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“Coming,” Jug said, grabbing his weapon. “We’re going to check the perimeter and stop at the hospital to ensure they secured the supplies. They don’t have the best containers over there, so we thought we’d help if they needed it.”
“Copy that,” Ronan said as he hit up their supply kit, and his men left. “What do you want for dinner?” He grabbed two MREs. “Beef stew or chili.” He held up the pouches.
“Wow, first-class dining over here.” She cocked her head and shrugged. “Surprise me.”
“Chili is better.” He tossed it to her, and she caught it. “Do you know how to warm it up?”
She nodded. “Yep. One of the first things I learned when I joined this organization. I wasn’t joking, you know. This is first-class dining. We’ve been rationing for a long time. What I wouldn’t give to get these kids some fruits and veggies.”
Ronan pointed to his bunk. “You can sit there.” He sat on the ground beside her. Pulling the cup off his canteen, he filled it with water and handed it to her. “Thank you. Not only for the food but for thefun. I haven’t laughed that much in a long time.” She pulled her food out of the pouch.
“I can understand that.” He chuckled. “I wasn’t going to carry you over here. I was just proving a point, but when you laughed so hard …” He smiled when she laughed again.
She shook her head and slid her food into the heater she’d activated with water. “How long have you worked for Guardian?”
“Twelve years.” Ronan shrugged. “Most of my family works for them in some fashion.”
“Really?” she asked as she fought with the cornbread pouch. Sighing, she looked at him. “The cornbread is fighting me.”
He smiled and extended his hand, and she passed it over. He slipped his knife out of his web belt and slit it open. “You got a big knife there, Skipper.” He lifted his eyes to hers and saw the laughter she was trying to suppress. “If I knew you better, I would ask if you were compensating for something.”
Her audacity shocked him, and he barked out a laugh. “If I knew you better, I’d tell you I don’t have to compensate for anything.”
When he answered her, she had just put a bite of cornbread into her mouth. When she laughed, cornbread crumbs spewed. She clamped her hands overher mouth, causing them both to laugh. Ronan ended up leaning against Wraith’s bed, holding his stomach. When they finally quieted down, she sighed. “I missed this.”
“Laughing?” he asked.
“Being normal.” She was lying half on his cot with her feet still on the floor. “I love what I do, but sometimes, I think I’ve lost me in the process.”
He glanced over at her. “That would be a shame. I kind of like you.”
She turned her head to him. “Right back at you, Skipper.”
CHAPTER 6
Fleur put what was left of her MRE food into the larger pouch and rolled the top. She’d eat the crackers tomorrow. That would mean one full day of rations that could go to someone else. “Thank you for dinner,” she said as he stood and slung his weapon back on his shoulder.
“Anytime, and I mean that. We have enough, and we can get more.”
“How?” she asked as she stepped out of the tent into the darkness.
He shrugged. “We have resources you don’t. Guardian takes care of its people.”
“You said earlier most of your family works for the organization. What do they do?”
“Well, my dad is retired. He was a founder of theorganization. My aunts and uncles work for the organization as well in different capacities. Then there are my sisters who work in headquarters. They’re both married to people who work for Guardian, too.”
Fleur swung her pouch of food as they walked. “Sisters? Including the one who was taken?”
He nodded. “She’s the most determined person on earth. I have no idea how her husband deals with her.” He chuckled.“She’s amazing.”
Fleur heard the admiration in his voice and smiled in the darkness. He was a family man, which she appreciated, although she couldn’t tell anyone why it did. “That makes Guardian a family affair, doesn’t it?”
“Especially since my brother Deacon runs a team, too.”
“There are two like you working at Guardian?” Laughing and having fun was so easy around this man.
“There’s only one of me.” He chuckled. “Deacon is very much his own person, as am I.”