Rising Storm (Westin Force #2) - Julie Trettel Page 0,11

gone better and faster than expected, but Clara admitted she’d also given her a healthy dose to ensure she stayed under through it all.

“You guys ever coming out?” Silas asked.

He wasn’t happy. It killed him to leave anyone behind and losing five of them to the Raglan was going to weigh heavily on him.

“Figured you’d give us the all-clear when you were ready,” Grant responded.

“Do I need to wipe your asses too?”

Grant and Ben shared a look with me. He seemed grumpier than usual. They opened the door and helped our guests out. I sat there with Sahara. Once everyone else was settled, they’d come back and help me move her to the plane.

I knew we’d take everyone back to the Lodge. They’d be debriefed and we’d collect as much information from them as possible before deciding what to do with them. Most had families back home and wanted to get back to them. Occasionally we crossed paths with loners or those who were too traumatized or damaged to return home. We had resources for those to help them reintegrate into their societies. Sometimes, when needed, we let them stay, like stray pups. They’d find jobs on the Force or make arrangements with Kyle Westin, the alpha of Westin Pack, to work inside his territory.

Sitting there next to my girl I felt a little guilty. I hadn’t even stopped to consider how me finding my mate might affect Silas. It had always just been the two of us against the world. We’d taught ourselves the basics of school and learned everything else as needed.

By the time I was fourteen, we were already taking contracts from the highest bidder. Our home area was often riddled with war and kids were a high commodity. No one wanted to shoot a cute kid. Plus, we were both on the small side, especially Silas who was technically three years older than me. He was a late bloomer though and so we’d always gone by my age. We’d used that to our benefit.

By the time I was eighteen we were contracted mercenaries, hired to travel around the world on missions no one else wanted to take. Sometimes it got to me. I didn’t mind the stealing or destruction, but killing people was never my forte and those hiring us knew it. We were like shadows in the dark, get in, get out undetected, no one gets hurt.

The two of us had built a solid career on that, and despite committing to Westin Force we still took the occasional side contract for extra money. It wasn’t that the Force didn’t pay well, we wouldn’t have stuck around this long if the money wasn’t there. They definitely took care of us well, but there was always the fear that the bottom would fall out, that the job would come to an end.

For that we kept taking extra jobs when we had the free time. We never went against the Force, but they also didn’t usually dabble in the type of jobs Silas and I were offered. A couple of times we’d even been able to take bigger requests by leveraging the others on Bravo team, but usually it was just me and Silas keeping our names out there and our foot in the door should we find ourselves out of jobs here.

The way I’d acted today, I wouldn’t even blame them for firing me. I’d completely abandoned the mission to focus on one person only. I looked over at her sleeping form. Her gorilla was large and gorgeous. I was curious and excited to know what she looked like. It didn’t really matter to me though. She was mine, the best birthday gift imaginable.

I smiled.

“Wipe that stupid look off your face,” Silas said.

“Can’t help it,” I admitted. “We’re not the only ones, man. Look at her.”

He softened some and jumped up into the truck to sit with me.

“She’s beautiful,” he said with longing in his voice.

“If she’s here, then there could be others. Your mate could be out there too.”

“I know,” he said softly as we both sat and stared at her.

“I can’t even believe it,” I confessed. My heart filled with contentment and love. It sounded stupid and I certainly never expected to be the instant love kind of guy. With anyone else, I was jaded and skeptical, but not her. An impossibility, a miracle, was right there within arm’s reach. I would cherish her every day for the rest of my life. It was my