Jana Leigh (17 page)

Mason looked at the pictures.  “
Because we know something important.  Something we don't think was important.”

Mark laughed and clapped his hands. 
“You are missing the point.  The letter says you have to apologize for something and these are all clues for something you have to be sorry for.
 
So why would you have to be sorry for a kid, a building blowing up, a shot taken, a gun destroyed, keys for a transport, and a prick who killed himself.  What clue is not here?”

“
Well shit,” Jessie said and looked at the stuff.  “Can’t you just tell us, 'cause I have to say, this is confusing as hell.”

“
You aren’t looking at the right things in the reports,”
Mark said quietly.

“
Why?”  Jessie frowned.

“
You are looking at what you did,”
Mark said.

“
Not who we affected,” Jessie said slamming his hand down on the table.  “We need to call the Commander.  We need the Intel on the missions, not the missions themselves.  We need to see if any of the missions gained us Intel for another mission.”

The men swore and pulled out their phones, fighting on who was calling to admit they were idiots to the Commande
r.

“We need to make a decision,” Thane said in the living room the next morning.

All of them were gathered together.  The women filled in on what they had discovered so far.  Brin dre
aded this meeting.  She knew they were going to tell her something she didn’t want to hear.

“
About?” Sable asked softly.

“
Some of us are going to have to go to San Diego.  We don’t have a choice anymore.  The information is there.  And Joel Lipit, Brian’s brother is in trouble.  We need to find him,” Thane said softly.

“
Okay,” Jolie said and looked around the room at the men’s faces.  “So what you are saying is Alex, Gage, Mason, Jessie, Drake, and you Thane, all need to go?”

Thane sighed and nodded his hea
d.  “We have to.”

Brin felt the tears already gathering.  “
Why?”

Jessie turned to her and put a hand on her cheek.  “
We have to finish this.  For them.”

Tulu stood and nodded to Vince.  “
Vince is going as well, somehow he is involved.  Before they go though, the boys want to talk to you—all together.”  The women looked up in surprise but Jolie was the one who said.

“
Can you do that?” 

“
Kinda, with a little help,” Tulu said and nodded.  Vince stood and walked around the room.  “I need the men who can already see them to stand around in a circle.  Each of you need to make sure you are within an arm's length from each other.”

They nodded and did as she asked.

“The rest need to sit closer together, I will stand in the middle with Bea.  Together we are going to try to channel them.  Don’t yell and freak out though.  Scares the shit out of me.”

They laughed and nodded. 

“I know this is like weird and shit.  But trust me, go in with an open mind and it will work.” 

Once again they nodded but relaxed.  Once they were in place, Brin looked around and waited.  She was not sure about this, but she trusted them all.  It seemed to take hours, but was only minutes until she felt a breeze.  There were n
o windows open so she looked around.  Outside of the circle stood the men she knew to be dead.

Her eyes saw Frank grinning, Brian looking seriously at Drake, Ted and his wife, Marie, holding hands and smiling down at their daughter who was in Jolie
’s lap, Sam who looked pissed, John holding a sandwich and laughing, and there was her brother, standing tall and nodding at her.  She choked a sob at the sight of him.  He looked so alive, even though she knew it wasn’t true.

Thane and Drake looked around, they h
ad not seen their fallen friend’s before and Brin knew they were worried about how this was going to go.  Who wouldn’t be?  Seeing someone you felt responsible for—dead—had to be hard.

“
Brian and Sam are not talking yet,”
Frank said quietly. 
“Sorry, it is not time for them, but soon, guys.  Sam won't speak at all for now, but Brian will be allowed to speak a small amount, just not yet.”

“
Damn rules,”
John said. 
“But seriously, we wanted to talk to you for a few reasons.  We are nearing the end of our time here, guys.  And to be honest, none of us know where we are gonna be after tonight, or if we are going to be able to talk to the girls again.  We have to stay with you.  Arden, stop blaming yourself, or I am gonna have to haunt your ass.”

Arden rolled he
r eyes and nodded with tears running down her cheeks.

Frank looked at his sister, then leaned over and ran a hand over her stomach and smiled. 
“I told you I would be with you, don’t forget that.”

Sable nodded and smiled.  “
I know, I can feel you.”

Ted and
Marie leaned over and both kissed their child.  Jolie sighed when she felt their hand on her shoulder.  “I will take care of her.”

Mark smiled and looked at Brin. 
“Hey, sis, you know I love you.  It is time for me to leave now.  There is just one thing I need you to do for me.”

Brin nodded with tears in her eyes, “
Whatever you want.”

“
I need you to be happy.  Our sister is gonna call soon.  She will need a place to stay,”
Mark said.

“
Don’t worry, she can come with us.  I will make sure she gets everything she needs.  I will make sure she finishes college.”  Brin nodded.

“
I know, but that is how you are.  Even when we were kids you tried to take care of me, the older brother.”
  Mark smirked.

“
That is 'cause you needed a keeper.”  Brin laughed through her tears.

“
True,”
Mark said. 
“Marcus is amazing.  He takes after his namesake of course.  But sometimes you need to take care of you.  Jessie and Grant will help you with that.  I want you to let them.  You are so special, sis, and you have such a big heart, sometimes I think too big.  Then I look at the people you have helped and I am so proud.  You did it.  Without me, without our parents—just you.”

Brin closed her eyes and sobbed as she leaned against Grant who was next to her.  She felt her brother in front
of her and she looked again.  Mark took her hand and held it to his face.

“
But I never told you how you saved me.  When we were younger, we knew our parents were all about appearances.  Your strength and encouragement was what allowed me to go and pursue my dreams.  You knew what you were going to do, and I was lost, wandering through life without a purpose.  Do you remember what you said to me on my graduation?”
Mark said and Brin shook her head. 
“You said, ‘brother, it is time to make your mark on the world.  Do something that shows everyone who you are.’  Well I did, Brin.  I helped people, did what I wanted to do, and died doing what I did best.  Don’t feel sad I am gone, I want you to feel the same way I feel about you, proud to be your brother.”

“
I am proud of you, Mark.  I have always been proud of you.  No matter what our father said, you did do something to make your mark on the world.”  Brin sobbed.

“
Teach Marcus the same thing, tell him about me?”
Mark said.

“
Count on it,” Grant said with a choked tone when Brin couldn’t say anything.  Seeing her brother again, getting to hear him one more time was a gift.  One she would never be able to explain to anyone.  But the people in the room knew, they understood.  Sable, Jolie, Arden, they all nodded and smiled.  They knew what this last message would mean.  Brin cherished it.  “I love you, Mark.”

“
Oh, sis, ditto,”
he said and stood. 
“Jessie, take care of her, you and Grant, don’t let her get away with taking care of everyone else.”

“
I won’t, man,” Jessie said, not ashamed of the tears flowing down his face.

“
Also, I need you to hear this, we all do.  None of you were to blame.  This whole thing is not your fault.  It was our time, we did what we had been put in the world to do, and even though it doesn’t make sense, we died so you could find each other and live,”
Mark said and looked around the room. 
“All of you need to forgive yourselves, and live for us.  Make sure that what we died for was not in vain, that it meant something.”

Finally, Brian stepped forward and put a hand on Drake's shoulder. 
“Buddy, I need your help, my brother needs your help.”

“
I know
,”
Drake said softly.

Tulu and Bea let out a loud sigh and the men disappeared.  The room was silent except for the ticking o
f a clock.  They were running out of time, it seemed to be telling them. 

“
He loved you,” Brin said to Jessie who was standing in their room later that night.  Brin had helped him pack. Grant had taken care of Marcus, settling him in for the night before coming back in the room and shutting the door.

“
I loved him too,” Jessie said, closing his eyes and trying to hold it together.

“
No, in this room you are allowed to be and do what you have to,” Brin said.  “Just like I am allowed not to be the one who takes care of everyone in here.  In here, we can just be.”

Grant came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and hugged her tightly.  “
Jess, you have to let the guilt go.”

“
Then what will I have?” Jessie whispered.

“
Us,” Brin said and pulled him close so they were all hugging each other.  It felt right, their small family together, healing each other.  Even though Jessie was leaving in the morning, they had tonight, and Brin wanted to have this night with her men. 

“
Grant, let’s give our lady exactly what she wants.  A night to remember,” Jessie said and kissed the end of her nose.  She sighed and smiled.

They moved her to the bed, laid her down, and settled her in the middle of the bed
before each kissing her and then standing back up.  Grant went to the small stereo, tuned into soft romantic music, and then dimmed the lights. 

Jessie took a book of matches and lit the candles she hadn't noticed placed around the room.  It gave the room
a soft glow.  The effects were like something she would have only dreamed of a man doing for her. 

“
Nice,” she whispered and they stood at the foot of the bed and nodded.  She crawled to the end of the bed and reached for Grant’s shirt and he slapped her hands gently.

“
You first,” he said huskily and pulled at her shirt.  Jessie pushed her until she was once again in the middle and they slowly undressed her, making sure they stroked and kissed her as they went.  Paying special attention to her breasts.  Fours hands on her body made her feel like she was the center of their universe, which is what they intended.  She gasped when she felt one of them run a finger down her slit slowly.

First Grant kissed her deeply, taking her breath away, and then they switc
hed before she could even think and Jessie was kissing her, devouring her mouth slowly, making it seem like he was memorizing the way she tasted.

Brin sighed with delight at the feelings the men were creating.  Already the sexual tension in the room was ri
sing, and the way their hands felt, she could almost come with just their touch.

“
I need you,” she whispered, opening her eyes to see them staring at her intently with love and lust showing blatantly.

  Grant continued to touch her as Jessie pulled back an
d undressed slowly for her.  She moaned when he undid the buttons on his jeans.  She wanted to trace the light fine hair that led to his cock with her tongue.  She watched as he pulled himself out and stroked his cock slowly, looking at her in the eyes.  She watched as he rolled a condom down his length, thinking it was more than sexy watching him do that.  He moved slowly and took over where Grant was stroking her breasts and kissing her neck. 

Brin reached and grasped his cock in her hand.  Loving the fe
el of his passion as she moved her hand slowly up and down, pumping him as he touched her.  She turned her head and watched Grant as he slowly undressed as well.

This is what she wanted.  Both men were caught in a web of love and passion.  The only ones wh
o existed right now were the three of them, in this room their love would last a lifetime because they were meant to be together.  If she had any doubts, they flew out the window with the feeling of perfection as Grant finished undressing and then joined them again on the bed.  Once again, four hands touched her.

Grant turned so he was laying on his back and pulled her to him.  “
Ride me,” he whispered and she nodded.

“
With pleasure,” she said and crawled up his body, straddling him and rubbing her nipples slowly across his chest.  “I love you.”

“
I love you too,” Grant whispered.