Friday. Aegis Group safe house, Nouakchott, Mauritania.

Watching someone eat should not be a full-body experience.

Felix pried the loaf of bread apart and proceeded to fill it like a sandwich with the rice and fish provided for dinner. To top it off, he drizzled the red, tomato based sauce on it, then promptly bit off the end.

At first, she’d thought she was dizzy from the knock on her head, but that wasn’t like her. Then there were the waves of heat radiating up through her body. The dry mouth. How her stomach knotted up every time the corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile.

He glanced at her, catching her staring.

His lips did that thing where the corners lifted and his eyebrows darted up briefly.

“That’s one way of eating it, I guess.” She spooned up some of the rice. Despite her last meal being ages ago, she couldn’t find interest in the food.

“Tastes like red beans and rice.” Felix licked his thumb and studied his sandwich.

“That’s because that dish is derived from this. Slaves brought this to America. It’s changed over time, but it’s similar enough.”

“Eat.” Val jabbed her elbow into Jackie’s ribs.

Felix nodded around his mouthful of food. Unlike the other men who seemed a little smaller without their tactical gear on, Felix was still as big and imposing as he’d been fully kitted out. One of the guys earlier had called him Viking, and the resemblance wasn’t lost on her. From the neatly trimmed beard to his long hair bound back in a tight braid, she could see him playing the part.

Jackie glanced over her shoulder at Val. The others had inhaled the meal and were moving on to the next thing they hadn’t had in a while, showers and sleep. Jackie was too restless for any of this. She wanted to get back out there, find the people she’d promised to help, and get them safe—but that wasn’t a good idea. Her better sense won out, which was a rare enough occurrence it left her at odds. Usually she did what she wanted. Being limited wasn’t something she was accustomed to.

“Do you think we’ll be able to go back in the morning?” she asked.

“I really can’t say yet.” He wiped his mouth and sniffed at the tea. “What...is this?”

“Probably mint tea if it’s the same thing I got.”

“I see.”

“You get used to it after a while.”

“It’s edible, it’s drinkable, it’s better than a lot of stuff I’ve had before.”

“You guys, are you all military?”

“Retired, and yes. Those guys are mostly retired SEALs. I was Royal Navy.”

“Wait—Royal Navy?”

“Norway.”

“You sound pretty American to me...”

“I was born in Norway. Parents moved to America. We have dual citizenship, and I figured—what the hell?”

“That’s how you make your life choices? What the hell?” Jackie shook her head. She couldn’t imagine not having a purpose or a target.

Felix shrugged and kept eating.

“When will you guys know about being able to go back?” She pushed her plate aside and leaned forward. So far, Kyle had stonewalled her and the others simply smiled and pointed her in the direction of food and sleeping quarters. Felix was the only one who’d said anything of substance to her. She didn’t want to talk to him. Her stomach situation got worse every time they locked eyes, but if she didn’t pry answers out of him, she wouldn’t get any.

He finished his bite of food and wiped his mouth before answering. “Hard to say.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that there’s a lot of factors. We’re having to gather our intel, vet it, and evaluate the situation.”

“Whose job is that?”

“Ultimately, the Team Leader has final say on what we do, but I’m in charge of tactical.”

“So you and Kyle make this decision?”

“On this op, for the most part, yeah.”

“How does this work? Your team?”

“What do you mean? Our job?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Our team specializes in what we call asset recovery. Fancy way of saying we get the hostages no one else can. We do that typically working with American law enforcement.”

“So you’re mercenaries?”

“No, ma’am. We aren’t hired guns. We don’t take just any job. We focus on asset recovery and protection.”

“You’re really fancy bodyguards then?”

“That’s one way of putting it, yeah.” Felix nodded.

“Rescuing hostages. Got it. What are the chances you and Kyle will go back for the rest of our people?”

Felix grimaced and finished his last bit of food.

Jackie’s mind whirled with options. Her father and brother had paid this team to protect her. She got the feeling that if she tried to leave under their watchful eye, they’d stop her. But if she went without them knowing and managed to get there—they’d come for her, right?

“It depends on a wide variety of variables.” Felix arranged the salt and pepper shakers in a line with his plate and utensils. “When we go into a situation, if at all possible, we bring everyone out. Like with your medical team.”

“If the rest of our people were with us, you’d have figured out a way to get them out?”

“Yes, and no. We only had one vehicle and there was incoming danger to you. Everything boils down to that. We were paid to bring you home safe. We would have likely split the group and sheltered in place until we could arrange to transport the other targets.”

“It’s so odd that my dad would care now, of all times.” She shook her head.

“He’s your dad.” Felix shrugged and glanced away, his gaze shuttering.

Jackie swallowed down the sour taste in her mouth.

“You met him, didn’t you?” she asked.

“I did. He was there when we were briefed.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin and stared through the open door where most of the rest of his team had gathered.

“I see.” She didn’t know if she should be glad they were on the same page regarding her father. Her biggest question was, what had Dad said? She wasn’t sure she wanted to know that, which only left one other question. “Why’d he send you? Do you know?”

“You’ll have to ask your Dad.” Felix glanced at her, his blue eyes steady, his voice calm, but his mouth twisted into a grimace.

He knew why Dad wanted them to bring her home. He didn’t like it. And he wouldn’t tell her for some reason.

Dad had stopped factoring into her decisions the day he’d kicked Mom out. Even at her young age she’d known what was going on.

Jackie remembered being woken up from a deep sleep to her mother’s keening wails of grief. Jackie could still smell the other woman’s perfume when she wandered out to see what was going on and discovered Mom and Dad facing off in the foyer. Mom left, tears streaming down her cheeks because Dad didn’t see anything wrong with what he was doing. She’d driven her car into a concrete barricade because she couldn’t see it. She’d been crying too hard. That was the beginning of her pill addiction, and the end of their family.

Right now, Jackie had to choose. Either she pestered Felix, or someone else, into telling her why Dad suddenly cared, or she focused on getting the rest of her team out.

There was no contest for her. Only one mattered.

“Back to getting everyone out.” She leaned forward.

“We don’t know yet. If we can get in, get them out safely, and everyone transported, we will. Our goal is to always protect life, but we are in the middle of a budding civil war. There’s a fifty-fifty chance we won’t be able to go back for them.”

Thoughts sparked. Felix and his team wanted to protect people, and she had people in need of protection.

“What if I refuse to leave with you? What then? Could I pay you to be my bodyguards here?” Whatever they cost to hire wouldn’t fit in her budget, but if she cut out some things she might be able to swing it.

Felix stared at her for a moment, his brow furrowed.

He really was too handsome for a gig like this.

“No, you couldn’t hire us,” he said.

“What?” Had Jackie heard him right? She sat up and frowned. “Why not?”

“Because you are reckless. You want to run back into danger. One of our guys would die protecting you. That’s not to say that we aren’t willing to die doing what we do, but that’s why we gauge the safety of a situation for us, our clients and assets. At the end of the day, you don’t have to live with that loss of a team member, we do.”

“You don’t know that anyone would die. And I am not reckless.” Impulsive wasn’t the same as reckless.

“All due respect, ma’am? I’ve seen your social media postings. I’m not going to argue that you do some great work, but you take risks. Maybe if we hadn’t lost someone recently, and maybe if I hadn’t gotten on this team because a guy was nearly killed I’d have a different assessment, but as is, I wouldn’t accept a job from you.”

“That’s a lot coming from someone who decided to join the navy because it seemed like the thing to do at the time.”

“Jack?” Val braced her hand on the table, her smile far too bright. “Want me to show you where we’re sleeping?”

How much had Valentina heard?

Jackie inhaled a deep breath and pasted on her smile.

“Thanks for the dinner talk, Felix.” She pushed to her feet and gathered her things.

Val’s glare was enough of a warning to keep Jackie from saying anything. They both knew her mouth could run away from her, and more often than not Val served as Jackie’s better sense.

She stored her mostly uneaten meal in the fridge for later. Eventually she’d get her appetite back. This whole place was a snapshot of luxury in the middle of one of the poorest cities in the world. It was crazy to her.

Jackie followed Val upstairs. The rescue team had set up in a large home, but there were still only so many beds for ten people. She’d shared less in worse conditions. They went from room to room, checking in on the others, sharing Kyle’s plan and rolling ideas around for how to still complete their objective. An hour later, they had no better ideas and were a lot more tired than before.

Val showed Jackie to their room at last and flopped on the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped and her face drooping from exhaustion.

“What was all that about with the blond guy? You two looked like you were about to fuck or fight.”

Felix.

Just thinking his name had her clenching her teeth. She’d yank that too pretty hair off his head.

No, she really wouldn’t, but she’d think about it a bit.

“He called me reckless. Said I’d get people killed.” Jackie paced across the room to the windows and peered out through the shutters. For some reason, his assessment of her rankled in a way she wasn’t used to.

“You don’t always think through things. Your heart is in the right place.” Val stretched out along the foot of the bed. “I should shower before I sleep.”

“I offered to hire them to be our bodyguards so we could get everyone out safe and he said they wouldn’t take the job.”

“You mean someone didn’t do exactly what you wanted?” Val snorted and tossed her head back on a laugh. “I heard that—and your teeth grinding. I’m sorry, that guy practically telling you no was the best thing all week. I needed that. You two would be good for each other.”

“That Instagram model? Yeah, no thanks. You are so not helpful.” Jackie paced to the windows and peered out. In the distance she could see fire bathing the horizon, the slums of the city going up in smoke. The heat crawling up her neck cooled at the sight of the city, what had happened to it while they’d been locked away.

“Maybe not, but I see his point.”

“What?” Jackie turned and frowned at Val.

“Did we go into Syria last summer?”

“No, but—”

“No, we didn’t, because it was too dangerous. Don’t try to say it’s because we weren’t able to find the right people willing to do the job, it’s because everyone accepted that without some serious protection it wasn’t safe enough.”

“I don’t like it when you’re reasonable.”

“You don’t like hearing no.”

Jackie bit her lip.

Jackie had grown up in a world of privilege she hated. It was that world that tore her family apart and showed her the evil side of what having too much did to people. She wasn’t proud of herself at times, now being one of them. Val was right.

“Look, like I said, your heart is in the right place. The problem I see is, if you put your life at risk and get killed, where does that leave the rest of us? Without you paying the bills, investing money, getting donations, the rest of us can’t afford to do these trips. If you die...this work? It stops. All the charities you work with, they might not survive without you. You are a fundraising machine when you put your heart and soul into it. The way I see it, keeping you safe and getting you out of here should be a priority if the alternative of not leaving puts you—and others—at risk.”

“I hate it when you’re reasonable.”

“You need someone besides me to tell you no. Are you done sulking yet? Can I go to sleep?”

“Yeah, let’s try to get some sleep.” Jackie sighed and turned from the window.

“So you think the blond guy is hot, huh?” Val’s grin was a slash of white in the dim room.

“I never said that.”

“You called him an Instagram model. You always do these weird, backhanded compliments when you like a guy. Just accept it. He told you no, which is like your biggest turn on, he’s good-looking, for a white guy, and hey, he just saved your ass. I vote you get your freak on.”

“I want to shower,” Jackie announced. And she wanted nothing to do with this conversation.

“Good. I’m tired of smelling you.”

“You’re a shitty friend.”

“Love you, too.” Val grinned and blew her a kiss. “There’s some clean clothes over there. Shower’s down the hall.”

Jackie snorted and picked up the set of clothing, complete with tags still on. Val was queen of the cat nap. Five minutes here, twenty there. That was how she kept going. Jackie couldn’t do it.

If she couldn’t sleep or eat, maybe a shower would do her good. A little while under the water always shook some good ideas loose. Besides, she’d wiped as much of the blood off earlier as she could, but the only way to get it out of her hair was a shower.

She turned off the lights and slipped out to the hall. The house had gone quiet all around her. The others were probably tucked in for the night as she should be.

The only bathroom on this floor was a communal one down the hall. The light from inside shone through under the door, but there were no sounds of the toilet or shower.

Jackie leaned up against the wall, ready to wait her turn.

“Fuck,” a familiar male voice said.

She frowned at the door.

Felix.

Great.

Maybe she could be hungry after all.

She pushed off the wall.

The door opened, the light silhouetting Felix’s big body. His hair was wet and loose down past his shoulders, a bundle of clothes tucked under his arm. Water dripped down his chest, the fine, blond hairs slicked to his skin. The smell of soap tickled her nose and she swallowed, all too aware of her dry mouth. She wasn’t one to gawk at a guy much, but even she had to admit, the Viking was a spectacular specimen of male. She couldn’t fault him on the combat boots and basketball shorts fashion combination. She was also so busted.

“Jackie, what are you still doing awake?” Felix rocked back on his heels, taking up most of the space in the hall.

“Oh... There was blood in my hair. Val said I still smell like the toilet bucket, so... Shower.” That was the sexiest thing she’d ever said. Jackie cringed and wished she didn’t have the bathroom spotlights on her.

“It was a distinct aroma.” He chuckled.

“Thanks.”

“Hey, I’d be willing to bet we don’t smell particularly fresh either.” He held his hands up.

Jackie swallowed and tried to rein in her goofy ass grin. Val was right, damn her. Felix was the kind of guy she’d go for, despite his preferred method for making decisions.

“Jackie? About earlier. I don’t speak for the team. I was out of line saying what I did about you. I’ll let Kyle answer your questions from here on out.”

Shit.

She stared up at his face, a little hard to see with indirect light, but his eyes stood out.

One of the reasons Jackie always built a team around Val was because she knew she needed someone who could tell her no. Before Val, Jackie was used to always getting her way, even if it wasn’t for the best reasons. A good heart didn’t excuse bad decisions.

Felix had given her his honest assessment of her, and it stung, but he was right. She led with her heart, then her head.

“Thanks, but you don’t owe me an apology. You were right about me, and actually I’d still like your input. Kyle is going to tell me what he’s required to tell me and be nice about it. You don’t have to, and I need someone to shoot me straight on this.”

“I don’t know—”

“I know in my own way I’m spoiled. People don’t usually tell me no when I want something. Kyle is going to make everything sound nice and okay—and I’m going to push back. I need you to tell me no because...you’re right.” She hugged the clothes to her chest. “I can be reckless. I can make rash decisions. We’ve been lucky that no one has ever gotten seriously injured on any of these trips, but it’s always a risk. You were right. Given the chance, I’d have run by that bus and back to the others. People would have gotten hurt because of me. Getting knocked on the head was probably a good thing.”

“A good thing?” Felix snorted a laugh.

“Hey, it made me compliant for a moment.” She chuckled, but it died off fast. She stared up at Felix’s eyes, uncomfortable with how much she needed him. “If things are going to be super, seriously dangerous, I need you to tell me that. I need you to tell me I’m being a risk, because I’m going to push to do more than is safe. I’m never going to stop thinking about the people we left behind. Deal?”

“I can do that, and we are actively trying to figure out a way to help them. Kyle’s calling all his resources in on this one.” His gaze slid up a bit. “How’s your head doing?”

“It’s attached.” She lifted her hand and pressed at the gash. Val had used a few steri strips to hold it closed in lieu of stitches. “Either it’ll be sore in the morning or I’ll hardly notice it.”

“Come here.” Felix stepped back, making space in the bathroom for her.

She took a step forward before she considered his words, what she was doing. Doing what she was told was such a foreign action. The scent of soap and man had her in some sort of strange trance.

Felix took the clothes from her and set them on the counter. He grasped her head in his hands, his touch surprisingly gentle, and bent her head, examining the cut just over her temple that extended into her hair.

“I’m not sure you want to wash this in the shower.” He frowned. “I’ll make you a deal, but you can’t tell the other guys. You shower, then I wash this.”

“My hair?”

“I’m uniquely qualified for this.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You’ll wash the scab off and it’ll start bleeding again, if you’re lucky. If you aren’t, you’ll bleed, get dizzy and maybe even pass out and drown in here while no one is around. Either you take my deal or I’m going to get Val—”

“You wouldn’t.” She pulled out of his grasp and glared at him.

“I told you, my first priority is keeping you safe.”

“From showers?”

“If necessary.”

Jackie rolled her eyes. One moment she was going breathless over him, the next she was considering his offer if only to drown him.

“Out.” She shooed him away.

“Am I going to wake up Val?”

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re a bully?”

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re stubborn?”

“All the time.” She grinned.

“I’ll be back in a minute to check on you.” He wagged his finger at her.

She considered biting it, then thought better. If she hurt him, they’d be back in the need to wake Val up boat and that was one line Jackie didn’t want to cross. As soon as they got back to the others, Val and the rest would have their hands full.

Felix backed out, his eyes narrowed and one side of his mouth quirked up. She grabbed the door and pushed it closed almost in his face, then leaned against it.

What the hell was going on with her?

It had to be that hit to the head.

She edged toward the mirror and tilted her head to the side so she could see the damage. There was no way she really needed his help, was there?

It looked worse than it felt right now. Tomorrow it would be incredibly sore. And down the line she was willing to bet this time she was going to scar. It was pretty deep and nasty.

Damn it.

He was right.

Friday. PPM Headquarters, Nouakchott, Mauritania.

Samba listened to the man on the other end of the line. His assistant, Lemine, stood by, another phone in hand.

“Good. I’ll relay the word.” Samba nodded at Lemine, who turned and began issuing his orders.

At this hour, everyone was out in the city. They should be celebrating the acquisition of a valuable bargaining chip, but once again Zeina’s intel had failed them. There were conflicting reports on whether or not someone had seen the Davis girl.

It was probably better this way. If he captured the girl using Zeina’s intel and people, he’d be hard pressed not to give her what she wanted. But if it was his people and resources who found her, he could broker a bargain with the American companies, buying their support.

Zeina thought she had more reach and power than she did. If it weren’t for her money, he’d have sent her home to her parents already. As it stood, the men her money paid for were too valuable to part with. So he’d put up with her a while longer, at least until he got what he wanted—the presidential palace. For too long, they’d allowed outsiders to influence their country, change their values and limit their rights. No more. When Samba assumed power, things would change. Women like Zeina would be put in their place, and once more they would return to the proper ways. Or at least that’s what Samba would tell his followers.

“Sir?” Lemine approached him, phone in hand. “They’re working on it.”

“Good.”