God dammit. She was right. And that only added fuel to his fury. “Fuck.”
He turned away, but she fisted his shirt and dragged him to face her again. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. And neither does Bella. Promise me you won’t start a fucking firefight out there.”
Right again. Dammit. He cupped the back of her neck. “I promise.”
Relief washed over her face. She pushed up on her toes and kissed him deliberately. Then whispered, “I… I…”
He clasped her face between his palms and kissed her again. “It’ll be okay.”
She closed her eyes, turned her head, and kissed his palm. When she looked at him again, he swore he saw the swirl of love and fear and…something he couldn’t name. “Be careful.”
“Always.” He released her and jogged down the path along the side of the house, revved for battle. Doors on the house closed and locked, smoothing the edge on his nerves. He and Decker donned fatigues, helmets, and weapons in three minutes flat and ran toward a rendezvous point in the southeast quadrant.
Roman waited with Ian, Sam, Granger, and Anders as Sawyer, the new kid, rappelled out of the chopper. Once all six of them were on the ground, Roman led the team off the ridgeline and into the jungle.
They paused beneath the canopy to adjusted their night vision. Then they set off through the thick underbrush to their rendezvous point with Everly thirteen miles west. Creatures of all kinds screamed their surprise and anger at the trespassers.
“So much for a covert operation.” Ian’s murmur came through the com in Roman’s ear as if his teammate was right beside him, not watching the team’s six. “These monkeys are the best fucking security in this place.”
The whap of Cody’s chopper blades faded into the distance, and the jungle inhabitants calmed as the team moved with sleek precision through the thick underbrush.
The men fell silent as they made deliberate progress through the jungle. The day’s heat still simmered beneath the canopy. Sweat slicked Roman’s face and slid down his spine. Monkeys screamed overhead, jumping from tree to tree, following their progress. With night vision, the jungle lit up with all the critters scurrying across the forest floor and moving in the trees.
They made good time, approaching the rendezvous point within thirty minutes.
“Hawk to Hunter One.” Cody’s voice filled Roman’s ear.
“Hunter One, go,” Roman said.
“Heat map shows a team of seven hostiles headed your way.”
Roman slowed. “How close?”
“Two klicks,” Cody said.
Roman stopped and his team followed in a loose cluster around him. “Roger that.”
“Maybe they’re training,” Ian said.
“All the guys Hix uses to train are either deployed or in the Caribbean with the Titus group,” Granger countered.
Roman looked at Ian. “Contact Everly.”
While Ian dug out his phone, Sawyer said, “Couldn’t have been the chopper. We’re miles from the house.”
Evidently, not far enough. “Maybe they heard the ch
opper when we fast-roped in, and came out to check.”
“She’s not answering, boss.” Ian’s voice held a note of alarm.
“That’s not good,” Roman muttered.
“Hawk to Hunter One,” Cody came over the com. “Hostile team one klick out, directly in your path.”
The skin on the back of his neck rippled with warning. Roman changed direction. “Let’s head east and pick up the pace. We’ll get around behind them.”
The team complied. The monkeys followed. Five minutes passed before Cody came back on the line.