Page 5 of Commander

Tyler clenched his jaw, and his normally happy blue eyes grew hard. “I’ll get her out.”

The determination in his voice told me I wasn’t the only one who cared for Ameera. Solon agents were a family, a makeshift family of mercenaries, but a family nonetheless. However, Tyler and Ameera had a history, one that went into the realm beyond lovers but not quite a couple.

“What’s the second problem?”

“There’s an unknown third buyer. We’ve scoured the net but can’t find any information on them.”

“Keep looking. We can’t risk anyone but us getting to Ameera.”

Between this wedding and Ameera, I was at my limit of stress.

“So, are you ever going to tell your fiancé what you truly do for a living?”

Not if I could help it. How does one tell the President of the United States that his wife is part of a secret organization with no loyalty to any country, that aims to stop human trafficking across the world and will use any means—some that aren’t always legal—to get it done?

I folded my arms across my body. “Are you going to tell your family that you aren’t only the strictly by-the-books and too-pretty-for-his-own-good Southern politician?”

“Not the same, Tara, and you know it.”

“How is it not the same?” I asked defensively.

“I’m not the one marrying the President of the United States. Hell, I may never get married if you don’t stop sending me on do-or-die assignments.”

“You would have gotten bored without me. How else would you get to live out your fantasy of being a secret agent?”

Tyler grunted as he rubbed his shoulder on the spot scarred by a gunshot wound. “It isn’t a fantasy if I’m living it.”

“You won’t have to worry about that anymore after we get Ameera back. Then, I’ll no longer be the head honcho. You will.” I smiled.

“A job I got because you decided to get hitched. Some friend you are,” he joked, then all of a sudden his tone changed. “Seriously, Tara. Ashur can help you. He’ll want to help you if you tell him. He is former military and owns a technology company that could help us. You can trust him. He’ll stand by you. Plus, Ameera technically works for him, and he could head off any fallout from getting her back in the US.”

Trust. That was a loaded word. Trust meant I had faith Ashur would stand by me no matter what happened. Trust meant he would fight for me even when the lie was more believable than the truth. I trusted very few people to have my back, and Ashur wasn’t one of them.

He’d professed he loved me but hadn’t fought for me. He’d walked away, never questioning anything that was going on around him or why someone behaved the way they had.

“It’s better he doesn’t know. Plausible deniability and all that.”

“Yeah, right. You still haven’t gotten over what happened when the both of you were kids.”

“I was over that shit years ago,” I lied and then added, “An eighteen- and twenty-three-year-old aren’t kids.”

“I do believe you protest too much. Tara, you can trust him.”

“I wouldn’t marry a man I didn’t trust with my future. You should know this.”

“But what about your heart and your secrets? He needs someone to lean on as much as you do.”

“Whatever,” I mumbled, pushing down the need to deny the truth of Tyler’s words and deciding to change the subject. “My leave is only temporary, despite what I said to the group.”

I shifted, jostling the side table next to me and knocking a vase over.

I snatched it before it hit the floor and set it back on the table, which resulted in a lifted brow from Tyler.

“Okay, that wasn’t a subtle change of subject at all.” Tyler snorted. “There is no way possible for you to come back to the same role. You can’t go risking your life the way you’ve done in the past. Your marriage with Ashur will no doubt include children and happy little Secret Service agents following you around everywhere you go for the rest of your life. Better get those reflexes under control too. Most people aren’t trained the way we are.”

“You’re such an ass.”

“Tell me I’m wrong, and I’ll tell you that you’re delusional.”

I was saved from responding as a knock came from the door. Both Tyler and I looked toward my security lead, Casey Adler.

“Ms. Zain. Your vehicle is ready to take you for your final fitting.”

“And the circus recommences,” Tyler said and offered me his arm as I exited my DC law office for the last time.

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