Chapter 16

Everyone had taken turns sleeping during the night. They all took a watch shift. Jaxson had tried to excuse her, but Charlotte hadn't let him.

"And what good am I if I go to bed and sleep? That also makes me a horrible person. I will not let you put your lives at risk and I do nothing." She had stood in the middle of the kitchen with her hands on her hips and sassing this massive man. If his team could have seen, they would have laughed their tails off. Jaxson didn't back down from anything or anybody. Except for Charlotte.

Rio laughed and smacked his brother on his back. " She's scary for such a little thing, isn't she?"

Jaxson looked from his mate to his brother, then over to Amber. "You just wait. Your turn will come soon enough. Then I'll be laughing at you because you're the one who will be uncomfortable."

But it was morning now and Charlotte had fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room. Misty had also. The women took up the entire sofa and Bill had covered them both with a blanket while they slept to keep them comfortable.

"I don't think anyone is coming." Powers said.

Just then, all of their phones started going off. Notification after notification. For a full ten minutes, their phones vibrated with notices.

Rio took the time to look down at his and scroll through his notifications. Looking at the other three men he said, "Do you think we all got the same one?"

Powers said, "Oh I have no doubt. That little weasel is smart. We knew what we were up against when we opened that file on that card." Powers frowned as he looked down at his phone. Mixed in among the notices that the man they were hunting sent was one from his wife.

"Madrid is hot, but Paris is beautiful and much cooler. I wish Dad could have joined us."

Rio looked over his boss's shoulder, frowned, and said, "What's that about? It looks like a code."

Powers put his phone back in his pocket and said, "It is a code. My wife is letting me know that the heat was close to our home, but she got to where she was going and is safe. She wants me to join her as soon as I can."

"Well, that's pretty slick, Powers. How long have you talked in code?" Bill asked.

"We don't do it all the time. As a matter of fact, this is only the second time we have had to use it." The men nodded and went into the kitchen to make coffee and start breakfast.

Rio sat Amber down at the table, knowing she was exhausted. As soon as the coffee was finished, he brought her a cup, filled with cream and sugar, just like she liked it.

As he handed it to her, he had a thought. Looking over at his brother, he said, "Jaxson, we need to have your Alpha ceremony and your wedding. This town needs you. Not that Bill has done a bad job. But, Dad would be thrilled. And Mom. I can see her now. She's gonna drive you nuts with the planning." Rio chuckled

Bill, standing across the room, looked at his Alpha. Young and strong. Soon to be mated. He was thrilled that Jaxson was ready to step up. Because Bill sure was ready to step down. He had found Misty and wanted to be able to spend the rest of their lives together. Who knew? Misty was still relatively young. Maybe they could....No. That wasn't fair of him to start thinking about that. He needed to talk to his mate first and plan their wedding.

Charlotte stumbled into the kitchen, still half asleep and bleary-eyed. But the tension was so thick in the room that she woke up quickly. Realizing that Amber was behind her, she stepped aside for the agent. When she went to step into the kitchen, she too felt the tension.

"Jeez! What have you guys been planning? Mayhem and destruction?" Amber just walked over to the coffee pot and grabbed two cups. She poured her and Charlotte a cup and fixed it how they both liked it.

Rio snickered. "Nope. Something much worse."

Amber looked around the room. Each man had a different expression on his face. Rio had a little boy, I'm into everything mischievous look. Bill looked reserved, but hopeful. Her boss looked shocked and Jaxson, well, he looked grim.

"Someone read your obituary, Jaxson?" Amber asked as she took of sip of her coffee.

Charlotte, sensing his distress, walked over to Jaxson and wrapped her arms around his waist and then rested her head on his chest. Right over his heart. The gesture was so unintentionally symbolic, that he couldn't help himself. He reached up one hand and clasped her head, holding her to him. Feeling her in his arms like this, Jaxson was ready for their wedding. The mating ceremony would be a public ceremony, like the wedding. His Alpha ceremony would also be public. All of these would be held in the public square in the center of town.

"No Charlotte. I was just thinking about the plans we need to make and how we are probably going to have to fight my mom from taking over."

With her head on his chest, she could feel his voice in her nerve endings. It sent a thrill rushing through her body, causing her to swallow a moan.

Jaxson felt his body tighten. Her reaction to him was equal to his reaction to her. Yes. Definitely need to get married. Fast. Before he embarrassed himself. Looking over at his brother, who smirked at him. He knew exactly what he was feeling.

Arching a single eyebrow, Jaxson dared his brother to laugh at him. He would suffer the same way until he mated his girl and they both knew it.

Suddenly, everyone's phone went off. Nathan took his phone out of his pocket and looked at it. Cursing, he looked at the people gathered in the room. "We won't be making too many plans yet. Everyone check their phones. I'm pretty sure we all got the same message."

Gasps from the women and curses from the men. Bill read the notification aloud. "Federal judge slain minutes after issuing several federal warrants for multiple high ranking political officials in Washington, DC."

"Dammit! How did he know?" Jaxson was aware that the little prick was sneaky, but even this was unexpected.

"What about satellites?" Everyone in the room turned to look at Charlotte in surprise. "Well, why not? With the advent of facial recognition, and insThey can also override the satellite relay, it is possible, isn't it?

Jaxson reached down and kissed her on the top of her head. "Yes, Charlotte, it is and I cannot believe that none of us thought about that."

"Powers, is there any way we can override those? Do we know someone?" Rio asked.

"We do. Jaxson, I'm going to have to use your system again." Jaxson nodded and set Charlotte away from him, leading Nathan back to the office in the cellar.

The two of them went into the cellar to go to the office. After a few short minutes, they returned, both still looking grim.

"Well? What did your contact say?" Amber asked.

"They can do it. They can also override facial recognition for all of us. I have no idea how they can do that, but I'm just thankful that they can." Nathan stated.

"How long will it take, do you think?" Amber asked.

"They told me that it was almost instant once they got into the system. Getting into the system is what takes the longest and they said that would only be about twenty minutes." Letting that sink in, he walked over to the coffee pot to pour himself another cup.

Charlotte, deciding to ease the tension in the house, spoke up. "Who wants a light breakfast?"

After several affirmative answers, she walked over to the fridge and pulled out all of the leftovers and sat them all on the large kitchen table. Standing back, she took stock of what was there. Salad, a steak, chicken salad, baked potatoes, and grilled asparagus. Snapping her fingers, she had an idea. She just hoped that it turned out as good as it sounded in her head.

Charlotte asked Amber to get the eggs out of the fridge and Misty to cut the leftover steak into bite-size pieces, trimming the fat off of it. She began grating the three leftover baked potatoes. When they were finished with their assigned tasks, Charlotte mixed several of the ingredients into a bowl and added beaten eggs and shredded cheese. She put it in the oven and put the rest of the leftovers back in the fridge. She then pulled out the fruit salad and sat it out on the table. Letting the others take over, she sat down and watched the men set the table up for breakfast.

Jaxson was beginning to realize some things about his little mate. She was highly intelligent, decisive, she did well under pressure, and was very creative. He was starting to see her in a new light. She was no longer the frail and injured female that he had saved. Her true personality was starting to come through. A wave of jealousy hit him as he realized that his brother knew more about his mate than he did. Looking over at him, Jaxson decided to have a long and serious conversation with Rio about Charlotte.

Just then, Nathan's phone went off. It was a text message from an unknown number and it said one word. "SAFE."

Nathan looked at the assembled around the table. "Gentlemen, ladies, we should be okay to move around safely outside and go about our business. The facial recognition is now turned off where the seven of us are concerned. This person or group of people is always attempting to turn off any type of tracking for us, be it financial or anything else. That does not mean that you should not be cautious." Looking across the table Nathan nodded to Rio.

"At all times, keep in mind that your life is subject to scrutiny and that scrutiny can lead to discovery. This "patch" that the hacker used is only good for so long. We will have roughly two weeks to accomplish everything. All of the arrests and even assassinations will need to be completed." Rio didn't flinch when provided this information. It was harsh, but unfortunately, completely necessary.

Charlotte's face lit up all of a sudden and Jaxson knew that she had an idea. He just hoped it would help.

"Rio, you have enough weight on you. I really don't want you to have any of these deaths on your soul. I saw how you worked with our boss. I know some of the things that you did. I think I might have an idea. It's hopeful at best and fanciful at worst."

Nathan looked from Rio to Charlotte, then from Amber over to Jaxson. The play on each face was enlightening. Some were worried. One was jealous. One was thoughtful.

Rio nodded to Charlotte and said, "Go ahead, Charley."

"What if, some of these people, turn on each other? These are "bad" people and already have trust issues. What if we could make it look like they each turned on the other? From what I understand, this is a small world and these people might not personally know each other, but they know of each other and their "business"?" Charlotte waited to see the reactions from those seated around her.

Nathan whistled and looked over at Jaxson. "Young man, whatever you do, keep this one happy. I don't think it would be in your best interest to let her get herself too tangled up in anger. It might be detrimental to you and your clan."

Jaxson looked at his mate in a whole new way. "Just who are you Charlotte? You know a lot more than you let on, and you have an entirely too quick mind. The way that you think on your feet. Too many things."

Charlotte smiled. "After everything is over, we can sit down and have these conversations, Okay?"

Jaxson nodded. He didn't feel any deceit coming off of her, just love and confidence.

Rio just chuckled. "Little brother, I have learned that when it comes to Charley, never take anything for granted. Also, if she doesn't want you to know, you aren't going to. You're lucky. You're her mate and I have no doubt that she loves you, so her past is not going to be withheld from you. The rest of us will be left wondering. There are very few people that I am sure can find out just who Charlotte Wilson really is."

Nathan smirked and held his peace. He knew exactly who Charlotte "Wilson" really was. But, she wanted to stay quiet for the time being, so he would let her.

"Charlotte, I think your idea has a great deal of merit and since we are now safe for certain things, I think I can safely contact 'our friend' and see what they can do to set that in motion." Nathan picked up his fork and began to eat.

Jaxson looked over at his brother who also looked slightly off-kilter.

"Might as well eat. Food's hot and delicious." Misty said.

For a while things at the table were quiet as everyone ate and thought about the earlier conversation. The weight of the ideas was on everyone's minds.

As he finished eating, Nathan called his 'friend' and passed along Charlotte's ideas. He listened quietly for a moment or two before answering affirmative and hanging up his call.

"Charlotte, you have a devious and brilliant mind. Remind me to never get on your bad side." Nathan said as Charlotte smirked.

Rio watched with a great deal of satisfaction. Charlotte's personality was starting to assert itself again after her injuries.

"Something tells me that there is more to you than you let on, girl. I, for one, am glad too. It takes a strong female to be a mate to a shifter. Let alone a bear shifter, and an Alpha at that. Life with her will never be boring, Jaxson. She will definitely keep you on your toes." Bill said with a grin on his face.

Jaxson felt pride flood him at the praise his mate received from the three men. Indeed, his mate would keep him on his toes and he was looking forward to their future together.

Charlotte sat at the table eating in silence. She didn't like to talk about who she was, but these were people she could trust and they would never use her identity against her. That's just one of the things that she loved about this community. Granted, she only knew about them through Jaxson, Rio, and Bill. But, what she did know, made her feel safe, welcome, and at home.

Her future was looking so bright. She almost had her dreams in her hands.