Caleb

Chapter Forty Four

Caleb ~

It had been nearly a month since James had left for Colombia to assume his role as the heir of his father's empire. Everything was going according to plan, but that plan included limited contact with Lainey in order to keep up appearances. James had to make it seem like he and Lainey were enemies in order for Manny and the rest of the mob bosses to believe that they could trust him. He had to distance himself from Lainey and Ricardo's beliefs as much as possible in order for it to be believable.

The sudden loss of contact with her brother tore Lainey to pieces, but she understood why it was necessary. She'd never endanger her brother's life by blowing his cover, but she missed James and her father terribly.

Declan and Lexi helped Caleb get Lainey set up with a grief counselor that Lexi and Natalie's therapist had recommended. Declan, Pierce, and Caleb knew their women were strong, but understood the importance of therapy after the amount of trauma each of them had been through.

Lainey had good days and bad days, but the good days were far more frequent and were steadily increasing. She had helped Nate with a few assignments here and there to get her feet wet and exceeded his expectations at every turn which made Caleb's heart swell with pride every time her heard Nate brag about her abilities.

Caleb was finishing up some target practice at the range and disassembling his weapon when Hunter's massive shadow appeared in the doorway.

"I stocked the fridge in the breakroom with Lainey's electrolyte drinks and made sure we had full supply of her medication here. She's got her own cabinet and supplies in one of the sleep rooms that I'll designate as hers. I'll make sure Delta and Alpha team is briefed on warning signs and protocols as well." Hunter said.

Hunter was all business, but he made sure everyone around him was taken care of and Caleb couldn't imagine a better leader for the teams. The fact that Hunter had similar medical training to Caleb was an added bonus and gave Caleb extra peace of mind that he could leave Lainey in Hunter's charge while Caleb was away on missions.

"I appreciate it brother." Caleb said, returning his weapon to the armory.

"You coming out with us tonight?" Caleb asked, already knowing the answer.

"Nah I've got Charlie team running an op tonight and want to be available to em' if shit hits the fan."

"All work and no play." Caleb said.

"Story of my fuckin' life, but I wouldn't have it any other way." Hunter chuckled.

"Who all is goin tonight anyway?" Hunter asked as the two men headed down the hallway.

"All of Bravo and the girls, plus Nate, Slater, Kincaid and Gunner." Caleb answered.

"Logan hasn't resurfaced yet?" Hunter asked with his voice dropping in tone.

"Still taking care of family shit last I heard. How long of a leave do you think he's gonna take, if you don't mind me askin'" Caleb had been curious. Logan had been taking weeks of leave at a time, which usually indicated an operative was about to retire.

"Shit, man. I don't know. Every day that I sit down at my desk and don't see his letter of resignation, I'm surprised. He's got a lot goin on at home, but he has shut all of us out. Won't let anyone help. Hell, he won't even tell us where he is half the time." Hunter's tone was a mixture of confusion, concern and irritation and Caleb could understand why. Having to work jobs with a man down wasn't ideal, in fact it was down right dangerous, and Hunter didn't put his operatives in unnecessary danger.

"Well let me know if there's anything we can do to help." Caleb offered genuinely. His teammates were his brothers - his family and they would do anything for each other, but it was hard to help someone who refused to accept it.