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“Did you see that?” Mateo pointed at Xena. “That dog was afraid of her own shadow when I first met her. Ever since she attacked Ivan when he was beating Lainey, she’s been fearless.”

Brax could still hear the anger and anguish in his friend’s voice when he thought about Lainey’s captivity. He wondered if Mateo would ever be over it.

Looking out the sliding glass door, Brax would bet his bottom dollar that Lainey was over it. Seeing how she looked at Mateo, like he was her hero and protector? Well, there was something damn special about it. Too bad that wasn’t going to happen for him. Lainey and the other women of the Omega Sky men were freaking unicorns.

An image of his mother popped into his mind. Yep, Mateo and the rest had definitely hit the winning lotteries.

“Whatcha thinking?” Mateo asked as he took another sip of his soda.

“About the upcoming mission. Bangladesh. Never been there, have you?”

Mateo shook his head. “But remember the mission in Nepal? That should kind of count, right?”

Brax shrugged, then grinned.

“What?”

“We should take some R&R and head over to Italy. Hit Val Bodengo for some canyoning. I’ve been reading up on it.”

Mateo tipped his chin toward Lainey. “If I went to Italy, it would be somewhere that Lainey and I could both enjoy. She wouldn’t be happy waiting around for me to traverse a cave.”

“Hey. Bite your tongue. It’s a lot more than going caving. They rank Val Bodengo as one of the most difficult places to go canyoning. We’d have to be sharp.”

Brax was really getting into the idea. It was stupid to do something as dangerous as canyoning on your own, and he didn’t want to go with someone he didn’t know, so Mateo would be perfect. They’d already done it a couple of times before.

“Sorry. Not going to happen. I’m fine risking my life for my job, but no more extreme sports for me. You can cross me off your list. I’m spending my downtime with Lainey, and I want to make sure I do everything I can to come home to her safe, whole and alive. You know what I mean.”

Brax nodded. “I’m hearing you.”

“Did you see that?” Mateo was pointing and laughing. “Both of them plunked their asses down at the same time. Lainey’s winning.”

“Winning?”

“What else would you call it? She’s now the alpha.” Mateo chuckled.

The call came at oh-two-hundred. Brax grabbed his phone as he rolled out of bed.

“Yeah?”

“It’s go-time,” Gideon said.

“Bangladesh?”

“Yep.”

“I’ll be there in forty-two minutes.” Brax hung-up and threw on clothes. He grabbed his go-bag from his closet, which was actually a precisely filled backpack, and hauled ass to his Jeep. God willing, and the creek don’t rise, he’d be at base in thirty-seven minutes, forty-two minutes since he got the call.

Of course, Kostya was already in the ready room. He was always there first. Gideon still wasn’t, which was unusual. Brax had beat half of his team members. Braxton spotted the coffee, and he knew Kostya had started it. Lord, love the man. Brax went to the table and poured himself a cup.

Ryker McQueen sidled up next to him. “The one good thing? Our backpacks are lighter, since we’re headed to a warm climate.”

“Yeah, but monsoon season is close to starting.” Brax frowned. “Normally starts in May, but it decided to come a little earlier this year.”

“Yeah, I’ve got my rain gear,” Ryker said as he grabbed his mug of coffee.

Brax knew his team. Everybody had their rain gear; there wasn’t a single man who wouldn’t have checked the weather on where they were going. Of course, Kostya, being Kostya, would have rain gear next to the weapons, just in case.

Brax looked around for Nolan O’Roarke and spotted him just as he was entering the room. His pack was bigger than the rest of theirs. He and Gideon always had to pack more. Gideon, as the communications guy, had more equipment, and Nolan, as the medic, had bulked up with medical supplies and anything he could think of for any injury that might come his way.