Page 53 of Dangerous Mission

“I promise I’m fine,” Terri sighed and rested her head on Axel's chest.

Gumby and Sidney were at the house along with a few other members of the team. They’d made food for everyone. Hudson’s girlfriend, Siena, was there along with Cy’s pregnant wife, Lucy. Terri loved all the new people and how comfortable she felt around them.

“So, you got out of handcuffs twice?” Sidney asked.

“Yes. I’m mad I lost my bracelet, though.”

Sidney tilted her head. “We should all get those. It would be a good thing to push on social media. I didn’t even know they existed.”

Terri had gone down a rabbit hole on TikTok one night and seen the cool bracelet. The first video she caught was about how to break out of handcuffs using a bobby pin, and she tried and failed so many times. Then the same guy showed the bracelet, and she ordered one. It would make a good gift. She would make sure to order a bunch and keep one on each wrist in the future.

Gumby took a sip of his beer. “Did Xavier find anything else at the island?”

Doc nodded. “Yes, a shit ton. Franny’s body was too mangled to know what exactly happened. If I had to guess, I’d say Carter planted a bomb, but what I want to know is how he knew to blow her up.”

“Carter may be crazy, but the man is the top in his field for biomedicine. He also works with the scum of the earth. I bet he could somehow see or hear what she’d done and pulled the trigger. She was a loose cannon, and I can guarantee we could’ve gotten information out of her,” Ginger said.

“I bet you're right. As for the house, they were able to pull some of the hard drives. Xavier’s team is working to recover data and see what they can find. I think Hex joined his team. He wants information on his sister, but I’m worried it’s too late.” Gumby started with his arms around Sidney. “I understand he wants to hope, but I’m not sure there is much. There’s a good chance his sister is still alive but anywhere in the world.”

Doc set his pool cue aside. “Carter has no connection to any of us, but it feels like he’s playing with our lives. Did any of us have a mission that messed up one of his plans?”

Hudson cocked his head to the side. “This started with one of my missions, but it wasn’t linked to Carter.”

Axel nodded. “I think we need to lay everything out from the start. Plus, if we can get our hands on your info, Ginger, maybe we can see something.”

“I have everything locked up in my house. I’ll bring it in, and we can look.”

Hudson clinked his glass with a spoon. “We’ve dealt with enough crap today. I think it’s time for some good news.” He paused and smiled down at Siena. “We set a date for the wedding. I hope everyone will join us in Hawaii next month for our big day.”

Cheers erupted in the room.

“I think this calls for a toast,” Axel said as he shifted Terri to the side and stood. He walked to the far wall and opened the bar.

Terri couldn’t help but stare at his ass.

The guys helped fill the glasses and pass them out. They all toasted the happy couple and spent the next hour talking and laughing.

Terri yawned, and Axel caught sight of it and kicked everyone out of the house.

It seemed strange to be back at his place. The danger wasn’t completely gone, but she felt safe next to him. But he would have to go back to work, and so would she. Fuck his work. With all the shit that happened, she totally forgot about his meeting with the Commander North.

Axel sat back on the couch, and Terri straddled his legs. He smiled at her and rested his hands on her ass.

“I forgot to ask about your meeting,” she said.

He pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “It went well. Before I left, I called and talked to your dad about a few things. The two of us came up with a plan.”

Terri shoved Axel’s chest and tried to pull out of his arms. “Are you seriously going to tell me you and my father made a decision about our future without me again? Why did I think it would be different this time?” She blinked and tried to hold back the tears threatening to pour out of her eyes.

Axel smiled at her. “You didn’t let me finish.” He wiped a tear that had fallen. “Don’t cry, T. I didn’t call him to ask for advice but to find out if it was possible for you and me to spearhead your project together. Then we could build a team to help trafficked women. No more lone wolf at the clubs or running off to save everyone. We would create task forces, and if we get one working in DC, we could expand the concept throughout the country. Most police and FBI stations work trafficking cases, but they’re so busy with all the other cases that this task force would assist in target areas. Then we could use it to pull more information on the Karva Organization.”

“Oh.”

“That’s it? You’re not going to ask whether your dad said he would let us run the task force?”

“What did he say?”

“It’s ours when I’m out. I have the papers to reenlist, but with everything going on, I haven’t sent them in. Maybe somehow I knew in the back of my mind that you were going to come back into my life. I’m not sure, but in three months, we can move to DC and start our next chapter. If that’s what you want.”

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