Page 28 of Javier

“Thena used to bake me cookies when I was little.” Sheglanced at me before lowering her eyes to her lap. “She only bakes for the special people in her life.”

“Hell, yeah, I’m special.” I preened. “I’m pretty sure I’m her favorite.”

She glanced up and flashed a small smile. “You’re also very modest.”

“Who needs modesty when you’re—well—me?”

She covered her mouth and muted a musical giggle, making me feel as if I’d won a hard-earned reward.

“I don’t suppose anyone has ever talked to you about virtues like modesty and humility.”

“Lots have tried.” I winked at her. “None have succeeded.”

Her cheeks blushed, from a simple wink, no less. I swear, except for her, I’d never met a woman who truly blushed like she did. Was she flustered?

My eyes slid down to her chest.Holy shit. Her nipples poked through her white T-shirt as hard as bullet jackets. The sight reactivated that certain overactive part of me that had no business being operational. I needed to disengage from this line of thought.

She ventured another glance at me. “How did you find me?”

“Our cyberwizard-in-chief uploaded pictures of you and ran her proprietary facial recognition program for weeks on end,” I explained. “This is a very powerful program. She did a global search. After billions upon billions of attempts, she got a hit.”

“That’s weird.” She knitted her brows. “I haven’t allowed any pictures of me taken since I left home.”

“True, but your face showed up in a blurry profile in the distant, grainy background of a picture posted in social media by an organization that funds orphanages all over the world. Ittook some work to figure out where the picture had been taken. I traveled here to verify the intel. Instead, I found you.”

“Wow.” She shook her head. “Sounds like a lot of work.”

“Trust me, your sister, Dagger, and Tracker Team have been on it twenty-four seven.”

“What is Tracker Team?” she asked.

“It’s Dagger’s team.” I gave her a quick brief on BB and Tracker Team. “We’re a private outfit. Tracker Team is mostly composed of Marine Raiders.”

“Like Dash and Nix,” she pointed out quietly.

“Yes, except Dagger and the rest of us have now made the transition to the civilian sector.” I skipped telling her that I’d served with Nix. Instead, I briefly explained how we’d come together under Dagger’s command, and that our first mission pertained to her sister Thena.

“Is she okay?” she asked. “Why did she send for me? And what about Cece and Affie? Are they with Thena?”

“Whoa, Angel.” I lifted my hands and motioned for her to slow down. “That’s a lot of questions for one dumb jarhead. I’d rather you ask Goddess directly.”

A little line deepened between her eyebrows. “Goddess?”

“It’s Thena’s call sign.”

She tilted her head like a kitten, in the cutest possible way. “Thena has a call sign?”

“Of course she does.” I finished the last of my cookie and shook off the crumbs from my hands. “I should say she’s an honorary member of Tracker Team, but in truth, she’s a full member. Your sister is an incredible woman.”

“That she is.” Missy’s eyes took on a faraway sheen. “She pretty much raised me. I don’t know what would’ve happened to me without her. I’ve missed her so much.”

“I bet.” I crushed the cookie wrapper in my hand and stuffed it back in my pocket. “She misses you a lot, too. She saysso all the time.”

“I thought that maybe…”

When she went quiet, I pushed her a little. “Maybe what?”

“That maybe she was angry at me for leaving.”

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