Page 27 of Stealth Mission

I nod, once. “Get her home.”

Once we hit the main road, I carefully pull Marianna up. Her delicate shoulders feel so small in my hands, reminding me that I was too rough with her when I shoved her down. “Come here, sweetheart, let’s get you buckled in.”

Her hair is tangled around her face, the strap of her dress is broken. That’s bad, but the fear in her eyes makes me furious.

Once she’s settled on the seat next to me and buckled in, I run my hands over her arms, down her hips and her legs, checking for any sign of injury. “Did I hurt you?”

“No." She shakes her head as she repeatedly tries to pull the broken strap of her dress back up. She gives up after the third try. "I’m just rattled.”

I tighten my grip on her, pulling her delicate body against me. Stomach pretzeling, I brush her hair back, fighting to keep my hand steady. “That was a helluva explosion. I’m sorry if I scared you, but I wanted you safe.”

“Nothing left of car. Big bomb,” the driver grumbles as he takes a turn too fast causing Marianna to bump against me.

The car continues to hurtle into the darkening night. Winding through the rainforest at speeds that probably break every law in the country. Not that the cops are around…

The silence inside intensifies, feeding the growing sense of unease in my stomach.

She’s safe.I have to remind myself.

The guy in the driver’s seat seems to know what he’s doing. I’m here.

But I have to force myself to breathe and focus on facts. “What’s your name, man?”

“Vik.” His reply is quick, one clipped word, and doesn’t affect his attention on the road.

“Thanks for getting us the hell out of there. I’m…Ev—Walt.”

Goddamn.

My skin starts buzzing like bees are coating my body.Holy shit.I almost told him my real name. I’ve never made a mistake like that.

I clear my throat and try to keep the conversation going even though I’m flipping out. “Are the mayor’s parties always like this?”

One of his herculean shoulders lifts indifferently. “Sometimes.”

Karma is proving to be a can of worms.

“Does Sylvester attract trouble?”

His attention flicks to me in the mirror. But he doesn’t need to say anything. I know the answer from the tightening of his brow.

This op is getting more complicated by the minute. Turning into a protective monster is exactly the last thing that should be happening. Unfortunately, that's exactly what’s going down.

Marianna’s silent next to me. She’s showing signs of shock. Every little bump in the road makes her flinch. Her skin is pale. Her breathing fast. It’s easy to see her mind is whirling.

Fuck.Mine is too. She could have been killed.

I don’tthinkshe would have gotten in his car given how their interaction was, but again, I don’t know the lay of the land between them.

But if she had...

A cold knife pierces my stomach.Hell.I can’t even think about that.

Tightening my arm on her, I force the emotions behind the steel door I use to compartmentalize ugly shit. But the bleed-through is real. I’m worried for her, too many things happened tonight that point to trouble.

I force a breath. Look out the window. Work to get my mind right like I was taught in the Teams. The sky has darkened to ink, cocooning us inside the safe space of the vehicle. But I can’t shake the unease.

Ten minutes later the man turns off the road onto a gravel lane. Fields stretch out on both sides of us. Rows of spiky plants funnel outward into the darkness.

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