Rook shook his head. King laughed. Allie looked uncomfortable.
Brody stood up. “We headed out, Ella-Bella? Sounds like we got two folks to corral now.”
She looked at Brody in shock. “No way, Madoc. You’re here. I’ll not—”
“What you’ll not do is tell me how to live. I get it, Ella. I do. But I won’t hide from that motherfucker. Now when do we leave? If Keeper is setting up to give that bastard some, I’m going to be in on it,” Brody stated patiently.
She gave up. She couldn’t protect everyone. She loved Brody like a brother, but she wasn’t his keeper. Keeper… Damn you, Jude, she thought. “Do you still have that contact in Sevastopol?”
“Yeah,” Brody replied with a grin breaking across his face. “She’s probably missing me.” He rubbed a hand down his stubbled jaw. Brody was a huge dude and attractive. The scruff covered the scars on his lower face. Savidge had ravaged her friend’s face like he’d ravaged Ella’s back.
“Tap her and set up a puddle jumper. We’ll head out tonight. Adam Babic owes me another favor. I’ll tag him for transpo…get him to set us up on board his next flight to Odessa. From there, we’ll hit the puddle jumper to Sevastopol,” Ella said, giving details as she rose and planned in her mind.
Brody nodded.
“There’s one more thing, team,” Vivi called out.
“There’s more?” Rook asked in disbelief.
“I got a kickback on one of our burner cards two weeks ago. I had put a trace on it because it wasn’t in Nina’s things when we picked them up from the hospital after she…” Vivi trailed off. There was no reason to say it.
Ella rubbed her chest. Nina and Micah. She missed them.
“And?” King prompted when Vivi didn’t continue.
“It was used in Utah to purchase a plane ticket to Anchorage, Alaska.”
Nothing niggled at Ella about Alaska. “Were you able to get any footage of who purchased it?” she asked Vivi.
“Yeah.” Vivi turned around and pulled up the email, clicking on a link to the requested footage. “I just got the email response as we talked.”
As they watched, grainy CCTV footage at the Provo, Utah, airport showed a woman walk up to the Alaskan Airlines desk and purchase a ticket. She turned back toward the camera, and the shock nearly took Ella to her knees.
“No way,” she said breathlessly.
“Let’s enhance this,” Vivi mumbled, doing her mojo. In seconds, a clearer picture of the woman’s face showed on the screen.
“Nina?” Ella whispered.
“What the hell is this?” King roared. “She’s dead. We buried her outside DC!”
Vivi took the image down. “The plane landed in Anchorage on time yesterday morning. I’m looking for anything I can find after the plane landed. It may take me awhile with everything else going on. But, yeah, that looks like Nina Lassiter.”
“I want to know where that woman is when we return, Vivi,” King demanded, pointing at the screen.
Ella looked at her team leader. “You’re going?”
“You don’t seriously think I’m going to let my team go without me?” he asked in a hard tone.
She shrugged. “You left us in Beirut.” It came out before she could stop it.
“We didn’t know,” King said in her face, his voice tortured. “You are my team. You’re part of me,” he claimed, slamming a fist to his chest.
Ella felt a single tear trek down her face.
King grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to him, hugging her tight. “I would never have left you in Beirut if I thought you were alive, Ella. You, Brody, Nina, Micah…you’re as much a part of me as my arms, my lungs. Hell, you’re not just team, you’re family.”
“I know,” she mumbled against his chest.
King stepped back and lifted her chin. “We’re going to get Jude. I need you all in, Ella. Get in the game. Can you handle this?”
She notched her chin higher, tears drying. “That’s my man walking into danger. I’ve spent the last year trying to keep him safe. Nothing will stop me now.”
He nodded. “Get ready. We leave as soon as you talk to your transport. Rook, get ready. Call Knight and Black and make them aware as you get an update on Chase’s situation. Tell them we’ll upload Vivi’s notes as soon as they have a clear connection. They need to know what we’re dealing with. Oh, and tell them to make sure Dr. Moeller gets back here in one piece. I think she and Anna Beth Caine have a lot of intel we need.”
“On it,” Rook said as he walked to Vivi and pulled out his satellite phone.
“Let’s move, Endgame. We’ve got a player on the board. Let’s get his six,” King called out as he left the room.
Ella glanced at Brody and smiled. “Let’s do this.”
Brody nodded. “I’m point, Ella. Keeper already wants a piece of my ass for the last year. If you aren’t behind me in this, he’ll lose his mind.”
Ella’s back snapped straight. Then her anger deflated.
“Poor Ella. If it helps, I’m not a badass CIA operative either,” Vivi called out with a laugh. Rook pulled her close to him with a laugh of his own.
“Screw you, Granger. I’m as badass as they come,” Ella said in a tone as mean as she could affect.
“Straight up,” Vivi agreed.
“I hear you, Brody, but remember, I’ve trained, and I’m not as weak as you men seem to think. I can handle myself. How about this? I’ll stay behind until I have to move in front,” Ella said hopefully.
“I’ll take it,” Brody agreed. “Now move.”
She did, heading up to her room and grabbing her go bag that she’d repacked the moment she’d reached Port Royal. Chica meowed from the door. “Come here, baby girl,” Ella crooned.
She grabbed her cat and hugged her close, and the cat allowed it. Ella took comfort in the feel of the cat’s fur and purrs beneath her palms. Jude was in trouble, and he’d allowed someone else to have his six. Ella wanted to be pissed, but she understood him. Hell, she
