Page 76 of Her Forever SEAL

“Mrs. Kowalski.” Her voice went easy and warm, the PI voice, the one that made people feel like they were talking to a friend. “Yes. When?” A pause. “Today. What time did she say?” Another pause, shorter. “That’s wonderful. Thanks for keeping my secret. I can’t wait to surprise her. I know she’s going to be tickled when I give her the bon voyage card that all of us signed from Bay Brew, and who doesn’t need a Target gift card, am I right?”

“Oh, she might send someone for her cat instead? Well, that’s all right, maybe I can get them to drop off the card.”

She hung up and looked around the room.

“Mary doesn’t deserve a Target gift card,” Rylie growled.

“Hush up. That’s great work, Angie. I’ll go with you,” Lydia started to get up from her chair.

“Sit down, Lydia,” Mason said as he walked around the table. “I’m going with Angie.”

“Just so we’re clear, I’m driving.”

“I hope you drive better than you park.”

Mason watched as San Diego moved past the window. Angie had already told him about the apartment building, now he was just running through the logistics. He couldn’t believe that an operator was coming back for a cat. He shook his head again.

“Are you thinking about the cat?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a feral Tom that has half of one ear chewed off and is blind out of one eye. He’s ugly as sin. Mrs. Kowalski tried to introduce me, but he damn near bit her hand off.”

Mason shook his head again.

A cat.

How many times had an op succeeded or failed due to one little thing like a cat? He couldn’t count.

His phone rang.

Drake.

“Tell me something good,” Mason answered.

“We're wheels up in thirty minutes.” Drake's voice had the tone it got when an op was finally moving. “All of us.”

Relief immediately moved through Mason's chest. His men. Coming home.

“Thirty minutes,” he said.

“We'll be there before breakfast. An early breakfast.” A pause. “How are we doing, Mase?”

“We're working it.”

“Yeah.” Drake knew what that meant. “We'll be there.”

Mason ended the call. He looked out the window. He thought about six men on a transport crossing an ocean and felt like he could take a breath.

Angie parked half a block down from the building, facing the entrance, engine off. The kind of position you could hold for three hours without drawing attention.

She turned to Mason. “Now we wait.”

“What about Mrs. Kowalski, won’t she be waiting for you?”

“I go up there and Mary shows up, and Mrs. Kowalski is there, it’s a problem. So, Mary’s co-worker is going to be stuck in traffic for a long time.”

Mason grunted. “Guess she’s not getting that Target gift card.”