Page 84 of Stealthy Seduction
“Good scared or bad scared?”
“Good scared. The kind that makes you want to be braver than you think you can be.”
He crossed the room to kiss her again with a lingering tenderness. “That’s how I feel about you.”
After she left to see Con, Steele stood in the empty room for a moment, processing the enormity of everything that happened in the past twenty-four hours.
He’d changed since the moment he first saw Izzy’s face on that security monitor. The woman he loved was still in danger from a terrorist with global reach and a network of contingency plans that could level cities.
But one truth cut through all the uncertainty and fear.
Their love would carry them through whatever came next.
* * * * *
The war room felt different during Izzy’s debriefing with Con. Less intimidating, somehow.
Maybe it was because she’d finally contributed something valuable—her detailed recounting of every word Cipher had spoken, every shift of his expression she’d memorized during their twisted interview.
Con listened with focused intensity, and for the first time since arriving at the base, Izzy felt like more than just a burden to be protected.
“You’ll need to speak with the FBI soon,” Con warned as she prepared to leave. “The agents will come to us. We can’t risk exposing you until Cipher’s neutralized.”
“So now what?” She slowly untucked her thumb from her fist, her reaction to anxiety and nerves, the thing that Hudson had picked up about her first thing.
Con actually smiled—a rare occurrence that transformed his usually stern expression and left Izzy with a better understanding of how Sophie felt about her SEAL.
“Now we follow tradition. Pizza on the patio after any successful op. Even ops involving one rogue operative and his backup.”
Walking toward the patio now, Izzy marveled at how her perspective had shifted. She wasn’t just Hudson’s girlfriend hiding out at a military base anymore. She was someone who’d looked a terrorist in the eye and lived to provide intelligence that might prevent global catastrophe. She was part of this strange, dangerous family in her own small but significant way.
The familiar sounds of the team’s post-mission ritual filled the air—Hudson’s laugh mixing with Dante’s good-natured complaining about extended bathroom cleaning duty, the sizzle of dough hitting the hot pizza stone.
Izzy headed toward where Sinner stood manning his pizza station with the intention to pitch in.
“What can I do?”
Sinner looked up from where he was stretching pizza dough with the same methodical precision he probably applied to ops. He shook his head.
“What?” Izzy blinked in confusion.
“You’re wanted elsewhere.”
“What could possibly be more important than pizza?”
Sinner’s expression held the faintest hint of amusement. “Trust me.”
Before she could ask what he meant, a loud beeping sound filled the air. The distinctive warning tone of a large vehicle backing up. At that moment, everyone on the patio froze—then took off for the front of the building.
Hudson caught her by the hand. “C’mon.”
“What’s going on?” Izzy was forced to rush along in his wake.
What she saw made her jaw drop.
Alyssa, Kennedy, Sophie and May stood near the gate wearing matching yoga outfits, their faces bright with barely contained excitement. Behind them, a livestock transport truckwas maneuvering into position, and Chase was driving it, carefully backing toward the grassy side yard.
The truck’s gate lowered with a metallic clang, and suddenly the most adorable chaos Izzy had ever witnessed emerged from the back of the truck.
