Greyson quietly excused himself from the family living room as the rest of the guys crowded around Natalia, trying to make sure that she had everything she needed to recover from her latest brush with death.
His phone had been ringing non-stop for the last five minutes, and even though it was on vibrate, he was getting more than a few nasty looks from the other men who could easily still hear it.
Letting out a long sigh, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone.
"Hello?" he grunted, going into one of the side rooms. He kept the door open since he really didn't have any secrets here.
"Please hold for the Secretary of Defense," came a woman's voice from over the phone before he was put on hold. He rolled his eyes and waited, hating the fact that even when they were so desperately trying to contact him, they still had to play this power trip.
"Do Generals no longer have to answer their phone when their superiors call?" the man on the other end was gruff and clearly pissed off.
Too bad for him, Greyson wasn't in a much better mood.
"I was busy, Sir," he replied through clenched teeth, trying to regain his usual state of calm. He was known for being cool under pressure, but with everything that just happened with Natalia, he was hanging on to his emotions by a very thin thread.
For fucks sake. What was the point of being a three-star general if people didn't treat you with the respect you deserved through the blood, sweat, and tears you had shed for your country?
He was 45 years old and just starting the first serious relationship that he could remember.
They had no right to—he took in a deep breath and tuned back into what the Secretary of Defense was saying.
"We have lost another team in the Amazon," said the Secretary, Don Hargraves. "In fact, we have lost almost 15 teams in the fucking place."
Greyson had a bad feeling wash over him as he continued to listen to General Hargraves rant about the number of missions that had gone FUBAR while he was away.
"And since your team is the only one to have been able to come back from that place, I am giving you a direct order to get your asses back there and deal with the cartel! Wheels up in 15, I highly suggest that you are on that plane."
"I'm sorry, Sir," replied Greyson, not overly caring. It was a new feeling for him; not jumping into doing whatever the military asked him to do with both feet. In fact, he really liked the feeling.
What were they going to do? Fire him? Give him a dishonorable discharge?
They were more than welcome to. The life he had going here was infinitely better than the one he was planning on leaving behind. And, while he hadn't expected such a quick exit, the end would still be the same.
There was a long pause on the phone before the Secretary spoke again. "I'm sorry, was I in any way unclear about my expectations from you and your team?" he hissed.
"Absolutely not, Sir." Finally finding his bearings again, Greyson straightened up his back and smiled. "But two members of my team and I are at least an hour away from the nearest military base. We have been on vacation since we lost Corporal Jackson."
Well, to say that they lost Corporal Jackson was a bit of a stretch. They had willingly handed him over to the wolves to deal with as they saw best for trying to kill Natalia. Whether he was alive and well or dead and buried in some unmarked grave was anyone's guess.
"That was over a month ago!" shouted the man on the other end of the phone.
"Well, Sir, as I am sure you are aware, we are a close-knit squad, and the death of one of us impacts us in many ways," lied Greyson without a care in the world. "Not to mention, some of them are also experiencing PTSD as a result of that assignment. Now that I think about it… maybe I should have a psych evaluation done on the team, just to make sure that they are mentally up for another mission to the rainforests of Brazil."
Once again, there was a pause on the phone, causing Greyson's smirk to become even bigger.
He prided himself on being an easy-going guy until you pushed him too far. And trying to get him away from Natalia right now was just a bit too far.
"Fine," gritted the Secretary, and Greyson could hear his teeth grinding with every syllable he spoke. "I will give you two hours."
"And double time for me and my team. After all, you are calling us back while on vacation. You should be willing to compensate us for that."
"These… men… have created a new drug that had a 70% kill rate and a 100% chance of addiction, and they are sending it out to every city and country in the world!" roared the man, clearly not happy.
Greyson felt for him; he really did. It was not an easy job and a drug like that needed to be taken off of the streets as soon as possible. But it was easy to give orders from the comfort of your own office, knowing that you, yourself, would never be put into harm's way.
"I understand, Sir," was all he said in reply.
"Fine. Double time for a call-out; I'll approve it myself. But I expect you on that plane in two hours… or else. Have I made myself clear?"
"Crystal, Sir. I'll go let my team know," shrugged Greyson as he hung up the phone. Sending out a mass text to everyone, he let them know what was going on.
"So, you're leaving?" came a soft voice from the doorway.
"I don't know," sighed Greyson, rubbing his forehead. Technically, as a General, he wasn't usually sent out on missions with a team. Not only did it make his men uncomfortable to have him with them, but if something happened to him, the country would be down a General, and that never looked good.
"Go," sighed Natalia as she walked into the room and wrapped her arms around him. "And take Callie with you."