Page 35 of The Soul of Archer
Lance turned from the stove and moved to her. “Is that so?”
Alora reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. “Yes, I do.”
He kissed her softly. “Alright then, I’ll leave it. Just for you.”
“Thank you.” She grinned.
When he turned back for the stove, she gave his butt a quick swat. He glanced back at her, his eyes glinting mischievously. “Be careful what you start.”
“I always finish what I start.” She winked, making him laugh.
Chapter 15
The week flew by for Alora. In less than six hours she and Lance were leaving on Blackout’s jet for Jacksonville. She was currently sitting at her desk going over the schedule of projects for the week just to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. She knew she should be nervous about meeting Lance’s parents, but it was quite the opposite. She was excited. She was thirsting to learn all she could about the man that had barreled into her life two weeks ago. Her thoughts were interrupted by the knock on her open door.
“How you doing Boss Lady?” Frank asked, walking in and sitting in one of the chairs across from her desk.
“I’m good, just making sure I didn’t miss something.”
“That’s all?”
Alora sighed. Frank had always been able to read her, which made them a good pair. “Frank, am I crazy? I mean, here I am about to fly off for a week with a man that two weeks ago I had no idea even existed. Not to mention we’re shaking up together.”
Frank chuckled, “Alora, that’s not crazy. Hell, I met my wife the first day of college in line at registration and I knew then and there that she was the woman for me. Look at us now, been married nearly fifty years, three kids, four grandkids. Sometimes people connect that quickly.”
“But what if he doesn’t feel the same and this is just some random fling?”
Frank merely shrugged and got to his feet. He started for the door but paused at the threshold and looked back at her, “I don’t think this is just a fling for him. Any fool with two eyes can see how he looks at you honey.”
Alora frowned, “How’s that?”
“Like I look at my wife.” Frank replied.
***
Lance stood in the conference room with his teammates, Jimmy, Cain, and Danny. Even though he wouldn’t be part of the take down in Houston he was still kept in the loop. Scattered on the table were pictures of the pier, the channel and maps in and out of the area. It was obvious Danny knew his stuff and had not left anything to chance on this mission. Lance was impressed and knew if Danny chose to join Blackout, he would make a great addition.
“As you can see, we have the water front and land covered. The harbor patrol, HP, and Sheriff offices will be on the water along with a few men from both the D.E.A. and F.B.I.. Ethan, I think it would be best to split your team up and mix them in with the other teams on site.” Danny said.
“I agree. Gage, I want you with Jimmy’s team on the east.” Ethan replied, glancing at Jimmy who nodded. “Grant, you’re with Cain on the roof of this building here. I want you to be our over-watch.”
“Got it.” Grant agreed.
“Tony, I want you with the surveillance teams at base.” Ethan added.
“Guess that means you and I are tattooed to each other’s ass huh brother?” Danny teased.
“Yeah, course Kris insisted. She said she’d feel better about you and I going into this if we were together.” Ethan sighed, causing everyone to laugh.
Lance looked over the aerial map of the pier once more. “Danny, what about this building here? If the Malconi’s rabbit and get inside, they could escape either by land or water.”
“Which is why I’ll have men both inside and outside, and why Cain’s team is on the roof. Plus, we’ll have cameras inside. Tony, if you want to join in that part of the preparation, be my guest.” Danny answered.
Tony grinned and rubbed his hands together gleefully. “Oh, I’d love to. Might even throw a few my own toys into the mix.”
“Sounds good, I’ll let my tech guys know to expect you. Now, at this time it is unconfirmed if Fredrick will be there, but I doubt it. We believe he will be in Miami where the shipment is heading after the exchange. I have already contacted the Miami office and they are on the lookout. The Lobos will be coming in by water and the Malconi’s will be on the pier. After the goods are inspected, the Malconi’s are putting the shipment into three different vehicles where it will be driven from Houston to Miami.”
“That’s risky isn’t it? We know there’s weapons in this shipment, so why risk transporting weapons over state lines?” Cain questioned.
