Page 24 of Reclaimed (Hostage Rescue Team)

He heard her breathless gasp of anticipation, caught the heady scent of her arousal as she opened for him, the muscles in her thighs quivering slightly. His starving gaze raked over the length of her, open and waiting for him, and settled on the glistening folds between her thighs. He couldn’t hold back a moment longer.

Mine.

With a raw sound that came from his gut he leaned forward and pressed his mouth there, demonstrating his claim in a way that didn’t require words.

Chapter Eight

Present Day

“Another agent will meet us inside by the check-in counter,” Celida said to Taya as she steered into the multi-level parking garage next to the airport’s international terminal.

“Okay,” Taya replied, fighting the nerves buzzing around in the pit of her stomach.

She hated airports. Had ever since terrorists had targeted her in one, and coupled with the fact that she was about to get on a plane and fly back to an Islamic country bordering a warzone like the one she’d been taken captive in…well. Little wonder she was dreading every second of this.

But Summer Blackwell was in danger, along with two other American intelligence employees, and their lives were at stake. It didn’t matter that Taya and most of the other HRT women had never met her. Summer and Adam were part of the HRT family, period. If Taya could help the investigators crack the case somehow, then she had to go.

“And I know without a doubt Schroder will be waiting for you on the other end with another couple of the guys,” Celida added in a dry tone.

Taya smiled. “Yes.” It helped to know that Nathan would be there waiting when she stepped off the plane in Amman. Unless of course they got a tip about Summer that they needed to act on in the meantime.

“Make sure you say hi to my husband for me,” she added. She and Tuck had just been married last fall.

“I will. I’ll give him a hug from you.”

The side of Celida’s mouth kicked up in the hint of a smile, the action pulling at the thin scar on her right cheek. A scar from a bullet that easily could have killed her. “That sounds weird, but okay. Hug the shit outta my man for me.” She pulled into a parking spot and shut off the engine.

As she approached the terminal Taya’s pulse began to race. An innate response she couldn’t control no matter how hard she tried to calm and center herself with her breathing. Her subconscious refused to let her forget what had happened at the airport the day of the attack, or what she’d gone through the last time she’d set foot in an Islamic country.

Granted, Jordan was a far cry from Afghanistan, where she’d gone to help the Red Cross, but still. This trip was forcing her to face her old fears head on.

She’d traveled a lot over the years but it had been a while and she’d scrambled around like a madwoman prepping for this one, rearranging her schedule as best she could. Nathan always made it look so easy whenever he got called out at a moment’s notice.

Celida stayed right next to her the entire time, alert, her pistol tucked into the holster at the small of her back. That helped too, knowing her friend was armed and vigilant.

Not to mention badass. If anyone tried to attack her now, Celida would drop them before they got within a hundred feet of her.

Taya tried not to let her nerves show as they moved around the lines of people waiting to check in for their flights. She had special paperwork and a first class ticket that allowed her to skip the line, courtesy of the FBI.

Celida escorted her right up to the podium where another woman waited, dressed in cargo pants, a fitted, long-sleeved black T-shirt and light jacket. She had jaw-length cocoa brown hair, a light bronze complexion a shade or two darker than Celida’s, and watchful sea-green eyes that missed nothing.

“Agent Thatcher?” Celida asked.

The woman nodded. “Agent Morales.” Turning her attention to Taya, she offered a polite smile. But there was a definite edge to her. A don’t-mess-with-me edge that was impossible to miss. “You must be Taya.”

“Yes, hi.” She held out her hand.

“I’m Special Agent Maya Thatcher,” she said, and shook hands with her. “I’ll be escorting you to Amman.”

“Great.” Because what else was there to say? It’s not like she had a choice, and she was glad to have an armed agent with her. No doubt Agent Thatcher knew all about her past, had already been briefed on everything.

Agent Thatcher took the paperwork from Celida, glanced at everything and handed the ticket to the man working the podium. In a minute flat Taya was checked in and her suitcase put on the conveyor belt. “Okay,” she said to Taya. “You ready?”

As I’ll ever be.“Yes.” She faced Celida with a taut smile. “Thanks so much for the ride, I appreciate it.”

Celida waved the thanks away. “Anytime. You’re in good hands, by the way. Before joining the Bureau, SA Thatcher was an Air Force security forces member.”

“Feels like a long time ago now,” Agent Thatcher said with a wry grin.

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