Page 46 of Code Name: Phoenix

Her body is warm against mine, and her chest pushes against my own with each deep breath she takes.

Her face flushes a soft shade of pink, and I can’t help but run my thumb along her rosy cheeks. She feels hot to my touch.

As the song ends, the clearing of a throat reminds me we are not alone. I glance around.

Hunter has fixed the TV, and the guys are wrapping up their game. Grizz and Dana are sitting on the couch, discussing movies, but she’s watching us out of the corner of her eye. Logan has already left.

The door opens, and Tex walks in.

“Hey, man,” Grizz calls to him from the couch. “We’re just about to watch a movie. I think you’re going to get along with Dana here. She wants to watch—and I quote—anything with lots of action and violence.”

“Nice.” Tex sits down as the opening credits start up.

Without goodbyes, I wrap my fingers tightly around Jessa’s little hand and pull her toward the door.

I’m no longer in the mood to share her, and I need to clear up a few things.

CHAPTER16

JACK

Most of the guys who work with us on this base are local to the Pittsburgh area and travel home for the weekends. We maintain a satellite office just outside of the city, so they don’t need to sit around the base with us unless we’re preparing for an op.

The halls of the compound will be quiet for the next couple of days. Ourguestsare secured, and we need to organize our away teams for a short mission that will have most of the men off this base for a few days.

In our line of work, we take advantage of our breaks. Some months, our teams will go weeks before they get back to their own lives. If the job requires undercover work, it could be longer.

It’s quiet nights like these that amplify the echoes of our footsteps down the vacant halls. As I walk through the dark corridors with Jessa, her hand fidgets in mine, and she hastens her pace every few steps as she tries to keep up.

But she isn’t saying anything.

Good.

That means she’s waiting for me to lead, and as soon as we get to our destination, I’ll be more than happy to.

As we exit the main building, she takes a deep breath, gasping as the night air hits us.

Our compound is at a slight elevation, and the evenings get cool, but the view up here is worth it.

With the nearest city lights almost two hours away, the stars light up like diamonds in the sky. Her gasp isn’t because of the blast of cool night air, but the view above us.

As we near my personal quarters, a soft tug of my hand draws my attention. I stop to look back at Jessa, who is enjoying the display above us.

She shivers against the chill, but her hand remains limp in my own. “It’s beautiful.”

I’m taken back to only days ago, to when I thought I would never know her again. “It is beautiful.”

I can’t see her cheeks flush in the darkness. I wish I could. She drops her head down and to the side, just like she used to when I would compliment her.

When she reacts to the cold again, I wrap my arm around her and continue toward my room.

As we enter my private quarters and shut out the world breaking apart around us, the weight of our situation weighs on my shoulders.

There are no more distractions.

Barring the apocalypse, no one will bother us for the rest of the night.

“Can I get you some water?”

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