Chapter 23
Alex and Zach had assembled the entire security team and Dylan and his deputies, so their office was standing room only. Selita was in seventh heaven, she had “her girls” upstairs to take care of and a houseful of guests to feed and hover over. She was in full mother hen mode. Alex and Zach just shook their heads and smiled at the way their former teammates answered to her as if she were their own mothers. “Hard to believe those are the same men we’ve gone into firefights all over the world with and never worried, hell we knew there wasn’t a terrorist they couldn’t handle. But they are all mush and ‘Yes, ma’am,’ ‘No, ma’am,’ ‘Thank you, ma’am’ with our tiny tornado of a housekeeper.” Alex agreed with Zach’s observation, the woman was a force to be reckoned with, and God save the person who dared attempt harming “her chicks.”
After briefing everyone about the message Dylan had received and their interpretation, they ran various scenarios, responses, and troubleshot for a couple of hours. They had also let everyone know as much about the general sending his aide to visit as they could without giving out every detail of Jenna’s trauma to the entire team. Although they were spared the minutia, they all had mutinous looks that said they understood exactly what had happened and shared Colt and her brothers’ anger over a team member attacking a family member. Hell, they all believed that no woman should ever be attacked, but for a teammate to attack the sister of a buddy was a whole new level of low. Everyone was on point about Staff Sgt. James. It was common knowledge that if Colt didn’t like him, he was a boogie, it was that simple. And everyone wanted Grayson to have first crack at the man, because if he could get a solid read, they’d all breathe easier.
* * * *
Katarina and Jenna lay sprawled on the bed, enjoying each other’s company and the snacks Selita had sent up. After Kat had been shot in the suite and then later shot the man who had terrorized her when he broke into the same room, Alex and Zach had remodeled the entire end of the second floor of the mansion. The newly revamped suite was gorgeous, but it was the new safety features that made it truly amazing. It was a virtual fortress when activated as a safe room.
There were various activation devices in each room in addition to a voice-activated system that engaged if Kat spoke a specific phrase aloud. If any of those systems were triggered, not only did the suite’s bulletproof glass windows immediately cover with thick drapes, all doors and windows locked automatically and the room came alive with video and audio access that was ordinarily not active due to privacy concerns. But in the case of an emergency, every corner of each room was visible from monitors hidden in her husband’s office as well as the Crow’s Nest. With a simple slap of her hand against what looked like a child’s handprint framed on the wall, Katarina could lock down the entire house. No one was coming in or going out until the all clear was sounded by the security team. The entire place was state of the art. Mitch Grayson had enjoyed his carte blanche and had even created some features that he hadn’t found on the open market. Those inventions were making him a very rich man, though one would never know it to talk to him.
Kat had loved all the enhancements, at least she had before she’d had to endure drill after drill until she had wanted to snatch Alex, Zach, Colt, and Mitch all bald headed. When she’d finally dissolved into tears of pure frustration and fatigue, they’d given in and called her training complete. She had even managed to finagle a great foot massage and some off-the-chart sex as a reward for her “cooperation and patience.”Boy, sometimes smart men sure can be dim.Kat had shown all the features to Jenna and told her that similar features had been added to her smaller suite down the hall. In her case, it was her huge walk-in closet and dressing room that was sealed off and secured. Kat knew the men would have to train Jenna themselves, but she’d told her new sister-in-law the basics.
Jenna had been impressed with the security upgrades but was sorry they had been necessary. “You have had such a rough patch in your life for the past few years, hell, forever. I hope things settle down for you soon. But considering you are carrying a little Lamont, I suspect things are going to be a circus for a while longer.” Chuckling, she reached over and touched her Kat’s rounded tummy. “When are you due?” Jenna didn’t claim to know anything about pregnancy, but her friend seemed pretty round for only being about four months along.
Kat sighed. “Damn, I know, I know…at this rate I’m going to be as big as a house when this baby is born. I have an appointment for a sonogram this next week. I’m so excited, the doctor promised me we’d find out the baby’s sex and even get to see a 3-D picture of him or her. Do you want to go along? It would be wonderful to have you there.” Kat looked hopefully at Jenna, and though she suspected her friend was planning to escape at the first possible opening, maybe, just maybe, the niece or nephew card would help. “Don’t you want to be there to get a first look at your very first niece or nephew? It would really mean a lot to me.” Okay, so maybe she was milking it a little…well, a lot actually, but she didn’t care, it was for a good cause.Right, you are being selfish, and you’re trying to say you’re doing it for others, remember you had always sworn to be honest with yourself, Kat McKay, um…Katarina Lamont.Boy, it was hard to remember she was an old married woman now. She suppressed her inner smile, all the while giving Jenna her most sincere doe-eyed look.
Jenna looked at Kat and had to smile. “Damn it, Kat, that is just totally not fair. And knock it off with the innocent look, might work on those lovesick fool brothers of mine, but you are not pulling that shit with me.” At Kat’s guilty flush, she laughed out loud. “Okay, I really would like to stay for the sonogram, but I get to gloat to Gramps and Grammy Lamont, that’s just part of the deal, understand? I kind of wanted to go to the Masquerade at The Club this weekend anyway, I’ve never been. Since you aren’t going, I’ll be your spy.” They both collapsed into a fit of giggles and spent the rest of their time gossiping about all things baby, Colt, and Club.God, it’s good to be home, I’ve missed the mountains, my brothers, the joy of Kat’s nearness, and the peace it all brings me.
“It really sucks that I don’t get to go to the party, I had a great costume and everything. But after the risk Mia took for me, I don’t want to do anything that might jeopardize the guys helping her.” And then, giggling, she looked at Jenna with a conspiratorial look. “I’ll be really glad to have a spy on the inside, maybe you can text me from there, keep me updated, maybe pictures…No, probably that would get is both in a lot of trouble, but then again, spankings are usually worth working for.” This time they both fell over roaring with the shared inside joke, and that is how the men found them when they stepped through the doors.
* * * *
Alex, Zach, and Colt all walked through the door to the master suite and stood stunned to see the women lounging back on the massive bed, nearly hysterical with laughter. “What the hell?” Colt’s stunned response had Alex and Zach both smiling.
“Oh, brother, this is so very typical of these two. I wish I had a dollar for every time I’d seen them just like this, well, maybe not just, since Kat is pregnant, but you get the idea.” Zach was grinning ear to ear. “They have been friends since they were both first in school, I don’t remember them ever even having a disagreement. But I promise you that if you think either of them is a handful separately, together they are a hot mess. We didn’t call them Lucy and Ethel for no reason, I assure you.”
When Kat looked up and saw them all standing nearby, it was Alex’s indulgent smile that warmed her heart. God but she loved them both so much. Zach was more straightforward with his affections, Alex’s were more reserved, but the passion in Alex’s eyes was always scorching. “Hello, my husbands, Colt. What brings you into our little girls’ night in?” Kat had known they wouldn’t be alone long, hell, she was rarely alone any length of time at all. And she’d known Colt would be anxious to get Jenna back into his arms as soon as possible.
“Well, love, we’ve missed you, and I do believe Colt has some things he needs to discuss with Jenna. How about we let him have some time with her, and you can try to convince Zach and I why we shouldn’t paddle your sweet ass for trying to get pictures sent out of The Club? Hmmm?” Uh oh, Kat knew that tone, and that steely look. Fracking cameras, she should have known Spies “R” Us would be on duty tonight. She turned to Alex and flashed him her sweetest smile.
“I knew those darned cameras would be on, and I just couldn’t wait to get you both back into my bed, so what better method than to send up a challenge flare? And see how well my plan worked? Here you both are, all beefy muscles and sexual energy, just the way I love you.” All this was said as she crawled across the bed toward her men like a sleek—well, round sleek—cat.
As Jenna watched the show, she was amazed at the changes in her friend.I am watching a pro here. Cripes, Kat’s, playing them like a fucking song. And look at those two fools, this is better than HBO. Holy hell I should be taking notes.
Kat heard Zach’s gasp as she watched Alex’s eyes widen and then darken into pools of dark promise. Colt stepped forward and held out his hand to Jenna. “Come here, pet, I want to talk to you about your plans for the Masquerade party on Saturday.” Even though his voice sounded stern, the look of tenderness and desire in his expression told Jenna she wasn’t in any real trouble. She placed her small hand in his larger one and let him pull her to her feet and followed him from the room.Damn, Kat may have this Ds thing all figured out after all.Jenna had always been the Lucy to Kat’s Ethel, but something told Jenna she had a lot to catch up on.Well, game on, sister!