the packing. “When I first met these people, my fiancé was a major pain in my ass—always flirting, testing my sense of decency. He was off limits because he was just a kid. Then it all changed. It happened so fast. He grew up within the space of one breath and another. Their physiology is different. Merlin isn’t as young as you might think. Regardless, he’s one annoying little fucker. If I were you, I’d think military school. I’ll leave it at that.”
“Thanks a lot, dude.”
Their discussion was cut short by a commotion at the far end of the room. Val, Christos, Malcolm and one other man named Claude, who was always so quiet that Craig mostly forgot he existed, trooped in on V formation, flanking the shackled prisoner Petru. The guy was dressed like everyone else who was going, but with unkempt hair that put Craig in mind of Albert Einstein. With his cold eyes, the guy had Craig thinking of him as G.I. Jararacussu, a type of deadly viper who he’d run into down in South America during a particularly unpleasant tour of duty. This was not someone to trust. If it were up to him, they’d toss the dude out somewhere over the Atlantic. With Merlin on the inside, what do they need this jerk-off for, anyway?
Petru rattled his chains. “Really, is this necessary? When are you going to trust me?”
“Never,” came the chorus of replies from his escorts.
Alex appeared from behind one of the vans they were loading. He got right in Petru’s face. “One word, one twitch of your pinkie that I don’t like and this will be a one-way trip for you. Understand?”
Petru didn’t so much as flinch. “Yes.” Alex made a motion, and the others hustled Petru into one of the vans and strapped him into the second seat.
Once that was done, everyone picked up speed packing and loading. Trey left Craig alone, thank God, although he surprised him with a manly hug and a thump on the back before leaving. “Take care of yourself, Craig. Stay frosty out there, and try not to come back in a body bag, yeah?”
Appreciating the concern, he gave his old friend and former lover a firm nod. “I will return in one piece and under my own speed. Count on it.”
With Trey’s retreating back in his line of sight, he said a silent prayer that he would make good on that promise—for Trey’s sake, but also for his family and yes, Alun, as well. Then he proceeded to make his choices of personal weapons quickly. He strapped two handguns on and packed the rest. Catching sight of Alun dragging a trunk to one of the vans, he raced over to help.
“I’ve got it,” he said, hoisting one end up by its straps. “Man, what do you have in here?”
Alun looked at the floor as he picked up his side. “Mostly food and blankets. Some water.”
“Really? I guess it’s the jugs, then, that I’m feeling.” He frowned. “I thought all of those kinds of things went in first.”
“Yes, mostly. Emil, Jase and Damien handled it, but Alex did say we should all bring whatever we thought we’d need. The plane and the helicopters hold a lot of weight, and you never know what might come in handy. What if we crash in the desert, like?”
Craig hefted it up to the edge of the van and helped Alun do the same with his part. “Yeah, I guess that’s a possibility—a really shitty one, especially if it happens after we’ve succeeded in rescuing the others. Syria is not a place to linger.”
Alun got into the van to push the trunk farther back. “Have you ever been there?”
“No.” Thank God, he’d served his time before that tour of duty had come up. He’d had his fill of desert warfare—of any warfare, frankly. Yet, here he was going in for what he hoped was the last time. Nothing for it. If he sat this one out, he’d regret it for the rest of his life, even though he held a nagging worry that this wasn’t truly going to be the end of it.
Alun jumped down to the garage floor again. He looked at him with solemn eyes. “But you’ve been to similar places, done this very thing before?”
“Yeah. I was a soldier. It’s what we do.”
“You’ll be careful, though.”
“I always am.”
“Good.” A split second later, he was in Craig’s arms. “I’ve never fought, and I’m not scared, not for myself.” He