Page 128 of Rogue Mission

The door slams the wall. Hell-bent on getting her away from that monster, I lurch out onto the porch.

My vision is still fogged with shock and fury. But as I step onto the back porch, a ray of sunshine, some of the last of the evening light, breaks through the trees.

It freezes me in my tracks.

She’s alive. We’re alive. The threat is over. The mission is complete.

For a long beat, I stand there holding her against my heart, feeling hers flutter wildly, until I can catch my breath.

“I love you,” she whispers against my neck and I nod, rasping out, “I know sweetheart, I feel it. I love you too.”

Feeling a thousand pounds lighter, I descend to the yard.

“They got Beast out, I’ll tell you everything,” I promise Rosalie as I move across the yard, carrying her to a low rock wall that borders the opening.

It’s a good thing there’s a place to sit down because my legs are barely functional. The adrenaline is leaving. A bone-weary fatigue rolling into me.

That’s where we are when Spence finds us later. I’m still holding Rosalie on my lap. He’s got three cold beers in his hands, already opened.

He sighs as he takes the seat next to me, passing me one of the bottles, the other to Rosalie.

“I couldn’t bring you guys coffee since someone smashed the pot.”

Rosalie’s the first to laugh. It’s a rough, husky sound to start that builds to the light, clear tone that makes me close my eyes.

“I shouldn’t be laughing, someone died,” she apologizes.

“He’s not dead, but he wishes he was.” Spence clinks his bottle against hers. “Welcome to the Morbid Survivor’s club, jokes are welcome.”

Looking relieved, she says, “Okay, so this is even worse, but I have to say it.”

Spence and I share a look.

“This should be good,” he says, taking a drink from his beer.

She covers her eyes, then rushes out, “At least he’ll be mad about getting shot and won’t be mad about us breaking the bed.”

Oh god damn. I love this woman.

I lay a loud kiss on her cheek.

“You never cease surprising me,” I say, giving her a squeeze. “You’re gonna fit right in with this bunch.”

Spence clinks his bottle against ours, and we all drink, letting the quiet of the forest settle around us for a long time.

“You think that file Walton had on the Wraith was just a decoy?” he asks.

“Good question. We might get some intel from Westerly too. Beast and Truck have got him on a boat heading to the mainland right now. I need to message them, but I have to have a second to breathe first.”

Rosalie lifts her head from my shoulder. “Beast is okay?”

“More than okay,” I report, “he captured Westerly, recovered all kinds of incriminating files. The team freed the people who were being held there, and has a pretty good idea why they wanted that soil so badly.”

She blows out a breath. “Whew. This is such a relief.”

“Ready for Costa Rica?” I ask, resting my forehead against her temple.

“Am I ever.”