Game of Secrets and Shadows (Book One in the Covert Operations series)

Twenty-Five

It was a fight over who got to come with me to Bristol.

Lia and Max, of course, both wanted to come with me. Both of them wanted to have my back and neither wanted to be left out of the action.

Malcolm Ortiz had wanted to come as well. It was both surprising and unsurprising. On the one hand, I had presumed that he would wish to stay with Daniel until his son woke up. On the other, Wes had become something of a son to him as well and it made sense that he would wish to see his rescue all the way through.

The only person who didn't attempt to weasel their way into the mission was Jack. The both of us knew that it was much too risky for the two of us to stay together, especially while entering a Scorpion stronghold. Instead, Jack would be departing for a safe house that neither he nor I currently knew the location of.

In the end, only Max would come with me. He was trying to call in some favours with other agents that he personally knew and trusted to fill the void. Lia would stay with Tasha. Malcolm, for all of his talk, was too injured to come with us. He'd been dealing fine with the injuries he'd sustained in the prison thus far but we didn't want to take the risk that he could be injured worse. He and Grace would be staying with Daniel.

As Max arranged transportation from Munich to Bristol, I spoke with Jack. Driving would take too long. It was over a thirteen-hour drive, excluding traffic and any other troubles we might come across. Flying would be ideal. We could hop on a plane and be in England in a little over two hours.

"You'll be okay?" Jack asked me as he raked a hand through his peppered hair.

It was clear that he didn't want to leave. I understood the feeling. Even though I was having a hard time seeing him as my father and part of my family, it was hard to deny that I wanted to have that relationship with him. Now that he was here in the flesh, I wanted the chance to get to know him better, to learn about my biological mother and the life I could have had if they hadn't been ripped from me at such a young age.

I flipped my auburn-coloured hair out of my eyes. I couldn't wait to dye it back to the blonde I was familiar with. I wasn't sure how long it would be until I was able to take that risk, but I hoped that it came sooner rather than later.

"Yes. We'll be fine."

"Just the two of you..." he grumbled, sounding unconvinced. His eyes slipped down the hallway to where Max was pacing and speaking in low tones on the phone.

"It's okay. We work well together. He's got my back and I've got his. We'll be fine. Besides," I added, "he's trying to call in reinforcements now."

Jack's mouth turned down into a frown. "Only people you trust. If you meet these people he's calling in and they give you a bad feeling, then you go in alone. Don't bring in anyone you don't trust. You're better off doing it yourself at that point instead of watching your back and your front."

"Okay."

Jack stared at me for a long moment and then, unexpectedly, pulled me into a large hug. It was a hug I hadn't expected and one that made me feel warm and oddly safe, like these were the arms that should have been hugging me my entire life. I supposed they were.

"We'll see each other again," he whispered in my ear, sounding choked up. "I don't know when but I refuse to lose you so soon after getting you back."

I nodded and breathed in the moment for a moment before pulling away. "I know we will. When you get settled...?"

"I'll get word to you. I promise."

"Good." I looked over his shoulder. Max was staring at me and when our eyes met, he nodded grimly and turned to walk away. I knew that it was time to go.