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Except that he did know her.
They’d been in a crucible together. He’d seen Nyx in some of the worst circumstances imaginable. She was brave and strong, able to think on her feet, willing to take risks and not stand around waiting. At the same time, she understood he was in charge and she followed orders. She pulled her weight and never expected him to do everything. Despite the situation, she’d even been able to laugh with him. And give him shit. His lips curved. That might be his favorite thing of all. Her sassiness. She didn’t let him get away with anything.
What a time and place to realize he might be holding his future in his arms.
“Honey bear?”
“Hang on, Fireball. I need a minute.”
He might need longer than that. Hannah had been the last in a long string of women who’d lied to him. Case had given up on a forever, settling for hookups for the past three years, but now there was Nyx. She was as straightforward as anyone he’d met.
Easing her back, he studied her face. She was a mess from their trek through the rainforest and their boat ride to the encampment. Her braid had hair escaping every which way and there were the cuts she’d gotten when she’d taken a face full of foliage. His fault. He’d been too slow. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to each scrape and then ran a thumb over the smudge of dirt on her chin.
“You’re beautiful,” he told her.
Her full lips quirked up. “Thanks,” Nyx said dryly. “There’s no mirror here, but as grimy as I feel, I think you’re being overly complimentary.”
“Keep in mind, I’m in the same state you are.”
“True. Now are you going to fill me in or what?”
Case sighed, and reluctantly released her. “Yeah. Let’s go sit down.” Hand on the small of her back, he guided her to the chairs. “It’s the weapons,” he said when they were both seated.
“Occam’s Razor,” Nyx said, nodding. “The simplest explanation is usually right.”
“There were other options, but yeah. This was always the most likely reason they were interested in me.”
“And they want the same thing everyone else is clamoring for, right?”
“I thought you wanted me to fill you in?”
“I had time to think while I was waiting for you. There are a number of ways to get assault rifles and ammunition that don’t involve you. Since they’re laser focused on you and only you—” Nyx stopped speaking and shrugged. “It just made sense.”
Case added a couple more items to his list. Nyx was smart and she could see the big picture. While her first inclination wasn’t to assess things tactically when she did, she saw a lot of the same things he noticed. He liked that, too. Maybe it was time to stop detailing what he liked about her and just accept the truth. He’d fallen fast and hard for a brunette Fireball.
A brunette Fireball who had a couple more years left before she earned her PhD and wasn’t looking for a relationship, or a hookup, until she was finished.
Her hand rested on his knee briefly, capturing his attention. “You keep checking out on me. What’s up, honey bear?”
He realized he didn’t like honey bear. Honey bear wasn’t real, it was part of their act, but she couldn’t use his name. His reaction wasn’t rational. “I’m not a fan of honey bear,” Case said.
“I’ll just keep trying out endearments then,” Nyx said easily. “Now fess up, what’s going on? There’s something you’re avoiding.”
Taking her hands, Case leaned forward. “Colonel Ramirez wants the weapon, and he knows that I can’t do anything to get it for him sitting in a hut in the middle of the rainforest without a satellite phone at my disposal.”
“Is he getting you a phone?”
Case shook his head. “No. At first light tomorrow, I’ll be taken to Trujillo.”
Her face paled, but Nyx squared her shoulders. “You mean we’ll be taken to Trujillo. Right?”
He stayed quiet.
“Right?”
“No, Fireball. You’re Ramirez’s leverage to make sure I don’t disappear on him. He’s holding you here to keep me in line.”
Her mask slipped for a moment and Case saw her terror. She had a reason for it. Then she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, it was gone. The veil back in place. He waited for her to ask if he would return. After all, she believed he was a mercenary, but she didn’t. Nyx had that much faith in him. The realization warmed him.