Page 13 of Redeeming Meg

Life. He’d breathed life into her again.

But the oily stickiness of grief would not leave her be. She couldn’t handle it. Guilt ate her up. She’d pushed him away. Channeled all of it into hate.

Hate for herself.

Hate for him saving her instead of Jessie.

As he moved closer, helplessness clawed at her throat and burned in her mouth. All the things she’d never said. Those emotions she had kept smothered down in that hole threatening to erupt. A sound came out of her mouth before she could clamp her teeth together.

He grabbed her arm and tugged her to him in an embrace. She froze. Through his jacket, she heard his heartbeat. Strong. Solid. His arms held her up, not allowing her weak legs to crumple.

Muscle memory kicked in, her mind flashing back to all the times she’d allowed him to embrace her. Had welcomed it. Her muscles relaxed, and her mind let go of the need to control.

Life—living—flooded her system.

She gasped in a deep breath.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered into her hair. “Like it or not.”

Tears burned in her eyes.Damn it.

He’d done it to her again. Reduced her carefully constructed barrier to rubble.

The sound of footsteps saved her. She blinked, pushed against his chest to put distance between them. “Yes, well.” She dashed at the tear that seeped from the corner of an eye. “Like it or not, I’m still lead on this. One person—me—in and out before anyone realizes it.”

Spence and Tessa caught up. “Like Sarajevo,” Spence said.

Meg nodded. A clean mission. One of the early ones and the best for BSD. They’d worked together seamlessly because everyone knew their role and stuck to it. “Exactly like that.”

“But I know the place like the back of my hand,” Tessa argued. “You need me to be your GPS.”

She wasn’t wrong, but there was no way Meg could risk it. Flynn hadn’t okayed her being part of this op and would kick Meg’s ass when she returned for involving her. Maybe that was precisely why sheshouldtake Tessa in with her.

Tessa pointed a finger at Meg’s face. “I see that light in your eyes, girl. You know I’m right.”

“Let me think on it.” They had nearly five kilometers to cover yet. “We need to keep moving.”

Two motorbikes waited at the spot Lee had agreed to. Meg hid her surprise that he’d come through but doubted either would start when she looked them over. Pure crap on two wheels. She tried the starter on one. It grunted, turned over, died.

Dec ran his hands over the engine, tracing lines to the brakes, gas tank, headlight. Those hands…she couldn’t tear her eyes from them, the way they caressed the bike like a lover.

Dropping to the ground, he fiddled with something under the engine she couldn’t see. “Give me some light.”

Spence bent and did so. Declan’s face was a mix of harsh illumination and thick shadows as he tinkered with something. He slid out and brushed his hands on his jeans. “Try it now.”

The tiny beast roared to life.

Still unsettled from his embrace and those words, Meg tried to block them out as he climbed on behind her.

She protested. “You and Spence take the second bike. Tessa rides with me.”

“Spence and I together on either of these might be too much,” he said over the engine noise.

“Yeah,” Spence agreed, helping Tessa on behind him. “But he’s at fighting weight, just so you know.”

He winked; Declan flipped him the bird.

Whatever that was about.

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