His pure gaze tries to assure me, but every dark place of my past tells me I have to.
A large lump reemerges in my throat, and I choke it down.
His stubbled cheek brushes against my temple, and I want to let my head fall to the center of his chest, just like the night he held me in his bathroom. Safe and warm, like nothing can touch me there.
He sways us as I battle with the painful truth. I don’t want to hide from him. The problem is he doesn’t understand what he’s promising.
______
“Stay low. Don’t move.”
I peek my head around the side of the couch. Cole squats beside me, holding his fully loaded Nerf gun.
“Listen, these fools don’t know what you do, but to Teddy, this is war,” Cole whispers.
“I already told you, I don’t lose battles.” The corners of my mouth creep upward.
After the avalanche of emotions this morning, it feels damn good to be in my element again.
That perfect grin appears, and I study it, probably a little too long, thoughts I’ve never had before skipping through my mind.
Explore.Nope.
Back to work.
“Ok. I’ll cover you.” I peek around the couch again. “You check the hallway and see if it’s clear. We’re getting to the flag first.”
“You’ll cover me?” His tone is full of doubt.
“Matthews, I’m sure as hell not letting you cover me unless we’re fighting with footballs.”
He laughs. “What if they hit me?”
“Pack the wound, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
He raises an eyebrow. “What happened to no man left behind?”
“Yeah, that wasn’t part of Tracker’s training. We go for the rescue, and right now, we’ve got a flag to steal from these punks.”
“Fine, but I’m only sacrificing myself because I want bragging rights next year.” Cole ducks out from behind the couch, moving along the wall to check that hallway.
I keep my eyes moving and ears open. There’s nothing but silence. Those little boys are somewhere.
He waves his hand, giving me the all-clear. I move to join him, watching my back as I go. We press into the wall, guns raised.
I point to the kitchen, and he nods.
He goes first.
POP! POP! POP!
“Move!” I yell, following close and shoving him toward the overhang of the island. We duck underneath.
I give it a second before I take a risk and spot Garrett and Shane.
POP. POP.
I nail them both in the back as they try to escape.
