Page 60 of Wild Card (The Trident Trilogy 3)

“Hey, I talked to Culver about taking over the team. He supports it. I hope you do, too.”

I sit back up quickly. Ty’s always so quiet. I hadn’t thought about him in the lead. I look at him for a minute and then nod my head.

“Yeah, you know what? I do support that. I think you’d be great.”

“Thanks, Mase. That means a lot to me. Culver’s going to get me started when we get back. He told me about Butch and Hawk. It’s a loss for sure, but I think it’s going to be good for me to get a new team. You know? Fresh start for everyone.”

“I completely agree with that,” I say. “Damn, Ty, I’m sorry I didn’t think about this sooner. You’re going to be great.”

“Naw, there’s no need to be sorry. I wasn’t ready for it until now. Sometimes you have to wait for something to slap you in the face before you know you’re ready for it.”

When he says that, it makes me think of Millie. I was hesitant when she said she was finally ready to marry me. I want her to be sure, but maybe it happened that way for her—maybe it just slapped her in the face all of a sudden.

“Mase? Are you second-guessing me?” Ty’s looking at me, concerned. “I think the timing’s right. I know it is.”

“Damn sure, it’s right.” I chuck him on the shoulder. “I’m proud of you, brother.”

Raine walks back over and hands me the satellite phone. “It’s Millie.”

I leap up and grab it out of her hands. “Babe? I’ve been trying to call you—”

“I know, Mase.” She sighs. “I’m sorry. I just got off the phone with Dad. Then Paul Ward called me.”

“Are you okay? Are you still in Rome?”

“I’m on the plane—headed home. Where are you?”

“We’re about an hour from landing.”

“Do they have the targets locked?” I can’t believe how steady her voice sounds. It makes me feel a little better.

“No, they lost them,” I say quietly. “We might turn right back around if they don’t find them in the next few hours.”

“I’m sorry, Mase,” she says softly. “I know you want to find them.”

“We’ll find them eventually.” I sit back down on the bench and close my eyes. “Did you say you talked to the director? What did he want?”

“He wants to hire me full-time as a consultant.”

“What? Seriously?”

“Yeah,” she says, laughing. “And, he wants you, Butch, and Hawk to work with me with Raine as our agency handler.”

“Wow,” I say, trying to process the information. “What did you tell him?”

“I told him no but he said he’s going to keep after me.”

“If he shows up at our house again, I’m going to be annoyed.”

“I don’t think he will, but he’ll probably bug us for a while.” She pauses and then whispers, “Mase, you can’t believe how much money he deposited into my account for this job. I don’t want to say how much over the phone, but it’s insane for two days work.”

“You’re worth every penny of whatever it is, but he’s probably trying to sway your decision, too.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s not going to work. I don’t need his money. I still have some of Camille’s inheritance, but I guess I’m going to have to find a job when we get back.”

“We’ll have my retirement after I get out next year. We’ll be fine. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

Raine’s been trying to subtly glance over at me since she handed me the phone. She’s trying to figure out if Millie’s told me whatever they’re hiding from me.

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