Page 61 of No Regrets

She did as he asked, her eyes moist.

“It’s not the reason, I swear. But I can’t lie to you. I’m going to ask Sam to make sure we are the ones that go when the time comes. Not just because of us, but for Bravo. You all deserve justice, and I need to be there when it’s served.”

Kelly swallowed, fighting back tears. “I want that too. Just promise me it won’t be at the cost of your life or any of the team’s.”

“I promise.”

The sun was almost down thankfully. Dex couldn’t see her eyes brimming with tears. They sat in silence, drinking their coffee, watching the orange globe disappear below the horizon.

“I should get going.” Dex stood. “I’m glad we cleared the air.” He paused. “We have cleared the air, haven’t we?”

Kelly blinked back her tears, smiled, and stood up. “Yes. We have. I’ve missed this.”

“Me too.”

“So don’t be a stranger.” They walked to the front door.

Dex smiled. “I won’t. And if you need anything, I mean it, please call me. Text. Just because we’re not.... What I mean is, we’re still close. You’re still important to me. Reach out anytime you need to.”

Kelly opened the door. “OK.”

They stood there for a moment, a little awkward. She wanted to hug him, but also, she didn’t want to send mixed messages, so she decided against it. Dex stuffed his hands in his pockets and stepped outside.

“Good night, Kelly.”

“Good night, Dex.”

She watched him walk away with a flurry of disappointment. This is what you asked for, Kelly. Just friends.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Wow!” Tyler’s face lit up, taking in the team’s headquarters. Onyx Special Operations home. Sam said they would have everything they need as one of his black ops teams, and boy oh boy, that was an understatement.

Dex folded his arms over his chest, watching the team, his team, checking out the heart of their new facility. It still amazed him that this place was right on Coronado, and he’d had no idea. Located in a restricted area, to access it they had to go through palm scanners, retina scanners, be checked for tracking devices and a dozen other security checks that fell just short of a strip search. It had taken a while to get everyone cleared, set up with passes and entered into the system. Previously, Sam had given Dex a tour of the place, but this was the first time his team was seeing it. Until now, they’d been confined to certain, less controlled areas. No one got in the classified zone without clearance. No matter who they were.

They were standing in the war room; the windowless room where all the op planning would be done. It put their old war room to shame. The far wall hosted a bank of screens in front of a glass top table. With one touch the table came alive with the latest in computer touchscreen technology. Mackie’s eyes were wide. They all knew some tech, but Mackie, he was the wizard.

“Have you any idea what this beauty can do?” Mackie ran his hand gently along the table, eager to explore.

“Mackie, if you need some privacy, we can leave,” Ryan mocked. The guys laughed. Mackie responded with the finger.

The other side of the room boasted a long table with chairs, a planning or debrief area, with pop-up screens, enabling each team member to view separately. Televisions and monitors covered every wall, using technology Dex had no clue about.

They had their own gym, kitchen, showers, and even cots to grab a nap. Sam had an office there, too. Intel and operations personnel worked from another separate area. Dex had met a couple of them already.

“There’s more, boys. Check this out.” Dex led them outside.

A large hangar housed three black Cadillac SUVs, bullet proof of course, with all the bells and whistles a vehicle could have.

Behind them, the rear of the hangar sported a full-training area, where they could do mock-ups and drills. They also had their own shooting range. They’d been allowed access to some of the training areas prior to getting full clearance.

It was like Christmas morning on steroids. The place was locked down tight, security fences, state of the art cameras and motion sensors, despite being on an already heavily guarded naval base. In the ops Sam gave them, they would make enemies. Sam took their safety seriously.

Since calling Sam to accept his offer a month ago, Dex hadn’t looked back. No regrets about his decision. One by one his team all chose to follow him. To say he was humbled would be an understatement. It was exactly what he wanted, but shit, he still had to pinch himself every now and then.

Despite not having full access to Onyx facilities, they’d done several training simulations and one mission. Not having to break in a new team was a huge advantage for Sam, they were able to hit the ground running and relieve some of the pressure on Onyx’s first team. He and Sam had butted heads a couple of times, Dex working out where the line was with him and what he would tolerate. The op, however, had been executed smoothly and successfully. Dex remained team leader and they all maintained their ranks, but here, inside Onyx, protocols were relaxed. Captain Sam Harrison was just Sam and he addressed them all by their names, no titles.

“What do you think, guys?” Dex grinned.

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