Page 18 of Owen (Blue Team #1)

“No. Like when we’re out on an op, he controls the mission. Which isn’t bad, he’s the team leader, but part of that control is putting himself in the line of fire. The way he controls the outcome is by ensuring if someone’s taking a bullet it will be him before one of us.”

The color bleached from Nat’s face and I mentally chastised myself. We’d never talked about what I did for Z Corps—what the team did. She’d assumed we were in the investigation business and I’d let her think that. It wasn’t entirely incorrect but neither was it completely correct.

I’d had no intentions of telling her what we really did.

“Missions?”

Fuck me .

I ignored her question and moved on.

“Grab something to eat. I’m gonna see what Gabe needs.”

Nat wasn’t stupid; she caught on immediately.

She also didn’t hide her disappointment.

Which made me think about the months I’d spent with her.

I’d thought she was shit at hiding her emotions—even if she was silent they played on her face, in the tense way she held her body.

Or opposite—when she was relaxed she had ways of showing that, too.

But now, after last night’s poker game I was beginning to wonder if she wasn’t playing me.

“Wait,” she called and I turned my head to look back at her. “What aren’t you good at?”

“Nothing.”

She didn’t respond, but her lips tipped up and I felt that movement in my dick.

It seemed I did have a regret, a big one.

I’d tasted her pussy, her tits, her mouth, but she had not tasted me.

And watching that sexy-as-all-fuck mouth smile, I wished I’d had the chance to feel those lips wrapped around my cock.

But it was too late for that. We had what we had and it was done. So, hell yeah, I had a regret.

In an effort to turn my thoughts from what she’d look like with my cock in her mouth I didn’t stick around to hear her reply. I went in search of Gabe. I found him standing by the front door, boots, hat, and coat on.

“Where are you off to?” I asked.

“Got shit to do in town.”

“What kind of shit?”

My tone was accusatory and Gabe’s scowl told me he didn’t appreciate it but I didn’t care. He was acting suspect. I didn’t need my team running off in an attempt to clear out of the house to push me and Nat together.

“Oh, you know, fill up the jerry cans with diesel so we don’t freeze to death and the lights stay on. I also thought I’d get some gasoline so we could fill up the side-by-side and snowmobiles. Shit like that .”

Damn. We were running on the generator, and with the mountain already a snowy mess, we decided against having Rhode’s tank filled with diesel which would necessitate us using jugs. Not ideal, but it also meant no one knew the cabin was occupied.

“Need help?”

“Nope, but Kevin’s coming along for the ride. That is, if he ever gets out of the shower. Luckily, I think it’s a cold one so he’s not burning through the hot water tank. Someone should advise Rhode he needs an insta-hot. It takes forever for his water heater to refill.”

“You trying to piss me off?”

“Yep.”

“Come again?”

“Yes. I’m trying to piss you off. Most likely Kev’s in a cold shower because we all heard your woman.

I wanna drill that into your thick skull so you get pissed.

Then you’ll think about why that is. And hopefully, come to the correct conclusion.

Which is, you don’t like much that your friend got a hard-on listening to—”

“Now you’re not pissing me off, you’re making me angry,” I said, halting Gabe from continuing.

“Good. Angry is great. You should stay that way because I’m not gonna let up until you pull your head outta your ass.”

I rolled my shoulders and prayed for patience. Gabe’s biggest fault wasn’t his lack of subtlety. It was his incessant need to fix everyone else’s problems. He was a nosy fucker and if I didn’t put a stop to it, he’d stay his course. And when he didn’t make headway with me he’d turn to Natasha.

“Is this why you called me over here?”

“No. I wanted you to know we set Garrett on Nat’s poker skills.

It wasn’t lost on any of us she was counting outs.

A skill that is difficult to learn but harder to master.

Myles is a damn good poker player and she outplayed him.

He wasn’t going easy and she didn’t beat him, she bested him and did it with ease.

Garrett’s already looking into tables around Chicago, checking ties to Wilco Pollaski. ”

Gabe wasn’t wrong. Myles was the best poker player out of all of us.

Not only that, but he’d won huge pots in Vegas.

He wasn’t a high roller but he was damn good.

And Nat had no trouble besting him. But it was the emotionless way she did it that told the story.

When the cards were out, she didn’t have a single tell and I’d paid close attention.

“Have Garrett expand that. Check underground tournaments in Vegas. And Tennessee. If Nat worked the circuit she’s played in Tennessee for sure.”

“I’ll tell him.”

“Any word from Zane?”

“Myles talked to him last night after he called Garrett. The women are locked down. None of them are happy. Which is to say, all of them are bitching. Especially Ivy, which means Zane has a burning desire to neutralize Pollaski quickly.” Gabe stopped and pulled in an annoyed breath.

“Garrett found more women, so Z called in Tex.”

“More women?”

“Nat wasn’t the first woman he sold.”

“The man rents pussy,” I seethed, not liking anything about Natasha’s uncle, his business, or what he did to her. “It’s not a stretch to sell it.”

“Yeah, well, as much as I agree it’s good we got the confirmation. When Garrett linked Wilco to a dozen women, he punted it to Tex. If there are more, he’ll find them.”

“This is gonna sound fucked but only twelve?”

“Twelve that Garrett found,” Gabe confirmed.

“Ash wasn’t exactly lying about Nat’s father selling Ashaki’s mother.

Everything we found indicated that was a one-off for Barny.

A lesson not only to Ash’s father but to all his soldiers about what happens when you try to blackmail a Pollaski.

It would seem Wilco’s used Barny’s playbook.

Twelve women who have ties to his organization.

Indirect, wife, mother, sister of a man in Wilco’s employ.

And Autumn filled in some of the pieces. ”

“Was this new intel from Autumn or from what she already told us?”

Gabe gave me a disgruntled look.

“New. And Declan was not happy when Garrett called.”

“I bet not.”

Declan Crenshaw used to work for Z Corps.

He was the team leader for the Gold Team.

Former CIA and before that, he was a Marine.

Autumn was an avenging angel. Straight up there was no other way to describe the woman.

Having been trafficked herself, she knew firsthand what the victims went through.

After her rescue, she’d set about righting wrongs.

Her path had been dark and painful. When Declan and Autumn got together, Dec decided he was pulling Autumn off that path.

He quit Z Corps, and he and Autumn were now free and clear of all things dark and painful.

I didn’t know Declan’s story but one look at the man told you it was heinous.

I didn’t imagine he’d take kindly to anyone calling Autumn.

“Tex is hunting them down. After we have the intel, Z will make the call. Either we’ll go round them up or he knows an outfit out of Colorado. Missing women is their specialty.”

“Do they understand it’s not a paying job?”

“Trust me, these guys aren’t in it for the money. When their team leader hears about this he’ll deploy his men.”

“Good men,” I mumbled, wondering when I stopped being one of those.

“Good men,” he confirmed. “Now you gotta date by a creek and I got shit to do.”

That was Gabe’s way of dismissing me and pissing me off all with a handful of words. So I let him know it.

“You’re pissing me off.”

Gabe flashed a smile, opened the door, and left.

I didn’t have a date. I had a… fuck …what did I have?

“Owen?”

I turned and found Nat standing a few feet away.

Then I stood rooted and fought the pull of her. The need to close the distance, pull her into my arms, and wipe the uncertainty from her beautiful face.

When did this become my life?

When did I lose control?

And why did I want to throw caution to the wind and sweep Nat off her feet?

Naomi . I needed to spend some time in my head with my memories.

That should cure my stupidity.