Page 23 of Boomer

The truth was, he hadn’t needed to say much. He never had.

“I’m tired of that. You never even ask me about my past or even see what happens when I’m off-duty. When I wasseventeen, there was a full-on fistfight in the cafeteria because two girls saw me in Wranglers.”

Skull narrowed his eyes.

“Principal banned me from wearing tight jeans again. Said it was a distraction.”

“Bullshit. I’m gonna need video evidence.”

“Look it up, Skull. It made news. My mother was horrified. She took me out and bought me baggy pants.”

Hazard laughed softly. “Damn, kid.”

“Mrs. Dalton from senior year English. She was the one that wrote the complaint.” He leaned back against the sink. “After I graduated, she pulled me behind the curtain, propositioned me, and asked me to show up at her house in nothing but those jeans. She was twenty-eight.”

“Fuck. Did you go?”

“Fuck yeah, I went. Fucked her brains out all night long. She still sends me blueberry muffins on deployment.”

“That’s who's sending the treats? I always wondered.”

“I could go out right now to a bar. I’d have several women to choose from before I even got to the fucking bar. I’m a babe magnet, but after a while, sex is empty without something else to hang it on. Now I’m choosier.”

“This man is a menace,” GQ said.

“So shut the fuck up about me and how I don’t know jack about my dick, because I do. Apparently, what it’s connected to is irresistible to the opposite sex. I probably could teach you some moves that would drive Walker crazy. It’s a gift, and I’ve never squandered it.”

Skull just looked at him. “Can I get notes later on?”

“Get in line,” GQ said.

Iceman cleared his throat, and all attention focused back on him. “Sorry, boss, but?—”

He held up his hands. “I never miss a thing, kid. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. These guys just didn’t notice because they underestimated you. I don’t underestimate my operators. I had several Master Chiefs come to me, offering plenty for my first pick of Green Team that year. I laughed in their faces. You were it for a reason. Your sniper skills alone, and the fact that you really are too young for a Tier 1 operator. It says a lot that after they interviewed you, they gave you a shot. I have never regretted my decision.”

Breakneck’s throat tightened. Outwardly, he remained unfazed, but inside he was swirling with so much emotion. He’d never had the luxury of a reputable father to guide him. His stepfather, Derrick, didn’t count. He was pathetic, had problems with holding down a job, and he liked to blame his mom for everything that was bad in his life.

His mother tried to be both, but if he was being honest, he hadn’t quite trusted her. She never told him the truth. It was maddening. But Ice? He valued him. That was a shot to the solar plexus, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.

“Help him, Kelly. He needs us, and he needs you all,” Iceman said. “Don’t go overboard and stop teasing him. But that can commence tomorrow. He’ll be suspicious if that abruptly ends. But just keep in mind what you all went through before you break him down.”

There was remorse on their faces and Breakneck looked down the long row of showers. The water was still running.

Taylor shutthe door to her quarters with more force than necessary. The sound echoed in the private space like judgment.She circled her room. She was shaking. That man was a storm of muscle, and he had just broken open…for her.

From the heat that had flickered in his eyes when he walked away, like he’d let her go… for now.

Goddammit, Carter.

She turned on the tap, splashed water over her face. Her pulse still pounded. She’d faced down cartel leaders, corrupt bureaucrats, a sniper once in Berlin, and yet it was this,this man, who made her feel like she had no idea how to protect herself.

Now she had to work with him. Daily. Closely. For months.

She stared at her reflection, water dripping from her chin.

What the hell was she going to do? He wasn’t trying to make her feel petty. That was clear from the twist of agony on his face. He was stating how he felt, and now she had to process all of that. She braced her hands on the sink, breathing hard. She wasn’t winded from the run anymore. She was winded fromhim.

From his voice. From the way he’d said,So, I get this cold shoulder crap.Then, the part that kicked her in the heart.That’shurtingme, Taylor.She closed her eyes. Everything rebelled in her all at once. He was right. If he hadn’t been deployed. If he had shown up…