Epilogue #2
Bravo and Echo Teams were in cargo pants and T-shirts. And the sweat had their shirts clinging to their rippled and muscled bodies. The dampness had to add an extra bite of cold, but they seemed oblivious to the temperature.
Gray, Jack, a few other guys from her brother’s tactical security company—plus some Army guys from Fort Drum—had loved every minute of the event.
Gray had snapped out orders to Echo Team: do better, run faster, work harder. Jack had taken charge of Bravo, pushing them the same. Basically, they’d enjoyed tormenting a bunch of SEALs and egging them on.
“So, what do you think?” Back on his feet, A.J. snatched his cowboy hat from the chair and placed it on, then helped Wyatt up off the ground.
Wyatt glimpsed Natasha, his breathing still labored, and she grinned at him. “You all are nuts,” she mouthed.
But it’d also been freaking hot. Ten extremely fit and good-looking Navy SEALs completing an obstacle-like course in a field not far from the shore. How had they even pulled this off on such short notice?
“We have the results.” Gray waved a hand in the air, and all the guys gathered around him, waiting for the announcement.
Natasha went to Wyatt’s side, and he pulled her tight against him.
“Well.” Gray looked up, that mischievous look in his eyes Natasha knew all too well. “It’s a tie. Five votes for Bravo. Five for Echo.”
A.J. removed his hat and slapped it against his thigh. “Now that’s some bullshit. No way are we ending this on a tie,” he said as the rest of his teammates grumbled.
“Well, you can’t argue with math,” Natasha spoke up. “You guys had the same times on pretty much everything.”
“Yeah, yeah,” A.J. griped and put his hat back on.
“If we’re going to get technical, I’m pretty sure Knox had a half a second on Captain America during that race.” Asher crossed his arms.
“It was nose and nose,” Jack said, a massive grin on his face. Yup, he was loving this.
This was only the second time Wyatt had seen her brother since they’d met that first night in Arlington. Gray had been working nonstop since then, and she was beginning to worry that maybe he’d never settle down. Too work-focused like she’d once been when working Balan’s case.
But The Knight was dead. The chase for him was over. And something beautiful had come from all that darkness. The rainbow-after-a-storm kind of beautiful. Wyatt had said she was his sunshine, but she was pretty sure he was also her light.
Natasha glimpsed her watch, the one she wore every day, before her gaze slid to the engagement ring. I’m so lucky.
“I can break the tie if you’d like,” Gwen offered, striding up to the crowd of Army–Navy guys.
“Same.” Jessica stepped up next to Gwen.
“Sure. One vote for Bravo from Jess since you’re carrying the Big Guy’s babies and Gwen will vote for her old man.” Owen shook his head. “Another tie.”
“Well, you clearly have to settle this,” Natasha teased, looping her arm behind Wyatt’s back.
“You sure you guys didn’t make this tie happen on purpose?” Liam challenged. “I bet they did, didn’t they?” He nodded and faced his wife, Emily. “Babe, your brother’s a Marine, maybe he can settle this.”
Emily rolled her eyes. “Sure, you want to FaceTime him while he watches more of this insanity?” She looked at Natasha and laughed.
Alexa had been right about Emily. She was awesome. And their adopted daughter, Elaina, well, she was pretty incredible, too. Gwen had even babysat her while Liam and Emily, and Wyatt and Natasha, had gone out on a double date last week in D.C.
“Well, we bloody well have to do something.” Liam’s Aussie accent moved through the chilled air.
“You know,” Harper said, stepping forward so she was between the sailors on one side and the soldiers on the other. “It is possible you’re both just awesome. Equally awesome.”
The guys on Bravo and Echo exchanged a look with each other, then simultaneously shook their heads and said, “Nah.”
“Well, I give up.” Harper went back to the chairs they had set up, and she settled next to Owen’s wife. “You’re a bunch of crazies, in my opinion.”
A.J. turned back toward Harper. “And you know you love us.”
“How about we move on to something more important?” Gray stepped forward. “And we play a little football. Have a real matchup.”
“This is what I’ve been waiting for.” Natasha bit into her lip, and Wyatt nudged her in the side with his elbow.
“But take it easy on your leg, Gray.” She stared at her brother, waiting for him to acknowledge her concerns, and her brother wrinkled his nose as he shot her a playful, close-mouthed smile, which basically meant Not gonna happen.
“And who are you betting will win?” Jack strode up next to Gray, facing her and Wyatt.
“Yeah, who?” Wyatt’s hand slid down to her ass, and he squeezed.
Natasha turned to the side to catch his eyes. “You did admit to me in Montreal that playing football is not one of your many talents.”
“That was also in reference to real football.” A puff of cold air carried Wyatt’s words.
“And I’m supposed to believe you’ll be better at American football?” She couldn’t help but laugh as she jerked her free hand toward Gray and Jack. “You’re going up against a bunch of guys from the Lone Star State who can play as well as they can shoot.”
“You got that right.” Gray folded his arms. “I’ll take it easy on you, no worries.” And her brother was probably going to regret that once out on the field. Wyatt was stubborn and when pushed . . . well, hell, all the guys out there were probably similar.
Wyatt fully faced her. “Does that mean you’re betting against me?”
She pushed up on her toes, bringing her mouth close to his, forgetting her audience. “Now, you know I’d never normally bet against you.”
“But?” Wyatt arched a brow.
“This might have to be an exception.”
“Damn straight,” she heard Jack say. “And that’s our cue to give you some space.”
“Care to make a wager if I win?” Wyatt asked once the guys were out of earshot.
“Okay. If you win, I’ll let you try that position in the bedroom you’ve been dying to test out.”
His eyes widened, and a devilish, but sexy grin crossed his lips.
“Bro, you ready?” A.J. called out, and Wyatt lifted his eyes to the sky as A.J. strode closer. Always with the interruptions. “We gotta go kick some Army ass. You up for it?”
Wyatt smirked. “Hooyah, brother.”
“And what if our kids choose to join the Army instead? Or become Marines?”
“You trying to give our man a heart attack before the big game?” A.J.
quipped. “The poor guy didn’t sleep all night with Gwen out in the city—thank God she returned to her hotel alone and at a reasonable hour—but still, the man might need a little bit of some inspiration instead. You know, maybe a hot kiss?”
Natasha threaded her fingers through Wyatt’s hair and pressed her lips to his, and A.J.’s whistling grew faint as if he’d retreated.
“Mm. Was that for good luck?” Wyatt asked after their lips broke apart.
“You don’t need luck.” She patted him on the ass, gave him one more kiss, then he left to join his team in the huddle. “Now, this is going to be fun to watch.”
Gwen came up next to her. “You give him a pep talk? His eyes are still bloodshot from staying awake all night worrying about me.”
Natasha had also spent most of the night trying to distract Wyatt by having sex.
Gwen twisted sideways to fist-bump Natasha. “Thanks again for the rescue last night. I’m sure Dad flipped a lid when the limo showed up at that club, and I didn’t get out of it.”
Dad. Gwen had first called Wyatt that two weeks ago when they’d all been at the gun range, and he hadn’t been able to wipe the grin off his face.
“Your dad is a good man. He’s just overprotective. He means well.” Natasha turned back toward Bravo and Echo Teams in their huddle. Their quarterback, A.J., had on a cowboy hat instead of a helmet. “But yeah, I wish I could’ve pulled off something like that on the admiral when I was your age.”
“I guess you didn’t have a badass CIA officer in your life to help you.”
Natasha glimpsed Gwen. Her eyes were positioned on the soldiers as they moved into position opposite the SEALs. Gwen’s gaze lingered particularly long on one of the guy’s Gray brought down from Fort Drum.
And when the guy lifted his eyes, and his focus moved straight to Gwen, he smiled at her.
Gwen’s cheeks immediately took on a rosy hue as she shifted her hair behind her ears.
And did Gwen have the hots for an Army guy?
Well, this will be interesting, she thought as Wyatt glanced back at them from over his shoulder, and Natasha and Gwen both waved.
“Let the game begin!” Harper exclaimed, standing off to the side of the men on the field.
A.J. lowered himself into position, preparing to receive the ball.
“Who do you really think is gonna win?” Gwen asked.
“Well.” Natasha smirked, eyes on Wyatt, who was playing center as he snapped the ball to A.J.
“I think I’ve highly motivated your father, so I’m gonna go with Navy.
” A.J. passed the ball to Chris just as Jack threw his weight onto him and tackled him to the ground.
“But, um, I guess we’ll see,” she said before Gwen leaned against her, and they both laughed at the sight.
Chris was doing some sort of polar-bear-like growling move as he pawed at the air, trying to get free from Jack. The comedy of this all was priceless.
“And to think,” Natasha said with a laugh, “they’ve only just begun . . .”
If you missed the latest bonus scene, Stealth Ops #5, it’s available for download on my website. The next bonus scene will be available June 2020. Continue for more Stealth Ops info plus the playlist!