Page 2 of Exhale
The kids knew Cody, and when the man crouched and held out his arms, Ginny urged them over after a quick kiss to each.
“Go on, baby. Mommy’s going to talk to Billy for a bit.”
The twins raced to Cody, who picked them up. The man held her gaze across the distance and then carried the boys into the back hallway.
Ginny turned to Billy, but the sight of something strange caught her attention.
Her best friend, Louise Barnes, was lying on her back in the small hallway where the living room met the kitchen. From here, it was clear that Lou was dead.
And when Ginny turned to Billy, all she could think was…
Thank god her sons wouldn’t see her die.
“Inhale the future, exhale the past,”—Samantha Chase
“You’ve been with me for eight years, Jordan,” Dave said.
Jordan sighed and pulled his gaze from the horses grazing in a field not far from where he and Dave stood.
Early morning on the Nightfall Drifter’s ranch was quiet. The sun cast an orange glow as it rose from the horizon.
It was summer in Nevada, and the early warm air promised to deliver a blistering hot day.
Jordan didn’t mind it; he loved the heat.
“Has it been that long?” Jordan said, resting his arms along the top of the wooden fence that enclosed a couple of mares along with two foals.
It didn’t seem like that many years had passed since Seth, Frost, and Storm had rescued him from the streets of Oakland and delivered him to the doorstep of Phoenix.
Apparently, time flew when you were having fun.
Dave smirked and nodded. The former Secretary of Defense was in charge of the unit known as Phoenix, as well as numerous others. Phoenix consisted of an elite group of governmental operatives. The unit was brought in when cases got messy or law enforcement needed plausible deniability, which was neededmore than the average citizen realized. They operated above the law, without restrictions.
Taking out the scum of the earth that preyed on the weak and innocent was Phoenix’s specialty.
Jordan loved working there and also working for Pegasus. Both teams were the first places he had ever felt at home.
“Eight years is a long time,” he said.
“Yes, it is,” Dave agreed. “And I haven’t asked you for much other than to do your job. So, I’m asking you now, stay with Pegasus,” the man concluded.
“I like it here on the ranch,” Jordan murmured instead of agreeing.
One of the mares came over and nuzzled his palm, and Jordan smiled before pulling out two carrots from his pockets.
The horse gripped one orange stick between her teeth, pulled it away from him, and crunched it loudly. The sound drew the attention of the other horse, who came trotting over, and Jordan dutifully handed her the second carrot.
“I like it here too,” Dave said, watching the young man with the horses.
Jordan had a gift, and it wasn’t only with animals, it was with people. Although Jordan would say he wasn’t a people-person, in Dave’s opinion, he most certainly was.
The eighteen-year-old boy Phoenix had rescued from the streets was long gone, and in his place was a well-educated super hacker with unmatched skill. At twenty-seven years old, Jordan had already attained more in his lifetime than most people did by their fifties or sixties.
Jordan had gone back to school for his GED shortly after coming to work for him. From there, the young man had craved education and gone on to get his AA in business, BS in communications, and Masters in computer science. Jordan was currently working on his PHD in the same field with a focus on both data science and cybersecurity.
Dave couldn’t have been prouder. Jordan was one of the best hackers on this side of the planet, and that was why he needed him to stay with Pegasus or hell, even come back to Phoenix.
He didn’t want Jordan mixed up with Genesis; the younger man was like a son to him, and the thought of Jordan running with the assassins just didn’t sit well with him.
