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“And then used that army to get rich off the taking of hostages,” I added.

I glanced down at the file spread out over the desk again. The place he’d been photographed could’ve been a safehouse, or even a base of operations. Or it could’ve been nothing — merely a place he slept that night, while transitioning somewhere deeper into Africa.

Shit.

The problem was, it was a big fucking continent. The last thing we wanted was to lose our shot.

“Sorry to bring you down here for what amounts to a tease,” said Ramos, “but I needed to loop you in. I wanted all three of you to know we could be moving on this very soon.”

“How soon?”

“Could be days maybe,” he shrugged, “or it could be weeks or months.”

“Or it could be not at all,” Gage frowned.

The Rear Admiral nodded solemnly. “That’s a possibility too.”

There was a quick rap at the door, followed by an ensign poking his head in. The rush of cooler air was like heaven. The man mumbled something, and the Rear Admiral headed for the exit.

“Take all the time you want here,” Ramos said, pointing down at the file. “After that, consider yourself relieved.”

The door closed, and the room went back to the stifling closet it actually was. Gage shook his head.

“There’s too much red tape,” he spat. “Way more than when we first started.”

He wasn’t wrong. It seemed like a thousand years had passed since BUDS school, and the soldiers we’d come up with were all but gone. I barely recognized anyone these days, and that included the brass above us. Old crows like Ramos were a welcome sight, but they were few and far between.

“Let’s get this over with,” said Maverick, pulling up a chair. “So we can get home.”

“Why not stay in San Diego for a day or two?” I asked. “Change of scenery.”

“Change of scenery?” Gage laughed. “Really?”

“Yeah. Home’s lonely.”

They looked at me, and as always I knew what they were thinking. Home hadn’t always been lonely, at least not a month ago, whenshewas around. We hadn’t heard from her in weeks though, and for that they blamed me. My impromptu trip to New York had apparently given Juliana exactly what she wanted.

Gage and Maverick however, had rather I’d returned home so she’d have to come get it in person.

“Look, I don’t want to hear it,” I said preemptively. “You both had your time with her. Don’t begrudge me for having mine.”

“But—”

“No buts,” I cut Gage off. “Look, maybe she’ll call. Maybe she won’t. In the end, what’s done is done. It is what it is.”

“It is what it is?” Maverick repeated mockingly. He pushed a map of Mogadishu to one side of the table and smirked. “Got any other wise sayings or nuggets of wisdom?”

“Sure, I’ve got one right here.”

With that, I fished into my pocket for a few seconds and returned him the middle finger.

Twenty-Seven

JULIANA

The decision to have a child didn’t come on all at once, but it definitely came on strong. It was ratified every time I visited my many nieces and nephews. Cemented as something I desperately wanted, after having spent time with Addison, Evan, and their three adorable little rugrats.

Turning thirty soon would hit hard, but that was really only the catalyst. Because the true motivating factor was simply being alone. Coming back to an empty apartment each night, with nothing to show for all my hard work but a big laundry list of material things.