Page 95 of Tag (The Golden Team #9)

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T he gear room buzzed with energy—covert radios being tested, weapons locked and loaded, tactical vests lined up in rows. The mission briefing had ended, the strategy laid bare: in forty-eight hours, we’d hit a location buried in the New Mexico desert.

It had no name.

Only a nickname:

The Nest.

Aponi stood across the room, suited up in black—body armor hugging her frame, her long dark braid pulled tight down her back, eyes cold and sharp. She looked like vengeance.

But I could still see the pain flickering beneath the surface.

Not fear. Not doubt.

Just betrayal—and the weight of what came next.

I crossed the room, slow and steady, until we were toe to toe.

“Hey,” I said.

She didn’t look up.

So I reached out and gently tipped her chin until her eyes met mine. “You’re not doing this alone.”

Her mouth quirked. “I never expected to have a team. I sure as hell didn’t expect to have you .”

I leaned in, lips brushing her ear. “Too bad. You’re stuck with me.”

Her hands slid up my chest, over my vest, curling into the collar. “I can’t promise I’ll walk out of there the same person.”

“Then let me walk in there with you,” I said. “And no matter what happens, you’ll walk out knowing exactly who you are.”

A heartbeat passed between us.

Then she pulled me toward the storage room, kicked the door closed behind us, and pushed me against the wall.

The kiss wasn’t soft.

It was teeth, breath, hunger.

A release valve on weeks of tension, fear, and everything we hadn’t had the time—or courage—to say out loud.

I yanked off my vest, and her hands were already under my shirt, nails grazing skin. She stripped out of her tactical jacket, baring the sports bra beneath, and I damn near lost my mind.

“You sure?” I whispered, forehead against hers.

Her eyes were fire. “I want something real before we step into that nightmare.”

Then she dragged me down onto the gear crates, our bodies tangled in heat and urgency and desperate, beautiful need.

There was no slow this time.

No pretense.

Only fire.

Only us .

And when it was over, we stayed curled together, half dressed, breaths slowing as the adrenaline faded.

Aponi’s voice broke the silence. “When I find Tessa… I’m not going to hesitate.”

I nodded, fingers brushing down her spine. “Just save one bullet for me. In case she tries to take you alive.”

She smiled. “Not a chance.”