“Already did.” Boone’s voice lost all pretense of humor.“Stoker, they’re not running scared. They’re accelerating. Whatever timetable they had? We just lit a fire under it.”
The comm went dead.
I dragged a hand over my face, the peace of the night gone like smoke. Rubbing at the knot in my jaw, I turned to find Raine watching me, her hair mussed from the pillow, her eyes burning steady.
“No rest for the wicked,” she murmured.
I gave a humorless grunt. “No rest for us.”
Outside, the morning sun was just breaking, painting the motel curtains gold. A new day. A new fight. And the bastards we were chasing already had a head start.
I stood, pulling on my shirt, the weight of command settling heavy on my shoulders again. “Wake the team. Wheels up in twenty.”
Raine’s voice followed me as I holstered my Glock, soft but unshakable. “Then let’s finish what we started.”
I looked back at her, my chest tight. And for one fleeting moment, I let myself smile.
“Damn right.”
84
Raine
The room still smelled like Adam’s skin, like sweat and sleep and the faint trace of motel soap. My body ached in ways that had nothing to do with bruises, and for one selfish second, I wanted to sink back into the sheets, pull him down with me, and shut the world out.
But the world wasn’t waiting.
Boone’s voice was still echoing in my head:San Antonio. Accelerating.
I sat on the edge of the bed, lacing my boots tight, each tug yanking me further from the softness of last night. My ribs throbbed, but I ignored it. Pain was nothing new. What mattered was being ready.
In the bathroom mirror, I caught a glimpse of myself—hair tangled, eyes shadowed, lips swollen from Adam’s kiss. Not the scared girl from the ridge. Not the broken woman who once walked away. A soldier. A fighter.
Captain Raine Carter.
I strapped the holster to my thigh, the weight of the pistol familiar and steady.
Adam came up behind me, already geared, his gray eyes sharp again. The commander was back. But when his hand brushed down my arm, there was softness in the touch, a whisper of the man who’d held me through the night.
“You don’t have to keep proving yourself,” he murmured.
I met his eyes in the mirror. “I’m not proving anything, Adam. I’mdoingit. Same as you.”
His mouth curved, just faintly, and he nodded once. That was all I needed.
Outside, the team was already moving. Hawk and Blade double-checked their weapons with that wolfish ease. Russ spread maps across the hood of the SUV, his neat handwriting filling every inch. Boone’s eyes were glued to the screen. Logan leaned against the wall, arms crossed, scowling like he hated this but already locked in.
When Adam and I stepped out, all eyes shifted.
The air tightened.
“Alright, boys,” I said, squaring my shoulders. “Let’s go ruin someone’s day.”
Hawk barked a laugh. Blade smirked faintly. Even Russ’s lips twitched like he was trying not to smile.
Adam just shook his head, muttering under his breath. “Trouble. Pure trouble.”
But when his hand brushed mine as we walked toward the SUVs, I knew he wouldn’t have it any other way.
