Page 8 of Protected from Reprisal
My head feels light and floaty and not quite my own.
As my fingers go numb, my clutch slips to the ground. Camden scoops it up and tucks it under his arm. Then he murmurs, “This is going to befun.”
Snap out of it,I order myself.Before you fuck this whole thing up. Before this asshole does things you don’t want him doing.
I want to. Oh, how I want to.
But I can’t.
I’m falling apart. And there’s nothing I can do about it.
CHAPTER 2
ACE
I don’t havea good feeling about this.
Strike that. I haven’t had a good feeling since the first time I noticed that prick’s eyes glued to Yara’s chest.
Then watching him touch her. First her hair, then her arm, her hand, and finally, putting his arm around her waist as they left the room together. Like two people interested in each other, which seems completely contrary to the texts Yara sent earlier.
And her cryptic messages.
Those, I especially don’t feel good about.
What’s this mission she’s talking about? Why would Yara need backup?
And why didn’t she tell me her plan instead of leaving me hanging?
It’s not that I don’t think Yara can handle herself. After all, she’s one of the strongest and smartest people I know. She was strong enough to get through the grueling Special Forces Qualification course, even when the odds were stacked against her, to become one of the few female Green Berets in thecountry. She’s smart enough to get a degree from UC Berkeley in electrical engineering and computer science and create some of the most advanced prosthetic limbs available.
So I shouldn’t be as worried as I am about her.
But shit. I didn’t like seeing that asshole touch her. And I really don’t like the idea of Yara going off with that guy on some sort of mission she won’t tell me about.
Glancing back down at my phone, I re-read her last message.
Everything’s under control. Mission underway and on the move. I’ll text once I have final location.
And then my last text.
Roger. Be careful. I’ve got your six.
But I don’t have her six, do I?
If I did, I’d be right behind her, not still sitting at my table with a half-eaten piece of strawberry cheesecake sitting in front of me. I’d know the final location because I’d be right there instead of waiting in the banquet hall, speculating.
Casting my gaze around the table, it’s immediately evident that I’m not the only one who thinks something’s off.
“Why did Yara go off with that guy?” Eden asks. She frowns at her coffee cup for a second. “I didn’t think she was interested in dating.”
“Maybe she’s not looking to date,” her husband and my team leader, Rafe, offers. “She might just want to enjoy the evening with someone.”
“But she said she was going to check out the music with me,” Bea says. “And the magic show.” She touches Indy’s arm to get her fiancé’s attention. “Why would she tell me that if she intended to go off with that slimy-looking guy?”
“I’m not sure,” Indy replies. He drums his prosthetic fingers on the table. “She could have changed her mind, I suppose. But it does seem strange.”
“Yara told me she’s not interested in dating,” Noelle adds. “Last time we all met up in Seattle, some guy hit on her at the bar, and she sent him packing. Then she told me she’s happier being single. That her life is busy enough as is.”
