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Sean looked up, eyes widening. “Did he?—”

Aidan jerked his head up, shaking it. “No. He tried pushing me, ‘negotiating’ he called it sometimes, but he never...succeeded in pushing it physically.”

“But he tried.”

“Yes.”

The advances had been easy to fend off, swerve around, and avoid. Hell, it was just one more game, albeit with more at stake than Aidan would have liked. Jason had wanted him and was willing to pull out all the stops to have him. At first, Aidan had taken it in his stride, until months later, when the commander had cornered him, pressing against him, and tried to take what wasn’t his.

Aidan snorted. “Let’s just say, when I made it very clear he wasn’t getting what he wanted, things went downhill for me.”

“That’s why you were pushed out and forced onto a team.”

“And why General Winter wasn’t so sure that I might be a good fit for your team.”

Sean frowned. “What?”

“I...don’t know how much General Winter knows about what happened, but he knows enough to know something went seriously wrong. He was afraid that being put on your team would be too much for me. Something tells me the man knows more than he lets on but doesn’t show it.”

Sean snorted. “I’ve heard stuff like that before.”

Aidan shrugged. “So there it is. Some guy tried to ruin my life because I wouldn’t sleep with him, and you were the one who paid for it.”

“Considering you just saved my life, I don’t think I’m paying for it too much.”

“To be fair, you saved mine first,” Aidan pointed out.

Sean reached out, resting a hand on Aidan’s knee. “Take the compliment, Sergeant, or I’ll kick your ass when I can stand.”

Aidan reached down before he could question it. Sean’s fingers were warm, both a relief and a comfort as he curled his grip around his team leader’s and gave a squeeze. Looking up into Sean’s bright green eyes, he felt a knot in his chest loosen, freeing him to say something that was both innocent and not at the same time.

“Yes, Staff Sergeant.”

SEAN

“Doing alright, Staff Sergeant?” he heard Aidan call from behind him.

Sean waved his walking stick in the general direction of Aidan’s voice. “I’m fine, worry about your damn self.”

“Let us know if you need to rest your gimpy leg!”

That time, Sean did turn around to shoot the other man a glare. Aidan looked back, the lower half of his mouth covered by his mask, but his eyes gleamed with amusement. Using his free hand, Sean raised a one-finger salute, earning him a muffled chuckle.

The truth was, his ankle was in a constant state of pain, but Sean wasn’t going to let that stop him. Once he’d warmed up and the team had done what they could for his injuries, Sean had been anxious to continue their trek to the rendezvous point. They had been close enough to the end of their not-so-little training exercise that he thought he could make the rest of the trip without trouble.

Plus, General Winter, in his supposed wisdom, had decided to leave them without the means to communicate with the rest of the world. The only way Sean would have been able to avoid having to make the rest of the trip on foot would be to split upthe group and have some of them go on to the rendezvous point and leave the rest behind. Like hell was Sean going to have them go their separate ways, they were going to cross that finish line as a team.

Aidan sidled up next to him, speaking quietly. “Seriously, though, if we need to stop briefly, let me know. I can find us a safe spot to take a breather.”

Sean shot him a grateful look but grunted. “We’re almost there, and I’m not stopping now.”

“Stubborn.”

“You’re goddamn right.”

Aidan chuckled and fell back a couple of paces, letting Sean continue to lead the pack. Thanks to Aidan’s guidance and Ricardo’s first-hand knowledge of how to survive the climate, they were set to make the last few miles in one piece. The worst of the trip was hopefully behind them, and despite Sean’s injuries, the team’s morale had improved dramatically from the moment they’d left the cave behind.

Even the weather had improved, with the heavy gray clouds that had hung constantly in the sky finally separating to let the sun peek through. It was just enough to lift the dismal feel of the frozen forest but not enough to blind them when the sunlight made the snow sparkle as they trekked across it.