Page 61 of Secret Mission

But those eyes quickly turn soft. “She’s coming, will be here in a bit. Allison, I thought you might like some girl time afterbeing stuck alone with your less than friendly kidnapper over there.”

“Girl time, check, I’m in. But this needs to be cleared up, he didn’t kidnap me.”

The tension’s instantly back in Truck’s body. “Forget girl time. Or time with anyone else after this meeting. She’s mine. I’m not sharing her.”

All heads swivel toward Truck.

“I mean,” he rolls his eyes. “After this meeting, I’m taking her tobed.”

A ring of heat erupts around my neck, and I duck behind the mug of tea.

A snicker comes from one of the other guys. Then another laughs.

And my face starts to burn.

Truck mutters, “To sleep, you assholes. We’re exhausted. You try?—”

“Playing Tarzan?” Justice drops into his seat, puts his mug of tea on the table and then hugs his stomach as he belly laughs. “That was some epic tactical work there.”

Truck wraps an arm around me and pulls me close, sloshing a little tea on my hand, but when he laughs against my temple, the only thing I can do is grin.

“I was impressed.”

Like everything he does impresses me, but the way he tore through that clearing knocking everyone flat was super-hero stuff.

My ribcage expands. And for the first time in a month, I take a full breath. The smile on my face spreads.

I’m safe. I’m… I don’t even know what I feel inside my ribs, but it’s warm and addictive.

“All right, you bunch of fools, let’s get down to business.” Beast reorganizes his file papers. “Allison, why don’t we start with why you’ve been avoiding your father.”

Ugh. Buzzkill.

I’m dreading sharing what little I know when the exterior door to the kitchen slams open.

Every man jumps to his feet, weapons fly out of holsters.

A scream thrusts out of me before I can cover my mouth.

“Get the trauma bag!” Truck lunges toward the crumpled, bleeding form on the floor, “God, Axle, what the hell happened to you?”

Chapter Nineteen

The ambulance makes a three-point turn in the driveway, lumbering as it pivots. Blue and red flashing lights bathe the farmhouse in bursts of color, slicing through the night.

A grim mood fills the truck.

“They’re taking good care of him.” Allison’s hand tightens on my shoulder, but all I can do is nod stiffly. “You guys saved him. That was incredible.”

“Yeah,” I rasp. “He’s lucky he made it to the farm. Stupid jackass, he should have just called for emergency services. But as much as we did for him, he’s not out of the woods. That is a bad gut wound.”

I didn’t want to see my brother ever again after Hope died. But seeing him with a knife sticking out of his gut, the color gone from his skin was…brutal.

Beast’s face is etched with worry below his baseball cap. Levering himself into the truck, he asks, “Where would your brother have gone after he left you guys?”

His door slams, and he throws the SUV into gear, gunning the engine.

I readjust myself in the passenger seat as the ambulance blazes a path down the driveway with us hot on their rear bumper.

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