Edge of Reason (EDGE Security Series Book 2) (25 page)

“Damn,” he whispered when he was done. “What happened?”

“You were shot in the head,” she said, sitting back on her heels, the words catching in her throat. She’d almost lost him. She stared at the river, blinking fast.

“Chère?” His voice cracked. “You saved me? Hey. Are you okay?” His hand reached for her arm. She moved away and didn’t answer, feeling like one touch would shatter her.

They were alone in the mud and rain. They’d rescued the girls, blown up a bridge, taken out dozens of the Boko Haram, and survived the river. And all she wanted to do was cry. She swallowed her emotions and scanned the far bank for tangos. They weren’t out of the woods yet. Now was not the time to lose it.
 

“Can you walk?” she asked, her throat still thick.
 

“Yeah,” Rhys said. He stood and swayed slightly.
 

She grabbed him and put his arm over her shoulder. “Did I mention you were shot in the head?”

His smile was crooked. “We did it, chère. We saved those girls.”

She managed a smile. “We did. And now it’s time to face the firing squad for it.”

“I was already checked out both in Niger and in Germany,” Cat said, as the doctor waved a pen light in her eyes.

“Knight wants me to examine you,” the gray-haired doctor said gruffly. “So that’s what I’m doing.”

Cat’s left arm ached and the stitches pulled and itched. She sat on an exam table in jeans and a tank top. She had purple bruises the size of saucers on her sternum and near her shoulder where the bullets had struck her. Thankfully, the bullets hadn’t cracked her ribs, just left her with a soreness that demanded she go have a hot bath as soon as possible.
 

“I’m going to recommend you stay overnight for observation,” he said.
 

“Sorry, Doc, but that’s not going to happen. My bed is way more comfortable than the cots here. Don’t worry, I know how to take care of myself.”

The doctor huffed. “Of course. But I still have to recommend it.”

The door to the room opened and Blackwell and Knight entered. Cat tried to stand up, but the doctor just pushed her back onto the exam table. “Don’t move.” He poked at the stitches in her upper arm, tsking.

Blackwell scowled at her. “You appropriated government vehicles and weapons for an unsanctioned mission.”
 

“Yes, sir.” She had wondered when the brass would find her. Commander Knight stood silent behind Blackwell, letting him take the lead. She knew they would dress her down, but would they kick her off the team as well?
 

“You misled government officials and military officers,” Blackwell continued, the edge in his voice growing sharper.

At that moment the door opened again. Rhys, a bandage on his forehead, entered followed by Jake, Sarah, Marc, Zach, and her brother.

“Excuse us, sir,” Rhys said, his voice demanding attention.

“What is it?” Blackwell barked.

“I was the other team leader for this mission. I’ll share whatever bullshit you’re going to dish out.”

Blackwell raised one eyebrow as he regarded Rhys.
 

Jake and Sarah moved to stand beside Rhys. The rest of the team crowded in.
 

Knight put his hands on his hips. “Enough, Blackwell. Time to ease off.”

Blackwell’s eyes glittered and his lips quirked in a small smile. “But I haven’t gotten to the good part yet, where I slam my fist on the table.”

Knight laughed and clapped Blackwell on the shoulder. “They don’t understand your humor, Derrick.” He gazed at the men and women around the room. “We have been told to sanction the people who conducted the unauthorized mission so no one else decides to go rogue.”

He stood there a moment, eyeing them all. “Consider yourselves sanctioned,” Knight said.
 

Rhys grinned. “And now can we go have a drink to celebrate?”

Knight nodded. “Twenty young girls are back with their families today because of what you did. I am proud to have you all working for me.” He smiled. “First round is on E.D.G.E.”

Everyone shuffled out of the room after that. Blackwell and Knight waited while the doctor helped Cat into a sling for her arm. She tried not to grimace at the doctor’s efficient movements.

Rhys waited by the door.
 

They hadn’t spoken alone since coming back from the mission. They’d spent a day getting checked out at the U.S. military hospital in Germany before being flown back to Montreal, where black-windowed SUVs picked them up. Cat had chosen to sit in one with Jake, Sarah, and her brother. She’d purposely been avoiding being close to Rhys since they’d made it back to the airbase in Niger. She’d just been too tired to deal with the chaotic emotions being around him brought up.
 

The room cleared out.
 

Blackwell stared at Rhys. “Did you have a question, Lafayette?”

“No sir, just waiting for Valkyrie.”

Knight raised his eyebrows, and a blush heated Cat’s face. Damn. She was acting like a schoolgirl. She had to be professional.

“I’ll be done in a minute,” she told Rhys with no emotion in her voice. “Meet me in my office and we’ll go over the reports.”

Rhys clenched his jaw, knowing when he’d been dismissed. He waited outside the room, determined to speak with the woman currently driving him insane. Moments later she opened the door, her head down. He touched her good arm before she walked into him. “Are you okay? What’d they say?”

She lifted her head. A smile blossomed on her face and lit her impossibly blue eyes. “The team is mine. Permanently.”

“It’s the only thing they could do,” he replied. Damn, he wanted this woman, especially when she smiled at him like that.

Her face dimmed and she glanced back at Knight and Blackwell, who still spoke quietly inside the room. She moved away and tried to sidle around him.
 

“Where’re you going, chère?” he asked quietly. “You know we need to talk.”

She straightened her shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. “No,” she said. “There’s nothing we need to talk about. You are now officially a member of my team. We have leave for a week. Go rest and recover.”

He tilted his head as he regarded her. “Are you blowing me off?”

She shook her head, looked back at Knight and Blackwell, and then motioned for him to follow her.

He obliged and she led him to her office, but she stopped in the doorway—not letting him into the room.
 

“This thing between us is over,” she said. “I can’t be involved with someone I work with. If you have a problem with that, then I’ll need you to request a transfer to another team.”

He stepped closer. “And what reason should I give them?”

She tilted her chin up. “Tell them whatever you want. I’m sorry, but I won’t have anything that could potentially jeopardize my team or my future missions.”

“We worked well together in Nigeria. Why would that jeopardize the team?”
 

She sighed. “Others have seen the way you look at me-”

“And the way you look at me,” he said.

“You’re not listening, Rhys. The rest of the team doubts us. They doubt we can focus on the mission.”

“It doesn’t matter what they think. Unless you doubt us?”
 

“I’m sorry, Rhys.” She stepped back. “I have a report to write.” She closed the door in his face.
 

 
He clenched his fists and stared at the door for a moment. No way was he letting her shut him out. He’d let her have this moment, but this conversation wasn’t over.
 

I’ll see you soon, chère.

Cat lifted her head at the sharp rap on her office door. Had she really expected Rhys to leave so easily?

She yanked it open. “Rhys, I mean—”

Her brother stood there, a half-smile on his face. “Hey, sis.”

Her shoulders slumped slightly. She assured herself she was relieved it wasn’t Rhys–but if that was true, why did she feel slightly lost inside?
 

“Hey.” She waved her brother inside. “You heading back to Petawawa?”

He nodded. “Colonel Blackwell is going to smooth things over with my CO. He also said that E.D.G.E. might need a helicopter pilot in the future.”

She hugged her brother. “That would be amazing.”

“Well, I’m not finished with CSOR yet,” he said. He shrugged and then blew out a long breath. “Look, I just wanted to say that…I’m sorry for being disappointed in you before.” He shook his head and pointed around him. “I had no idea what you were really doing. I just thought you’d…”

“Given up?”

He nodded. “I’m glad to see you didn’t.”

“I only wish Dad knew, too.”

“Don’t worry about him,” Dylan said. “He’s proud no matter what you do, even if it’s some fancy-schmancy marketing job that’s too complicated to explain.”

She laughed. “When will I see you again?”

“Maybe sooner than you think.” He gave her another hug and went to the door. “And hey, I think Mom would approve of Rhys.”

“Don’t you start too,” she said.

“He’s not Steve.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Your call,” he said.
 

And it was, dammit. She waved goodbye to her brother and then leaned back against her desk. She was doing the right thing where Rhys was concerned.
 

She grabbed her coat and slid one arm into it, pulling it over her hurt shoulder, letting the sleeve flop over her sling. She just wanted to go home, but decided she should pop into the Chien Noir for a celebratory drink with her team.
 

Marc and Zach stood with Dylan, Sarah, and Jake.
 

“Nice timing, Cat,” Marc said. “Jake here was just about to buy another round.”

“Me?” he said. “My team saved your asses. I think you need to buy the round.”

Marc snorted. “Can’t argue with that.” He motioned to Cat to follow him to the bar. “Where’s Rhys? I figured he’d be here for sure.”

She shrugged. “I haven’t seen him.”

“Huh,” Marc said. “I thought he’d be right by your side.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Seriously?” He ordered the beers before turning back to her. “Anyway, I wanted to apologize to both of you.”

“We both do,” Zach said, having come up behind her. “We underestimated you both. You’re both good operators. Whatever you do on your own time is your business. Not ours.”

Her mouth dropped open.
 

“I’m not apologizing twice,” Marc said. “So you can just pass it along when you see him next.”

“Technically,” Zach said, “you haven’t actually apologized yet.” The two of them carried the beers back to the table, ribbing each other as they went.

She swallowed a gulp of icy beer and closed her eyes for a moment. Her team accepted her and Rhys. She almost laughed. Now that there was nothing to accept. She opened her eyes.
 

The whole relationship had added too much stress to her life and the missions. She couldn’t afford to let herself be so distracted. It didn’t matter what her team thought. It only mattered what she chose.
 

And she chose her career.

Cat slid the faded t-shirt over her head and pulled on her flannel pajama pants. She towel dried her hair one-handed from the hot bath she’d had, before slipping her sling back on.

She hadn’t stayed long at the Chien Noir, not even finishing her beer. It had worried her that Rhys hadn’t joined them, but she was also secretly relieved that she hadn’t had to face him. The tension between them was daunting. He was a good operator, but if they couldn’t come to terms about this thing between them, she’d have to transfer him to another team herself. Nothing was going to distract her from her job.
 

She’d realized when she’d pulled him from the river just how much she was coming to care for Rhys. She hadn’t brought him on the mission because she was worried about how their interaction would affect the team, and then when he’d almost drowned, she’d lost sight of the mission entirely. She couldn’t work with that kind of stress, and knew that she had to put a stop to anything between them. Her insides ached at the thought. But it was just added to the list of her already-hurting body.
 

She went into the living room and plopped on her couch. Her stomach grumbled, and she wondered if popcorn was considered a healthy dinner. She turned on her TV and started scrolling through her list of movies to watch on Netflix. She flicked through the romantic comedies. An image of a happy couple chasing their overly large dog centered on her screen and caught her eye. She wanted—no, needed—a happy ending right now.
 

Someone knocked on her apartment door.
 

She froze, knowing in her core who it was. She wished for a moment that she was the type of person who could pretend she wasn’t home. She didn’t want conflict tonight. She just wanted… She looked at the image of the couple again. She flicked off the TV. That wasn’t the life she’d chosen. It wasn’t an option.

Why not?

Because they worked together. It wasn’t professional.
 

Dani and Jake work together.

Because he would betray her once they’d had their fun, or once he got tired of taking her orders.
 

He isn’t Steve.

She stood up, tired of arguing with herself, and went to the door just as he knocked again.

“Open up, Cat.” Rhys’s voice carried through the door. “I know you’re in there.”

She opened the door. His hair was damp, but his face was scruffy from not shaving for three days. The bandage seemed stark white against his tanned forehead. His t-shirt molded to his broad chest and his jeans hung low on his hips. He looked delicious.

He held his leather jacket in one hand and a bag from her favorite Thai restaurant in the other. He held up the bag. “I brought dinner.”

She suddenly felt frumpy in her pajamas. Her stomach rumbled and her face heated. She grabbed the bag. “We’re not having sex.”

“Woman, my head aches and I’m exhausted. I didn’t come here for sex,” he said, grabbing the bag back and walking in. “I came to eat and to talk.”