Adrian's Eagles: Book Four (Life After War) (61 page)

Angela let her bandaged hand move out to gently brush the hair from his roughened cheek. A couple days stubble was still so sexy on him. “For both of us.”

“And what about our son? Am I allowed to openly be his dad?”

Angela didn’t need to read minds to know how important her answer was to these men. “Not yet.”

She felt his happiness dim and Angela leaned closer, hand still on his cheek. “Will you be able to live with all the times I’ll hurt you, Brady? This won’t be easy.”

Vanilla floated over him in a thick wave and Marc steeled his heart against it, needing to make this choice, without any more influence than feeling her against him was already producing. “I think so. I don’t like it, but I understand the camp …
Adrian
,” he amended with a bitter sneer. “They’re your priority, your duty, but hear me, Angie. Worries about how those sheep will react to the news won’t hold me back for long. That boy is me at that age and I can help him avoid our mistakes and have a happiness we’re missing.”

“I want that too, Marc. As quick as we can clean up our mess, you’ll have your son openly.”

Not satisfied, but unable to fight what she was offering, he shifted suddenly, making her fall against him. He was full of a new anger, this one bitter and he made her prove it all by rolling them against the seat and claiming her lips.

Caught off guard and still full of the wolf battle, Angela moaned lowly at the feel of him, letting her worries go. They were together now. The rest would fall in line like it was meant to.

Billy snapped on the radio without covering his satisfied smile. That conversation had just sealed her place with these men. It was a close copy of the one each of them had anytime they found a relationship they were serious about. If the other person couldn’t accept the structure, they wouldn’t see them again, and after getting to know her for the last month, Billy was sure she would have done the same. Adrian would be pleased.

5

Before the beaten-up blazer was in park, Kenn was out the door. Zack nodded toward the training tent and the Marine quickly moved that way. He would see that Adrian was okay before he did anything else.

Angela let Marc help her out, grunting at her cramping legs. She gave him a small smile. “I’ll be busy for a while. Catch you in the Mess later?”

“Yes. Will you have John look at that arm before you hit the rack?”

She grinned. “Yep.”

Marc ran his thumb along her cheek, thinking he had expected to be considering which direction to go when they hit camp, not trying to find the best way to tell his son that he and Angie were now a legal couple. “Thank you.”

Moving closer, Angela gave him what he needed first, suspecting this was one of the few times she would be able to.

Marc lit up when she leaned toward him, and he swept her against his chest for a quick, passionate kiss that had those around them staring in surprised longing. It was official now and word started spreading immediately.

Angela drew back slowly, fighting the urge to hurry as Kyle and the rest of the team got their things from the cargo area. “I’ll see you later, Brady.”

Marc pressed another fast kiss to her lips and turned away, not wanting her to see how jealous he already was. “Yes, you will.”

Angela moved to Kyle’s side and Marc headed for camp to check on their son. After that, he would find his team and get his report about what had been going on here while they were away.

It was rare for any complete team to be gone. One member almost always stayed behind so that they would know what had happened during their absence. When the mission team hit the lights of Safe Haven, the leaders went to get their updates.

Neil and Jeremy were the exceptions to this normal returning home pattern. They both thought the other would check in and it was a surprise for them to split up at the parking area and then meet again in front of Samantha’s tent.

Neil stared at his right-hand man for a long moment and Jeremy looked back evenly. After listening to Marc and Angie, their own needs had risen up to fill them with the urge to make a claim. Finally accepting that there was real competition for Sam, brought those happy flashes to an ugly halt.

“Neil.”

“Jeremy.”

Inside the tent, Sam froze.

“It seems we’re about to have a problem.”

Jeremy clenched his fists, tone only half joking. “Our first fight, how cute.”

Neil wasn’t about to keep playing these games. “I want her.”

“
Publicly
?” Jeremy questioned with a curl to his lips.

“Yes.”

“And what about Becky?”

Neil didn’t flinch. “That’s over. She knows.”

Jeremy looked at his team leader with pain-filled eyes. “So, that’s it. You’ve made your choice.”

The Trooper grimaced. “They made it for me tonight, the same as they did you. How could anyone listen to that and not hurt to be whole again?”

“Loneliness is not love,” the Eagle accused, already sure it didn’t matter anyway. They didn’t get to pick, she did.

“What about your little trysts with Cynthia?” Neil aimed, fired. “You spent last night in her tent. And, you think what you’re doing is better!”

Jeremy flushed. “That’s none of your business!”

“But, it is Sam’s,” Neil responded sharply. “You think she’ll put up with that?”

“No,
I
won’t
.”

They both turned to see Samantha step from her tent, face an alarming shade of red.

“And I won’t put up with this either.” She moved angrily into the shadows, walking by the lower level men guarding the tent area. “When you two get done deciding who my new owner is, come by the vet area and let me know. I’ll be waiting.” Her voice lowered. “With my gun.”

The two men exchanged rueful grins and Jeremy patted the vest he hadn’t taken off yet. “I’m covered.”

Neil snorted. “We forgot to add that in.”

“Yeah. I guess she’ll let us know?”

Neil shook his head. “Not before we do some begging.”

Jeremy raised a brow. “Want to do it together?”

Neil started to say no, it would be too awkward, and then shrugged. “Might as well. It can’t get much worse than this.”

Jeremy winced, spinning around to give the camp his back. “Really? ‘Cause Becky just saw us and I think that’s Cynthia moving my way from the showers.”

Neil tensed. “Can we go back to hunting wolves?”

6

“I’m telling you it was cut! We checked.”

“What was cut?”

The arguing guards hadn’t heard Kyle’s team arrive and there were guns out in the next breath.

“Stand down.” Kyle’s calm tone had them flushing, re-holstering.

“Sorry. We’re …”

“Jumpy.” The Mobster finished.

Kevin snarled in raw worry. “Someone’s trying to kill Adrian. Zack may not have found any proof, but he’s an ass!”

At those words, Kyle moved closer, ignoring the frowns from Zack and his team. The scowls grew when Angela stayed on his right. “Tell me.”

“The line we use to secure the vehicles when we move them off the road was
cut
. We always make sure that rope is sturdy, but it snapped as we were hauling and almost took Adrian over the edge! Would have if not for Ray. He pushed Adrian out of the way and got hit instead.”

Kyle filed the information, vaguely wondering if his denial of the gay man could now be reversed. He would have to talk to Adrian. They’d been hoping for something like this. “That it?”

Kevin evened out his tone, not sure why the high level man was taking the report from him when Zack was just feet away. “Camp’s fine. They don’t know.
Yet
.” He stressed the last word, shooting a quick glare at the truck driver.

“You’ve done fine. We’ll cover it.” Kyle turned to Daryl and Chris. “Put fresh men out and take up a post on the perimeter. Continuous rounds. I’ll send some relief as soon as I can.”

“We can’t figure out how someone got into that area. I know we’re green, but damn it, there are almost twenty of us there at any given time,” Kevin complained, frustrated. He let out an angry sigh. “I’m
gonna
go talk to people again. I’ll be around.”

And that’s why Adrian has you under watch
, Kyle thought. Kevin would be another determined shepherd to eventually swell the ranks of leadership.

“It’s
gonna
be a long night, boys,” Kyle’s voice was resigned. “Someone tell the cook to roll out the coffee and make it strong.”

Angela followed his tense form into the shadows. What was it about that statement that made her so uneasy?

Despite wanting almost desperately to see for herself that Adrian was okay, Angela stayed by Kyle as he finished rounds of the perimeter guards. He had the habit of talking to the men before the boss - to be sure he had both sides before offering advice to the blond - and she respected him for it. It made it easier to follow the Mobster when he walked by the training tent without a glance.

“If you can see the ground from your army’s point of view, you’re on top of things,” Kyle stated lowly, making her look over. “And he can’t do it himself. We have to be his eyes.”

Angela swept the unwelcoming darkness. “I’ll be listening, too.”

“Watch for the tones, the nervousness, and twitching hands. Adrian trusts us; we all have access to his tent. The traitor might be an Eagle.”

“Why not just ask her to look?” Lee’s voice was a low sneer of fear and anger. “If fact, why not ask her why she hasn’t already?”

Kyle let out an impatient sigh, noticing how Lee’s eyes kept going over her bandage, her scars. He might be one of Zack’s minions, but he didn’t like it that she’d been hurt either. “Why don’t you just get it over with instead of torturing yourself?”

Angela sensed what was coming and took a quick look around. “No one’s on us right now.” Her voice understood. “I’ve got the bullets if you’ve got the balls.”

It drew the same reaction from Zack’s teammate that it had from her. “I... I want to know if you can find my wife.” He hurried to add it had been
ok’d
. “Adrian said I could ask.”

“Yeah, a week ago, you coward,” Kyle accused lightly and Angela realized he and Lee had come to terms, weren’t really enemies anymore.

“I... She was busy.”

Angela grinned, stepping closer. ”I’ll have to touch you.”

Lee’s jaw twitched and he braced himself. “Okay.”

Angela snorted. “Damn, for Eagles, you guys really are squeamish, like this is PMS or something.”

“I’m not a girl, I don’t get that!” Lee retorted nervously. “Can you tell me or not?”

Angela’s eyes took on that smoky, rolling blue they all associated with her magic now. “Let’s find out.”

Lee moved closer slowly, full of dread. He was snapping at her in his anxiety, blaming her, but it was the words he thought he’d hear, and not loyalty to Zack and Kenn, that was causing it.

“And if I can tell you none of what you seek? Will it go back to the way it was?”

Angela’s demanding tone had Lee’s head snapping up. “You’re about to crush me and you worry for yourself!” He revealed his fear without meaning to. “Just do it.”

“There are prices to deals like this, Eagle. Even you must know that,” Angela shot back, seeing his anger was a shield. “You don’t get this service for free.”

Lee stiffened. “What do you want?”

“Protection.”

He waved an insulting hand. “You have a whole camp of men willing to die for that.”

“I want
you
.”

The words had a ring that Lee felt sink deep into his head and echo. “What?”

“You, on my side.” Angela darted a fast hand out to capture his wrist in a tight grip. “Even if I tell you what you fear the most.”

Lee tried to resist, but it was the thought of his own agony that stopped him. He’d give anything to know for sure. He gave a short nod, breath rushing out in hateful acceptance. “Just don’t you lie to me! I want… need the truth.”

Angela already had the Witch searching and she jerked suddenly, grip tightening.
 
Doors flew open and she began to speak.

“Omaha, after the War...”

“Her mom lives… lived there. She went for the holiday.”

“She went because you slapped her.” Angela’s voice was merciless. “She also filed for divorced when she left you.”

Caught in his evasion, Lee tensed for her to act like anyone would and was surprised at the words.

“She was guilty.”

He heard the question in her voice -
Do you want her still? -
and nodded. “More than my own life.”

“Lincoln,” Angela muttered, fighting to get an exact location. “She made it to Lincoln… shot! She was shot!”

Kyle waved the others back as she gave Lee what he needed and pulled him into her corner. “She’s on the Westside, where it’s flooding.”

Her eyes popped open and Lee found himself talking with the Witch directly.
“Bring back only your wife. The others she’s with will not be allowed inside Safe Haven for their crimes against each other.”