Page 16 of Shadow Games

They were in the middle of Pennsylvania, she knew that. Another day of driving and they’d be in New Jersey. The in-laws lived in a little town called Jasper, in the very northern tip of the state.

It seemed odd to be going to see them when she’d just seen them at the funeral last week. Polly had cried over her son’s grave, but Jerome had been more stalwart, holding his wife’s shoulders as she swayed. It had been a moving ceremony, with his teammates dramatically pounding their tridents into the casket. Personally, she felt like he hadn’t deserved the honor the men had given him. He had died on personal time, possibly doing illegal things. But whatever.

Crossing to the second bed, she sat down on the edge. She’d had to take a shower first thing, just to get the street grime off of her. The pajama pants had been thin and it had soaked through.. The hot water had felt amazing, and between the hour of morning and it being a motel, she’d had plenty of it. Her hair would be a crazy mess in the morning, but she could wet it down and go.

Echo sat crouched on the edge of Wyatt’s bed, watching her. Crossing to the lone closet, she found the spare blanket and returned to drape it over Wyatt. He hadn’t even taken the time to take off his jacket or boots. She wanted to run her fingers through his dark hair. But that seemed too invasive. She didn't have the right to do that.

Though she wanted to desperately.

Rowan moved to her own bed and sat on the edge. Should she sleep in her shoes as well? Had Wyatt fallen asleep across the bed like that, deliberately ready to run at a moment’s notice? She wasn't sure. Taking a chance and trusting in him to keep her safe, she kicked off her shoes, climbed into bed and pulled the blankets up over herself. Then she lay on her side, looking at his face, mere feet away. He looked so different with a longer beard.

That magnetism was still there, even after all they’d been through. Two years ago, she'd been in love with him, but she’d done the responsible thing and married the father of her child when she’d become pregnant. If she’d known she was going to lose the baby just a few months later, she never would have married him in the first place. Ken knew it had been the wrong thing to do as well, but that narcissism had kicked in when he’d returned from deployment and seen how close Wyatt and Rowan were. He’d taken her to bed and ‘forgotten’ the condom. She knew what he’d done. He had deliberately tied her to him.

Losing the baby had been the best thing, though it had broken her heart. A baby needed to be conceived in love, not jealousy. When she finally closed her eyes and let herself fall asleep, she dreamed of babies with pale blue eyes and dark hair.

* * *

Wyatt wokewhen Echo nosed him awake. She was planted over top of him, her legs splayed as she looked down at him expectantly, her nose inches from his own.

“What is it, girl?” he asked.

She glanced at the door, staring intently. Pushing off the cover, he rolled out of bed and moved toward the door. The sun wasn't up yet, and he'd barely been asleep for three hours. She was indicating that someone was outside, though. He sidestepped to the window and tried to peer through the crack between the curtains. He couldn't see anything, but that didn't mean nothing was there. He debated his options. Should he just fling the door open? It was very un-SEAL like. He needed to wake Rowan though and get her into the bathroom. Kneeling beside the bed, he quietly woke her.

Her bright green eyes snapped open with fear. He held a finger to his lips in the shush motion and she went still. He pointed at her, then made a motion for her to creep to the bathroom. Rowan nodded and did as he told her, immediately. Then, grabbing his sidearm from the nightstand, he moved back toward the door. Almost immediately, it busted open from the outside. Three men in black facemasks lunged into the room, guns at the ready. Echo leapt at the first one, bowling him down with her weight, and he shot wide. Wyatt opened fire on the other two men, knocking them back through the doorway. Pivoting, he shot the man Echo had taken down, first in the shoulder, then the leg. Blood sprayed and the man went still, groaning in pain.

Seamlessly changing out his mag, Wyatt surged out the door after the other two men. One was on the ground, a hand at his throat, blood pooling around him on the concrete. The other man was bolting down the sidewalk.

“Echo,” Wyatt barked.

The dog bolted out of the room and ran the man down, latching onto his gun arm and shaking fiercely. The man cried out, but he leveled a punch at her head. Then another. Echo released him, whining, and the man scrambled up and took off.

Wyatt didn’t like leaving the room, but he felt like the targets were neutralized. Running down the sidewalk, he debated going after the man or helping Echo. It was no choice. He stopped and patted her on the side, lifting her chin. “Good girl, Echo. Good girl.”

Wyatt returned to the man bleeding out on the sidewalk and lifted the mask. He didn’t recognize him. He moved to the second man. Didn’t recognize him, either.

He heard a gasp behind him and turned to look at Rowan. She held her gun up and ready in a two-hand stance. “Oh, my God, Wyatt. Those are Team Seven SEALs. New guys from the last class.”

Wyatt immediately called Charlie. She answered on the first ring, and he wondered if somebody had already woken her. Or maybe she was just an early riser.

“We had visitors for breakfast this morning,” he told her.

“Who?” she demanded.

“I don't recognize them, but Rowan says they're seals from Team Seven. Babies.”

There was a softfuckon the end of the line. “Are they alive?”

“For a minute. They're not going anywhere. Not sure they're in a condition to answer questions though. One took off.”

“Okay, you guys get out of there. Now.”

“Roger that.”

By the time he got off the phone, Rowan had already stowed her weapon and was gathering her things. They could hear sirens coming toward them. She knelt down beside the man in the doorway. “Cole, do you remember me?”

He nodded, his teeth clenched. “Blade’s woman, the one we were sent here to find.”

“Why were you supposed to find me?” she asked.

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