“I will,” Khloe promised.Finishing her strawberry, she wiped her fingers on her napkin.“Enough talk about murder for today.Let’s discuss whether Darwin has any equally hunky SEAL buddies who’d be a good match for Lakelyn.”
Katrina laughed, all for that idea.“I might know a few guys.”
Simon was the first one who came to mind.She’d met him a few times, and he seemed really nice.He was outgoing like Darwin and the other SEALs, and while not as handsome as Darwin in her opinion, he was definitely cute.He might be a good fit for Lakelyn.She’d have to remember to ask Darwin what he thought.
Her cell phone rang, interrupting her before she could say more.Katrina picked it up from the small table beside her chaise, grinning when she saw Darwin’s name.
“Hey!”
“Hey,” he said.“I have to go to San Nicolas Island for some more of that testing I told you about.”
“Oh,” she said, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice, and pretty sure she failed.“Do you know when you’ll be back?”
“Hopefully, tonight.But it might not be until tomorrow.It’s hard to tell with this stuff.”
“Okay.Be careful.”
“Always,” he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.“I’ll text you when I’m on the way back.”
“Is everything okay?”Khloe asked in concern when she set her phone on the table.
Katrina nodded, relaying what Darwin had told her.She’d known there was a good chance he’d have to leave to do SEAL stuff, but she couldn’t hide how bummed she was about it.
“Well, that sucks,” Khloe said.
“It does,” Katrina agreed with a sigh.“But that’s what I meant earlier when I said SEALs are on the go a lot.This is what I signed up for when I agreed to go out with Darwin.When he gets a call to go somewhere, he has to go.”
Lakelyn frowned.“Ugh.Maybe I’m not so sure I want you setting me up with a SEAL.I want the guy I’m with to be all about me.I’m not sure I want to compete with his job.Especially when it means they might have to bail on something as important as this weekend.”
Katrina wasn’t thrilled about it, either, but she’d put up with it if it meant being with a guy as amazing as Darwin.
Chapter ten
“Igothroughallthat trouble of making sure I had a uniform with me, and it turns out I could have saved myself the trouble,” Darwin muttered, frowning down at the cheap three-piece suit they’d given him to wear.
Simon’s mouth twitched.He was sitting on the bench beside Darwin in the military cargo truck and reached out to grab the side rail as the vehicle tilted sharply on the rough terrain they were crossing.“I think you look good playing the part of a drug lord.You just act like the helpless kingpin you’re supposed to be.The rest of us will keep you safe.”
“Speak for yourself,” Lennox said with a laugh from the bench seat on the other side of the truck bed, where he sat with Trace, Dean, and Colt.“I’m kind of looking forward to seeing Darwin running around like a chicken hoping to avoid being tagged by this Genesis drone.”
That earned him a few laughs from the other guys, even as the truck bounced and nearly threw all of them off their seats.
Darwin winced as his shoulder slammed into the cargo bed’s side rail, checking to make sure he hadn’t ripped his borrowed suit for this next phase of the Genesis Project test.Fortunately, it seemed like the cheap material of the suit jacket was intact.
According to the instructions Seth had given them, Darwin was playing the part of a dangerous drug lord trying to escape across open ground while protected by his elite security detail.Genesis would be tracking and engaging them in the darkness throughout the test.During the briefing, he and his Teammates had been concerned the drone would be shooting at them with live ammo, but Seth quickly informed them that Genesis would be using high-velocity paintball rounds.That was a relief.Still, nobody liked the idea of being shot at, especially when the thing shooting at you was impossible to see or hear.
Now that they knew what they were dealing with, it was getting difficult to ignore that Genesis was, in reality, an assassination drone.Which was more than a little unsettling.And based on how hard it’d been to locate the damn thing the first time around, Darwin wasn’t holding out much hope he and his Team would even know the drone was on them until it was too late.
“It looks like we can keep to the trees for the majority of the way to the pickup zone,” Trace said, gazing at the map of the island he’d spread out on his lap.“But there isn’t much cover for the last kilometer or so of the approach to Jackson Hill.We’re going to be in trouble if that drone catches us in the open.”
“I think that’s a given.”Colt frowned.“If anything, the drone will probably wait to hit us until we get to the part of the route when we’re sitting ducks.”
Darwin leaned over to look at the map along with everyone else.Jackson Hill was the tallest point on San Nicolas Island, and the designated end point for tonight’s exercise.Once he and his Team reached the hilltop, the test would be over.But studying the map now––and all the open area they’d have to cross––Darwin couldn’t help but think this event was going to go poorly.
“What did Katrina say when you told her you had to leave?”Lennox asked.
Darwin glanced at him.“She sounded disappointed, but knew I might have to leave to come out here at some point.I promised her I’d be back as soon as I could.”
“How’s the destination wedding going?”Colt asked.
