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“Tillie comes home today,” said Mav at breakfast. The others all nodded, but he noticed that it was Leo whose head popped up and then back down. “She should be here by dinner with any luck.”

“That’s cool,” said Leo calmly.

“Leo, brother, it’s fine if you like Tillie.

She’s like a little sister to all of us.

I’m kind of surprised she didn’t marry anyone while she was gone.

We had bets going as to whether it was that she was too busy or the poor bastards who went after her didn’t anticipate that she had a bite to match her bark. ”

“No man should be afraid of that when a woman has so much to offer,” whispered Leo.

“Brother, she is a good woman, but you should know that Tillie can be difficult as well. She’s fiercely independent, fights as good as most of our men, and has never dated anyone long-term that I’m aware of.”

Leo looked around the cafeteria, spotting Tanner and Micaela.

“And what about them? Are they accepting of men asking their daughter out, or are they protective?”

“Dude, everyone here is protective. Tanner is no different. That guy is unbelievable in a fight. I wouldn’t fuck with him, but then again, I’ve never wanted to ask his daughter on a date,” smiled Pax.

“If you want to get to know Tillie, just spend time with her, Leo,” smiled Saint. He nodded, focusing on his food, happy for the distraction of others bustling in and out of the cafeteria.

Leo knew almost immediately upon meeting the team from the motorcycle shop that this was where he belonged. He’d been treated as family, like a brother, almost instantly. It was a feeling he’d missed after leaving the military and didn’t even know it.

As for Tillie, they’d met briefly one or two times. Whether she felt the same was yet to be seen. But for Leo, he could barely breathe when he saw her. Yes, she was beautiful but never wore makeup, never spent time on her hair, and didn’t really give a damn about what she was wearing.

He loved that. He loved that a woman was more concerned about what she could offer the world rather than what the world could offer her. But Tillie wasn’t the only one that hadn’t dated much.

Leo found that while in service, he never wanted to be tied down to one girl.

First of all, it wasn’t fair to her to be gone all the time.

It was important to him that he maintain the relationships within his own team.

Their lives depended upon it. Sometimes, to do that, you had to ignore your personal interests, those in your outer circle.

The circle outside of the military. No matter what the military said, your family came second.

The saying was “God, country, family,” and they were serious about that. The challenge was finding a woman who agreed with that philosophy. Leo gave up on that a long time ago. In fact, he was content with the idea of never having it.

Until Tillie.

Suddenly, there was a great deal of commotion behind them, and the men all stood, wondering what was happening. Cam looked around the room and waved the group over toward him.

“What’s going on?” asked Saint.

“It’s Tillie.”

“What’s happened?” asked Leo.

“She and three others were headed to the airport to come home when their caravan was hijacked. No ransom has been asked for yet. Witnesses say they’ve already left Botswana and are in Angola.”

“Fuck,” muttered Mav.

“We’re trying to get visual on them now. We’ve got all of our resources working. Air, land, and sea. Once we know where they are, we’re going in,” said Cam.

“I’m going,” said Leo. Cam stared at the newcomer, unsure of why he was so quick to volunteer. “I may not have the right to go in, but I’d like to do this.”

Mav, Saint, Pax, Brax, CJ, and Garr all nodded at Cam.

“Alright. We find them, and you seven go in. And eleven people had better damn well come home.”

“What do you want from us?” asked Tillie.

“Shut up!” said the man for the fifth time in as many minutes.

“I will not shut up until you tell us what you want. We don’t have money. Our families don’t have money. What do you think you’re going to accomplish with this other than to piss off the Americans.”

“Shut up!” he yelled.

He pulled the covered truck to the side of the road, opening the door and stepping out. The man with him did the same, ignoring their precious cargo in the back.

Tillie wiggled her arms left and right, then over her butt, stepping through her arms like she was skipping rope. With her hands in front of her, she gripped the end of the zip tie with her teeth and tightened it.

“What are you doing?” whispered the young girl, Jewel.

“This,” she smirked.

Stretching out her arms, she pulled back quickly against her chest, and the zip tie snapped, freeing her. With her hands now free, she looked through the small window between the back of the truck and the cab. The men had walked maybe a hundred feet from the truck.

“Do exactly what I just did. I’m getting us the hell out of here.”

The men had been foolish enough to leave the keys in the truck, as well as their weapons. Tillie wiggled her narrow body through the opening, taking her place behind the wheel. Gripping one of the weapons, she fired at the men, hoping to just scare them away.

Both men ran toward the trees, hiding as quickly as they could. She backed the truck up, turned it quickly, and sped down the road.

“Is everyone okay back there?” she called.

“We’re fine. What the hell was that, Tillie? Who are you?” asked the man.

“No one special,” she said. She didn’t know if this had all been intentional, if someone knew her and her family, but she wasn’t about to give anyone any additional ammunition.

Able to finally reach her comms and tracker, she tapped them both.

“ Tillie? Are you there?”

“I am so glad to hear your voice,” she said, fighting back tears. “I’m alright. I’m headed back into Botswana but left our kidnappers on the side of the road. They’re going to be pissed.”

“We could give a shit about that. The boys will meet you at the airport near the game preserve across the border. Make it there, and you’ll be okay.”