Page 77 of Remade

I side-eyed him.If I do fail, will you still be with me?—

Get that fucking thought outta your fucking head.

I swallowed. Welp. That sounded a lot like Crew.

“Were you gonna say somethin’?” Bo murmured.

I shook my head. Nope. Not a damn thing. “Just that I love you.” I threw that out there.

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he rested his forehead against my temple. “Use those nerves to stay alert. To be honest with you, I wouldn’t’ve sent you out there if I didn’t believe you could pull it off.”

I believed him. My hot-as-fuck boyfriend had turned into a fusser off the clock, and I rolled around in the pleasure of it on a daily basis. So I believed him. If he didn’t think I had what it took, he’d put a gag on the instructor and roar as the protective partner that I had to stay back.

“In two weeks, you’ll run up that mountain on the other side of those gates, and I’ll say something like, welcome home, Operator Watts.”

Something fluttered within me, and a rush of excitement gave me a much-needed boost of resolve. I was gonna fucking do this. But there was one thing I had to address. Something I’d been thinking about for a while.

“Can I use Quinn for work?” I asked hesitantly.

Understanding dawned quickly, and he nodded and hugged me to him. “’Course you can. I’ll tell Danny.”

I let out a breath. “Thanks. You think I’ll make a decent Quinn?”

He flashed a lopsided little grin and nudged up my chin. “You’ve been a Quinn since you were conceived, baby.”

I chuckled. I guessed he had a point.

“Have you thought about changing it for real?”

I shook my head. “Nah.” I just wanted a tribute or something—and to feel closer to my dad and, these days, uncles and aunts…and grandparents.

I had grandparents again.

“Quinn’s a fitting alias for you,” he said decidedly. “So is Beckett, but I don’t want fuckers making jokes about you being my kid.”

I cracked up and locked an arm around his neck. “Because that’s the only reason two men share a last name—they’re related?”

“Well, no.” He smirked and rubbed his nose against mine, and it was the funniest moment. It was just the two of us in ourlittle bubble, and we didn’t say anything else on the matter. But we locked eyes, we kissed, and we came to a silent agreement. Maybe it was too soon to talk about this shit now, not the best timing either, but we knew very well there were other reasons for people to share a name.

I smiled and kissed him again. “I’mma go become an operator.”

“Damn right. I’ll be waiting.”

One more kiss. “I love you, beast.”

“I love you too, pup.”

Less than ten minutes later, I was twenty feet and one world away from the moment I’d shared with Bo. At the center of the courtyard, our instructors reminded me more of mean old Army Drills, and they were barking warnings at us. We also went through the inspection of our inventory. Not a whole lot fit into a regular backpack, and yet the contents would keep us alive for the next two weeks. Stuff like emergency meal bars—five of them, 800 calories a pop—multitool, waterproof map, compass, two knives, a hatchet… After the texts from my family, I was very focused on securing my daily requirement of water. I had my hydration pack that held two liters, and then a canteen. Purification tablets, a filter system?—

“Recruit Kelley, is something funny, or is your face stuck that way?” Riggs demanded.

Tanner wiped the smirk off his face and seemingly automatically stood at attention. “No, sir! Just ready to prove myself, sir! And may I add, you look particularly sexy this morning, sir?”

I coughed and turned away for a sec. Jesus Christ, that guy was fearless! Two weeks in the jungle would be a walk in the park for him. ’Cause Operator Riggs was one of the strictest instructors we’d had, and I wasn’t sure I’d seen him smile even once.

“Shut the fuck up, Tanner,” Coach snapped. Riggs was just a stone-faced picture of constant disapproval. “Does anyone else have any personal belongings? In that case, give them to Operator Payne right fucking now.”

Danny took a step forward. “That includes anything engraved, jewelry, wallets, phones, pictures, and keepsakes!”

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