Page 19 of Guarded from Corruption

Rhiannon catches my gaze from across the table. “Considering everything, I couldn’t believe how well she did yesterday.”

“Yeah,” agrees Dante, nodding appreciatively. “She really did.”

“And the way she took down that nurse?” Xavier looks down the table at me. “A throat punch? And a chokehold? That’s really something.” His lips twitch. “You’d better be careful not to make her mad, Niall.”

“That’s what I said.” Rhiannon flashes a small grin at me, and it helps ease some of the worry I’ve been carrying. Jade is strong. Despite the horrific things that happened to her, she’s going to be okay. Maybe not right away, but eventually, and I’ll do whatever I can to help her get there.

“He’s just about to connect,” Matthew announces as he glances up from his laptop. He pushes a hand through his hair, sending the dark curls in every direction. He chuckles at the screen. “Leo’s on a job, and you know these guys are useless at setting the video conferencing when he’s not around.”

“Why do you think we keep you around?” Erik asks with a laugh. He leans back in his chair, crossing his massive arms across his chest. He throws his former Green Beret teammate a teasing grin. “Everyone needs a good IT guy around.”

Matthew flicks a pen across the table at him. “I’ll remember that when you ask me to magically find tickets to the next playoff game.”

“Okay.” Dante shakes his head, smiling. “If you two are done, I’d like to get started.”

Everyone sits up straighter; relaxed expressions shifting to something more serious. Jokes and banter drop into silence. Now that the meeting is officially starting, we’re all at attention.

“Okay,” Dante continues, “So first up, we’re two weeks out from our official launch date. It’s looking like we’re on track with all the B and A business spaces—reception, offices, security, clinic—unless anyone can think of something we missed?”

After a round of quiet nos, Dante says, “Good. Niall, how’s the shooting range coming? And the equipment room? Given everything with Jade, do you need any help?”

I shake my head. “No, I’m good. The range just needs some targets, which are on order already. Equipment room is ready to go. I’m planning on placing some ammo orders this week, which shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Excellent.” He turns to Xavier. “How’s the client apartment looking?”

“Good.” Xavier nods. “Just needs some final touches?—”

“Hey, guys—” A loud voice echoes through the room, loud enough to make us all wince. Then there’s some tapping and clicking, a muttered, “It’s like Leo sabotages it or something,” and then a quieter, “Okay. I think I got it.”

A moment later, Cole’s face fills the screen, and we all turn toward the large TV mounted on the wall. He grins, his dark eyes flashing, and says, “Sorry about that. I swear, more than six years, you’d think we could get this damn thing to work right.”

“Hey, man.” Dante lifts his chin at Cole. “Glad you could join us.”

“Of course.” He pauses to glance around the room. “It’s looking good in there. A lot better than when I saw the place last month.”

Dante nods. “It’s definitely coming together. Looks like we’ll be ready for launch, no problem.”

“Nice.” Cole’s tone is admiring. “So everyone’s settled in? Do you need anything? I might be able to come out for a weekend to help.”

“I think we’re good.” Dante looks around the table. “Anything you guys can think of?”

We all shake our heads in a chorus of nos and we’re goods.

“Okay. But if you think of anything, let me know.” Cole leans back, giving a glimpse of his apartment behind him. “I can arrange a trip out. Or one of the other guys can. Not that you don’t have it under control, but we’re all a team, you know?”

Dante smiles at his friend of over a decade. “We know. And we appreciate it. Everyone’s really excited about getting Blade and Arrow off the ground here.”

Their long friendship is the reason Cole asked Dante to be the official team leader. While we all served in the same battalion and trained together, we were on different teams. Dante, Erik, and Matthew were a part of the Bravo Company with Cole, and Rhiannon, Xavier, and myself were part of the Charlie Company.

Not only have Cole and Dante served together on the same team, they’ve known each other since basic, so it made sense to tap Dante to lead the new branch of Blade and Arrow. And the tag of leader is more in name than anything else—when it comes to team decisions, all of us have equal input.

“How’s Maya doing?” Rhiannon asks with a smile. “And Clara?”

Cole’s expression lights up. “They’re great. Maya’s back to working part time; she has a play area set up for Clara in her office. And Clara’s crawling all over the place. It’s hard to keep up with her.”

Rhiannon makes an aw face and says, “Maya and Clara are coming when we have our grand opening party, right?”

“Absolutely.” He grimaces slightly, then chuckles. “Even if it means flying with a nine-month-old.”

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