Wren narrowed her eyes. "You’re leaving tomorrow, aren’t you?" she asked. Ghost winced, and Wren had her answer. Buck laughed, and she couldn’t help but start laughing too, because honestly, what else could she do?
Buck looked relieved, and somehow the tension broke. A few minutes later, the meeting dissolved into smaller conversations while Reaper and Leah argued over logistics. Ghost wandered off to bother prospects—probably to traumatize them. But Wren remained beside Buck.
The room finally quieted around them, and for the first time all day, Buck tugged her against his body. "You mad?" Buck asked her.
"Very,” she breathed.
"That’s fair,” Buck said. She smiled despite herself as Buck brushed a loose curl behind her ear. The simple gesture melted something inside her. "You know I have to help." The confession came softly.
Wren looked up at him. "I know." The problem was that she understood him and Ghost. She understood why neither man could look away from other people while they were suffering, and that made it impossible to stay angry at either of them.
Buck's expression softened. "You should stay here." Wren blinked up at him and laughed, causing Buck to frown. "Why are you laughing?" he asked.
"You really think I'm staying behind?" she asked. Understanding dawned on his handsome face slowly.
Buck sighed. "Oh no."
"Oh yes,” she countered.
His eyes closed briefly. "Wren."
"You don’t get to just leave me behind, Buck,” she said.
"You don't know what—" he started.
"I mapped the trafficking routes,” she reminded, not letting him finish what he was about to say to her. She was done being protected like fragile glass. She'd survived kidnapping, escaped a cage, and helped expose a trafficking network. She wasn't about to sit quietly now while others remained trapped. Buck rubbed a hand down his face and then muttered the exact words she wanted to hear. "Ghost is gonna love this." A wicked smile spread across Wren's face because Ghost absolutely was, and if Buck thought he had trouble protecting one stubborn person before, he was about to discover what happened when all three of them started making reckless decisions together.
Buck
Buck was in trouble—real trouble. Not the getting-shot-at kind, and not the trafficking-ring kind. It wasn’t even the burning-building kind. Wren Callahan had decided she was coming along on their rescue mission, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. The realization hit him sometime around midnight while he sat alone in the war room staring at maps.
The clubhouse had finally quieted, and most of the Kings were asleep. Ghost was supposed to be asleep, but instead, the bastard limped into the room carrying two beers. "You look miserable."
Buck accepted the bottle. "Thanks."
"You're welcome,” Ghost breathed. Ghost dropped into the chair beside him and studied the maps spread across the table. They had the location of the second facility, the new routes, and the names Eli had given them. It was enough information to destroy half the operation, but not enough to stop it completely—not yet.
Buck rubbed his tired eyes. "Wren's coming with us,” he said.
Ghost grinned immediately. "Yeah."
Buck glared at him. “Asshole.”
“Why am I an asshole?” Ghost asked.
"You're happy about this, aren’t you?” Buck asked.
"Absolutely,” Ghost said. Buck wanted to throw something at him, but decided against it since his arm was still in a sling. Ghost leaned back in the chair carefully to protect his injured shoulder.
"Think about it,” Ghost started.
"I don’t want to,” Buck insisted.
Ghost ignored him and continued. "She escaped a trafficking warehouse." Buck sighed, knowing that he was going to have to listen to Ghost’s entire speech. "She outsmarted armed guards."
"I know,” Buck drawled.
"She found an exit at the warehouse,” Ghost continued.
