Page 43 of Rogue Protector
“This is all new to me, Austin,” she says with a little wobble to her voice. “Sharing my…my life with someone.”
“Your—?”
“I don’t want you to leave,” she says, her words tumbling over one another like she can’t get them out fast enough. “It’s only been a few days, but Iknowyou. This—“ Mik nods at our joined hands, “—this connection? None of the normal rules apply here. At least, I hope they don’t.”
“My life hasn’t been normal since…all the shit that happened with Gil.” I have to start letting her in. No matter how much it hurts. For Trev to warn me, to tell me to open up? He’s one of the only people in this world I trust. Or was. Until I met her.
Mik frowns, concern etching faint lines around her eyes. “I know we have to get going. But…once we’re back in the United States? You’re going to tell me, right? At least some of it?”
“I’m going to try.”
She leans in and kisses me deeply, passionately, and her contented sigh when she pulls away? This woman truly believes we have a future. Together. I won’t do a damn thing to screw that up.
Mikayla
I haven’t stopped gawking since Austin helped me up the stairs of the private Cessna. It’s luxurious in a way I always thought was reserved forJames Bondmovies or…at the very least, the super rich.
“Major General Pritchard?” one of the flight attendants says as Austin and I take seats across from one another, a polished wood table between us. “Dax Holloway wanted me to tell you that whatever else you need—both in flight and once we land in Maryland—is yours.”
“Whatever else you need?” I whisper when the man heads for the jump seat to buckle himself in. “Austin, how much did this cost?”
“No fucking clue.” He runs a hand through his hair, then glances around the luxurious cabin. Isaiah and Li are sitting two rows behind us, staring out the windows as we start to taxi. “I didn’t ask. Pretty sure Dax hasn’t worried about money in a long time, though. Not with some the clients Second Sight’s handled over the years. And Ryker? He’s loaded.”
I’m confused now. “What does Ryker have to do with Dax’s financial health?”
Austin shakes his head and chuckles. “Those two are so tight, you couldn’t drive a nail between ‘em with a sledgehammer. They teamed up last year—merged Hidden Agenda, Ry’s K&R firm with Second Sight—and now, they’re expanding. If Dax needed anything, under any circumstance, Ry would make sure he had it.”
“And you know them both from Venezuela?” I ask. I want toknowthis man. Really know him. And meet his friends.
“Not exactly.” The plane levels off, and Austin glances back at the flight attendant before he turns back to me. “I used to run the United States Joint Special Operations Command, Mik.”
“I know. I’ve seen your Wikipedia page, remember?” My lips curve into a smile. I’m still shocked I had the gall to look him up that first night.
“We—they—oversee the most elite of the military. Delta Force, SEAL Team 6, the Air Force’s 24th Special Tactics Squadron, the 75th Ranger Regiment, and a whole lot of other units I can’t talk about.
“If this—if we go the way I hope we go, you’re going to meet Dax before too long. Trevor, Ryker, Wren, Graham, West, Inara…”
His face softens a little when he says their names, so they’re obviously important to him.
“Maybe even Ripper.”
“Ripper? What kind of name is Ripper?” My query is supposed to be teasing, but Austin’s face hardens, his hazel eyes turning dark and stormy in a heartbeat.
“The one he wanted. The man spent six fucking years being tortured, brainwashed, and forced to do the unimaginable. No one knew he was even alive until last year. Dax, Ry, and Trevor—along with a few others—went to rescue him. He’d been using a different name—one his captor gave him—but Ripper was his call sign when he was in the Special Forces, and so that’s what he goes by now.”
“Oh, crap. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. You couldn’t have known.”
“Where was he?”
“Afghanistan.” Austin’s still tense, and I rest my hand, palm up, on the table between us. He stares at it for a minute, then links our fingers. “Finding him…it should have been my job. Hell, knowing he was even alive in the first placewasmy job. But JSOC had two assholes in our ranks who kept it quiet so they could sell arms to the guy torturing Rip.”
“Oh, God.”
“There was a hell of a lot of bureaucracy to cut through. You bring a single member of the Armed Forces into any operation, and paperwork bullshit goes up a hundred fold. But the long and short of it is…technically, Ripper could have been sent away for war crimes. For treason. I couldn’t let that happen. He’s the most honorable man I know—along with Dax and Ry. Hell, the man had been completely brainwashed, his whole identity destroyed, and hestillmanaged to find small ways to resist the bastard who had him. And those ways helped Dax, Ry, and their team put an end to the asshole.”
From the way he talks about these men, I don’t have to ask if they’re close. They clearly are. And Austin trusts them with his life.
