Page 13

CHAPTER 13

E cho stretched slowly, the ache in her muscles confirming that last night hadn’t been a dream. A satisfied smile played on her lips as she felt Deacon’s arm snake around her waist, pulling her closer. She snuggled against his solid frame, resting her ear on his chest. His steady heartbeat created a comforting rhythm, but she heard him rumble, “Do you hear that?”

Lifting her head, she blinked and listened. “I don’t hear anything,” she said, her brows furrowing.

“Exactly. The rain stopped.” Deacon patted her gently on her bottom. “Get dressed. I want to see what the jungle looks like and talk to Click about plans for extraction.”

Echo moved aside as he rolled off the sleeping mat and began to dress. Her eyes lingered on him, admiring how his muscles flexed beneath his skin as he tugged on his pants. When he turned around and caught her watching, his eyebrows raised in silent question.

She grinned. “Nothing.”

He tilted his head, skepticism evident on his face. “I’m not sure I believe that.”

Laughing, she playfully said, “Okay, maybe I was admiring the deliciousness of the dish I was served last night.”

Deacon threw his head back with laughter. “I’ve never been called a dish before.”

Rolling onto her stomach, she propped her head on her elbow, her tone playful. “Maybe ‘dish’ wasn’t the right word.” She smirked. “Maybe I should’ve said ‘feast.’” She wiggled her eyebrows for emphasis.

Deacon sat beside her, pulling on his socks and boots, his grin broadening. “I prefer that term.” He leaned in, giving her a quick kiss on the lips before standing. “Now, get dressed, woman.” He grabbed his T-shirt, tugging it over his head with a flourish. “Show’s over.” He winked at her before stepping outside. “I’ll be at the big shelter.”

Echo smiled as she watched him leave, then took her time getting ready. After using the wash basin, she freshened up, combed through her long hair, and neatly braided it. When she finally stepped outside, the air felt damp and heavy, and the jungle around her was cloaked in muted gray light. Though the rain had stopped, dark clouds still churned overhead, promising more to come. Carefully picking her way along the bamboo walkways, she headed toward Deacon.

He stood at the edge of the village, his broad shoulders tense and his gaze fixed on the dense jungle below. Ranger and Ralph were with him, their postures mirroring his. As Echo approached, she asked, “What’s going on?”

Deacon raised a hand, signaling for silence, then tapped his ear. Realizing he was likely communicating with Click, she fell quiet. Her communication device had been lost during the flood—a casualty of her being pulled underwater. Deacon explained that because it was a spare and not custom-fitted, it had probably been swept away and was likely buried under ten feet of sediment by now.

She stood silently beside him, the weight of the jungle pressing in around them. At first, all she could hear was the distant hum of insects and the occasional call of a bird. Then, faintly, she heard it—a helicopter. Her heart leaped. “Is that for us?” she asked, her voice tinged with hope.

Deacon shook his head. “No. Click says the weather fronts are still too close together. The rain will start again within the hour. In three days, there’s supposed to be a break—maybe a four- or five-day window before the next front rolls in. That’s when we’ll leave.”

Ralph shifted uneasily, his expression wary. “Unless those people are looking for you.”

Deacon turned to him, his tone steady. “We won’t bring the cartel to your doorstep. We’ll keep watch and ensure no one approaches the mountain. Right now, they’re conducting lower-level grid searches.”

Ranger chimed in, his voice calm yet authoritative. “You can tell by the sound of the aircraft; they’re flying low, scanning the canopy. It’s a pattern—they haven’t moved to the mountain yet.”

Deacon nodded. “If we think they’re getting closer or there’s any chance someone might be coming up the mountain, we’ll bug out. We won’t leave anything behind that could trace back to you. Guardian looks after those who look after them.”

Ralph’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Guardian? You never told me you were with Guardian.” He rubbed the back of his neck, his tension easing slightly. “I’ve had two run-ins with your organization, and both times, I was impressed by the integrity of your units. That makes me feel a lot better.” He offered a small, sheepish smile. “I wish you’d told me sooner.”

Deacon chuckled. “Sorry for the unnecessary worry.”

Ralph shook his head. “No more worries. I’ll head back to the village now; I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. I guess I’m a bit of a mother hen that way.”

Deacon observed as Ralph cautiously navigated through the mud toward the bamboo walkways. Once Ralph was out of earshot, Deacon turned to Ranger. "Prepare everything for an immediate departure. If we need to bug out, I want to be ready.”

Ranger nodded, doing a one-eighty and heading back toward camp. Deacon draped an arm over Echo’s shoulders, pulling her close. “What about you? Think you’re ready for a high-speed move?”

She shrugged, her expression wry. “Well, you’re not leaving me here, so I’d better be.” Her confidence was genuine, but a quiet doubt lingered in her mind. She’d regained her strength, but her cardio wasn’t where it used to be. How long she could keep up was the real question.

Deacon tapped his comm device. “Click, do you have an exfiltration plan yet?” He listened intently, nodding occasionally as the drone of the helicopter grew louder, then faded again.

Echo leaned against him, her nerves tightening. If the cartel’s grid search brought them closer, it was only a matter of time before they started visually assessing the mountain. When that happened, the village would be exposed for helping them. The village elder had told them that the village and the cartel had an agreement that neither would bother the other. He wouldn’t bring the cartel here.

“All right,” Deacon said into the comm. "Provide the coordinates. We’ll set out in three days.”

There was a pause before Deacon’s expression darkened. “No. If the village is threatened, we’re bugging out. Tell Ronan to get his ass here and get us out of this rain barrel.” He laughed at whatever response Click gave before ending the conversation.

Echo tilted her head, curiosity sparking. “I take it Ronan’s a pilot?”

“Ronan is my twin brother.” Deacon glanced at her as they walked along the bamboo planks. The rhythmic squelch of mud beneath the makeshift walkway accompanied their steps. “He’s a pilot, but not for helicopters. He and his team volunteered to come in and extract us. Kind of a payback for a mission where we pulled his ass out of some serious shit.”

Echo stopped, turning to him with raised eyebrows. “I was a bit tipsy when you told me you had a brother. Did you mention his name? I think I would’ve remembered something that unique.”

Deacon chuckled, dropping an arm over her shoulder and pulling her close as they continued walking. “I may have, but not only do I have a brother, I also have two sisters. I was trying not to scare you off with the negative side of my family tree before I won you over with all this delicious feast.”

Echo tilted her head back, laughing. “All the deliciousness aside, do you have any more surprises for me?”

Deacon hummed thoughtfully, his lips curving into a sly grin. “Yeah, probably one or two.” He glanced down at her, his expression softening. “Nothing you won’t be able to handle, though. I’m sure of that.”

She narrowed her eyes playfully. “And you’re not telling me now because …?”

“Because I want our relationship to go a little further, be a little stronger, before I spring all my family’s insanity on you.” He stopped walking for a moment, frowning in mock thought. “Don’t worry—they’re not serial killers or maniacs. Well … Charley could’ve been, but nah, I don’t think so.”

Echo halted, grabbing his arm. “Wait, wait, wait. You said you had a brother named Ronan and two sisters. Who’s Charley? Your dad? Uncle? Dog?”

“Nope.” Deacon smirked. “Charley is actually Charlotte, my youngest sister. She’s legitimately one of the craziest people I’ve ever met. No filter, does whatever she wants, and is probably one of the toughest people I know.”

Echo took a moment to absorb that. “And your other sister?”

“Gabby.” A fond smile tugged at Deacon’s lips. “Her name’s Gabrielle, but we call her Gabby. She’s brilliant. Crazy intelligent. She’s taken the hard road to get where she is, but now, she and Charley work at Guardian’s headquarters. My brother Ronan’s about to join them in a leadership position.”

Echo paused as they approached a muddy patch. Deacon jumped over it easily, then turned to offer her his hand. She took it, her grip steady as he helped her across.

“What about you?” she asked as they continued walking. “Are you going to work at Guardian’s headquarters?”

Deacon shrugged, his pace slowing. “Most likely. That’s been the plan all along. My father worked for Guardian. Moving up is inevitable. But I’m not ready to sit behind a desk just yet. Sooner or later, I’ll get too old for this, though, and having a comfortable office chair might not be the worst thing.”

Echo’s brow furrowed as she looked at him. “Actually, having a nice office chair doesn’t really suck. It makes you soft, though. I can understand why you’d want to keep doing this. It’s in your blood, isn’t it?”

Deacon nodded and turned to face her, his gaze steady. “What if you were in a serious relationship? Would you still like to do something else, something like this, maybe?”

She tilted her head thoughtfully. “I suppose it depends on the mission, the setting, and whether the person I was in a relationship with was working with me. But if we were separated by countries, each doing completely different jobs? I’m not sure I could handle that.”

Deacon grinned, placing his arm over her shoulder once more. “So, what you’re saying is, if I had you on my team, you’d join me on missions, train with me, and actually enjoy it?”

Echo stopped suddenly and turned to face him. “First, I don’t think there’s room for another person on your team. Second, even if there were, why would you want it to be me? I wouldn’t want to be ‘Cap’s woman,’ resented by the team. And third, what skills could I possibly bring to your team that you don’t already have? I don’t speak another language, and I don’t want to because English is hard enough for me. The only skill I have is my IT specialties. While I enjoyed my time in the military, I’m not one for rules and regulations—which is one of the reasons why I’m leaving the CIA.”

Deacon froze, turning to her with raised eyebrows. He placed both hands on her shoulders, his gaze focused. “You’re leaving the CIA?”

Echo nodded, her tone firm. “I’ve been thinking about this since before the flood. They’ve placed me in an office—a small corner one with a window, sure—but it’s not where I belong. I love creating things. Developing the ideas no one else has considered. Monitoring systems and programs isn’t what I want to do. And after getting a second chance at life, it’s only reinforced that I can’t keep doing things that don’t fulfill me. My job is the first issue I need to fix.”

Deacon studied her for a moment, then gently cupped her cheek with one hand. “I’d be honored to have you on my team at any time. Would you need to train? Yes. Would the team accept you? They already have. What would you contribute to the team? Everything.”

She nodded, her voice quieter now. “I could train. I could work hard enough to fit on a team. Physically, I know I can. Mentally, however, I’m taking a step back from that life. I love building. Creating something entirely new. I think I’ll return to that after I give the CIA my notice. I’m not sure how large the market is for what I do, but perhaps a defense contractor will have something I can really dive into.”

Deacon smiled, his eyes warm as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Whatever you choose to do, you’ll excel at it. I’m sure there are one or two places that would be eager to hire you,” he said with a chuckle.

Echo narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to glance up at him as they walked toward the small shelter. “Why do you say it like that?”

He shrugged casually. “I know some people at Guardian; that’s all I’m saying.”

She stopped in her tracks, her expression stern as she shook her head adamantly. “No. If I’m going to have a job, I will have a job I’m qualified for and earned. I’m not taking handouts—not even from you.”

Deacon smirked but opened the door, gesturing for her to enter. “I can respect that. I get it—you don’t want a handout. But I never said Guardian would give you one. They only hire the best of the best.”

Echo laughed as she stepped past him into the shelter, turning to face him with a playful gleam in her eye. “The best of the best of the best, sir!” she quipped, imitating the iconic movie line.

Deacon threw his head back and laughed, his deep voice filling the small space. “Yeah, well, we don’t take on aliens or track them on Earth, but we seek out the best. And if Guardian were to hire you, that wouldn’t have anything to do with me. It’d be because of what you’re capable of. No amount of family connections or favors would get you hired for a position you weren’t qualified for.”

Echo settled into one of the small chairs, crossing her legs while raising an eyebrow. “You don’t even know if there’s a job opening, so all of this is moot.”

Deacon kneeled before her, resting his hands on her knees as his expression softened. “So, follow me through this bit of logic. If Guardian hired you to do what you already know—because you’re qualified for it—and I was still working in the field, do you think our relationship could grow?”

Her gaze softened as she leaned in, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and intertwining her fingers behind his neck. “Deacon, if our relationship could thrive through a monsoon and endure me drowning, it can overcome deployments and missions. Because separation of that nature is far less intense than what we’ve already faced.”

His lips curved into a smile, and he leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers in a slow and deliberate kiss. “Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page, babe.”

Her smile grew wider as she met his gaze, her eyes sparkling affectionately. “Not only are we on the same page, but I believe we’re even in the same paragraph. Maybe even the same line.”

Deacon leaned back slightly, studying her face with an amused glint in his eye. “I don’t know if you’d still feel that way if you knew what my paragraph was about. It’s forecasting the future.”

She leaned closer, her lips gently brushing against his as she whispered, “As long as that future includes you and me together, we’re on the same page.”

She kissed him again, slow and deliberate, before pulling back with a playful grin. “And now, we’re reading the same paragraph.”

Deacon’s eyes darkened with intensity as she kissed him once more, slipping her tongue between his lips. When she pulled back again, she added in a husky voice, “And we’re on the same line.”

The teasing remark shattered the last of his restraint. He reached for her, his strong arms encircling her waist as he pulled her off the chair and into his chest. She let out a soft laugh that quickly faded into a sigh as he held her close, their foreheads touching.

At that moment, words became unnecessary. They understood each other—it seemed they always had. Whatever the future held, they would face it together.