Page 11 of Ricochet

Brock laughed. “But not always the quietest.”

Colin chuckled. He couldn’t deny either.

“But you have an innate quality, and that is the ability to naturally lead among leaders.”

That was something Colin had noticed about himself but not a characteristic worth boasting about. “I get what you’re saying.”

“Do you?” Jared asked.

Hewent back into that container when all hope seemed lost. They might’ve let the last of the survivors die for not giving a hopeless situation a lost-cause last check. “It wasn’t only me who wanted to check bodies for pulses. We had no idea there’d be anyone standing.”

Brock and Jared stared but didn’t add to the conversation.

“I was closest,” Colin finally added. “Look, if there are any questionsbefore debrief, I’ll clear them up. But I wasn’t some hero of the job.”

“Leadership is action. Not a position,” Brock said.

“Makes sense.”

Brock wasn’t always in the field with them, having to coordinate in the war room and oversee more than one op at a time, but he knew when and how to get his hands dirty. Delta never questioned that.

“I’d like to offer you an invitation.” Jared leaned forward.“Promotions are things that assholes like to say they’ve got, and you’re not an asshole, and you don’t have anything.”

Colin’s blood rushed. Anticipation of whatever Boss Man might say suddenly made him more alive than a cup of coffee ever could. “All right.”

“More like I’m inviting you to own what you’re already doing.”

“Leading,” Brock added.

Colin’s eyebrows arched. “How so?”

“We wantDelta’s second in command to be clearly established.” Brock tilted his head. “And you were born for this.”

A sudden chill brought Colin’s excitement to a stop. Why had his father texted him just before this? Had he had any influence on this decision? If so, Colin didn’t want second in command. He could do it. Hell, he already did! But, there was no way that he’d take any title oralmostpromotionif anything but his Delta work had earned it. “What does that mean?”

“What?” Jared asked.

“Born for this?” Colin followed up.

Brock’s forehead tightened. “Don’t read into it.”

“Your father had nothing to do with this conversation,” Jared added, reading Colin’s mind.

He wouldn’t dare second-guess Boss Man, and even if the slightest shred of doubt remained, he nodded. “I was born to do this.No matter who or what my parents are.”

Having diplomat parents who happened to be spies was very cool. But not many people knew the badass spy part, and the diplomat part came with its own headache that he’d been sensitive to, starting back in elementary school, when his father had been vetted via the press and Congress. Whenever there was any kid who had different attention, there was alwaystrouble to follow. Colin handled it well. Sophia, his sister, had a harder time, and from that time forward, he’d been sensitive to how his peers perceived successes.

“We know,” Brock said.

“They have nothing to do with it,” Jared reaffirmed. “Now, what do you say? Want to officially try out the number-two hat? Or are you going to make me use one of the assholes you just met?”

“Wait, who?”Colin had missed something.

Jared batted away the question, and Brock said, “He’s talking about the other team. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not because I’m all over second in command.” Colin stood up, shaking hands with Jared then Brock. “Man, such an honor.”

“Keep your head up and your standards higher.” Jared pushed out of his chair. “Focus on the job. That’s the only way you’ll keep everyonecoming home alive.”

Coming home alive.He’d known what he was doing before, how important and risky their jobs were, but for the first time, his Delta teammates had to officially trust his decisions. “Nothing else comes first.”

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