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“Always do,” Nik said with a satisfied yawn. Airplanes were the one place insomniac Nik could be counted on to fall asleep.
“I never really believed you slept through a plane crash until now.”
Thea tilted her head and made wide eyes at Nik. “You were in a plane crash?”
“It wasn’t a crash, Tiggs,” he assured as he adjusted his seatback more upright. “We just didn’t land on a runway.”
“Or in one piece…or in the country we were supposed to,” I added. There’d been no end to the wild adventures Nik and I had been through as SEALs.
“At least you finally got some rest.” Thea patted his chest, her fingers lingering a bit longer than necessary. “You needed it.”
I dropped a pair of gold aviators over my eyes as I stood up. “Thea’s right. I need you bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready to blow some shit up.”
Waiting for the plane to taxi back to a parking spot, I leaned down to scan out the window, automatically seeking the white beach. But it stretched out deserted, as if both horse and rider had disappeared in the whirlwind. In a way, it was like Aziza had never been there at all.
I recalled the way sunlight had reflected off the stallion’s unusual silver coat, giving it the most spectacular pearl sheen. Still, it couldn’t compare to the glow Aziza had radiated.
As if reading my mind, Thea lifted her chin and asked, “Was that horse for real? I mean, do horses really come in that color?”
“They do on this island. He’s a rare breed called an Akhal Teke. They’re world-renowned for their metallic coloring. Zaki breeds them as well as many other unique and even endangered animals.”
“And the woman?”
I swallowed. The woman was a one of a kind. And whole story unto herself. “Aziza. She’s Zaki’s right hand. And left. I’m sure she’s headed this way now.”
It irked me that I couldn’t keep the apprehension from lacing my tone, or my heartbeat from ramping high. Since when did meeting anyone, female or not, make me this uncertain? As much as I wanted to see her, I’d begun to dread it, too. Because where I was eager to see her, I knew she hadn’t wanted to see me.
I mused aloud, “She’ll need to debrief me before we head out to the dive site.”
More like dress me down, and not in the way I wanted.
“Debrief, huh?” Thea smirked. “Figured you were more of a commando guy.”
Thankful for the levity, I curled my lip and deadpanned, “You really have to stop staring at my brief-less ass, Thea.”
“You wish,” Nik growled.
“Nik’s right. I only have eyes for his gorgeous, tight, round—”
“Got it,” I grunted.
The plane shimmied as the pilot made his final adjustments into a parking spot. I looked out the window again. Still no Aziza. Couldn’t she put everything aside for one fucking moment?
Maybe she isn’t rolling out the welcome mat because this isn’t your fucking homecoming, dumbass. You turned down that offer. Remember?
I also remembered why.
I needed to get my head on straight in more ways than one. This was a job. Pure and simple. And Aziza was my boss—not my friend, not my family, not my lover. Until I got rid of this rock rolling around in my skull, that was how things had to stay.
Thea’s sudden jolt and gasp spun my attention back to the cabin. Titan had nearly leaped in her lap, his nose poking her head, his tongue lapping her cheek. I narrowed my eyes—Titan had done something similar to me back in Colorado. His snout had poked me right where my tumor was.
“Scared me, boy,” she said as she gently eased his front paws from her legs to back him off.
“You okay, babe?” Nik asked as he scrubbed his fingers through his hair on the tail end of a yawn.
Thea was pressing her fingers into her eyes, like I did when a migraine would be coming on or when I had trouble clearing PTSD memories.
“Thea?” Nik asked louder. Her lack of response must’ve worried him, too, or he’d have called her Tigger. A nickname I still didn’t fully understand, but then, I didn’t understand half of the gooey-ooey, lovey-dovey stuff ol’ steel-hearted Nik had suddenly adopted.
