are.”
Yes, Nina was that type. Meticulous, prepared, competent. But Rafe hadn’t bothered to argue with Knox. The more events slid out of their captain’s control, the more ruthlessly he would tighten his fist around the details still within his power. Knox planned for contingencies the rest of them had never considered and could barely imagine.
“So we’ll have extra supplies.” Rafe tucked the last of their hunting gear into the back of the truck and slammed the door shut. “What do you make of them?”
“Does it matter? They’re collateral damage.” Gray pinned him with a knowing look. “Don’t forget that part, Rafe. I mean it.”
“Hey, Luna’s my contact. I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back.” Especially when guilt over her capture was a knife lodged between his ribs.
Rafe must have led the kidnapper to her. He’d been so careful but, somewhere along the line, his security precautions had failed. Someone had connected Luna to the Devils. Someone who wasn’t interested in turning in rogue soldiers for bounties, or in the sizable finders’ fees the TechCorps handed out for “discovering” new talent.
Whoever was after Nina had to be one scary fucker.
Gray just snorted. “How’s the hand?”
Rafe glanced down. Med-gel worked fast. The tiny scar just above the knuckle of his middle finger had almost healed. But he was convinced that Dani’s slip of the hand had been very deliberate. She’d stabbed that knife between his fingers with such pinpoint precision that she’d left four perfect divots in the table where she’d hit the same spot over and over.
Except for the one time she’d stabbed him. “I’ll live.”
“No shit. But are you going to get distracted?”
“Because she stabbed me?” Rafe snorted and hefted his bag over his shoulder. “Unlike the rest of you sad-ass hermits, I’m not hard up for company.”
“Hey, those ladies might be a little rough on other parts of you, but not a damn one of them is hard on the eyes.”
They weren’t, for sure, but Gray was the last one Rafe had expected to hear comment on it. Conall appreciated pretty girls, even though he tended to lose his good sense over surly boys. And Knox might be the next thing to a monk, but physical allure was a tactical consideration he would never ignore. Gray, on the other hand, liked his privacy. And when they were in the field, he kept his mind on business.
Maybe he was thinking about the tactical considerations, too. “Is this still about me? Or are you worried we’re all going to get stupid?”
“Look—” Gray reached for the pocket where he used to keep his cigarettes. He’d quit, but he still reached for the nonexistent pack a dozen times a day. Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair instead. “The mission’s solid, and we have the upper hand. For now. The best way to lose it is for us to grow consciences. Or, yeah, start thinking with our dicks.”
“How kinky do you think I am? The woman stabbed me.”
Gray arched one eyebrow.
“Okay, but she did it without asking permission first.” Still, he had to admit it was a little hot. Not the nonconsensual aspect, of course—Rafe had some very strict personal rules about keeping everything cheerfully consensual—but the degree of control she had displayed. That blade had been driving toward his hand hard enough to plunge straight through it and into the battered wood below, and Dani had somehow pulled its downward momentum precisely enough for the tip to barely pierce his skin.
Rafe could lift a car. He could probably throw one, too, if he was really desperate. But his raw strength felt clumsy compared to that woman’s surgically exact reflexes.
“Just watch yourself.” Gray’s normally serious expression had pulled into an even more severe frown. “This is going to be a tricky job.”
“You mean it’s going to be shitty.” Rafe kicked at a crumbling piece of concrete. “I don’t particularly want to get cozy with these chicks and then have to stab them in the back. But I said all I have to say already. It’s Luna. To keep her safe, I might stab you in the back.”
“That’s different. I’d let you.”
Rafe huffed out a laugh, but he couldn’t give it much real humor. Rafe could deflect all he wanted, but Gray’s point would still be there, its jagged edges digging in.
Rafe liked people. And he had a sinking feeling that mysterious Nina and scowling little Maya and even the homicidally inclined Dani were something far worse than attractive. There was