Chapter 11

"Igotta say. After riding with Kian and seeing the state of Raider's truck now that we're all here, I think I'll take my chances with Russo's men."

Kian grinned as Porter crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head as he stared at the boats Waylen had waiting at the marina. The marshal had surprised Kian. Not only was the guy one hell of a shot, he appreciated the other man's sense of honor. How he'd instinctively kept his body between Blake and any possible threat from behind. The guy was impressive.

Kian only hoped their plan worked because he could tell by the firm line of Blake's back — how she kept worrying her lip between her teeth — she wouldn't last too long allowing all of them to share in the risk. Not with how she was staring at the graze on Harlan's arm. Kian had treated it — assured her that his buddy had gotten far worse during training, let alone in the field — but just the sight of blood had changed her. Made it real or maybe it had just brought all the years she'd been running to the foreground.

Either way, he needed to keep an eye on her before she found a way to sacrifice herself for them.

Blake must have felt him staring at her because she stopped talking to Porter and looked over at him. And the smile she flashed him… It was all sin and promise. How he envisioned he looked when he smiled at her. All that love from within bursting free.

He hadn't planned on admitting he'd fallen in love with her. Not so soon. Especially since they hadn't even made their way into bed, yet. What seemed like an old-fashioned way of courting. But then Waylen had called Kian on it, and he couldn't stare into Blake's eyes and lie. Couldn't pretend she hadn't grabbed him by the heart and not let go.

That he'd been thinking about forever since she'd stared up at him that first night in his room as if she'd finally found someone she could trust. Who was worth breaking the rules for. He hadn't realized it at the time, but even then, a part of him had known that moment had been the start of the rest of his life. The one with Blake in it to stay.

It really was crazy. How his entire life had changed in the past month. He hadn't been joking. He didn't need to spend months or years with her before he knew she was the woman he wanted to spend forever with. Whether it was because of his newfound freedom or just all Blake — that she was sexy and smart and had as much honor as his team combined — he wasn't sure. Only that he needed to end Russo's threat to her, or he might lose his future before it began.

Blake walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him when he tugged her in close. Breathed her in. She didn't talk, just stood there. Holding him. Bringing everything into hard focus. How close he'd come to having her walk away. Run, again.

He dropped a kiss on her forehead, brushing her hair back from her face when she looked up at him. "It's going to be okay."

She snorted. "You keep saying that, and I keep thinking you're all nuts. There's still time for me to disappear. I've already put everyone in enough danger. I should?—"

"Stop trying to push me away. Not going anywhere, sweetheart. Unless this is your way of saying you really don't have any feelings for me." He nudged her. "Nowhere near crazy, like you said."

Blake looked as if she might dump him on his ass, or maybe shove him into the water before she palmed his jaw — drew him down to her. "Way past crazy and on my way to ridiculously. But thinking I might get you or one of your buddies hurt, or killed…"

He kissed her. Not that now was the time to lose himself in the soft press of her lips. Or how she tasted like promise with a hint of coffee. But he needed her to realize he wasn't going anywhere. That they fought because it was the right thing to do — part of their DNA just like she'd claimed flying was for her. That they'd spent their lives protecting strangers. Nothing they wouldn't do for the people they loved.

A throat cleared behind them, Waylen standing there, smiling smugly. "You two just can't keep your hands off each other, can you?"

"Says the guy who's already an expectant father after only a few weeks with Presley."

Waylen laughed. "Thankfully, this is all about your messed up love life and not mine. Which reminds me. Blake, I swear if I have to come searching for you because you've ditched us, I'll have Presley name one of her boats Puddle Pirate. We're a team, which means we stick together. No John Wayne sacrifices at the eleventh hour."

He merely snorted at the glare she flashed him. "Please, we all saw the way you looked at Harlan because of that scratch he got."

Blake huffed. "He was shot."

"Grazed, and not even a bad one at that. And it doesn't take a genius to see how you're thinking running off on your own will save us. But we've dealt with threats far worse than Russo. So, do us a favor and help us catch this bastard."

"You're all certifiable. You know that?"

"Yup. But I think our brand of crazy is exactly what you need. Raider and Lane will take the first shift in the Scarab. The rest of us will use Presley's vessel. We'll probably break our own rules and run all night, but just to put some mileage between us and any assholes Russo has running around. We'll dock at my buddy, Mano's set of cabins on the south side of Maui tomorrow. Stay there for a day and evaluate our next move. Whether we cabin hop for a few days or make our way back here and do a few trips around the Big Island."

Kian nodded. "I'm sure Porter will have an opinion on that. Call me crazy, but I think it's more than trapping himself on the boat that's got him looking like he wants to take on Russo, right now. How much do you want to bet he's had an incident involving a boat?"

Waylen grinned. "Or, maybe he can't swim."

"Of course, I can swim. Don't be an ass, Brown." Porter moved in beside him. "And if you must know, I made the mistake of riding with Blake's crew on a fugitive recovery mission a couple months before her life went to shit. And I'm not too proud to say, her teammates were insane. I would have turned around just trying to get out of the harbor. The waves…"

"I told you to fly with me, but you thought I was too…" She grinned. "How did you put it? Intense, I think."

"You are intense. And way crazier than any other pilot I've ever met. Which is why you and your new friends get along so well." Porter shook his head. "Though, you're right, Brown. We definitely need your team's brand of crazy if we have any hopes of actually surviving this. And Blake… I will gladly shoot you, myself, if you try to ditch us."

Blake gave them all a sketchy side eye. "Why does everyone think I'm going to ditch you? Do I like putting your lives at risk? No. Do I think I can handle this myself? I'm not that naive. So, stop worrying about me stealing the Scarab or thinking I can swim to shore when we're five miles out."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "But know this… If it comes down to my life versus all of yours, I'm making the tough call. I suggest everyone here makes peace with that. Now, are we going to stand around talking all night and give Russo a chance to track us down, or are we getting our asses out of here? Sun's already going down."

Kian sighed, shouldering up beside Waylen when Blake struck off toward the boats. Head high. Back rigid.

Waylen whistled. "She is a thousand kinds of stubborn."

"It's probably the only reason she's still sane. I can't imagine how hard it was to give up her career, her life, knowing she'd always have a target on her back." Kian held up his hand when Porter glanced his way. "I'm not knocking what you do, Porter. In fact, I'm more than impressed. With the kind of threats you face with every case like this, I don't know how you keep everyone alive."

Porter shrugged. "Half skill, half dumb luck. And for the record, Russo's on a whole other level. Most of the mafia I've dealt with, eventually give up. Sure, if Blake had landed on national news for that rescue, I would have expected some retaliation. People who make it easy or leave, don't always get their happy ending. But having Russo orchestrate all of this from that obscure video? That was up for less than forty-eight hours? With just a blurry image of her at the end? No names. No specifics. I don't think I want to know how many people the asshole must have on his payroll searching for her. Which means, this ends. I know Blake wants justice to prevail, but the bastard had his chance. Now… We go to the mattresses."

Kian smiled. "I think we're finally starting to understand each other."

"Oh, I understood you from the start, Fox. I gotta admit. I didn't think Blake would ever let anyone inside her walls. You must be very persuasive."

"She's worth the effort."

"Just make sure your buddy, Harlan, doesn't get any bright ideas about negotiating with Russo. I'm really not interested in giving the man an out."

"I'll have a chat with him. Caution him on using his superpowers for good."

"Right. Now, are we doing this or what? Because I hate boats, and if we don't head out, soon, I'll change my mind."

Porter struck off, meeting up with Blake at the edge of the dock. He must have said something funny because she laughed, then glanced back at Kian. She gave him a hint of a smile, but it hit him full force. How her eyes softened, a hint of pink coloring her cheeks. She looked radiant. Beyond radiant, and he had to remind his damn lungs to inflate. Pull in enough oxygen that the black dots flittering across his vision eased.

Waylen knocked his shoulder. "God, you two are sickening. You know that, right?"

Kian glanced at his buddy. "If only you could see your dopey-eyed expression whenever you look at Presley, you wouldn't be one to judge. Which reminds me, I owe you an ass kicking for that stunt you pulled in Hawk's office. Telling Blake I'm stupid in love with her."

"Someone had to say it before she took off with Porter. And it's not like it isn't true."

"You were guessing."

Waylen snorted. "I really wasn't."

"Still a dick move."

"I think you mean brilliant because now you can finally make a real move. Just remember the walls are thin on the boat."

Kian shoved him. Hard. "You're an ass."

"The one you know and love. Though, apparently not as much as you love her ass."

Kian carded his hand through his hair. "Waylen."

"Don't. I'd already told everyone I was breaking ranks and staying on the Big Island even if they left because my life is here with Presley. And as much as it would have hurt to have the rest of the team leave…" He made eye contact. "To have my best friend leave, it would have hurt more to walk away from her. And frankly, not something I could have done and still kept breathing. I had to leave Presley once. It wasn't happening, again. So, I get it. We're family, but she's your forever. So, don't mess it up, or it's your ass I'll be putting a slug in."

"Like I'd let you sight me long enough to shoot me in the ass."

"Only takes a moment."

"You're good. But I'm better."

"Guess we'll find out if you fuck everything up."

"I won't." Kian took a few steps toward the boat. "And for the record, I would have stayed on the island, either way. Though, you would have owed me big time for planting roots next to a volcano."

"Then, I'm lucky it's Blake who'll owe you."

Kian glanced over at her, his damn heart stopping cold at the mere sight of her. Hair blowing in the breeze. That adorable chin held high. Pure defiance in the line of her back. She was gorgeous. "Pretty sure I'm the one who's in the red."

He motioned to the boat. "We should head out before I have to sedate Porter just to get him onboard."

Waylen clapped Kian on the back as he walked past, ushering everyone onto the boat. Blake made a fuss about how it was one of Presley's boats, and she didn't want her friend losing an asset if it got damaged, but Waylen simply shook his head as he readied the boat for launch.

Kian moved in behind Blake, placing his hands on her hips as he pressed his chest into her back — smiling when she relaxed against him. "I promise, we'll take really good care of everything. And Porter already said something about the Marshal Service covering any damages."

Blake snorted. "Which means they'll simply replace it with some cartel boat they've got sitting in storage."

"All the better. Then, she'll have a place to hide shit."

"Can you imagine Presley and Waylen as drug runners?"

"They'd be horrible at it. Too much damn honor." He nudged her. "Just like you."

She stiffened. "All I did was tell a bunch of people what I saw. You would have stopped Russo from killing my teammates in the first place."

"Sweetheart. You did everything you could. Got shot twice, according to Porter, while taking on what? A dozen mafia assholes? All by yourself? Which we should definitely have a chat about because that was insane. But it's not your fault Russo's a psychopath. And as good as I am — as my team is — we aren't infallible. We've lost teammates —brothers — all because we couldn't fire quick enough. Or get to them fast enough. That's the ugly part of our job — yours too."

He dropped a kiss on her neck, grinning at how her breath hitched before she tilted in order to give him more room. "Come on. It's been a long day, and I can't remember the last time any of us ate something."

"How am I supposed to eat when Russo might have an RPG and just blow the boat out of the water?"

Kian laughed. Damn, he loved her. "Not tonight. And we've got the Scarab for recon."

Blake looked at him over her shoulder. "Just don't die on me, okay? Russo's already taken everything I've ever loved. I can't lose you, too."

Kian lifted his hand — brushed his thumb along her cheek. "Men far more skilled than Russo have tried, and I'm still standing. But I'll be careful. Promise."

He closed the distance, teasing her with a hint of a kiss before sinking his fingers in her hair — claiming her mouth. She barely let him come up for air as she turned within his embrace, dragging him back down. It wasn't until a throat cleared behind them, Kian was able to ease back — register anything other than how soft her lips were. How fucking bad he wanted her.

Waylen tsked. "Just pick a room if you don't like the one I gave you, buddy, and keep the noise to a dull roar before you throw caution to the wind and pin the poor girl to the wall."

Blake glanced over at Waylen. "I should be so lucky."

Waylen shook his head. "And that's my cue to go see how Porter and Harlan are. Last room on the right has your names on it."

Kian groaned, tugging Blake against him as Waylen made kissing noises as he continued toward the stern. "Waylen's an ass."

"Maybe. But I meant what I said."

Kian would not spin and pin her to the wall in the middle of the damn boat. He wouldn't. He had more control than that.

Until she smiled up at him, trailing one finger down his chest. "You can pin me to the wall, right?"

Kian clenched his jaw, reciting some old mantra as he leaned down — got within an inch of her mouth. "Guess we'll worry about food later because that was definitely a challenge, sweetheart, and I haven't backed down from one of those since I was five."