46. Ryder

Luna squashed against Ryder's side as Emmy appeared on the screen. Technically, Luna shouldn't have been at the briefing, but Black was also in the grand saloon on board the Cleopatra, and he didn't tell her to leave. Neither did Knox. He just kept giving her dirty looks, and although Ryder didn't like that, he understood. He understood why Knox held a grudge. Dan's working theory was that Aiden Kingsley was connected to Theron Voss, who owned an estate linked to the smugglers. Theron Voss was also on Monique Constantine's client list.

Jubilee was wisely keeping out of the way, up on the sundeck with Kory. Slater had been released from babysitting duties and headed over to Malavilla to help with surveillance duty.

"The place is wild," Emmy said. "As in overgrown, neglected, and full of hazards. Oh, and there are trail cams. Don't forget the trail cams. The house is in good shape, plus a small area of garden around it, but other than that, we're talking thirty acres of undergrowth. Sky, Rafael, and Xav are still holed up there, watching. We've counted eight outbuildings, including two giant barns that were probably used for processing or storage or something."

"People?" Black asked.

"Seven males so far. And they definitely have sentries. Pairs seem to be walking the same pattern around the buildings, but the intervals aren't regular."

"When are you going in?" Knox blurted.

"If nothing changes, tomorrow evening."

"Why not tonight?"

"Because I don't like suicide missions."

"Another day could cost Caro her life."

"So could an attempted rescue if we go off half-cocked. Right now, we're digging up intel and satellite photos, plus Gage is on his way from Virginia. We could also do with Ryder. Luna, how do you feel about that?"

"Huh? Why are you asking me?"

Black answered for Emmy. "Because you're Blackwood's client, and we don't break our contracts."

"I'll be safe here on the boat, right? And I don't even have a stalker."

"Knox will stay with you."

Ryder saw Knox's jaw clench. He wanted to be a part of this operation, he wanted to be the one to sneak into Havana Hills and get revenge for Caro's abduction. It sickened him that he couldn't go. Ryder knew that because he'd feel exactly the same way in Knox's shoes.

"Will Ryder be safe?" Luna asked. "I mean, is this dangerous?"

Neve hadn't loved the idea of Ryder joining the Navy, but she'd accepted his chosen path. Understood that it was their best chance of a new life together. Having another woman worry about him felt…weird. But a good weird.

"I've spent my life training for this, moon."

"I…" She faced him, and he saw the apprehension when she bit her lip. But she nodded. "Okay. If you want to go, then that's what you should do. Just get Caro back."

"Good." Emmy flashed a smile. "Then the team tomorrow will be me, Xav, Sky, Rafael, Slater, Ryder, and Gage, with Dan on comms."

Black wasn't going? Knox glanced at him, and he answered the unasked question.

"We're on foreign soil, and if we're mounting a rescue operation, we need political leverage. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be informing the prime minister that for as long as San Gallicano's environmental credentials are in question, the consortium he's been wooing to invest in a significant green energy project here will not be handing over the cash he wants." Black's flicker of a smile was more cunning than his wife's. "Money talks. By the time we've finished rounding up poachers, he'll be thanking us."

"We'll hold a full briefing in the morning," Emmy said. "Get some sleep."

* * *

Sleep didn't come easy that night, not to Ryder and not to Luna. At the sanctuary, they'd grown used to each other's company, so when Luna walked tentatively into the room Kory had assigned to him—a cramped cabin near the stern with two narrow beds—and said she didn't want to be alone, he hadn't argued.

She lay facing him, moonlight slanting across her make-up-free face, hands clasped under her chin.

"Are you scared?" she asked.

"About tomorrow, you mean?" He was due to travel to Malavilla in the morning. His kit was packed and ready.

"What if people shoot at you?"

"I'll shoot back, and I have good aim."

A long pause. "I wish I'd told Emmy that I wanted you here. Would you have been mad if I did?"

"Not mad. Disappointed that I couldn't go and do my job."

Another pause. "I'm freaking terrified."

"Why?"

"Because…because I don't have many friends, and I hate the thought of saying goodbye tomorrow and never seeing you again." She rolled onto her back. "I sound like such a loser."

"No, you don't, and that won't happen."

"How do you know? Knox left Caro in the pool room, and now she's gone."

"That was different."

"But the ending could be the same."

Ryder rolled out of his own bed and sat on the edge of hers. He wanted to be close to her. Wanted to wrap her up in his arms and hold her. Wanted to— Fuck, he shouldn't be thinking about that. He was already jacking off four times a day to keep his cock under control, and picturing Luna naked underneath him sure didn't help matters.

"I promise you that this time on Saturday, I'll be right here."

Even as he said it, his stomach rolled. There were no guarantees, not in this world, although if he'd known what Saturday would bring, he wouldn't have used a word as strong as "promise."

"Don't leave me," she whispered.

He wasn't sure whether she meant tonight or in general, but he stretched out on her bed, perilously close to falling off the edge, and brushed a few stray strands of hair away from her face.

"I'm right here. You're not alone."

"Soon I will be. You won't stay, and Jubilee… I thought she was on my side, but she was helping Cordelia. To scare me."

"By her twisted logic, she thought she was helping."

"Do you really believe that?"

"Do you want the truth? Or do you want me to make you feel better?"

He used to ask Neve that, ever since the day she got a shitty haircut and asked, "Is it really that bad?" She'd always told him to be honest when she asked for his opinion on dresses, but that day, she'd burst into tears. Turned out that she'd just wanted him to hug her and tell her she was beautiful. Which she was, even with lopsided hair that had gone a weird shade of orange.

"The truth. Always the truth, even if it's not pretty. People constantly blow smoke up my ass, and I hate it. Hate it. There's nothing worse than a liar."

Shit. Well, he'd walked right into that one.

"I think… I think that Jubilee is easily led, and our research team said that Cordelia has a strong and forceful personality. It wouldn't have taken much for her to manipulate Jubilee into doing her bidding."

Luna didn't say anything, not one word. The silence stretched, taking Ryder's nerves along with it, a tangible thing that tightened around his gut, squeezing.

"You okay?" he finally asked.

"It hurts," she whispered. "I don't know if I can forgive her."

"Take some time. Time heals."

"Hmm," was all she said, and then she snuggled against his side.

He stayed there. Heaven help him, he stayed there the entire night, under false pretences, knowing that this could be the only time they shared a bed. If he told her the truth, she'd hate him, and if he didn't, he'd hate himself.