Chapter Thirty

Everlee woke, groggy and disoriented, stiff and sore. But still breathing. Still alive. Which was more than she'd expected when Astor got that lucky shot off. Nothing hurt too badly. Her chest was tight and her side was tender and achy. But she didn't feel like moving just to find out how bad off she was. The room was dark. Slivers of sunlight slanted through the blinds where Shane and Alex were seated, maybe eight, nine feet away. Both had their heads tilted toward the other and were murmuring in voices so low she couldn't make out what they were talking about. Or maybe she'd gone deaf. Maybe she should sign for them to speak up.

Later.

With a sigh, she relaxed and gave in to the fog in her head. She was alive and safe. Shane and Alex were both there. That was all that mattered.

The next time she came to, her two favorite men were still there. Must've meant she was okay, at least going to be okay if they were hanging around. She vaguely remembered Shane getting shot in Astor's suite, not much of what happened afterward. The big dumbass had confronted Astor. He'd made himself a target, for Pete's sake! And he did that to save Tuesday. Which had left Everlee exposed. Which was damned dirty trick.

But not exactly damned dirty. Not Shane. The second her brain had jumped to that conclusion, it didn't feel right. He hadn't wanted Tuesday to kill Astor, that was why he'd shifted in front of her like he had. Shane was honorable. He'd rather carry the hashmarks on his soul for killing Astor. He'd trusted Everlee to have his back, which was why she'd gotten shot. Because he'd honestly thought she could take care of herself. And most times she could've. But most times, she would've been a helluva lot sharper than she'd been up in that damned penthouse suite with all those dead men and their dead eyes and—

She swallowed hard. Yeah, her getting shot was her fault. Tuesday probably could've taken care of herself, but Shane hadn't known that. He wasn't there when Everlee and Tuesday talked about how she'd survived the Arctic. He had no idea how good a shooter she was.

And like Alex said, Shane was built. The man was wider, thicker, taller by at least a foot, bigger boned, and heavier than either Everlee or Tuesday. Hell, than both of them put together. But sure as shit, the miniscule correction he'd made to protect Tuesday, a correction he damned well should've made, allowed Astor a shot at Everlee. For the life of her, Everlee didn't know if she'd fired at Astor at all. How embarrassing. Maybe she was the dumbass. She had been shocked seeing all those murdered men. Those bodies. Her reflexes were trashed that night and her confidence, too. Shane hadn't reacted to the scenes in that penthouse like she had, but he'd probably seen a lot of ugly stuff overseas. Right? Which made Everlee the weak link, the inexperienced. The fraud. As usual.

She ran a quick tongue over her chapped and cracked lips. Her poor tongue felt as thick and dry as cotton. She needed a good, long drink. But the second she lifted her head, intending to at least balance on her elbows, both Shane and Alex shot to their feet. All at once, Shane was on her left, filling a clear plastic glass full of water from a pink plastic pitcher with bright pink flowers around its neck like a lei. A bendy straw was sticking out of the hole in its top. He eased his free hand under her neck, just enough to tilt her forward as he put the straw on her lip.

Jiminy Christmas. Water never tasted so sweet. She sucked in a big gulp before he pulled the glass away. "Easy does it, Ev. Breathe a little. I'm not going anywhere."

"I… am… breathing," she rasped, her throat sorer that she'd expected. Damn, she was tired. Just sipping a tiny drink wore her out.

"What am I going to do with you?" Alex asked gently.

Like she hadn't heard that before. Everlee licked her lips, top and bottom, then licked them again because they were so tight, they hurt. Shane didn't ask, just popped the cap off a tiny tube of lip moisturizer with his thumb and smoothed it gently over her lips until they were nice and greasy and....

Ah. It was funny how the tiniest things mattered at times like this.

Everlee sagged back into the pillow, her energy spent. "Talk to me, big guy. What happened? Did you get her?" she meant to ask. But her voice came out hoarse and she sounded like an old woman. She cleared her throat, which hurt, damn it.

"Take it easy," Shane cautioned. "You had a tube down your throat. It's bound to be sore."

Alex had taken a seat on one corner of the bed, his knee bent toward her, one hand on his ankle, his other foot on the floor. As usual, he was dressed like a savvy businessman, his suit dark gray, probably bespoke. He could certainly afford it. The red silk tie at his neck was undone and loose under his collar, as were the top buttons of his black dress shirt. The exposed triangle of skin on his chest was tanned and smooth. Everlee could envision Kelsey snuggling there. Which was where she belonged. Kelsey, not Everlee.

His dark hair was clipped short on the sides, longer on top. Clearly, he'd run his fingers through it a time or two, probably in exasperation that she'd fouled up another mission. It was messy and spiked, not the usual tidy look of her OCD boss. He'd aged nicely. The only signs of stress in his life were the hints of silver at his temples. His eyes were still razor sharp and as startling blue as ever. She knew he had a photographic memory, which had made him the genius he was. Why he'd ever invited her to move to his new TEAM HQ, Everlee would never understand.

But there she was, the least valuable of all his physical assets.

Then there was Shane, the same height as her boss, but a few years younger. Both were lean, not massive heavy weights like Zack, Mark, and Beau. More agile like most agents on The TEAM. Shane carried more bulk in his chest than Alex, and he had the same commanding attitude. Guess that was what USMC training did.

Yes, she'd served, like Shane, but never in combat. Never in the chaos of firefights. She recognized now that was the biggest difference between them and her. She could talk a good story, but she lacked hands-on experience, the pain and struggle that honed good military men and women to be all they could be. It was time she admitted her deficits and started looking for a different line of work. She'd run this race as far as she could. She'd done good, but she'd never be as good as Shane. It was time she faced the truth.

With one last quick lick over her ragged bottom lip, Everlee gave up the fight and sagged into her pillow. Shane had stashed the lip moisturizer by then.

"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked as he took a seat alongside Everlee on the bed, in pretty much the same pose as Alex. Like bookends. Only Shane was closer and sexier.

Everlee's cheek puffed out a heartfelt sigh, wishing she didn't have to remember. "Bodies. Blood. So many eyes…" Dead men's eyes. All staring at her. Which was why she'd chosen to stand next to them, instead of by the exit. Because those guys couldn't stare at her then. They hadn't been positioned to see her beside them. Not like her mom...

She licked her lips again, trembling as the horrific memory from long ago crushed her.

"You left some things out of your personnel file," Alex said quietly.

"Ah, yeah. About that…" Alex rarely gave in or gave up. Unlike her, he was a winner. She might as well confess and beat him to the punch. "B-Boss, my, umm, name's not Yeager. Not really. It's Everlee, but my last name's Billings, only it's not anymore because I had it legally changed, and I'm sorry I lied to Murphy when he hired me, but I've got a good reason, and—"

Alex held a hand up in her face, not like he meant to slap her, but with his fingers spread, like he wanted her to stop talking. Like what she'd just blurted out wasn't what he'd intended at all. "We didn't know you're allergic to penicillin, Ev. That's all I meant. Take a breath. You're not on trial here. And anytime you decide to update your records is fine with me. Understood?"

He cocked his head at her, one brow spiked like he was so good at doing. Kindness and courtesy melted over her like a welcome home hug. Which she'd only ever gotten from her mother. And Shane. And yeah, Alex and Murphy and Zack and Mark and…

She nodded, ashamed that she'd jumped to conclusions, but that was her standard operating procedure. Jump the gun. Never let anyone see her stumble or fall. Never fall behind. Lead, damn it. Lead!

Alex sounded so nice, and his tone was so gentle. He wasn't angry. Just sincerely worried. About her. She blinked, then blinked again, struggling to get back in control. At least, not to be so damned emotional.

"Astor got off a lucky shot, Ev, that's all," Shane told her. "Her bullet hit you up high under your arm. Guess you had your arm raised. You were probably ready to shoot, but her bullet hit first. It struck a rib and fragmented. One piece ricocheted into your lung, the other exited out your shoulder. Scared the fuck out of me. But the EMTs got there fast and—"

"—and Shane had the bleeding stopped by then, at least slowed down," Alex added.

Shane blew out a deep sigh between his handsome pursed lips. "Always carry my blow-out kit with me, just didn't expect I'd need it for you. But then you developed pneumothorax in the chopper on the way to the hospital. You couldn't breathe. Air got into your chest cavity. If not for Dottie Kaminski, one of the EMTs, you might've died. She knew what to do. That's why the tube, Ev. Your doctor said it'll take days before you're completely out of the woods, but if you're good and do what you're told, he'll let you go home tomorrow."

She smoothed her free hand over her ribcage. "That's what I'm feeling." Sure enough, a thin tube was held in place there by a big square piece of paper tape. Which was also good since she was allergic to latex and hadn't put that in her personnel files, either. Ah, the tangled web she'd woven. All because of pride.

"Astor fired at me because she couldn't hit Tuesday. You blocked her shot."

"Yeah, my fault," Shane admitted. "I only did it because I didn't want Tuesday to kill her. I didn't want that on her conscience. But now I wish I'd let Tuesday have her way. In the end, she and Heston ended Astor. I was kinda busy keeping you from dying."

"You saved my life, big guy. Thank you."

Shane was up off the bed in a heartbeat, leaning over her, planting a kiss on her surprised mouth. She swept her tongue over his lips, and he opened for her. The kiss was wet and quick, and damn, he tasted good. Smelled good, too.

When the kiss ended, Alex was gazing at the window, then up at the ceiling. Everlee couldn't help but glance at the ceiling, too. At last, Alex shook his head, turned to her and Shane and said, "I'm going to tell you two something I've never told anyone before. Only Kelsey. But when I first found her—and yes, found is the correct word—she was a bloody mess, a battered spouse left to die in the woods where I just happened to own a piece of shit, rundown cabin. She'd been beaten, had amnesia, and was in damned rough shape. Her asshole husband had just killed her two little sons. Drowned them in her car. Then blamed her. The whole state of Washington was looking for her. But I'm the one she came to. I'm the one who found her."

Alex's fingers clenched into fists. "I thought she was dead. She sure as hell looked like it. Well, when Whisper found her, because he got to her first. Damned dog squared off with me, even growled, ready to fight me to keep her, can you believe that? Crazy mutt."

His fists loosened. He cocked one arm and rubbed a hand up the back of his neck. "Back then, I'd just lost Sara and Abby, and I was as worthless as that piece of shit cabin. Pissed at the world twenty-four-seven. Mad every minute of every son of a bitchin' day. On my way to killing myself with booze or a .38 special, didn't matter which. Nothing mattered, not the successful company I'd started, nor the loyalty of my friends. Not one damned thing—until the morning I found her. Even then, I treated her badly. Didn't want to be saddled with more responsibility. Didn't want to take her inside and take care of her and… Yeah. I was an ass. But I had a good mother and—"

"I'm so, so sorry I killed your family," Shane murmured, his face ashen and his eyes glistening. "Your wife and child. Sara and Abby. I can never repay you for what I took—"

"Stop, Shane. Just stop. It's over. It's done." Alex sounded like he was pleading, a damned rare thing to witness. "Nothing anyone can do to change it. Please. Let it be. 'Sides, I'm not telling this story to guilt you, just to give you two a piece of advice. Don't be so sure the sins you're packing are sins, for one thing. Most of the time, we blame ourselves for events we had no control over. In the long run, with Kelsey at my side, I've come to realize that the person I needed most to forgive back then was me. Myself. Yeah, I wasn't there that day and we both know what happened." He directed that calmly spoken fact at Shane. "Would things have happened differently if I'd been in town or if I'd been driving? Maybe. But maybe not. Do I miss Sara and Abby? God, yes. Every day. But you have to understand that Sara was a headstrong woman, Shane. She knew what she was getting into when she married me. She was born into a military family, lived it, breathed it, didn't know any other way. She knew the drill, that military wives left behind ended up handling every move, every deployment, every damned inconvenient thing Uncle Sam or life threw at us while we were gone. But that was who she was, Shane. Who she was born to be. Hell, Sara didn't need me hanging around. She had everything handled, and she was smart. She had Abby in tumbling the last time I was home, had set up a college fund, too. Had even refinanced our house at a lower interest rate. If anything, I was deadweight in her life. If I'd died instead of her, I know in my heart she would've gotten along fine without me."

"But Kelsey wouldn't," Everlee declared boldly.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Alex replied quietly. He swallowed hard, closed his eyes, then pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. Shook his head, then focused on Shane. "My point is, don't hide who you kids are from each other. If this" —he aimed a rolling motion with one hand in their direction— "whatever's going on between you two, amounts to anything, stop pretending. Man the hell up. Be straight with each other." He cranked his neck and looked over at Everlee. "Let him in, Ev. Don't be stubborn, so good at hiding who you are, acting so tough that you miss the best thing in your life. And just so you know, you are not a fraud. Clumsy, yes, but nowhere near to being any kind of a fake. Trust me, you're not even close."

Her eyes filled with tears. This was the man she'd foolishly lusted after for so long, even though she'd known he was beyond reach, that she'd never follow through with any of her foolish daydreams. Yes, Alex was smart and good-looking, downright handsome as hell. He'd always be her rock star. But he was also right. He adored Kelsey, and he'd never let her down.

Everlee turned to Shane, the man she'd grown to love. Maybe adore. She had been holding her truth back. It was time to reveal the real LT Yeager. "I have ADHD," she announced for the first time—ever. "And my dad killed my mom when I was in high school. He was drunk because he's an alcoholic, and he used to beat her, and sometimes he'd hit me. He'd get so mad, then tell her he was sorry. Mom always believed him, always took him back. He's in prison now, and he's why I changed my name. I couldn't stand having the same last name as him, and Chuck Yeager's the best hero a girl can have, even if he isn't my dad."

"Yeah, well… I drink too much and I'm having a son of a bitchin' hard time retiring," Alex announced just as quickly. His hand went over his head, brushing his hair down in some places, standing it up in others.

"I hate the dark, and I sleep with two dogs every night because my PTSD's killing me," Shane said softly. He jerked his chin at Alex. "But you already know that, don't you?"

"Bet you won't be sleeping with two dogs much longer," Alex chuckled.

Heat suffused Everlee's neck and cheeks. She could feel herself turning red. But he'd made her laugh. A little. And she hoped he was right, that Shane would move her into his place, or something.

Alex lifted to his feet, took hold of her ankle through the covers, and squeezed. "You need to sleep," he said sternly. "Come on, Shane. I'll drive you back to that empty room I'm paying for. Might as well get some use out of it."

"In a minute, Boss," Shane replied, his gaze still on Everlee.

"Okay then. Later." Alex stepped out, shutting the door behind him.

"I love you, Everlee Yeager," Shane said when the door finally closed.

"I love you, too," she admitted quietly. "I know it's early, and we don't really know each other, but I really want that date you promised me."

"Me too, babe. I want to see where this thing between us goes," Shane said as he carefully lifted her up from the mattress, enfolded her in his arms, and pressed her head under his chin. "I thought I lost you. Finally found the woman of my dreams and you nearly got away. Shit, you scared the hell out of me."

She wiggled one arm around him and splayed her fingers up his back as far as she could reach. "I'd like you to hold doors for me and help me get up into your truck. I like ice cream cones and dogs and kisses and… and I like this." She could feel his body relax beneath her as she held on as tightly as she could.

He was breathing into her hair by then. "I'm so damned tired of living alone."

"You've got Dolly and Molly."

"You know what I mean. Alex is right. I've been hiding who I am for years. Never wanted to be a Marine, much less a sniper. But I owed him that much. Now I owe you."

"For what?"

"For this." The moment she looked up into those deep blue eyes, he took her mouth. Kissed her and licked her and held her while she fell apart and cried. Then he kissed her through her crying jag. By then she was deliciously spent, so damned tired it was hard to keep her eyes open.

So she didn't. Just leaned into Shane, took a deep breath, and let his strength take her weight and her secrets. Finally. She was home. Didn't matter that she'd found her happily-ever-after in Arkansas. She knew it now. Her home was with Shane. Wherever he went, she would follow. Yes. Follow.