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“We go back to Archie’s so he can get some food and rest. I think he’s going to be more open to that since he wants to be there for his sister. I think we need him to come with us to the school tomorrow.”
Kodiak nodded.
She took him aside out of earshot of Archie who had settled into the backseat of her ute.
“I don’t think they’re going to hurt her until they get access to the school.” She bit her lip, horror climbing inside of her. “They mean to kill children, Kodiak. If it wasn’t for Mickey, we wouldn’t have had a clue.”
“But wehadMickey, and he deserves a freaking medal and so do you.”
She nodded. “He does. I don’t know about me.” As though there was an enormous energy built up in her, she met his gaze, her voice shaky with emotion. “I just know that we have to stop them from carrying out this heinous attack.” Her whole body seemed to radiate energy waves as she swallowed and said, “Let’s get going.”
He grabbed her arm. Kodiak kept his gaze on her, and her throat got suddenly tight. “Everything will go as we planned, Kaiya. We’re forewarned and that allows us to be forearmed.”
Something gave way around her heart, and she shivered. Feeling almost too raw to speak, she reached and cupped his jaw. “Thank you for being here. You and your team have been so amazing and helpful.” His jaw hardened beneath her touch. “It’s been my pleasure.”
“Even when I was calling you a wanker in my head?”
“Especially then.” Kodiak shifted, then cupped her jaw, lifting her face. “I like you in all your moods,” he whispered gruffly. “Definitely the challenging ones.” He brushed his knuckles across her cheek, then tucked some hair behind her ear.
“You are one twisted, yank.”
He pulled her toward him, and she settled into his arms, unable to hold in all the raw and turbulent feelings that surged through her. She had so much more she wanted to talk to him about, and not just her own stuff, but the stuff he’d dropped on her before they were interrupted. She was thankful to have someone to share her fear with, of finally experiencing the feel of his arms around her, his body deep inside hers. And the way he had handled Archie… her eyes stung with the memory of how gentle and strong he’d been, how rusty and awful his violin playing had been, but how he had elicited Archie’s reaction, trying to speak to him with his first love: music. He got that because he was so sensitive. He might be a SEAL, all tough and rough, but he knew how to speak to and deal with broken people.
Including her. But she suspected he didn’t see her that way, not the way she saw herself…in fragments. At least, she had until he started mending her piece by piece, putting everything into perspective.
He looked down, his voice soft. “When it comes to you, I’m a besotted yank.”
There was something so beautiful in his voice that made her long for some alone time with him, as if some force was drawing them together.
Nor was she the only one affected. She sensed he was fighting a war with himself, against reality and what he wanted. But knowing that only intensified her overwhelming feelings. It was as though they were separated by some invisible chasm that seemed impossible to span.
It felt like they stood there forever, neither of them speaking, the silence compounding the tension between them. Unable to endure it any longer, Kaiya said, “We’d better get back.”
There was a strained silence, then he answered raggedly, “Yeah, we’ve got plans to make.”
It didn’t take much insight to realize he was experiencing feelings he was having trouble dealing with, and Kaiya gazed at him, a nearly suffocating ache unfolding inside her. She wanted so badly to tell him, but she also knew she didn’t dare. She realized it was going to be up to her to lighten the tension between them, so she said softly, “I saw a full jar of vegemite at Archie’s. Yum.”
He made no response for several moments, then finally gave her a halfhearted grin. “Never. Going. To. Happen.”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh, come on. Be a brave little sailor yank.”
There was a touch of wry humor in his eyes as he gruffly said, “I don’t think I’m that brave.”
For some reason, his reply uncorked an incredible effervescence inside her, and she laughed, a heady sensation bubbling through her. “I think you’re a coward, Kodiak.”
The tense look left his face, and he grinned back at her. “With a vegemite sandwich looming, I‘d rather think of myself as smart.” They were standing close enough for the scent of him to fill her senses, but what she was feeling toward him went far beyond simple physical attraction. It was much deeper than that, and she was finally forced to face the real reason that she had this insatiable need to be close to him, to touch him. Kaiya knew right then and there that she was utterly lost. Talk about complications on complications.
Back at Archie’s safe house, Kaiya got a meal ordered for the team, and was so happy to see Archie wolf down several mouthfuls with a beer and copious amounts of water. When he’d gone to bed, the real planning began.
It was decided they were going to kit up and imbed into the school long before it opened. The AFP had already assisted the American International School to warn school personnel to take the day off and parents to keep their children at home. Kaiya and the team didn’t want to put any students or teachers in danger. The school would be empty when Turner and Robinson attacked.
They conferred and planned into the wee hours of the morning before they were satisfied with their course of action.
After finishing a conversation with her boss to let her know they were prepared and that they would infiltrate the school two hours before the eight a.m. bell, she found Kodiak on the couch with his eyes closed. Combat nap.
The other guys had filtered into the bedrooms and were either on the bed or bunking on the floor.
She turned off the light next to the couch and grabbed the throw from the back, setting it over him. What a man.Seriously, she thought. What a fucking man, and what an amazing catch he was. She had been so primed to dislike all the Americans, every last one of them. Little did she know Kodiak and their brilliant professionalism would be the catalysts to get her to change her black-and-white thinking into a gray area that weighed all sides. There was such a strength in him. She sat down on the armrest, pushing his hair off his forehead. The dim light caught the sparkle of russet in the soft black. His eyes opened slowly, and he held her gaze for a long moment. Then suddenly he reached for her.
