Page 3 of Guarded

She pulled back the bolt and pushed it forward in one smooth, automatic motion, clearing the chamber and loading the next round.

“Good hit,” Rycroft murmured. “Target, eleven o’clock. Six-hundred-two yards.”

She shifted the barrel slightly left, found the man he was looking at. “Got him.”

But she never got the chance to fire another round.

After a brief exchange of fire between SWAT and the neo-Nazi fucktards, it was over.

“HVT in custody, cabin clear. Sweeping rear area now,” the team leader said.

Good deal.Keeping watch just in case, Briar never took her eye from her scope as she scanned the area, looking for more threats they might have missed.

She and Rycroft kept watch until SWAT was done securing the area. Agents loaded the prisoners onto the helos and took off, leaving the scene for the mop-up crews to deal with.

Pushing back into a kneeling position, Rycroft looked over at her, his grin barely visible in the near darkness. “Guess that means the fun’s over. Ready to get out of here?”

“Yeah.”

They gathered up their gear and hiked back to the dirt bikes they’d hidden before riding out to the closest road where a pickup waited for them. The driver took them to the command center.

After finishing their reports—the part Briar hated but was grudgingly accepting more and more—she and Rycroft each got a hot shower and a mug of coffee, which she declined. Rycroft raised an eyebrow at her in surprise but didn’t say anything as she climbed into the SUV. He drove them to the airport where a small private plane awaited them.

She spent the hour-long flight dozing on and off, woke when they came in for their final approach. Yawning, she stretched her arms over her head. Rycroft looked totally alert, as if he’d never slept at all.

He was a handsome, well-built man, even in his fifties. Not that he was anywhere near as gorgeous as Matt. But still. “For an old ‘semi-retired’ guy, you sure don’t need much sleep,” she told him.

He grinned, his silver eyes glinting. “It’s called parenting. Only the strong survive.”

“Yeah? Tougher than, say, Special Forces selection?”

“The sleep deprivation of a new parent makes what I went through to earn my green beret look like a cakewalk. I’m serious.”

She huffed out a laugh and followed him off the plane to the small terminal building where an excited squeal startled her. She stopped, watched as a little purple blur streaked around the corner and came at them.

Rycroft dropped his bags, a huge smile lighting his face as he crouched down and held his arms open. “There’s my girl,” he said, catching Sarah as the raven-haired toddler launched herself into her father’s arms.

A bittersweet, poignant pang hit Briar in the center of her chest as she watched them. The deep, incredible bond between them was undeniable, even though they didn’t share the same DNA. Love was what made a family, not genetics.

The scene made her think of Matt. He had always wanted to be a father, and she had no doubt he would be amazing at it. Since becoming an orphan at age eight she had longed to be part of a family again.

Matt was her family now and she wanted to have children with him but deep down a tiny part of her worried she wasn’t cut out for it. She wasn’t exactly maternal. Or normal, for that matter. Kids were fragile and impressionable. She didn’t want to be responsible for ruining one.

Grace came around the corner, smiling fondly at her daughter and husband. “She insisted we come to get you,” she said to him as she walked up to hug him.

“I’m glad. This is a nice surprise.” Still holding Sarah, he leaned down to kiss the crown of his wife’s head, the pigtailed toddler snuggled up in his strong arms.

The picture they presented made Briar miss Matt even more.

Sarah made eye contact with Briar over her father’s broad shoulder, grinned. “Hi, Briar.”

Briar couldn’t help but grin back. She wasn’t that comfortable around kids or babies, but this one seemed to like her well enough, so maybe there was still hope for her as a parent. “Hey, Sarah.”

Rycroft glanced back at her, jerked his head toward the exit. “Come on, we’ll give you a lift.”

“Thanks, but I’ve already got a cab coming. You guys go ahead.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”

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