Garrett Morgan, Ethan McAllister, Beckett Stone, and Slade Garrison. Those were the names of the members of Tac-Ops. Though to her, they were better known as Falcon, Apollo, Bones, and Digger.
Digger.
A different kind of hold grew tight around her heart, but she pushed it away, refusing to give it even a second’s worth of conscious awareness. Regrets of any kind had no place here. Especially when what she was feeling had nothing to do with her job or this mission.
Why waste time regretting something that never had a snowball’s chance in Hell of ever happening in the first place? Or fantasizing about a man who had no idea who she really was?
Why waste time, indeed?
Just because Digger’s deep voice always seemed to reach her on a level no one else ever had meant diddly squat. So did the fact that, on the rare occasions his picture just happened to pop up on her computer screen, his crazy intense eyes seemed to stare straight into her soul.
Digger or Slade, it didn’t matter which name she used for the sexy beast of a man. The fact was they’d never met and probably never would. And right now, her focus needed to be on her mission and nothing—or no one—else.
Period.
Shadow brushed the distracting thoughts aside just as the door to the diner was pulled open. Her lungs quickly filled with a breath of relief when she realized the man she’d been waiting for had finally arrived.
Tall and muscular, the happily married former Navy SEAL looked even more formidable in person than he did from her computer screen. Having only ever seen him on a few video calls the two had previously shared, she took advantage of the opportunity to study him closely as he casually made his way toward her.
His hair was black with a generous amount of silver strands mixed evenly within. Longer on the top and short on the sides, the salt-and-pepper locks matched the well-trimmed beard covering his chiseled jaw.
Dark, impressive tats lined the length of his arms, the permanently etched artwork adding to the silver fox’s wholestay-the-fuck-away-from-mevibe. Shadow’s focus, however, wasn’t on the muscles or the hair, but rather the set of jade eyes staring back at her.
“Thanks for coming.” She sent Baker Rawlins a flash of a smile as he slid into the empty bench seat across from her.
“Sounded important.” The former Navy SEAL settled himself against the cushion. The burgundy vinyl upholstery creaked beneath his solid form.
“I wouldn’t have called you if it wasn’t.” She held the tech genius’s tense gaze. “You want something to eat or drink? My treat.”
“Nah, I’m good. But thanks.”
A symphony of conversations between the other customers filled the small diner. Shadow not only welcomed the constant humming of noise but counted on it to drown out what she and Baker needed to discuss.
“Listen, Baker…I know we don’t know each other,” she began. “And I get that the whole face-to-face thing isn’t really your jam, but given the reason we’re here, I thought it was better to be safe than sorry.”
“Safe.” He huffed out a sardonic breath. “Darlin’, you and I both know that’s a bullshit word people use so they can sleep at night.”
The man wasn’t wrong. The world was filled with many forms of evil, and monsters were very, very real.
“Either way, I appreciate you agreeing to meet,” she told him sincerely.
“You’re just lucky I was still on the mainland when you called. Though I have to say, it took me by surprise. Given who your boss is and that you work for Tac-Ops, I would have thought they’d be your first line of defense.”
Guilt assaulted her as she once again thought about the team of badass operatives who often risked their lives regularly for people they didn’t even know. And the way they’d gone balls to the wall when it was their soulmates’ lives on the line.
Those were the jobs that stressed her out the most. Those were the missions that were often the most dangerous.
If there was one thing Shadow had learned from serving as the team’s overwatch, it was that the men of Tac-Ops would do anything—riskeverything—to protect the women they love. And this last time…
I wasn’t there to help them.
“The team’s had a lot on their plates lately,” she muttered low.
“Ah, yes. The recent rescue involving Bones’ fiancée. That was a close one, for sure. But thankfully, it all worked out in the end.”
Fiancée?
A jolt of hurt sliced through her before she could school her expression. “Bones and Evie are engaged?”
