Nori's Delta (Delta Team Three #1) - Lori Ryan Page 0,22

on her first trip here. She had thought Turkey would be sandy, all deserts and dunes. There were rock faces but they were beautiful and filled in with lush green shrubs and trees.

Her team had come down the western coast so they’d had the treat of ocean views and coastal breezes for their trip.

Beth had been her assistant since the woman graduated from college six years earlier. She had moved up through two promotions with Eleanor and they worked well together. She was uber organized and usually able to predict what Eleanor needed, even if she did have an addiction to romance novels Eleanor just couldn’t understand.

Eleanor had worked with Geoff, Sharon, and Marcus all before and liked them, for the most part. They had all worked to get where they were and didn’t seem to feel entitled to their positions. Her boss had let her choose who was coming on the trip with her and it had been a no-brainer to choose this team.

Geoff and Sharon had a lot of experience and she respected their opinions. That was important going into something like this.

Marcus, the youngest of the group, took a step closer to her. “It’s good to see you here in one piece. They wouldn’t tell us anything about where you were.”

Eleanor nodded. It was meant to be that way, with no one on her team or from her office knowing exactly where she was. She hated the fact that this whole thing had put her in doubt of the people standing around her right now. She needed to trust them to do her job. Needed to know they had her back as she went into these talks.

She raised her gaze to the man she knew she could trust above all others. Heath stood talking to two of five men who had escorted her team to the meetup, but his eyes were on her as he spoke. Her and the area around them, she realized. He was watching, always careful not to let his guard down.

She was grateful for that.

He crossed to her and introduced her to the two men who followed. “Eleanor, this is Ris and Nan. They’ve been with your team the last couple days.” He turned to the men. “This is Nor—uh, Eleanor.”

Eleanor flushed at his almost use of her old nickname. If she were really being honest with herself, she would admit that she’d missed the way her name sounded coming from him. Even when he said it here in front of other people, it made her heart race the way it had when he’d first told her he liked her after a tutoring session when they were teens.

Of course, back then, she’d thought he might be teasing her or setting her up for some horrible joke where the rest of the football team would jump out of hiding to make fun of her.

But things were different between them now.

So much of what had happened back then shaped who they were today. Hell, if it all hadn’t happened the way it had, he would have gone to a college near her school and played ball while she pursued her degree. He wouldn’t have ended up enlisting straight out of high school. He wouldn’t be here trying to sneak her into a dangerous negotiation that could go wrong at any turn.

She plastered a smile on her face and shook hands with the burly men in front of her. “Nan, Ris, thanks for being part of this. We appreciate all you’re doing to make this negotiation happen.”

The men grinned and Ris gave her one of those drawling, “Just doing our jobs, ma’am,” lines. Somehow, his flirting managed to not be offensive.

At least not to her. Heath was giving Ris a glare that could scare the pants off a four-star general. He was all muscle and chiseled features. He looked like a comic book super hero come to life.

And she had to laugh when Ris winked at Heath. She couldn’t believe how much these guys all ribbed each other during their missions.

Heath stepped between her and the other men, taking her by the elbow. Luckily for him, his grip was gentle, not controlling, or he’d be getting a mouthful and then some from her. As it was, she had to tell herself not to read too much into his actions.

“You’re going to ride with me. We’re heading to the hotel first and then we’ll go to the compound.”

They walked to the SUV that her team had arrived