Page 36 of The Team (The Milvus Files #3)

Tao couldn’t believe this was real.

As he lay on the sunbed in the shade with Jun-mei, him on his side, her on her back, he studied her side profile. Her cute little nose, her full lips, her lashes.

She was beautiful.

Her hair was short now, cut in a wispy fashion that was elegant and dainty.

Like her.

He knew she’d loved her long hair, but honestly, Tao liked it short. It made her look carefree, and that suited her now.

Because she was carefree.

He’d done it. He’d got her out, saved her. Not how he’d originally planned, but she was safe now.

Tao wasn’t one bit sorry that Tan and Frankston were dead. He wasn’t sorry for breaking Tan’s jaw. His only regret was that he hadn’t made him suffer more.

He’d deserved so much more pain.

Tao was glad they were both dead. If they’d been charged with a criminal trial pending, it would have given them time to sell out, strike a deal for information, and bargain for their freedom.

But Yunho had secured all that information, totally eliminating the need for Tan and Frankston at all.

Tao wasn’t even sorry that Yunho had infiltrated his government’s data.

The government that ordered his death back in South Sudan.

The government responsible for his injuries, his pain.

Merciful heavens, the pain.

But through all of that, he’d met Jun-mei.

The person who’d saved him, shown him what love was.

“You keep looking at me,” she murmured, eyes still closed.

“You’re so pretty,” he whispered, glad the others couldn’t hear him. He’d spent his whole career being cold and distant, emotionless. And if they heard him speak so softly, saying such tender things, what would that do to his reputation?

Not that Yunho or Lucas, or Rhett or Jay would care.

Hanyu certainly didn’t. He’d been there when Tao had met Jun-mei. He’d joked back then that Tao’s cheeks would blush and his eyes would melt every time he saw her.

Hiding anything from Hanyu was impossible.

But here, in Yunho and Lucas’s house, no one had to hide anything.

Not their love, not Jun-mei’s transness, and not Tao’s scars.

None of it. They were as free as free could be .

Jun-mei turned to face him, her smile making his heart swell. She put her hand to his face, scanning his eyes. “I don’t know how I got so lucky, what I did to deserve you.”

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss. “You saved me,” he whispered. “When I had nothing left to live for.”

She frowned, her pink lips pouting. “My sweet Tao.”

Someone cleared their throat, making both Tao and Jun-mei look up. It was Jay. “Uh, excuse me, you’re in my spot,” he said to Tao. He waved a bottle of nail polish. “Jun-mei and I have very important business to discuss.”

Jun-mei chuckled and Tao sighed. He would’ve told Jay to go away if it weren’t for the fact that he and Jun-mei had become good friends these last few days. He rolled off the sunbed, getting to his feet.

Jay shooed him. “Go do your underwater thing,” he said, quickly sitting on the sunbed and holding up the nail polish. “This is so pretty. Toenails or fingernails first?”

Tao turned and, finding no one else around, figured he’d go do ‘his underwater thing’ as Jay had suggested.

The sun was scorching, the temperature and humidity far too high for his liking. The pool was hardly a hardship. Rhett and Hanyu had gone on the boat to the mainland, and Yunho and Lucas were inside. Their peaceful days were coming to an end, and they’d be departing for Canberra the day after next.

He’d be leaving Jun-mei behind, so he’d not wanted to miss a minute with her. But her friendship with Jay was good for her. He was fun and a little sassy with her, they spent a lot of time whispering and giggling, and she needed friends like him .

Like how Tao could admit he liked Rhett Ouston. He could even admit to maybe being friends.

Maybe.

Not that he’d ever admit that to him.

But he respected him as a soldier, as a leader. And he respected him as someone who was open about his relationship with a man. He would dare anyone to tell him it was wrong or not good enough. Rhett was honest, and what you saw was what you got.

That was an admirable quality in Tao’s eyes.

Again, not that he’d ever admit that to him.

Take a bullet for him? Sure. Admit to his face that he considered him a friend?

No.

It had been good to spend time with them though. The downtime, relaxed and casual time off, had been a godsend. Tao had needed it, and so had Hanyu. He’d been by Tao’s side for the better part of a decade, every step of the way, never once questioning Tao’s actions or motives.

Hanyu was the brother he’d never had. And to see him enjoy some quiet vacation time—to see him laughing with everyone, snoozing on a sunbed, cooking meals with Yunho—made Tao happy too.

But as wonderful as this time had been, Tao was itching to work again.

He’d never sat still for so long.

Yunho’s gym, while more than enough for them, wasn’t really equipped to suit a special ops team. The pool was great for cooling off and for recreation but too short for laps, and the ocean was out of the question because of all the deadly animals.

But what Tao could do in the pool was static apnoea .

Or as Jay called it, his underwater thing .

Holding his breath underwater for extended periods of time.

In his time with the Jiaolong Commandos, he’d done countless breath-holding exercises. Some static, some under adverse conditions, all depending on the drill, and all at varying depths.

Sitting at the bottom of Yunho’s pool was easy, by comparison. And something he could challenge himself with during his stay. He’d sit cross-legged in the deep end, close his eyes, and clear his mind.

The first time Tao had done it, the others had been quite concerned, worried he was about to drown. Until Hanyu, snoozing unconcerned on the sunbed, waved them off. “Many minutes he be fine,” he’d said, apparently.

Jun-mei’s worried face peering down at him the entire time had made him happy. Sometimes she sat with her legs in the water while he did it.

But this time when Tao looked up, he saw four silhouettes standing at the edge looking down at him. Rhett and Hanyu and two others he’d not seen before. One a similar size as Rhett, the other even bigger than Hanyu.

Tao checked his watch. He wasn’t anywhere near being done, but not wanting to be rude, he stopped the timer and pushed off the bottom. In one fluid movement, he took a gulp of air, put his hands on the edge, and lifted himself out.

Hanyu threw him his towel and Tao turned to face the guests, dabbing his face. “Sorry, I wasn’t aware we were expecting guests,” he said.

The guests, as they were, were two men. The shorter one, with dark hair and dark eyes, gave him a curious smile. The big man, blondish-brown hair, hard blue eyes, gave him a nod.

Tao recognised them from the video chat they’d had on the plane.

“Asher and Harry,” Rhett said, “this is Yin Tao.”

“Nice to meet you in person,” Tao said, giving them a bow of thanks. “We could not have saved my Jun-mei without your help. I am forever in your debt.”

And he was. He knew it, and he meant it.

Because it was these two that Rhett had called first, and they’d been the ones to involve Yunho.

And Tao would never forget it.

“It was our pleasure,” Asher replied. “We were just glad you got her out okay.”

Harry stared at him. “You sit at the bottom of the pool often?”

Tao smiled and gave a nod. “Sometimes, yes.”

“Don’t get any ideas,” Asher told Harry. “You’ve had two punctured lungs, remember?”

Two punctured lungs?

“Tao, darling,” Yunho called out. “You might want to put on some dry clothes. We’ll be eating soon.”

“Yes,” Hanyu crowed. “We buy all the food.”

“No more unseasoned-chicken jokes, for fuck’s sake,” Rhett said as he helped Hanyu carry it inside.

Jay laughed as he followed them inside, and it made Tao smile.

He gave Asher and Harry another nod before he headed back to the doors. Jun-mei joined him, her arm going around his waist, and he slung his arm over her shoulder as they went inside .

It wasn’t until they got to their room that he’d realised they would have seen his back, seen his scars. He’d been so used to not hiding anything these last two weeks, he’d forgotten...

And maybe that was a sign of growth; maybe it was a sign of who he was now. The Tao that was in Milvus. The Tao that had nothing to hide. It was a lot to get his head around.

He changed quickly and ran a comb through his hair.

“Is this good enough?” Jun-mei asked as she looked in the mirror, flattening her hands down her dress. It was a pretty yellow thing with thin straps, and holy hell, if she didn’t look stunning.

Tao came to stand behind her, his hands on her narrow waist. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her shoulder. “You take my breath away,” he murmured. “I cannot wait to come back to our room later.” He kissed her shoulder again, then her neck. “And I can take this dress off you.”

She giggled, her cheeks flushing the prettiest pink, and she turned around so she could swat him. “Have you not had enough of me?”

He pulled her close and kissed down her long neck to her creamy shoulder. “Never.”

She laughed and pulled away, leaning up on her toes to peck his lips. “We have guests. We mustn’t be rude in Yunho and Lucas’s house. Dinner first, and you can have as much of me as you want later.”

Tao sighed, but he knew she was right. “Okay,” he relented. “Let’s go.” He took her hand and laced their fingers as they went downstairs and made their way to the kitchen.

Yunho, Hanyu, and Asher were discussing the seafood, somewhat loudly, while Jay requested Jun-mei help him with the salads, and Rhett gave Tao a grimace. “I’m gonna leave that to them,” he whispered, sneaking out the door.

Great idea.

Tao joined him at the large patio table where Harry was sitting with Lucas, facing the pastel sunset. Rhett grabbed some beers and handed them around, then fell into a chair with a sigh.