CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Luna was in a post-sex haze, comfortably wrapped around Boone, eyes closed, teetering on the edge of sleep when her phone beeped on the nightstand. One eye peeked open to check the time on his alarm clock—four twenty-three.
That can’t be good.
Boone stretched, reached out, plucked it off the nightstand, and handed it to her. She looked at the screen, and her euphoric bubble burst.
“Good morning, Khalid.” She kissed Boone’s chest, sat back against the headboard, and pulled the sheet up to cover herself before putting the call on speaker.
Boone shifted to sit next to her, one leg kicked outside the sheet, which covered him only to his hips. Probably for the best, since she wouldn’t be able to concentrate otherwise.
“I am sorry to awaken you, Miss Luna, but I have news.” Khalid shared what he knew about the man Udall had been talking to in the video.
“His name is Hamsa Sherzai. I have known him since he was a small boy and have helped him and his family a great many times. I asked him about the foreigner I had seen him talking to so often. At first, he attempted to deny any knowledge of Udall, but after reminding him of my history with his family, he thought it best to share what he knew.”
Udall was paying Sherzai to find girls and pretty much anything else he would need to move his plans forward. Khalid also told her that Udall already had five girls from the neighboring village and was holding them somewhere, but Sherzai swore he didn’t know where.
“Do you believe him?” This was a major change and would require the team to deploy earlier than expected.
“I am not sure that I do,” he said. “There is one other thing. Hamsa was also instructed to kill me.” Her hand flew to Boone’s arm, and they looked at each other, then Khalid casually added, “It seems your Mr. Udall did not like the questions I have been asking.”
“Oh, Khalid, I am so sorry.” Luna hated the thought of him putting himself in danger. “We would completely understand if you no longer wanted—”
“Do not worry, Miss Luna. Hamsa could never hurt me. The shame would be too great for his family to bear.” He spoke with a calm confidence.
Luna wished she was as sure of that as Khalid seemed to be.
“Udall purchased an old van from Hamsa and intended to use it to transport the girls across country. However, it seems he realized how difficult that would be and has found another way to move them.” Khalid detailed all of the arrangements he’d made for the team’s arrival in Aliabad.
“I will find out where they are keeping the girls and will relay that information to you immediately.”
“Thank you so much for your help, Khalid.” Luna added, “Again, I am so sorry you have been put in danger.”
“It is a welcome danger if it means saving those girls and ensuring that man gets the punishment he richly deserves.” He told her he’d be in touch and reassured her with the kindest voice, “Rest easy, Miss Luna.”
He ended the call, and her hand holding the phone dropped to the bed.
“What if he’s wrong about Hamsa not killing him?
” She turned to face Boone, and the sheet slid down.
She draped it over her crossed legs, unconcerned that her breasts were covered only by thick strands of her hair hanging over them.
The man had seen pretty much every inch of her over the past several hours, but it felt inappropriate to have this conversation while being completely exposed.
“This is going to sound harsh, and I don’t mean it to be, but Khalid knew what he was getting involved in.
Yet it was important enough to him to set aside his concerns for his personal safety.
” Boone cupped his hand over her knee. “Looks like we’re heading out early, so why don’t you call Cole and give him an update, and I’ll go start the coffee, then hop in the shower. ”
He gave her a big juicy kiss, unbothered by her morning breath, tossed the sheet off himself, and stood.
His butt was tight, and she couldn’t stop looking at it.
“Yummy,” she murmured.
Boone stopped in the bathroom doorway and caught her looking at him. He stalked back over to her, leaned down to flatten his hands on the bed—one on each side of her—and stopped with his nose practically touching hers.
“If you keep looking at me like that, we’ll never leave this room.
” He gave her a forceful kiss, pushed up off the bed, and stared down at her for a long minute.
“Jesus, you are such a fucking temptation.” He shook his head as if to clear it, stomped into the bathroom, and closed the door behind him.
Luna gave a satisfied smile as she scrolled to Cole’s number and called him.
The phone rang only twice before he answered.
“Hang on.” His voice was a gravelly whisper, and she could faintly hear Dulce in the background. “It’s okay, baby, go back to sleep.”
There was a rustling and then the sound of a door quietly closing.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“I’m sorry to wake you, but I just had a call from Khalid.” She briefed him on the conversation and how the timeline would need to be accelerated.
“Will there be a problem getting us out tonight?” Cole asked.
“I’ll need to make a couple of calls, but I’m certain we can make that happen.” She’d expected that question from him but was still unprepared for the emotional impact it would have on her.
She’d been looking forward to having a few days with Boone before they had to leave. Now she would have to brace herself to say goodbye to him tonight.
As if her thoughts conjured him, Boone stepped out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a black pair of boxer briefs. He winked at her, pointed toward the kitchen and made a gesture like he was drinking from a cup, then left the bedroom.
“Okay, you work on logistics. I’ll notify the team to report to the compound with their gear by oh six hundred.” How was Cole able to sound so unaffected by the idea of leaving Dulce and his little boy on such short notice?
“Cole, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, let me just get this coffee started first.” Water ran in the background, and there were a few beeps. “Okay, shoot.”
“How do you handle leaving Dulce and Carter when you go on these ops?” she asked. “If it’s none of my business, feel free to tell me.”
“Is this about Boone?” He surprised her with that question.
“Yeah, it is.” The official nature of their relationship would be out in the open soon enough.
“First off, leaving them is one of the most difficult things I have to do. But what we do is important, and Dulce, better than most, understands that.” She heard sputters from the coffee maker.
“I’m not going to lie to you and tell you it gets easier, but you have to figure out a way to compartmentalize your work life from your personal life.
Which could be complicated by the fact you two work together.
But if you don’t do that, you’ll never make it. ”
The idea of that terrified her.
“Okay, I’ll try.” She wasn’t sure how, but she’d figure it out.
Workplace romances could be difficult under the best circumstances.
But in a traditional work environment, if a couple breaks up, the worst thing that could happen was that they were forced to see each other every day.
With Dark Ops, it was much more extreme, because they faced the genuine risk and cataclysmic emotional impact of one of them dying during an op.
“Why don’t you talk to the other wives and significant others?” he suggested. “I’m sure Dulce would be happy to talk with you.”
“That’s a good idea. Thanks.” This must be what it felt like to get advice from an older brother. Which was funny, because Cole intimidated the heck out of her the first time she met him.
She’d been surrounded by big, tough guys for years, but Cole was a whole different breed.
Maybe it was the scar cutting through his eyebrow, his dark eyes, or the level of intensity you could practically feel pulsing off of him.
His past spent working deep undercover for Jeffrey Burke and the NSA was dark enough to haunt and destroy a lesser man.
But then she’d see him with Dulce and Carter and the way their light and love broke through his darkness to expose a caring and affectionate husband and father.
“Anytime.” He sipped his coffee. “I’ll see you at oh six hundred. Oh, and I’m assuming you can just roll over and tell Boone?”
Was Cole Lambert actually making a joke?
“Ha ha, very funny.”
He was actually chuckling when she ended the call.
Speaking of Boone—not wanting to lose a minute with him, she tossed off the covers and hurried into the bathroom.
She went potty, washed her hands, and splashed water on her face.
She reached for her robe, stopped, and grabbed his flannel shirt from where it hung on the doorknob instead.
She slipped it on and only bothered with a few buttons.
Luna walked into the kitchen, and Boone’s back was to her as he reached into the cabinet for coffee mugs. She moved up behind him, circled her arms around his waist, and put her cheek against his warm back.
He turned, wrapped his arms around her, and they stood that way, holding each other, for a few minutes. Both of them thinking the same thing but neither one mentioning it.
“Cole wants everyone at the ops center by six o’clock.” Luna looked up at him, her chin to his chest. “He knew we were together and told me to let you know.”
“You okay with him knowing that?” He brushed his lips across her forehead.
“Absolutely.” She leaned back to look up at him. “Are you?”
“Hell, yeah.” Boone laced his fingers together at her lower back. “It’s not like I’ve been hiding the way I feel about you.”
“Okay, good.” She went up to her tippy-toes to kiss him.
“Let me throw on some sweats, and I’ll go check on the horses.” He lowered his arms and checked the coffee. “Coffee should be ready.”
“What do you do with the horses while you’re gone?” Luna wasn’t sure she was up to the task of managing Patience and Sassy’s care, but if he needed her help, she would do her best.
“Did you see the property down the road with the big red barn that has the giant American flag painted on the side?” She nodded.
“When I’m gone, the man who owns that spread comes over every day and feeds them and lets them out in the pasture for the day.
Right around sunset, he comes back over and brings them in for the night.
I’ll give him a call on our way into the office. ”
“That’s nice that you have someone who can do that for you.
” One day, she hoped to be able to take care of those kinds of things for him—partially because she didn’t want to feel helpless and be a burden every time she was here.
But more than that, she wanted Boone to know she cared enough about him to learn as much as she could about life on a ranch.
“That’s the way life is in the country. Neighbors helping neighbors is the only way to survive,” Boone said. “It’s another reason why I could never live in a big city.”
“While you’re taking care of the horses, I’ll make us some eggs.” She reached into the fridge for the eggs. “I hope scrambled is okay, because that’s the only kind I know how to make.”
“Scrambled is perfect.” He gave her a quick kiss and headed to the bedroom.
He reappeared a few minutes later wearing a pair of gray sweatpants that shouldn’t be sexy but totally were on him. It was still dark outside, so he flipped on the large floodlight installed at the top of a pole and headed toward the barn.
About twenty minutes later, their plates empty and their bellies full, they loaded the dishwasher and showered together.
Which turned into him lathering her up and taking her from behind against the glass shower wall.
At first, it had felt awkward, but once he’d helped her find a comfortable position, she’d been surprised by how much she enjoyed it.
Something about allowing herself to be vulnerable—to trust him completely—had deepened the connection between them.
Luna spent some time on her laptop, rearranging logistics and making sure everything would be ready for their departure. She provided Khalid with the updated information, packed up her laptop, and threw on Boone’s shirt over the clothes she’d worn yesterday.
Walk of shame, here I come.
“My shirt looks good on you.” He kissed her, set the alarm, and held the door open for her.
He locked the door and jogged across the grass to check on the horses one more time, then he secured the barn. They loaded his gear into the back of his truck, and he slammed the tailgate.
“Here, I want you to have this.” He tugged something from the thigh pocket of his tactical pants, lifted her hand, and set a keychain in her palm.
There were three keys attached, and he pointed to each one as he told her what they belonged to.
“This one is for the house, this is for the barn, and this one is for the safe room.” He gave her a slip of paper.
“Here is the alarm code. Please memorize it, then destroy that piece of paper.” She folded it and wedged it into the front pocket of her jeans, and he went on to explain how to set and deactivate the alarm and what to do if it went off.
“Head straight to the safe room, and a message will be sent directly to a dispatcher for the alarm company.”
He’d given her a comprehensive tour of the house before they left, making sure to show her where the safe room was in the basement.
In his typical humble way, he acknowledged that it would be a waste of time for him to explain how the monitors in there worked, since she knew more about them than he did.
He also gave her a schematic showing where all of the surveillance cameras and motion sensors were located on the house and around the property.
“I want you to feel comfortable coming out here whenever you want.” He pulled her into a hug. “You can hang out with Patience and Sassy, relax in the hot tub, sleep in my bed. I want you to treat this place like your second home.”
“Are you sure?” Giving someone keys to your home was a huge step.
“I’m very sure.” He kissed her and opened her door for her. “I’ll see you there.”
Boone jogged around the front of his truck, climbed in and started the engine.
As they made their way to the Dark Ops compound, her mind fretted over the fact that, in a few hours, the man she loved would be leaving her to get on a plane and fly halfway around the world to face a type of evil most people couldn’t comprehend.
That concerned Luna far more than any threat Udall might pose to her.