back the urge to tell him to fuck off and cleared his throat instead.
“Where are we?” he asked calmly, ignoring the surprised looks from his own team, much less the looks from the rest of the assembled members of KGI.
Donovan arched one eyebrow. “We were waiting for your rundown of the mission.”
“Not much to tell. We went in, got the girl, we got out.”
“And the dead bodies?” Garrett asked pointedly.
“Collateral damage,” Steele replied. “It was unavoidable. Garza got stupid. It was either him or one of us. We gave him every opportunity to stand down. I was clear that all we wanted was the girl. He was equally clear that he didn’t give a shit about her. That should have been the end, but his ego took a hit because we made him and his security look like amateurs. He pulled a gun. Dolphin had no choice but to fire.”
“And the girl?” Sam prompted. “How did she end up with a bullet wound?”
Steele’s eyes narrowed at the question.
“She threw herself in front of Garza. Winged her but hit Garza.”
Dolphin nodded and started to speak up, but Steele silenced him with a look. Steele was responsible for the mission. He was responsible for his team. He and only he answered to the Kellys.
Sam sighed. “Her parents are thrilled with her safe return, but they’re less than thrilled over the fact that their daughter got shot by the people charged with her extrication.”
Steele shrugged. “She’s alive.”
Donovan bit back a chuckle. “That’s true enough.”
Garrett nodded. “Considering the situation, we’re damn lucky she didn’t get killed. I’m satisfied with the mission and the results.”
Steele lifted an eyebrow in Garrett’s direction. “Was there any doubt?”
“No,” Sam broke in. “I just wanted your side. Her parents have asked for a full report and I wouldn’t provide one, or an explanation as to how their daughter was injured, until I heard directly from you. As far as I’m concerned it was a righteous mission and it was successful. But I also wanted to be able to provide her parents with in-depth details so they know what kind of man their daughter was mixed up with. Maybe she’ll make better choices in the future once she realizes Garza didn’t give a shit about her or whether she took a bullet for him.”
Garrett snorted. “Not likely.”
Sam glanced Steele’s way again. “You up for training team three a few more weeks? Our schedule is clear for the next while, and I wanted to take advantage. Rio is heading back to Belize for some R and R.”
Reading between the lines, Rio was going back to his wife, Grace, and their adopted daughter Elizabeth, and he’d be off the grid for a while. Which meant Steele pulled training duty. Again.
“As long as the rest of my team gets some time off,” Steele said.
The frowns on his team members’ faces told Steele they weren’t happy with his directive, but he also knew they could use some more downtime. Cole and P.J. were newly married and still working through some heavy shit. He’d never offer P.J. disrespect by saying it in front of the others, but she needed more time to focus on her healing and her relationship with Cole. A happy, well-adjusted team meant a more focused, competent team, and in their line of work, they couldn’t afford fuckups.
The rest of his team could use the downtime as well. They were a tight-knit group and Baker, Renshaw and Dolphin had taken the shit that had gone down with P.J. hard.
Sam nodded. “Done. Time off. Next mission will be drawn by Rio and his team unless we get something on the fly in the next few weeks, and then, depending on what the situation is, Nathan and Joe can take the assignment with either you or one of us as team lead.”
Steele nodded. Though Sam, Garrett and Donovan didn’t officially lead any of the teams, they’d taken the lead plenty of times, often taking missions with Steele and his team or Rio and his. With the addition of the new team, it was
“Where are we?” he asked calmly, ignoring the surprised looks from his own team, much less the looks from the rest of the assembled members of KGI.
Donovan arched one eyebrow. “We were waiting for your rundown of the mission.”
“Not much to tell. We went in, got the girl, we got out.”
“And the dead bodies?” Garrett asked pointedly.
“Collateral damage,” Steele replied. “It was unavoidable. Garza got stupid. It was either him or one of us. We gave him every opportunity to stand down. I was clear that all we wanted was the girl. He was equally clear that he didn’t give a shit about her. That should have been the end, but his ego took a hit because we made him and his security look like amateurs. He pulled a gun. Dolphin had no choice but to fire.”
“And the girl?” Sam prompted. “How did she end up with a bullet wound?”
Steele’s eyes narrowed at the question.
“She threw herself in front of Garza. Winged her but hit Garza.”
Dolphin nodded and started to speak up, but Steele silenced him with a look. Steele was responsible for the mission. He was responsible for his team. He and only he answered to the Kellys.
Sam sighed. “Her parents are thrilled with her safe return, but they’re less than thrilled over the fact that their daughter got shot by the people charged with her extrication.”
Steele shrugged. “She’s alive.”
Donovan bit back a chuckle. “That’s true enough.”
Garrett nodded. “Considering the situation, we’re damn lucky she didn’t get killed. I’m satisfied with the mission and the results.”
Steele lifted an eyebrow in Garrett’s direction. “Was there any doubt?”
“No,” Sam broke in. “I just wanted your side. Her parents have asked for a full report and I wouldn’t provide one, or an explanation as to how their daughter was injured, until I heard directly from you. As far as I’m concerned it was a righteous mission and it was successful. But I also wanted to be able to provide her parents with in-depth details so they know what kind of man their daughter was mixed up with. Maybe she’ll make better choices in the future once she realizes Garza didn’t give a shit about her or whether she took a bullet for him.”
Garrett snorted. “Not likely.”
Sam glanced Steele’s way again. “You up for training team three a few more weeks? Our schedule is clear for the next while, and I wanted to take advantage. Rio is heading back to Belize for some R and R.”
Reading between the lines, Rio was going back to his wife, Grace, and their adopted daughter Elizabeth, and he’d be off the grid for a while. Which meant Steele pulled training duty. Again.
“As long as the rest of my team gets some time off,” Steele said.
The frowns on his team members’ faces told Steele they weren’t happy with his directive, but he also knew they could use some more downtime. Cole and P.J. were newly married and still working through some heavy shit. He’d never offer P.J. disrespect by saying it in front of the others, but she needed more time to focus on her healing and her relationship with Cole. A happy, well-adjusted team meant a more focused, competent team, and in their line of work, they couldn’t afford fuckups.
The rest of his team could use the downtime as well. They were a tight-knit group and Baker, Renshaw and Dolphin had taken the shit that had gone down with P.J. hard.
Sam nodded. “Done. Time off. Next mission will be drawn by Rio and his team unless we get something on the fly in the next few weeks, and then, depending on what the situation is, Nathan and Joe can take the assignment with either you or one of us as team lead.”
Steele nodded. Though Sam, Garrett and Donovan didn’t officially lead any of the teams, they’d taken the lead plenty of times, often taking missions with Steele and his team or Rio and his. With the addition of the new team, it was
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