Page 69 of Explosive Vengeance

“Amber got a location on Dubois,” she said, lying back down on him. “He’s in Belgium and staying overnight at a hotel, so the country property’s clear except for some minimal security.”

“So the op there’s a go?”

“Yep. We’re meeting at the primary RV point at 22:00 hours.” She snuggled closer, gave a soft, contented sigh, and her not jumping up after knowing Dubois’ location told Heath he’d stolen just as much of her heart as she had his. “Which means we don’t have to leave for another couple hours.”

He slid his arms around her, savoring the warmth of her body and the silken softness of her skin. “Perfect.” Because he selfishly wanted her all to himself like this for as long as he could.

She was quiet for a few minutes before speaking. “Why hasn’t some smart woman locked you down yet?” She sounded baffled.

“The honest answer is, I’ve never been into long-term before.”

“No? How come?”

The truth forced him to confront his demons and dig up things from his past he’d rather forget. But he’d tell Chloe. “I’ve always had a hard time trusting when it comes to romantic relationships. I guess it’s from watching what happened to my mom over and over growing up. The guys she brought home were all great at first. But eventually the shine would wear off and they’d start showing their true colors. They’d stop being nice at some point, stop faking what they were, and they all turned out to be abusive assholes.” And their true colors had nearly always manifested in the form of bruises on his mother. “It just turned me off the whole long-term commitment thing, I think.”

Until now. Because of Chloe, everything had changed. She’d shown him the strength of her loyalty, had demonstrated the true depth of her character. He’d seen the true essence of her, didn’t have to worry that she might be hiding behind a fake veneer—and that was the basis for his fear of commitment all these years. Chloe wasreal, and it opened up a part of him he’d kept closed off his whole life.

“I can understand that,” she said. “Although you’ve already seen me at my worst, and you’re still here.”

“That’s because you’re different.” He hugged her closer to kiss her forehead.

“Bet your ass I am,” she said proudly.

Heath grinned and lay there soaking up the contentment of being with her. So strange, to be this at peace with someone who brought such chaos. But hell, he couldn’t imagine losing Chloe now.

He was free climbing now, halfway up the rock face with nothing below to break his fall. But it was another kind of fall he faced now.

For the first time in his life, he wanted a real relationship with a woman.

Chapter Twenty-Two

In the back of the van, Chloe checked her weapon one more time, holstered it, then glanced around at the others in the dim interior. “You got comms ready for us?” she asked Trinity

“Yep.” She handed everyone an earpiece that they slipped in and activated. While Chloe was acting team leader for this op, Trinity was overseeing the whole thing and reporting anything pertinent back to Alex Rycroft. “Comm check.”

Everyone checked in.

“Okay, time to get this party started,” Megan murmured, tugging the black ski mask over her face.

“Guys, you good to go?” Chloe asked Heath and Ty, who were seated across the van from her.

“Yep,” Heath said, giving her a little smile that made her heart kick hard against her ribs.

It was now after midnight and they were a few klicks from Dubois’ country manor. Amber and Jesse were in a different van parked on the other side of the estate, having flown in that afternoon to assist in the op to infiltrate the house and search for intel about the missing shipment of women.

Everyone knew the plan inside and out, but Megan had been antsy all afternoon. Chloe snapped her fingers twice to get her friend’s attention and held out a hand. “Hands.”

In the act of pulling out her gloves, Megan paused. “What?”

She wiggled her fingers impatiently. “Hands.”

Megan made a huffing sound and grudgingly held out her hands.

In the dim lighting Chloe tutted as she examined the raw, bloody mess all around Megan’s nails where she’d picked the skin away. Both hands. That meant her anxiety level had to be bad. “You still do that before an op, huh?”

“Man, does she know you or what,” Ty said with a chuckle. Then to Chloe, “I’ve tried everything to get her to stop.”

Megan snatched her hands back and pulled on her gloves, ignoring them. Anxiety had been her constant companion her whole life, something she’d had to figure out how to manage. Picking at her fingers was a habit—coping mechanism, really—she’d developed that she’d never broken. “I’m way better than I used to be. I’d give you some of the credit for that, but now I don’t want to.”

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