Free Avenged (Hostage Rescue Team Series) (Volume 5) by Kaylea Cross Page A

wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.”
    His smile was so full of relief and maybe even gratitude, it made her heart ache. “Then come on. I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”
     
    ****
     
    Special Agent Ethan Cruz slid his arms into the sleeves of his clean T-shirt and held his phone to his ear with his shoulder as he took his sidearm from his locker. The briefing had finished ten minutes ago and all the guys were headed out. He and Vance were going to the Virginia coast with Schroder to guard Taya, after a little pit stop at DeLuca’s place.
    “Ethan!”
    He couldn’t help but smile at his mother’s excited voice. “Hey. Sorry I didn’t call you back last night. Been busy.”
    “But you’re all right?”
    She liked him to check in with her at least every couple days when he was stateside, just to let her know he was okay. Didn’t matter that he was twenty-nine years old and a member of the HRT. He’d always be her baby. “Yeah, I’m all right. You?”
    “Fine, son. Are you boys still scheduled to come down this way at the end of May?”
    “Looks that way for now.” They were tentatively scheduled to do a joint exercise with the DEA in Miami. He glanced over his shoulder as Vance walked in with a duffel and went to his locker, located next to Ethan’s. “You sure you still want to host us all for dinner one night?”
    Vance’s face brightened and he paused in the act of packing his body armor. “Is that Mama Cruz?”
    Ethan gave him a nod and grabbed two extra magazines for his M4 and put them in his own duffel. Before he could say anything else, his mother’s delighted gasp sounded in his ear. “Is that Sawyer?”
    Oh, lord. “Yeah, it’s Sawyer,” he said, rolling his eyes.
    Vance grinned at him, all white Chiclet teeth and sparkling eyes. “Hey, Mama Cruz,” he called out, loud enough for her to hear. “You’re still having us for a cookout when we come down there, right?”
    His mother laughed. “Tell him of course, and that I’ll have his favorite bread pudding and a flan ready.”
    “She says yes,” he grumbled, omitting the last part.
    “Tell her I’ll love her forever if she’d make one of those flans,” Vance said, his expression hopeful. Guy was six-two and two-thirty easy, but right now he looked more like an eager puppy dog than an elite counterterrorism and hostage rescue operator.
    Ethan lowered the phone slightly to cover the microphone and shot him a mock glare. “Get your own mom.” Vance and his mother were ridiculous in how much they loved each other.
    Vance chuckled and landed a solid punch to Ethan’s left shoulder, knocking his upper body a few inches to the side. Guy had fists like a freaking sledgehammer. “You’re just jealous, man, cuz you know she loves me more than you.”
    “You wish. You’re only an honorary son,” he muttered and raised the phone, turning his head when DeLuca stepped into the locker room. Their commander looked directly at Ethan and waited, sliding his hands into his pockets. “Hey, Mom, I gotta go.”
    “Wait, I wanted to tell you about Marisol.”
    Ethan frowned. He hadn’t seen the little-girl-from-next-door in his old neighborhood for several years now, since she’d graduated from law school. “What about her?”
    “I was speaking to Soledad today, and she said Marisol’s coming back into town in a few weeks to work on a big case she’s landed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office here in Miami.”
    “That’s great,” he said, not sure why his mother was telling him this.
    “Yes, something to do with a big drug lord who was arrested by the DEA a few months ago.”
    Ethan straightened as he filled in the blanks. “Diego Fuentes?”
    “I think that’s him, yes. Anyway, Soledad is very proud. It’s a big honor for someone who just started working for the U.S. Attorney. She said Marisol will be around when you come down, so maybe you’ll see her.”
    “Yeah, maybe.” The “ice princess” would probably go out of