Page 49 of Nails

Nails filed that away to ask her about later.

They boarded the jet.The interior was all polished leather and soft lighting.Four crew members greeted them with professional smiles, outlining the flight plan and gesturing to the fully stocked galley.

The team spread out, claiming seats and stowing gear.Riley slid into one of the plush leather chairs mid-cabin and set her backpack beside her.

Nails took the seat directly across from her.

Shortly after, the plane’s engines fired, and they taxied out to the runway.As the plane lifted smoothly into the air, Nails leaned back, his eyes still on her, thinking again about how this mission was going to be interesting in more ways than one.

Riley wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she felt the nudge to her arm, waking her from a nap.Cracking open one eye, she saw Nails standing next to her.

“Hey, the guys got hungry and pulled out some sandwiches if you’re hungry.”

She could eat a little food and down a cup of coffee, considering she only had a small cup on the way to the base that morning.

“How long was I asleep for?”she asked, unbuckling her seat belt and standing up to stretch.

Nails looked at his watch.“Close to three hours,” he told her.

Damn!She knew she was tired, but three hours?That wasn’t like her, especially on a plane.For some reason, she had a hard time sleeping on airplanes.Perhaps it was due to her training, which required her to be on guard all the time.With it only being the team, she felt comfortable enough to let that guard down a little.

“Is there any coffee with those sandwiches?”she asked with a grin.

He smiled.“The best black coffee you’ll ever find.”

She laughed and then followed him toward the galley.As she passed by the guys, they all either smiled or nodded as they stuffed their mouths with food.

She grabbed a cup and poured herself some coffee.Standing there, she took a big sip and then smiled.

“Just what I needed.”

Nails laughed as he leaned against the wall, watching her.

“Still can’t get used to it,” he said, looking at her hair.

She arched a brow.“You mean you liked the brown better?”

“Yeah,” he admitted without hesitation.“But this works too.You pull it off.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Like I said earlier.This was not my choice.Russell said it would be better if I changed my appearance a little.I mean, at first, I was thinking maybe a few highlights or something like that.Last night, while I was going through my little transformation, all I could think about was that must have been howSandra Bullockfelt in the movieMiss Congenialitywhen she was going from FBI agent to beauty queen.”

Nails laughed.But before he could respond, Playboy’s voice cut through the cabin.“Hey, you two want in on a game of cards?”

Nails looked at Riley as if asking if she wanted to play.She nodded.

Nails grinned.“Sure, deal us in.”

They walked back to the main cabin, where the guys had a deck and a pile of chips on one of the tables.Riley slipped into a seat between Aussie and Duke, Nails taking the chair across from her.The easy chatter filled the space, the kind of banter that came from people who trusted each other with their lives.

She found herself relaxing into it, sipping her coffee and tossing in the occasional sarcastic comment when one of them tried to bluff.

Halfway through the second hand, Jay Bird glanced up from his cards.“Hey, Riley.Yesterday, during the briefing, Secretary Boles mentioned something about not letting another New York incident happen.What’s that about?”

The table quieted, and Riley could feel all the eyes on her.She set her cup down and took a deep breath.

“This isn’t my first undercover assignment.A few years back, in New York City, I was in deep for almost a month.It was similar to the operation we’re doing—human trafficking.In the end, we were able to rescue seven girls.”She paused, feeling the familiar tightness in her chest.“There was an eighth, but she was taken just hours before we made the rescue.”