Page 67 of Wild Card (The Trident Trilogy 3)

Mason, In-flight, Jalalabad to Virginia Beach, 2020

We’re headed back home after only spending one night in Afghanistan. The agency still hasn’t located the rest of the people responsible for JJ’s death. Until they do, we don’t have much of a reason to be there. I’m angry, frustrated, and grumpy. Not only because we’ve lost the trail of JJ’s killers, but also because I don’t want to be here. In my almost twenty years of service, I’ve never felt this way. I’ve loved this job, but I feel like it’s done for me now.

“Hey,” Culver says, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Did Ty tell you he’s taking over the team?”

“Yeah,” I say, nodding. “I think it’s great. He’s solid.”

“Yeah, I do, too. I’m glad he stepped up.” He sits down next to me. “It’s going to take him a while to get up to speed. But even after he’s there, I’m not sending you back to California, Mason. I know you don’t want to hear that, but I need you in Virginia Beach. I told you when you came back that you were in it for a while.”

I take a deep breath and nod. From the look in Culver’s eyes, I’m not doing a good job of keeping the anger I’m feeling hidden.

“I know you want to get back there, but it’s my job to do what’s best for the teams, and you being active is what’s best. You’re the best operator we have. We need you.” He pauses for me to reply. I don’t. “Are you going to retire at twenty?”

“Yeah,” I say, almost bitterly.

“Well, it’s only a year. Maybe Millie can stay in Virginia.”

As he gets up to walk away, my mind starts spinning. I can’t ask Millie to stay in Virginia when I’m going to be on missions ninety percent of the time. Even if Mack stays with her, I don’t want her waiting for me to come home—not knowing if I’m going to get back alive. I’m going to have to convince her to go back to California without me for her own good.

My other option is to retire right now. If I do that, I’ll lose a lot of the pension that I’ll get if I stick it out for another year. That doesn’t make any sense. It’s only a year. So why does it feel like it’s going to be another twenty?

I grab the satellite phone and call Millie. She’s laughing when she answers.

“Hey,” I say. “Where are you?”

“Hey! I’m with Dad. Are you still in Afghanistan?”

“No, we’re headed back—”

“Oh, Mase, we just got to the Outer Banks, but we can head back, so I can pick you up when you land.”

“No, babe, don’t,” I say quickly. “We might be right back out if they find them.”

“Are you okay? You don’t sound very good.”

“I’m just frustrated.” I change the subject. “I didn’t know you were going to the Outer Banks.”

“Yeah, we decided to come down here to surf one more time before we all head back to California.”

I shake my head and try to make my voice work. I don’t want to tell her.

“Mase, what’s wrong?”

“Culver’s not letting me go back to California. I’m going to be in Virginia—and active—until I can retire next year.”

I hear her take a deep breath. “Mase, I mean, that sucks, but we can figure it out. I’ll stay in Virginia with you. It’s only a year.”

“No,” I say. “No, I don’t want you there. It’s no life for you even if Mack stays. I’m never going to be home. And when I’m active, I get grumpy. It’s just going to be different. You need to go back to California.”

“Why don’t I come back to Virginia Beach?” She’s whispering. I’m guessing Mack’s sitting next to her. “We can talk about it. What time do you land?”

“Millie, I love you, but I don’t want to talk about it right now, okay? I’m just mad and frustrated. I need some time to sort this out in my head. Stay down there with Mack and enjoy yourself. We can talk about it when you get back.”

She doesn’t say anything for a minute. “Okay. We planned to be down here for two days. We’re going to spend some time with Carol. She and Dad are kind of together again, I guess. But, I can come back—”

“No, baby,” I say. “That sounds fun. Enjoy yourself. We can talk when you get back here.”

“Okay. Will you call me when you land?”

“Yeah.”

When I hang up, I can tell from her voice that I’ve just ruined her day. It’s the last thing I wanted to do. All I want to do is make her happy—every second of every day. That’s what I want to do with the rest of my life, and I want that life to start now.

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