Sawyer nudged Jon with her elbow. “Not bad,” she said. “For an old dude.”
Jon smiled. “You did okay,” he said. “For a kid.” He looked over at her. “I’m not sure she appreciated being threatened with the gag, but still. Nice work.” Sawyer grinned and rolled her eyes.
“Time was ticking. We needed to think,” she said, defensively. “It worked, didn’t it?”
Jon held his hands up toward her. “I’m not judging,” he said with a laugh.
As they exited the building, Jon was immediately enfolded in Rylee’s arms. He wrapped his own arms around her, holding her close for a moment. Neither spoke. This wasn’t the first time they’d been on a mission together, but it had been so long. They’d both forgotten the fear that came with knowing someone you cared about was in danger. As Rylee released him, Bree met his eyes from behind her mother and smiled.
“You really need to stop scaring us like that,” she said.
Jon returned her smile. “I’ll try,” he said.
Chapter 23
The team got back to the compound just after dawn. Miller and Grace had accompanied them at Conrad’s request. He’d wanted to speak to them both, along with the rest of the team. Conrad had chosen to forgo the usual debrief in favor of a quick discussion while the team returned their gear to the armory. He met them in the armory along with Rowan and Gwynn and the three of them listened as Corbin and Sawyer gave brief accounts of the mission. Then Conrad turned to Grace. “Were you questioned at all?” he asked her.
Grace shook her head. “They didn’t say much to me beyond ordering me to be still and quiet. I woke up in that chair with the bomb strapped to me. I got the impression they were waiting for orders. The two who had me didn’t seem to be calling the shots and they didn’t seem happy to be there.” She glanced down at her feet for a moment. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I should have tried to escape but I was afraid.”
Conrad shook his head and held up a hand. “No one expected you to risk blowing yourself up,” he told her. “I’m just glad we were able to help.” The others all nodded their agreement with his words.
Grace sighed but didn’t reply. Miller looked from her to Conrad and then at the others. “She’s being modest,” he said with a teasing smile. “She’s practically invincible.”
Grace rolled her eyes. “Hardly,” she scoffed. “I just have thick skin.” She reached over and took a knife from the wall where it hung and ran the blade across her forearm. Bree gasped audibly before she saw that the knife had done no damage to Grace’s arm.
“She’s bulletproof,” Miller protested, his mouth curved up on one side. “Been shot more times than I can count.”
“Twelve,” Grace countered wryly. “Believe me, I remember.”
Miller waved that away as though it were trivial. “Still,” he said, thoughtful now. “Never been blown up.”
Grace took a breath and looked at the faces of the people in the room. “I wasn’t in the mood to put it to the test tonight,” she said. “Maybe I’d have been fine, but maybe not.” Her brow furrowed. “It’s weird,” she said. “One of them said something that made me think he knew about me. About my ability, I mean. I can’t remember his exact words, but it was something about how badass it would be to know a bullet couldn’t touch you. Then the other one said if he were choosing abilities to collect, being bulletproof would be high on the list. Then they left me alone in the room.”
Conrad and Rowan shared a strange look with one another but said nothing. Bree wondered what it all meant and why Grace had been captured in the first place but she kept quiet. She knew that Rowan would already be working to piece all the information together until it formed a clear picture in his mind. She suspected they’d have a detailed briefing soon. For now, though, she was exhausted. They’d all been awake for more than 24 hours. Combined with the stress of the mission, they were all beyond tired. When Conrad dismissed them all to their quarters, they were more than grateful. Gwynn showed Miller and Grace to guest quarters for the night and the others all departed for some much–needed sleep. They were given the rest of the day as well as the following day off from training. They were too tired to do more than mumble their thanks as they left the armory.
Miller and Grace departed around midday, thanking Conrad and the team again for their assistance. Grace hugged each of them, even Sawyer who endured it without complaint. The two of them offered their help at any time, should it be needed. Then they were gone, back to Upsilon.
Sometime in the afternoon, Rowan decided that they needed to celebrate their first successful mission, so he’d invited the team to his quarters for dinner and drinks. Sawyer had teased Rowan about his culinary skills, but he hadn’t been offended. “You’ll see,” he said, enigmatically.
When they all showed up for dinner, they’d been pleasantly surprised by the delicious aromas coming from Rowan’s kitchen. Sawyer had given him a strange look. “What?” he asked, defensively. “I can cook.”
She gave a small laugh and shook her head as she peered into a pot on the stove. “The last time you cooked, there was a fire,” she said, skeptically.
“The last time I cooked for you, I was 15,” Rowan clarified. “I’ve improved greatly since then.” He smacked her hand as she tried to swipe a piece of garlic bread from the pan. “Stop that!” he said. He pointed at a wine bottle and some glasses on the counter. “Make yourself useful and pour some glasses.” Sawyer stopped for a moment and studied her brother.
“When did you get to be such an adult?” she asked him.
Rowan rolled his eyes at her. “I’m full of surprises. Shut up and pour the wine,” he said. Instead, Sawyer caught him off guard by putting an arm around his waist and hugging him briefly to her side.
“I love you, Ro,” she said quietly.
Rowan was surprised, but he recovered quickly and returned the hug, bending to plant a kiss on the top of her head. “Stella only taught me to cook one dish,” he murmured so only she could hear. “Hopefully I didn’t screw it up.”
Sawyer pulled away and smiled at him. “It smells delicious,” she told him as she went to pour the wine.
The seven of them crowded around Rowan’s dining table which was clearly not meant for so many people. They ate spaghetti and garlic bread, drank wine, talked and laughed for nearly two hours. Everyone was relaxed. They didn’t talk about the war or Ephraim. They focused on lighter topics. Bree heard Corbin laugh for the first time and somehow managed to hide her shock. She still didn’t know what had happened between him and Sawyer, but it was as though he’d become a different man than the one she’d first met. She remembered Sawyer telling her that he hadn’t always been so angry, bitter and withdrawn. She hadn’t believed it at the time, but tonight, she thought she could see a glimpse of the man he once was. Sawyer was relaxed in his presence, sitting beside him at the table, laughing at Rowan’s jokes, teasing Declan. Bree caught Corbin’s eyes lingering on Sawyer when she wasn’t paying attention. She wondered what that was about.
Eventually, Rylee and Jon excused themselves, insisting that they were too old for late night celebrations following a mission. Bree teased them, but she knew that they were trying to give her a chance to unwind without their constant presence. She also thought that they were looking forward to time alone. No one wanted to waste the rare free time they’d been given. Sawyer and Bree began to clear the dishes from the table. Rowan tried to argue that he would clean it all later, but they insisted on doing it since he’d done all the work of cooking for everyone.
Not long after her parents left, Cole and Hannah arrived with the still recovering Pax in tow. The three of them congratulated the others on a job well done before someone insisted on a toast. This led to several more toasts over the course of the next hour.
Bree slowly sipped her drink and was beginning to feel appropriately relaxed as she sat on the couch between Sawyer and Pax. For the first time since coming to the compound, she felt like she was fitting in. Th
e people in this room were her friends and colleagues. She laughed at something Pax said and took another sip of her drink. Glancing over, she saw Declan talking to Rowan near the kitchen. He glanced her way briefly and she smiled at him. He turned back to Rowan without answering her smile. Strange.
She could see tension in his shoulders and wondered what was bothering him. Pax called her name and she turned toward him. Since his injury, he’d been much less mobile than before. He’d recovered nicely from his injured spleen, but he’d also broken 3 ribs which still caused him a great deal of pain and restricted his movements. Luckily, he’d had no damage to his lungs. Being injured hadn’t stopped him from flirting with Bree every time she’d visited him in Medical. Tonight was no different. He’d been shamelessly hitting on her all evening. She shook her head and laughed every time it happened. He was impossible.
“How are the ribs?” she asked him.
He leaned toward her and said, “If I said I was in terrible pain, would it get me a sympathy kiss?” He winked at her and smiled.
Bree burst out laughing and playfully bumped his shoulder with the back of a hand. “You wish!” she said through her laughter. “You’re going to need more than a ruptured spleen and some busted ribs for that.” Pax wore a wounded expression and clutched his hands to his chest, over his heart.
“Ouch!” he exclaimed. “That one hurt, B.”
She laughed again. “You’re so full of it,” she told him, shaking her head. She stood. “I’m getting another drink. You want anything?”
Pax shook his head. “No, thanks,” he said, smiling.
Bree walked into the kitchen, smiling at Rowan as he passed her on his way to the living room. Declan was standing near the sink, his back to the counter. His arms were crossed over his chest and his jaw was clenched. Bree wondered again what was bothering him.
“Hey,” she said, smiling. “Aren’t you going to join us?”
For a moment, Declan didn’t say anything. He stood there silently, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
“Declan?” she said his name like a question. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” he said, his voice hard. “I’m great.”
Bree’s brows drew down. He was angry. She’d so rarely seen this emotion on him and she wasn’t sure she liked it.
“Hey,” she said calmly. “What’s going on? You can talk to me.”
He looked at her fully and Bree was struck by the anger in his gaze. “It looks like you’ve got enough going on without me adding to it.” Bree was confused.
“What are you talking about?” she asked. She moved to pour herself a drink.
“How many of those have you had?” he asked, nodding toward her glass. “Are you sure that’s a good idea.”
Now she was getting angry. “Excuse me?” she asked him. “I think I can make my own decisions.” She put her glass down and gave him her full attention. “What’s with you, tonight? This is supposed to be a celebration.”
Declan uncrossed his arms and shoved his hands into his pockets. She’d never seen him like this and she was beginning to wish she hadn’t started this conversation. “I just don’t want to see you taken advantage of,” he said.
“Taken advantage of?” she repeated, confused. Her brows shot up as she understood his implication. “You’re worried I’ll get drunk and let Pax have his way with me? Is that it?” She was aware that her voice was becoming louder, but at this point she didn’t care. Declan shot a glare at her.
“You seemed to be liking the attention,” he said tightly.
Bree felt her temper boil over. “Oh, no you don’t,” she said, shaking her head. She wasn’t shouting, but her voice easily carried enough to be heard in the other room. “Who do you think you are, Declan? You’re pissed at me for talking to Pax? Seriously? Newsflash: he and I are just friends. And in case you can’t remember, so are you and me. Just friends, that is. So, you don’t get to be jealous. You don’t get an opinion on who I talk to and you sure as hell don’t get to monitor my alcohol intake, thanks very much.” She knew that she should stop now. This had turned into a scene. She no longer heard talking from the living room. She knew everyone was listening to her yell at Declan.
Declan looked at her for a moment before he said, “You’re right. None of my business.” His voice was cold and she hated hearing it directed at her in that tone. She hated that they were arguing when she’d been in such a good mood only minutes before. She felt tears prick the backs of her eyes and blinked quickly, averting her gaze from his. She took a shaky breath and turned back toward the living room.
“On second thought,” Bree said, her voice tight, “I’m getting tired. I think I need some sleep. Goodnight everyone. Thanks for dinner, Rowan.” She flashed a small smile at the room and waved. They all mumbled something appropriate, but the awkwardness of the situation was clear to everyone. After the door closed behind Bree, Declan stood motionless for a moment before he turned and snatched his beer off the counter and finished off the contents in one long pull.
When he lowered the beer, he risked a glance around at the others. The room had gone silent after Bree’s outburst. Pax was staring at his hands in his lap. Cole and Hannah were awkwardly trying to look as though they hadn’t noticed the scene that had so obviously just transpired. The other three were staring at him openly, their expressions somewhere between amusement and pity.
“What?” he asked them, his tone harsher than he’d intended.
“You’re an idiot,” Sawyer said.
Rowan, sitting beside her, gave an exaggerated nod. “Yep,” he said, the word drawn out.
Declan threw up his hands and sighed. “What the hell?” he said.
Sawyer looked at him with some pity and said, “Declan, you can’t be this stupid.”
“Stay out of it,” Declan said, but a lot of the heat had left his voice.
“Listen, Dec,” she said. “I know you don’t want to hear this right now, but we’re all on the same team and if something is going to screw with that, it’s everyone’s business.”
“I’ve got it handled,” Declan said, trying to dismiss the conversation.
The sound of laughter rang out and everyone stopped to stare at its source. Corbin’s shoulders shook with the force of his laughter. If Declan weren’t so annoyed to be the butt of that laughter, he might have enjoyed seeing Corbin look happy since it so rarely happened. As it was, though, he was just pissed off.
Declan glared at him. “You have something to say, fearless leader?”
Corbin choked off his laughter and tried to adopt a serious expression. Declan could still see the amusement lingering in his eyes. “Look, I’m trying not to take sides here,” he told him. “But seriously, you can’t possibly think you’re in the right on this one.” Declan’s jaw clenched and he shot Corbin another deadly glare. Corbin sighed and said in a more understanding tone, “Do you remember a conversation we had a couple weeks ago? Whatever is going on with you two, you need to fix it. Before the next mission.”
Declan’s tone was angry when he said, “I know. We’re fine.” Corbin chuckled again but didn’t say anything more.
Rowan walked over to Declan and clapped him on the shoulder. “Listen man,” he said. “I like you. You’re a good guy, so I’m going to give you some advice from personal experience. It doesn’t matter how great you are. A girl is eventually going to get sick of waiting around. If you don’t want her, someone else will.” He turned to face Declan fully. “And there won’t be a damn thing you can do about it.”
Declan didn’t appreciate his entire team turning on him. This had nothing to do with them. They didn’t know anything about him and Bree. Suddenly needing to be alone, he said, “I gotta go. I’ll see you guys later,” he said as he walked toward the door.
Before he could open the door, he heard Pax call his name. He didn’t want to, but he paused and turned back to face him. To his credit, Pax looked contrite when he said, “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t know you two were a
thing. I was just messing around.” Declan just looked at the other man for a moment and then turned to leave. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t corrected Pax. He and Bree were not a thing. She wasn’t his girl, but that didn’t mean he liked the idea of her being with someone else. What was wrong with him? He’d put the rules on their relationship. He’d been the one to keep her at arm’s length. He had no right to try to keep her to himself when he wasn’t going to be with her the way she wanted. The way he wanted.
He felt most of the anger leave him as he walked the halls after leaving Rowan’s place. He knew he should find Bree and apologize, but he didn’t know what to say to her. No matter which way he thought about it, he was in the wrong. Again. And no matter how many times he tried to explain it to himself, it all came down to jealousy. He couldn’t stand the idea of her being with someone else. He knew there was nothing going on with her and Pax. He was a flirt and Bree was nice to everyone. Of course, they got along. No, the two of them weren’t a couple. But Declan could see how easily that could change if she were interested in Pax. That was the thought that bothered him most—that someday she might become interested. Rowan’s words had hit too close to home. Frustrated and annoyed with his dark mood, Declan decided to go home and try to get some sleep. He would apologize to Bree in the morning.
Chapter 24
Declan’s pencil made quick, sure strokes. The image on the paper was starting to take shape. He’d known before he’d picked up the pencil what he’d end up drawing. Bree. His sketchpad was full of drawings of her. He knew he should stop. He knew he should draw something else. He’d tried several times over the past few weeks. He’d tried to pull images from his memory. Animals he’d seen at the zoo, the fountain from the park near his apartment, the whimsical fairies he’d carved into the furniture all those months ago. It was like he’d hit a wall. All he could seem to draw was her.
Reditus Page 22