Page 10 of Sworn to Lead

Warmth spread through her chest as Neo fell into a rhythm of feeding Jacob. He hunched close to his brother, rambling about this and that, trying his best to make Jacob laugh. Endearing. So beautiful to witness that the interaction burned inside her. At first glance, Neo was intimidating. A warrior with the jagged ridges and indentations of battle visible on his exposed skin. Monochromatic scenes and words were inked down both arms. More hidden beneath his shirt. She was curious about the ones concealed by denim and cotton. Heat struck her, taking her aback, and pooled like molten honey between her hips. Her body was having a ridiculous reaction to him. Still, she didn’t know how to stop the light-headedness that had taken over. She wasn’t experienced. Her only sexual interaction had been a fumbled attempt in a dorm room at college. The boy had been disappointed. She’d been relieved when he climbed off of her. Never had she been subjected to a pure visceral reaction to someone. Not until Neo.

“Excuse me.” Her throat was as dry, and she stood and rushed to the bathroom. Her heart was hammering. Skin tight and uncomfortable. And an ache she hadn’t the first clue how to get rid of pulsed at the juncture of her thighs. The mirror reflected all of that and more. Hot, flushed skin. Wide, aroused eyes. She gripped the sides of the sink and drew in a few breaths before splashing her face with cold water. The more time she puttered around in the bathroom, the more heat prickled her cheeks. Neo must think she was nuts. Maybe she was. She might be attracted to him, but she didn’t need any complications. Especially with Jacob involved. She could always get another job, but Jacob was irreplaceable. On a sharp exhalation, she left the bathroom and headed back to their table.

“What’s the plan for today?” she said the moment she pulled out her chair and sat.

“We can return the library book, then drive straight to the airport if you’re both up for it.” Neo’s eyes were on her, carefully assessing. He knew there was a reason she’d left the table, but to his credit, he didn’t ask. “There’s a flight at three this afternoon.”

The gravity of moving hundreds of miles south of Boston started to set in. Maybe it was crazy, but it was the first thing that had felt right in a long time. While she didn’t trust others’ intentions easily, something about Neo told her if she could ever trust someone it would be him. She couldn’t keep wavering on her decision. It was either losing Jacob or starting fresh in a new area. No ties were holding her in Boston. “Okay.”

“Yeah?” Neo continued to stare at her, even after she’d nodded. When he seemed to find what he was looking for in her expression, he nodded and turned to his brother. “And what about you?” Jacob made a high-pitched squeal, and they both laughed. “He’s all in.”

Brynn picked up her now-cooled tea. “I never asked you about the rental agreement.”

Neo sat back in his chair. “Didn’t give me a hassle. The fact that the fire department was there helped, too. As soon as I started talking about violations of the rental agreement, the fire chief homed in on our conversation, and the landlord agreed to everything just to shut me up. No early termination fees. You’re free.”

“Fire department?” The fine hairs on the back of her neck rose. “Did something happen?”

“Sounded like someone threw a lit cigarette in the trash piled up in the hall in the early morning hours. The fire department contained it. No one was hurt.”

“Oh my God.” She’d done the best she could for Jacob with her limited financial resources, but if Neo hadn’t come when he did, if the fire department couldn’t put out the blaze, Jacob could’ve been hurt or worse.

“Brynn, look at me.”

She met his gaze even though the French toast had soured in her stomach.

“Whatever is going on in your head right now, shut it down. Jacob’s safe and cared for because of you. Don’t forget that. You’ll never have to see that apartment building again, and you’ll sure as hell never be in a financial bind like that again. I will not turn my back on either of you.”

His words warmed her, settling her choppy stomach. He reached across the table and engulfed her hand in his own. Her body immediately settled, making room for a spark to tingle along her skin where his rough palm cocooned her hand. The angle gave her a clear view of his forearm and the tattoo there. A soldier walking into battle. A scene of chaos in smoky gray tones. The man’s head was bent, but his shoulders were squared like he was aware of his own mortality once he stepped forth into hell. The scene spoke of death and sacrifice. A wall of emotion wedged in her throat. Flowers speared from the ground near the soldier’s feet. Bold crimson-orange blossoms with paper-thin petals. Poppies.

She involuntarily lifted her other hand and traced her fingertips over the flowers. Neo stiffened, then relaxed. Goose bumps popped up along his skin everywhere she touched, but she couldn’t seem to make herself stop. “I always thought my nana hated poppies because she’d weep whenever she came across them, but she insisted she loved them. That they were important for her to see because they helped her remember what hatred could do to people and families. Her father served in the British forces during World War One. He survived the horrors of war only to be murdered a month after returning home to a nationalist Ireland. Thousands of veterans returned to a country that shunned them and was hostile and cruel.”

“I’m sorry.” He brushed his thumb back and forth over her skin. “The pain one person can inflict on another is devastating. Especially in times of war.”

“Nana took after her father. She was a warrior in her own way. Always stood up for what and who she believed in.” The only person in her life who had ever made a stand for her was her grandmother. Nana had given up her homeland, family, and retirement to ensure Brynn was safe from her brother. Her older sibling had a wicked streak. One her parents refused to acknowledge or believe. Nana believed her, though, and she put as much distance between her and Fergus as possible. She didn’t believe much in fate or divine intervention, but those poppies on Neo’s forearm made her feel close to her grandmother, as though she was telling Brynn it was safe to trust this man. That he was part of her path.

“Who was he?”

“What makes you think he’s gone?”

“His posture. I just thought…the way he’s positioned makes me think he knew his fate before ever charging into the fight, yet he did it anyway.”

“Yes.” Neo glanced at Jacob, who had dozed off after breakfast. His morning medications had kicked in, so he would nap for an hour at least. “That’s Scooter. He was young and passionate about serving his country. We were on a mission that went sideways, and he sacrificed himself so the rest of the team could complete our objective.”

“Neo,” she whispered, squeezing his hand with her own. “I’m so sorry.”

He looked down at their intertwined hands before his startling eyes met hers. “His sacrifice marked me in ways I can’t begin to describe. Everything I feel about what he did is a contradiction. Anger that he made that decision when the team could’ve aborted or found another way. Grateful because of what we were able to accomplish because he decided to take that choice out of our hands. Lives were saved because of him, but the cost was so damned high. I guess it’s like life in a way. The yin and yang. Good and bad. Happiness and despair. One thing never exists without the other.”

Chapter Seven

Neo never talked about Scooter’s sacrifice outside the Teams. The experience had gutted him; bringing it up was like packing salt into an infected wound. Yet he wanted to confide in Brynn. He found his own pain reflected in her eyes as she shared that burden with him, her strong hand gripping his, that melodic voice soothing the fractured spaces in his heart. He loved how her voice sounded. He’d replay the cadence in his head on missions to lull him into sleep. Right or wrong, in a matter of a few days, Brynn had gotten under his skin. He’d been unable to take his eyes off her as she and Jacob played a game on his iPad after takeoff, heads bent close together, giggling every so often.

“Are you all right?” Brynn tentatively touched his arm. Little did she know the simple gesture made his pulse pound.

He nodded. “Is it normal for Jacob to sleep so much?” His brother was now snoring next to Brynn. A drink cart rumbled down the narrow center aisle, overstacked plastic cups teetering with the motion.

“Yes. His antiseizure medication makes him drowsy. He takes a few short naps each day.” Brynn swept her hair over her shoulder. The dark strands were glossy and straight, made to bury his hands into. Self-control had been drilled into him by the Navy, so the intense urge to reach out and touch startled him.

He gripped his hands together in his lap to keep them from reaching out of their own accord. “Does he still have them? The seizures?”

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