Page 13 of A Dead Man's Pulse
Stopping the vehicle near the section where her mother’s grave was located, Dakota climbed out and walked the rest of the way. It had been a few weeks since she’d last been there, but her father must have visited in the last day or so because the roses he always brought sat on the top of the granite marker. While Gavin Swift had been hard on his children, pushing them to be the best of the best, he’d been madly in love with his wife of nineteen years. Yes, they’d had their ups and downs, like every other married couple, but Gavin had worshiped the ground Tina walked on and vice versa.
“Hey, Mom,” Dakota said as she squatted beside the grave. Since she had a meeting soon, she didn’t want to kneel and get grass stains on her jeans. One of the things she loved about working undercover was that she got to choose what to wear each day instead of the mandatory polyester uniform.
She continued to talk to her mother as she pulled a few weeds out from around the base of the gravestone. After fifteen years, she still sought advice from the woman who’d given birth to her, even though Tina could no longer pass on her words of wisdom. Dakota would talk about both her professional and personal life and believed her mother would have been proud of what she’d achieved in both. She just wished her father could be proud of her too.
Standing, she brushed her hands together to rid them of the dirt and blades of grass. She kept a bottle of hand sanitizer in her work duffel bag, which was sitting in the trunk of her vehicle. After cleaning up, she said goodbye one more time to her mother and then left the cemetery, feeling a little better about her day. Now, it was time to head to Trident and meet Mr. Logan Reese—her new partner and pretend Dom.
God help me.
Chapter Eight
“All right, everyone here?” Ian asked as he set his coffee at the head of the conference table in the Trident Security office and then took his seat.
Pushing the brunette from where she’d been hovering in his mind, Logan glanced around at the others in the room. Most of the Alpha Team, sans Boomer and Brody, and all of Omega were there. Jake Donovan was also sitting in on the meeting while in town for a few days. He’d been in San Diego for the last eighteen months but would return to Tampa to rejoin the Alpha team in about eight weeks. The remaining two attendees were Travis “Tiny” Daultry, head of The Covenant security, and Doug “Bullseye” Henderson, recently hired by the Sawyer brothers to run the Private Protection Division. He’d received the nickname after taking a bullet protecting Ian’s goddaughter. Judging by the number of folders sitting in front of Boss-man, they would all be busy with assignments over the next few weeks.
Across the table, Knight cleared his throat. “Before you get started, Mallory sent me an email last night, and once again, she wanted to thank everyone.”
The young coed had been kidnapped by four bank robbers while taking nature photographs in the Rockies. The men had nothing to lose since they’d murdered a guard and a cop during their escape and had been hiding out in the mountains where the Omega Team had been doing their trek back to civilization. The team had managed to rescue her. Three of the criminals hadn’t survived, and the fourth was handed over to the local law enforcement. During the hike out of the wilderness, Mallory and Knight had developed a sibling-like bond, and he’d given her his email and cell number in case she ever needed anything.
Ian smiled. “Angie was wondering how she was doing.”
“Other than being sore, she’s doing okay, apparently. She’s a strong girl and will probably recover well. In fact, she said she’s thinking of enlisting and is going to talk to the local recruiters.” When several people opened their mouths, Knight held up his hand with a chuckle. “And no, she hasn’t decided which branch. But I may have pushed the Navy a bit in my reply.”
Everyone laughed when Lindsey threw a pen at him, which he caught. “That’s wishful thinking on your part, Batman. Cowboy and I impressed her more than any of you slackers did, and I’ll bet you a hundred dollars she’ll join the Corps.”
“You’re on!”
DeAngelis rolled his eyes. “Jeez, Ian, the Omega Team sucks at betting. They’ve gotta come up with stuff that’s original.”
“Uh-uh,” Ian responded with a smirk. “It’s bad enough Egghead keeps losing to you then upping the ante for the next time. I’m starting to think he enjoys losing. I could’ve really done without his performance the other night. It’ll take years to bleach that out of my mind. I have no idea how Fancy puts up with him.”
Devon, DeAngelis, McCabe, and Foster roared with laughter. The rest of Omega and Donovan had missed the show Brody had to give after losing another bet to his best friend. Logan wasn’t sure if he was glad or disappointed over the fact. The Dom had to wear a pair of leather short-shorts and a headband with two bouncing penises on it while singing karaoke on the center stage at The Covenant. Apparently, his version of “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” was what nightmares are made of, and most of the crowd had almost needed oxygen masks from laughing so hard.
A comfortable but insulting banter started up among the different military branches over what the bet should be before Ian rapped his knuckles on the table. “All right, enough. Sling the mud later. We’ve got a lot on today’s agenda.”
When the room quieted, he continued, “First things first, Tiny has received a promotion and other duties. In addition to the club, he’s now in charge of the compound as well. Any issues that pop up with the guards or security measures, he’s your man.” A few smiles and words of congratulations came from around the table, and the big man thanked them.
“Next up, Bullseye, a few things have changed on your agenda. Princess Tahira will not be coming to Tampa at the end of next month. Instead, she’s going on a cruise with her cousins and a few friends. According to Amar, the royal guard will take the trip with her, so you’re off the hook.”
Her Royal Highness was from the small, North African nation of Timasur and often visited one of the royal family’s vacation homes located in Clearwater. When monarchy members were in Florida, TS coordinated with their head of security, Mousaf Amar, and assisted in guarding them.
“I also received a call from Abigail over at Black Diamond Records. Summer Hayes closed on an estate last week in Indian Shores, and the security system is outdated. Head over there either today or tomorrow and evaluate what needs to be done for a full upgrade, then send the proposal to Abigail, and she’ll get it approved. Summer will be touring Canada over the next four weeks, so that’s your time frame for the completed job.”
While most of the people in the conference room hadn’t noticed Mancini’s eyebrows raise at the mention of the country singer, Logan had. It seemed the pretty blonde had caught his interest when they’d met a few months back at a barbecue here at the compound, but she’d given him the brushoff—polite as it had been.
Ian slid three folders down the table to Knight, Abbott, and Mancini. “You three are heading to South America—Argentina, to be exact. The FBI has another lead on the white slavery case, and until they figure out if there’s a leak in their house, you’ll be going undercover. Whenever they’ve tried to get close to Emmanuel Diaz, the operation closes shop and moves. Batman, since you’re probably the most familiar with Diaz from the missions with Team Four, your assignment is to work your way into his cartel. Your cover will be a buyer for a few overseas contacts with very specific tastes and requests. Costello and Romeo, you’ll be his backup. You’re a couple and will be down there as missionaries.”
Mancini arched an eyebrow. “Missionaries? Doing what?”
“The missionary position,” Devon cracked with a grin as little JD slept on his shoulder, eliciting another round of laughter and a few eye rolls.
Chuckling also came from the doorway as two more people entered the room. Logan and the rest of Omega had all been introduced at one time or another to T. Carter and Jordyn Alvarez. Not only were the couple spies for a covert agency for the United States, but they were also friends of the Alpha Team and members of The Covenant. Carter held out a chair for Jordyn before taking a seat next to her. “Devil Dog beat me to the pun,” he said, “but since his kid’s adorable, and that’s the only way he can beat me at anything, I’ll let it slide.”
“Fuck you, jackass.”
“Swear jar!” a few people were quick to call out. Between JD, Marco’s daughter, Mara, and Ian and Angie expecting, they were trying to cut down on the amount of foul language at the compound, which was going to be a major feat, hence the $5 per curse “swear jar.” The money collected was going to Healing Heroes, a non-profit that had trained their assistant mechanic’s service dog, Jagger.
Taking JD from his father, Jordyn settled into her chair as the baby briefly opened his eyes, yawned, then went back to sleep on her shoulder. “You’ll be at Sister Patrice’s orphanage under the guise of improving the well system, which is currently in the works anyway. Your cover is already in place as environmentalists.”
