Operation Love, page 11
Jena rolled her eyes and took the open chair. Jasmin climbed up on her lap and Jena pressed a kiss to her sister’s head. “Can you go get me a Coke, sis?”
Jasmin nodded before she headed to the house.
When the door shut, Jena’s eyes went to the folder. “Do we have to go back?”
Casanova hated how the kids worried so much. Technically, Jena wasn’t a kid anymore. The twins would turn eighteen soon. “No. You will never have to go back unless you want to. This is your home until you guys go to college or onto your next step.”
Jena chewed on her bottom lip. “Or the military.”
The French doors leading to the house opened. Jacob had Jasmin in his arms, and she had a Coke in her hands. He held two beers in his other hand. When they reached the table, he handed the beers to him and Jay and took the last seat around the table. “Why does everyone look so serious?”
“Your sister just mentioned she might want to join the military.”
Jacob smiled. “I think sis would kick ass.”
“I do too,” Casanova said, but he had first-hand experience in how dangerous the career path would be. He wanted to secure them all in bubble wrap and lock them in a room. “I’ll support you no matter your choices. Can I ask why you are thinking about joining?”
“Before you even showed up in our lives, I thought about it. I even met with a recruiter a few times. I’d looked into the Air Force.”
He couldn’t hold back his groan. Of all the branches, she had to pick the Air Force. For a second, he thought about taking his words back of supporting her in any adventure. “You know the Army and Navy both have great programs.”
Jena’s lip twitched. “Well, at the time, I spoke with an Air Force recruiter. It was a way to get out of Chicago and go to college, but I stopped the idea because of Jasmin. I couldn’t leave her with Mom. Now she has you guys, and I’m thinking about sitting down with each branch to see what they offer.”
Jay folded his arms over his chest. “I’ll pay for your guys’ college and living expenses while in school. Rockwell has tons of internship options as well. Take the money aspect out of your mind and figure out what you want to do. You’ve had your world turned upside down. Jared, nor I, expect you to decide your future today or tomorrow but the options are open.”
She nodded as she cracked the can of Coke open. “Like I said, originally it was my plan. I’m not smart like Jacob. He’ll get scholarships. I’ve had to fight for my grades.” She took a sip of her drink. “Since we came here, Jared’s teammates started to come over. Made me think of other reasons to join. It’s like a second family, and they help each other. Traveling shouldn’t be a reason, but I would get to go all over the world depending on what I decided.”
“You will see a lot of the bad in the world as well. I would spend months in third-world countries. South Side doesn’t compare to the dangerous parts of the world.” Casanova advised, he had seen women and children beaten and left for dead. Rebels forced kids to carry guns and become killers. “Like you pointed out, there is a brotherhood. The bond you create with your teammates is something you won’t experience in an office job. You could also go to West Point, get your four-year degree, and then serve. We can hire a tutor to help you get good scores on the tests and the proper way to fill out the application.”
“This all still feels like a dream,” she replied. She tugged on Jasmin’s ponytail. “I appreciate all you both do for us. We were on our own for so long that it’s hard to comprehend we have options now. Daydreaming about possibilities was something I tried not to do—you’re right. I’m going to have to sit back and think about what I want to do. Do you think the woman who kicked ass at the warehouse would talk to me? Drake said she climbed the building, took two targets out, then jumped off the building to take out another man when her gun jammed. She sounds kick ass.”
Casanova’s throat tightened at the mention of Grim. “I’m sure she would love to talk to you...”
Jay snickered next to him. “They don’t know Grim was the woman you pined after for two years?”
He took a swig of his beer and owned his mistake. “I fucked up.”
“Bad word,” Jasmin pointed out. Her kindergarten teacher had asked to speak to him after her second day of school. She’d explained that Jasmin would cuss when she didn’t get what she wanted. So as a team, everyone worked not to use bad words. Which was hard as hell.
“Yes, and I shouldn’t have used the word. Grim is mad at me because the night I came for you guys, I didn’t ask for her help, but that doesn’t mean she won’t talk to you.” Grim would be a superb role model for Jena. “How about you, Jacob? Any thoughts on all of this? The move? school? and the future?”
“Like Jena said, it feels like I’m in a dream. Over the years, we would begin to feel safe in some homes only for Mom to rip us out and send our lives into a spiral.”
Jasmin wiggled off Jacob’s lap and went back over to the swing.
“I’m worried she’ll tear our world apart again.” Jacob confessed
Casanova pushed the yellow folder across the table. “She can’t.”
He took a deep breath and wondered if they would be angry about his decision. He and Jay talked about him getting custody of the three kids but thought it would take a while, also they weren’t sure they could get it done by the time the twins turned eighteen.
“Jay delivered me the papers today. I’m your legal guardian. We still have some filing left to do, but you’re stuck with me. Next, I plan to work on my will, so if something happens to me, you’ll go to Jay. Our back up plan we decide as a family, but you will never go back to her.”
Jacob stood so fast the chair flew backward. Casanova wondered if he’d pissed off Jacob, but the thought vanished as tears developed in the teen’s eyes. He threw his arms around Casanova.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
His own damn eyes filled with water when he looked over Jacob’s shoulder to see Jena giving Jay a hug.
Jay cleared his throat. “I’m also setting up trust funds for you guys. Patrick gave me wealth beyond my needs. I want to make sure all three of you have the life you deserve.”
“I don’t think I can ever express how thankful I am for all of this.” Jena waved her hand at the large house. “But we don’t want either of you to put your lives on hold. Are we stopping you from going after Grim?”
“She’s not answering my calls.” Casanova sounded like a two-year-old.
“Why not go to her? Don’t give her an option not to talk to you. I promise we can stay home alone one night. We watched Jasmin for years. You don’t need to be here all the time. We’re your siblings. As a team, we can help each other. You guys don’t need to keep helping only us.”
Jay raised a brow. “She has a point. I’m not heading back to Florida until Monday. Go get the girl.”
Casanova had given her a month. Lucas would know where to find her. It was time they talked, even if that meant he had to tie her to a bed. She would listen to him.
He grabbed his phone and hugged his siblings before he headed for the door. Grim was his target, and he wouldn’t stop until she understood how much he loved her.
14
Grim
Grim took a sip of her watered-down Coke and watched the small house across the street from her car. This wasn’t a stakeout handed to her by Xavier. He would be mad if he knew what she was doing. So, she didn’t have access to the surveillance van at work. Hell, she hadn’t stepped inside Rogue Mercenaries since her plane touched down in San Diego.
She’d taken a red-eye home, grabbed her go-bag, and locked up her small three-bedroom unit. Casanova lived in the duplex next to her. She couldn’t handle seeing him each day or watch how easily he would get over her. In her mind, he’d already moved on. She totally understood her thinking was irrational, but her heart hurt, so her mind came up with fake future events.
Her phone buzzed with a text from her boss.
Xavier: Need you at the office Monday morning. Next mission, need all staff.
She would reply to him later since it was Friday night. A few times, he’d tried to broach the subject about Casanova, and she would shut him down. It seemed her remote work had ended. She had two days to lock her emotions down deep inside her.
Casanova stopped texting a week after she left Chicago. Even though she was mad he hadn’t asked her to help save his siblings, she couldn’t stop the fact she loved him. Her emotions were the reason behind the stakeout. She planned to make Ester pay.
Except she wasn’t alone. Willa had blackmailed her in a way. She’d dangled she had information on Ester but would only give her the information if she could assist.
Grim glanced to the passenger seat of her car where Willa sat and asked, “Did Lucas give you this address, or did you overhear him talking?”
Grim had been excited to get the location. She hadn’t stopped to think how Willa got the address. Ester had quit her job at the hospital and went underground, but according to Willa, this was where Ester was staying.
Willa bit down into a red velvet cupcake and didn’t look at her. “Besties keep each other’s secrets no matter what, right? I’ve never had one before, but on television, they talk about a code among friends.”
Grim enjoyed spending time with Willa. She was on the quirky side. Her new pink hair was in a ponytail. Her pink eyeshadow was perfect, and Grim wondered how the woman was so good at blending colors. Originally, she’d showed up in a black shirt with a flashing pink unicorn. Grim pointed out the blinking lights wouldn’t work for a stakeout. Willa had pouted but threw on the black shirt Grim handed her.
Secrets were something Grim was good at holding close. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“Pinky swear?” Willa held her pinky in the air.
Grim smiled as they linked.
“When I was twelve, I solved the Collatz Conjecture math problem for fun. According to others, it’s one of the hardest problems in the world, but to me, it was a fun challenge. Puzzles and math I can figure out. Lucas, I don’t understand.”
Lucas had the life many dreamed of having. His family’s name graced the list of the top ten richest in the world. Money didn’t equate to a happy family or life, though. His parents shipped him to a boarding school in London at the age of five. He was the only employee of Rogue Mercenaries who had been part of a foreign agency. Xavier had recruited him away from MI6.
“He’s not a puzzle, Willa. Lucas had a hard childhood, but what does this have to do with the information you got?”
“Well...he called me and asked me to come to his house for dinner.”
Grim figured she got the address from Lucas. “Okay. So, he told you?”
“Not exactly,” Willa replied. “He was so nice. I’d never gone on a date before. There were no other thirteen-year-olds at the college I went to. Then I went to work. People don’t understand me, but it’s like he does. Like I said, I couldn’t figure out how he could possibly want to date me. He’s sexy and smart.”
They would make a cute couple. Both were smart as hell. She wondered what their kids would be like.
Grim had thought about kids a lot lately. Especially Casanova’s siblings. Willa had told her a few weeks back they’d moved in with Casanova.
“You can’t figure out a relationship in a day. Give it time.”
Willa winced. “So it’s bad I put spyware on his computer?”
Grim pinched her brow. “You realize he’s the company’s hacker, right? His computer protocols and security would wipe the infection off his computer. He goes on and on about how the computers at work are unhackable, and nobody can steal his data.”
A black van backed into the driveway of the house across the street. Two men got out of the vehicle and strode up the driveway.
Willa’s voice pulled Grim’s attention from the house. “You see…he has good software on the computer, but the owner of the software he uses I did some work for, Neal Cross, or might be Neal Ross now, not sure. Anyway, he owns Black Hat Security. Last year, he called and asked me to assist with a calculation to improve one of their firewalls. It was easy and ended up making him tons of money. He said anytime I needed a favor, all I had to do was ask...I asked for a way to spy on someone with his software. At first, he said no. For some reason, we talked more, and he ended up sending me a patch. He also demanded credit if Lucas and I ended up together. Anyway, I installed the patch.”
Lucas was the brains behind Rogue Mercenaries. The man has access to highly classified documents.
“Willa, you need to deactivate the software.” Grim glanced back at the small house. “Why would he have this address but not give it to Casanova?”
The small lunch pail creaked as Willa slid it open. She’d packed it with food and drinks. This was the best food Grim had eaten on a stakeout, but she still worried she’d made the wrong choice to bring Willa along. Shit could get dangerous.
Willa pulled out a small cheese and meat tray and shut the lid to the cooler. “Oh, he doesn’t have the address completely. He’d tracked down the communication between Ester and a man named Terrance. When they send locations or meet-ups, the information is coded. Like the message for tonight. 5939 E. Duncan St, San Diego, seven forty-five pm. I figured criminals used encrypted messaging, anyway. I cracked the cipher in about ten minutes. Then I came to get you.”
Grim’s phone buzzed in the center console, and Casanova’s name flashed across the screen.
“I can’t thank you enough for the information,” Grim said, “but you need to stop spying on Lucas and talk to him. Are you learning how to become a spy because it’s what you think he wants?”
Willa frowned. “No. I get bored and love change. It’s why I don’t have a primary job. Instead, I work for those who need me. The night Lucas took me from the event to the hotel room, I saw how close your team was. It’s like a family. Mine doesn’t understand me, and making friends isn’t easy for me. So, I pushed my way into his world.”
“I’m happy you did.”
Willa cocked her head to the side. “So, you won’t get mad when I point out the fact we are doing what you got mad at Casanova for?”
Technically, Grim only had her eyes on the house. She wanted to kill Ester but planned to call the Feds when she spotted her. “It’s different.”
Willa slurped on her large coffee. “Oh, because we are going after a female, and he went after a male. Not sure if I like your way of thinking.”
Grim banged her head back against the seat. “That has nothing to do with my decision not to have him here. We aren’t together. The night we rescued him, he went to help his siblings. I was in the same hotel room asleep, where he walked out the door and straight into danger when I should have been woke up and had his six.”
“He had his brother and didn’t want to wake you. From what Lucas said, Casanova didn’t expect the rescue to be difficult. So, I’m wondering if you are more worried he might die on a mission.”
Willa was way too damn smart.
She didn’t want to respond, so she looked back at the house. Movement near the back caught her attention. One man jogged down the driveway and opened the back door of the SUV. The lights near the house cut. Grim grabbed the night vision goggles from the back seat. The man strode back into the house.
“I think they are making moves.”
Willa waved toward the house. “But they stopped for a second. So, you have time to answer my question. Are you worried about losing Casanova, and that’s the real reason you ran?”
As much as Grim wanted to deny the fact she ran, she couldn’t. “When Christopher died, I lost a piece of me. What I feel for Casanova is even stronger. If he died, it would crush me.”
“But what happens if he dies in a car accident on his way to work tomorrow? Yes, that’s a morbid question, but you can’t stop life or your feelings. All you can do is try to figure out a way to deal with your emotions. One option is to put a tracker on Casanova, and then you’ll know where he is at all times.”
Grim wondered if Willa had any concept of invasion of privacy. “The longer I’m away from him, the more my heart breaks. After I take Ester down, I’ll take his call, and we can talk shit out.”
A flicker of light came from the back of the house, and the two men stepped out with a smaller person between them. Grim pressed the night vision binoculars to her eyes. The woman’s head rolled from side to side as they put her in the van. Grim’s fingers tightened on the binoculars as they continued the process with seven more women.
Ester hadn’t walked out of the house, but Grim couldn’t let anything happen to the women in the van.
The van kept its lights off as it pulled onto the street. Grim waited until it turned the corner before she turned on her car and drove down the street.
“Oh, this is so cool. I should take out my notepad and take notes on how to follow a suspect. Can you give me any tips on what we should make sure to do?”
Grim didn’t answer Willa’s question. She grabbed her phone from the center console and pressed Xavier’s number.
Her boss answered on the first ring. “Grim.”
“I need backup. Willa and I staked out what we thought was Ester’s house, but I just watched two men load seven women into a van. Their feet stumbled, and they had issues keeping their heads up. I’m guessing they’re drugged.”
“We will have a long conversation about this later. Do not engage unless I tell you. I’ll get the team together and call you right back.”
The line went dead.
The van pulled onto the highway toward the port. Even if her boss told her not to engage, she wouldn’t let anything happen to the women.
15
Casanova
Casanova leaned over Lucas’s shoulder as the hacker’s fingers flew across the computer. He’d come to Lucas’s house to bribe his friend with candy for information to where Grim had stayed for the past month.
