Page 61 of Protected By The Green Berets

He nodded and stood. I got to my feet and stretched the kinks from my back. Sitting on the floor all night was going to be hell. It was bad enough we had to sleep on it. Brandon had told me this wouldn’t be the Ritz of safehouses and boy was he right. It did the job, however.

As though bidden by my thoughts, Alden and Keller walked through the door. A smile broke out over my face when I saw they were carrying a small table and some chairs. I wasn’t about to ask where they got them from.

“Thought it would be more comfortable,” Keller grunted when I gave him an appreciative look.

Neither of us were quite sure how to act with each other yet. We’d gone from always fighting to aggressively fucking, and now we had to figure out a new way to exist around each other. It would take some getting used to. I had a feeling there would still be plenty of fighting between us. He just had a way of getting under my skin.

I gave them each kisses as they left. Sure, I was still angry at them about their little stunt from earlier, and their expectations that I would just roll over and do what they wanted. That didn’t mean I wanted to send them off distracted. So I played nice, knowing full well I’d be having it out with them at the next opportunity.

Locking the door behind them, I took every precaution. I draped a blanket over the sink window to hide the glow of the lights. An extra chair was lodged between the door knob and the floor. It wouldn’t stop an intruder, but it would give me time. My loaded handgun sat next to me on the table as I tapped away on my laptop. I stopped often to listen to the sounds out on the street. Eventually, they quieted as the locals went inside their homes and settled in to sleep.

I worked through it all. The plan was to stay up all night, like the guys were going to do, so that we could be on the same schedule. We’d been here in Najaf for almost thirty-six hours and there hadn’t been any trouble. That didn’t mean I’d drop my guard, but Keller wasn’t insisting anyone stand watch while the others slept either.

Finding information on Roj wasn’t easy. It was going to take some time. The man was as careful as he was paranoid. It wasn’t like he had a digital footprint or social media. I had to look for odd patterns outside of his immediate circle. Large movements of cash into a city, local leaders leaving an area unexpectedly. Things that would point to him coming or going from an area, but from the point of view of the residents, not from Roj himself.

I was so engrossed with my work I didn’t notice the passing of time. A thud at the door made me jump so violently I slammed my knees into the underside of the table.

“Z,” Keller’s muffled voice came from the other side of the door. “Don’t make us break the damn door down. Let us in.”

I hurried over to it and slid the chair out of the way before opening it. “Hey.”

They looked exhausted. I probably did too, but at least I’d had coffee to keep me awake all night. They moved inside, quiet and efficient as always.

“How did it go?” I asked, anxious to hear about it.

“Dibs on the first shower,” Torque called out. He gave me a quick kiss as he hurried past me, ignoring his friends' complaints.

“Good,” Keller said, sitting down at the table. “We got a pretty decent idea of their security’s routine.”

“What else?” I prompted.

“That’s pretty much it for tonight,” Alden said, leaning against the wall.

I sighed. I’d known it was highly unlikely that they’d discover much more than that in one night, but I was really curious to know if Roj had holed up in his little safe spot to wait us out. That seemed to be his MO, so I was thinking it was a safe bet.

I’d learned just enough about Roj tonight to begin piecing together his habits. It wasn’t enough to really mention to the guys just yet. I planned to put together an entire profile on Roj, more than the one we’d already been given by the Agency, but like their scouting, it was going to take more than one night.

Being here alone had given me plenty of time to think—when I wasn’t focused solely on the internet—and I’d come to a conclusion. I made breakfast while they all showered and changed into clean clothes. We’d be going to bed shortly, but I wanted to talk first.

We sat around the small table—it barely fit us all—and ate. Gathering my courage, I took a deep breath. “I need to set some ground rules.”

That got their attention. Four sets of eyes were trained on me. Each of them had tensed up, waiting for what I was about to say.

“I want a relationship with all of you,” I admitted, giving Rush a half smile. He’d called that. “However, I need you to agree to some things.”

“What kind ofthings?” Keller asked, suspicion laced in his tone.

“For starters, the four of you don’t get to join forces and muscle me into complying with what you want just because you all agree and I don’t.” I paused and the silence was deafening. It made me nervous. I didn’t want them to walk away, but I also had to make sure that if we did this, we did so in a way we could all live with. I continued, “We need to either all agree on something, or we sit and talk it through until we come to some kind of agreement.” I gave Rush a hard look. “Like rational adults. No losing your shit and burning my things.”

Rush’s lips twitched, but he nodded solemnly. “I think that’s something I can do.”

“Good, but you’re not the only borderline sociopath in this group.”

Torque was leaning back onto the rear legs of his chair. I knew he and Rush would be the easy sells, and he proved it by letting out a loud laugh and nodding, “No problem for me.”

That left the Kings. They didn’t look happy. Overpowering and forcing people to do their bidding was stamped into their DNA. It was obvious just by looking at the way they both reacted in any given situation. For this to work, they both had to be on board. This was probably the first time in their lives someone told them they couldn’t bully their way through to what they wanted. I doubted they even fully comprehended the idea.

I crossed my arms over my chest and raised my eyebrows. The kitchen was quiet as I waited for their responses.

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