a mission. They were a close-knit team, even though they didn’t work for Uncle Sam anymore. And tonight, the team was going to have to function at its highest level in order to prevail.
Baby wasn’t part of the team. He’d never been part of the team. But his job was important. Enemies had been known to come after the Linear Tactical family, exploiting what they thought were the men’s weaknesses.
Their women.
It was a paradox. The women they loved were simultaneously what made them stronger and were the chink in their armor. There was nothing the Linear men wouldn’t do to protect the women they loved.
So, while they were all off taking down a potential terrorist threatening one of their own, Baby was on protection detail.
“Report. Over.” Cade O’Conner’s voice sounded in Baby’s ear. The man had been his best friend since kindergarten. He wasn’t a soldier either, though he also possessed the skills he needed to protect those around him.
“Definitely one tango nearby. Another south of Finn’s house.” There was a third somewhere out there, too, if Baby wasn’t mistaken.
“Roger that. I spoke to Wyatt. Evidently, Phoenix is trying some sort of crazy skydiving stunt. And not for YouTube views this time.”
Baby had no doubt Phoenix would do whatever was necessary to get Girl Riley back safely.
“Sorry about your honeymoon, Cade.” Baby kept his voice low so it wouldn’t carry, although from the tree where he was perched, he knew there wasn’t anyone around.
“It’s okay. I’ll have Peyton forever. I plan on talking her in to at least three dozen honeymoons over the course of the rest of our lives.”
Baby was glad his friend had finally ended up with his soulmate. And was pissed as hell that there was no way he could make his non-date with Quinn.
Almost as pissed as he was at the fact that a terrorist had sent three thugs to hurt, or worse, his sister-in-law and two young nephews.
“Watch your back,” Cade said. “Zac is filtering all communication through Kendrick from here on out. It doesn’t sound good. The more Kendrick finds out about the guy who took Girl Riley, the uglier it looks. He’s a psychopath.”
“The guys will handle it. It’s what they do.”
They were somewhere in the Middle East, but Baby wasn’t sure where. He was both glad and upset Quinn had turned down his invitation to the wedding reception. If she’d been there, she would’ve gotten caught up in the chaos, but at least she wouldn’t be sitting up at Pike’s Peak, the local quarry lake, like she would be in a couple of hours wondering what the hell had happened to him.
And he damn well wasn’t going to think about what she tasted like, and those fucking sexy moans she made as she came. Because...
Ouch. God damn it. A hard-on while crouched in a tree on lookout duty was fucking uncomfortable.
And it wasn’t like she hadn’t starred in his fantasies as he’d jacked off—twice a day— since her birthday.
He had it bad for this woman. Getting her to agree to meet him at dawn was supposed to be the first of many dates, and now he was going to miss it because of a terrorist halfway around the world.
“Keep me posted,” he told Cade.
Cade had his own people to look after, but also had a full security team with him. Baby’s mission was protecting Finn’s wife and family. Zac’s fiancée Anne was also in the house.
And there were people here to harm them.
It was time for Baby to go on the offensive rather than stay on defense. It was one thing when the team hadn’t been exactly sure what sort of situation they were dealing with, but now they knew the guys in these woods were waiting for orders from their boss to carry out hits on women and children. Baby was not going to sit around waiting for that call to come through.
He took one last look around from his vantage point in the tree. He knew exactly where one of the bad guys was and was fairly certain about the second.
It was that potential third he wasn’t sure about. His gut told him the guy was out there, but so far, Baby hadn’t found any proof to support that fact.
Finn had been smart to build a ladder onto a tree that afforded a 360-degree view of his property, all while keeping the observer fairly sheltered. Although it wouldn’t be long before Finn’s son Ethan discovered this little gem and made