Chapter 19 #2
Condensation could adversely affect drones the same way it could affect weaponry or any machinery, so they couldn’t bring them inside the warm cabin.
Novak went on. “Romano has one with thermal imaging abilities in the air right now following the likely path given the trail Sebastian and Ranger Deacon marked earlier today. I’ll send an alert if it picks up anything human, but the battery lifespan is limited in the cold.
He’ll land it with you guys once it’s out of juice and send you an alert when it’s headed your way. ”
“Good.” Sebastian knew they were doing the best they could, but he could taste everyone’s frustration.
Especially his own. “Get something to eat and then a good night’s sleep.
We’ll deploy the two squads on foot before dawn—take enough supplies to survive for three nights in the wild.
We are not coming back here until we find Summer.
I want everyone prepared for emergencies. Understood?”
They nodded. Nora almost smiled her approval.
“We’ll leave Hunter and Birdman along with Cadell and Hugo to guard the cabin and the helos along with the pilots.” The pilots were both agents in their own right. “They act as backup should we get cut off from base.”
“We’re going to do two-hour, two-person guard patrols, starting with Meghan and Ryan.” They both grabbed their weapons.
“I hope you don’t expect us to take a turn,” Max grumbled.
“Of course not.” Sebastian straightened. “You’re a civilian and as much as we value your contribution to the search, you are not trained for this.” He turned to look at Nora. “Myself and Ranger Deacon will take second shift.”
Max’s expression tightened. Nora looked…could that be a smile on her lips? The first since he’d told her he knew about her past, earlier today.
He listed off the other guard duties and tried not to look at anyone to see if they were suspicious that he’d paired himself with Nora again.
Only Ryan stared at him with one raised brow.
Sebastian ignored the guy. “Kincaid and Hopper, you’re on dinner.
I’ll do the breakfast shift with Cruz. Everyone else sort out your gear for tomorrow and find a place to sleep.
If you SAR guys could take a look at the images Eastman’s clients sent, we’d appreciate it.
” He nodded toward the laptop Cas had set up.
“And, Ryan, can you take a look before you start guard duty?”
It was a long shot. Another long shot.
It didn’t escape him that if Nora hadn’t fallen through the ice yesterday, they would probably have found Eastman last night. They might have already rescued Summer.
Or Eastman might have shot one or both of them, or Summer, and ended it that way. And he and Nora would never have had last night.
Yet, despite the fact he’d almost lost her and she’d gone through hell in that water, she would never have kissed him without that traumatic incident, never have seduced him. And even though it was wrong on every level, he would never regret that. Never.
Not for as long as he lived.
“His name is Jasper Kendrick.”
Ryan looked over from the other side of the wide porch. Raised his brow. Meghan had been poking at him all day.
She looked away. “My date.”
He filed the name away. “And what does good old Jasper do?”
“High school gym teacher.”
“Teacher? Doesn’t seem like your usual type.”
Her brow crunched. “What would you know about my type?”
Ryan pointed his hand at himself in a long sweep that would be sure to annoy her.
She rolled her eyes. “Huh, yeah, well, any port in a storm.”
Ryan felt his lip curl in a grin. “You being the port, me being the storm.”
He could hear her teeth grind.
“If I murdered you, do you think I’d get a reduced sentence for temporary insanity?”
He swore steam was coming out of her ears now. “Probably.”
“Even if I didn’t, it might be worth it.”
Damn, he loved riling this woman. “So, what made you swipe right on Jasper?”
“Well, he’s younger for one.” She was trying to needle him back.
“How young?”
“Twenty-six.”
“And you are?”
She laughed knowingly. “Like you don’t know.”
“How would I know?” He tried to look innocent.
“Because you like to know everything, and you have Maddie Goodwin wrapped around your little finger.” She sauntered toward him, and he knew he should move away. Patrol somewhere less dangerous.
“Maddie would never break rules regarding personal privacy.”
“Yeah, but she might leave you alone with her computer sometime or trust you with her password if there was some kind of emergency.”
Ryan couldn’t deny that and so didn’t bother. Instead, he deflected. “Even if I did have access, why d’you think I’d be interested in your file?”
She cocked her head and took another step so that if he reached out his hand, he could touch her. He didn’t reach out.
“What’s my star sign?”
“You think your star sign is in your FBI file?”
She just watched him, her gaze drifting to settle on his lips in a manner that made him squirm.
“You’re a Taurus,” he admitted, “which explains a lot.”
She put her hand on her hip. “Like what?”
He wanted to drag her to him and kiss the life out of her, here, in front of everyone. “The fact you’re stubborn.” He let his anger show. Out of everyone he’d met in the past eight years, she was the only one who affected him this way. “The fact you won’t let this thing with me drop.”
Her eyes rose to meet his, and her mouth opened. It took everything in him not to cup the back of her head and kiss the shit out of her.
“God.” She took a step back. Then another. “Shit. I’m sorry.”
Something shadowed her eyes. Shame. Regret. Things he’d never wanted her to feel but which were necessary if he was going to finally put an end to this dangerous dance.
“You kept trying to tell me to leave you alone, but I was too stupid to listen. If this were the other way around, I would have already reported you.”
He couldn’t speak because he wanted her attention more than anything, and he’d be lying if he pretended otherwise.
“Look, let’s just call a truce and move on, okay?” She sounded so desperately earnest. “For real this time. I promise I will keep everything strictly professional from now on.”
Exactly what he wanted. So why did he feel like someone had stabbed him? “Deal, but don’t beat yourself up about it. I have this effect on a lot of women.”
And just like that, the anguish in her gaze turned to fury, and he shimmied past her to do the job they were supposed to do and be somewhere she hopefully couldn’t strangle him.
“One day, Ryan Sullivan, I swear...”
He grinned as he walked away, wishing for once in his miserable life that things were different but grateful they could go back to being teammates.
The fact she was the only teammate he’d ever wanted to kiss until neither of them could breathe was his little secret, one he had no intention of ever acting on.
Being a member of the Hostage Rescue Team was the one thing of worth he’d achieved in his life, aside from his daughter, and all he’d done there was provide the sperm.
Making the Hostage Rescue Team was his single greatest accomplishment.
He had no intention of fucking it up or of ruining Meghan Donnelly’s reputation at the FBI.
The best thing for both of them was her dating some nice guy called Jasper and him cheering her on from the sidelines when they walked down the aisle.
The cold wind snuck down his jacket and made him shiver.
A wolf howled, and the hair on his nape snapped to attention.
He needed to get his head in the game and remember why the hell he was out here.
Not for funzies, not to hang out with his teammates, not to run a drill.
They were trying to save a little girl and hopefully detain her father, who was suspected of murdering two people in cold blood.
He’d already lost one friend this year. He couldn’t bear to lose any others, especially not the person who strayed into his thoughts when he should be thinking about pretty much anything else.