Raising a Cowgirl (12 page)

“Well, that's one of the things we wanted to talk to you about. Uh, we kinda sent
Voodoo and Thane to go and get her before they came back. Right now, she is under
protection of the local police who the Commander notified himself,” Gage said nervously.

“Shit, she must be terrified,” Jolie whispered.

“Not so much,” David said slowly. “She was more worried about you and Sammi, and
kinda threatened us a little bit if something else happened.”

“
She
and Lou are fast becoming friends, talking on the phone several times a day, we didn’t
want to worry you. Your mom said until she gets here she doesn’t want to endanger
you, so when Lou calls from her phone, you can talk to her,” Gage explained. “And
your job, the Commander asked for an indefinite leave of absence until we can figure
this out.”

“Great, well I am glad you have my life sorted out for me, I was a little worried
there for a minute,” Jolie said dryly and crossed her arms.

David and Gage knelt next to her and Gage said, “Sweetheart, we are sorry if it seems
like we are bulldozing you over but seriously, we only have your best interests at
heart. It would kill me if something happened to you, now that we found you.”

Jolie looked up and saw the others smiling at their friend's declaration. “Shit,”
she murmured and closed her eyes. They were touching her and being nice, so not fair.

“Sweetheart, look at us. I swear we would lay down our lives for you and Sammi.
It seems like we are officially declaring ourselves in front of everyone. You have
become so important to us already, please, don’t be mad,” David said.

“Fine,” Jolie grumbled and rolled her eyes, she felt a warm feeling floating over
her, wrapping her in its safety, but she would be damned if she would tell them that.

“Thank you.” David’s eyes sparkled and he stood. “I have to go. Take care of her
and I will be back in a couple of hours.”

Gage nodded and they moved to the door. Jolie felt like she had to do something,
letting him know she wasn’t completely pissed would be nice. “David,” she said and
he paused. “I will see you tonight right?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” David smiled and left. Gage turned and nodded at her in
approval. She shook her head and looked at the board again.

“So, what about the other things listed there.” She pointed.

“Those are our contacts we know we can trust. We are reaching out to see if they
have heard anything,” Alex said.

They talked for a few minutes about what they were planning. Noah explained how the
security was going to work. Dallas had spared no expense with his son and his friends
'
safety. They had guards twenty-four/seven, state of the art fiber optic cameras,
as well as motion sensors. David’s home was being outfitted the same way. She was
shocked at the amount of money this had to be costing. They were building a fortress
in the middle of the country.

“What about the town?” Jolie asked.

“Desire and her men are helping David with that. Don’t you worry though, all of the
people around here are more than able to protect themselves. The gun laws don’t really
apply here,” Sable said seriously.

Jolie shrugged and said, “Hey as long as no one shoots me again, we aren’t going to
have a problem. Live and let live.”

There was noise at the door and Jolly and Steve walked in looking solemn. They held
up a disk and said, “We have it. Where do you want us to set up?”

Jolie looked curiously when Gage directed them to the living room. He was looking
just as disturbed when he turned back and looked at the rest of the room.

“Jolly did me a favor. We all need closure of some kind, it sucks but it's true.
The others are going to patch in on a computer for this. I have it set up, sorry,
I didn’t warn you all. Marie's funeral is on the disk,” Gage said and stared at Jolie
who already had tears in her eyes.

“You’re right, we need closure, then we need to find the SOBs who killed her and make
them pay,” Jolie said firmly and stood. “I will get Sammi.”

Gage nodded, then allowed her a moment to go and gather herself while the others began
to move into the living room.
This was going to suck
.

They gathered in the room, the large couches all turned and centered with the huge
flat-screen TV. Jolie, Sable, Sammi, and Lou sat on a couch together. While Gage
sat in a chair behind her, kneading her shoulders to help her relax. It was hard.

Jolly stood in the front of the room, looked at Jolie and Sammi with kindness, and
said, “Gage called me and asked if I could do him a favor. He said you and Sammi
deserved to have closure with this, and asked me to videotape the services so you
could all watch. Obviously for security reasons none of you could attend. I am so
sorry, Jolie and Sammi, I hope this helps if only a little. Everyone is here right?”

There were two computers, which were facing the screen already, she heard voices confirming
they were there and Jolly nodded. There was a flash on the screen indicating the
start. Ted had been buried in a plot they bought when they got married so they wouldn’t
be separated if he died in combat. It was a privately owned military cemetery. One
of the most beautiful places she had ever seen. The trees and lush grass made a natural
oasis, but the small marble benches and gorgeous flowers is what set it apart. Each
gravesite that held a family was sectioned off with flowers, and had its own small
space. It was perfect.

Jolie could see the military headstone Marie had shown her before. It was white marble
and in the center was the Team TEN coin with a picture of Ted and the guys. The same
picture as her screensaver she had on her personal computer. Marie loved that picture.
She always said she had ten husbands not one.

She felt something brush across her cheek then rest on her shoulder. She thought
it was Gage's hand so she tilted her head to allow him to comfort her. It barely
registered that his hand felt soft. Not at all what she remembered as she watched
the people begin to arrive.

Gage froze when he felt the ghosts surrounding him. When he glanced up, he saw all
of the guys standing at attention facing the screen on the TV, all but Ted and Marie,
who were standing next to him. He saw Marie put her hand on her friend's shoulder
and smile when Jolie tilted her head.

Ted looked down at him, smiled sadly, and nodded. He looked at Sammi and smiled at
her when she looked up and waved her fist at him and Marie.

“We have been to see her—you know—at night. She is a good baby, looks just like
me but she has Marie's smile
. We may be gone but you will always have a part us—all you have to do is look at
her
,”
Ted said proudly.

“
I know, man, and
I figured
you visited her, too
,” Gage muttered softly.

“I saw the board by the way. I wish I could help, but it is shadowed. Marie doesn’t
remember anything either. I have a few feelings though, we all do. There is something
we are all missing. Something important. I don’t know what though,”
Ted said.

Gage nodded. He was feeling the same way, like whatever it was would change the course
of their investigation, but until they saw it, it was worthless to try to force it.
It would drive them all crazy.

Gage looked back at the screen and he felt the tears choking him when he saw the Commander
and a lot of the people from the base there. They were staring at the headstone intently.
All but the Commander who was looking around a little, he could tell he was trying
to pick out someone who was not supposed to be there.

“Welcome,” the military Chaplin began and everyone was silent.

Jolie’s shoulder began to shake and she buried her face into Sammi’s neck, apologizing
softly to the baby. Gage felt his heart clench when Sammi smiled at Marie but laid
her head on Jolie’s shoulder like she was comforting her.

“You are her guardian, but before I left that day, I also made Jolie joint guardian.
You need to tell her,”
Marie whispered and Gage nodded.
“You will be good for her, both of you will. I know you will also take care of her
as if she was your own. Promise me something though.”

Gage looked up at his friend's wife with tears in his eyes and nodded. He couldn’t
say a word because he was so choked up.

“Make sure she laughs. Jolie is all business. She needs to have fun and loosen up.
She deserves it,”
Marie whispered and winked at him.

Gage felt the first tear drip over his eyelid and he nodded. He would do that, no
matter how she came into their lives, he was not going to let her go. He couldn’t.

The room was silent but for the sniffs from Jolie, Lou, and Sable and the people on
the screen. But he could feel the sorrow in the room, it was almost suffocating him.
He felt the first tingle of panic come when Jolie sobbed louder. He couldn’t do this.
Not say goodbye again. It was not acceptable.

He pictured the times he and Ted were out on assignment making sure each other were
safe. The times they sat in briefing and drew pictures of the terrorists in very
compromising situations. They had a book of cartoons, their own Most Wanted book.
Then he remembered the night Marie and Ted met at the freaking laundry mat, no less.
They had been there trying to get smoke out of their BDUs after a mission.

All of those memories flooded his mind. Then he could hear the last day, the day
Ted and the others died. The conversations, the last time he spoke to each of them
was burned in his memory.

The Chaplin ended the service and Gage’s eyes snapped to the screen as the people
flowed by and laid a rose on her casket.
NO!
his mind screamed and Gage stood quickly. He couldn’t deal with this.

Shoving his hands in his hair, he turned and looked at Ted and Marie who stood silently
looking at him. They were holding each other, Marie quietly crying on Ted's shoulder.
What was he going to do when they left. Right now, he was able to maintain because
they had a mission, something to focus on, but what about when he was alone. Would
the despair get so bad he would want to join his friends. Would it be easier
—
maybe.

Ted shook his head as if he was reading his mind
but
Gage couldn’t stay there anymore. He slammed out of the room and the back door until
he reached the wide-opened backyard. He turned in circles looking for something,
anything to focus on, but there was nothing.

Gage let out a long and grief-ridden scream when the memories flooded him still.
NOT FAIR!
None of this was. His scream seemed to go on forever, releasing his grief. He felt
the guys surrounding him, trying to get him to calm down, but Gage pushed his way
through them. Running to the barn, grabbing the horse one of the wranglers had just
gotten off and he was gone. Riding down the road—not thinking—not feeling—his only
purpose was to run.

The idiots were going to be killed if they didn’t do something quickly for him. Three
weeks and nothing. No sign of the men or the woman and child. It was as if they
had disappeared from the face of the earth. Diego was not going to stop just because
of this little hiccup. They had risen to the surface when someone they cared about
had gotten hurt.

They would certainly do it again. He just had to figure out where the rest of the
people were, and who he was going to send after them. There were plenty of mercenaries
ready and willing to do his bidding. Of course there were, he was a powerful man
now. Everyone listened when he spoke, and the way these men were ignoring him, it
was like they didn’t appreciate his power.

Diego needed to do something in order to get his point across. The SEAL's wife had
been a good choice, but she had also had no information or would not talk. She had
been too close to the men, probably learning their skills while she was married to
one of them. It had to be the only excuse. A weak woman would never have been able
to withstand the torture he knew his men handed out.

Throwing his glass against the wall in frustration, Diego ran a hand through his hair.
There had to be a better choice, someone who he could help torture, someone he could
scare and get the information he needed. He had to look at the files again, focus
on the people who were listed now as family, and contact info. He had to kill them
first before he took his revenge out on the government. They were so stupid they
were not even looking in the right place.

This was going to be a brilliantly played chess game, one they would lose because
they had no idea who they were playing against. He pulled out the list of names he
compiled. Everyone on this list was someone he could use, including his weak brother
who didn’t seem to care what he did as long as he was not involved. ‘Plausible deniability’
the courts called it. Pussy—is what he called it.

No matter though, his brother would do what he wanted—when he wanted or he would suffer
the consequences.