"Silla, I'm going out for a minute." He stood in the doorway to the bedroom where I was hanging out with Chantal watching stuff on YouTube on her phone. As soon as I saw him, I remembered yesterday afternoon, and my face grew hot. I'd been spared last night because Gabriel left the house and didn't come back until I was in bed, and I'd done my best to forget the whole incident. Of all the times to fall back into old habits, and of all the habits to have. At least I didn't twirl my hair around my finger like a toddler. Still, I'd rather gnaw off my thumb than do that in front of him again. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, Silla." His voice wasn't quite commanding, but it was authoritative all the same."Okay!" I finally answered him, trying to make my voice sound as strong as I could as I sat up and tried to force myself to face him. He sighed when all I did was look down at my folded hands on my lap after one quick peep at him from beneath my lashes. Wolf appeared from out of now
"They went to the clubhouse." The clubhouse where I'd set a trap for whoever had put those kids in there. Wolf's body was pulsating or some shit in the seat next to me on the passenger side until I put him out of his misery. "Go!" The word was barely out of my mouth before he jumped out of the damn moving vehicle and sprinted into the night.Thank heaven we weren't too far from the house since all the buildings were on the property, but I knew Wolf would still get to them before I did; go figure. Sometimes I think he's actually part what he was named for. The guys have had a running joke about that very thing for years now, but all Wolf would do is smirk in a way that didn't confirm or deny. Whatever the hell he is, it's all good.I know I was only thinking about this silly shit to keep my mind off of worrying about her or paying close attention to the fear that had clogged my throat from the moment he said those words back there. When had she become more than part of the job? I have n
What was that? Just what in the hell was that? The burn of jealousy is new and unwanted. When she mentioned my friend with that note of interest in her voice something inside me reared its ugly head. I know it's ugly because the feeling was dark as fuck. Dark and almost feral.I barely restrained myself from putting my hands around her neck and lucky for her, I heard the truth in her words when she said she was just curious because he looks so different from the rest of us. I'm not sure what I would've done had it been anything else and that kinda puts me on edge. I'd gone from zero to a hundred in the blink of an eye, but as soon as I heard her explanation, the rough places became smooth again.Still, I don't want her showing that kind of interest in anyone. Really? I thought you weren't interested, so what's it to you? I told the voice in my head to fuck off as I walked into the house and headed down to the gym. I was in no frame of mind to ream out my team for letting them leave. Ev
I had no idea what I planned to do when I dragged her along behind me. I was still pissed at her, but now I wasn't sure what I was more upset about, her leaving the house or her asking me about another man. That nastiness I'd felt at her question was still in my gut, but once we reached the office and closed the door, something else caught my attention and sent me on a whole new course of action. I sniffed the air again just to be sure, and her scent slammed into me like a sledgehammer to the chest.I looked at her in disbelief, and a feeling of betrayal assailed me as knives twisted in my gut. The feelings were alien to me, and my response was automatic. My natural reflex kicked in, and I had her backed up against the wall with my hand around her throat before she knew what was happening or before I could stop myself."Why the fuck are you in heat?" I looked into her eyes which went from scared to aroused in a matter of seconds."I'm.... I'm not.""Yeah, you are; I can smell you. Don'
They are way too invested in this shit. According to them, I've been acting unlike myself ever since I brought her here, which I was surprised to recall had only been a few days ago. "So, like some love-sick puppy?" There was no inflection in my tone, so they looked at each other to see who knew which way the wind was blowing.Mace, the behemoth, huffed out a breath and took the reins from the other two, who seemed to have already run out of steam. "It's like this, we've all known each other for a long time, so we pretty much know each other's moods and such. Lately, it's been hard not to notice that you've changed a bit." I think he got nervous because of my stare because he looked at the other two for help."Since the fuck when are you a diplomat? Spit it out.""Fine, you're acting like a man who has feelings for someone of the opposite sex." I blinked my eyes a couple of times. "Examples." I wasn't about to just give in to their shit. Sure I was the one to open that door with my que
"So he needs a place for the kids, but did he say anything else about what's going on over there? Where did they come from? How did he find them?""We didn't get into that yet; the situation sounded pretty desperate. I figured since Gideon already has a setup stateside, we could use his place for now.""Do you trust this guy?" Lyon was the first to ask what I knew they were all thinking. The kids from Cali, Mancini, and all the other civilians in the room. I wasn't sure about my brothers in arms, though, so I had to ask."I do; he's good people; Creed, you've worked with him before, haven't you, and Logan?" None of them answered, and I realized I'd grown so comfortable in this room with these men that I'd forgotten where we were. As military, there are some things you take to the grave with you, and even though we'd grown close to the others who were civilians, that code of honor wouldn't allow us to share. Plus, knowing the type of work I did with the commander myself, I didn't have
Why is he looking at me like that? When he'd started to walk out the door, I'd felt a slight tearing in the place around my heart and a pang of sadness that had no reason. Although I'd been dreading seeing him again after making a fool of myself the night before, a part of me longed for just the sight of him.I'm not sure what's going on with me if I'm just using this as an escape from the mess that is my life, but one minute I'm warning myself not to get too close, and the next, it's all I can think about. Something changed between us last night. I'm not sure what exactly, but there's been a shift, an almost electric current in the air around him and I when we're in the same vicinity.I could tell myself that it was my imagination or just wishful thinking; in fact, I'd started to believe it after not seeing him all day. I told myself that I'd read the situation wrong, that it wasn't interest I saw in his eyes when he had me pinned against the wall with his hand around my neck. I'd spe
I gripped the steering wheel hard between my hands while staring at the road ahead. What the hell had set her off now? All-day long, her scent has been teasing my senses. Though it was much milder than the night before, now that I had her scent, it was hard to miss. But now, out of nowhere, it had grown hotter, heavier, and was wrapping itself around me like a blanket. Being trapped inside the car wasn't helping matters, and I couldn't even open the window because I wasn't about to take chances with her safety. We'd left under cover of night, and I'd made sure no one was following us, but it never hurt to be careful. I've been having second and third thoughts about bringing her with me because I didn't know what I was walking into.On the one hand, I trust Law, know he's one of the good guys, but I don't know the people he's working with, and there isn't much to find, so I'm going on faith. On the other hand, Calhoun is too close for comfort back there. And then there's the fact that
This is insane. I thought I had it under control, but I didn’t expect the night to be like this. It wasn’t because of all the people that were here in the arena, though it had to be at full capacity, which was around two hundred and fifty thousand people, give or take about ten. No, what was bothering the hell out of me was the fact that my girl was in the middle of this shit. I didn’t think it would bother me this much, especially since I knew that there was no danger here, that the whole tunnel thing was the only thing going on, and the other players had already been taken down, but I couldn’t shake it off. I had this feeling like the feeling you get when someone has you in their crosshairs, but you don’t know which direction they’re in. It could be a case of transferred anxiety because Lyon has been ranting and raving since he got here about some shit going down. It was hell trying to hide my thoughts and feelings from Silla, who was happier than I’d ever seen her. Part
Lieutenant Morgan was more excited about the tickets than even I expected. She was so distracted that that excitement led to her being the one who invited me to tour the tunnels. I didn’t have to use my well-rehearsed speech to talk her into anything. It was so easy I almost grew suspicious until I remembered that this was just like the woman I know. She had no reason to suspect me of anything, and with my clearance, she’d see no issue letting me on site. But as we walked and talked, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone else seemed to know her as well. Namely Lyon’s daughter. But how was that possible? I’m pretty sure the kid never met her in the flesh. While she talked about how excited her kid was going to be I was looking around for anything that would give any indication that there was more going on here and saw nothing. Not that I didn’t believe Lyon, I did, but that’s how good the operation was. We hopped into a golf cart, and she drove deeper into the tunne
“Where did you go? Did you have fun?” I tried not to sound too much like I was grilling her, but Flanagan and Quinn had me a bit paranoid with the things they’d said about their women and the shit they got up to. Not that I expect Silla to do any of those things; my little innocent is too sheltered for that. But there are other issues at hand. Like the fact that I’d only just started to convince myself that with Sam out of the picture, she was no longer in any danger, plus the fact that the mess I’d just waded through was geared toward kids, so she wasn’t in any real danger here. But I don’t know why I get the feeling that the guys are holding something back. I think Lyon might have told them to ease me into it, which begs the question of just how much worse it can get. I still have no idea what it is that they want me to do in the tunnels or even if I’d actually get the chance. Just because I’m military doesn’t mean they’ll roll out the red carpet, especially if they’re using
I guess Flanagan was wrong after all because the places the women drove to just seemed to be the usual tourist traps. They did take a little detour on the way back, but it seemed to be a more scenic route, something anyone might do when visiting a new place. It can’t be overlooked the fact that the mountains here are some of the most beautiful in the country. “I guess they did only go for a joyride after all.” I made the distinction out loud when I saw Flanagan and Quinn mapping the route they’d taken. “It’s good that you think that.” “What do you mean?” “Not sure yet; I’ll let you know when we figure out what they’re up to. I have to get this information to Lyon.” He reached for his phone while I went back to what I was doing, feeling at ease for the first time in hours since she left. Every once in a while, one of my boys would make a sound of disgust from across the room, but since I’d already given them the option to bow out, which they all refused, I saw it a
“What’s wrong boss? Something bothering you?” Mace asked me quietly as I watched the door where the women had just left. “No, it’s not that.” I couldn’t give him an answer because I didn’t know what it was that was making me twitchy about the whole thing. I wasn’t sure if it was my natural sixth sense or my new overprotectiveness where she was concerned. It didn’t help that Lyon’s men didn’t look too settled either at the idea of their women going joyriding in the middle of an Op. Maybe that was it. This whole situation has left me feeling more bereft than my first firefight. I’d rather dodge bullets in the desert than deal with this evil shit that I’d been pouring over for the last few hours. How anyone could deal with this shit day in and day out and not lose part of themselves is beyond me. It's only been a few hours, and my skin is already starting to crawl. Now, I’ve always known that men can be evil monsters; I’ve seen some of the worst they can do to each other, or
Shit, blast and damn. How do I leave her behind without hurting her feelings? She’s so dang innocent; I was sure a rebuff, though not meant to be one, would hurt her feelings. Was I ever this innocent? No, but some of my new sisters used to be when we first met, so I know the signs. I was thinking hard about a plausible excuse when she clapped her hands across her mouth and looked at me like she’d committed a crime.“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean… I just got so relaxed with you two; it’s like we’ve known each other forever. I didn’t mean to overstep; I’ll just go back to the room and leave you two alone.” She rambled off the words before starting to walk away, and both Kelly and I had to stop her. Okay, this one might be more sheltered than the others, and it almost broke my heart. Over the last couple of years, I’d come to recognize the signs of past trauma in women, and she had a boatload. “No, you didn’t overstep. I was just worried about how your man would r
This is happening. Things have been moving really fast in the last few days and the honeymoon was over. True to his word, Lyon had sent in a crew, or squad as he calls them. Two couples, the men seeming just as anxious as I was, having their women close to this shit. I wasn’t sure how we were supposed to do this, keeping the women in the dark, I mean. But I needn’t have worried because Quinn and Shane knew exactly what they were doing when it came to that part of the Op. Silla, I was happy to see, was only too happy to make two new friends, and these women must’ve taken classes or something because they had her hooked in no time at all. I’d barely seen her interactions with Chantal back at the house, but it was good to see that she played well with others. There was no cattiness among these women and I couldn’t help but notice the difference between these two, Arianna and Kelly and Nikki. It’s been days since I even thought about her, but I guess I figured one headach
I looked these people up when I had a chance, and I have to say, Lyon and his kid do get around. I wouldn't have pegged him for the type, but then again, what do I know? Silla was all but jumping out of her skin with excitement ever since I mentioned their names, but I have to count that as a plus since it kept her even more in the dark about what was really going on. I brought my boys up to speed on things later that night once she'd knocked herself out after playing Rodeo Queen on my dick. At least the news knocked the disrespectful smirks off my team's faces, and they switched gears from sticking their noses in my shit and got down to the business we were there for. "I'm only telling you now because it's been finalized on their end. When Lyon called earlier, it was just an idea they were playing around with, but now, apparently, it's a done deal. Here's the thing…" I filled them in on what Lyon had shared in his latest phone call, i.e., the fact that this Ryder person's past con
Penance, it has got to be. I can't come up with any other reason for me to be dealing with this mess right now. I've always prided myself on being at the top of my game in any given situation, but this shit has thrown me for a loop. For what has got to be the first time in my adult life, I find myself in a situation that I'm not completely in control of. Right now, I should be focused on the job; nothing is more important than that, at least there didn't used to be. But now, even with the danger I was sure was here, given the Intel we'd collected so far, all I could think about was her. And not even in a sexual, I wanna jump her bones every time I see her kind of way, but more like how can I put her in my pocket and keep her safely away from all this shit type of thing. It's not something I expected, not to this degree anyway, and no one ever told me that these things could happen, and if they had, I'd have said not to me. But I am living it, so it's real, and that brings me back t