in the neighborhood. Did you shoot up your team member’s house?”

  “No,” Alex said. “You’re welcome to ask.”

  The police officer looked at Alex for a moment trying to decide if that was a good idea.

  “Sir?” Alex asked. “We have some college-aged children who are likely to show up.”

  Alex gestured behind the police officer where Trece’s college-football-playing-son was standing with two boxes of donuts and a bag of groceries. The police stepped aside to let him by.

  “We’re likely to be here all day,” Alex said. “You’re welcome to come in, have some coffee, get warm. But I understand that you have other houses to check.”

  “Can you give us a list of addresses for the people here?” the police ‘officer’s partner asked.

  “Of course,” Raz said.

  He went to get a pen and a piece of paper. When he finished, he gave the sheet to the officers.

  “We’ll call it in,” the police officer said. He nodded to his partner, and they backed up on the porch. “What did you say your team was?”

  “We’re the Fey Team,” Matthew said.

  The police officer turned to look at Matthew. His eyes flicked to Alex. His lips moved as if they longed to ask a question.

  “Sir?” Alex asked.

  He gave a slight shake of his head, and the moment passed.

  “We’ll be in touch,” the police officer.

  Alex watched the police officers leave her porch before closing the door. She waited by the door for a moment, in case they came back. When they didn’t, she sighed.

  “The Fey Team?” Alex asked Matthew.

  “Until you tell me otherwise, I’m a member of the Fey fucking team,” Matthew said. “Our current commander . . .”

  Matthew nodded to Vince, who was standing behind them.

  “ . . . tells me that my Fey is taking some time to sort out her head,” Matthew said.

  “And drowning,” Alex said with a scowl.

  “What else is new?” Vince asked.

  He held out his arms, and they hugged.

  “Thank you,” Alex said. “If you hadn’t been such a complete dick, Zack and I would most definitely be dead.”

  “Silver lining dickitude,” Vince said with a laugh.

  Alex laughed.

  “Luz is making huevos,” Vince said. “Mammy’s daughter has promised biscuits. I thought . . .”

  There was a soft knock on the door. Vince opened the door to his eldest daughter, Amelia, and her boyfriend, Helene’s brother, Frederick. Alex hugged Amelia and Frederick. Frederick released a wave of fast Parisian French, and Alex nodded.

  “Have you seen Helene?” Alex asked.

  “She and her mother are in the kitchen,” Matthew said. Frederick went to find his mother. “They were there when we arrived.”

  Alex shook her head and grinned.

  “What?” Matthew asked.

  “I should be surprised,” Alex said. “But . . . they are amazing.”

  “They said that great adventures need good coffee, or something like that,” Matthew said. “I’m hoping Claire will make her croissants.”

  “Oh, the apple turnovers,” Raz said touching his flat stomach. “I’ll see if I can help.”

  He nodded toward the kitchen, and Alex smiled. Raz had a way of always getting what he wanted. Plus Claire liked him. Apple turnovers were imminent. Helene came from the kitchen and hugged Alex.

  “I’m sorry,” Alex said. “I forgot all about you. Completely.”

  “I know,” Helene said. “And, there is no need to be sorry. I’m glad. I was worried if I married Fionn, I’d fall apart when any little thing happened, but . . .”

  “You’re stronger than you know,” Alex said. She gave the girl a soft smile.

  “Maman makes everything easy,” Helene said. “And . . .”

  The girl smiled at Alex.

  “I think you’re right,” Helene said. “I am strong, which means that everything will be all right.”

  “Why don’t you call Fionn and let him know?” Alex asked.

  Helene grinned at Alex and went to get her phone. Alex stood in the entryway to her rented house. Someone laughed downstairs, and she longed to be right in the middle of them. This was the team she’d worked so damned hard to create. She liked every one of them and their families. She b
elonged with them.

  She took one step toward the basement, and it all came back to her — awful Ingram, the F-15s, General Fonti, her near death in the ocean, and Leah’s offer. She swallowed hard. She couldn’t hang out with them, not now, probably not ever.

  “There you are!” John said.

  She turned toward him, and he stopped walking. He took in her face and posture.

  “I thought you needed to sleep,” Alex said, recovering herself.

  “Who can sleep with a house full of the Fey Team?” John asked.

  He moved close to her.

  “Quince has the twins,” John said. “Is it time to talk?”

  Alex looked at him for a moment.

  “Let’s try it,” John said. “Breakfast is almost ready, so we won’t have a lot of time. We can at least start.”

  Alex nodded. He put his arm around her and led her back to their bedroom. He settled her on the bed.

  “I’m going to change so I can go when I need to,” John said. “Please. What’s going on?”

  Alex looked at the clock and tried to decide what he had time to hear.

  “Don’t pick and choose what you want to say,” John said. “Just talk to me.”

  “I’m caught between wanting to stay in the middle of everything — grab my guns and go . . .” Alex said.

  “Work with Leah,” John said as he came out of the closet with a pair of khaki pants and a dress shirt. Gesturing to his clothing, he added, “I’m in surgery today.”

  “But, khakis?” Alex asked.

  “I know,” John said. He raised his hands as if she were holding a weapon. “I know — very middle aged American!”

  Alex grinned at his joke, and he smiled.

  “It’s required wear for this position,” he said.

  “He’s controlling what you wear?” Alex asked.

  “And then some,” John said. “Please continue.”

  Nodding, Alex continued.

  “I can stay in the US military,” Alex said. “Go to the rear. Take a staff position. Make the younger folks do the grunt work. I mean, Fonti wants me to bring the whole team to the rear.”

  John didn’t say anything as he put his pants on. She bit her lip to keep from begging him to talk. He looked at her.