Page 8 of Deep Cover

“Are you finished?” He cocked a brow at his teammate.

“Not remotely.” Rorke grinned.

He was still working on a comeback when Cannon walked in, all business, cutting through the noise with his presence. “We’ve got a suit coming in.”

Monk was pulling ingredients for sandwiches out of the fridge and tossing them on the counter. “Suit?”

Cannon grabbed the loaf of fresh bread and a knife from the block to slice it. “Townie’s picking her up. She’s coming to talk to the girls.”

Stina’s back snapped straight. “We are not girls. We’re in our twenties. Not girls.”

“We’re women.” Jolie looked at Monk, flushing to her hairline when he waggled his brows at her.

“To me you’re girls.” Cannon was completely unbothered as he grabbed the meat and cheese and began building a sandwich. Before Stina could protest, he said, “Don’t suggest sensitivity training again. This is as good as it gets. Take it or leave.”

“You mean leave it,” Stina said.

“No.” Cannon sliced off two fat chunks of bread. “I mean leave.”

It had been a running joke around base that Cannon disliked having the women here. They were Blackout—dead to the world, and rules were no girlfriends or wives, no families. Though a couple other Blackout teams had twisted the rules to suit them, Cannon claimed he wasn’t on board with the change because Jolie and Stina were here under their protection.

“Sir.” Monk issued a choked laugh.

“With all due respect—” Rome drifted to stand behind Stina’s chair, guarding the woman he loved.

“God.” Cannon tossed the knife down on the table with a clatter. “They make one batch of brownies and you all trip over yourselves like it’s a five-star bakery. Brownies from a box. What the hell is happening to this team?”

Rivers let the noise wash over him, glad the teasing shifted from him to the others. Suddenly, he realized that six months ago this had been a brotherhood. Adding the ladies made it feel closer to a family. As close to one as any of them had in years.

In a way it hadn’t in years, it smacked him hard. He’d left behind his entire life. A family with a different set of faces. Mom in the kitchen, always burning the garlic bread and swearing she wouldn’t do it again. Dad, laughing over it. Two brothers who used to fight Rivers for the last food in the pan.

A host of aunts and uncles and cousins, filling up every seat in the house. Grandparents who were probably gone by now. He could look it up if he wanted, but he couldn’t bear to.

This was the deal he took the day he signed on to Blackout Sierra.

Go dark.

Stay dark.

No going back.

He thought he understood what dark would end up costing him. Now he did. It wasn’t just the family behind him. It was the one he’d wanted ahead of him too.

As recently as last night he’d dreamed about a house, a yard and kids…with Ryss. He’d made his choice, if anyone could call what he did a choice. A choice implied there had been another option worth taking, and there wasn’t.

He had to disappear to save her. To save all of the people he loved.

This was the closest thing to a family he would ever get, a team morphing from a brotherhood into something with roots.

He watched Rome settle his hand on the small of Stina’s back, watched Monk lean closer to Jolie like gravity pulled him there, and the sight hit him somewhere between everything he’d lost…and everything he still had.

* * * * *

As the car door opened, Caryssa turned her head and the hood trembled as it was blasted by wind. Her escort gripped her arm and guided her out, and she wobbled for a moment, disoriented.

Several times during the journey she considered taking off the hood, but a sixth sense told her the moment she twitched a hand toward it, her escort would notice.

“This way.” It was the first words he’d spoken to her, but she didn’t recognize his gritty voice.