Page 84 of The Team

Shit.

Jay sighed. “Sorry. Just thinking.”

“About?”

“About how pretty it is here,” Jay mused. “I’d like to come back one day.”

Rhett snorted. “Not sure I’ll be welcome.”

That made Jay chuckle. “You were great back there,” he murmured. “What you said to King and Zihao and those three chiefs. You ain’t ever been sexier than you were right then.”

Rhett snorted. “Uh, thanks. I think.”

“What you said was true.”

Rhett let out a sigh and sat down next to him, their thighs touching, and Jay relished the contact. “I’m not sure any of this is working,” he admitted quietly.

Jay’s eyes met his. “This mission?”

Rhett shook his head. “Milvus. What we were designed for. The bureaucracy and power grabs.” He shrugged and his brow furrowed. “I dunno. Harrigan was right.”

“Christ, don’t say that. He’ll get a fat head. You know he’s probably listening, right? Somehow. I’m sure Yunhois.” Jay looked around and gave a wave and a big cheesy grin.

Rhett snorted and leaned back, unbothered. “Absolutely certain we’re being watched at all times.”

“And yet,” Jay joked, “no one has sent me the sex audio tapes. I’m very disappointed in alotof people.”

Rhett’s smile slowly faded as he cast his gaze out across the water. “It is pretty here.”

He was far too melancholy for Jay’s liking. He nudged his knee with his. “This mission will go just fine. We have all the intel, and at the end of it all, we have the Chinese military behind us. And we have you. We can’t fail.”

Rhett nodded but his eyes tightened, those beautiful blue-grey eyes troubled.

“Frankston wanted us here,” he said. “Feels like we’re walking right into his trap.”

“Okay, so this self-doubt needs to fucking stop,” Jay said. “What the fuck, Rhett? Where’s the guy who walked into a Chinese military base, looked three generals in the eye, and basically told them to get effed? Where’s that guy? Because we need him. Yin and Chen are in there suiting up right now and they need you.”

Rhett sighed, looked miffed for half a second, then rolled his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, okay. Message received and understood.”

“Good,” Jay added. “You’re the best. This team is the best. And don’t fucking forget it.”

That made Rhett smile, his eyes meeting Jay’s, and that stormy grey was gone, more like steel now. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now get in there and do what you do.”

Rhett went back to where Yin and Chen were puttingon wetsuits, and when Jay looked at Az, having clearly heard their conversation, she smiled at him.

“And people think he’s the boss of you,” she said with a scoff and a shake of her head.

Jay laughed. “Yeah, no. He wishes.”

Jay closed up his kit and pulled the strap before he went to where Yin and Chen were now fully suited up, doing a final check on their tanks and earpieces.

“We can track you but won’t have contact with you until you reach land,” Rhett said.

Chen chuckled. “Yes. We know. We do this many times. Hundreds or more. We train in this water.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Rhett said with a wince. “Echo’s got nothing on the sonar. You should have a clean run.” He ran through the water temperature, current, and tide specs, but it was pointless. It was the equivalent of telling Azrael how to hold a gun.