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My teammate, Oliver Lucas, was behind the wheel. He looked back at me and grinned. “Number nine, huh? Really? You’re a solid ten in my book, man.” I shook my head at his echo of my bad joke from earlier. “Thanks, brother.”
“Mason,” Mya answered without looking my way. “He’s joining us.” Oliver braked hard at the mention of the Marine, and Mya jerked forward. On instinct, I shot my arm out to stop her from going forward since she was unbuckled. “Fuck. Sorry. There was a squirrel,” Oliver piped up before driving again. “Yeah, a squirrel in the middle of the streets of D.C. that you spotted but I didn’t see,” Gwen said with a light laugh, her British accent rolling through her words. “Absolutely.” “I happen to have great eyesight. And what? There are squirrels in D.C.”
leads on it, and—” “Slow down there, buttercup,” Oliver commented. “What-in-the-what are you talking about? This was supposed to be a mission with your Marine crew and we’re your backup plan?” The man sounded offended. Maybe I was, too.
Human trafficking was something I so desperately wanted to will away from existence in the world. I’d Jedi mindfuck it gone in a heartbeat if I could. Use my first genie wish on it. Second wish? Bring my parents back to life. Third (but like really not that low on the list)—have my mystery girl never have ditched me that morning.
Wyatt snorted. “I swear if anything happens to you . . .” Gwen lifted her wrist and shook her charm bracelet. “The tracker trident charm you cleverly planted is right here. And come on, they’ve got my back. Worst case, Carter can just fork a guy to death if we get in trouble.” Her lips teased into a slight smile.
“And I’d like to return you home safely to your father.” Carter’s sharp tone seemed to catch Gwen off guard, but she schooled her expression quickly as he continued his mini lecture. “Let’s not have you wind up becoming one of the missing girls.” “I appreciate the concern, but I have a bag full of toys that’ll help us.” A nervous laugh fell from Gwen’s lips. “That sounded kinky.”
Gwen said. “I’ve never seen the judges on camera in previous seasons, but my guess is there are people behind the scenes making these decisions. And what if—” “One of the mystery judges is our bad guy,” Oliver finished for her. Yup, shit just got even creepier. Human trafficking? Fuck that. And serial stalker-murdery types? Fucking fuck them, too.
Carter focused on Gwen, and there was no mistaking the grit to his tone when he snapped out, “I’m sure as hell not sharing a bed with you.” Gwen peered at him, a comical look crossing her face. “I’m struggling to believe a man like you is afraid of my dad.” “I could be your dad,” Carter bit back. “Aw . . .” Gwen ran her nail down the buttons of Carter’s dress shirt. “Daddy.” “You walked right into that one, man.” Oliver slapped Carter’s back, and Carter tossed him an if-looks-could-kill glare that even had a shiver flying up my spine.
“Pretty sure we can’t bring a rifle in with us anyway,” I stated the obvious. “Plus,” Oliver said with a shit-eating grin, “there’s always utensils.” “Seriously? Do you want him to throw you from the plane?” Mya jerked a thumb Carter’s way. “Or, maybe if I’m a good girl, Carter will let me throw you out.” “Buttercup, you wouldn’t know how to be a good girl if your life depended on it,” Oliver murmured as if the rest of us weren’t even there, causing Mya’s cheeks to heat as he stared at her.
Carter angled his head and replied in a flat voice, “I’m going to need a much bigger leaf.”
Gray was looking to grow his family, and I’d made a promise to his wife, even his cute dog, Lucky, that I’d ensure he always made it home. No matter what. Hell, a few months ago, we even shook on it when Gray wasn’t in the room. Well, Lucky and I did. He’d been snuggled in the crook of my arm when I took his paw and we’d made a deal that I’d look after his “dad.”
“You know what vintage means?” Jack tipped his head ever so slightly, never losing eye contact with him. “It means I’m from the generation of ‘fuck around and find out.’”
“We don’t have all day,” Carter grumbled as he swiftly stepped up behind Mya, grabbed hold of her, and took her over that same edge before she knew what hit her. “Guess he has her.” Oliver laughed. “And he’s probably the only guy she won’t smack for that.” He shrugged, tossed our backpack over, then followed it into the water.
I laughed. “If you call those little scraps of fabric barely concealing anything ‘something on.’” Gray lifted his left hand, and my attention landed on his message: his wedding band. “I didn’t notice.” “Right, that wedding band come with special superpowers, making other women invisible?” Gray shrugged. “You’ll understand when you’re a newlywed.”
I tossed the bottle back into the bag with our other supplies, because yeah, maybe I just killed a guy, but fuck littering.
“The thing is,” I said with a sigh, my shoulders falling as if weighted down by my realization, “I think I might be the one who needs her.”
“You just fit in so well with my team, I mean. Your humor. Bad jokes and all.” I winked, trying to play it cool, even though I was fucked when it came to this woman and how she so quickly owned my heart. “Bad jokes, huh?” She chuckled.
“You didn’t run. You were speed walking like the elderly at the mall. Very different.” I had to feel my lips to believe there was really a smile there. But yup, he’d cracked me. Wide-freaking-open since the moment we’d met, if I was being totally honest. And it was time for honesty after eleven years of hiding.
“Consider me a freelance do-gooder. I’ll go whichever way the wind blows,” Gwen said with a smile. “And right now, it’s blowing in Pennsylvania, because I need some space between myself and my clingy ex.” “Oh no, I liked that guy,” Gray deadpanned, his attempt to joke failing, but it was still kind of funny to see him try. “Things didn’t last long with him.”
She kissed me before whispering, “You’re exactly the man I’ve always wanted, Jack.” With emotion in both her voice and her eyes, she added in a tender tone, “And I plan to give you the life you’ve always wanted, too.”
