“Arthur called and told me he’d sent them but didn’t know if they’d make it for cleanup.”
“Speaking of cleanup, that’s exactly what they’d have been doing for us if we hadn’t had them. Why was this a setup?” It still didn’t add up to him and that bothered him down to his toes.
Ignoring his important question, AJ aggravated him more by asking, “What did you think of the snipers?”
About ready to jump over the desk to keep AJ on track, Danny forced himself to shrug. “They were fine. They kept our asses alive. But I’m more worried about what we left.”
AJ waved off his words. “Before we forced Ken on medical leave, he approved Alpha team two snipers—which is what we want per team.” AJ shook his head. “I think the man is superhuman or something, working so long injured.”
It had taken a lot to finally get Ken to take medical leave after being shot more than once. If it hadn’t been for Sugar, he probably wouldn’t have taken the time. The problem was that she’d been their sniper and decided to keep one parent out of the action with the boy they were raising.
AJ picked up a bag of chips and offered him some. Danny declined and almost snatched them from him because last he’d heard, AJ’s wife said he was getting flabby in the gut, so junk food went out the window.
Somehow discerning Danny’s thoughts, AJ explained how his wife didn’t rule the roost and if he wanted—
Danny tuned out. He needed to give a full debrief, shower, and get home to Moira. He needed to see her and know she was okay. There’d been no message from the former DEA buddy he’d hired to covertly watch her. He took the silence as a positive sign.
AJ now discussed his son. Danny admitted Ace was a good and smart kid. But he’d had enough. He slammed his hands on the desk again, this time making AJ jump. “AJ, focus. You said you had two new sharpshooters for the team? Where the hell were they tonight?”
Looking at AJ, finding the corner of his lips curling into a smirk, caused Danny to feel even more nauseous. You never knew what to expect from the runt of the Hamilton men. It appeared AJ had a secret he was eager to share.
“Where were they tonight? They were covering your six.”
Thrown by that statement, Danny staggered back to the chair facing the desk. It took a moment to process exactly what he meant. “Are you telling me two of those ‘I-don’t-exist’ agents are joining us?” Not that HIS was a step-down, but…?
Somehow in the time he’d pondered things, AJ had put away the chips and turned serious. “Okay. Yes, two snipers are coming our way and will be on Alpha team. It gets better. One sharpshooter is an explosives expert while the other, his twin, is a top-notch handler.”
“Since they’re spooks, maybe we should split them up.”
“I don’t split from my sister,” a deep voice with a hard edge said from behind him.
Danny spun around to face the snipers from the helo and Alpha team’s newest sharpshooters. While you’d never mix the twins up, it was obvious they were brother and sister. Now. On the flight, she’d done a great job hiding the fact she was a woman. Like him, the siblings hadn’t showered and looked to be carrying gear.
Peering to the side, Danny caught sight of three sweaty, mushed camo-painted men. Either his team had come back to support him or they’d followed the spooks. Either way, he appreciated it. And now he knew AJ had been stalling instead of being an idiot.
AJ scooted around the desk in the small office and unnecessarily introduced them at the doorway, obviously noting the rest of the team waiting. He turned back to Danny with a quirk of his brow, and Danny chose to ignore any implied question with that expression.
They’d spoken briefly on the bird, but mostly just the thank you for arriving when they had and not dropping Danny as he flew behind him on a rope. Both gave a strong handshake, but there was no denying the brother’s grip had a ‘touch my sister and I’ll kill you’ feel.
“What the fuck?” Cowboy opened his mouth to say more and Danny cringed. The team didn’t know them yet. The siblings had said few words on their return flight. “Did we just start taking the first people who show up?”
The twins looked at Cowboy, and he looked down at Jane, then cocked the smile he used to pick up women. Danny knew his next words would be wrong. So very wrong. He reached to get Cowboy’s attention and stop him, but he was too late.
“Hello, sweet cheeks.”
A stunned and nearly unconscious Cowboy slid down the wall to rest on the floor. Danny didn’t see the motion but heard the crack of a fist hitting a jaw. By the bewildered looks of his team, they’d also missed it. Cowboy would learn not to mess with Jane with her brother around. The quick movements went unnoticed. Internally, he shook his head in satisfaction. He looked forward to having these two on the team.
“Great shot,” John said.
Jane looked up at him, nodded then smiled.
Danny glanced at the wide eyes of his team and her approval. They’d worked with tough women before, so he shouldn’t have assumed her brother was the one to knock out Cowboy.
Putting his arm over his sister’s shoulders, they turned and moved toward the locker rooms. Danny looked down at Cowboy again and spun back to AJ. He stated, not asked, “We’re calling it a day.” With that, he turned back to Cowboy, who peeked through half-lidded eyes and then jumped agilely to his feet.
“When are you going to learn?” Danny grumbled in frustration. He needed to get home, not caught up in Cowboy’s way
