and ate crumpets. What kind of self-respecting alpha male shifter ate something called a crumpet? It was engrained in Duke to be defiant to him.
I n the end, they had each other’s backs.
As an operative always did. They’d been through a lot together. Not all of it was good. War had a way of making a man out of you. It also had a way of changing you—sometimes for the worse. It left you always on guard, always ready for an attack. And it made it hard to let that guard down. Vietnam had done a number on Duke. He’d thought that had been his worst war to date. Iraq wasn’t a ton better. An IED encased in an animal carcass, made to look like harmless road kill, had taken out several PSI-Ops. They’d been Duke’s friends and he’d been close when it happened.
War fucking sucked.
The plane hit turbulence and Duke held tighter to the arm rests.
Pla nes fucking sucked.
The only good he ’d seen come from war had been the bond he’d forged with other soldiers. There was a trust that ran too deep for words between them. A brotherhood born from violence. It’s part of why Boomer could nod off on the plane into a deep sleep but not do so anywhere else.
Trust.
Hard earned for sure.
Corbin pushed files across the table at Duke. “Want to take a look at these now?”
In order to see the m, Duke would have to stand. He didn’t want to move. In his mind, if he did, the damn plane could tip and they could all plummet into the ocean to their deaths.
Irrational.
He knew.
And he didn ’t give a shit.
Wolves weren ’t meant to fly.
“ I’m good.” He remained in place.
“ Pussy,” said Striker. “Captain, I think Duke is beggin’ for a mission that leaves us parachuting in. Face your fears. Live dangerously. Be a man. Okay, be a wolf-man.”
“ I will end you,” Duke warned, growling.
Striker ignored him and leaned , taking the files from Corbin. He leafed through them. “She’s a bonnie lass.”
Duke simply arched a brow in Striker ’s direction. You could take the man out of Scotland but you couldn’t get Scotland out of the man. At least Striker had stopped referring to Corbin as a Bloody-English-Bastard-Out-to-Steal-His-Country. Progress was found in the strangest of places.
Corbin laughed. “She is good looking, but don’t let that fool you. From all the information we’ve been able to recover, she’s a heavy hitter with this group from what we can tell.”
“ Funny, sounded to me like the analysts can’t tell shit,” Duke added through gritted teeth, still clutching the armrests. Dammit, the flight was going to take forever and the turbulence just got worse. “Encryption they can’t even fully crack. Nice. Maybe we should track down who leaked the intel and hire ’em on. If they’re capable of keeping our eggheads from deciphering the information, they must be good.”
Corbin didn ’t seem amused. He looked to Striker. “The target is linked to James somehow. We believe she knows where he is.”
“ Anything else?” asked Duke, intrigued but not enough to risk his life by moving.
Idiots need to sit down and stay in one place.
Nodding, Corbin continued on, “We were able to dig up an address for her in Paris.”
“ You think she’s dumb enough to still be there?” asked Striker. “I’m guessin’ she’s long gone. If she’s half the threat they’re makin’ her out to be, she’ll be halfway around the world before we land.”
He had a point. Duke nodded in agreement and started to stand, with the intent to go to the table. The plane hit a particularly rough bout of turbulence and shook. Duke pushed down into his seat, positive his movement caused the plane to rock. No one could tell him different.
Boomer kicked awake. “Huh? What?”
“ Corbin is briefing us,” Duke said, wanting to think about anything other than being thousands of feet in the air—above the ocean. “You’re not missing anything. He doesn’t know shit. And Intel got their asses handed to
I n the end, they had each other’s backs.
As an operative always did. They’d been through a lot together. Not all of it was good. War had a way of making a man out of you. It also had a way of changing you—sometimes for the worse. It left you always on guard, always ready for an attack. And it made it hard to let that guard down. Vietnam had done a number on Duke. He’d thought that had been his worst war to date. Iraq wasn’t a ton better. An IED encased in an animal carcass, made to look like harmless road kill, had taken out several PSI-Ops. They’d been Duke’s friends and he’d been close when it happened.
War fucking sucked.
The plane hit turbulence and Duke held tighter to the arm rests.
Pla nes fucking sucked.
The only good he ’d seen come from war had been the bond he’d forged with other soldiers. There was a trust that ran too deep for words between them. A brotherhood born from violence. It’s part of why Boomer could nod off on the plane into a deep sleep but not do so anywhere else.
Trust.
Hard earned for sure.
Corbin pushed files across the table at Duke. “Want to take a look at these now?”
In order to see the m, Duke would have to stand. He didn’t want to move. In his mind, if he did, the damn plane could tip and they could all plummet into the ocean to their deaths.
Irrational.
He knew.
And he didn ’t give a shit.
Wolves weren ’t meant to fly.
“ I’m good.” He remained in place.
“ Pussy,” said Striker. “Captain, I think Duke is beggin’ for a mission that leaves us parachuting in. Face your fears. Live dangerously. Be a man. Okay, be a wolf-man.”
“ I will end you,” Duke warned, growling.
Striker ignored him and leaned , taking the files from Corbin. He leafed through them. “She’s a bonnie lass.”
Duke simply arched a brow in Striker ’s direction. You could take the man out of Scotland but you couldn’t get Scotland out of the man. At least Striker had stopped referring to Corbin as a Bloody-English-Bastard-Out-to-Steal-His-Country. Progress was found in the strangest of places.
Corbin laughed. “She is good looking, but don’t let that fool you. From all the information we’ve been able to recover, she’s a heavy hitter with this group from what we can tell.”
“ Funny, sounded to me like the analysts can’t tell shit,” Duke added through gritted teeth, still clutching the armrests. Dammit, the flight was going to take forever and the turbulence just got worse. “Encryption they can’t even fully crack. Nice. Maybe we should track down who leaked the intel and hire ’em on. If they’re capable of keeping our eggheads from deciphering the information, they must be good.”
Corbin didn ’t seem amused. He looked to Striker. “The target is linked to James somehow. We believe she knows where he is.”
“ Anything else?” asked Duke, intrigued but not enough to risk his life by moving.
Idiots need to sit down and stay in one place.
Nodding, Corbin continued on, “We were able to dig up an address for her in Paris.”
“ You think she’s dumb enough to still be there?” asked Striker. “I’m guessin’ she’s long gone. If she’s half the threat they’re makin’ her out to be, she’ll be halfway around the world before we land.”
He had a point. Duke nodded in agreement and started to stand, with the intent to go to the table. The plane hit a particularly rough bout of turbulence and shook. Duke pushed down into his seat, positive his movement caused the plane to rock. No one could tell him different.
Boomer kicked awake. “Huh? What?”
“ Corbin is briefing us,” Duke said, wanting to think about anything other than being thousands of feet in the air—above the ocean. “You’re not missing anything. He doesn’t know shit. And Intel got their asses handed to
Similar Books
