She waved her hand. “Semantics.”
“No, it’s not, lady, and you know it.”
She paused and looked up at him, her features relaxing. Six-feet-two inches of African man, descended from Zulu warriors. American born and bred, Ndhlovu had taken his callsign from his cultural heritage as was the Shadowguard’s way. Always animal, always meaningful. They had been paired for a long time. She’d never been able to pronounce his name and simply called him O-voo.
After Eva, she had given him a hard time, stayed guarded, until he simply wore her down with his special brand of wisdom and honor that was as big as his heart. She’d learned trust again, but with a bitter edge she couldn’t seem to let go of.
She cupped his face. “You’re risking everything for me, my elephant.” Her voice hitched. “I can hardly bear it. If you or Bagh get caught…” She dropped her hand. “Where is he?”
“Right behind you, beautiful,” Bagh whispered in her ear.
She turned around and smacked at him, but he was already dancing away. “Damn you.” Bagh, Nepalese for Bengal Tiger, hadn’t changed one bit. He was descended from the Gurkha, lethal warriors who never quit. He still had that charming shaggy black hair, dangerous smile, those sharp, compelling features, and that muscular, rangy body he commanded with utmost power. Those eyes of his were deep, almost black, rimmed with kohl. They flowed over her like he hadn’t forgotten one curve or strand of hair but wanted to look anyway.
She didn’t dismiss him. She would never dishonor him like that, but her look was pure fire. Her heart was taken, and he would just have to deal with it.
He chuckled. “The big man was all boohooing about you. I told him you were fine. Aren’t you?” His defiant, challenging eyes shifted to O-voo.
“You all felt it. Didn’t you?”
“A shift in the fucking cosmos. Man, it rattled my bones. What the hell happened?” Bagh said, and she could see the truth on O-voo’s face.
“I don’t know, but something isn’t right.” She pushed a button on her belt, and all the equipment started to rise from the floor.
“That is still so cool,” Bagh said, pulling an apple out of somewhere and crunching into it. “Don’t worry. Your secret bat cave is still hidden.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I had to make sure you got the message. Command is sending new Reavers after you,” O-voo said solemnly.
She stiffened. “Who?”
“Komodo and Krait.”
“That’s a formidable duo.”
O-voo's expression darkened. "You understand what this means, right? Komodo doesn't hunt people. He waits for them to make a mistake, then he takes them. And Krait..." He shook his head. "She's never failed an interrogation. Never failed a kill order."
"Komodo's the one who tracked Fenrir when he went dark," Bagh added quietly, his usual humor gone. "His own partner. Didn't hesitate. That kind of cold precision, combined with Krait's psychological warfare? They're not just coming to arrest you, Lechuza."
"They're coming to break you first, then decide if you're worth keeping alive," O-voo finished grimly. "Komodo will plan the perfect trap, and Krait will get inside your head until you don't know which way is up."
“They’re not going to matter. They have to catch me first, and I have you guys to back me up.”
Bagh finished off his apple and tossed the core into a trash can across the room. “Say the word, sweetheart. My knives are always sharp.”
“I don’t want to hurt anyone, Bagh. I hope it doesn’t come to that. But I didn’t commit any of the crimes for which I’m being accused.”
“We know that.”
She nodded. “I have to clear my name. You understand that or you wouldn’t be risking your lives, your freedom, or—" She rubbed at her chest, just above her heart, a phantom ache spiking, unable to shake the feeling that there was way more than her honor at stake. She shook it off.
“That’s not all,” O-voo said.
“What?”
“They’re teaming up with the SEALs.”
Her stomach dropped. “What team?”
