Page 91 of Beta Team-The Saviors: Part One
I see the hole in his shirt right on his stomach, blood soaking the fabric. “That’s not a graze.”
“It is. I promise. It will hurt like a bitch, but I’m fine.” I give him a stern look, and he glances at me, giving me a small smile. I blow out a breath when I realize he’s telling the truth.
I turn around in the seat, and Jason’s huddled in the corner, hands shaking around the gun. I squeeze between the seats and rub my hand through his hair. “We’re okay. You can sit up now.”
He lifts glassy eyes at me and launches himself into my chest, making me grunt. “I was so fucking scared.”
I wrap my arms around him, holding his shaking body. “I know. I’m sorry you had to see that.” I reach between us and tip his chin up with my fingers. “We’re okay,” I repeat.
“I don’t like this,” he whispers, and I don’t have to ask what he means. He finally realizes what we get into all the time. This shootout and chase was just another day for us. Not for him. His bottom lip trembles, and it tears my fucking heart out. “I don’t want anything to happen to you guys.”
I want to promise that nothing will happen, but I refuse to lie to him. We know going out in the field every day, we can die. We know that when we sign up. Ari and Axel never tried to hide that fact. They were brutally honest with me when I started training. But Jason didn’t need to know that. “We’ll try our hardest, Baby. I’m just sorry you got caught in the middle. Are you okay?”
He goes to nod and then slowly shakes his head. Jason leans up and places his lips against mine. I lick the seam of his lips, letting him know that it’s okay. When I stroke my tongue against his, it’s softly. It’s not a sexual kiss. More like a I’m damn gladyou’re okay kiss. It feels good and warms my heart. He pulls back and settles his head against my chest, wrapping his arms around my waist tightly. I catch Tyler’s eyes in the rearview mirror, and he’s thinking the same thing as I am.
Jason’s always been on the list of people we would protect with our lives. We’ve gotten close to him from going to High Flyer. These past two weeks have shown me what we can all be.
A family.
30
TYLER
Iwas still riding that high of what just happened when we walked into the house. I let Gavin fuss over the small wound on my stomach. As soon as he applied antiseptic and covered it with a small bandage, I saw the tension leave his shoulders.
“I’m fine,” I assure him for the hundredth time as I settle on the couch to get comfortable. I pull Jason to sit beside me, and his body is still shaking. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I am now.” He snuggles into my side, and I wrap my arm around his shoulders to pull him closer. Jason suddenly stiffens and looks at Gavin. “Is this okay?”
Gavin snorts a laugh and kisses his forehead. “Yes, it’s fine. You don’t have to ask.”
Jason nods. “Is Ari on his way back?”
“Yeah,” Keon answers, walking into the living room. He sits on the other side of Jason and squeezes his thigh. “He’s taking the long way so he doesn’t lead them back here.”
“Who the fuck was that?” I ask. “CIA isn’t going to play games like that. Do you think it was the same person from Jason’s apartment?”
Gavin gets comfortable on my other side, propping his feet on the coffee table. “I don’t know. It was the same car, but this person was trying to hurt them. If the person wanted to hurt Ari at Jason’s apartment, wouldn’t they have hung out to catch him by surprise?”
“I agree,” Keon says. “He would have attacked them instead of leaving the note.”
“So there’s more than one person after you?” Jason asks. When we nod, he groans. “That’s great. Crazy stalkers and the CIA.”
“What if there were two people at the apartment that night? One who left the note, and the one Gavin chased in the alley?” I ask, finally voicing it out loud. Something didn’t feel right, and I think that’s it.
“Oh. That’s even fucking better,” Jason mutters.
I squeeze him tighter, trying to comfort him. “We need to be more careful when we go out. We also need to sweep for trackers. Any of our cars could have been tagged while we were out. There’s no other way that they could have found Ari.”
I hear the front door open and then Kira’s sweet voice filtering through the house. As soon as Ari steps foot into the living room, Jason scrambles from the couch, flinging himself into Ari’s arms. Ari pulls him close and buries his nose in Jason’s neck. “Are you okay, Sweet cheeks?”
“A little shaken but fine. I was worried about you and Kira.”
“I’m okay,” Kira says with a sweet smile and squeezes Jason’s arm. I can’t resist reaching up for her hand and tugging her into the spot Jason vacated.
Keon grabs her chin and places a sweet kiss on her lips. “Are you really okay, Mama?”
Kira shrugs. “Yeah. It was scary as hell, but I felt safe with Ari. He gave me a gun and everything.”
