Page 19 of Waggs

“Yeah, she’s pretty easy going. In fact, it was her idea, although I think Jack might have dropped a few hints, but she won’t confirm. Either way, she’s happy, and so am I.”

“That’s the main thing. Happy wife.”

“Happy life.”

Gunner high fived Mitch who had tuned into the conversation.

Waggs wondered what it would be like not to have to wonder about his future, to have it all figured out and laid out before him. Ready and waiting like an adventure just waiting for them.

Reid walked in holding the door for Lopez, who had a slew of equipment with him. He was becoming more like Will, their other boss, although he was a silent partner and let Jack run things his way, but he was a genius with anything technical.

The man had literally made millions inventing things and selling them, including the watches they wore which not only tracked them, but allowed the computer to read their health, heart rate, pulse, blood volume, and brain activity. It meant if one of them was hurt, the rest could see it, even if they weren’t in a position to alert the team. He’d even made mini trackers that did the same thing that fit inside more elaborate jewellery for the women in their lives.

He didn’t mind the watch; it was similar in style to a diver’s watch and was invaluable to him as a medic, especially if he was working remotely from the patient, which he’d had to on occasion.

Finally, Jack walked in looking a little harassed, but that was his go-to these days, especially since his father was still on the run. “Right, let’s get down to business. First up, you may have noticed Waggs here has a beautiful woman in tow. Willow needs our help, and we’re going to provide it somehow. Waggs, over to you.”

Jack sat down and handed the floor over to him. His teammates turned their attention to him, and he felt nerves as he was about to admit things about his brother and himself that weren’t particularly going to show him in a good light. What man fell in love with his brother’s girlfriend?

He shifted in his seat, and they waited patiently for him to get his words straight in his head. If there was one thing these men could do, it was to be patient.

“I had a twin brother called Aaron, some of you know that. We were in the Green Berets together. I was a medic, and he was a sniper. He was killed by a suicide bomber in Kandahar five years ago by a kid barely seven or eight, with a vest on.”

Reid shook his head. “Fuck, man.”

“Yeah, I knew seconds before the bomb blew. I knew, but I couldn’t get to him in time. There was nothing I could do. He was so broken. I’m not sure the best surgeons in the world could’ve saved him. He and Willow had just got engaged a week before.”

Waggs swallowed as he relived the most painful memories of his life, his head aching and his heart feeling so heavy with loss that was still so fresh, and he knew always would be. “Aaron and I were inseparable. We fought as most brothers do, but we were never apart. Spent every moment together, and when he met Willow, I thought it might change, but it didn’t. She just slid right into our world as if she’d always been there. I fell in love with her. I still love her and always have. Aaron never knew, and neither did she. She still doesn’t, I don’t think.”

The room was silent as he told his story, neither urging him to get on with it nor judging him as he looked around at the closed expressions with a hint of sadness on them. It was impossible to do the jobs they did without loss. Every man here had lost someone they cared about. Liam with his best friend and their former teammate, Ambrose. Reid and his teammate from the FBI hostage rescue team. They all understood loss but to lose a twin was a pain like no other, it was like a piece of you was missing, like a limb and extension of who you were. His very existence was changed, and he still, even now, didn’t know how to fix the hole and maybe he never would.

“I stayed with Aaron every second until they lowered his body into the ground, and then I went and got blind drunk. Later that night, I saw Willow. We were so broken we clung to each other. I never meant for it to happen, but it did. We betrayed Aaron the day he was buried by sleeping together. I know what kind of an asshole that makes me. Believe me, I do, but every year on the anniversary of his death, I go home, and every time we end up in bed together.

“Now, I’m not telling you this because I want to start a knitting circle and braid each other’s hair but so that you know how much that woman out there means to me. I love her. I always have, and I always will. I have no idea if it can, or even should, work between us, but I think we’re going to try. But she’s in trouble, big trouble.” Waggs rubbed his hands over his face waiting for the accusations and judgement.

“What do you need, Waggs?” Jack asked.

Those five little words meant everything to Waggs, and he let the worry he’d been holding onto go. He knew this team supported each other but what he’d done to Aaron broke so many codes, it was a wonder he hadn’t been hit by lightning.

He looked up and saw only expectation as they waited for him to continue. “Willow works for a trucking company. She noticed some discrepancies in the trucks going in and out, and when she took it to someone higher up, she was told to leave it alone.”

Alex uncrossed his arms and sat forward as Lopez began to type like crazy. “She didn’t though, did she?”

“No, and now her immediate boss, who was dating the owner’s son, is dead. We, or at least I, believe the son is the one behind it. Aaron and I went to school with him, and Ralph Edwards is a dick. He was always looking for an angle or leverage on people, and now he’s looking to run for the state Senate.”

“So, he’s a rich, entitled prick with a God complex? Perfect!” Liam shook his head.

“Pretty much. When Willow saw two men hanging around AJ’s school, she panicked and ended up here.”

Blake crossed his ankle over his knee. “Smart girl.”

Waggs agreed with a nod. “Yeah, she is. When she got off the plane at Heathrow, she saw one of the men again, though, which is why she ended up here with nothing. My guess is she’s run herself ragged, which is how she ended up sick.”

“I can let you have Liam and Decker but not for a couple of weeks. How about we investigate what we can from here with Lopez helping you, and then when Deck and Liam are free you can head back to the US with them and finish this?”

“That works. If I can find out what I can here, it will give me the jump before we head back into the firing line.”

“We’ll see if we can get Liam undercover at the trucking yard so he can poke around, and Deck can speak to his contacts and see if they’re on anyone’s radar. Reid, reach out to Clay and see if he or any of his team have heard anything.”