“I take it Cora called you?” Hound grounded out. No one was as pissed as Hound for not being able to find the guy.
“I had just left so I was the closest to her; otherwise I’m sure she would have called the police.” Liam hated being the second choice, but the result was all that mattered.
“Since you’re not here, I’m going to guess they got away?”
“They did, they had a car waiting a few houses up, but I managed to get the license.” Liam gave Hound the license plate number.
“I’ll see what I can find on it. It just might be the thing Blade and I need to track this guy down finally. Have you talked to Cora about the fact she’s working with him?”
“Sounds good. I have, it’s the only reason I’m still here. She knows that he is behind the break-ins and the broken window. I told her to cancel her contract with him after we track him down. She has his personal number. How soon do you think you can get some equipment here to watch Cora’s house? The fact it’s been broken into twice doesn’t bode well for us.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Between Midas trying to keep Hannah in the bunker and me running the computers I’m a little thinned out.”
“No rush, I’m not going anywhere.”
“And when we go on a mission in a few days?”
“I’ll call one of the other teams to watch over Cora. From what I hear Bulldog is upset that he wasn’t part of taking Commander Brady down.”
“I heard the same; it wasn’t like we had a lot of warning ahead of time.”
“I’m sure he knows that. But this is the closest they’ll get a chance to evening out the score.”
“I’ll call over to Bulldog and see if he and his team can come out. Keep an eye on the girls and help locate Alejandro.” Hound didn’t sound optimistic. Bulldog, a Delta Force operative from Fort Sam in Texas, may want to come out, but they may be running missions themselves. They couldn’t just drop everything and come out. “Any chance you can convince Cora to come out here? Hannah, I’m sure will appreciate the company when we leave.”
Liam doubted it, but for Hannah, she might consider. “I’ll run it by her. It would make life easier if we could protect the women from one location instead of two.”
“Let me know. She can always do her work from here. It’s not like I don’t have computers and the internet galore to help her.”
“I’ll let you know. I’ll tell her about the mission here today, so we can get everything in place.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.” Liam hung up. He was going to need it.
Liam whipped up some more pancakes and eggs, and brought it to Cora. Women were always more reasonable when they had a full stomach.
~
“No, absolutely not. I told you I would not go into hiding.” Cora yelled at Liam as she set her plate in the dishwasher.
“Cora, be reasonable. No one will be here to protect you.” He couldn’t guarantee if Bulldog and his team could make it before they left, and he didn’t trust anyone to watch her that he didn’t know personally. “What if Alejandro attacks you again while we're gone?”
“There’s a little thing called the police,” Cora said slowly as if talking to a child.
“They would never get here fast enough. That’s why you called me instead of them.”
“That’s not fair. You had just left, of course you were closer.”
“And what have the police been able to do for you? I haven’t seen them doing drive-bys.”
“Because I refused them just as I refused your protection.” Cora marched out of the kitchen and headed back to her office.
“Walking away from me is not going to fix this,” Liam yelled after her.
Cora stopped and turned back to face him. “I don’t want to leave my house,” Cora said evenly.
“I know that, and it wouldn’t be permanent. Just the length of time we are on a mission. Hound said you could use his computer for work, if needed. Hannah, I’m sure could use the company.”
“That’s not fair to use Hannah against me.”
Liam pinched the bridge of his nose fighting a growing headache. He really liked this woman, but she could be the most stubborn at times. Liam took a deep breath and counted to ten. “I’m not using Hannah against you. All I’m saying is she is going to be as alone as you are while we’re gone. Midas’s last mission she had you to keep her distracted. Now she is going to be alone probably worried about Midas’s safety and yours.” So maybe he was using Hannah against her but if it got the result he wanted so be it. She would be much safer at Hound’s house anyway.
Cora looked away and tapped her foot. “It’s just until you get back?”
Liam kept his face neutral, so she didn’t see the look of triumph on his face. “Only until I get back, then you can come right back here.”
“I don’t like this, Liam.”
“I know you don’t.” He said as he pulled her into his arms and hugged her. “I know how much this house means to you.” Cora’s grandmother gave it to her when she passed. Her grandparents had built it from the ground up. Since Cora’s parents had been deployed a lot, she spent a majority of her youth at her grandparent’s house. When they had gotten sick, Cora had moved in with them to care for them. This house meant everything to her. It was her connection to them. He didn’t fault her for wanting to stay, but her safety was a risk here.
“When do you leave?” Cora’s words were muffled from being buried in his chest. She didn’t want him to know she was crying though he could feel the tremors in her body.
“Four days.”
“Alright, tell Aaron I’ll stay there. Temporarily.” She said pulling away from
