Page 12 of Homecoming

North Carolina wasn’t necessarily the back of beyond, but it was close. The little corner that they’d found would serve them well, he hoped. Eventually, they wanted to have enough housing to take everyone down, just in case the Elton Building was compromised. Most of the men they’d rescued would prefer to be in the woods, living off the land. And they were already looking for a third location, as a backup.

Wulfe wrapped him up in a bear hug, pounding his back. “Go enjoy your time with your family. Live a little.” Holding his shoulders, Wulfe leaned back.Black says that the town is a Christmas wünderland right now. I think it would do Angela and Fallon güt to see that, and be reminded of the holiday spirit.

Aiden had always marveled that he could hear Wulfe’s German accent even when he was speaking to him mentally. He nodded, but knew he would have to check out the town himself before he risked his family.I’ll get her down there, at some point. I promise.

Wulfe stepped back, his message delivered, and looked for his Elizabeth. Aiden smiled slightly at the way the two of them had fallen so hard for each other. Several of the men he knew had fallen in love, and they all seemed to be incredibly happy. They deserved to be happy after what they’d been through.

Angela, as tough as she was, struggled not to cry. Fallon was crying, holding her arms out to people to touch their shoulders or pat their cheeks. The little girl was sixteen months old, which should have been too young to understand that they were leaving. Aiden knew that she did, though. She had lived in a little bubble of love, and they were leaving that bubble. She felt the sadness of the surrounding people and knew something big was happening.

He rested a hand on her back, trying to calm the sad emotions. Wind blew through the garage, and there was a heavyfeeling to the air. She turned to him with a cry, almost leaping out of Angela’s arms, but Aiden was ready for her. He took her weight into his arms and she burrowed against his shoulder, sobbing.

It broke his heart, but he rubbed her back, trying to impress upon her reassurance and excitement for the upcoming trip. It was a nine-hour drive if they didn’t hit traffic or bad weather. With a baby, they’d have to take time out to play and get her out of her seat to stretch and exercise.

Haven herded them into the vehicles. The truck with their stuff had left hours ago, and would hopefully be unloaded by the time they got there. He’d debated flying them in, but their flights to the mountain needed to be minimal. It wouldn’t do to tell everyone where they were going. Planes and helicopters were easy to track. The building was under twenty-four-hour surveillance, but he would not make it easy for them to figure out what was going on.

That was why they had a line of six black SUVs leaving the garage at the same time. In a city like Arlington, Virginia, it would be easy to disappear into the other governmental SUV traffic. Haven and his team were going to escort them to the Foxhole, and Aiden appreciated the protection. Belladonna would ride with them in their vehicle for an extra layer of protection. They would be in two of the trucks, along with the drivers, other enhanced former soldiers.

All six vehicles tooled around through traffic for about half an hour before Aiden’s group got on the turnpike. Aiden felt some of his tension ease, and he looked across at Angela. She had tears in her eyes as she looked down at their finally sleeping daughter. “I hate leaving them, but I know it will be better for her.”

He nodded, reaching for her hand. “I’ll make sure it’s better for her. Wulfe said that Black is confident that the Foxhole is safe. And that it’s a holiday wonderland right now.”

Tears started to drip down Angela’s cheeks. “I had an amazing childhood, and I want that for Fallon, so bad. Even if it takes a ten-man shield team, I want her to experience it.”

Aiden nodded. “I’ll make sure it happens,” he told her, and leaned across the baby to pull her in for a kiss.

Donna turned to look at them. “I haven’t even gotten a hint of anyone following us. They watched us leave, but they didn’t have enough people to cover every SUV, as we’d suspected. So far, we’re doing good.”

They weren’t sure who was the more immediate threat. The CIA pretended to be their friends, but Aiden had a sneaking suspicion they were only concerned about their own interests. If the Dogs deferred too many jobs, he wondered if the CIA would use other methods to ‘encourage’ them to do their bidding.

And former Senator Hall’s sister had recently come forward to take over his interests while he was in prison. The woman presented a kind face to the world, but Dex had gotten a whiff of her at a restaurant in Washington, and he said she didn’t smell as virtuous as she appeared.

Aiden would take Dex’s opinion over anyone else’s.

Then there were the half dozen other countries strongly motivated to continue with the Spartan program.

They had way more targets on their backs than he was comfortable with.

Hopefully, the Foxhole would give them the comfort and security they needed to raise their daughter safely. And maybe it would ease the strain he knew Angela was under.

Haven and Donna had pre-planned their stops and breaks. After two hours of driving, they pulled into a small rest stop and transferred to new vehicles. Still big SUVs, but not as obviouslydiplomatic. The trucks had a little wear and tear on them, and were different makes and models. Most importantly, they’d never been inside the Elton building. It may have been excessive, but he wasn’t risking Angela and Fallon’s safety on anything.

With the snow that had fallen the night before, it took them a little more than nine hours to get to Whisper Hollow, North Carolina. It was full dark when they got there, so they couldn’t see much of the town, other than the glow of the courthouse lit by an inordinate amount of Christmas lights. They took one of the outer streets, but Angela perked up as she looked out the window and down onto the town.

“Oh, Aiden,” she breathed. “It looks beautiful.”

As they left, she craned her neck back to see. Reaching out, he rested a hand on her shoulder, feeling the surge of hope that rolled through her.

Angela had literally given everything up for him and his crazy group. He would do his best to make the Foxhole their home.

When they arrived at the road that would take them up the mountain, Aiden wasn’t sure what to expect. He was pleasantly surprised at the beautiful wood and iron sign. Their driver and Fallon’s primary guard, Michael Vaughn, keyed the box and looked at the camera, then gave the passcode they’d been given that morning. The gate swung open, and they started up the mountain.

“Okay, this is a lot further up than I expected,” Donna said, laughing.

They bounced along the tree-lined gravel road, climbing, climbing, until they got to the manned security gate. Aiden recognized Mason West immediately and rolled down his window to lean out and clasp the man’s hand. A wash of calm rolled over him, and Aiden grinned.

“Welcome to the Foxhole, sir.”

“Thanks, West.”

---