Page 63 of The Team

Rhett had often wondered what could possess Harry to do that to another person. But that guy had beaten and tortured Asher.

Bisgaard had only snarled at Jay, and Rhett wanted to squeeze his neck.

He tried to imagine someone actually hurting Jay, and yeah... Rhett didn’t have to wonder anymore. If Bisgaard, or anyone for that matter—on Alpha Two, someone from HQ, or a total stranger—hurt Jay, Rhett crushing their windpipe would be the least of their worries.

“You okay?” Jay asked quietly beside him when they were in the air.

Rhett turned his head so he could stare at Jay for a long moment and sigh. “Yeah. Can’t wait to get home. I need you so fucking much.”

Jay smiled at him, eyes soft. “Oh, believe me, you’re gonna have me.” Then he made a point of looking toward the bathrooms. “I mean, we could join the mile-high club.”

“I heard that,” Echo grumbled from his seat.

Jay laughed. “Wanna hear us actually?—”

“Absolutely not,” Echo replied.

Az chuckled, her eyes closed. “Me either. For the love of all that is holy.”

Jay sighed happily, and Rhett couldn’t help but smile. But he was so freaking tired. He wanted a proper feed, a hot shower, and Jay in their bed for two full days of nothing but sleep and sex.

“Get some sleep,” Jay whispered, giving Rhett’s hand a quick squeeze. The warmth was heavenly and far too brief. “I’ll keep an eye on things.”

Rhett slid his hand into Jay’s—something he didn’t do when they were on the job— and threaded their fingers. He was all out of fucks for rules. He would dare anyone say a fucking word to him about it.

Knowing they had a bigger battle to fight all too soon, he closed his eyes and slept.

TWELVE

LONDON

Director King walked upand handed his phone to Rhett the moment they cleared London airspace. Jay could only hear the murmur of Yunho’s voice and see the serious set of Rhett’s steely gaze before he closed his eyes and let out a low breath.

And Jay knew.

He knew it was bad news.

Yunho spoke for a solid two minutes, Rhett saying nothing, until he murmured his thanks and disconnected the call.

“King’s about to debrief us,” he whispered. “Kowalski didn’t make it,” he said, loud enough for his team to hear.

Jay’s heart sank, and Az, Coyote, Sid, and Echo’s faces all fell. “Fuck,” Sid whispered.

But Jay wasn’t surprised. He’d seen Kowalski and Myles on those tables in that laboratory. He was surprised Kowalski even made it to the hospital.

The way Myles had tried to speak, his laboured breathing, it sounded as if their respiratory systems were as shredded as their skin.

And Kowalski wasn’t even capable of speaking . . .

Fuck.

“And they’re gonna quarantine the plane and test us before they let us off,” Rhett murmured.

Jay sank back in his seat with a sigh.

He understood the reasoning. It was to contain any possible contagions from the greater population of London, and it was a fair call. It just sucked ass.

As soon as the wheels were down, King walked front and centre. “Stay in your seats. They want to rapid test us all. It’ll only take a few minutes.” Then he let out a sigh. “And I’m sorry to have to tell you that Lieutenant Piotr Kowalski succumbed to his injuries. He died an hour ago. Myles is still listed as critical.”