Tactical Force

Charlie nodded toward her computer guy. “Jonah, can you make it happen before morning?”

He nodded. “I’ll do my best.” He held out his hand to Anne. “Could I borrow your badge?”

Anne shrank back, her hand on the purse she still carried over her shoulder. “You most certainly cannot. I swore an oath. I could get fired.”

“You could die,” Jack reminded her.

Anne chewed on her lip, her gut knotting. She’d spent her entire career trying to do right by the people of her country. She prided herself on always taking the high road. Helping someone into the inner sanctum of the West Wing was almost like committing treason.

Charlie touched her arm. “Based on your informer, others could die if Trinity isn’t stopped. But you have to do what you think is right.”

“If it helps,” Declan said. “As a Marine Force Recon team, we all had top secret clearances.”

“Had?” Anne questioned. She knew what Marine Force Recon meant. They were the best of the best of the Marines.

Declan glanced at the other members of his team. “Until we were discharged from the Marine Corps.”

“Discharged?” Anne tilted her head, her gaze going to Jack. “Honorably?”

Jack’s lips thinned. “No. We were dishonorably discharged.”

Anne reeled, shaking her head, her hand tightening on her purse. “Why?”

“For doing what we thought was the right thing,” Declan said, his face grim. “Unfortunately, the powers that be didn’t agree.”

“Did you…kill someone?” Anne asked. “Is that why you were discharged?”

Jack snorted. “No. We didn’t kill someone we were ordered to kill. If we had, a lot of innocent people would have been collateral damage. We made the decision to abort.”

“I don’t understand,” Anne said. “I thought, as a country, we weren’t in the business of killing innocent people, if we could help it.”

“Someone had to take the fall for not taking out a high-powered terrorist.” Declan pushed back his shoulders and lifted his chin. “My team took that fall.” He spread his arms wide. “And now, because of Charlie, we’re fighting the good fight, helping people when the government can’t.” He stared directly into Anne’s eyes. “We understand if you don’t feel comfortable giving us your badge. We’ll find another way to create one for Jack. He will be with you tomorrow, one way or another.”

Anne chewed on the information Jack and Declan had imparted. If what they were saying was true, they’d been booted from the military because they hadn’t wanted to kill innocent people. Their government had let them down.

If the informant who’d texted Anne was correct, Trinity had somehow infiltrated the government and was planning on doing something catastrophic. She couldn’t let it happen. But how could she, a single midlevel analyst, stop anything from happening? It wasn’t as if she could spot a Trinity operative by looking at him.

She didn’t know who they were. But they knew who she was, and they didn’t want her to tip off anyone as to their intentions.

By going to work, she was putting herself at risk. If she died, no one would know that Trinity was planning something big.

She might not be anyone or know anything, but she did know something was about to go down. Since the informer had contacted her, she had to be close to either the entrenched Trinity operatives or close to the people who would be targeted. Either way, she had to find out what was going down and stop it before anyone got hurt.

Anne dug in her purse, pulled out her employee badge and handed it to Jack. “I’m trusting you to do the right thing, as I hope I am by handing you my badge.”

Jack took the card, holding her hand in his for a long moment. “I promise we’ll do the right thing. When it comes right down to it, we love this country, despite what some individuals in powerful positions have done to us. We want what’s right for the country we swore to honor and protect.”

Her fingers curled around his for a moment, then he let go and handed the card to Jonah.

Jonah nodded. “I’ll have that badge and your clearance entered into the system before morning.”

“I don’t want to know how you’ll make that possible.”

Jonah grinned. “It’s best you don’t know. Ignorance is bliss.”

Anne eyed Jack. “If you’re coming to work with me, we’ll have to have a good cover story.”

Jack grinned. “Look at you going all covert on us.”

She frowned. “I’m serious. I can pass you off as the new hire coming to train in my office. I’ve been interviewing people for the position of my assistant for a couple of weeks but hadn’t found anyone I thought could handle the workload or the stress.” She gave him a wry smile. “Guess you’ll be my selection. If your clearance has come through by morning, we’ll have to tell people your security clearance is in process, in case anyone noses around.”

“Just what do you do?” Jack asked.

“I’m an analyst for the national security advisor who sits on the National Security Council.”

Jack frowned. “That’s more than a mouthful. How am I supposed to keep up with all of that?”

Her smile twisted. “Oh, man, you haven’t seen anything yet. It’s alphabet soup at the White House.” Anne’s smile turned south. “Do you have a business suit?”

Jack’s frown deepened. “I haven’t worn a suit since my mother passed away. And that was so long ago I don’t own that suit anymore.”

Declan eyed Jack. “I have a suit that might fit. We will have to take out the length on the trousers, since you’re taller than me.”

“My butler, besides being former military, an expert in martial arts and having amazing taste in vehicles, has been known to sew when necessary,” Charlie said. “We can get that done tonight, assuming there’s enough material in the hem of Declan’s trousers to let them out.”

Anne wanted to laugh at the deepening frown on Jack’s face. “If you don’t want to wear a suit, perhaps one of your teammates would prefer to accompany me to work as my assistant.”

Cole looked up. “I’ll do it.” He grinned. “I own a suit. It’s dusty, but I’m sure it will do.”

Jack rose to his feet. “I’m going. Cole, we need you to help Jonah get me added to the employee database with the correct level of clearance so whatever badge you come up with works when I scan in at the door tomorrow.” Jack nodded toward the leader of their team of former marines. “Declan, show me what you have, so I can get Arnold started on the alterations. We don’t have much time to get things done by morning.”

“Follow me. I have the suit in my closet upstairs.”

Anne released a sigh of relief. She hadn’t wanted another man to accompany her as her protector. Jack had proven himself twice that night. She trusted him with her life. Her niggle of doubt came because of her body’s reaction to the man’s touch.

Well, she’d just have to keep her distance from him and avoid bodily contact.

“It’s a good thing you and Grace live here at the estate,” Jack said to Declan as the two left the war room and climbed up to the study. “When did you invest in a suit?” Their voices faded as they moved through the house.

Anne turned to Charlie. “What did they mean by thanks to you, they’re doing the right thing?”

Charlie glanced at the remainder of the men in the room. “I’ve employed Declan and his team to perform missions to right wrongs, help people and do things the FBI, CIA, state and local police won’t or can’t get involved in. We call the team Declan’s Defenders.”

“A kind of vigilante group?”

Charlie shrugged. “Some would say that.”

“They’re more than that,” Grace said. “They saved my life and my roommate’s life. I wouldn’t be alive today if they hadn’t come to my aid.” She gave Anne a gentle smile. “You’re one lucky woman to have them covering your six.”