Page 99 of Call Sign: King
Ryder listened to them talking about all of the details he’d just shared, suddenly feeling like an outsider in his own office. And as Axel and Doc stood holding onto each other as if their lives depended on it, the truth clicked into place. What an idiot he’d been to have not seen it before.
Wrath and Doc had done almost nothing but argue and badger each other for as far back as Ryder could remember, but now he saw what it really was. More than concern. More than professional courtesy.
They had feelings for each other. Had they even admitted that to themselves yet?
“Can we go tell the rest of the team?” Axel asked, turning toward Ryder.
Snapping out of his trance, Ryder answered, “Sure, we’ll need everyone’s help on this one,” he said, following the unlikely couple through the house until they reached the large combined great room and kitchen.
His first thought was the house smelled like a Denny’s restaurant, and taking one look at the long island counter, he saw why. Platters full of bacon, sausage, and eggs were broken up by trays of berries and fruits. There were baskets of breads and pastries next to cutting boards of cold meats and cheeses. At one end, a pitcher of orange juice waited next to an already opened bottle of champagne for mimosas and the fixings for bloody Mary’s rounded out the feast.
“Wow, you’ve got enough food for an army,” Ryder said, reaching to sneak a slice of bacon.
Allie was beaming. Until recently, the senator’s daughter hadn’t done much cooking. Growing up with personal chefs and housekeepers had made cooking a skill she hadn’t needed, until falling in love with her pilot fiancé and moving to The Ranch where she now found herself enjoying cooking for many hungry special ops agents. Reaper’s mother had even been giving her lessons, giving both women a chance to bond over caring for the BSO men they loved.
Thunder hugged his fiancé, adding. “We have a lot to celebrate. Allie even has a chocolate cheesecake in the refrigerator for dessert.”
Khloe had come to snuggle next to Ryder just as Allison added. “I remembered how much you love anything chocolate, Khloe. I thought it would be a sweet treat for us after brunch.”
“You’ve been feeding me non-stop since I got here,” Khloe gushed, “But I’m not complaining.” Glancing up at Ryder, his wife smiled, adding. “I know you don’t believe me, but I really am feeling better about eating a bit more these days.”
After the years of fighting her eating disorder, the news was music to his ears. But they’d been on this rollercoaster long enough to know her illness had a way of rearing its ugly head when he least expected it.
“That makes me a very happy man,” he said, hugging his wife just as Doc broke into the conversations.
“Axel has some good news he wants to share with everyone too,” Doc said, nodding in Axel’s direction.
It had been years since Axel had looked as happy as he did since finding out they were gonna take another shot at solving the biggest mystery of their lives. God, he hoped this was just the beginning. That they would soon bring Mia home to The Ranch for her own celebration party.
Even as he thought it, Ryder knew Mia’s party could never be like this. As horrifying as each minute had been, Khloe had only been missing for three days. Axel and Mia’s nightmare started long ago.
If they were successful — and that was a big if — and brought Axel’s only child home, the perfect little girl that had been stolen from her school bus stop seven years before was long gone. He couldn’t even imagine the horrors she might have lived through in her time away from her daddy.
Ryder would never say the words out loud, but perhaps finding the remains of a dead twelve-year-old might be the kinder outcome for his friend than finding a nineteen-year-old woman who’d lived through hell at the hands of her kidnappers.
All eyes in the room had turned in his direction. Ryder replayed the last thing he’d heard Axel say before he’d zoned out. It was as if the dozen people in the room were waiting for their King to speak.
Torch helped him by asking, “So it’s true? You’re telling me this CCS team actually exists?”
“It does. Santa Clause called in some favors to track them down.”
The room buzzed with excitement. Everyone now looked as excited as Axel and Doc — everyone except Torch. For some reason, his team leader instead looked like he was going to throw up.
Unsure what that was about, Ryder continued on with his update. “We have until Wednesday to get things ready. I’m putting a temporary hold on any incoming cake orders. With most of Reaper’s team still taking some downtime, I’d like to have your team, Torch, helping us prep for our visitors. We’re gonna pull out everything we’ve got. Look at every single clue with fresh eyes. I’m going to put Bing and the team in D.C. on alert as well. If there are any new technologies available to us now, we’ll use it.”
Ryder pushed down the temptation to feel guilty for not doing this before now. They’d spent cycles looking for Mia in the past, but never like this. He just hoped it wasn’t too late.
Raising his glass for a toast, he announced “But today, we celebrate Khloe being back here safely, thanks to the hard work and bravery of all of my BSO family.”
Cheers went around the room as everyone drank to their successful mission.
Ryder then added, “We also celebrate that Trevor, Madison, and the Cartwright-Davidsons are safely back in California and that the Royal Guard has already started his rehab and is anxious to get back on duty.” Raising his glass, everyone took a sip to celebrate before he added. “And Reaper is in San Antonio, reluctantly letting his mother baby him. I got an email. He’s planning to drive back here tomorrow after he picks up Ricky and Michael at the San Antonio airport. They are just getting back from their time together in Miami.”
“I knew those two were getting serious,” MacGyver said.
Ryder waited until the chatter quieted down before he raised his glass for a final toast. “And this is for Patrick. Tank is a warrior, and he’s proven that by fighting. I know we’re all relieved that he’s awake and talking, but he still has a long road of recovery ahead. As soon as his doctors give us the green light, we’ll be sending a team back to Toronto to get him and bring him back to the States where he can finish his recovery.”
He’d chosen his words carefully. While there was still hope for a full recovery, every day that went by, those chances seemed to be slipping away.
