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The room quieted, and Brad wasn’t the only one staring at her—waiting for her response. She tapped her finger against the folder. “One question, sir.”
Chrome nodded. “Hit me.”
“Is this for real? Not some elaborate ruse to get me out of the way? Is the threat genuine?”
“As far as we can tell, yes.” Chrome nodded. “Ant vetted it. Alayna is at the hospital with Steele going over the intel right now. Theycan handle it.” He’d anticipated her unasked question. Brad shared her sentiment. Why wasn’t he handling it, or her?If the source was after me, I’d recognize the threat before they do. “You are not having the information because you’re not going rogue to take out the target and potentially expose yourself. They’re kicking over a lot of rocks. You go dark, you take Gabriel and the knucklehead, and you stay out of sight.”
“That’s the mission?”
“Such as it is.”
Copper glanced at Gabriel. “You okay with this?”
“I’ve got your back, sweetheart.”
“Wehave her back,” Brad corrected.
“Oh, shut up,” Copper snapped at him, and thumped her fist on the folder. “I’ll do it, sir. It’s for the team. I won’t let you down.”
No.She’d rather lose an arm than disappoint Chrome.She was a damn good Marine. Once upon a time, she’d given that same loyalty to him. Brad would win it back if it killed him.
And, hey, if it did? Well, at least she’d be off the hook.
Chrome nodded, then focused on him for the first time since he’d come into the room. “You bring her back in one piece. We mourned you once. I won’t mourn her.”
“Sir.” Brad met his gaze, unflinching. “Yes, sir.”
He strode out of the room, and finally, it was just the three of them. Brad studied the pair in front of him as they stood. “So, who gets the window seat?” When Gabriel rolled his eyes, Brad added, “Sachi sits in the middle.”
Brad waitedtill they hit a cruising altitude to stand and make his way to the bar. The nice part of a private plane—it came with a bar, a fully stocked galley, and comfortable seating. Hell, it even had a bedroom. He glanced at the far side of the plane, where Copper parked herself once onboard. Gabriel took the seat nearest her, and then they’d sat in uncomfortable silence as the plane taxied the runway and completed takeoff.
“Drink?” he asked, since he was already standing and pouring a scotch for himself. Not drinking on the job was to be expected. At this point, however, he wasn’ton the job,and he needed a drink. His shoulder ached, the stitches itched, and he hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in years. Something about waking from a coma meant he didn’t like going to sleep anymore.
Not for long, anyway.
“I’ll take what you’re having.” Gabriel’s not so subtle dig amused him, and Brad chuckled. Not that he didn’t deserve the remark, since the other man already had what Brad had been having, or more importantly, who. He poured the second scotch and carried it over. The ache in his right leg was always worse in the air or too deep on a dive. Equalizing pressure meant the knee and hip joints protested.
Sachi said nothing, so he paused next to them and studied her. “Not going to say a word?”
With deliberate slowness, she flicked a look at him. She waited a beat, then tilted her head back and closed her eyes.
Stubborn woman.God, he loved her. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pen shaped device and flicked the power to on. “We have electronic scrambling for about two minutes, then they’ll compensate.”
Gabriel raised his eyebrows, but Sachi didn’t move—her eyes still closed. “So what’s your plan? I know you have one.”
Yes, he did. Before he could explain, Gabriel rose, phone in hand and walked over to one of the consoles. Interested, Brad tracked his movements. He plugged the phone in, then said, “We’re good, you can kill the interference. They’ll see you sitting over there and us over here. Not talking.”
“What about the drinks?” Though Brad had to admit, he might be a touch impressed.
“There are empty glasses next to both seats, remember?” The man faced him, arms folded.
Not finding the observation wrong, Brad tossed back a mouthful of the scotch and turned off the jammer. Since Gabriel moved, Brad dropped into his seat. Sachi opened her eyes and shook her head. “Plan?”
“As soon as we touch down, we’ll pick up our tail and make contact.”
Gabriel walked over and Sachi rose, waited for him to slide into her seat and then she settled in his lap.Touché.Draining his scotch, he pulled out his phone and flipped it over. “I have all the files here, at least as much information as they’ve put together so far. Tin owed me a favor, so he took care of getting me the info they were given. I haven’t had a chance to review it all yet, but we need to go through it thoroughly.”
“No ideas on who could be hunting for you? Ex-lover? Ex-wife? Ex-one night stand?” The coolness in her voice was a dead giveaway, but he met her gaze evenly.