Shades of Gray (4 page)

CHAPTER 5

WHEN
P.J. and Cole left the security gate in Nashville, P.J. groaned when she saw Dolphin
standing a short distance away holding a sign that said P.J. in big letters. Smart-ass.
She’d usually have fun with it and give him some shit, but not today.

He grinned when he saw both her and Cole and then started in their direction. He was
the epitome of cocky good ole boy. He was originally from Texas and he had the worn
cowboy look down without actually looking like he was right off the ranch.

More often than not he wore jeans with at least half a dozen holes, flip-flops that
made him look like he was heading to the beach and a T-shirt, usually with a snarky
saying. Today’s offering was “Heavily armed, easily pissed.”

Damn but she wanted that T-shirt.

He, like Cole, was a former navy SEAL, and he’d been called Dolphin since BUD/S training,
because he swam like one. The man was more at-home in the water than on land. P.J.
half expected she’d find gills in his rib cage somewhere.

“Fancy meeting you here, Cole,” Dolphin said with a sly grin.

Before P.J. could contemplate removing Cole’s testicles—she knew this was going to
happen!—he responded so casually that
she
even believed him.

“I tagged P.J. coming out of one of the gates. Figured we were going the same place
so we may as well hitch a ride together.”

Dolphin frowned. “You went out of town?”

Cole snorted. “I do have a life, you know. We were supposed to be up for some extended
R and R.”

P.J. cut in, relieved that Dolphin seemed to accept Cole’s explanation. “So what’s
up anyway, Dolphin? Steele was as closed mouthed as ever when he called me up.”

Dolphin shrugged as he motioned them toward the doorway leading to the parking garage.
“Got me. You know him. We’ll know all when Steele deems it appropriate. Me, I’m just
the errand boy sent to provide P.J. a ride.”

Just then Cole’s phone went off. He glanced down and frowned as he read the message.

“What’s up?” P.J. asked and then realized how nosy she sounded.

But Cole didn’t seem bothered.

“Looks like a text that just got through. Steele says we’re meeting at his house,
not the compound.”

“Oh yeah,” Dolphin said. “You didn’t know? I figure the world’s coming to an end.
Us seeing Steele’s inner sanctum? This must be some pretty heavy-duty shit. I just
hope to hell my OnStar can find it. Knowing him, it’s probably not on any official
GPS map.”

P.J. and Cole exchanged a look. Dolphin was being a smart-ass but he wasn’t far off
the mark. Suddenly she was anxious to get the hell where they were going so she could
find out what sort of mission they’d been called up on.

When they arrived at Dolphin’s truck, he grabbed P.J.’s pack before she could toss
it in the back herself. She climbed into the extra cab, leaving the front for Cole.
She only hoped he took the hint. She found herself holding her breath as he walked
around the other side.

To her relief, he climbed in the front just as Dolphin slid behind the wheel.

“You get any rest at all, P.J.?” Dolphin asked as he glanced in the rearview mirror.

It took everything she had not to blush. Cole made a noise that sounded like a cross
between a cough and a laugh. She wanted to stick her knife right through the back
of his neck. Asshole was enjoying this.

“Slept like a baby,” she said in a silky voice.

Dolphin shook his head. “I wish I had. I thought we were in for a long layoff so I
went out. Hell, my head is
still
hurting.”

P.J. rolled her eyes. Dolphin’s nights out were legendary. He always had a new story
about all the crap he got into. At least it passed the time during transit and when
they were stuck in some shit hole awaiting orders or for the enemy to make their move.

“I didn’t get much sleep,” Cole said slyly.

Dolphin guffawed. “You finally get laid, dude? I was beginning to think you were considering
monkhood.”

P.J. wanted to crawl under the seat. It wasn’t that the discussion was anything out
of the ordinary. When she was working, she was just one of the guys. She didn’t get
a pass because she was female, and she liked it that way. No way she wanted them acting
all weird around her, afraid to say anything for fear of offending her.

What surprised her even more was that if Dolphin’s words were to be taken to heart,
Cole had told the truth about not hopping into bed with just anyone.

“Monkhood? Nah. Just needed to meet the right woman.”

Dolphin made an exaggerated rear back with his head. “Dude! Don’t tell me you’re off
the market! I knew the damn Kellys were bad influences. If we aren’t careful, we’re
all going to be domesticated and ball-less before it’s over with.”

P.J. closed her eyes and willed Dolphin to drive faster.

“Nothing wrong with one woman,” Cole drawled. “As long as it’s the right one.”

“So, do tell,” Dolphin urged. “What’s she like?”

Cole grinned. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”

Thank God.

“So that’s why you were out of town, then,” Dolphin mused. “How she feel about you
being yanked out of her bed so abruptly?”

Cole cut a glance over his shoulder in P.J.’s direction, and she shot him a murderous
glare that said
If you don’t shut up, I’ll kill you.

He chuckled and drummed his fingers on the dashboard. “She was remarkably understanding.
Of course, I promised her I’d be back as soon as I possibly could.”

P.J. choked and then coughed to cover the sound. She was so going to kick his damn
ass over this. He was going to torture her endlessly, and there wasn’t a damn thing
she could do about it without letting everyone else know they’d slept together.

“When was the last time you got laid, P.J.?”

Her eyes widened as she stared back at Dolphin, who was peering at her in the rearview
mirror. It wasn’t as if it was an out-of-the-ordinary question, especially coming
from Dolphin, who had no couth. The whole “one of the guys” thing. But his timing
sucked ass.

Cole turned in his seat and sent her a wicked grin. “Yeah, P.J., when was the last
time you got nasty between the sheets?”

She flipped them both off and turned her gaze out the window as they flew down the
interstate.

She dozed on and off, trying to block out the memory of the night before. She was
jerked awake when her head bumped the window, and she straightened to see they were
driving down a long dirt driveway.

“Wow,” she said.

“Yeah,” Cole replied. “Impressive.”

Acres of rolling pasture spread out on either side of the driveway. In the distance
a huge pond glistened in the fading afternoon sun. Horses grazed sporadically. She
hadn’t imagined Steele to be a horse person.

A sprawling ranch house was situated in the middle of the small block of acreage that
was cleared. Thick forest surrounded them on all sides, and knowing Steele, he likely
owned it all and controlled access as tightly as they did Fort Knox.

“Hey, did you have to give a blood sample at the gate?” P.J. said as she leaned forward.

Dolphin chuckled. “He damn near made me get out and drop trou to give him a urine
specimen.”

P.J. grinned. They gave Steele shit privately, but to his face—and behind his back
too—they gave him absolute respect. They might joke about how much of a hard-ass he
was, but he had their unwavering loyalty.

Steele had given her a chance. Despite her past, her record. He’d looked beyond what
was on paper and the fact that she’d walked away from a position on a S.W.A.T. team,
and he’d believed in her.

In return she gave him one hundred and fifty percent every time.

Their team was kick-ass and she knew so without false modesty. They worked like a
well-oiled machine. She and Cole were damn good snipers. Baker and Renshaw were the
muscle and the brains behind explosives and tactical maneuvers. Dolphin was their
utility man. He could do a little bit of everything, whatever the team needed. Steele
was just one badass motherfucker and he could do it all.

Not that Cole wasn’t just as much of a badass . . . But he, more often than not, was
sniping with P.J. He’d actually scared her shitless when he’d taken a bullet when
the teams had gone into Colombia to rescue Rachel Kelly from a fucked-up situation.

She’d never admit it. Not in a million years.

Now it made her think of Dolphin’s own close call not so long ago.

“Hey man, you feeling okay?” she asked as they pulled to a stop behind the other parked
vehicles.

Baker and Renshaw were obviously already there.

Dolphin turned with a lifted brow. “What’s this? Concern from my teammate?”

She scowled. “Of course I’m concerned. Did you get clearance for this?”

He shook his head and got out of the truck and then politely opened her door for her.

“I’m fine,” he said, when she stared up at him.

He held up his fist and she smiled and bumped it. Cole tossed her the bag that he
got out of the bed of the truck, and they headed toward the doorway.

“About time you two got here,” Steele said from the front porch. “Where you been,
Coletrane? I figured you’d be here long before now.”

“Was out of town,” Cole said easily. “Thought we were getting some R and R. I caught
up with P.J. at the airport and Dolphin gave us both a ride in.”

Steele grimaced. “Yeah, sorry about having to call you up.”

“So what’s going on, boss man?” Dolphin asked. “Why did you call us up so quickly?
Must be some heavy shit going down, right?”

Steele turned and motioned them inside. “I’ll give you the report with the others.
We don’t have a lot of time.”

CHAPTER 6

THEY
stepped inside the spacious foyer of Steele’s home, and P.J. curiously took in as
much as possible as he walked the two steps down into the sunken living room.

It was all male, rugged and outdoorsy. It had the look of a hunting lodge. Rustic.
Something you might find in the mountains alongside a trout stream.

Wood floor, cedar furniture, huge stone fireplace. There were several taxidermy pieces,
from a huge elk over the fireplace to the mule deer mounted directly across the room
facing the elk.

A bear rug covered the floor in front of the fireplace, and several other animal hides
were either pinned to the walls or covering the backs of the furniture.

It looked like a hunter’s paradise. And, well, Steele was essentially the biggest
badass hunter there was. He just happened to hunt men along with what other big game
he hunted.

To her surprise, when they entered the living room, Donovan Kelly was seated with
Baker and Renshaw on one of the far couches.

Van, as he was called by those close to him, ran KGI with his brothers Sam and Garrett.
More recently their younger brothers, Ethan, Nathan and Joe, had joined their ranks,
but the three older Kellys essentially ran the show.

Donovan was the computer geek, and while some people would look at him compared to
his hulking Neanderthals for brothers and immediately think
nerd
, Donovan was a badass through and through. P.J. had a lot of respect for him.

He was quiet. Didn’t need to be loud to get his point across. Plus he was smart, and
for P.J. there was nothing sexier than a smart man. And if he happened to be a complete
badass too? The perfect package.

“Hey, there they are,” Baker called out as he scrambled off the couch.

There was a moment of fist bumping and grasping of hands as the team reunited. One
would think they’d been separated forever instead of just three days. But they also
knew that in their line of work, there was always the possibility that one of them
wouldn’t come back from a mission.

It was a reality they lived with, and it made them closer. While P.J. might cringe
at the thought of having people close to her, this was essentially her family. A whole
bunch of big brothers. Well, except for Cole. She’d pretty much axed any chance she’d
ever look at him as a sibling. Not that she ever had anyway.

Steele and Donovan were both looking at her oddly, and she couldn’t shake the sensation
that somehow everything she and Cole had done the night before was on her face for
the world to see.

Donovan moved to her side, gave her a greeting, but it seemed grim. Alarm prickled
up her spine. This had nothing to do with any silly self-consciousness she was feeling.
Donovan wouldn’t be here at all if this weren’t a pretty damn important mission.

“Have a seat,” Steele told everyone.

He and Donovan both remained standing as the others slouched on the couch and in the
chairs. P.J. made sure to grab the only available spot left on the couch next to Baker
and Renshaw, forcing Cole to take one of the unoccupied armchairs across from the
sofa.

Steele took a deep breath. P.J. honed in on his mood with pinpoint accuracy. He was
hesitant, which flabbergasted her, because he wasn’t the hesitating type. Steele was
nothing if not to the point.

“I apologize for calling all of you up after you were promised time off. Something
came up, though. Something big.”

P.J. and the others leaned forward. Everyone had gone completely still at his announcement,
because, indeed, it would have to be big to elicit this kind of reaction.

Steele turned to Donovan, who stepped forward, his expression one of utter seriousness.

“Carter Brumley is one of the largest traffickers of children in the world. He likes
them young, preferably in the range of eight to twelve, and he deals exclusively in
females.”

The hatred in Donovan’s voice was evident to all, and now it made perfect sense to
P.J. why he was here and why the team had been called up. Above all things, Donovan
had a soft spot for children. Women and children, but particularly kids.

He had a hand in every single mission that dealt with children, whether they were
missing, exploited or kidnapped.

“He’s public enemy number one in a number of countries. Many agencies have gotten
close, but no one has been able to take him down. He’s smart, but he’s also lucky
and he has more lives than a cat.”

“We going after him?” Dolphin asked.

Steele silenced him with a look.

“In a manner of speaking, yes,” Donovan said grimly. “An opportunity has presented
itself that we can’t pass up. But in order to get close to him, we’re going to have
to use unorthodox means.”

P.J.’s brow went up at that.

That was when both Steele and Donovan looked directly at her.

“Brumley’s right-hand man has a predilection for petite brunettes with killer legs.
He likes them toned, small busted. Not too small, but not overly endowed.”

P.J. had the sudden urge to cover her chest with both arms as she stared at the men
in mortification. They were all but assessing her charms in front of God and everyone.

Her lips curled in disgust. She was being such a goddamn girl. Here, she was one of
the guys. Not a one of them would be so much as blinking an eye if they were talking
about each other’s dick size.

“He also has a big mouth,” Donovan continued on. “We got a tip from a prostitute he
had an association with that he’s a talker. With enough alcohol and encouragement,
he’ll air damn near anything.”

P.J. was starting to get a very bad feeling about this.

“Rumor is he’s delivering girls to a buyer in Europe. American girls. The specific
order is for blondes. Eight to ten years old. Blue eyes. Long hair. The buyer was
very exacting.”

“Jesus,” Cole said in disgust.

“So how do we stop him?” P.J. asked evenly.

Donovan took a deep breath. “We know where he’s going to be in three nights’ time.
There’s a party he’s attending in Vienna. Arthur Stromberg, one of Europe’s biggest
arms dealers, is hosting a soiree, and he and Brumley are good friends. And where
Brumley goes, Gregory Nelson goes. That’s where you come in, P.J.”

Cole sat straight forward, a dark scowl savaging his face. “What do you mean that’s
where she comes in? What exactly are we talking here?”

Steele frowned and Donovan held up his hand. “Let me finish.”

Cole didn’t sit back and P.J. glared holes through him. The last thing she needed
was him embarrassing her in front of her team.

“We want you to get close to Gregory Nelson at the party. Be friendly. Smile a lot.
Wait for the invitation. Once you get him alone, try to get as much information out
of him as possible.”

P.J. blinked and stared back at Donovan, not at all sure what to say.

Cole didn’t suffer any such problem, however. He was on his feet, his fists down at
his sides clenched into balls.

“What the fuck, Van? You want her to prostitute herself for information?”

The other guys didn’t look thrilled with the idea either.

“Why don’t we just go into the party, take down Carter Brumley and rid the world of
his filth?” Cole demanded.

“I don’t like the idea any more than you do,” Steele said in a terse voice. “But we
can’t just go in and take him down. For one, he’s guarded to the teeth. We’d need
a hell of a lot more manpower than one team or even Rio’s team with us. Two, us taking
him out doesn’t help us free those girls. This mission requires finesse and patience.”

“And where the fuck are we going to be while P.J.’s working Nelson over?” Cole demanded.

“We’ll be close,” Donovan said. “We aren’t leaving her on her own and we’ll provide
the hotel room for their rendezvous. We’ll take the room next door so if anything
goes wrong, we’ll be there in five seconds.”

“I don’t like it,” Cole said stubbornly.

P.J. shot to her feet, determined to shut Cole up. “Hey, can everyone shut up a minute
and let the person this actually involves ask a few questions?”

Cole reluctantly snapped his lips shut and then retook his seat, but he continued
to stare belligerently at Donovan.

“This all sounds good on paper,” P.J. said balefully. “But there are a damn lot of
holes in this scheme. I’m not a party girl. I’m not some temptress or seductress.
I can’t walk three steps in heels and I damn sure don’t have killer legs.”

Cole’s lips tightened further, and she could positively see the denial in his eyes.
She shot daggers at him, a promise that if he so much as opened his mouth she’d remove
his testicles. He seemed to get the hint because he remained silent.

“You clean up good, P.J.,” Donovan said.

“And how the hell would you know this?”

He smiled. “I can see past all the camo and the bullshit. You’ll look stunning in
the right dress and the right shoes and with the right hair and makeup. I bet your
own team won’t recognize you when I’m done.”

“Uh, Van? You’re going to be my wardrobe advisor?”

He lifted a brow. “Why not? I know what looks good on a woman. I won’t be much help
with hair and makeup, but I’ll make sure we have someone who can help with that. The
important part is that you believe you can carry it off. You have the attitude and
confidence. No doubt about that.”

“And I’m going into this party alone?”

“I can procure invitations for you and myself. We’ll go in together, but you’ll need
to drop me once we get inside so you can make contact with Nelson. Once the flirting
is done and you have him on the hook, you tell him where you’re staying and that you
wouldn’t be opposed to company. If everything works out the way we hope, he’ll be
putty in your hand.”

She looked at Steele, her team leader, the man she put all her trust in.

“What do you think?” she asked softly.

She didn’t care if it offended Donovan that she’d seek the opinion of Steele when
in actuality Donovan signed all their paychecks. Donovan wasn’t her team leader. Steele
was. Donovan had been on plenty of missions with them. He had her respect. But Steele
was the one she took orders from and no one else.

Steele was silent for a long time as if grappling with his thoughts. Then he glanced
her way, meeting her gaze.

“I think it’s probably our best option. I don’t like it, but I think we can make it
happen and make sure you’re safe.”

“This is fucking insane!” Cole exploded. “Since when do we pimp out our teammates
for a mission? Do you even understand what could happen to her if the slightest thing
goes wrong? She’ll be helpless.”

“That’s enough, Cole,” she said through her teeth. “You need to shut the fuck up and
stand down. I’m not fucking helpless. I can defend myself and my team won’t let me
down.”

Not like her last one had. It was left unspoken but she knew Cole got the meaning.
She trusted her teammates. They weren’t Derek, Jimmy and Mike.

“No, we won’t,” Baker said, his voice strained with utter seriousness.

Renshaw nodded his agreement.

“She has to go in wired,” Dolphin said. “We have to know what’s going on every step
of the way so if things get out of hand, we can pull the plug damn fast.”

Donovan made a sound of exasperation. “We aren’t hanging her out to dry. This is a
mission just like any other mission. We work as a team. We plan for any eventuality.”

Then he turned to P.J.

“This mission isn’t mandatory. It’s completely your choice and it won’t be held against
you if you opt out. I’ll understand entirely if you don’t want to assume this kind
of risk.”

“Don’t do it, P.J.,” Cole bit out. “We’ll find another way to save those girls.”

But they wouldn’t. Not these girls. It would be too late for them. Just babies. Taken
from their mothers and their homes. Forced to endure nightmares no child should ever
experience.

How could she say no when she had a chance to help them?

Her gaze swept the room. Her teammates were quiet, their expressions pensive. They
all stared back at her, unwavering support reflected in their eyes.

Cole was furious. And worried. She could see the concern in those blue eyes a mile
away and it pissed her off that he didn’t have more confidence in her abilities. They
had sex one time and he was already acting like an overprotective ninny. The next
thing he’d want would be for her to stand behind him on their missions so she never
got caught in the cross fire.

Then she glanced back at Steele and Donovan. She searched Steele’s expression for
some sign of what he was thinking. Finally she gave up and voiced her question aloud.

“Steele? Do you think this is what we need to do?”

“I can’t make this decision for you, P.J. I’m not going to bring my opinions to the
table on this. It’s a righteous cause or I wouldn’t have bothered to call you guys
up when you just came off a mission where you got no sleep and you’re badly in need
of some downtime. But all I can do is call you up.”

Steele surveyed the others and then looked back at P.J.

“Let’s put it to a vote.”

P.J. took a deep breath and swallowed some of the anxiety building in her chest. Give
her a sniper rifle and tell her what target to take out and she could do it in her
sleep. But this . . . This was so far outside her comfort zone that her mind was screaming
what the fuck
at her.

“I’m in,” she said in a firm voice.

Steele looked to the others.

Dolphin blew out his breath. “Hell, I’m in. She’s not going without her team.”

“Ditto,” Baker muttered.

“I’m there,” Renshaw spoke up.

Which left Cole, who was still looking pissed. He glanced at P.J. then looked around
at all the others.

“Goddamn it. I’m in but I don’t like it and I’m going on record as saying so.”

“Okay then, we’re a go,” Donovan said softly.