Page 2 of Going Rogue (Tactical Operations & Protection (TOP))

Rogue

It stank to high heaven in here. Rogue hoped the ferocity of the smell would keep the militants away while she and Crane hid.

“Holy fuck. I’m going to lose my lunch.” Gagging noises emitted from his throat as he shuffled into the cargo trailer behind her.

She couldn’t tell if the heaving was real or feigned, but she understood the sentiment. “Go ahead. It’ll improve the smell.” The statement oozed sarcasm, and she rolled her eyes.

They’d crept around several piles of bagged fertilizer to enter the container.

The smelly stuff had probably been transported inside it, but the militants had been smart enough not to leave something so potentially toxic baking inside a metal box.

Even with the ventilation fan installed, this thing would heat up fast under the desert sun.

Over a hundred 40-pound bags had to be stacked around the trailer she and Crane had crept into. The militants weren’t using it to plant an herb garden in the desert. Fertilizer contained ammonium nitrate. Add a little fuel, some flame, and it became highly combustible.

Heading toward the back of the trailer, she used the flashlight she’d borrowed from Crane to navigate. No moonlight filtered in through the ventilation fan, and the inside of the container became nearly pitch-black as soon as they’d closed the door.

A sweep with her light confirmed what she’d discovered earlier. The rectangular trailer that companies used to transport goods on eighteen-wheelers or cargo ships remained empty. These boxes littered the militants’ compound, but this one had been placed as far from the main buildings as possible.

Likely because of the stench .

Fertilizer smelled fragrant regardless, but cooking it under the desert’s scorching heat .

. . Yeah, a stuffy nose would’ve been welcome right about now.

She checked the vent and ensured the fan was running.

While poisoning the militants sounded like a good idea, she didn’t want to subject herself and Crane to that fate.

“My eyes are fuckin’ watering.” Crane slung the assault rifle he’d nabbed from a militant he neutralized onto his back and pressed his fingers into his sockets.

“Are you still whining?” Rogue shook her head and pulled him further away from the nasty stuff sitting outside. “You’re the one who wanted to hide.” He’d blown her original escape plan to smithereens, so she didn’t see another route out of there.

Despite the change in her plan, a part of her preferred this—not being alone—though she wouldn’t admit it to him .

Since they were going to be in the container for a while, she placed the flashlight on the ground, standing up, with its beam shining between them.

Crane dropped his hands and shot her a look that screamed disbelief. “And this is the best option?”

Cozying up next to so much explosive material might be a risky choice, but they only needed a couple of hours. “Yes.” She couldn’t help the evil grin teasing at her lips. Crossing her arms, she arched a brow. “You think any of them want to come out here, either?”

The tight lines around his mouth twitched until a chuckle broke free. “How’d you know this was here?”

“Found it when we were searching for the target.” She shrugged and tried not to think about the shitshow of an op that landed them in this situation.

Experience had taught her to trust her gut, and it had been rebelling before they started this mission.

Something had been off . . . she just hadn’t known what.

Shaking away the feeling she’d ignored, Rogue met Crane’s gaze and explained, “I thought this might be a holding cell because of its remote location.” Her voice strangled with emotion before she added, “I was wrong. ”

When his eyes softened and he stepped toward her, she backed into the wall. She didn’t want pity; she wanted justice. Her stomach churned with fiery rage over what she’d been through in the last twelve hours. It burned up her throat as she growled in a low voice, “What the hell happened?”

Their team had infiltrated the militant’s base to find and extract an American who aided terrorists.

The intel they’d been fed claimed this group had captured him despite his supposedly being on their side.

The job Tactical Operations plus they worked together, which made him off-limits.

She’d lived by the rule since her time in the military.

Being a woman in charge of a group of men could be a precarious position.

It meant she’d never wanted to do anything to compromise herself in their eyes.

Respect was too important to sacrifice for lust. But truthfully, she’d never been tempted to cross the line . . . until Crane.

He never failed to tease her and call her the grating nickname—Squirrel. But this . . . this side of him felt different. It only made her more wary.

“And that’s my fault, how?” she bit out, ignoring the stirring in her belly at having him hovering over her close enough to—

“Rogue . . .” He sucked in an audible breath.

Breathing in my scent or steadying himself? Her analytical brain couldn’t help wondering.

“Would you have left me behind?”

Her stomach cramped on the question. She opened her mouth to tell him yes, but the word refused to come out. Instead, she shot him a glare hot enough it could’ve peeled paint.

A smirk tilted the corner of his lips as he pushed off the wall. “That’s what I thought.”

◆◆ ◆

Crane

The attraction wasn’t one-sided. One of these times, Crane would make Rogue do something about it.

But he wouldn’t push now with her lip swollen and after she’d been through .

. . fuck . His whole body vibrated with barely controlled rage when he dared to think what she might’ve already had to endure.

Hands fisted and jaw clenched, he turned away to get himself under control. Because he had to ask her. Had to know .

“The rest of the team?” Though her voice hadn’t cracked on the question, he caught the sense of betrayal layering it. He wasn’t too happy with the rest of TOP right now, either.

Mouth thinning, he gave her a slight shake of the head.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner.” The hours he’d waited putting his rescue mission into action were slowly burning through his gut.

What had she been through while he’d planned?

His teeth clenched so tightly he was surprised he didn’t crack his jaw.

I should’ve come sooner.

The thought had been bombarding him all day, but he didn’t stop to question why her capture made him so upset.

“Where are they?”