by Skye Jordan
Everly lit the camp stove she’d found in the boat and poured bottled water into a pan to boil. Then she sat next to Bella on the sand. The girl immediately climbed in her lap and curled up.
“I want to go home,” she whined. “I want Daddy.”
Everly hugged her close. “I know, baby. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”
While the water heated, the sun dipped. And as dusk deepened, Everly’s gut tightened. She second-guessed this plan. Second-guessed her decisions. Second-guessed her feelings for Austin. She was really only sure of one thing—she was upside down and inside out. And she didn’t know how she was going to find level footing again.
The water simmered, and Everly moved Bella back to the cushions as she opened the MRE and read the directions. Even in the rare event she’d had to eat these on an op, the guys had always cooked them for her.
The thought made her smile. But realizing she’d probably exhausted Roman’s patience killed the happy memory. Everly pushed away the idea of being banished from the team. She couldn’t let herself cross that bridge until she got right with Austin. Until she got Bella back with her father, where the girl belonged.
She cut open the various packages in the MRE and laid them out. “Freeze-dried meat,” she muttered. “Yum.”
She added boiling water to the package with beans and meat and muttered, “I might just kill for one of Lucia’s casados right now.”
“Everly!” Bella yelled. “Look!”
All Everly’s training clicked on. She pulled the weapon from the waistband of her shorts and swung toward Bella, scanning the beach for predators—animal or human. But Bella was looking at the boat coming toward them.
Bella ran to Everly’s side and wrapped her arms around her leg. “Is it Daddy?”
“I sure hope so.”
If it wasn’t, she was going to have a hard time explaining why she was camped out in no-man’s land, eating MREs with a child. She really didn’t need anyone alerting Costa Rican authorities, but taking a prisoner was going to be really hard to explain to Bella.
The man at the wheel of the boat wore a baseball hat. He was Austin’s size, but with the hat and the distance, it could have been anyone.
Just the thought of seeing him again created all kinds of tension in her body—fear, regret, desire. These two days hadn’t only been tough for Bella. Everly had spent that time realizing just how much she cared about Austin. Just how badly she wished they’d met at another time, another place. Things could have turned out so differently.
The boat cut through the water at a good clip. As soon as it cleared a reef at the mouth of the bay, the boat took a sharp turn toward land and set a deliberate path toward the beach.
Everly’s heart jumped. That was either Austin or Roman. She stood behind Bella, her hands on the girl’s shoulders, and took a deep breath to quell the nerves in her belly.
It felt like it took forever for the boat to come close enough for Everly to identify the driver. When the boat approached the beach, the man behind the wheel stood.
“Daddy!” Bella screamed at the same instant Everly recognized him. “Daddy!”
Austin lifted a hand to Bella. He slowed the vessel, cruised past the other boat, and cut the engine.
Everly let Bella run to the water and wade in to her knees before calling, “Wait there, Bella.”
The girl obeyed, jumping up and down while Austin tossed out the anchor, cartwheeled over the side, and waded to his daughter. Bella was waist deep by the time Austin picked her up and doubled his arms around her, turning side to side as he hugged her hard.
The sight squeezed Everly’s heart and tightened her throat. She crossed her arms as tears stung her eyes. No matter what happened from this point forward, Everly knew without a doubt she’d done the right thing. Keeping these two together might have been against orders. She might have had to deceive her team to make it happen. But it was right.
She only hoped this feeling could hold her through the loss of his affection. The loss of her team. Her future. Her identity. Because that was what keeping them together would cost.
He finally started toward the shore. Everly was a little surprised he didn’t just take Bella back to his boat and leave. She braced for conflict.
He wore a white tank and tan cargo shorts. The baseball hat, sunglasses, and surprising sight of the beginnings of a beard gave Everly a whole different view of the savvy businessman who could wear suits as well as fatigues and wield power as easily as he could show raw emotion for his daughter.
She couldn’t read his expression as he set Bella on the ground and looked at Everly. She was more than a little disappointed he didn’t greet her the same way, even though she knew that idea was completely irrational.
Bella gripped his hand and jumped up and down at his side, telling him all about their time on the beach. Star-gazing and hikes and swimming, as if she’d enjoyed herself.
“Sounds like a pretty cool little getaway,” he told Bella.
Even the sound of his voice created an ache in Everly’s heart.
He started toward her, the lower half of his body dripping seawater. Everly took another breath and tightened the cross of her arms. She suddenly felt small and weak. And scared. Scared of what this would do to her emotionally. Scared of where she would go from here. She didn’t do scared well. Fear was a tool a Manhunter twisted and used to his—or her—advantage. Only, she wasn’t doing that very well with Austin approaching her now.
He stopped five feet away and whipped off his glasses. His eyes were hot with frustration. “Bella,” he said without looking away from Everly. “Why don’t you start cleaning up so we can head home?”
Bella bounced off in the direction of the hut.
“That was a stupid risk,” he told Everly.
She bristled—even though she’d said as much to herself a dozen times over the last two days. “A carefully calculated and orchestrated risk. One that kept Bella away from the harm Seaver could have inflicted.”
His jaw jumped with stress.
“I trust all thirteen of you were unscathed,” she prodded.
“Roman’s got a nice black eye.”
“He can handle a lot worse. What took you so long to get here?”
“Your team refused to let me out of their sight. They were sure I knew where you’d gone. I had to wait for everyone to fall asleep, then sneak past the ones who were on guard, then jog eight miles to borrow a boat from the neighbors.” When he looked at her again, his eyes burned with anger. “You’re fired, by the way.”
She managed a split-second smile. “From both jobs, I assume.”
“You don’t sound concerned.”
“Roman fires me every other month, though this was…” She shook her head. “I don’t know if we’ll recover from this. I betrayed my team.”
“You also betrayed me,” Austin bit out. “You lied. About everything.”
She knew all this. Had beaten herself up over it the last two days. But somehow, hearing it from him stabbed deeper. “Not about everything.”
“About enough. What was true? I assume that would be a shorter list than what wasn’t.”
She read between those lines—about enough to end any feelings he might have had for her. She clenched her teeth and nodded, acknowledging that inevitability.
“I imagine by now you know my last name is Shaw, not Callaway,” she said. “But what I told you about my childhood was all true. My mother and I were aid workers for most of my young life. We lived a nomad lifestyle from the time my father died. She did have psychological issues. But she’s not alive. She was killed in an uprising in Iraq about six years ago. We weren’t close.” She heaved a sigh. “Getting away from her was my reason for joining the military. The Manhunters plucked me out of basic training before it even ended.”
“Manhunters,” he said, scowling at her with a shake of his head as if he still couldn’t believe it. “You’re a Manhunter.”
“I was.”
/> “For ten years?”
She didn’t answer. He’d obviously gotten all the information from Roman. No doubt he saw her in a completely different light now. The realization brought hurt and disappointment.
“A fucking assassin?” he rasped, his voice lowered so Bella wouldn’t hear.
“Our team was no different than yours,” she immediately defended. “We were just funded by a different budget and sent on different missions.”
Austin planted his hands at his hips. “Bullshit.”
“Don’t even think about pitting one tier-one operator with another,” she warned. “We’re all equally as lethal.”
He exhaled heavily. Lowered his head and shook it. Witnessing his obvious disappointment hurt. The ache beneath her ribs had grown so intense, she felt brittle.
“Take Bella and go home,” she told him. “I’ll take care of things here.” She dropped her arms and looked around. “I’ll leave the boat anchored at your beach.”
“That’s it? You’ll just leave the boat at the beach and what? Disappear from our lives?”
“Isn’t that what you want?” she asked.
“I think it’s exactly what you want,” he said. “Just like a Manhunter to leave the carnage behind for the rest of us to clean up.”
That dinged her pride and her heart. “Professional jealousy doesn’t look good on you.”
He huffed a caustic laugh.
“Did you at least work things out with Roman?” she asked. “Are you going to be able to keep Bella without more problems from Seaver?”
“Probably,” he admitted. “After he verifies all the information and leaks it to the media.”
“Ouch. No VP ticket for her.”
“She doesn’t deserve to lead the US in any way.”
“Does that mean there’s not enough evidence to charge her with a crime?”
“I’m leaving that to the DA. Once her reputation and credibility are trashed, she won’t have any use for Bella. That’s all that matters to me.”
“You’ll get custody back in the US?” she asked.
“No doubt.”
“And the other team? The one in Turks and Caicos?”
“Seaver. Roman contacted someone named Bliss in the States who confirmed that Seaver grew impatient with your team, so she hired a second.”
Everly nodded. Her job here was done. Not the job she’d been sent to do, which would leave her twisting in the wind, but in her heart of hearts, she knew she’d done right by Austin and Bella. She knew that even without the security of her team or her job, she’d sleep well at night. Eventually. Once she came to terms with losing Austin. And not sleeping well at night had been the reason she’d left the military version of the Manhunters to begin with. The intensity of tier-one operations cut operators’ careers to half of that of most other military soldiers. She’d been ready to cash out after a decade of intensely dangerous missions that demanded a soldier be more robot than human.
“Someone on your team also hacked into Seaver’s father’s computer,” Austin continued, “and found a ton of child porn.”
Her stomach flipped, and her lungs emptied. “They did?”
He nodded. “They’re working on getting a valid reason for a search warrant, but now that I know Bella will be with me, there’s no crushing time limitation. Authorities will get him—eventually.”
“Thank God.” She looked down at the sand and dug in with her toes. “I’m sorry it worked out like this. I don’t expect you to believe me, but I never meant—”
Austin made an aggressive move toward her. Everly didn’t startle when he gripped the back of her neck. On some level, she’d been expecting this reaction.
“What about me?” he demanded. “About us? Was any of that real?”
She pressed her hands to his chest and met his gaze. “All of that was real.”
He didn’t respond, just searched her eyes, skeptical.
“You have every right to be angry,” she said.
“You’re damn right I do,” he bit back.
Then he kissed her, hard and passionate, the way he’d first kissed her. His beard was rough against her skin, but when his tongue found hers, all Everly’s barriers melted.
He pulled back, quick and fierce. “That’s the third time you scared the hell out of me.”
“I know.”
“Don’t do it again.”
She searched his eyes. “You make it sound like I’ll have the opportunity.”
His grip on her neck gentled, but emotion still etched his features. “You used me, Everly. I shouldn’t give you one.”
“You shouldn’t.”
He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers. His fingers flexed and tensed restlessly around the back of her neck. “What were you trying to say right before I left with Decker that day?”
Everly’s mind darted directly back to the words she’d left unsaid in that moment. Words she’d been wishing she’d said for days. She exhaled and curled her fingers into his shirt.
“Tell me,” he demanded.
“I wanted to tell you that I cared. So that everything coming after wouldn’t hurt quite so much.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I couldn’t get the words out. I’ve never said them before, and I couldn’t make them come out when I knew I was going to do the unthinkable.”
He cupped her face and lifted her gaze to his. “If you still mean them, tell me now.”
Everly’s stomach folded. She wasn’t sure if he wanted to use the words as revenge or an affirmation. But either way, she figured he deserved to hear them now.
She covered his hands with hers and braced herself for a variety of reactions. “As much as it terrifies me, I really do love you.”
The words were even more alarming out loud. She’d never felt as vulnerable as she did right then.
When Austin exhaled and closed his eyes, she felt the urgent need to back off and give him a graceful out. An out that wouldn’t rip her heart open.
She leaned away and released his wrists. “I know it probably doesn’t mean much to you right now, but maybe in time—”
“It means everything.” He kissed her again, softer, sweeter.
Bella stepped up to them and wrapped one arm around Austin’s leg, the other around Everly’s. “Daddy, I’m hungry.”
Austin huffed another laugh, this one gentle and real. “I have snack bars in the boat, baby. Just one minute.” He returned his gaze to Everly’s. “Can you stay with us awhile? I mean after we get rid of those animals who’ve taken over my house. So we can hash all this out between us? I want to get right with you.”
Everly’s heart released and opened. The relief was so all-consuming, she laughed. “I want to get right with you too.” She reached down and combed a hand through Bella’s unruly hair. “And last I heard, I’m unemployed.”
He grinned. “You are so unemployed. He must have fired you a dozen times in the last two days.”
“I have that effect on him.”
Austin laughed, and the sound brought so much joy to Everly, her chest hurt.
“I guess I have all the time in the world,” she said.
“Can we go home now?” Bella wanted to know.
Before he released Everly, Austin sighed with a “Yeah,” then pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Let’s all go home.”
Epilogue
Six months later.
Everly stood at attention in full salute as the chopper hovered over the open field. The blades thrashed the air into a tornado, but Everly stayed put, squinting against the wind as the chopper set down.
Her chest bubbled with humor. With happiness. With love.
Austin climbed from the copilot’s seat, his jacket and hair whipping as he made his way to her. He stopped a couple of feet away, and the grin splitting his face had been worth bearing the wind storm.
“What are you doing?”
“Sir, Sergeant Shaw reporting for duty, sir.”
/> The chopper’s engine shut down, and the blades whined as they slowed. Austin slipped his arms around her and pulled her up against his body. “At ease, soldier.”
Everly relaxed, releasing her facial muscles to smile at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about,” Austin growled, his hands roaming her back and waist, before lowering to her ass.
Everly reached back and slapped one hand. “Save that for the bedroom, soldier. There are eyes everywhere.”
Austin laughed, lowered his head, and kissed her. Everly’s chest overflowed with joy. It had been only a few days since she’d seen him, but time apart had become more and more difficult.
“When can I get this soldier into bed?” he murmured. “I’ve missed you.”
Everly rolled her eyes in thought. “Well, Decker’s in the house chatting up our very attractive Realtor, Melissa, who’s waiting to show you this two-hundred-acre property. That will take at least an hour—or five, if you and Decker start mapping out a training field. Then we have one little girl to wrangle away from the adorable elderly couple who own the property and insisted on showing her all the animals. This place is a veritable petting zoo, and I’ve noticed she has incredible focus around animals. If she’s ADHD, it’s very selective, which I doubt could really be considered ADHD. In short, I think Sam’s full of shit.” She smirked. “Anyway, the answer to your question is it might be a while.”
“But so worth the wait.” He lowered his head and kissed her again.
Cody cleared his throat, bringing reality into focus. They pulled out of the kiss and looked at the chopper pilot.
“I’ll just”—Cody gestured toward the house—“go give Decker a run for his money with the Realtor.”
Once Cody had started toward the house, Austin turned and looked around the property in the Shenandoah Mountains of Virginia. He swung an arm around Everly’s shoulders. She wrapped an arm around his waist.
“How’d the meeting go?” she asked.
“Great.” He huffed a laughed and shook his head. “They want a full suite of services for five hundred of their top-tier operators. Equipment, analysis, training. The works.”