Page 36 of Peace Under Fire

Mandy’s lungs burned. Her breathing started to hitch. The things those monsters were doing to them. Guilt clogged her chest, hardening like cement until it hurt to breathe.

This was all her fault. Everything her sisters were going through was her fault. Their abductions, the experiments being forced on them, the way they were being drugged. Their pain and helplessness and terror—which she could sense even beneath the sedatives, at least with Giulia.

It was all her fault.

Giulia and Kaylee had warned her not to leave the compound. They’d warned her that leaving would put everyone in danger.

They’d begged her not to go.

But Jacob had been out there, calling to her, pulling at her heart. She’d been so certain that if she took precautions, if she was careful, if she was vigilant and smart, that she could find Jacob without exposing the compound.

It had been twenty years after all. Two decades since they’d reduced the facility to rubble and escaped their wardens. Surely the cockroaches had stopped looking for them by now. Surely the agency funding the research had long since fallen into obscurity. Surely, she and her sisters were free to live normal lives.

Obviously not.

Regardless of how careful she’d been, she’d led the enemy straight back to her family. And now her sisters were gone. Taken.

And for what? So she could track down a man who hadn’t even known she existed? So she could introduce herself and discover he had no interest in her whatsoever? So she could face rejection after rejection, until it was painfully obvious that he wasn’t attracted to her in the slightest?

She should have returned home after their not-so-cute first meeting. Even back then, it had been obvious that a soulmate connection wasn’t in their future. Just because he was a real-life Navy SEAL didn’t mean they were starring in their own version of a Susan Stoker, or Brittney Sahin, or Riley Edwards novel.

It hurt to admit that, to admit how criminally foolish she’d been, but it hurt even more knowing she’d sacrificed her sisters for a fantasy.

Giulia was right. Her taste in romantic fiction had totally warped her sense of reality.

“You doing okay over there?” Jacob’s gruff question broke into her spiraling depression.

She shifted, leaning her shoulder against the cold glass of the passenger window. He hadn’t bothered to look at her. Nope, he was facing forward, his eyes bouncing between the road in front and the rearview mirror. No quick peeks in her direction.

This time, the evidence of his disinterest brought a spurt of anger, rather than pain.

“I’m, “she fought to smooth the snap from her voice, “fine.”

Unfortunately, she hadn’t quite masked her anger. Her response hung in the air between them, buzzing like a pair of angry hornets. She grimaced. If only she could ignore him as easily as he ignored her. “I’m just tired, that’s all. It’s been a long two days.”

He grunted. An honest to God caveman grunt.

Really? He was so bored with her already he couldn’t even form coherent sentences?

“We’re almost at the rendezvous. When we park, stay in the truck until I call you out.”

For the first time, she realized they were rounding the corner of an industrial type of building—all powder gray concrete, no windows in sight.

“Why do I have to stay in the truck?” she asked. Her anxiety climbed again. Wasn’t the guy meeting them—this Brick person—supposed to be a friend of his? One of the good guys?

He shoved his fingers through his hair leaving it rumpled and bad boy sexy. She ground her teeth at the instant belly flips. This one-sided attraction was so freaking unfair. His stomach certainly wasn’t doing a tumbling routine.

“It’s just a precaution,” he said without looking at her. “For your safety.”

She thought about that. “Are you going to leave me the keys and one of the guns when you leave the truck?”

His sooty eyebrows shot up.

Right—neither safeguard had occurred to him. So, telling her to stay in the car wasn’t a safety precaution. If he’d been concerned about her safety, he’d leave her the means to protect herself and escape if danger came knocking.

He must want to talk to his friend in private. Why? What was he trying to hide? The fact he wanted privacy for this conversation was a clear indication she needed to listen in on it.

They reached the end of the building, turned the corner, and weaved their way between potholes to the middle of the lot. There were several cars parked in front of the building. Jacob pulled in next to a silver SUV.

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