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“Yes. Sorry. Guess the excitement got to me.”
Jazz grinned. “The first time I went on an op, I barfed.” She looked over her shoulder and then turned back to Aubrey and whispered, “All over Xavier.”
Despite the circumstances, Aubrey laughed, just as Jazz had intended. She could not imagine this überconfident young woman ever having an ounce of uncertainty about anything, much less throwing up from nervousness. However, she appreciated her attempt to make her feel better.
She took another couple of swallows of water and then stood. “Thank you. That helps. What now?”
“We all grab our go bags and head to the airport. We’ll get something to eat on the plane. I’ll—”
“Jazz, can I talk with you a sec?”
Aubrey froze in place. Liam Stryker stood before her. Though his words had been for Jazz, his eyes were on her. And they weren’t friendly. She could easily guess his thoughts. She hadn’t made the best first impression.
Reminding herself that she was made of grit and determination, Aubrey cleared her throat and said, “Thank you, Mr. Stryker, for allowing me to go along.”
“You going to be able to stay out of our way?”
Even though she hadn’t expected him to be thrilled with an outsider’s presence, the unfriendly question told her he was the exact opposite of happy that she was here.
“I promise you won’t even know I’m there.”
Though his brows rose in obvious doubt, he just gave her a nod before turning to Jazz. “I need to talk with you.”
Trying not to be hurt at his abruptness, Aubrey backed away. “I’ll go grab my bag and meet you outside, Jazz.”
Jazz gave her a quick smile. “Sounds good.”
She got out of the room as quickly as possible. How ridiculous for her to think the extremely rude Liam Stryker could possibly be Lion. Other than the voice similarity, the two had nothing in common.
* * *
“Did you have to be so rude to Aubrey? You know we’re all on the same side, don’t you?”
He was genuinely surprised at Jazz’s accusation. “I was rude?”
“Very.”
Okay, maybe he’d been a little short with her, but seeing her look as though she could pass out at any moment hadn’t exactly filled him with good vibes.
“I’ll apologize later. I just want to make sure you stick with her. She looks as though a loud sneeze would scare her off.”
“Then you need to take a second look. She’s one gutsy lady.”
Jazz was known for her protectiveness of her OZ teammates. Apparently Aubrey had been added as an honorary member of that exclusive club.
Ash appeared at his side. “Everything okay here?”
“Fine. I was just assigning Jazz the job of looking out for our guest.”
“Then she’s in good hands. I’ll be ready to roll in about ten minutes. I just want to go up to the house and check on Jules.”
“How’s she feeling?” Jazz asked.
“Her morning sickness is easing, but we both agreed it’d be a good idea for her to stay close to home for a while.”
“I’ll go grab my bag. See you in a few minutes.” Jazz gave Liam one last telling look and walked away.
“What was that about?”