by Paige Tyler
“If that’s the case, why do your eyes glow yellow like a shifter, instead of red like a hybrid?” Landon asked.
A muscle in Diaz’s jaw flexed, but he didn’t respond. “It’s not exactly something I’ve taken the time to study.”
Landon put a hand on his shoulder. “There are some people at the DCO who can probably tell you what’s going on.”
Diaz pulled away and shook his head violently. “No fucking way. I’m a Special Forces soldier to the core. I don’t want to get mixed up with that freaky shit of yours. And if they find out I’m a hybrid, that’s where I’ll end up. I don’t want to work in an organization where I have to worry about my partner shooting me in the back or scientists cutting me open to see what makes me tick. You can’t ever tell a soul about this.”
“I won’t, and neither will Derek,” Landon promised. “But it’s going to be hard to hide it for long. Ivy will figure it out at some point when she picks up your scent—if she hasn’t already. Sooner or later, someone else will figure it out, too.”
“I’ll take later then.” Diaz gave him a pointed look. “And in the meantime, I’m going to stay as far away from Ivy as I can.”
Derek pulled his hand away from the hybrid’s throat and came over to sit down on the ground beside them. He looked really tired.
“They never had a chance,” he said softly. “Too much internal damage from all the crap the doctors pumped into them, I guess.” Derek glanced at the female hybrid lying on the jacket he’d spread out on the ground a few feet away. “What’s going to happen to her?” he asked.
Landon followed his gaze. He didn’t know why, but the woman looked familiar. It was almost like he’d seen her before. “Ivy and I will take care of her, and so will Zarina, Layla, and Tanner. We’ll make sure she’s safe.”
Derek nodded and looked like he would have said more when Diaz’s head jerked up.
“Ivy’s coming.”
* * *
Angelo swore as he stumbled back, stunned the gutless, piece of shit doctor had actually caught him off guard. If the guy thought he could outrun Angelo, he was stupid as well as a coward. But then Angelo saw the pistol on the ground.
Shit.
He was already praying Renard was a bad shot when a blur of movement flew past him.
Minka hit Renard just as the man rolled over and lifted the weapon. She didn’t make a sound as she raked him with her claws and tore open his throat, letting momentum carry her over him. She hit the ground and did a perfect tuck and roll before coming to a stop and spinning back around in a balanced crouch.
She’d moved so damn fast, Angelo feared the beast had resumed control again, but the moment Minka spun around, he saw that her eyes were bright green, not red. As he watched, the vivid glow faded, replaced by her natural dark eye color, and her claws retracted.
Even though he knew Renard had to be dead, Angelo hurried over to Minka, just in case. One look at the doctor was enough to assure Angelo the guy wasn’t going to be experimenting on anyone ever again.
He pulled Minka into his arms. “I’m sorry you had to do that.”
“So am I,” she said, the words muffled against his chest. “But at least it was me doing it for the right reasons, and not the beast doing it for the wrong ones. I can live with that.”
They held each other for a few more minutes until Angelo remembered the bullet Minka had taken in the hip. He pulled away to see how bad it was, but it had already closed up and stopped bleeding. He couldn’t believe she could heal so fast.
Angelo gently smoothed back the hair that had come loose from her braid. “Why didn’t you stay up on the hill, where it was safe?”
“Because I saw the hybrids,” she said. “I was worried about you.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, then bent to rest his forehead against hers. “We should probably go tell Ivy and Landon about Renard.”
Minka nodded. “I doubt they’ll be very happy.”
At that moment, Angelo wasn’t too worried about that. Minka was safe and in control of herself. The sick fucks who had tormented her were dead, and it appeared that all their research had gone up in flames. He was just a soldier and couldn’t give a shit about all the covert crap; in his opinion, the night had ended exactly the way it should have.
* * *
Angelo and Minka found Ivy huddled over the body of the female hybrid. He worried at first that the hybrid was dead like the others, but then he saw her chest slowly rising and falling. Derek was kneeling beside the hybrid, tending a wound around the woman’s ankle. Diaz and Landon were standing to one side, watching.
Ivy lifted her head as Angelo and Minka moved closer. Her eyes darted behind them, then back again, clearly looking for Renard.
“He tried to get away,” Angelo said before she could ask. “He left Minka no choice.”
Angelo expected Ivy to be pissed, but instead, her expression softened as she stood and walked over to them. “You okay?” she asked Minka.
Minka nodded. “Yes. The bullet went right through, and my hip doesn’t hurt at all now.”
Ivy gave her a small smile. “That’s not what I meant.”
Minka looked down at the ground. “I would have preferred if I hadn’t had to kill Renard. I know you were hoping he’d help you put Thomas Thorn in prison, but I didn’t have a choice. He was going to shoot Angelo.”
Ivy sighed and pulled Minka in for a hug. Minka wrapped her arms around Ivy and squeezed her tight. Angelo heard a few sniffles but chose to ignore them. The other guys were smart enough to do the same.
“I’m just glad you’re still you,” Ivy said when she stepped back. “That’s more important to me than anything else.”
Minka smiled and reached up to wipe the tears from her cheeks.
“I’m sorry I let you face Renard and that hybrid alone,” Ivy said. “I thought Klaus was trying to get around you to attack you from behind, and by the time I figured out he was leading me away from you, it was too late to get back to help.”
“It’s okay.” Minka glanced at Angelo, then reached out to take his hand. “Angelo got there in time.”
He started to give her a smile when the sound of footsteps made him stiffen. He looked up to see Trevor, Watson, Powell, and Moore coming toward them across the smoky, fire-ravaged compound.
“We almost got overrun by the last of the hybrids,” Trevor said as he and the other guys came over. “We would have been screwed if Powell and Moore hadn’t shown up.”
Angelo eyed the two men. It was obvious from the claw marks on their uniforms and tactical vests that they’d been in the thick of things. “What happened to the two of you out there?”
Powell shrugged. “We got pinned down by some guards, then a handful of those damn hybrids showed up. Next thing we know, the frigging ammo storage blew up. Luckily, the flames took down most of the hybrids. Otherwise, we’d be dead.”
Moore glanced at the bodies on the ground, paying special attention to the sedated female hybrid. “Did you find the doctors?”
“Yes,” Ivy said. “But Klaus had a heart attack while I was trying to run him down, and Minka was forced to kill Renard when he pulled a weapon.”
Powell and Moore exchanged looks.
“Heart attack, huh?” Powell said, glancing at Ivy. “That’s too bad. I’m sure Thorn would rather we’d brought them back alive.”
Ivy shrugged. “We tried. I’m sure he’ll understand.”
“I’m sure he will.”
Giving Ivy a nod, Powell and Moore walked over to check on Derek and the hybrid.
“You believe their story?” Landon asked softly after the two men had moved out of earshot.
Trevor snorted. “Oh, I’m sure they got into it with some guards and a few hybrids. There were so many running around here, it would have been impossible not to. But I have no fucking doubt they blew the ammo point and fuel dump themselves. Those places were demoed in such a way to scatter flaming debris everywhere and burn this whole place down, which i
s probably what Thorn and Dick sent them here to do.”
“Do you think there’s anything on those hard drives you grabbed?” Landon asked.
Trevor shrugged. “Don’t know. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
“I hope so,” Ivy said. “Because with both Renard and Klaus dead—and yes, Klaus really did die from a heart attack—we’ve got nothing else on Thorn except what Renard told us about his involvement. And his statements won’t mean much in a court of law.”
Landon nodded, then turned and looked around at all the chaos filling the area. “Diaz, Trevor, let’s get a makeshift litter put together for the injured hybrid, then let’s get the hell out of here.”
Beside Angelo, Minka took a step closer to him. “I guess the mission is over now, right?”
He nodded and slipped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his side. If Watson noticed, he didn’t let on.
Minka wrapped her arm around Angelo’s waist, resting her head against his chest. She didn’t say anything, but he knew what she was thinking. In a few hours, she would be getting back on a bird for the States, and he’d go with his team to their base camp in northern Afghanistan. Hell, for all he knew, they might come right back here to Tajikistan. Either way, he and Minka were going to have to say good-bye.
The thought scared the hell out of him.
Chapter 17
Minka tried hard to hold back tears as she boarded the Osprey with Angelo. They found two seats in the back. It was as close to privacy as they could get on the small aircraft. Everyone must have known they needed some time together because they all sat up front. The thump of the rotors made talking almost impossible, but there wasn’t really anything to say anyway. Mostly because she and Angelo had said what they needed to while the crew had prepared the aircraft for takeoff.
“When we get to Bagram, I’m going to have to go with my team,” Angelo had said. “But I’ll be coming off this deployment in a month or two. I have a lot of leave time saved up, and I’m going to spend every minute of it with you. If you want me to, I mean.”
“Of course I want you to,” she’d said, but on the inside, she didn’t know how it was going to work. She couldn’t imagine living without Angelo by her side, but that simply was not a possibility. Angelo wasn’t only a soldier; he was Special Forces, which meant he deployed—a lot.
So she’d nodded as he talked about his current enlistment and possible options after that, like getting out of the army. But those things would be years from now, and with the way her heart was breaking at the thought of being separated from him for just a few weeks, it all seemed so far away.
But she put up a good front because that was what she knew Angelo needed.
Minka leaned her head against his shoulder as the aircraft took off. She was tired and her eyes felt heavy. The physical fighting, as well as the internal fight she’d had with the beast, had taken a lot out of her. But she didn’t want to waste this time with Angelo sleeping. So she held his hand and stayed awake the whole trip back. And if she let out a few tears, she made sure he didn’t see them.
* * *
By the time they got back to the air base in Bagram, Angelo knew that Minka was barely holding it together. But what could he do? He had to go back with his team. Watson and the rest of the A-team had been completely out of contact with the battalion for almost two days, and he’d been gone for over a week. If he knew Major Bennett, the man would be waiting for them the moment they stepped off the aircraft.
At best, he and the others would be heading back out to Tajikistan. At worst, they’d be going back to a Commander’s Inquiry on why their team had been involved in an unauthorized combat operation in a friendly nation. Either way, he probably wouldn’t have much of a chance to say good-bye to Minka after they stepped onto the tarmac.
He and Minka waited until everyone else but the crew chief had left. The man pointedly ignored them, going about his business of conducting ground checks as if they weren’t there.
Turning in his seat, Angelo carefully cupped Minka’s cheek and kissed her. “I love you, Minka,” he said softly. “I’m coming back to you, I promise. You just need to hold on for a little while. Can you do that?”
Tears filled her eyes, but she nodded, and he liked to think she was happy. “Yes, I can hold on and wait for you. Because I love you, too.”
He couldn’t believe how amazing those simple words made him feel. God, he wished they could stay there, just like that, but if he was right about Bennett—or anyone else from the battalion waiting for him—it would be better to go out and meet them on the flight line. Forcing them to come inside and get him would only make things worse.
Giving Minka another kiss, he stood up and offered his hand to her. She wiped away her tears, then took his hand and rose gracefully to her feet. Even after getting shot in the hip, she moved like a dancer—or a cat. That would be a better way to put it.
Outside, they joined Landon and Ivy, then walked around the aircraft toward the row of buildings that lined the runway. Sure enough, Major Bennett was there, standing beside a somber-looking Lieutenant Watson and the rest of the team. Bennett gave Angelo a disapproving look, but that expression paled in comparison to the one he directed at Landon.
“Homeland Security invading foreign countries these days, Captain?” Bennett asked, then held up his hand. “Don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.” He eyed Minka and Ivy next, no doubt wondering what they were doing with members of his A-team. He opened his mouth as if he was going to ask, then shook his head. “I don’t want to know about them, either.”
Bennett held out a thick envelope to Angelo. “I don’t have a clue why the hell this keeps happening, Sergeant Rios, but you’ve been transferred to Homeland Security. Can’t say I’m shocked, but I am disappointed.” He scowled at Watson. “By the way, Lieutenant, your promotion orders to Captain are waiting for you back at the S1 shop. Maybe as your first official act as the new captain and commander of this fucked-up A-team, you can try to hold on to the rest of your troops before the fucking DHS takes them all.”
Giving Watson a nod, the major turned and strode off.
Angelo stared at the envelope in his hand. He didn’t have to open it to know what was in it. Ten copies of his transfer orders, an out-processing form already completed by someone in the admin section, and a copy of his close-out performance evaluation report—the last eval he’d be getting with the 5th Special Forces Group, at least for now.
He was still wrapping his mind around that when the guys gathered around him, clapping him on the back and congratulating him. He didn’t know what they were congratulating him for. His head was spinning so fast, he couldn’t keep up.
Less than a minute later, Watson herded the guys away, saying he had to get them back to the battalion for another ops brief. The next thing Angelo knew, he was standing with Ivy, Landon, and Minka.
“What the hell just happened?” he finally asked.
Landon grinned. “Obviously, John must think you’d be a good addition to the DCO, as Minka’s partner I’m guessing. And when John wants something, he usually gets it. You’re moving to DC, man, to be part of the covert crap you hate so much.”
“What do you mean, ‘partner’?” Minka asked, looking excited and a little scared at the same time. “I love the idea of being Angelo’s partner, but I can’t go out and kill people all the time.”
Ivy smiled. “John isn’t like that, Minka. He would never ask you to do something that isn’t in your nature. He’s very good at finding what people and teams are good at and having them do that for the DCO. There are lots of jobs that don’t require killing people. Conducting surveillance, reconnaissance operations, tracking down kidnap victims—the list is almost endless.”
Minka turned to look at Angelo, the excitement in her eyes quickly outpacing the fear. “Is this really happening?”
He nodded, his heart pounding as the revelation grew that his life, and Minka’s, had suddenly taken a c
omplete 180-degree turn. “I think it is.”
Minka bit her lip. “And you are okay with this? I know how close you are with your teammates. Will you be okay leaving them?”
Angelo considered that. In some ways, he felt like he was turning his back on his team, on the army, on everything he’d been for the entirety of his adult life. But one look at Minka’s face told him it was what he needed to do. A thought suddenly hit him then, putting everything into perspective. If his father had been given an opportunity like this fifteen years ago, would he have taken it? And if he had, would his mom still be alive?
He smiled down at Minka, knowing in his heart he was never going to regret doing this for her. “I’m very okay with it.”
Minka laughed and threw her arms around his neck. Angelo hugged her back. If anyone was looking at them, they were probably wondering what the heck was going on out there, but right then all Angelo cared about was the fact that Minka was happy. And so was he.
She suddenly stepped back to give him a confused look. “Does this mean we’ll be staying at Landon’s apartment?”
Ivy laughed and put her arm around Minka’s shoulders, turning to lead her toward the military passenger terminal where they’d be getting a flight to the States.
“You’re going to find this out soon enough, but people like us get paid better than trigger pullers like Landon and Angelo.” Ivy threw a grin their way. “So no, you won’t be staying at Landon’s small apartment because you’ll be able to afford a much nicer one.”
Angelo couldn’t help but chuckle as Minka’s eyes widened. “I’m going to get paid? Will I be able to buy one of those iPod music boxes, too?”
“Yes, you can buy an iPod if you want,” Ivy said. “You can even buy two, so Angelo can have his own.”
“That would be silly,” Minka said. “Angelo can just listen to mine anytime he wants since we’ll be living together.”
Angelo only half listened as Landon reminded them about the DCO’s no-fraternization policy and how he and Minka would need to keep their relationship a secret. Ultimately, he didn’t care what games he had to play to keep Minka at his side. That was where she was supposed to be, and that was all that mattered.