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said.
“I’ve been working on refugee maps of Jordon and Syria. Do you have
those changes?”
    “ Yes,” he said.
    “ Thanks
Sergeant.”
    Alex looked at the clock. She had an hour
and four minutes before Eleazar phoned.
    “ Sir?”
    “ Yes Sergeant?”
    “ Good luck.”
    “ Thanks.”
    Alex clicked the connection to standby.
Pushing back her leather office chair, she wandered across the
hardwood floors to the overstuffed green chair that sat in the
corner of her secure office. She flicked a remote and the gas
fireplace cast a dancing yellow glow onto the antique map of the
world hanging on the opposite wall. Alex closed her eyes, resting
for a moment, in the warm, safe room.
    Sixty minutes to go.
    When Alex traveled, Max, Alex and John lived
in the house next door. After Alex was injured, Max and John
purchased and remodeled this house with two guest bedrooms, a spa
bathroom, an entertainment room, laundry and this secure office in
the basement. Alex spent most of her time in the basement either
working in the office or recovering from more than forty surgeries
in one of the guest bedrooms. She felt safe and protected here.
    Until Eleazar called.
    She went to bed the seventh of every month
knowing that she was hours away from speaking with Eleazar. The
morning of the eighth evaporated into intelligence details and her
own fear. What would he say this month? Would he tell her again
about the powerful Mike begging for mercy? Would he laugh at Jax’s
futile efforts to save Nathan? Or would he repeat what he said over
and over again: she killed her friends.
    Alex leaned her head back against the chair.
She despised the very timber of his voice, his heavily accented
Hebrew or Arabic or Farsi and the distinctive cruel laugh that
turned her stomach. He repulsed the very center of her being.
    Not for the first time, she wondered what
Jesse would say. Jesse, who happened to sit next to her in the mess
tent a couple weeks into basic training. Jesse, who stood next to
her when they received their Berets. Jesse, who slept next to her
night after night in the field, celebrated her wedding and invited
her into his family as the godmother to his children.
    It was Jesse who forced her to get the
tattoo that designated her as the Fey in name and legend. ‘Just get
your essential nature’ he told her before whispering to the tattoo
artist in Cairo that she was a fairy. The bright blue winking fairy
tattoo under her left bicep was legendary in Special Forces. Jesse
encouraged her to get her belly button pierced. Jesse also designed
the green Vivaldi scripted“F” armband that designated the Fey
Special Forces team. Many of the people they rescued wore, with
immense pride, a black Vivaldi scripted“F” on their right arm or
wrist.
    “ Eleazar killed Jesse,”
Alex said out loud. “He stole Jesse from Maria, from his babies,
Jesse Jr. and Gabriella and from me.”
    Her eyes caught a glimmer of light dancing
around her office. She said to the glimmer, “Eleazar killed Jesse.
He wants to kill me. I will kill him.”
    She sighed.
    “ I’m just
crazy.”
    “ We knew that was true,
love,” John said.
    He walked into the office. His curly hair
was wet from the snow and his cobalt blue eyes flashed while his
eyebrows worked at the insinuation. He bent to kiss her.
    “ Thank you for
coming.”
    “ I won’t let you do it
alone,” he said. “I brought lunch–Chinese–if you’d like to come
up.”
    “ I have a quick call to
command, then I’ll be up.”
    Lifting her from the chair, he crushed her
against him.
    “ Meet me upstairs,” he
said. His lips brushed across hers. “I love you Alex.”
    Her fake blue eyes searched his face. She
flushed then nodded.
    “ Sir,” her Sergeant called
from the flat screen in the armoire.
    “ Yes, Sergeant,” Alex
turned to sit in her office chair. John kissed her neck, then went
upstairs.
    “ The Colonel is on the
line for you.”
    “ Thanks,” Alex
said.
    The screen flickered to