Page 71 of Shadow

She was absolutely right. He let her stand and took her hand to stand with her. They found a group of friends, including Alley, sitting in the bar after their own scenes.

Alley was arguing with someone about the rules for something he didn’t understand, and Olivia pulled up an empty chair and jumped right in.

“Alley’s right. And some of the biggest players in the world back her up on that.”

Ripley leaned on the back of her chair and did his best to follow the conversation, but he was largely lost. He knew a lot of his military buddies played her kind of games, but he’d always been more of a poker guy. And even that was rare. Games always felt like a waste of brain space when keeping information about a mission or a target straight in his head was a matter of life and death.

But it was nice to hear her talk about the things she enjoyed and watch her in her element. He’d never really gotten to enjoy that aspect of a relationship with her, and he was looking forward to more of it.

He just hoped his past wouldn’t keep coming back to haunt them, but there was a genuine possibility that it would. At least for a while. It was up to Ripley to make sure she didn’t get hurt. There was no way he was going to let her go again, but he would do everything in his power to keep her safe.

Someone slipped an arm around his waist, and he looked down to find Carrie Mercer grinning up at him.

“Hey short stuff.”

“Hey Boomer,” she teased.

He laughed. “Fair enough. I’ll retire short stuff as a nickname. How are you tonight?”

She laid her head against his chest. “Really fucking amazing. It’s been a good night, and I can’t even tell you how much it means to have you here.”

“Oh my God,” Alley exclaimed. “That would be so hot.”

Ripley and Carrie jerked their heads toward her to find out what she was excited about.

Gage had just joined the table and whatever he said had the girls all in a tizzy.

“What are you planning, Gage?” Carrie asked.

“Ever since Ripley and Olivia’s little stunt out back last week, I’ve had the itch for a big group chase. I just suggested we buy a bunch of Nerf guns and have a war with the Doms against the subs.”

Ripley lifted an eyebrow. “That does sound fun, or hot as Alley put it. When are you thinking?”

“Saturday. We don’t have much of an agenda yet. I just wanted to do a big all-day affair and set up some tents out back and turn it into a sleepover. Olivia can run her Dungeons and Dragons game and we can set up some other fun group activities. It will be great.”

All Ripley cared about was the opportunity to chase Olivia with a Nerf gun. The possibilities were endless with a game like that.

“We’re in,” Olivia said, glancing up at him when he squeezed her shoulder.

Gage rubbed his hands together. “Excellent.”

He winked at Alley. “I know this isn’t the fancy pants event y’all have at Solitaire, but it will be fun.”

Alley laughed. “They do camping events at Solitaire. Samuel and Hunter basically brought a house to the last one I’m told. I didn’t get to go because of work. I was sad. But everyone made fun of those boys and their giant toys. Oh, and Dakota zip tied Jax’s tent shut. Lots of shenanigans.”

Ripley chuckled. He’d heard rumors about cattle heiress Dakota Hylander and Jackson Fischer. He’d have to call up his old military buddy and see if they were true.

The conversation moved back to something nerdy, and he looked at Carrie and nodded to the bar. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

She frowned but followed him to the barstools and climbed up on one.

“What’s going on?”

“Has Peter told you anything about what I’m dealing with?”

She nodded. “A little. Something about one of your old aliases being burned?”

“Yep. The trouble is, we’re not entirely sure who’s after me. Just that the chatter indicates an imminent threat. The alias in question was used on a couple of different operations. I wondered if you still had the pictures I sent you all those years ago from the Doll House? Something’s bugging me and I just want to see if my hunch is right.”

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