Page 10 of The Dragon's Dream Mate (Savage Shifters Special Ops 3)

Third, we could be putting third parties at risk on the road, and that was unacceptable.

Therefore, we decided the best course would be to watch the path that the van was taking simply. We were all pretty sure it would end up at the same house that we’d pinpointed. It would be a lot easier to do a takedown at the house.

“Rainey, as much as you want to go and take action right now, it’s better we wait. Not only do we have a better chance of getting your niece out of the house alive and well than by hitting the van, but there are also likely several other kids at the house. If the guards at the house are alerted that there is a problem, they will likely liquidate the kids and leave.”

She nodded. She didn’t like the idea of leaving Simone in the hands of the bad guys any longer than she had to, but she also understood that Simone had a better chance of survival if we used caution instead of rushing into things.

Rainey sighed and sat down on the bed.

“Why don’t you get some rest, Rainey?” Gage asked. “You’ll need to have all of your wits together if we are going to rescue the kids.”

She sighed again and said, “I wish I could. I’m worried.”

However, exhaustion wins every time. When a person’s body says that a person has had enough, then the body will shut down.

Fifteen minutes after Rainey protested that she was too worried to sleep, she was curled up on my bed, snoring softly.

I took her phone and plugged it in. We wanted to be able to see immediately if Simone was able to send any additional messages.

Then, I covered Rainey up. I liked the idea of taking care of her, and I liked the idea of her falling asleep in my bed.

Then, I shook my head. I had to keep this professional. Rainey and I could talk about our past involvement and any potential future after this was over. Right now was certainly not the time.

Gage caught me watching her.

He whispered, “You forgot all about her, huh? There is nothing between you, huh?”

I growled at him, and he chuckled softly, not wanting to wake Rainey.

“I knew you were lying to me. I also knew that regardless of your personal feelings, you would die trying to protect these children and take down this ring. That was the only reason I let you be a part of this mission. But don’t try to lie to me again,” he said sternly.

“Yes, sir,” I said, respecting him and his words.

Gage said, “Get some rest. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Her phone is on high volume, so you’ll hear any messages. Andrew will get a hold of me if anything changes.”

He didn’t wait for an answer. He just left, closing the door softly behind him.

I looked at the beautiful woman sound asleep on my bed. I could do the gentlemanly thing and sleep on the floor or the couch. I had indeed slept in worse places before.

But then, I decided that I wasn’t that much of a gentleman. I got undressed and slipped under the covers next to her.

Gently, so as not to wake her, I pulled her close to me. I held her in my arms, loving how it felt to spoon her. I had missed her, and one of my biggest regrets was leaving her.

It didn’t take me long to fall asleep. It was one of the best sleeps that I had experienced in a very long time. She didn’t move all night long.

Both of us were still asleep when pounding on the door woke us up the next morning.

“It’s time to get moving,” Gage said. He walked away without an answer. He was good at that.

I opened my eyes to see deep, sea-blue eyes looking at me. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and smiled at me.

I kissed her on the nose and said, “Good morning, beautiful.”

5

Rainey

Several thoughts ran through my head as I woke up. My first thought was that it was the best thing ever to wake up and see Lucian’s smiling face when I opened my eyes. My second thought was that I hoped the other guys didn’t know that I’d slept with him.

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