Page 14 of Code Name: Tank (K19 Sentinel Cyber #4)

DRAGON

T he walk toward the lake should have been peaceful. Instead, my mind churned with the reality of what the next few days would bring. After a couple of hours working with both Tank and Flint, I could already feel my hard-won peace of mind slipping away.

Even during the briefing in the command center, I’d caught the subtle tension between them.

The way Tank had straightened when Flint complimented my expertise.

How Flint had moved his chair closer to mine than necessary.

Two alpha males circling each other with a stilted politeness that fooled no one.

Now, as we took the trail that led to the dock, Tank walked beside me without saying anything, giving me space to think. It was as though he knew when to push and when to back off, which only made him more attractive.

My phone buzzed against my hip, and the name on the screen when I looked made me stop walking.

“Sorry, I need to take this,” I said.

He nodded and continued toward the dock, his hands tucked into his jacket pockets.

“James,” I answered, stepping off the path toward a cluster of pine trees.

“Piper, I understand Agent Pierce has joined your investigation.”

“It came as quite a shock,” I confessed. “He arrived yesterday while I was in DC, briefing Director McTiernan.”

“I wasn’t made aware until this morning, when Agent Abrams informed me. How are you handling it?”

“Better than I expected. The information he’s providing about this group correlates with our technical findings.

Whatever personal history we have, I concede that the investigation benefits from his expertise.

However, we’re now focusing on embedded operatives within the defense contractors, based on his intelligence. ”

“Good to hear the team is working effectively. Keep me posted on any significant developments.”

“Of course. We’ll keep you briefed.”

“Excellent. Talk soon.”

After the call ended, I made my way down the slope toward the lake, where Tank sat near the end of the wooden dock, his broad shoulders silhouetted against the water.

The afternoon sun caught the gold in his hair, and even from this distance, I could see the alertness in his posture that never disappeared.

“Sorry about that.”

“No problem.”

“It was Secretary Hartwell calling.”

He raised a brow.

“He and I?—”

“Only explain if you want to, Piper.”

His use of my given name versus my code name surprised me. “Sure, um, of course. May I?” I motioned to the dock, near where he sat.

“I was hoping you’d stop moving long enough to stick your feet in.” He winked.

I toed off my shoes, removed my socks, and rolled my jeans up to my knees before sitting down. “How’s the temperature?” I asked.

“Like bath water.”

I stuck one toe in first, then lowered my feet into the lake.

He chuckled, watching me.

“My trust issues run deep.”

He nudged me with his elbow. “You trust me with your life but not your pretty little toes?”

I shrugged a shoulder. “This may come as a surprise, but I trust you more than most.”

“More than Pierce?”

“There are few in the world I trust less than him.” Before he could ask more—not that he would—I motioned to the small island visible in the lake’s center. “What’s the story there?”

“Nick Stoner Island.” Tank’s voice carried a note of appreciation for the distraction.

“It’s named for a war hero who spent most of his life in this part of the Adirondacks.

He served in both the American Revolution and the War of 1812.

I guess he was pretty well-regarded since, along with the island, there’s a golf club and three lakes named for him. ”

“Three?”

Tank nodded. “East Stoner Lake, West Stoner Lake, and Little Stoner Lake.”

“Imaginative. So, have you been over there?”

“A few times. Depending on how high the lake is, there isn’t much there. A spit of land wide enough for a campfire, as long as no one else beat you to it.”

“A campfire. Wow, I don’t remember the last time I sat by one.”

“It’s another thing I don’t do often enough.”

“Things like that feel a world away, given what we’re in the midst of.”

“Not a world; just a canoe ride,” he murmured.

“It sounds peaceful. Just you and the wilderness.” God, that sounded good right now.

“Sometimes isolation has its appeal.”

I started to respond, to say something about how Flint’s presence was going to complicate everything, but Tank interrupted.

“Ever been camping? Real camping, not the luxury version?”

The question caught me off guard. “Once or twice. My dad used to take me before—” I stopped, not ready to share that much. “Why?”

“There’s something honest about sleeping in a tent. No pretense, no games.”

Was he deliberately steering us away from heavier topics? When I met his gaze, I caught his second wink, which confirmed my suspicion.

The gesture shouldn’t have affected me the way it did. Tank’s easy confidence and his protective instinct that made him shield me from my own tendency to overthink.

“Speaking of family traditions,” he said, settling back on his hands, “my parents are coming here for Thanksgiving next week. My sister too, with her kids. Atticus will be joining us—I managed to rent one of the camps on the lake for the long weekend.”

My chest tightened at the image he painted. “That sounds wonderful.”

“It’ll be chaos,” he said with obvious affection. “My mom will cook enough food for an army, my dad will tell the same terrible jokes he’s been telling for thirty years, and my niece and nephew will probably try to convince everyone to go swimming even though it’ll be freezing.”

I found myself smiling despite the ache the description created. “You’re lucky to have that.”

“I know.” His voice softened. “What about you? Any Thanksgiving plans?”

“I usually just work through holidays. Quieter that way.”

Tank’s expression shifted. Before he could say whatever was forming in his mind, his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, then at me. “Atticus. Says Flint’s getting agitated.”

“As much as I’d like to say ‘let him,’ we should head back,” I said, already reaching for my shoes.

Tank grinned and did the same.

By the time we returned to the command center, Flint was pacing near the windows while Alice worked at her station, one hand occasionally resting on her stomach. Atticus looked up from his tablet when we entered.

“You need to take this investigation seriously,” Flint snapped the moment we walked through the doors, his eyes boring into mine. “Every hour we delay gives these operatives more time to coordinate their next round of thefts.”

I braced myself for Tank’s response, expecting the controlled but firm pushback that his military background would dictate. Instead, he didn’t say a word. He sat down at the table where we’d been working previously, his lack of reaction giving away nothing.

Flint either missed his warning signs or chose to ignore them.

“I can see why you haven’t made more progress,” he continued, his tone carrying just enough condescension to make my teeth clench.

“Here I thought I was dealing with the best team of agents and operatives in the world.” He shook his head.

“If they’re here, I sure as hell haven’t met any of them yet. ”

The casual dismissal of our work and the implication that Tank and I lacked the competence to handle a sophisticated threat crossed a line that even Flint should have recognized.

Again, I waited for Tank to respond, to put Flint in his place.

Instead, he opened his laptop, leaned back in his chair, and acted as though Flint hadn’t said a word.

As much as I wanted to storm out and tell him to go fuck himself, I opted to take a page from Tank’s book.

I sat down beside him, opened my laptop, and sifted through the personnel data Alice had compiled from Tex’s analysis.

Atticus quietly moved closer to our work area, positioning himself where he could support our analysis.

Twenty minutes later, Flint rested his hands on the table and leaned closer. “I’ve received intel we need to discuss. Privately.”

I raised my head. “Tank and I are the leads on this investigation. Any information you have needs to be shared with both of us.”

Tank stood, but rather than back me up, he walked over to one of the small conference rooms and motioned Flint and me inside. By the time I turned to take my seat, the door was shut, except Tank wasn’t inside; only Flint and I were.

“That guy’s either got some serious PTSD he’s dealing with, or he took one too many hits to the head somewhere in his career.”

“Say one more word to disparage him, and I won’t care if you can bring this entire investigation to a close tomorrow. I’ll get you thrown out on your ass and back into protective custody so fast your head will spin right off your piece-of-shit body.”

Flint’s eyes flared, then he did one of the two things he shouldn’t. He shook his head and laughed.

I got up and grabbed my laptop, but before I could walk out, Tank came in with Alice and Admiral, and Atticus close behind them.

“Pierce here says he received intelligence important enough that we all need to hear it.”

Alice scooted past Flint, nudging him out of her way as she took a seat on the other side of me. Atticus settled into a chair near Tank, pulling out his tablet to follow the discussion.

Tank motioned for Admiral to take a seat.

“I’ll stand,” he said, arms folded in front of him with a steely gaze leveled on Flint. “Let’s hear it.”

Pierce sighed and pulled up several encrypted documents on his laptop. “These are partial files from an op that took place in Prague three years ago. It revealed more about this network than we realized at the time.”

I froze, hoping I’d effectively steeled my reaction. When he’d said this before, the first time we talked on the phone, I thought he was bluffing. Just trying to get a response out of me.

Alice raised her head, and her eyes met mine before she entered a string of code on her laptop, then rested against her chair.

Seconds later, everything that was on Flint’s screen appeared on an electronic evidence board that lowered from the ceiling.

“This way, we can all see it,” she said, scowling at Flint.

I watched as his mouth opened, then shut.

If Alice hadn’t stunned him speechless, I was certain Flint would’ve pointed out that the files showed intelligence on multiple American defense companies and their vulnerabilities.

“Targeting specific weaknesses,” I said more to myself than anyone in the room.

“These thefts aren’t random—they know which companies to target.”

“What else have you got?” Alice asked.

“According to Agent Abrams’ briefs, the thefts were timed to affect contract funding?—”

“As we’re already aware,” Alice folded her arms like her husband had.

When the room went silent for several seconds, I took the opportunity to study the information on the board. As my mind worked through what I was seeing, it felt off.

“Where did you source this intel?” I asked.

“From people who know that going through normal channels takes too long when we’re facing this level of threat.”

The non-answer raised red flags, but before I could press for details, Admiral cleared his throat. “We’ll need time to analyze this intelligence properly. Let’s cross-reference these patterns with our contractor-personnel data and readdress in tomorrow morning’s briefing to discuss the next steps.”

Alice stood and stretched while I stifled a yawn. “Sorry,” I said to the group. “I’m going to need a short break before jumping back into this.”

“Piper always did her best work under pressure,” Flint said, his tone carrying the familiar warmth that made my skin crawl. “I could always tell when she was getting tired by the way she’d?—”

“That’s enough,” I cut him off.

Tank closed his laptop and stood. “I have some things to take care of.” His tone had an edge to it that dropped the room’s temperature by ten degrees.

When he walked out, I grabbed my stuff and followed without saying anything to Flint. I had to hurry to catch up with his long strides as he headed toward the command center’s exit.

“Tank, wait.”

When he still didn’t respond, annoyance flared through me. I was tired of men making assumptions about what I needed, tired of being managed and protected and dismissed without anyone asking my opinion.

“Fine,” I muttered, turning to walk away.

Instantly, he was right behind me. His hand caught my arm, spinning me around before I could take another step.

In one fluid motion, he had me backed against the trunk of a massive tree, his hands braced on either side of my head.

Then his mouth was on mine, hot and demanding and everything I’d been imagining for months.

His kiss was raw and honest and overwhelming.

I melted against him, my hands fisting his shirt as his tongue battled with mine. This was what I’d been fighting, what I’d been afraid of—the way Tank made me forget every rational reason why getting involved was a mistake.

When we broke apart, both of us breathing hard, his green eyes held mine with an intensity that made my knees weak.

“I can’t watch him treat you like he owns you. I won’t act like it doesn’t bother me.”

The honesty in his voice, the way he’d finally dropped all pretense, made my heart race.

“Tank—”

“Whatever happened between you two, whatever he did—I’m not him.”

The simple statement carried more weight than any declaration of intent. Tank wasn’t asking me to forget my past or dismiss my concerns. He was asking me to recognize the difference between manipulation and genuine feeling.

The sound of voices from the command center reminded us both where we were and how exposed this moment had made us. But as Tank stepped back, giving me space to breathe and think, I found myself wishing he hadn’t.