Page 89 of Visions, Paws, and Claws

Dex’s face reddened. Then he chuckled as he shook Eve’s hand. “You’re all right, Duncan.” He glanced at Saul. “You might’ve warned me.”

Saul raised his eyebrows. “Why? When you go on a mission, you don’t have a clue who you’ll be up against. You have to deal with the unexpected.” He pointed at Eve and smirked. “Meet the unexpected.”

“Yes, sir.” Dex gave a nod to Saul and Crank, turned, and headed for the door.

Eve sauntered toward Saul, that gleeful light still evident. “So is that it? Or is there someone else you want me to work over?”

Saul smiled when Crank brought a finger to his lips and snuck up behind her with all the stealth of a tiger stalking its prey. “No, I think that’s it, especially if I have a meeting to—”

A second later Crank pounced, and Eve ended up on her back, glaring at him. “Hey!”

“Now tell her why you did that,” Saul told him.

Crank smirked. “To show her there’s always someone better, and that she can’t ever let her guard down. Plus, it was fun.”

Eve propped herself up on her elbows and let out a chuckle. “Yeah, okay, it was fun for me too. Next time I’ll know better.”

“You’d better.” He stared back at her. “Okay, so you were bigger than him. That means dick around here. Size isn’t everything. Having smarts is what really counts, and not being afraid to fight dirty.”

She sighed. “I get it.” Crank held out a hand to her, and she hooked her leg around his calf, bringing him down with all thegrace of a wounded buffalo. Then she sat astride him, grinding her ass against his crotch. She grinned. “Who says I’m afraid to fight dirty?”

Saul snorted. “Crank, get up. You’re enjoying that far too much.”

“I will. Just… gimme a minute.”

Eve performed another slow grind, and Saul laughed out loud. “I tell Roadkill and Hashtag about this and I know one gorilla that’s gonna get her ass smacked.” He gave Crank a pointed stare. “I thought we’re supposed to be in a meeting?”

Eve stood and helped him to his feet.

“Yeah, H wants both of you in the briefing room.” He glanced at Eve. “I like the way you fight.”

She snickered. “I know what else you like.”

Crank gave Saul a sheepish grin.Sorry.

Saul snorted.No, you’re not. And just because we’re mated, that doesn’t mean she isn’t sexy as fuck.

Crank grinned.As long as you know the only ones in my heart are you and a certain Greenland shark.

Saul and Eve followed him out the door and along the hallway. The main building at the Romeoville barracks comprised two training rooms, two meeting rooms, and a cafeteria and kitchen. From the sand-covered yard outside came roars and hollers as Troy had the guys working on their combat tactics.

Eve inclined her head toward the sound. “I should be out there.”

“Uh-uh. H needs you.” Crank glanced at her. “Plenty of time for that later.” He pushed the door open, and they filed into the briefing room. Horvan stood at the head of the table, large sheets of paper spread out in front of him. To his right was a guy Saul recalled having met when Horvan and Aelryn’s teams hadswooped in to save his ass. Brick, Hashtag, and Roadkill were there too, along with a familiar face.

“Hey there, Doc.” Saul greeted him with a wave. “When did you get in?”

“Horvan picked me up at Joliet Airport, after he’d dropped off Keppler. He’s been filling me in on what you’ve learned.”

“Doc’s assembling the medical team for us.” Horvan gestured to the man at his side. “This is Johan, one of Aelryn’s top men.” He pointed to one of the sheets of paper. “This is what Hashtag found using the satellite. Milo’s drawing of the compound matches it exactly, only now we know what these buildings are. So gather round and take a look.”

Crank and Eve joined the others who stood at the end of the table.

Horvan pointed to the thin pale line that ran from east to west, ending in a large gray square. “This is their airstrip, and it’s long enough to deal with jets. We can easily land the Chinooks on it when we’re ready to take all the inmates outta there.”

“I didn’t know we had Chinooks,” Roadkill commented.

“You don’t—we do,” Johan informed him with a smile. “We’ve also got a mobile center of Operations. We’ll have all the headcams and mics online, so we’ll be able to monitor the whole shebang from one vehicle.” He gazed at Hashtag. “Horvan says you’re the best tech guy he has. You’ll be in Operations with our guys.”

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