Page 18 of Wicked Shadows
“If I send word instructing you to leave town, do not waste time. Leave immediately. No packing, no questions, just get to your parents’ house and wait for me.”
“Got it. Even though you’re scaring the shit out of me. I know you won’t tell me anything more.”
“No, I won’t. But for your own safety. Have a good flight. I’ll be in touch as soon as I can.”
The next call he needed to make was to Noah. A commercial flight wouldn’t get him to LA fast enough from Miami. From what Steadman told him, time was definitely of the essence. Even telling Jeff what he’d told him was taking a huge risk, but keeping Elle’s face and family in the news would hopefully buy more time. He only hoped his plan didn’t backfire on him.
“Steele,” Noah answered.
“Reaper, I need a favor—and I need it right now.”
“Of course. Whatever you need. Name it.”
“I need the private jet for a ride to LA.”
“No problem. You need the team to go with you for backup or anything?”
“Not this time. I have to go this one alone.”
“Understood. If anything changes, you know we’re more than willing to jump into the fire with you,” Noah replied, recognizing the code phrase they’d already established to identify Shadow’s CIA missions.
“I know, Noah. If I don’t make it back from this one, I want you and the guys to know how much I’ve relied on and valued your friendship.”
“You know we feel the same way, Shadow. But I have to tell you, I’m more than a little worried about you, talking like this. You’ve never been hesitant to walk into a mission before.”
“This one is different, Reap. This is a high-stakes poker round, and the dealer holds all the best cards. I’m going in on a long-shot gamble that I can pull it off successfully. But I can’t and won’t take you, Bull, and Rebel down with me if and when this mission goes wrong.”
“We’ll be in LA as soon as the plane returns and can take us out there. At least we’ll be close if you need to pull us in.”
“Actually, it would be helpful to have you there to cover a few people for me. They’ll be making waves and could unknowingly draw the wrong attention to themselves. I’d feel better knowing you’re there to watch their backs.”
“Done. Fill me in on what they’re doing.”
Shadow packed while he recounted his conversations with Jeff and what he’d instructed Elle’s family to do. After the time they’d spent together and all the missions they’d completed, Noah understood perfectly what Shadow hoped to achieve. With Noah’s experience on highly classified operations, Shadow had no doubt he’d already deduced what the mission entailed, at least partially.
But the devil was in the details.
