Page 8 of Mine to Protect

“You meanyouwent into action.”

“We all did, but with my training, it came easier. Instantly. I took out the threats with the help of my team.”

“You put seven men in the hospital.”

I shrugged and turned to gaze at the clouds beneath us. “I took out the threat.”

“The report mentioned all seven men had multiple fractured bones. No bullet wounds, no lacerations.”

“I took out the threat,” I repeated.

“Without endangering civilians around you.”

Without looking to him, I nodded.

“And they demoted you because….”

“Excessive force,” I said through gritted teeth.

“The men said you were amazing to watch. That you were efficient and calm through the entire attack, which lasted less than three minutes.”

“I’m trained by the best to be the best. You know that.”

“They also said they had to drag you off one of the men. That you were seconds from snapping his neck.”

I turned, glaring at Peters. “He fucking stabbed me.”

He raised both hands in the air. “I get it, man. Don’t be pissed at me. Is close combat your only trigger?”

“You mean is getting stabbed my only trigger to want to snap a man’s neck?”

“I guess,” he said with an annoying smile. “Anything else I should be aware of on this assignment?”

“Nope.”

“We’re staying in the same cabin. What about sleeping?”

“Don’t wake me up or move around at night and we should be fine.”

“‘Should be’ doesn’t give me much to go on.”

At that, I smiled. The man could handle whatever I threw at him, and he knew it. “Damn, you’ll probably do it now to see if you can survive. You’re that much of a dumbass.”

Peters’s smile grew up his lean cheeks, making deep lines form along the edges of his eyes. “Challenge accepted, fucker.”

“Hell, don’t be pissed when I shoot your ass,” I said on a chuckle. A sliver of tension eased from my shoulders. Everything was on the table now. A bit of the relief came from being with someone who understood. “Now that you know I won’t go postal, give me the details of the case. Start with where in the hell we’re headed.”

The leather of his seat groaned as he leaned back and stretched his long, lean legs down the center aisle. “Estes Park, Colorado. We’ll stay there while we work the cases in Rocky Mountain National Park.”

Ah. So that was why he needed my state and federal jurisdiction. Interesting.

Clasping the warm paper cup between my hands, I leaned forward and focused on the white lid now dotted with splashes of coffee.

“Tell me everything.”

3

Alta

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