Page 66 of Resolution
He shakes his head. “No. I just didn’t want you to have to drive anywhere or have to juggle their schedules while we wait for word on our team. I’m simply trying to make things easier on you.” He does his best attempt to give me a reassuring smile, but until I see for myself that Enzo’s okay, I doubt anything will comfort me much.
Riggs looks around my desk and clears his throat. “Uh… Harper’s mentioned you can work from virtually anywhere. Do you want me to give you a minute to gather what you need, then we’ll go to HQ?”
I look around, unaware of how to start. I doubt I’ll be able to concentrate. As I stand, I get a karate kick to the bladder, so I rub my lower abdomen. “I’ll just use the bathroom and we’ll be on our way.”
When we get to the waiting room, I notice another man with Riggs. When he reaches out his hand to greet me, I realize it’s Nate Carson. We’ve met a few times since I’ve known Enzo, but I can tell some serious shit is going down. Gone is his ever-present overzealous attitude. He pulls me into a hug as he whispers in my ear, “Everything’s going to be okay.”
If that doesn’t freak me out, I don’t know what will. A fresh batch of tears streams down my face. I don’t even know what to do or say. I’m so overwhelmed with emotion, I can’t think of a way to respond.What the fuck am I going to do without Enzo?
As we exit my office, I gasp when Sara and Lorenzo flash through my mind. “Have you notified the rest of his family?”
Riggs shakes his head. “As soon as we knew the severity of this situation, we came straight here. We wanted you to be the first to know.” He looks directly at me, then turns to Carson. “Do you mind taking Sam to HQ while I stop at his parents’ house? I’ll meet you back at HQ in less than an hour.”
Carson nods, then turns to me. “Sam, do you mind if I drive your vehicle? We rode together, so you wouldn’t have to drive.”
Completely numb, I state, “Sure.” I rifle through my purse and pull out my keys. “I’m parked right out front.” Carson gently takes my arm and leads me to the vehicle. I faintly hear one of the girls in the office saying they’ll be here if I need them, but I can’t be certain who voices it.
Carson goes above and beyond to help me into my SUV. When he realizes I’m unable to do much more than stare into space, I feel him buckle my seat belt around the babies and me. Then he makes his way to the driver’s side, gets in, and takes me to Riggs’ HQ.
Once we’re on the road, he reaches over for my hand. I hadn’t known I’d been rubbing my legs until he stops me. “What can I do to help you calm down? Have you eaten recently?”
“I’m not hungry,” I mumble, but I’m sure he hears me.
The entire ride to HQ, my heart aches with the thought of not knowing what’s happening with Enzo. I rub my belly and hope like hell he’s safe and that I’ll see him soon. I can’t let the reality of him possibly never coming home sink in because that’s a guaranteed way for me to break to pieces. To hold myself together, I force myself to keep a cycle of thoughts repeating through my mind.He’s going to be fine. He will get through this. I won’t lose him.
It doesn’t take long before we’re pulling into the HQ parking lot. I find myself being ushered into a conference room by Carson. Once again, he asks if there’s anything he can get me.Besides my husband, I don’t want anything.
It doesn’t take long before Sara and Lorenzo come swooping through the doors. As soon as their eyes meet mine, they rush to hug me. I’m swallowed up in their arms for an unknown amount of time. My ears feel like cotton has been stuffed in them, and I don’t quite catch what is being said, but I can feel the love they have pouring from them. I squeeze them each harder to let them know just how much I appreciate them.
It’s Lorenzo’s deep baritone voice, thick with emotion, that finally breaks through my fog-like state. “How are you holding up?”
“As well as can be expected,” I mumble.
Sara pats me on the arm and states, “I’m sure it’ll be just fine. Riggs got an update on the way here and there may have been some activity at the second checkpoint. They’re verifying it now.”
“What do you mean?” I ask for clarification, not sure I can let myself have hope, until I know for certain.
“I’m not really sure. I just overheard it as we arrived. They said they would come in and tell us in just a few minutes.” Sara pats my arm and gestures for me to sit next to her in one of the conference room chairs.
We walk into a room and find three other women sitting at the conference room table. I faintly recognize them as some of the girlfriends or wives of the guys at the party a few days ago. I’m quickly re-introduced and reminded which man is their significant other. Instinctually, my heart reaches out to each of them because they must be in the same state as I. Other than a quick greeting, we each steer clear of the unfathomable topic as to why we’ve been brought to this room, waiting on pins and needles to find out more information.
After what feels like an eternity, the door to the conference room opens. This time, instead of more family members being brought together, Riggs himself enters alone. His stoic expression is unreadable. His strides are steady and he gives no indication as to which type of news he’ll be delivering in just a matter of moments.
Enzo will be okay. Enzo is fine. Relax, Sam. You will get through this,runs on repeat through my head as I absent-mindedly rub my belly to comfort both my babies and myself. Their bodies twist and are just as tense as mine at this moment. As if they know there’s a threat, each baby stands on alert as they stretch in what little room is left in my womb.
I keep my focus on Riggs as I feel Sara’s arm wrap around my shoulders and pull me closer to her.
As soon as Riggs sees everyone’s attention is on him, he doesn’t waste any more time. “Thank you all for coming. I’ll share and update, then I’ll be happy to answer as many questions as I can.” He looks around the room before taking a breath and continuing. “As you know, we’ve lost communication with our Delta team some hours ago, after shots were fired. As per protocol, they went radio silent and made it to their first checkpoint, which wouldn’t cause alarm. But when they failed to clear the second checkpoint, we grew concerned. Their last location was a small village outside of San Salvador. I can’t go into specifics of the mission, but I do know they were on their way out.”
Sara squeezes my hand and Lorenzo places an arm on my back as we wait for him to continue. I feel myself tremble and I lean in heavily toward Enzo’s parents for support.I don’t know what I’d do without them at this moment.
“After several hours lapsed and they had yet to make it to their second checkpoint, we grew concerned. With their coms down and their tracking devices remaining stationary, we sent another team to get eyes on the ground for us. At this point, we are waiting for an update and we will let you know as soon as we know more.”
“Mark has worked with you for years and scarier things than this has happened. Why have you brought us here?” a woman’s voice whips out. “What are you not telling us?”
My eyes are drawn immediately to the icy voice sitting at the end of the table. She’s a woman in her early thirties with light-brown hair. Her eyes are wild, pinning Riggs with a look that shows she’s not to be messed with. I’m not sure I’d want to be on the receiving end of that glare.
Riggs exhales deeply. “Well… We wouldn’t typically pull you all in on this but in this circumstance, we thought it best.”
