Page 70 of Home Team Advantage
Matt sat back, lifted the longneck to his lips, and let the cold beer slide down his throat. His eyes were on Anna. Despite Mrs. Campbell’s directives to take it easy, she didn’t seem to be able to sit still for more than a few minutes at a time, even with that bum foot of hers. Taking things into the house. Bringing other things out. Making herself as unobtrusive as possible in the process. As if the only reason she was here was to work.
Anna still felt responsible for what had happened to Mrs. C, but she was the only one. No one else blamed her or doubted her intentions.
Well, not anymore.
God, he felt like an idiot. How could he have ever believed she was the type of person who would scam—or worse, harm—an elderly woman? Anna was one of the most selfless, kind-hearted women he’d ever met, and considering his aunts, that was saying something.
What was even more incredible was that she could be that way after what she went through. What she had seen.
She didn’t know that he knew her real identity. That anyone did. Maybe someday, she would trust him enough to tell him.
Someday? You’ll be gone soon, remember? His chest squeezed at the thought.
At least someone would have her back. A lot of someones actually. The Callaghans were solidly on Team Anna now.
Not that she’d need it. Eddie was in prison, which might or might not keep him alive. Matt didn’t give a shit. The good news was, Eddie was oblivious to Falco’s grand plan and knew nothing about Anna’s true identity.
Falco was good and dead, his phone wiped and destroyed—after Ian made sure he hadn’t sent any texts or made any phone calls to Chicago. Matt had seen the pictures he’d taken of Anna though. He’d wanted to kill the fucker all over again. It was a clever and ironic twist of fate that his body had ended up in the very same van he’d abducted Anna in.
It was good to have a team of Navy SEALs as uncles.
Yes, all was as it should be. Anna was back living with Mrs. Campbell, who had insisted on moving forward with a summer barbecue. Life was short, she’d said, and it was important to celebrate when you could.
And him? He’d been keeping his distance since that night at the hospital. Because … yeah.
Kieran sat down at the round patio table and followed Matt’s eyes. “How’s she doing?”
“Seems to be handling it well.”
“She’s strong.”
Hell yes, she was. And sweet. And beautiful. And?—
“Have you asked her out yet?” Jake asked, taking the seat on his other side.
Matt said nothing. There was no point in starting something he couldn’t finish. Especially when one date—or twelve—wouldn’t be enough. No, he wasn’t breaking the seal on that.
“Oh, right.” Ian snorted, dragging a chair over. “You’re leaving and never coming back.”
When Matt shot him a glance, Ian said, “What? You think we don’t know what they offered you? Kid, we’ve all been there. And not only that, we’ve had eyes on you from the time you first stepped off that bus in Fort Benning until that last mission went tits up in San Pedro Sula.”
Matt gaped at him in disbelief. His last four years had been in special forces. His assignments were highly classified. Highly, highly classified.
Sean ambled over and joined them, clearly having caught the tail end of the conversation. His blue eyes were unwavering as they met Matt’s. “You know that helo that showed up and pulled your ass out? Where do you think it came from?”
There had been a chopper that came in and sprayed the place with enough bullets to give him a chance to get the fuck out. He vaguely remembered being half carried, half dragged to it by big men in camo and night goggles. His memories were fuzzy. He’d been losing a lot of blood at the time and fading in and out of consciousness.
Matt said nothing. Everything that could have gone wrong on that mission did. The meeting had been compromised. His cover had been blown. He could still remember the shocked look on his superiors’ faces when they found out he’d made it out alive. As if they hadn’t been the ones to pull him out. The offer to level up had come shortly after that …
“That was you?”
No one answered for a while, and then Kieran said quietly, “Do you think we’d lose one of our own?”
“Even if he did go and join the goddamn Army,” muttered Ian.
“But … how?”
“That is a discussion for another time,” Jake said as some of the women began to make their way over. “Drop by the pub this Sunday, and we’ll talk. And for Chrissakes, go talk to your girl, will you?”
