“Okay, so you have a couple of really big fears.” He gave her a cheesy grin.
Raven rolled her eyes.
And why was that so endearing?
“We all have things in our lives that affect us. It doesn’t make you a mess.” He took a chance and clasped her fingers.
Her gaze landed on their hands and drifted to his face. “I never thought we’d meet in person.”
“I have a confession.”
Her brow arched.
“I’ve wanted to meet you for some time now.”
“Me too. But I kinda wanted to look my best and not be moments away from a panic attack and caked in sweat and grime.”
“Raven, you’ve guided us through some crazy missions. You’re amazing. I don’t care that you have smudges on your face.” He smiled and wiped at a spot of dirt on her cheek. The bruises twisted his stomach, but he refused to think about that. “Let us haveyourback this time.”
“You don’t think I’m weird?” Wide eyes stared back at him.
“Not in the slightest.”
Her hand trembled, and he tightened his grip. “Okay.”
Boone waltzed over. “Ready for a tour of your mansion?”
“Charlie Four—Sorry, Boone—lead the way.” Raven struggled to stand.
Liam helped her to her feet and held her arms until she steadied herself. Once certain she wouldn’t fall, he escorted her to their creation.
“You’ll love it.” Boone extended his arm, gesturing toward the structure. “Xander rigged a little curtain. We included a couple of glow sticks to pop if you want a bit of light.”
“I don’t know how to thank you.” Her voice cracked.
“Go on. Try it out. You can sit inside while we talk if it’ll make you feel more at ease.” Liam jutted his chin at the tent.
Raven ducked inside and lowered herself onto a tarp they’d placed on the ground as a floor. She used the tree as a backrest.
“I wish we had a sleeping bag and pillow for you, but we travel light.” Liam crouched at the opening and examined the interior. The guys did a great job with the enclosure.
“Which brings me to my next question. How did you find me? No one except my therapist knew I was in Mexico.” Ravenhad already relaxed a bit. The terror in her eyes had dimmed, and her voice had steadied.
Liam joined his team, who’d taken up position outside of Raven’s safe place and sat where she could see them.
“By the grace of God.” Liam’s whispered words spoke louder than if he’d shouted.
“Amen to that, brother.” Boone nodded and rested his forearms on his knees. “We got hired to find a contractor’s daughter. But the moment we stepped toward the trail that led to you, a Fed told us to abort because the ‘package’ died in a car crash.”
Rafe, who had joined them a few minutes ago after swapping with Dax, snorted. “We don’t abort because some Fed tells us to. We’re private security, not their puppets. We stop when we’re satisfied.”
Xander sat cross-legged and picked the leaf off a twig he’d found on the ground. “Boss’s gut said to keep going. We did, and voila, we found you in a hut in the middle of the jungle.”
Her chin trembled, and one tear carved a clean line through the dirt. “I can’t believe you ignored the abort mission,” she whispered.
“The whole thing felt off. We listen to instinct. And mine said not to stop.” At the time, Liam’s gut screamed at him to keep going. Now he knew why.
“Thank you for not leaving me with those men.” She swallowed hard. “I don’t think they would have kept up the questioning much longer, if you know what I mean.”
