Page 81 of Fatal Thrill
Not because ofJaya.
Because ofJon.
“CIA, huh? You work with a good group of people. It’s almost like afamily.”
He nodded. “Beatrice preaches all the time that we are family. Most of us don’t have blood relatives we can count on, so we count on each other. A lot of SEALs naturally feel that way when they’re in the Teams. It’s truly a brotherhood, and that doesn’t end just because we’re not active dutyanymore.”
“You’relucky.”
He touched her face and planted a light kiss on her lips. “I amthat.”
Before he pulled away, she snuck her hand around the back of his neck and kept him there, returning the kiss and deepening it. He was quick to respond, parting her lips with his tongue, his hand going down to her waist and anchoringher.
That was what he did—anchored her. With all the craziness swirling around them, he kept her from losing hershit.
“Thank you,” she murmured against his lips. “Foreverything.”
He grinned. “The first moment I saw you, I knew that was it for me. There would never be anyoneelse.”
She pulled back slightly to look in his eyes. She had felt it too, that magnetic attraction. Her mother always said when it was instant it was your soul mate calling to you. “Really?”
“That day in Good Hope, when I walked into that conference room at the hospital, full of people there for Shelby and her family? It was like you were the only person in the whole damn place. I had a bitch of a time concentrating on what Colton needed me todo.”
Jaya’s heart melted. “I felt the same way. All I could focus on was you. I love you,Jon.”
He pressed another kiss to her lips. “I love you too. I want you to stay safe, no matter what happens. My job is to get Finn back. Yours is to protect yourself and our baby, gotit?”
She and the baby had become a team for him. Just like his SFI co-workers and SEAL brothers. Even though he wasn’t in the middle of giving orders and planning the next move to rescue her brother at that moment, he was definitely in charge of the Wolfe-O’Sullivanteam.
She pinched his earlobe gently, just like her mother used to do to her. “Yes, sir. Rogerthat.”
He chuckled and hugged her close. The next moment, they were touching down, the plane bouncing slightly as the wheels grabbed therunway.
It was a long ride to the cabin and Jon had a lot on his plate, speaking with Trace and the men he’d brought, who were meeting them at the safe house in the hills of ThiefRiver.
Night slithered defiantly down the mountain as the sun rose, revealing a heavy covering of snow. They drove up, up, up, Jaya’s ears popping at the ascent. Colton was behind the wheel, Miles rode shotgun, and Jaya was squeezed in between Jon and Charlotte. Behind them, Moe rode in a second vehicle withPercy.
The scenery reminded her of Ireland in some ways, the narrow road running along the edge of the mountain and the poor visibility, thanks to the snow, looking much like her Irishhomeland.
Jon had the coordinates, based on the surveillance Trace and his team had been doing up and down Thief River. Somewhere in this backwoods place her brother was being held captive. Jaya wasn’t sure what to think. Her nerves were raw with worry. What if they were wrong? What if Finn was already dead or wasn’t here? What if the cross on her lap, worth millions of dollars, wasn’t enough to savehim?
She knew the others didn’t believe the kidnapper was acting alone, and regardless of the warning the man had given her about ‘Jon only’ when it came to delivering the cross, they were already prepping for a full covert assault on theplace.
Since Jaya couldn’t be part of that, the best she could do was hope the O’Sullivan curse went with the cross and damned the man and his cohorts tohell.
Colton took a sharp right and suddenly went off-road, the SUV’s headlights cutting a swathe between thick trees on each side of a dirt path. As they bumped along, Jaya’s stomach rebelled, flip-flopping like she had a fish down there desperate to getout.
Not now, she warned the baby.You and I have to keep ittogether.
The cabin was dark and looked completely abandoned. Vines grew up the wood planks, bushes and trees nearly obscuring the front. If the car’s headlights hadn’t reflected on the dirty windows, the house would have been lost in the canopy of theforest.
Where were Trace and the others? Jaya’s stomach dropped. “Is this the right place?” she asked as Jon helped her out of the vehicle. Miles and Colton were already waiting, guns in hand, eyes scanning the area as if they expected someone to jump out of the woods. She couldn’t see a discernible path to the front door because of all the overgrowth and snow lying heavy on top of it. “Doesn’t look like anyone ishere.”
“Oh, they’re here.” He smiled as if it were an insidejoke.
Maybe itwas.
Charlotte took the lead, Percy falling in single file, stomping through the snow. Jon guided Jaya as they stepped over tree roots and mashed down weeds andvines.
