Falcon Falls Security Boxed Set: Books 1-3, page 32
“Am I Interrupting?”
“Jesse?” Ella rolled her eyes at the sight of her nemesis.
“I found someone outside I thought you might want to talk to,” Jesse added while opening the door, not waiting for an invite.
Savanna pushed up to her feet and wiped the tears from her face at the sight of her brother-in-law. “Nick.”
Nick’s bruises had faded quite a lot, and overall, he looked much better—healthy and even happy. And now that he was healing, his resemblance to Marcus was even more striking. “Hi.” He shot her a small, nervous smile.
“I’ll just take Jesse to help me with something outside.” Ella grabbed hold of Jesse’s bicep, needing both hands for the task, and dragged him out the door.
“Hi,” Savanna finally returned in an equally quiet voice. “Are you free now? From your obligation to MI6? I mean,” she said, feeling her cheeks heat with embarrassment. “Is it okay for you to be here?”
Nick rested his back to the counter, his eyes going to the wine she’d yet to drink. “They cut me loose. After I handed over the USB drive, MI6 wiped my records clean. They said I deserve a fresh start.”
“A fresh start? That’s nice.” For some reason, Savanna was nervous. She sidestepped Nick and offered him one of the glasses of Chianti Ella had just poured, needing a sip of hers to take the edge off. “What will you do?”
“You know, I was thinking about following Dad’s footsteps and maybe making sure assholes like me can’t break into shit.” Nick smirked before taking a sip of his wine.
“You’re not an asshole.”
“I was. There was a reason Marcus never forgave me.”
“But he did,” Savanna said. Letting go of a shaky breath, she set her wine on the counter. “Come with me.” She led the way to her living room, where she’d stored the box of Marcus’s things she’d made sure to grab from Carter’s jet before returning home last week.
“What’s that?” Nick asked as she knelt and opened the box.
This wasn’t going to be easy, but she promised herself she could get through this moment when or if Nick showed up. She grabbed the pile of unsent letters, then stood and faced Nick, once again struck by how similar he was to her late husband. “Here.”
Nick accepted them with brows drawn tight. “He wrote to me?” A rattle of emotion came out with his question.
“Well, he obviously didn’t send them, but yes. Such a stubborn man. But Marcus told me that in each letter he wrote, he forgave you. I thought you might want them.” She sniffled and brushed away fresh tears.
When Nick looked up at her, his eyes were watery too. “Thank you,” was all he seemed capable of managing to get out.
She went back to the box and pulled out the photo Griffin’s team had used to track down that safe-deposit box in Greece. “You might want this as well.”
“This is how you found the safe-deposit box, huh?” He smiled as if impressed while peering at the picture from his teenage years. “How’d you know to search the Mustang?”
“I remembered the one and only time we met.” She smiled. “Another time Marcus was stubborn.”
He returned her smile this time. “Yeah, well, that man was protective of you, and for good reason. His stubbornness came from a good place.”
“I also want you to have the Mustang. The guys tore through it searching for that key, but I know Marcus would want you to have it. It needs work now, but please take it.”
He was quiet for a moment. “I will if you promise not to be stubborn about that money I sent you. I want you to use it.”
“No, you should take it,” she said while vehemently shaking her head. “For your fresh start. It’ll help.”
“I have plenty saved for a rainy day. Don’t you worry about me.” He looked up at the water stain on the kitchen ceiling. “Maybe buy a house? Pay off your café? It’d make me feel better to know you’re okay.”
She blinked in surprise, trying to grasp the reality of what he was saying. He was offering to erase her money problems. She could breathe again.
He held up his free hand. “I promise the money isn’t dirty.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
He held up the letters. “I’m the one who owes you a million thank yous. You don’t owe me anything.”
“Will you come back from time to time and visit? Call, at least?” she asked when he turned, looking as though he was about to jet.
But he didn’t leave, and he pivoted to face her. “If you think that’s okay, I’d like that.”
“I would too.” She smiled, feeling a little piece of her heart sliding back in place at the feeling Marcus and Nick had truly made amends somehow.
“Oh, and, Savanna?”
“Yeah?” she whispered, smoothing her hands up and down her arms as chills crisscrossed up her spine.
“It’s okay to be happy again. You know that’s what Marcus would want, right?”
Savanna’s stomach knotted at his words, and she lightly nodded. “I know.” She swallowed. “I think I want that too.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
OFF-THE-GRID LOCATION IN PENNSYLVANIA - ONE WEEK LATER
“Falcon Falls,” Griffin said with a shrug. “How about that? It’s not like we’re going to be listed in the White Pages, but—”
“Are phone books still a thing?” Oliver cut him off, petting Dallas sitting next to him on the couch at headquarters.
“I think so.” Griffin honestly didn’t know.
“Falcon Falls Security.” Gray turned away from the screen at his desk to look at everyone. “I vote yes.”
“Why that name?” Carter asked after calling his dog over to him. Dallas obediently leaped off the couch and rushed through the room to get to his master.
“All the waterfalls outside. And I saw a falcon on the way in this morning. I don’t know. It popped into my head.”
“Falcons represent freedom and success, right?” Oliver spoke up.
“Like I would know.” Jack laughed and peered at Griffin. “But mythology boy over here might.”
“Mythology boy, huh?” Griffin tipped his head and positioned his arms across his chest, wondering if Jack wanted to go hit the gym for a little hand-to-hand combat training. The “beef” was gone between them, but they’d kept up with the friendly jabs here and there. And he may have preferred it like that. Kept things interesting.
Jack had also seemed to be trying hard to distract Griffin since they’d left Savanna in New Orleans. They’d been training together and even had drinks at the bar a couple of times.
“I say yes,” their new teammate piped up. “Falcon Falls.” Jesse set his palms on the table in front of him. He’d been cleaning their rifles—new guy grunt work.
After only four days with the team, Griffin wasn’t all that surprised Carter had brought Jesse in. Though he felt bad Savanna would be down one friend back in Alabama, especially one who’d always kept an eye on her.
At some point, we probably should tell Jesse we know his sister.
“All in favor?” Gray called out and was immediately answered with a chorus of ayes. “Then it’s settled.”
“Go make the business cards, then,” Jack teased while joining Jesse. He hooked an arm over his shoulder. “You sure you want to be with us instead of Ella? From what I hear—”
“There’s nothing between us,” Jesse hissed a bit more defiantly than Griffin would have expected, and Jack felt the heat and pulled his arm free.
“Ah. You’re a runner. Well, if shooting people helps you sleep better at night while abandoning a woman as beautiful as her, then so be it.” Jack shifted out of the way as if expecting a punch to the chin any minute, but Jesse didn’t react.
Aside from the clenched jaw muscles, he’d barely flinched at Jack’s poor attempt at humor this time. Griffin was certain he’d read Jesse right, though. The man was running from Ella, but he couldn’t figure out why.
Griffin was well aware of the reason he’d not yet returned for the “talk” he owed Savanna, but he had no plans on running from her. It was only a matter of when he’d hunt her down and take her into his arms. He just needed to get his head on straight and make sure he could truly be the man she deserved, and for that to happen, there was something he had to do first. But it’d take a lot for him to suck it up and actually do it.
She’s worth it. God, she’s more than worth it.
He’d been away from Savanna longer than they’d been together, and yet, somehow, his feelings for her had grown stronger in their time apart.
“Anyone else find it cathartic to check shit off a list?” Jack asked as he walked over to the whiteboard on the wall, obviously looking to change the foul mood he’d caused New Guy at the mention of Ella.
“What are you doing?” Oliver asked with a shake of his head. “Are you really listing all the bad guys we took down on that last case just so you can cross them off?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely,” Jack shot back in a good-humored tone. “Everyone from the engineer insider to the terrorist buyer.”
“Basic bad guys?” Oliver read one of the lines as Jack wrote it and laughed.
“That’s what Sydney called the assholes who hunted her down in the swamp,” Jack casually tossed out. Griffin was relieved that Joe’s name didn’t need to be on that list. Nick’s either, for that matter. “Not bad for our first mission together.”
“Yeah, but don’t you think you could’ve used a woman’s touch?”
Gray went dead still at the soft voice floating into the large space, and Griffin turned to find Sydney Archer at the entranceway of the tunnel. “How in the hell did you find us?”
Sydney had on black jeans with a rip in one knee, paired with a gray Army sweatshirt and black kicks. Her hair was in a high ponytail that swung side to side as she strutted into the room like she owned the place.
Dallas began barking, but Carter ordered him to stand down.
“Not a bad setup you’ve got here,” Sydney commented, ignoring their “how’d she find them” question while looking around the space. “Batman vibes, but it’ll work.”
Jesse set down the rifle he’d been holding, and Griffin strode up alongside him to witness whatever was about to take place with Gray cutting across the room to get to her first.
“I quit my job,” she said to Griffin’s surprise. “My heart was never in it anyway, so I’m looking for work. I happen to be one of the best trackers on the planet, and my skills have been underutilized for years.” She was so calm and casual. Confident and headstrong.
“Yup, she’ll fit right in,” Griffin said with a firm nod.
“Toss in her billions, with Carter’s endless supply of cash, and we can actually get ourselves one of those Batman symbols installed to shoot into the air when we’re needed, except ours will be a falcon,” Jack joked.
“You seriously want to give up your job and work in private security?” Gray now faced her, hands on his hips. This should be interesting.
“I saw what you all did. I want to be part of it. And come on, it’s more than security work,” she returned in a bit gentler tone this time.
“What happened to Joe and his men?” Oliver asked when Gray and Sydney seemed to be playing a game of chicken to see who’d blink first.
“They weren’t arrested because, from what we can tell, they really did believe they were going after a threat. And after the incident with Griffin, Joe began asking questions about the mission. I’m pretty sure he would’ve been targeted next because of that and for what he knew had we not handled this when we did.” Sydney paused for a second. “But he still lost his job and security clearance for putting the company over national security.” Sydney pointed her attention to Oliver now. “I think Gray’s dad was happy to sweep this whole thing under the rug since the crisis was averted, and Elysium didn’t end up in the wrong hands.”
“Thanks to you,” Gray quickly replied, clearly impressed with this woman.
“Word is you and Carter are in charge over here, so, what do you say?” she asked, looking back and forth between Gray and Carter.
Gray peered at Carter, who nodded his yes. “Okay, then,” Gray said on an exhale. “You’re in. You still using the same call sign?”
Sydney smiled. “Damn right I am.”
“What is it?” Griffin asked.
“Juliet.”
Jack busted out laughing as he resumed writing shit on the whiteboard. “Well, this should be fun. Romeo and Juliet,” he said with a chuckle.
“Welcome to the team,” Griffin said.
The Romeo and Juliet reference had him realizing it was about time he man up and go after Savanna. No more waiting until his head was on straight or the stars aligned or whatever other bullshit he kept telling himself. If he wanted a happily-ever-after, then he’d better get to it. He looked over at Carter and announced, “I’m taking a vacation.”
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY - ONE DAY LATER
Griffin’s pulse climbed with every step up the front porch of the big Southern home that sat regally on the several acres of property. There were horses in the pasture and green rolling hills in the distance. His mother’s home was like the setting for a movie. Picture perfect, she’d told him over the phone after moving there with her new husband years ago.
Now that he was there for the first time, he’d have to agree. And Savanna would love it.
Griffin wiped his sweaty palms on his jeaned thighs as he stood before the double doors of her home, trying to find the courage to face her after all the missed holidays and family events she’d begged him to come to over the years.
He drew up an image of Savanna in his mind, finding the strength to go through with this conversation for her. For them. And then he rang the bell.
The door opened a minute later, and his mom took a step back in surprise.
“You didn’t check your security cameras first, I take it?” He lightly shook his head. “Didn’t I teach you anything?”
His mom erased the gap between them and threw her arms over his shoulders, startling him with a hug. One he hadn’t known he’d missed so much.
“What are you doing here?” she asked after finally releasing him with one more squeeze.
He tipped his head toward the porch swing. “Can we talk outside?”
She looked behind her as if searching for her husband, then nodded and shut the door, stepping out onto the big, wraparound porch with him.
His mom motioned for him to have a seat on the porch swing, then sat next to him. Buying himself some time to summon the strength to speak, Griffin pushed the swing into motion using his booted feet. “I met someone,” he finally confessed. “She’s stubborn, smart, and sassy. So damn beautiful it hurts to look at her sometimes. But she’s a little like—”
“Me,” she finished for him, her voice tight with what he could only interpret as pain.
He side-eyed her and nodded. “Loves your books too.”
“Clearly smart, then.” She lifted a hand, and it was then he spied her wedding ring. It was a punch to the stomach, but it’d been years now, and he needed to get a grip. Focus on the . . . well, the mission. To find a way forward so he could be with Savanna and not weigh her down with his own fucking shit that she didn’t deserve. If she’d still have him, that was. “Sorry, bad joke.” She looked to the rolling hills in the distance. “You’re scared she’ll be like me in the way I hurt your father,” she said softly.
He took a moment to truly look at his mom while her focus was elsewhere. Her black hair was in a loose bun at the top of her head, and he’d just noticed the pencil sticking out of it. Typical of her. Her skin wasn’t quite weathered as one would expect for a woman in her sixties who loved the outdoors, but she had laugh lines around her mouth and eyes. His mom was happy, and that was something.
When she looked back at him, her dark eyes mirrors of his own, he swallowed hard. The expression on her face was soft and understanding rather than one of regret like he’d expected. “I will always love your father. Always,” she said while reaching for his hand, and he surprisingly gave it to her. “But my heart somehow split into two, and I think I always loved Tony even before I met your father, but the timing had never been right for us. And then your father and I were together so long, and we had you . . .” She shook her head. “There’s no excuse for cheating. I should have left your father before anything happened with Tony.”
“You don’t wish you never—”
“I can’t explain the ways of the heart,” she interrupted as if knowing where he was going with his question. “But I knew I couldn’t stay married to your father if half my heart belonged to someone else. And I know that’s not fair or the answer you’re looking for, but I don’t want you spending your life single because of me. Because you’re worried that one day your woman’s heart will split for someone else too.”
“It’s already split for someone else,” he found himself mumbling. “But that other someone died.”
His mom squeezed his hand tighter, and why did he feel sixteen again back in that garage punching the walls as pain flooded his system? Why did he feel so out of control of his emotions right now?
“Savanna’s the most forgiving woman I’ve ever met,” he added around that lump in his throat. “She deserves someone who can trust her. Someone who can, um, forgive others too.” He nearly choked on his words this time, emotion constricting his chest. “The only way I can be worthy of her is to be able to . . . forgive you.”
“Can you do that?” his mom cried, tears gliding down her face as she held tightly on to his hand.
He closed his eyes and was struck by the ridiculous notion that here he was, a thirty-nine-year-old man, a war veteran, someone who put himself in danger to save others even now as a special operator . . . and he was crying on his mom’s front porch. “I want to. I really do.”
“You must really care about this woman to be here, then,” she whispered while sniffling.
