“There she is,” Ajax stated. His gaze homed in on Serena as she made her way down the terminal toward them. They’d beaten her to Dulles and were waiting near the gate.
She looked the same as he remembered. Her skirt was black today, and longer, past her knees. Black pumps. Deep maroon blouse. Black jacket. She moved on those heels like they were a part of her body. Impressive. Sexy. Professional. Totally inappropriate for a thirteen-hour flight to Ethiopia.
“What the fuck is she wearing?” Ryker murmured, obviously thinking the same thing as Ajax.
Ajax shook his head slowly. “This is going to be a disaster. No way am I going into a hot zone to find six of my brothers while babysitting a princess. I do not understand why Charley is sending this woman with us.”
She walked toward them, confident, tall, in complete control. And then she walked right by them. Didn’t even glance their direction. Not once.
Ryker chuckled low under his breath. “She didn’t recognize us. This is going to be so much fun.”
Ajax stroked his chin as he watched Serena continue toward the gate where she finally paused and glanced around casually. Her brow furrowed a moment later, and she tipped her head back to look at the gate number and departure time.
“Should we tell her?” Ryker asked.
“No. Let’s let her stew for a few minutes. I’m enjoying myself way too much.”
The man working at the desk made an announcement and the first tier of people began to board the plane.
Serena rubbed her temple, checked her watch, and stared down the hallway in the direction she’d come. Her gaze went right past Ajax and Ryker, but nothing registered.
“Damn, this is fun,” Ryker murmured. “I haven’t had this much fun in weeks. Years maybe.”
Ajax had to agree. Part of him felt bad for making her sweat. After all, it was slightly cruel. But on the other hand, he really truly hated this plan to the depths of his soul. Babysitting a civilian on enemy territory was not his idea of a good time.
The fact that the civilian was damn fine to look at only made things worse. She would be a distraction, and Ajax hated being distracted during a mission. Hell, he hadn’t ever permitted himself to get involved with a woman back home on the other side of the globe the entire time he’d served in the Navy.
Nope. Ajax had been married to the SEALs. He hadn’t had the time or the energy to devote to a woman. Plus, he never ever wanted to get into a situation where he made poor decisions because he had pussy on his mind.
After the second tier of passengers was announced, Serena began to fidget. The funny thing was there weren’t that many people left near the gate and yet she still didn’t recognize the men.
Ajax sighed. “Guess we better put her out of her misery and board the plane.” He shoved away from the wall and hoisted his backpack onto his shoulder.
Ryker walked alongside him.
When there were only a few feet left between Ajax and Serena, she scooted to one side so she could see around him better. He stopped, stared at her, and waited.
She glanced at him, looking slightly annoyed, and then looked past him again.
He chuckled. “I do own a razor and some scissors.”
She narrowed her gaze and met his once more. Her lips parted and then her eyes went wide. “Oh.” She glanced at Ryker next, and then repeated herself. “Oh.” She shrugged her bag higher on her shoulder. “We should board,” she murmured, flustered.
A flustered Serena was cute. And cute was not how Ajax wanted to think of her. He waved his hand, indicating she should go first, and he followed behind her, Ryker chuckling at his back just loud enough for Ajax to hear.
The three of them were seated together in a row of three seats, which made Ajax inhale deeply, wondering how the next thirteen hours were going to go. “Which seat would you like?” he asked her, ever the gentleman. After all, his mother wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Oh. The window, I guess. Unless one of you would like that seat.”
“It’s all yours.” Ryker stepped past the seats and then took her bag out of her hand and stuffed it in the overhead as she slid into the spot. He glanced at Ajax next, a brow rising.
Ajax felt like they needed to draw straws or at least rock, paper, scissors, but that’s not what happened because the look Ryker gave Ajax spoke volumes. Ajax had known him for over half his life. The clear words coming from his expression were: you better fucking sit in the middle seat because I can’t be held accountable for clobbering the woman halfway through the flight.
Ajax shook his head, stuffed his pack in the overhead bin, and then slid into the center seat. The last thing he wanted to do was sit in the center or the window seat for thirteen hours, but someone had to, and the truth was Ajax was less likely to strangle Serena during the flight.
Normally he would say he and Ryker had a similar temperament and agreement when it came to women, but Ajax felt confident that of the two of them, he was at least attracted to Serena. Ryker barely spared the woman a glance. Ajax found himself staring at her damn legs.
As soon as they were seated, he looked her up and down. “This is what you’re going to wear for an overseas flight?”
She shot him a look, one brow lifted. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
“It doesn’t look comfortable.”
“I’ll have you know I’m perfectly comfortable.” She tugged the front of her jacket straighter and smoothed her skirt.
“You look like you’re about to step into a boardroom. You do know Ethiopia is a third-world country, right?” He couldn’t keep from needling her. It was too easy.
She glared at him. “I’m quite knowledgeable. I assure you.”
“Did you read a few news articles this past week to prepare?” he joked.
“Something like that.” She reached for her purse at her feet and pulled out a book. In the few seconds he was able to see the front before she opened it to her page, Ajax noted the lengthy title had something to do with humanitarian efforts in war-torn countries.
“A little light reading?” he quipped.
She glanced at him. “You do read, right?”
He chuckled. “Mostly just tweets and whatever fits on a meme,” he lied.
She rolled her eyes and focused on her book.
He wasn’t willing to let her ignore him just yet. This was too much fun. “So, you didn’t recognize us. Did you think we would show up for combat with beards?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t think about it at all, to be honest. You do you.”
He feigned hurt, flattening his palm over his chest. “You didn’t think about me at all? I’m hurt.”
“I have way more important things to do than to spend my time concerning myself with two misogynistic, chest-thumping Neanderthals who think only the boys should head toward the action.”
He laughed. “Is that what you think?”
She lifted both brows. “You deny it?”
He leveled his stare at her, sobering up a bit at her jab. “I’ve served fine alongside women, Serena. However, I’m usually given a few sentences of details about them. Far more than a first name. They usually have on camo when they head into war with me. Not four-inch heels and skirts.”
She swallowed. Good. He needed to get a few things straight between them.
“You know more about the two of us than we know about ourselves. And we don’t know a damn thing about you. Not even your full name. Considering we both served seventeen years in the Navy, the last seven with the SEALs, you surely don’t believe that Neanderthal statement.
“Being a SEAL is not a slug assignment, in case you’re not aware. So, forgive me if I’m skeptical about a woman in a skirt being assigned to trail along with me into a war-torn country where I’ve been told six men I love more than blood relatives are being held hostage.”
Trying to keep his voice low enough that no other passengers could hear him, he leaned in closer to her. Their faces were inches apart. “Let’s not forget that I was set up by some mysterious government entity who brainwashed me into believing that somehow I took leave of my basic common sense, went on a rogue mission, and got my entire team killed.
“My life was essentially ruined. So, yes, I’ve been sitting on my stepsister’s fucking couch for three months, wondering how the fuck to go on with my life. Ryker’s been licking his wounds at our foster parents’ home, wondering the same thing.
“Now, I don’t have a fancy college degree, but I’ve read just about every history book written because that’s my passion. I know the ins and outs of every modern government on earth, including and especially Ethiopia’s.
“As for being a misogynist, I moved in with my foster family when I was twelve. Any ounce of disrespect I might have felt toward my birth mother for those dozen years was quickly squelched by my foster father. If we so much as thought about disrespecting our foster mother, he would slap us across the back of the head and drag us to face her and apologize. That woman is a goddess, and I owe her and my foster father my life.”
He slowly inched out of her face before adding. “You’re probably right about the chest-thumping though. Ryker and I can get cocky at times, especially at the end of a day when we know we’ve saved several hundred innocent civilians from genocide.”
Ajax could feel Ryker staring at him, and he might have glimpsed a shocked smirk on his brother’s face, but he closed his eyes and cocked his neck back and forth to force himself to relax.
After a few moments, Serena spoke. “You’re right. I shouldn’t judge either of you. Forgive me. I have less interest in trailing along with you on this mission than you have. I’m testy and unnerved.”
He glanced at her, only turning his head this time. “Forgive me if that does nothing to alleviate my mistrust. Ryker and I are flying blind here. As far as we’re concerned, you may just as well be hired to lead us into a trap. I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but I do know that we were lied to, and I suspect there’s a pile of people who would just as soon eliminate us. Tidier. What better way to do it than to send us into the thick of the fight? Maybe we’ll just disappear in the wilds of Ethiopia, never to be heard from again.”
She cleared her throat. “I can’t tell you everything, mostly because I don’t even know myself, but I can assure you Charley’s goals are to ensure your men are rescued and whoever covered up their capture is caught and brought to justice.”
“And why would she do that?” he asked, narrowing his gaze at Serena again. “What’s in it for her?”
“The satisfaction of knowing she helped your brothers.”
“So she’s some kind of independently wealthy do-gooder?”
“Something like that.”
“Where is she?”
“No idea.”
He flinched. “What does she look like?”
“No idea.”
“You work for the woman and you’ve never met her?”
“Yep.”
“What do you do for her?” Ajax’s curiosity was growing.
“Whatever she asks. Usually, I find people, arrange meetings, keep track of her missions.”
Ajax lifted a brow. “She does this often? Rescue lost SEALs.”
“Nope. It’s always different.”
“Do you always travel with whoever she hires to the location?”
“Nope. Never.”
He turned to more fully face her. “Then why now?”
“I have my suspicions, but I’m not entirely certain. What I do know is that I trust her. Whatever she needs us to know, she’ll make it happen when the time is right.”
Ajax leaned back again, face forward. He was still skeptical. There was no doubt of that. But he did get the sense this woman wasn’t quite as soft and fragile as he’d first suspected. And his gut did not tell him her intention was to have him murdered.