Gabe (In the Company of Snipers, #8)(123)
“Et tu, Brute?” he asked. His shoulders sagged as yet one more prodigal returned home with, hopefully, a good reason for what she’d done.
Slowly, she approached the man she’d betrayed the worst. “The President called me. He needed my help. What was I going to say?”
Mark extended his hand. One shoulder lifted as if he no longer cared. “That you’re ready to come back and work for me again.”
Her eyes brimmed. Her lips pinched. She rushed into him for a hug instead of a handshake, her silvery head pressed against his shirt. “I’m sorry I lied to you. Can you forgive me?”
“Yeah,” he said with a big sigh, one arm around her and the other brushing something out of his own eye. “It’s that kind of a day. You’re re-hired. Get back to work.”
President Adams interrupted. “The truth is, you guys are too damned good. You got close to unraveling my operation before I could stop you. I couldn’t take the chance of your intercepting Fallon before we knew exactly what he was up to. We suspected a dirty bomb. Just couldn’t verify when or where. And I couldn’t let you decrypt that file on Eagle Two, Agent Tao. As it was, you nearly destroyed months of careful planning.”
David grimaced and bowed his head. Gabe, too. Being caught hacking into FBI files wasn’t something any of them wanted to admit to, especially not to the top guy.
Once again, President Adams glanced around the circle of agents. “Each of you has my sincerest regret for the way this had to be handled and my deepest condolences for the pain I put you through. But, you also have the gratitude of a nation that, even though they’ll never know what actually happened last night, they’ll honor your sacrifice by getting up tomorrow morning for another day in our nation’s capital. They’ll live the rest of their lives like nothing happened.”
Gabe glanced at Alex, his eyes riveted to Mark’s, as if asking for the way forward.
“It’s also important you understand the vital role you played in protecting Kelsey Stewart,” President Adams continued. “We had no idea Fallon would target her. I owe you a debt I can never repay. I dare say, Alex feels the same way.”
“But why’d they target Kelsey?” Gabe had to ask.
“Simple. Fallon hated what Alex stood for,” Becker explained. “The man was borderline psychotic. Winston might have believed our cover story, but Fallon always suspected Alex. He figured he could force him out in the open by going after all Alex held dear. The jackass almost did it.”
At last, the President went around the group, shaking each agent’s hand and taking the time to chat with everyone. He seemed to know a lot about them, from the names of Mark’s daughters to the fact that Ember owned a cocker spaniel named Taffy.
Mother served everyone coffee, apologizing and explaining as she did.
President Adams ended at Mark, who happened to be chatting with Gabe at the time.
Mark had suffered more than most. He’d taken the reins of a tough but shattered business at the worst possible moment and made it work so well that it threatened a joint FBI/Secret Service operation. That said something for a ragtag team of patriots who felt they still had work to do. A nation to serve.
President Adams nodded toward Alex, who still stood at his side. “Don’t be too hard on this guy, okay? If I’d a known he’d keep running out on me to check on his wife, I’d never have considered him for the assignment. Is he always this big of a pain in the ass?”
“He is, Mr. President,” Mark agreed as he shook the President’s proffered hand.
Alex rolled his eyes, but Gabe caught the exhaustion on his boss’s smirky face. He’d been through the wringer, too.
Out of the blue, Kelsey cleared her throat. “Excuse me, Mr. President. May I say something?”
He winked. “I am eternally in your debt, ma’am. You go right ahead.”
The room stilled.
Gabe snared Shelby’s hand, hoping for more good news.
Alex pulled Kelsey close, peering down at her as if he’d really rather go home and just please, be left alone. “Yes, ma’am?” he asked, a tender twinkle in his eye.
She placed her palms in the middle of his chest and took a deep breath. “Alex, I want the world to know I always believed in you. I never gave up.”
And damn it, Gabe wiped another tear off his cheek before someone noticed. Had to be the pain meds. What the hell kind of a jarhead cries like a baby?
Kelsey made it worse. She fingered Alex’s tie and with the cutest shrug, looked him square in the eye and said, “Alex. Honey. We’re pregnant.”
And the crowd went wild.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Sit down. I’ll take it off for you.” Shell gave Gabe that determined, it’s-my-way-or-the-highway spiked eyebrow.
They stood together in his bathroom, locked in yet another friendly confrontation. He’d been resting for days, on strict orders from Mark not to return to work for at least a month, one of the perks of working for The TEAM. After a hard op, agents were often assigned time off with pay, especially if wounded in the line of duty. Gabe’s downtime happened to come with a sexy Certified Nursing Assistant, also paid for out of TEAM coffers.
Zack had retrieved his Land Rover from the Metro PD impound lot, none the worse for wear. He volunteered to dog sit Whisper and Smoke while Alex and Kelsey took off for somewhere in the Pacific to soak up the sun and each other. Even grumpy Harley had stopped by Gabe’s with an apology for acting like an ass when times got tough. He’d brought Little Alex and Georgie, two of the cutest babies on the planet according to Shell.