“I’m not sure I can sit still for that.”
I’d never seen Bristow so pale or ready to pass out after Kelly finished the lifecast on Roth. That was also the one and only single time I was thrilled my wife had her hands on the other guy instead of me. As she poured and slathered that goop on his face, McG assisted his sister by clearing Roth’s nostrils so he could breathe. After a few false starts, I wasn’t surprised Callum took to it like a pro given how they had bonded over it when they were younger.
“He’s doing fine,” I informed my friend.
“Easy for you to say,” Bristow shot back. “You don’t have to sit for that shit. That’s like mud boarding.”
“It’s not like mud boarding,” Callum retorted. “We make sure the airways are clear. Are you saying Roth is tougher than you?”
“He’s terrified. That’s why he’s turned into a statue.”
Roth, for his part, didn’t help much when he gave Bristow the thumbs up.
“See?”
“Stop complaining,” I said. It would have been a hilarious conversation if I wasn’t on edge about Kelly being part of the mission. Even if I knew she would be safe with Dmitry and Kelso in the command van, I preferred she was nowhere near the compound when everything went down.
My phone buzzed and I was relieved to see Garrison’s name. I tried calling him a few hours earlier to see if he had any updates that would compromise the op, but he hadn’t responded until now.
“I need to take this.”
Bristow gave me a chin lift meaning he would make sure the rest of the guys didn’t follow when I took the call. Stepanov and Dmitry sent me interested looks.
Walking briskly toward the exit, I answered in a low voice. “G?”
“You good?”
That was Garrison. Short and to the point. Are we safe? Is everything on track? Is it safe to talk?
“Yeah.”
“You asked if there was any chatter of a double-cross since Bristow couldn’t find anything. Nadia dug deeper. And yes, my wife insisted, and don’t be counting further for her help because I think she’s close to popping—”
That was when I detected strain in his voice. “Jesus … is she okay?”
“She’s fine or she insists she is—”
“I’m sor—”
“Don’t fucking apologize,” Garrison grated. “You think I’d let her do this if I thought she couldn’t handle it?”
“I see you’re learning to compromise.” I chuckled despite myself.
“Yeah, I see you with Kelly. You’re in a more difficult spot than I am right now.”
“Okay, we can table this discussion of being married to women who wrap us around their fingers later. What did Nadia find?”
“There is concern in one of the assassin’s chatrooms about Stepanov’s capability of managing Murder Sanctum. There’s also chatter of Blaze Ulrich kissing Moscow’s ass, so they’ll back his claim to dethrone Stepanov.”
“Sheesh,” I said. “You make it sound like a kingdom.”
“It is the underworld kingdom.” Garrison gave a low laugh, but his tone turned serious. “I’m trying to get Porter to sign off on making you part of a federal task force looking into this.”
“Shit, G. If this blows up without that safety net, Kelso is going to get canned for sure.”
“Probably.”
“Gabby is going to kill us. Wait, she knows about this too.”
Double shit.
“She’ll probably get suspended.”
I laughed darkly. “You’re saying this as if it’s a slap on the wrist. Another suspension might very well cause her the badge.”
“Look. Quit fretting. It’s not the first time they’ve gone rogue with us. One could say, they’re even thrilled doing this. Makes me wonder why they’re in law enforcement when they have a tendency not to uphold the law. The Feds are onto the Moscow mob, but they don’t want to move in because they haven’t identified the kingpin.”
This didn’t sit well with me. “You know we have a bunch of kidnapped young women and men in that compound.”
“I’m aware.
“In short, you have nothing new for me. Just watch our backs since we have chatter.”
“Grumblings.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“If the missus doesn’t pop the kid tomorrow, I’ll check back with you guys. Tell Kelly hey, and that Nadia is jealous she couldn’t be in on the action. I couldn’t keep her from poking her nose around anyway.”
“Thanks, G.”
I ended the call and returned inside.
Kelly was about done with Tom, who stood up to let Callum take his place. Bristow was going to clear the nasal airway for Kelly’s brother.
“Sure you’re up to it?” I asked Bristow. “Because I’ve watched Kelly enough to do this and help.”
“Might be a good idea,” Callum muttered.
“Hey, I got this,” Bristow grinned at me. “This looks like fun. Besides you can thank me for contributing to the harmony of your marital bliss. If I’m the one who messes up, Kelly won’t be yelling at you.”
My wife’s laugh tinkled from the corner where she was making the mixture she used for the cast.
Callum was not amused. “Might I remind you I’m assisting Kelly when she slathers that mud on your face?”
Bristow paled a little, or maybe the contrast was more stark with his red hair.
“Fuck, you’re right.”
“So do a good job or hand it over to Levi.” Callum glared at me. “Though I’m not sure I trust you either.”
Kelly bumped me out of the way. “Move over, big guy. Bristow’s doing it.”
“Hey, I’m hurt, babe. You don’t trust me?”
She angled her eyes mischievously at me. “Bristow’s got bigger stakes not to mess things up.”
“You have a point there, Ki.” Callum laughed, although a bit nervously.
I was thankful as fuck I was not getting under all that mud.
Kelly
“You’re quiet.”
“What did I tell you?” I shushed Callum. “Don’t interrupt while I’m applying the prosthetic.”
“You’re just about to … so I can speak,” he mumbled from the corner of his mouth. With the time we’d spent mimicking our favorite characters in the past, I couldn’t bullshit Cal with the process. We’d binge watched enough “the-making-of” videos in our teens and when my brother returned home during his downtime as a SEAL, it became our bonding moment.
I sighed and held the appliance away. “I’m just a mass of nerves.”
“It’ll be fine,” he said. “You’re just tired and wired. How much coffee did you consume?”
“A lot.”
I’d been going at it non-stop for thirty-six hours, sneaking in catnaps in between working and re-working the prosthetic to make sure it attached flawlessly to their faces and passed facial recognition.
The prosthetics I worked with were encapsulated in a type of skin adhesive that allowed for precise placement. Make-up gave the finishing touches. Both cosmetic and prosthetic should hold up to all rough conditions, but I hope to hell they didn’t get into a fist fight.
I worked in stages on all three men. Callum’s disguise would be finished first.
“I’m worried about Alana,” I said.
“She’s alive. James assured us, right?”
Levi and Bristow disappeared the day before, leaving Kelso and Callum to guard me. Stepanov had left after the first night and was returning at go time. The Russian didn’t make inquiries about Alana in his communications with Ford so as not to tip off the businessman.
“Now I’m shutting my mouth until you’re done.” Cal glanced over to where Bristow was chatting with Levi while Tom was in a corner staring broodily at us.
Tom and I never had the chance to talk. I had yet to let him know that Levi and I were back together, but it was obvious.
“Good idea.”
“We’re going to have words about that too,” Callum said, knowing where my thoughts had gone.
“How about we’re not? Now, quiet.”
Callum’s mouth flattened, but it was twitching. He was laughing at my bossiness.
It took almost an hour before I was satisfied with the application on my brother’s face. I had plenty of time to work on Tom and Bristow who were already half-fitted with their appliances. After surveying the result of my brother’s disguise, I was extremely pleased it looked natural. Unlike a full-on-mask, selective prosthetic application allowed natural movement of facial muscles. For the final foundation and skin tone application, I turned Callum away from the mirror. The guys started gathering around us.
“Shit, that looks freaky,” Bristow said.
Callum gave him the bird while Levi nudged Bristow none too gently on the shoulder.
“In a good way,” Bristow deadpanned.
I laughed lightly. I really loved Levi’s buddy. He never failed to bring levity in the midst of tense situations, unlike my husband who’d been a ball of tension since we walked into the warehouse the other day. It was a good thing Dmitry and Stepanov stayed elsewhere, otherwise, Levi wouldn’t have been cool with us staying here.
“What do you think?” I spun my brother’s chair so he faced the mirror.
“Damn Ki, it’s—” Callum stared at his new face and then, spinning back around, he grinned at the rest of the guys. “My sister is kick ass.”
Tom winked at me. “Damn, Kelly, I can’t wait for you to get your hands on me.
A frigid blast came from the direction of my husband. I pointed a finger at Tom who clearly wanted to get his digs into Levi. “Behave. Otherwise, I’ll make you look like that monster from Hodgetown.”
Levi walked to my side and slung a possessive arm around me, and planted an even more possessive not-so-light kiss on my lips. “Great job, babe.”
I stared up at him. His eyes held pride that calmed my nerves. God, I needed to be permanently attached to him. “Pity, I couldn’t work you over.”
He grinned devilishly. “You can work me over after this op.”
The men gave a collective groan.
“Save that flirting for later,” Callum muttered.
“I’ll help you with the beard disguise,” I told Levi.
“He doesn’t need help with that,” Bristow said. “That’s basic super agent 101.”
“I can make you a shade darker,” I said, determined to have a hand in my husband’s disguise.
“Okay, this is an op, not a fantasy op,” my brother interjected.
I ignored Callum’s grumblings. “Are you sure the facial hair and fat suit will be enough?”
“It is,” Levi assured me. “I’m staying in the truck anyway and will be wearing a cap.”
“Here’s an idea,” Tom said. “I know for certain these guys never want to hire or work with Mexicans. Why not wear a straw hat?”
“Yes.” I chewed my bottom lip. “But not the wide brimmed ones for farming. Maybe the ones the day workers wear coming in from Tijuana.”
“That’s even better,” Tom said. “Then you just have to wear a wife beater and a checkered polo.”
“That thought did cross my mind,” Levi said. And for a second, I thought he didn’t like that Tom came up with the brilliant idea, but there was no enmity emanating from either man.
Levi turned to me. “I have the checkered shirt and I’m sure we could find the hat in one of the convenience stores on the way to Mt. Charleston.”
“Sounds like a plan. I can deepen your tan with the foundation I have.”
He grinned wide. “You’re the expert.”
I checked my watch. “Okay, who’s next?”
Tom raised his hand. “Me.”
As Callum got out of the chair, I told him, “Give it another twenty minutes to set.”
“Wait a sec,” Bristow said, holding up his phone towards Callum’s face, using the app that Stepanov used yesterday to do a quick scan.
Two beeps came from his phone. Then he showed us the screen identifying Callum as Aleksey Minkov.
“Better get used to the name,” Levi said.
“Not my first rodeo, bro.”
“Do you speak Russian now?” I teased my brother.
He rattled off a sentence that sounded Russian. “Five years. Language is my strong suit.” And then he rattled off more sentences that might had been Mandarin and Arabic. I knew he spoke Spanish.
My awe was quickly replaced by sibling fondness. “Show-off.”
