Page 14 of Rupture

Liev’s voice was a steady stream as he talked her through the specialist cave gear. “... Backup open-circuit regulators, each with a redundant second stage. It’s a precautionary measure in case of equipment failure.”

Liev’s familiar litany of tech equipment washed over Finn like white noise. The sun beat down on his back, the heat seeping through his shirt and into his skin, but it was nothing compared to the slow burn ofsomethingthat simmered beneath the surface whenever he was close to her.

He studied Rose from the corner of his eye, taking in the serious set of her jaw, the way her brow furrowed as she focused on Liev’s instructions. She nodded, absorbing every word, but when she lifted her gaze to meet Finn’s, he caught a flicker of something—a hint of uncertainty, maybe even a touch of defiance.

“Hey.” Her tone was neutral.

He forced a smile, the muscles in his jaw creaking with the effort. “Hey.” He set the tanks down on the ground, the heavy thud of metal on sand echoing the tension in his body.

Rose turned back to Liev. “I have to admit, the idea of cave diving makes me a little nervous.” Her voice wavered. “It’s so claustrophobic.”

Liev offered her a reassuring smile. “Cave divingisa whole different ball game. It’s unpredictable. But we know what we’re doing. You’re in safe hands with us. We’ll all be looking out for each other down there.” He handed her a rebreather, his hands skimming hers. “Let’s refresh when you might use this.”

A twinge of jealousy pricked at Finn, catching him off guard as Rose’s fingers brushed against Liev’s.

This was ridiculous. Liev was not interested in Rose Wyndham. Couldn’t be further from it. Liev still had his razor-sharp edges, but he had eyes for no one but Eva.

Finn turned his back on them, directing his attention to the specialized dive computers they would all be carrying, primed to calculate depth, dive time, and decompression stats. What the hell was up with him?

Facts.He picked up one of the dive units.The hard plastic bit into his skin. This was what he needed to focus on. Hard, cold facts.

But still Rose’s presence was like a physical thing.

He gritted his teeth. He needed to get his head in the game, or Rose Wyndham was going to be a problem.

A problem he didn’t have time to solve.

8

Finn joinedthe rest of the Wolves assembled at the entrance to the Dragon’s mouth—a dark hole in the desert floor.

Cade and Ethan were securing additional belay ropes that would take them down to the small platform Liev had set up earlier in the day while Duke and Luca were busy completing multiple checks on their full-face dive masks, ensuring the integrated communication systems were functioning properly.

Finn took a knee and peered over the rim of the cave entrance. The view was partly obscured by the jut of a rocky ledge, but the edge of the raft bobbed far below. A small orange dot, rimmed with floodlights in the darkness. Liev was already down there, his voice scratchy on the comms as he worked with Nik.

“It’s a long way down.”

He turned to the feminine voice. Rose Wyndham approached, her complexion paler than it had been earlier. Her hands were white-knuckled around a coil of climbing rope. She had changed into a navy wetsuit flashed withsilver that molded to her curves in a way that made his mouth go dry.

Damn.He paused before he stood, giving his body a moment to recalibrate.

There was a flicker of doubt in her moss-green eyes.

Finally on his feet, his pulse easing, he dusted dirt from his knees. “You’ll be fine. You’ll be perfectly safe with me.”

She tilted her head, assessing him. Memories of another green-eyed woman swamped him. The one who had trusted a man and almost died. The echo flared in his head, delivering an almost physical pain to his chest, but he squashed the surprise hit of emotion, bringing himself back to the here and now.

He’d righted that wrong. “How are you getting on with the ropes?”

She opened her palms to show him a ratty-looking knot. “I’m not sure where I’m going wrong but I am. I’m good with most things in the water, but dangling from a rope over a precipice is not my cup of tea.”

“You need to be doing these things regularly.” He gave a soft grunt of acknowledgment. “You get rusty otherwise.”

“I imagine you never forget.” One delicate eyebrow lifted at him.

He took the rope from her and laid it on the ground to detangle it, ignoring the hit of heat he felt from her fingers. “This is my job.”

Her gaze narrowed. “What exactly is your job?”

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