Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Bodie got it, now.
What Foster, Kash, Zain, and Chase had been trying to tell him for the past two years. That when they’d found that special teammate, time had become irrelevant. That they’d just known. It hadn’t mattered if it had been five minutes or five months, they’d simply jumped.
Bodie had jumped.
Without knowing whether he’d land on his feet or crash and burn. But lying there, holding Rowan as she slept in his arms, felt right. More than right.
It felt as if he’d come full circle.
Found the reason why he’d kept fighting when his career had gone sideways. Why all his previous attempts at relationships had ended before they’d even begun.
He didn’t care that they’d only really gotten to know each other over the past several days. That they’d been thrown together amidst bullets and bombs. Because for the first time since leaving the army, he felt as if he was exactly where he belonged.
That he was home.
Rowan twitched in her sleep, a few mumbled words sounding in the stillness. He rubbed her arm, smiling at the way she snuggled into him, when she screamed, bolted upright. He moved with her, avoiding the strikes she aimed his way as she tossed the blankets aside and rolled to her feet.
Bodie turned on the light as he jumped off the bed, palms up by his shoulders. “Easy, Rowan, it’s just me.”
She squinted against the light, brow furrowed, chest heaving before she relaxed her shoulders as her head tipped back.
He rounded the bed and eased her into his arms, her head tucked into his shoulder. “And here I’d promised you a dream-free sleep.”
She smiled against his chest. “Trust me. This is the longest I’ve gone without.”
He nodded, waiting until the tremors stopped. “Your dad, again?”
“Mostly. Though, since I watched that body cam footage…” She tensed. “I keep hearing that explosion. Remembering how it looked through the scope. I don’t know how you…”
Bodie blew out a harsh breath. “Sadly, it’s not the worst I’ve seen.”
“God, Bodie.” She cleared her throat, stared up at him. “I’m really sorry about Evan, and I swear, I won’t stop until I’ve burned Veridian to the ground.”
“We’ll both burn it. Team, remember?”
“And my boss was worried I wouldn’t play nice.”
He tugged her backwards toward the bed. “C’mon. It’s early, and you could use a couple more hours before Nick barges in.”
She moved with him, settling in his arms as he tugged her close to his chest.
This is how he wanted her.
Loved.
Cherished.
Safe.
Rowan drew lazy patterns on his chest, her breath a feather-soft caress across his skin, when his phone chirped, hushed footsteps sounding outside his door.
He rolled, had his Sig in his hand a second later, Rowan on his six. He tossed her his spare Beretta, kept her close when someone huffed.
“Before you lose your shit and come out guns blazing, it’s just me, Page.”
Bodie cursed, glared at Nick when he opened the door. “I damn near shot you.”
Nick looked past him at Rowan, smiled. “And here I thought some private time would ease all that pent-up energy. You really need to learn how to relax.”
“Armed mercenaries are hunting us. I’ll relax once they’re off the board.” He scanned the hallway, then focused on Nick as he leaned against the door frame. “Why are you breaking into my apartment before the sun’s even up?”
“I didn’t break in. Dalton has the code. And there’s been a development. I need both of you downstairs in your office. Now. Sloane’s calling in five.” Nick turned, started walking as he tossed, “Good morning, Rowan,” over his shoulder.
Bodie shook his head, looked back at Rowan as she stood there, smiling. He moved over to her, tugged her close. “This isn’t how I wanted the morning to go.”
He’d planned on breakfast in bed — her for dessert.
“And yet, I’m not surprised.” She ran her fingers through his hair as she tiptoed up. “It isn’t what I had in mind, either. Though, it’s comforting to know I’ll get another chance tonight to get it right.”
“If you get any better, you’ll break me.”
“Is that a challenge?”
He fisted her hair, kissed her. Savored every moment until his phone buzzed. What he knew was Nick being a freaking cockblock.
Rowan eased back. Eyes half-lidded, lips all kiss swollen, looking sexier than ever. “Duty calls.” She stepped back, then launched at him for one more soul-searing kiss, all tongues and heat and his heart threatening to beat right out of his chest, before she slipped into some clean clothes.
He swallowed against the punch of heat through his gut, then headed for the door. He shoved his weapon into a holster, holding the door open before stepping into the hallway.
Rowan paused, looked back at him, and he couldn’t stop from shoving her against the wall — getting in one last kiss before the world exploded into blood and chaos. The inevitable insane mission that would have them outmanned and outgunned, again.
She smoothed her thumb across his lips. “I realize Nick knows…” She waved her hand between them. “But are you okay if everyone knows? Because there’s no way my face isn’t going to show it whenever I look at you.”
He cupped her hand in his. “Good. That means I can do this…” Another kiss, only soft. Sincere.
“Any time.”
“You guys did see me standing at the bottom of the stairs, right?”
Bodie groaned inwardly, shifting his gaze to where Dalton leaned against the wall, smug smile curling his lips.
Bodie hadn’t even noticed the other man, not that he’d admit it.
“Or course, we did. We just don’t care.” Bodie held Rowan’s hand as he met Dalton at the bottom.
“Are you going to be a dick about this? Start singing that stupid song, again?”
Dalton frowned. “Do I seem like the kind of guy who’d begrudge you a bit of happiness? And yeah, I’ll be humming it for a while. Can we go into your office now?”
Dalton turned, whistling the damn tune as he walked down the hallway, disappeared into Bodie’s office. Rowan laughed as Bodie palmed the middle of her back, ushering her inside. The rest of the team glanced their way, all wearing that same knowing grin.
Nick tapped on Bodie’s keyboard, barely sparing them a quick side-eye. “About bloody time. Sloane’s late, but she should…”
A loud chime drowned out his words, Sloane’s call showing on the monitor. Nick took a breath, then connected. The screen flashed on before a woman appeared on the other end, green eyes bright against the muted background, her mass of auburn curls more than a bit wild.
She took in the room, focusing on Nick for a few moments before easing back on a cream sofa, arms crossed, annoyance lining her brow. “And here I thought maybe you’d bled out by now, Colter.”
Nick sighed, glanced at Bodie as if looking for a lifeline before he chuckled. “Hate to disappoint you, but as you can see, I’m still breathing.”
“With how bad you look, just give it a bit more time.” Her gaze shifted. “While I know his military buddies have no sense, I expected you to know a shitshow when you stepped in the middle of it, Avery. You promised me you’d stop working with the CIA.”
Avery shrugged. “And you promised you’d keep him on a short leash. But he was already here when I arrived. Guess everyone goes way back.”
“Only Greer’s known him long enough to claim that, but she should also know better.” Sloane smiled at Greer. “You’re glowing. Bet Remington’s going out of his mind trying to watch every angle until you go on maternity leave.”
Greer laughed. “You know how his type is. It’s good to see you, instead of just the odd phone call. How long has it been?”
“Four years, but who’s counting.” Sloane leaned forward, braced her elbows on her knees.
“We’ll forgo any introductions because I only have a few minutes, and I can’t risk talking about this anywhere else.
Speaking of which…” She moved closer. “Jesus Christ, Nick, do you have any idea what you’re involved in? What you got me involved in?”
Nick cringed at her tone, tugged at his collar for a second before raking his fingers through his hair. “I know it’s not ideal…”
“Ideal? When is treason ever ideal, and that’s not an exaggeration. These images you sent me…” She tapped on a tablet sitting next to her, launched a number of photos onto half of the screen. “Do you have any idea what those numbers mean from that half-faded barcode your friend, Buck, found?”
“I was hoping they were part of a product ID or a tracking code. Something tangible I could back trace.”
“Oh, they’re a code, for a top-secret black site.
The kind that’s above my pay grade, too.
I had to use the director’s computer to gain access, then wipe his whole system so he wouldn’t know I’d been poking around.
And this…” She blew out a harsh breath. “This is the kind of place congress doesn’t even know exists. ”
Nick braced his weight against Bodie’s desk, looking as if he might fall on his ass at any given moment. “You could have said no.”
Sloane snorted. “No isn’t in your vocabulary. At least, not when it involves one of your brothers. Just like that rescue last year. You kept pushing until we were in so deep, our superiors had to run with it.”
She sighed as she leaned back, again. “Besides, you know I can’t let this kind of shit slide into the abyss. But you owe me.”
“Keeping my kidney in great shape for you.”