Page 5 of The Team (The Milvus Files #3)

FOUR

Rhett expected an ass chewing and he wasn’t disappointed. King was pissed, and rightfully so.

He did have to clean up Rhett’s mess, after all.

And Rhett didn’t like mess.

Punishment was gruelling. A solid eight hours of fitness. Not just for him and Jay and Chen and Yin. But for his whole squad.

And oh boy, did they love him for that.

They bitched the four of them out, cussed at them, and Rhett was pretty sure Echo even cussed his mother. Rhett’s Urdu wasn’t great, but he understood that much.

Still, he deserved it.

Now, they ran fitness on the regular. Sometimes for hours. Sometimes for days on end. Pushing their bodies and minds to the limits was expected as part of the job. But this punishment felt like a burden.

He’d burdened his team with this. They were going through this punishment because of his actions. But the scathing glares he got as they did drills soon turned to the occasional smile as the hours wore on.

They loved being pushed. They urged each other on, they pushed each other, and would always, always strive for excellence.

The challenge always spurred them on.

And Chen and Yin held their own.

Rhett had expected the big fella to struggle, but the man was a freaking warhorse. He was red in the face, sweating, but once he got past the pain threshold, he was in the zone. Crazy sonofabitch even laughed a few times.

Yin, on the other hand, took the punishment seriously and without so much as a murmur.

He ran, he climbed, he swam, he pushed, pushed, pushed with laser focus and determination.

He worked as part of the team seamlessly.

He kept an even pace, sensible and practised, and Rhett had to wonder just how long he could keep it up.

Until he dropped dead, probably.

Rhett didn’t particularly like the guy, but he had to respect that.

And he had to best him, of course.

When the drill sergeant blew his whistle and called it all over, everyone dropped to the ground, panting, laughing, cursing.

But Yin barely rested his hands on his knees, so of course, Rhett had to stand tall. He allowed himself to put his hands on his hips to catch his breath.

What he wanted to do was collapse to the ground and groan. But he couldn’t let Yin win.

So he pretended he was fine and stood there, measured breathing, even smiling.

His team had done well .

“Beers are on me tonight,” he said.

Sid hauled himself up and gave Rhett a shove as he walked toward the showers. “And so they freaking should be.”

Echo followed Sid but gave Rhett a pained huff. “And pizza.”

Rhett gave a nod. “Deal.”

Azrael groaned as she got to her feet. “I hate you all,” she said, still puffing as she followed the others.

Rhett laughed and lifted his shirt to wipe his face. When he looked over at Jay, Jay put his hand up. “Need help to get up.”

Rhett laughed and, taking Jay’s hand, pulled him up to his feet. “Shower, food, bed,” Jay said. “In that order.”

Rhett had to agree.

Jay looked over at Chen. “Totoro, get up. You like pizza?”

Chen groaned as he slowly got to his feet. “Pizza, yes. Like very much. Punishment, no like very much.”

“Same, big guy,” Jay said. “Same.”

Without a word, Yin headed toward the showers and Chen followed him. Jay turned to Rhett and gave him a smile. “You know how I said I think he likes you?”

Rhett grumbled. “Hm.”

“Well, I take that back,” Jay said. “I don’t think the pit viper likes anyone.”

Rhett almost smiled at that.

Jay began walking to the showers, not looking to see if Rhett followed.

“I wasn’t kidding about the shower, food, and bed thing.

And next time we get followed at one o’clock in the morning and decide to have a fight in the street, can we ask them first if they’re Chinese special ops?

Because I don’t want a repeat of today. Ever, if possible.

Could have saved us all this trouble if we’d just asked them to dance. ”

Rhett smiled as he followed him. “Dare you to ask Yin if he wants to dance. I dare you.”

Jay laughed, but it sounded pained. “No thanks.”

The showers were open, like most military showers were.

Rhett was very used to seeing all the guys naked and rarely even looked at any of them.

They were all fit and jacked, nothing new to be seen.

It’d been that way since his cadet days back in the beginning—well, except with Jay.

After all, the showers were how he and Jay had first ever hooked up.

But modesty was not something the military afforded.

Chen didn’t seem to care either, but Yin showered in the far corner. Fast and efficient, as he was in most things, Rhett assumed.

But as he walked out, with his towel wrapped around his waist, Rhett saw Yin’s back. Almost every inch was covered in scars and shrapnel wounds.

Well, shit.

The others noticed too.

It was kinda freaking hard to miss when the guy looked like a build-a-body crash-test dummy.

Yin definitely had a story to tell.

And it fucking irked Rhett that he disliked the guy a little less, and maybe respected him a little more.

He remembered seeing Harry Harrigan when he was shirtless in a hospital bed. That man had more scars than a battering ram—a lifetime of war and battles.

Rhett had to wonder about Yin. About the battles he’d fought, won, and lost. What wars and the horrors he’d seen.

The truth was, with all the intel they had on the Chinese military, so much was unknown. Maybe this exercise in diplomacy wasn’t so much Yin learning what he could about their operations, but more about Milvus learning about theirs.

Either way, Yin and Chen were now a part of his squad, and he had a duty to include them, to bridge the gap in trust, and make his team as strong as possible.

That was Rhett’s job.

Being a leader and, differences aside, that’s what he was determined to do.

Today’s punishment had taught Rhett a few basics on both Yin and Chen. They weren’t quitters. That looks can be deceiving, because as big and oafish as Chen was, he was as fit as any of them. And they could and did work as a team.

He’d seen Yin offer a hand to Echo to help pull him up on the rope obstacles. He’d seen Chen offer a foothold to Sid to get him over a wall.

So maybe today hadn’t been such a waste.

When they were all dressed and much more presentable, they headed to the pub.

The Cat and Fiddle was a typical English pub and one they’d frequented a few times as a group, whenever they were in London, anyway.

The first time, the barman asked what the occasion was to bring the group in, and Rhett said they were all colleagues from the telco offices around the corner.

The barman never batted an eyelid, never questioned them again, and so they joined some tables together and ordered some pizzas to share .

There were dartboards, a pool table, a jukebox, and locals who didn’t bother them.

As they took their seats, Yin and Chen sat together at one end, mostly observing the group in action. Gauging dynamics, Rhett assumed. Learning personalities and senses of humour, which was a good thing.

Jay, of course, had the loudest laugh. And the best smile , Rhett thought as he took a swig of his beer.

Coyote and Azrael played pool, Sid and Echo played darts, and when Jay hauled Chen out of his seat and made him team up to beat Coyote and Azrael at pool, it left Yin and Rhett at the table alone.

Rhett took his beer and pulled up the seat next to Yin. He tapped his beer bottle to Yin’s. “How was your first day?”

Yin smiled. He actually smiled. “Had worse.”

Rhett chuckled, because hadn’t they all. “So, there’s something I gotta know.”

Yin’s eyes hardened, no doubt expecting something personal.

“Did we pass?”

He turned his head slowly to face him. “Pass what?”

“The test last night,” Rhett replied. “I mean, that’s what it was, right? Follow us, draw us out. See how we handled ourselves, how we reacted.”

Yin smirked as he sipped his beer. “It was just for fun.”

Fun?

Not the word Rhett would use to describe it. Not the fight, and not the punishment that followed.

Just when Rhett wasn’t sure what to say next, Jay mis-hit the white ball and swore, and Chen roared with laughter. It made Rhett smile, and he decided to take the focus off themselves. “Big guy’s funny.”

Yin’s face did something... his eyebrow flickered and his lips twitched before he frowned. “A better man you won’t find.”

Rhett nodded slowly as he watched the worst game of pool ever played unfold. Then he figured he’d try to squeeze out some info. “First time in England?”

Yin looked at him as if it were the stupidest question he’d ever heard. “No. You?”

Rhett smiled. “No. First time in England with the English government knowing?”

Yin snorted and sipped his beer, but he didn’t answer. Instead, keeping his eyes on the guys playing pool, he said, “He speaks Mandarin.”

Rhett tried not to let that bother him. He wanted to say he has a name , but he couldn’t show any bias.

“He does. And Malaysian and Indonesian.”

Yin’s lips twitched as if he found this tug of war for details funny. “You and he were together last night.”

Rhett sipped his beer, contemplating how best to answer, and if Yin noticed how hard Rhett was holding the damn bottle, he never let on.

“We are every night,” Rhett said, tone as neutral as he could manage. “Have been for eight years.”

Yin’s gaze cut to his—a reaction unschooled—before he looked back at the pool game. Instead of speaking, he sipped his beer.

“Your intel not divulge that?” Rhett asked. He’d be a fool to think the Chinese military didn’t have the full brief on this team before they sent two of their men to join it. “Thought you woulda had the rundown on everyone before you got here. I mean, you knew where we were last night.”

Yin looked at him again, the corner of his lips curling up. “Intel, yes. Two Australians, not... not that you were...”

“Together?” Rhett shrugged. “Gay?”

Yin was suddenly back to being stoic, impassive. “No.”