Page 52

Dominic

Shut your mouth and wash your socks.

There’s something in the air tonight. It’s the kind of night where things just go right.

It’s not the kind of thing I would admit if I were still captain, not even to myself.

Soldiers can be superstitious little shits, and I’m not exempt from it.

But I’m not their captain tonight. I’m just a guy on the team—and one who’s done enough ops to see when one is pulling together in a way that’s pretty damn close to perfect.

Or maybe I’m just still on a damn kiss high.

My tongue finds my lower lip again.

I fucking kissed her.

I smile.

She fucking kissed me back.

For maybe the first time ever, I don’t have a plan, and it’s as freeing as it is fucking terrifying.

All I know is I just couldn’t not kiss her for one more second.

Now Lucky’s laughing—with me, for once—and I kind of want to follow along and see where this goes. If anyone knows how to freefall, it’s him. And I’m all on board with trying it myself, right up until he suddenly glides out from behind the tree line, his arms up like this is a trust fall exercise.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

This is why you don’t talk about perfect nights, idiot.

Sighing, I snap my rifle up. Beau and Jayk should be in place to cover us by now, but it’s not the damn point.

“I am going to tie that reckless brat in a harness so tight, he’ll have to beg me to walk anywhere,” Jasper hisses, and I snort.

“Oh, yeah, that’ll show him.”

I step out more slowly, scanning for any stray Reapers, and Jasper steps out with me.

I’m not about to get sloppy now, but it’s easy enough to move between Cole and Sawyer’s tents to get closer, so we have some cover—it also doesn’t hurt that most of the Reapers have dropped their weapons and are watching Eden shake her ass like they’re ten beers deep at the UFC.

I don’t love the viewers, but that view was...

Eden’s round, perfect ass in those shorts is like a live wire to my cock. It almost makes up for the smug fucking smirk Beau sent me all those weeks ago when I picked them out.

It’s a good night.

Lucky stops next to Cole’s sleeping body right by the pile of food.

They’re far enough away that between the cloudy sky and their shitty camp, they’d be hard pressed to get a clear visual of us in the dark, but he’s still exposed.

He doesn’t even have hands on his rifle.

It’s slung over his shoulder as he tilts his head to peer down at the snoring Reaper, his hand tapping against his thigh to the music.

Jasper shakes his head, but the look in Lucky’s eyes is all bazookas and bad ideas.

Slowly, he touches the toe of his boot to Cole’s sweaty sock.

Jasper lunges forward right as the song changes to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” and it doesn’t matter that the leaves are dry under my boots, or that Cole flails awake with a panicked shout.

No one can hear a damn thing.

Frankie Vallie croons as Lucky cuts Cole back down onto the neon fold-out, then jumps on top of him, wrestling him into submission.

Lucky fares better than poor Eden, rolling Cole behind one of the tents.

Jasper hurries over, pulling a length of rope out of his bag as he kneels beside them. The French horn kicks in too loudly for me make out what he’s saying, but from his face—and Lucky’s grin—he’s got plenty to say.

A reluctant smile tugs at my mouth as I creep closer.

Eden .

I don’t know what I expected. That she’d set off a flare, maybe? Fake an emergency? Something that might buy us a few seconds or draw a few of the Reapers away, if we got lucky.

But this?

Pete and Buck grab at each other, bouncing, and pride burns in my chest.

She’s got these Reapers losing their god-damned minds.

It makes sense. She’s got me losing mine, too.

Jasper twines the rope around his elbow as Lucky snaps Cole’s decoratively muscled arms behind his back, and I’m finally close enough to make out what he’s saying.

“... while I’m pleased you’ve had this epiphany, I would appreciate at least some consideration to my nervous system before you go randomly waking up enemy combatants!”

“Help! Help ! We’re under—” Cole shouts hoarsely, and Lucky absently shoves his face back down into the dirt.

“Aw, come on, babe. Enemy combatant is a bit of a stretch. I swear I’m being safe.

Look, he can’t even break out of a basic hold.

” Lucky cinches Cole’s wrists an inch higher as if to prove a point, and Cole thrashes under him, his boot slapping against the tent.

Lucky pats his shoulder soothingly, then winks at Jasper. “Even you could restrain him.”

Jasper stops, gripping his rope. Dangerous, elusive things slip in and out of his eyes, and my smile becomes a grin as I breathe in.

The area is still clear, the air is rich, the food is right there, and for once, I’m not hyper-focused on every part of this op going right.

I’m actually enjoying this.

“Weren’t you just looking for some shibari practice?” I ask, not bothering to hide my amusement, and Jasper lifts his sour gaze to me.

“This wasn’t exactly the image I had in mind.”

I snort, my hands loose on my rifle.

Despite the sass, Jasper quickly starts restraining Cole, tying his hands in tight, artful loops before reaching down to secure his legs—and as soon as Lucky climbs off his back, Jasper speeds up, bending his calves back toward his thighs, knotting and looping in fast, efficient movements.

My adrenaline is singing, pumping and hot as Lucky pulls his empty pack around, then yanks out the second bag. He starts loading them up with every bit of food he can get his hands on.

Tucked into the shadows like this, we’re invisible.

Jasper finishes his final tie one-handed, his other hand pressing Cole’s squirming face into the dirt.

With a casual eye on our surroundings, I admire his handiwork. “What is that? Futomomo?”

“Mm. The spiral.”

I nod. “Pretty.”

A thick hunk of cheese in one hand, Lucky looks back. His gaze darts between the ties and the half-naked man in the dirt, Jasper’s knee in his back, and a blond brow kicks up.

“You know, I suddenly don’t know how I feel about this.”

Jasper slips two fingers under the rope, running them under the knots. He’s nodding, seemingly satisfied, when Cole suddenly wrenches his body to the side. He flops like a trout, then groans when it stresses the ropes.

“Stop wriggling,” Jasper scolds him mildly. “Put too much pressure on these ties and you won’t enjoy it.”

Cole spits out a mouthful of leaves and dirt, glaring up at him. “Oh, now I do apologize. I’ll try to be more relaxed while you rope me like cattle .”

“Ooh, ooh! Put me in, coach!” Lucky laughs, then snaps the buckles closed on his second, bulging bag.

Jasper looks over his shoulder, then pulls another bag from his pack.

It hits Lucky in the face.

“The sooner you fill that up, the sooner we get home. We’ll discuss.”

Lucky’s dimple turns sly. “I fill this up, you fill me?—”

My bag hits him in the face a second later.

“Rough, guys. Really rough.”

I snort, grinning, as the music bleeds into another song. It takes me a second before the tune hits.

We’ve Gotta Get Out of this Place.

Lucky tilts his head.

I glance up just in time to see Sawyer turn back from the crowd of Reapers, heading our way.

“Shit. Move your asses,” I bark. “ Now .”

Jasper looks up sharply, and I skid in beside Lucky and start throwing food into the last bag. There’s still so much here, so much we can’t carry, but it’s something. It’s a lot of something. I grab flour and oats, and Lucky tosses me a tub of honey that I catch neatly and shove in.

Sawyer swings down to pick up a canteen as he walks toward his tent—toward us —and adrenaline courses through me. The chorus rages over the speakers.

My clever fucking girl.

Cursing softly, Jasper throws one of the packs over his back and hauls Lucky to his feet as I wheel around.

Cole twists his head around, panicking. “Wait. Wait . You can’t just leave me here. I?—”

“We’ll ensure you’re found, as soon as we return safely,” Jasper assures Cole politely, quickly taking up a bag from Lucky. “Thank you for being so generous with your supplies. Bristlebrook appreciates the gift, and now?—”

“Now we have a girl to get to,” Lucky finishes with a dimple, shrugging on his pack. He picks up the last bag, and we’re all beating ass to the tree line when Cole calls after us.

“No! No! They’re too tight, you... assholes ! You tell your girl I said hello. You know those glasses are cute as hell.”

The three of us stop, shoulder to shoulder.

I grit my teeth, and Lucky’s head tips back as he blows out a long, hard breath.

“We don’t have much time,” Jasper begins, but his voice simmers with rage.

Lucky’s shoulder lifts. “So, we’ll be quick.”

“Quick it is,” I agree.

I sling my rifle so I’m not tempted to use it, and I’m kneeling over Cole in the next heartbeat. Jayk was clear—no lethal force—but the guy’s an asshole, and hell, if I’m being a team player, then maybe I can take some inspiration.

What would Lucky do?

I rip Cole’s sock off his foot, and his eyes bulge. “No. No, wait, I didn’t mean?—”

Grabbing his face, I stuff the filthy, sweaty sock into his mouth with two fingers. I rip a line of tape off with my teeth and slap it over his mouth. His nostrils flare, blowing over the tape, and he shakes his head, gagging.

I slap his cheek, and he looks up at me.

“Eden’s ours .” I raise a brow. “Nod if you understand.”

Cole nods hurriedly, and I stand, then kick him onto his back.

“Good. Talk about her ever again, and this silencing will get a lot more permanent.”

Cole shudders, and I smile, grimly satisfied.

Jasper nods his head for me to go, and Lucky is grinning.

The night is getting brighter, we have what we came for, and my... not my men, my friends are waiting for me.

I glance back, checking I’m in the clear, only to stop.

Sawyer is just a few feet away, yawning tiredly. I pause, my heart pounding, fast and ready. We’re too close. If he looks up even once...

My rifle is right there, but I don’t reach for it. This isn’t how I want this to go. I’m not messing up this op. Not this time.

But Sawyer doesn’t look up.

With one hand, he parts his tent... and ducks inside.

I’m clear. I was right.

It’s a perfect night.

Victory pumps through me in a way it hasn’t in too many damn years, and when I rub my hand over my jaw, I realize I’m smiling.

It seems to freak Cole out even more.

“Thanks for the food.” I bring my rifle back around and let my smile turn dry.

“I’m sure we’ll be great friends.”

Feeling his glare at my back, I jog over to the others, and we take off for home. Beau and Jayk join us in minutes, and it’s a straight shot. The Reapers are still hooting over the civs.

It’s only as we’re running through the woods, bags of contraband in hand, that the last song hits me.

Invincible .

My chest squeezes, and it isn’t from the light cardio. The five of us are moving together, high on the win. Beau is slapping my shoulder, even Jayk is grinning like we just scored the last touchdown.

We were a team today.

We can be a team.

We hit the tunnel, careful to cover our tracks, and my tongue finds my lip again. Eden’s waiting. Our Eden.

Fuck me.

The concept of anything with her had seemed so damn out of reach, I hadn’t given much thought to the fact that she’s involved with all of them except for how it affects the team. Too caught up drowning in my responsibility to even imagine it. But now...

I glance at the others, at Lucky laughing as he rips open a roll with his teeth, and I can’t help it. I imagine it.

Sharing with Lucky. Being as close with Jasper as I am with Beau.

Jesus, Jaykob .

It’s a bigger family than I’ve ever had. Bigger than I ever hoped of having.

And Eden . . .

I bite down on the ghost of her kiss. I can still feel the press of her breasts against my chest. Still taste how she smiled against my mouth like she’d been waiting for me to kiss her for her whole damn life.

I still see her on her knees this morning, daring me to doubt her.

Fuck, I love her. I’m done pretending I don’t. Whatever we need to figure out, we’ll do it together. Not as friends. Not apart. Together.

She’s at the heart of this, and I’m greedy for all of it—her and them and a loud fucking life.

Jasper raises an eyebrow at me, and I realize I’ve fallen behind, watching them all laugh and push ahead. My throat feels crammed full of rocks again, but this time, it’s not a bad kind of pain.

So much for empty rooms.