“Sola, I—” Cash had no idea what he was going to say, only that he needed her to know how much he cared, even if he hadn’t been able to accept it the night before.
James reached over and touched Cash’s forearm, silencing him with a gentle squeeze. “She doesn’t have time and you really shouldn’t distract her right now. Whatever is causing you three those bags under your eyes will have to wait.”
Cash snapped his jaw closed at that. He couldn’t stand the thought of being responsible for stealing her focus from her mission and returning safely to Shields where he could hash things out with her…and Aarav…later.
Aarav stayed glued to his seat as if he too had lots he wanted to say but couldn’t. Sola peered over her shoulder and caught his expression. She jogged back and bent down to kiss him, full on the lips, in front of all their friends. Despite the circumstances, Cash’s cock twitched in his jeans. “You have to trust me to do my job. I know how to fend for myself. It’s not any different because we sleep together these days. Don’t worry. I’m going to take great care of yourgun. You just worry about getting the shot off.”
Then she was gone, disappearing into the hallway with her hair streaming behind her as she caught up with the rest of the team heading for the airfield.
Aarav swallowed hard, blinked a few times, then pointedly ignored Cash as he strode past him to Ruby’s station. “Can you scan the area into our simulation software so we can run through this a few hundred times before we try it for real?”
“Already did it.” Ruby tapped a few things, then handed Aarav a joystick and a headset. As soon as he put them on, he was transported to another continent. Far out of Cash’s reach.
James flashed Cash an empathetic smile. “Come on. You can hang out with me the rest of the day. I want to hear all about how you fucked this up when things were going so well. I’ll help you figure out how to pull your head out of your very fine ass.”
Cash couldn’t believe it, but he laughed, because he believed James just might have the answers and he was willing to do anything to get Aarav and Sola back.
17
Aarav swiped the headset from his aching skull. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the lighting in the command center and remembered how to focus on something right in front of him rather than far away, even if that distance was a very fancy illusion.
“You’ve got this,” Ruby reassured him. “The simulation includes the most likely predicted wind and weather forecast, and I promise you it’s entirely accurate. You haven’t missed in the last hundred run-throughs at least.”
“Yeah, but real life has a way of being far more unpredictable.” Aarav hated the idea of Sola—and the rest of her team—out there, risking everything to give him a single shot at success.
“Rather than sit here until you burn yourself out, you’d be better off getting something to eat, shaking out those knots in your muscles, and maybe…”
“What?” He hoped she didn’t recommend a power nap because there was no way he would be able to doze off with this much anticipation amping him up.
“If you don’t think it will fuck up your head, maybe talk to Cash. I realize it’s none of my business, except that I want to see you happy, but it seemed like there was some heavy shit left unsaid between you earlier.”
“I think I already said too much, actually. I told him and Sola that I love them.” Aarav felt like a moron for it too. Not because it was untrue, but because he should have known that not everyone was like him. In fact, most people didn’t have to have that level of affection for someone as a prerequisite to finding them attractive. It didn’t have the same implications when most people shared a good time together.
He needed to remember that.
“I mean this in the nicest way possible, Aarav.” Ruby drew a deep breath, then rolled her eyes. “But…no shit.”
“It seemed to shock Cash.” Getting it off his chest eased the tension making his fingers wobble the slightest bit. And given what he needed to do—soon now, he glanced at the jet’s progress as it prepared to land—that was a welcome relief.
“He’s had a rough couple of weeks. Lots of change. Give him a minute to absorb it all.” Ruby smiled softly. “He dropped off a thermos and sandwiches he made for us about fifteen minutes ago.”
Aarav perked up. “Tea?”
“I’m guessing it is. And don’t get all pissy if he only used fifty-seven leaves instead of fifty-eight. He’s trying and it’s pretty damn cute.”
“I’m notthatparticular.” Aarav frowned.
“Could have fooled me.” Ruby bumped her shoulder into his. “Just teasing, Aarav. Well, except about the relationship stuff.”
“Noted.” Aarav popped open the lid on the thermos and breathed deep of the scented steam before nearly searing his lips and tongue on the freshly brewed tea. “Mmm. Perfection.”
Then he did as Ruby had suggested, stretching in between deep pulls on the travel mug and bites of the sandwich left beside it. It had two slices of gouda, a layer of greens, and a single slice of turkey with a smear of mayo and a hint of black pepper. Precisely how he liked it.
Ruby went back to monitoring the team’s progress. When Aarav had finished, she looked at him. “They’re on the ground. You ready for me to call everyone in here? You want me to tell James to bring Cash or to have him wait in one of our holding pens?”
Aarav winced. There was no denying Cash had cooperated from the moment they’d abducted him. He deserved to see how things went down. Truth was, Aarav liked having him near, even if Cash wasn’t ready to accept that yet. “Yeah. Let’s go. Cash too.”
It only took a moment from when Ruby summoned them for the Shields to reassemble in the command center. Aarav stayed at his station beside Ruby, unwilling to alter anything at all from their practice sessions. She tensed the instant Liam appeared on the comms feed, before glancing over at Ace, who gripped the arm of his chair with his good hand.