Shades of Gray

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.