Page 39 of Dangerous Mission
I whip my head around to look at him.
He’s staring at Brundage, but he speaks to me. “You let me know if you want me to step in.”
Gripping the door handle, I try to interpret his expression. “What do you mean?”
“Whatever you want that to mean.”
With an aggressive jab, he hits the button again and my door unlocks.
Chapter Nineteen
There are a half-dozen people meeting around the dining table when we walk in. The entire group stops what they’re doing to look at us as we move through the foyer.
Immediately the mood hits me wrong.
This whole situation with a missing woman and flooded caves is jacked. But for some reason, having Aria by my side adds a new level of tension that abrades my nerves.
Justice, my teammate, smiles at us. It means nothing.
We could be on the deck of the Titanic getting ready for the cold plunge from hell and he’d be cheesing it up. The man is always smiling, no matter how FUBAR things are.
“Glad to see you two.”
I grunt as I look over the room. Justice sits next to a man wearing a shirt and tie. Not only is the fifty-something man the sore thumb in a house full of operators, he seems out ofplace in Vandemora—the country has casual down to a science.
On the other side of the table, two Russian mercenaries wearing head-to-toe black clothing and the expressions of assassins sit shoulder to shoulder. Taking up too damned much space.
They tip their chins, then give Aria an unguarded once over.
Fuckers.
I still haven’t figured out exactly how their team got rolled into ours. But that’s a problem for another time. After giving them a back-the-fuck-off glare, I cut my gaze to the last two.
Rounding out the side of the table closest to me are two guys who could be college students. They look like kindergartners compared to the over-muscled alphas I run with.
I hook a thumb to my right. “Everyone, this is Aria Kane. She’s one of our rescue divers.”
That tense vibe I sensed when I walked in intensifies.
It’s very evident that the non-Agile people were expecting a man to be the second diver. First there’s shock, then there’s unease in their expressions. That pisses me right the hell off.
Beside me, Aria inhales quietly and stands taller.
I’m so angry on her behalf, I have to bite my tongue to keep from unloading. I mean,what the fuck?
“I presume you’ve met my teammate, Joe Brundage, already.” Aria motions to the man standing off to my left. “My brother, Griffon Kane, the owner of DepthStrike, is getting medical treatment. But he will be joining us as soon as he can.”
Her tone is stone-cold professional and confirms that this isn’t the first time she’s dealt withthis bullshit.
More staring follows. More pissing me off.
The protector in me wants to put my arm around her, but that shit would just get her even more disrespect. It would probably also send me into shock, so there’s that.
I keep my arm in my own space and motion Aria and her teammate toward the seats, but I remain standing. “Sit. The clock is ticking, we’ve got a case to solve.”
Brundage throws himself into the dining room chair on the opposite side of the table. His glare is so hard on Aria, I consider reaching across and acquainting him with my fist.
Justice gives me a double take. “Oookay.Scout, did you have a chance to talk with Beast about the most recent developments with the weather?”