“You didn’t need to, Rafe.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “I’m fucking happy for you, Brother. Miss working with you and your team. Maybe one of these days we can work something together.”
“For sure. How long are you here?”
He shook his head mournfully. “Hopefully only a few more days. I finally caught wind of where our target is being kept. Wish I could stay and help out.”
“This is our fight. You have your own mission to complete. I just appreciate the information.” We clasped forearms in lieu of shaking hands. Brandon would be back once he rescued whoever his target was. Once he was settled and we’d taken out our adversaries, I might bring Colby by to meet him. He’d get a kick out of it.
“Heard something about a compound. That’s all I know. If I hear anything else, I’ll be sure to send you word.”
“I appreciate that. We’ll be moving on this quickly, though.”
He nodded. “Figured.”
“Hey, you have any supplies I can pick through?” If he was leaving this hell hole in a few days, it’d be a shame to let his stash go to waste.
“Follow me.”
We walked toward the back of the house and he swung open a door. I whistled low as I scanned the room that was packed with all sorts of rations and munitions.
I started searching through things, taking anything that would be valuable to us out there. When I was finished, I slapped cash into his hand. “I’ll go get my camel and we’ll load this up.”
By the time I was riding out of the city, darkness had fully descended. It was best, that way no one saw Brandon helping me load up, or that I left as quickly as I’d come.
I was anxious to get back to the others, so we rode as far as we could before Ayad needed a break. Unsaddling him, I made sure we stopped in a spot where he could find food and water—much easier to do this close to the mountains—and I leaned back against the bulky items I’d bought off Brandon. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of the desert.
It still shocked me that Colby had finally agreed to be ours. She was going to make not only the few years out here bearable, but she’d end up changing our lives completely. I knew it.
We had a few different places, but when we weren’t on mission we lived together in a home in Portugal. If Colby had a preference we’d buy her a home anywhere she chose. I’d begun thinking that we might need to take some time off. The guys and I had been working non-stop for the last few years. With Colby being a part of our lives now, it might be time to take a break and actually enjoy the fortunes we’d amassed. For the first time, I thought about doing something other than fighting and killing.
I dozed off and on, waking up when Ayad settled onto the sand beside me to rest himself. My eyes popped open before dawn and I stretched. Ayad opened one large eye and regarded me in a grumpy manner.
“Time to get going,” I told him as I stood. He waited patiently while I put his saddle back on and loaded up all the supplies I’d gotten from Brandon. We were back underway in a short amount of time.
The rest of the trip was uneventful, but I enjoyed the way Colby threw her arms around me when I got back. I knew we’d eventually be bumping heads again—it was our way with each other—but for now we were happy to see each other.
“Anything happen while I was gone?” I asked as we unloaded the things from Ayad’s back.
“Nope. It’s been quiet here,” Sig responded.
“What did you learn?” Arsen asked, his eyes blazing with curiosity.
“I’ll go over it at dinner.” I was hungry and I still needed to make our meal. It’d be better to work now and we could plan later.
“I can help,” Colby offered.
I smiled at her eagerness. It would be great to have another person who could cook. I motioned for her to follow me.
“Cut here,” I motioned to the carcass a few minutes later. There was no missing the way Colby scrunched up her nose as she handled the dead beast, but she gamely cut where I showed her.
I let my hand slide down her arm, and adjusted her hand so that she didn’t waste any meat as she sliced it off bone. Her breathing hitched when I touched her.
“Did they fuck you while I was gone,” I asked, nipping her ear. I was pressed up behind her as I kept an eye on her work.
She tossed me a guilty glance over her shoulder. “Yes. Are we supposed to wait? For all of us to be together?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “You’re in a relationship with all of us. You can spend time with whoever you want, however you want.” The fact that she was worried about hurting my feelings meant I didn’t need to explain to her that if she spent more time with one of us than the others it’d probably piss us off. I had a feeling she was going to be as fair with her affection as she could be.