Page 70 of Beyond the Rules
Tanner frowned. “Of course. Is it anemergency?”
“Affirmative.” Zar disappeared down thestairs.
“Where’s he going?” Iasked.
“Marksman Global just called,” Tanner said. “He’ll be on a transport to some hellhole in less than sixtyminutes.”
Jesus. “Does he havetogo?”
“He’s on contract,” Aiden said as if a signature on a paper was somehow a match to bullets, RPGs,andIEDs.
“But…” I was having a lot of trouble with this one. “Isn’t itdangerous?”
“The missions are high risk.” Tanner didn’t lie. “But he’s good at whathedoes.”
Dread squeezed my belly. This was all wrong. I wanted to talk some sense into Zar, but I didn’t have the chance because he marched up the stairs on his way to the garage, carrying a case of weapons and aduffel.
“Don’t forget to empty the recycling bin,” he called out as he exited thekitchen.
I stood up when the garage door slammed closed and looked from Aiden to Tanner. “Isn’t he going to saygoodbye?”
“He just did,” Tanner said. “It’s how you do it. Anything else is bad luck. Youjust…go.”
The hell I was going to let Zar leave to go to some super dangerous place without at least saying good bye. I raced after him, climbing the steps in twos and barging through the garage door. Zar stood in the far side of the huge garage, loading his stuff in the back of histruck.
“Hey,wait!”
“What’s up, Nina?” He looked at his watch. “I’ve got to be at the helipad in T-minus seventeen minutes or the op schedule goestohell.”
“But…” I bit down on my lower lip to stop it from quivering. “Do you havetogo?”
“No way around it.” He reached out and brushed my mouth with his thumb as if to still the trembling. “Once I make a commitment, I’mthere.”
Yeah, that was true, the fundamental pillar ofZar’slife.
“But...” I swallowed a gulp of fear. “It’s toodangerous.”
“Life’s dangerous. We were born to die. It’s what we do in between thatcounts.”
My belly turned into an ice pit. “I think it’s really stupid to die for a wad ofmoney.”
“Agreed,” he said. “I’m not doing it for the money. I’m doing it for my son and for some special people who deserve a break. What’s got your pretty head allriledup?”
“I feel like we’ve got a lot of stuff unsaid, undonebetweenus.”
“You’re goddamn right about that.” He flashed a smoldering, knee-melting smirk. “We’ll have to tackle it when Icomeback.”
“I know I’m not supposed to say good bye.” I twisted my hands together. “I bet I’m not even supposed to tell you how terrified I am right now. But can I ask you to be safe and comebacksoon?”
“Yeah.” The smirk transformed into the genuine smile I loved. “You cansaythat.”
“We…um…we didn’t get to a great start and, well, we really didn’t gettogether.”
“I noticed.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “But we’re getting along. That’s good.Right?”
“I….um…” How to tell him? “I feel like… I was waiting for the right time to say…” There was no easy way to say it. “I want to have with you what I have with Tanner andAiden.”
“Don’t know about that.” The azure in his eyes turned cobalt. “I’m not Tanner. OrAiden.”