Jude grunted.
Ella nodded and loaded up. King sat beside her in the back. Rook, Brody, and Jude sat across from them. Georgia was in the front seat with Fedir.
Jude’s jaw hardened when he saw the woman. “Told you to head home, G.”
“Told you I have a mission, Jude. Looks like I’m going with,” the woman said, her gaze roving over Jude and then moving to meet Ella’s.
Ella raised a brow and then purposefully looked away. The woman was no threat to her, regardless of what she was trying to intimate. Brody chuckled. “Fish in a goddamn barrel, Keeper. How do you get such pretty women to fall for that ugly mug?”
Jude looked at Ella and only Ella. “I just got it like that, Madoc.” He slid his gaze to Brody. “You need lessons?”
“From your mama maybe,” Brody snapped back.
Jude winced. “Leave my mama out of it.”
Brody made a kissing sound, and for a second Ella was thrown back to the morning she’d been called up for the Beirut op. By the end of that day, she’d been shot and Micah Samson and Nina Lassiter had both been dead.
But maybe not Nina. Maybe, somehow, improbably, Nina was still alive.
Ella remembered the feeling of doom she’d had setting out on that Beirut op. She shivered and glanced at Jude, seeing concern drawing his face into harsh lines. She shook her head and gave him a small smile.
She refused to let that doom back in. She would make sure this op went exactly the way they wanted. Ella rested her head against the wall of the truck and went over the op again.
It took them every last minute of the two hours Vivi had given them for arrival in Simferopol. It took them another thirty minutes to skirt the city and hit the road to Dresden’s house.
“Target is still on-site, Endgame,” Vivi said into their earpieces. “You’ll be there in five minutes. Go to the second gate and let Fedir do the talking. King? I just got word from Knight that he’s on the ground in Simferopol.”
“What the hell?” Jude exclaimed. “I thought he was with Chase and that Moeller chick heading back stateside.”
“They’ve sent Dr. Moeller my way. She should arrive in the States in about nine hours. They are heading your way,” Vivi explained. “It’s an Endgame party, guys. Get ready.”
“Fedir?” King called out.
The man turned. “Yes?”
“Stop the truck,” King ordered.
Fedir put on the brake and turned around.
“We’ll wait for them,” King told his analyst. “We’ll need all hands on deck for this not to go completely FUBAR.”
“Ten-four.” Thirty seconds later, Vivi was back. “They’re two minutes from you. Can you hold?”
King raised an eyebrow at Fedir. “Get out, and act like you’re working on the truck.”
A few cars passed them, but Dresden had eyes everywhere and the repairs needed to look genuine. Knight and Chase arrived, jumping out of their Volvo and into the back of the truck. Chase looked like hell—like he’d been up for days without rest and he was barely holding on. Knight didn’t look much better.
“Let’s move, Fedir,” King demanded as he tossed each new man a pair of coveralls. To Chase and Knight, he simply said, “Sit rep.”
Chase ran a hand down his face. “We were able to catch Black before he left. We got him and Dr. Moeller on a plane, and they’re headed to DC, then Port Royal. Nadege was relentless, Dr. Moeller is a pain in the ass, and I’m ready to kill Dresden.”
“Hooyah,” Jude replied with a grunt.
“Nadege just let her go?” King asked in disbelief.
“Not quite,” Knight said with a grimace. “He lost a lot of people, and finally the bastard ran. It gave us time to get her out and on a plane.”
“She won’t give us any information. She’ll be a tough nut to crack.” Chase’s voice was hard. He finally noticed Ella, and his jaw dropped. “Ella-Bella?”
She hadn’t seen Chase in over a year. He might have known she was alive, but he hadn’t seen her so it was probably shocking.
“Chase Reynolds, as I live and breathe,” she said in a very fake southern accent. Chase would appreciate her effort, being the Alabama boy he was. Ella wanted something to replace that look of frustration on his face.
He laughed, but it was forced. “Damn, girl, I’m happy to see you.”
“No offense, but you don’t look all that happy.”
“Well, I’ve had a rough week,” he said, and it seemed a huge understatement.
Knight snorted. “Good to see you, Ella,” he said with a nod. He punched Jude in the arm, probably bro code for You got her back, Ella thought.
“Chase, Knight, I’ve loaded the op onto your comm units. You’ve got five minutes to read through it,” Vivi stated calmly.
They got busy. Jude and Rook shared a weapon each and some ammo with Chase and Knight.
“Knight, you’re with Rook. Search the house for any intel we can take with us. Keeper, Brody, you’ll hit Dresden. Chase, you’re with me and Ella. We’ll hit the cellar,” King stated.
“No—” Jude began.
Ella silenced him with a look. She knew he wanted to protect her from her memories—from what had happened to her there—but she knew that cellar like the back of her hand. She needed to be the one who went. Her look quelled his instant, protective response.
Then he nodded, as did the rest of the men. Rook and Knight had worked together for so long that they moved as one sometimes. Jude was badass no matter who he was grouped with.
“We’re here, Americans,” Fedir called out, pulling into the gate.
“Chase, Knight, get behind us,” King ordered. They did, and when the guards opened the back door to check them, they saw nothing but men and women dressed for cleaning.
Ella breathed out heavily and thanked God. That could have started everything off poorly.
“Dresden’s pilot has arrived at the airfield. If you’re going to move, do it now, Endgame. You will have a welcoming committee once they realize you’re on-site.” Vivi told them, no
