Page 80 of Breathe
When Will had SecDef things to do, it was left to the former SecDef to handle problems at the ranch.
Azrael didn’t know how Dave did it all. The man had to be exhausted. The guy was sixty-two this year, but not many people would know because Dave carried his age well. Only the lines near his mouth and the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes and a small smattering of gray at his temples belied his age.
A quiet hush settled over the room.
“We won’t be going in visible to the target,” Dave said. “Every single one of you will stay in your assigned teams and move through the darkness undetectable to the naked eye.”
Dave made it to the front of the room as he spoke, and Stone stood from his chair, gesturing to it for Dave, who waved off the offer.
“We are taking hostages. If you don’t think you can handle that and your assigned jobs from Viper, then I will bring inPhoenix and Pegasus, who can indeed complete an op without casualties or arguments.”
A low murmur ran through the room.
Dave gazed at numerous faces.
“You can sit this one out, nobody’s judging you. But if you do, then you might think about moving from Genesis to Erebus,” Dave said.
What Dave said made sense. Genesis was more designed to take prisoners, while Erebus was not.
The reminder coming from one of the most powerful men in their world sunk in…
Not a soul said a word.
The following night…
Real hated the fact that he would be separated from Azrael.
While the Genesis active and non-active military cut through the night toward the fortress, YA and Aries would be at a secure location nearby.
He had to believe that Azrael would be safe with Aries. He trusted King, Levi, and Nash, but had to say the words now.
“If anything happens to him,” Real warned, catching Levi’s gaze before moving to Nash and then finally King.
“We got this,” King assured him. “It’s not our first rodeo.”
“I heard you guys did a joint op with the DEA,” Rip said from where he stood next to Real.
“We did,” King said.
“How’d that go?” Rip asked.
Real was curious as well since Aries didn’t normally work with law enforcement. The unit was designed for taking out crooked high-powered politicians.
“Really well, my girl saved the day,” Levi answered this time.
“I heard you’re a bodyguard now,” Rip told Levi.
“I am, in fact. I retired from Aries in January. They,” Levi jerked a thumb at King and Nash, “work part-time as bodyguards with my company out of Seattle. I’m just here as afavor to Will,” Levi said. “You guys should come up to Seattle and visit.”
“Let’s talk about that shit another time,” King drawled and turned to Real. “Don’t worry, we will keep YA and any victims safe,” King told him.
Rather than answer, Real pulled Azrael to him and smoothed his hands over the ultra-thin bulletproof t-shirt vest.
“You should have worn another one over this,” he muttered.
“Hey…” Azrael looked up into his face. “You have to trust me.”
“I do.” Real sighed and drew the young assassin into his arms. “It’s just the rest of the world I don’t trust.”
