Page 22 of Flint's Battle

“Call me crazy, but I have a very sneaky suspicion you’ll just happen to be in my Jeep or at the coffee shop with me when I get the next call. So, you can deny you helped out. Again.” Emery moved in beside him, giving him a questionable side eye. “Seriously? We haven’t been here fifteen minutes, and you’ve already given them a play-by-play? I think that might be a new record.”

Flint smiled, snagging her hand and tugging her closer. “Very funny, and they already knew. Apparently, my CO called them in the middle of the night to discuss that possible joint training bullshit Milligan mentioned. So they’d all be onboard.”

Emery winced, glancing around at his teammates. “Great. Now I can ruin all of your careers.”

Quinn snorted. “Hardly. And Flint has a point. No one should go up against that kind of resistance, alone. You should have called in your tactical team.”

Emery didn’t even flinch at the hard edge to Quinn’s voice. “We didn’t know those assholes had body armor and AR-15s. Regardless, there were college kids inside.”

That’s all she said, but it spoke volumes. How she’d willingly go up against any odds if it meant she might save someone.

Quinn merely smiled. “Understood and respected. Do you have any additional information, yet?”

“I guess the whole, not talking about an on-going investigation is crap since you’ve all been apparently training me and know the details, already. But no. We don’t have the same resources as the larger cities, so ballistics, CSI, the autopsy on the dead guys… That’ll take longer. And I have no doubts ATF will get involved considering the sheer number of weapons we confiscated. Probably the DEA, too, because god knows you can’thave weapons without drugs being involved. Which means this entire investigation is going to turn into some kind of multi-agency jurisdictional crap shoot.”

Carter laughed. “Does that mean you’re not going to share with the others? Play nice in the sandbox?”

“I guess that depends on whether they start pissing in my sandbox.”

She smiled at Flint, and his heart stopped. Just stopped as if he’d been struck by lightning or hit with those paddles that are supposed to bring you back to life. “None of which matters, because I’ve been basically put on house arrest for twenty-four hours while my captain handles the press. Apparently, he’s afraid I might get caught in a lie or blurt out I had a Navy SEAL on my six the whole time.”

She gave Flint’s hand a squeeze then eased back. “Which brings me to why I ventured over. How long are you boys going to stand here, brooding, before you join us in the water?”

Quinn held up his hands. “I’m just waiting for Lane, Waylen, Raider and Kian to get here because my other teammates don’t like to play in the big waves.”

Carter flipped him the bird as Bowie gave Quinn a shove. “I’m still recovering from yesterday’s lesson with Mia. I know the woman seems all sweet, but she’s a drill sergeant out there on the waves. I think I tore a few things.”

Emery laughed. “She’s beyond amazing. And you’re lucky she’s teaching you. Bowie? What about you? I know you surf.”

“Of course, I do.” Bowie glared at Quinn. “And I’m not afraid of the big waves, jackass. I just prefer to scuba dive if given the choice.”

Quinn shook his head. “Forgive him. He got bitten by a shark as a teenager and doesn’t like it when he can’t see a threat coming, now.”

Emery arched a brow. “Really? You got bitten by a shark?”

“It wasn’t that bad, but…”

“You know the chances of getting bitten a second time are pretty damn slim, right?”

“Slim but not impossible.”

“Fine. It’ll be a girls only round until you big bad SEALs grow a set and get your asses in the water.”

She turned to leave when Flint snagged her hand, again, and pulled her against him — his other hand landing in her hair. He leaned in, giving her a soul-searing kiss. Sighing at how good she tasted. The sweet essence with a hint of caramel and coffee that eased some of the tension in his shoulders. That constant sensation that things were going to go off the rails at any moment.

He wasn’t sure how long they stood there, lips locked, before he finally released her — brushing his thumb across her mouth. He grinned at her wide eyes, and how her lips were still slightly parted as if she was waiting for him to kiss her, again. “That’s for luck.”

She coughed as she stumbled a couple steps back, looking at his buddies before grinning. She retreated a couple more paces, almost as if she didn’t trust herself not to launch into his arms, then arched a brow. “I don’t need luck.”

She waved her hand down the length of her body. “This is all experience and skill, baby.” Two more steps accompanied by a harsh rasp. As if she was having as much trouble as he was simply breathing. “You realize you just blew any chance at keeping us on the down low, right?”

He shrugged because he’d come full circle to where he wanted to shout it from the distant hills. Write their names in the sand inside a heart. “Is that a problem?”

“I just spent the past fifteen minutes over-sharing before giving you a perfect score. So not for me, it isn’t.”

“Then, carry on, detective.”

That got him a stunning smile. “Don’t keep me waiting too long, sailor.”

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