Page 95 of The Team

“I do. He’s on my team. And if you ever decide to give Sid his own team, Yin’s my new number two.”

Because letting King know just how much Rhett trusted him didn’t hurt.

“And Zihao?” Rhett whispered. “What was he like when shit hit the fan back there?”

King smirked. “He was... impressive. As soon as we heard Frankston say Yuan’s name, that he ordered that strike on Yin, Zihao went off. Now that other general and commander, or whatever he was, might outrank Zihao, but he was calling the shots, and they didn’tdareargue. He might be small, but fuck,” he whispered, shaking his head. “He was frightening. Glad he’s on our side.”

Rhett snorted. He felt the same about Yin. Rhett had no misconceptions about Yin’s capabilities. Or Chen’s, for that matter.

“I don’t even speak Mandarin,” King added quietly. “But even I understood some of it.”

Rhett chuckled. “I’m glad Jay knows a bit. It helps to have inside information. Especially when they didn’t know he knew what they were saying.”

“I should learn it,” King mused, his smile tired. “How is Jun-mei, by the way? Has Lin seen to her yet?”

Rhett’s brows furrowed. “He was just going to check her over when I came up to see you. Physically? She appeared uninjured. She could walk, but she’s exhausted. Probably hasn’t slept in days.”

King nodded slowly. “Yunho said he can have paperwork done. A passport.” He shrugged. “I don’t want to know how.” Then he shook his head and whispered, “He has all the information on Frankston and Wong. And I’m pretty sure he accessed the Chinese military satellitesystem and probably their entire military network. He has it all. I don’t know how. I don’t want to know. But as soon as they shared satellite images, he went quiet, and when I spoke to him afterward, he said he had everything we’d need on the whole thing. Names, dates, photographs, you name it.”

Rhett chuckled. “You don’t want to know.”

He shook his head and sighed. “I absolutely do not. Not a word. Plausible deniability. Didn’t you say that before?”

Rhett smirked. “Sorry. Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

King smiled and stretched his bad leg out, wincing as he did.

“You need to rest,” Rhett said.

“So do you.”

Rhett stood up. “No, what I need is two weeks off.”

King smiled as he closed his eyes. “Sorry. Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Rhett scoffed out a laugh. “Plausible deniability, my ass.”

Jay madehis way to the back of the darkened cabin, seeing Yin and Jun-mei in the last two seats. She still had the blanket around her, still clinging to Yin, still teary.

He put his med kit down in front of Yin’s feet and crouched down so he didn’t seem to be talking down at her, wasn’t intimidating. “Hey,” he whispered, giving Jun-mei his best I-mean-no-harm smile. “My name’s Jay,” he said in Mandarin.

Yin offered Jay a grateful smile. “She speaks English. She learned very fast.”

“Oh, thank god,” Jay said, aiming his high-wattage smile at Jun-mei. “Because my Mandarin is not great.”

She smiled but glanced nervously at Yin before speaking. “Hello.”

“We’re really glad you’re here,” Jay said. Then he nodded toward Yin. “Especially this guy.”

Jun-mei blushed and looked down at her lap. “I am, also.” Then she looked up at Yin. “Especially this guy.”

Jay couldn’t help but smile. “I’m the medic, and I just want to check that you’re okay while everyone’s asleep. Is that okay with you?”

Again, she looked at Yin, clearly fucking scared. Yin gave her an encouraging nod. “It’s okay. He knows. He understands.”

She got teary again and nodded, her chin wobbling.

“Oh, sweetie,” Jay whispered. “You’re safe with me. With all of us. Okay?”

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