Her Fierce Warrior (X-Ops #4)(40)

Angelo shook his head. Landon made it sound so easy. But his friend knew  it wasn't. "I don't know if Minka can do that. You've seen how she is.  She needs me so much. I'm worried that when we're apart, she might lose  control-or worse, just give up."

"Like your mom did?" Landon asked softly.

Angelo's chest tightened so much he wouldn't have been surprised if it  had stopped beating. He'd tried to convince himself Minka was stronger  than that. But the truth was, while Minka could be so strong in so many  ways, she was still fragile in others, just like his mom had been.

"Yeah, like my mom," he said. "That's why I can't tell Minka how I feel.  I would do anything to save her from the pain and loneliness that Mom  went through."

"You can't do that, Angelo," Landon said. "You can't keep Minka from  falling in love with you, and you can't keep her from being lonely and  in pain when you're deployed. All you can do is love her and pray it's  enough."

Angelo looked at his friend. "How the hell did you get so smart about all this shit?"

"Ivy, of course." Landon grinned. "Fortunately, I was smart enough to  realize that women like her-and Minka-don't fall into the laps of guys  like us very often. When they do, you need to hold on tight and not let  go." His smile faded. "Dude, I don't know how to make this work between  you and Minka, but I'm telling you that you need to find a fucking way."                       
       
           



       

Landon was right. But telling Minka he loved her was only half of it.  The rest was about figuring out how to help the woman he loved get  through the days until he could be with her again.

When Angelo went back to his seat and buckled himself in, Minka must  have sensed his presence because she immediately turned in her sleep and  snuggled against his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and put his  head back, praying she would be strong enough to handle being in love  with an army guy.





Chapter 13


Angelo didn't realize he'd fallen asleep until the thud of the plane  touching down on the runway at Bagram jerked him awake. Minka was  sitting beside him, looking around with wide eyes. Dammit, he could have  killed Thorn for making her come back here.

He sat up straighter and took her hand, lacing their fingers together.  Then he leaned over to kiss her-screw whoever didn't like it.

When the plane finally came to a stop, he stood up with everyone else.  They were just getting on their rucksacks when the plane's crew chief  dropped the rear cargo ramp. It settled to the asphalt with a thud,  letting in bright sunlight. Angelo saw Diaz, Derek, and Lieutenant  Watson waiting for them.

Laughing, Angelo took Minka's hand and headed down the ramp to meet  them. He noticed Powell and Moore didn't look pleased. For some reason,  that made Angelo even happier.

"You didn't think we'd let you come back here and handle this situation  on your own, did you?" the lieutenant asked, sticking out his hand in  greeting.

Angelo grabbed Watson's hand, but instead of shaking it, he yanked his  lieutenant forward and gave him a man hug. Then he did the same to Derek  and Diaz. By the time he was done, they were all laughing¸ asking him  how the hell he'd been and what the fuck he'd done to get them pulled  into this mission.

In the interest of full disclosure, he had to admit he wasn't the one  responsible for bringing them in. "But I'm damn glad to see you guys  anyway."

Before they could ask him anything more about the mission, Angelo took Minka's hand again and led her forward.

"You guys might not recognize her, but this is Minka Pajari, the woman  we rescued in Tajikistan," he said softly, smiling as she eyed the guys  shyly. "She'll be joining us on this mission."

Derek extended his hand. "I'm glad to see you're doing okay. When you  and Angelo got on that C-17, I wasn't too sure how it was going to turn  out."

Minka shook his hand with a smile and would have replied, but a sharp voice interrupted her.

"These people aren't cleared to be on this operation," Powell said as he  glared at Derek and the other guys. "Who the hell called them?"

"I did," Landon said as he shouldered past Powell to greet Derek and the  other guys. "And don't get your panties in a bunch, Powell. They've all  been briefed and cleared on both the shifter and hybrid programs."

"Damn, Diaz, are you getting taller?" Landon asked as he man-hugged the  smallest member of his former A-team. "I swear it seems like you've  grown two or three inches since I saw you last."

Diaz chuckled. "Sorry, Captain. I hate to tell you this, but I think  you're shrinking. I've heard that happens when you get old."

As everyone laughed, Angelo took the opportunity to introduce his new lieutenant to Landon.

"I've heard a lot about you, Captain Donovan," Watson said as they shook hands. "I'm looking forward to working with you."

Landon grinned. "Same here. And call me Landon. My army rank is sitting on my uniforms back in DC."

Angelo snorted. Like people were going to forget Landon was an officer.  As soon as the shit started flying, he'd be shouting orders, and no one  would care if he were wearing a pink tutu. Soldiers followed the person  who knew what the hell he was doing.

"I'm guessing the guys have told you about the things you're probably going to see when we get there?" Landon asked Watson.

"Yes, sir." Watson shook his head. "I have to tell you, I was pretty  sure they were pulling my leg, even after seeing Minka back in that  village-until one of those shifters showed up and convinced me."

Angelo was about to ask what the lieutenant meant by that when Watson  jerked his head at something behind him. Angelo turned to see a wiry guy  with short, black hair casually leaning against one of the Humvees  parked near the edge of the runway. He was dressed in a military-style  uniform similar to what all the other DCO operatives were wearing.

"Trevor! I thought I picked up your scent," Ivy said with a big smile. "What are you doing here?"                       
       
           



       

Trevor gave Ivy a cocky grin. Maybe Angelo had been hanging out at the  DCO for too long because he would have known Trevor was a shifter even  if Watson hadn't told him. Angelo couldn't put his finger on what tipped  him off. There was just something about the guy.

"My team and I were working in Jakarta and finished up our mission  early," Trevor said. "John called and asked if I could stop by and help  out. It sounded like fun, so I hopped on the first flight over. I've  been hanging out with the lieutenant and his team since this morning."

Beside Angelo, Powell swore under his breath. "This mission doesn't have  anything to do with industrial espionage or looking for spies, so I  don't know what use you're going to be on this op."

Trevor gave Powell an eat shit and die smile. "This job doesn't involve  sitting on your ass, eating donuts, and brownnosing your way to another  pay raise either, yet here you and Moore are."

Powell's face darkened and he took a step forward. Trevor pushed away  from the Humvee, his eyes flashing yellow-green, long, sharp canines  extending. Angelo had seen this same kind of display before, but while  Trevor had the same doglike fangs and squared-off claws as the DCO's  resident wolf shifter Clayne Buchanan, he didn't have the same bulky  muscles and his teeth weren't nearly as long. That said, he was clearly  just as dangerous.

Powell must have thought so too, because he stopped midstep. He and  Trevor stared at each other for so long that Angelo wondered if things  were about to get violent. Guys in military units got into it all the  time. But it was obvious there was more than a little dislike brewing  between Trevor and Powell. If they came to blows, it was going to get  ugly.

Landon stepped between the two men and pushed them apart with a hand on each of their chests.

"Knock this shit off," he ordered. "We have a lot of gear to unload and prep before we head out, so stop your bitching."

Trevor and Powell stared at each other for a few more moments before  they finally took a step back from each other and moved away. But Angelo  noticed that while Trevor headed toward the cargo ramp of the plane to  start grabbing gear, Powell stormed off in the opposite direction. No  way in hell this wasn't going to end badly.

"I thought we were all supposed to be on the same side?" Minka's voice was soft beside Angelo.

He turned to see her standing there with a worried look on her face. He  gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry about them. I'm  guessing they're here for reasons of their own. You just stick close to  me, Landon, and Ivy. We'll make sure you're okay."