Page 71 of Holiday Hostage
“I remember that.” Reed handed me a potholder and steadied the cups as I poured the hot liquid into each one.
I topped them off with the dehydrated marshmallows I’d found when I went looking for the powdered milk and carried my cup to the living room.
They all waited for me to settle into the corner of the couch with my feet drawn up. “What happened?”
Tarron tugged the large flannel throw off the chair where I’d left it this morning and tucked it around my legs.
He knew I always got cold in the afternoons, especially when we sat in the living room.
Even though we’d raided all the closets and found countless pairs of sweatpants that we all wore, I couldn’t shake the afternoon shivers that hit every single day.
Reed settled in the chair across from me, Tarron at my feet. He ran a hand up and down the back of my calf and tested his hot chocolate. His eyebrows rose. “That’s not bad.”
“Not as good as the hot chocolate down the street from my apartment, but it’ll do.” I tried not to grimace at the bitter notes that lingered on the back of my tongue from the powdered milk.
“You’ll be back there before you know it,” Mav spoke up from my left.
My heart lurched at the definitiveyouinstead ofwe. Giving them up wasn’t going to be easy.
Tarron’s fingers tightened on my calf, kneading the muscle and working toward my feet.
With a questioning look, he drew my foot into his lap and began massaging the sole. “Maverick took the lead with that mission.”
“As usual.” Reed butted in with a grin.
“We thought the girl would be hiding.” Maverick’s proud smile inched free. “But like you, she had a fierce spirit and refused to make it easy for her kidnappers.”
I held my breath as the story unfolded.
“Reed and I took control of the high ground, eliminating the threats and clearing the way for Mav.” Tarron pressed his thumb into the arch of my foot.
I grunted at the release of tense pressure, and he did it again, studying my face with every movement.
He did that a lot, watching for my reactions and taking them into consideration the next time he touched me.
“I made it into the bunker and told the girl I was there to save her. She laughed at me, told me that she’d been on the verge of saving herself, but thanks for the effort.” Maverick shook his head in a slow wag.
“What happened to her?” I winced when Tarron hit a ticklish spot near my toes.
Tarron cocked his head. “Last I heard, she was leading her own team in the Navy.”
“Seriously?” I eyed each of them. “How long ago was this?”
“Our first mission together.” Reed pointed at each of them. “That was the day we all started really trusting each other. We had no choice, and after that mission, we knew we could count on each other no matter what.”
I absorbed the information. They’d been saving people for years.
I was one more in a long and arduous career.
The fire snapped and popped.
I’d gotten used to the sound over the last week, even learning to prefer it over the hum of the central heat and air in my apartment.
How was I supposed to go back to my normal life after this?
Silence stretched with a warm headiness that saturated the air.
Tarron’s fingers worked their magic on my left foot, then moved to my right.
