“They’re assholes,” he replied, but there was fondness in his voice. “Professional, lethal assholes who will die for each other without hesitation. That includes for you and Sophia now.”
I looked around the room at these strangers, these men and women who were preparing to risk their lives, all because Trent had called. All because of us.
I didn’t have words for the wave of emotion that hit me. Gratitude, fear, and something else—a sense of belonging that I hadn’t felt in years. These people had accepted me into their fold without question, simply because I mattered to Trent.
“Thank you,” I whispered, not just to him but to all of them.
“Bricks.” Ethan’s voice cut across the room. “Need a minute.”
It wasn’t a request. Trent’s jaw tightened slightly, then he nodded. His hand lingered at the small of my back for just a moment before he followed Ethan out onto the porch.
Through the window, I watched them face off with each other. Ethan’s posture was rigid, his expression unreadable. But Trent’s shoulders tensed in a way I’d never seen before.
Whatever Ethan was saying, Trent wasn’t liking it.
CHAPTER 15
TRENT
“Bricks.”Ethan’s voice cut across the room. “Need a minute.”
Not a request. Never was with him.
My hand lingered at the small of Evelyn’s back for just a moment before I followed him out onto the porch. The screen door whispered shut behind us, cutting off the warmth of the cabin, the sounds of the team settling in. The morning sun hung low over the prairie to the east, painting everything in that golden Montana light that made even Dutch’s weathered cabin look almost beautiful.
But Ethan wasn’t admiring the view.
His shoulders were set in that specific way they got before he delivered bad news or hard truths. I’d seen it too many times not to recognize it. Through the window, I could see Evelyn kneeling beside Sophia, who was now awake and wide-eyed as Lyric showed her how to braid hair. The fierce protectiveness that surged through me at the sight wasn’t tactical or professional. It was raw and primal and absolutely compromising.
I forced my attention back to Ethan. He was studying the landscape, eyes tracking the treeline, ridges, points of approach.Always the tactician, even in quiet moments. I leaned against the railing, waiting. Ethan wasn’t a man who rushed conversations, especially the difficult ones.
“It’s a solid plan,” he finally said.
“But?” I prompted, knowing there was more.
His eyes, that particular shade of blue that always reminded me of arctic ice, shifted to mine. “You’re compromised.”
I wasn’t surprised, but the accusation still stung. My jaw tightened as I kept my face neutral through years of practice. “I’m focused,” I countered. “Mission-ready.”
“Bullshit.” Ethan didn’t raise his voice. He never did, and somehow that made it worse. “I saw how you tensed when I assigned her to evacuation duty. You can’t keep your hands off her, and she’s wearing your clothes.”
Heat crawled up my neck despite my best efforts. I wanted to deny it, to assure him that I could separate personal from professional. That Evelyn and Sophia wouldn’t affect my judgment if things went sideways. But the lie stuck in my throat.
“That’s not relevant to the mission,” I said instead.
“Everything’s relevant to the mission.” Ethan’s voice had an edge now. “You know that better than most. Emotional entanglements cloud judgment. Compromise reaction time. Create vulnerabilities that enemies exploit.”
I straightened, something defensive rising in me. “You think I can’t compartmentalize? That’s literally our job description.”
“I think you’re too close,” Ethan shot back.
And all at once, I realized what this was really about. “Maya.”
For the first time in all our years of working together, in all the high-adrenaline situations we’d been in, I saw Ethan Voss flinch. Just a slight tightening around his eyes, a muscle jumping in his jaw. He was still raw from losing her—we all knew it and went out of our way to avoid using her name, but maybe that had been the wrong move. Maybe by not talking about her, we wereletting Ethan stay trapped in his own head. A dangerous place for any of us, but especially for a man like him.
The wind picked up, carrying the scent of sage and dust across the porch. In the silence, I could hear the muffled sounds from inside the cabin—someone laughing, probably Nolan. The ordinary sounds of the team preparing for a mission. But out here, it felt like Ethan and I were in a different world entirely.
“Maya trusted her gut instead of the intel,” Ethan said finally, his voice so quiet I almost missed it over the wind. “She was compromised, and she died for it. Left behind a team that couldn’t save her.”
