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Roth held back. He flashed a smile at Kaylee. “How are you feeling?”
She looked surprised by his question. “Fine, why?”
“Seems like everyone is using backpacks as diaper bags,” he said in a whisper.
“How’d you know?” she asked, her voice also hushed.
“I’m sorry. At the Christmas party I heard Angel tell you the combination of anti-nausea meds her OB had her on. And I saw her get them for you.”
Kaylee blushed. “Yep, Doctor Norman’s no-fail recipe for morning sickness.”
“Looks like it’s working,” Roth said. “Isn’t extreme morning sickness a sign of a healthy pregnancy?”
“Yes, so they say. I saw him last week, and he said all looks good. My HCG levels are off the charts.”
“I’m happy for you and Sloan.”
“Keep your fingers crossed for me that it stays that way,” she said with a frown.
“You better believe it,” Roth said.
He reported to what would be the security room once all the members of Charlie Team were inside the building. Garcia and Wilson conducted a quick briefing where assignments were doled out. Garcia confirmed that Bravo Team would escort Shepherd and Diana to the event and shadow them all night. There would be regular patrols outside of the clubhouse, and a member or two of the team would be stationed at the two entrances into the building at all times.
All members of the Shepherd Security Team were to be armed, except for Michaela. The security team’s primary goal was to ensure that there were no bad actors targeting the team and, if anything transpired, keeping the guests and the children safe was their primary mission.
Roth would be stationed at the back door during the first two hours of the event. After he was relieved, he would have two hours off to eat dinner and socialize. Then, he’d pull a two-hour shift in the parking lot, watching the area from his car. That was it. He would then be relieved. He offered to take on more shifts later, if needed, so that BT, Michael, and Laura Lee would have more time to enjoy the New Year's Eve celebration.
From the back of the building where he was stationed, Roth watched all the guests seat themselves. Lambchop’s nephew, EJ, was his best man. Lambchop proudly stood on one side of the arch between Elizabeth Williams, who got ordained to conduct the ceremony, and EJ waiting for Michaela to walk down the short aisle. He watched the ceremony from where he was, while he remained vigilant.
The ceremony was fast, their vows written by each of them. They spoke of love, friendship and being made for each other. Lambchop beamed with joy, and Michaela glowed. He knew that Lambchop would be relieved they were finally married. The fact that she was pregnant, and they’d waited so long to marry, bothered him greatly. Roth got it. He was a man of God, and believed they should have gotten married right away to somehow legitimize the pregnancy, like it really mattered. Roth was pretty sure God knew they were committed to each other and wasn’t judging them harshly. And neither was anyone else at Shepherd Security.
Roth did end up covering security shifts all through the evening so his teammates could dance with their significant others and share the first New Year's kiss at the stroke of midnight. Those who were left at zero one hundred, gave Michaela and Lambchop a birdseed thrown sendoff as they bid everyone a goodnight and then drove away as mister and missus. They’d stay the night at a hotel near O’Hare Airport and then fly to Hawaii the next morning for their week-long honeymoon.
Roth spent New Year's Day at BT and Evie’s place watching the Rose Bowl and eating a large array of unhealthy munchies. Evie’s dog, Ollie, planted herself on the couch beside him and laid her head onto his lap. He’d also been invited to Brian Sherman’s place, where the three members of Delta Team and their wives, plus Michael Cooper and Dahlia, would be watching the game. Michaela and Lambchop had already left on their honeymoon. He opted for a quieter afternoon though, plus he needed to bounce something off them both.
“Evie, can I ask you something about when you were on the run?” Roth asked.
“Wow, I didn’t expect that question, but, yes, go ahead.”
“I’m sorry. If you’d prefer I didn’t,” he offered.
“No, go ahead,” Evie urged.
“If I remember correctly, you said it was police friends of yours who urged you to go on the run.”
“Yes, they knew the system couldn’t protect me. BT told me about the case you recently worked, the brother and sister. They provide a valuable service to women that the system can’t protect.”
“I know and I was happy Shepherd let it go as he did. The thing is, they were both asked to promise that they’d stop pulling identities from the CIA database and they were warned to find a legal way to help the women they take on as clients, but I know they’re not going to stop doing either. Is there a more legal way for them to help women who need to disappear?”
“You want to offer them a solution, don’t you?” BT asked.
“Yeah, I just don’t know what that could be,” Roth admitted.
“Laws need to change that will allow a person to legally change their name easily and confidentially if there’s proof that they suffered abuse or stalking,” Evie said. “Let me use myself and Linda, the friend I met in Louisiana who was actually named Rose Hale, as examples. She was on the run from her abusive husband. Neither of us had any choice but to run. There was absolutely no place we could live and use our real names that they wouldn’t find us.”
“Shepherd gets new identities assigned easily,” Roth said.
“He has connections and is respected and trusted in the intelligence community. His contact at the Marshals Service doesn’t even ask why he’s requesting an identity,” BT said. He pressed a kiss to Evie’s cheek. “We may have gotten ninety-nine percent of the assholes that would want Evie dead, but there may still be some left that would exact revenge if they found her.”
