Page 40 of Dangerous Mission
“Yes. I don’t like it.”
One damned bit. We’re already under the gun with the mission, and to add the pressure of the rainfall and rising water in the caves makes me edgy as fuck.
Now I’m the one getting the uneasy looks. “The divers were in a plane crash last night. This feels rushed. We need to get into that cave, but we’re going to do it the right way.”
“They have to dive today,” the man in the tie pronounces.
What the fuck? I focus my angry energy on him. “So I’ve heard. But I need to know exactly why.”
Smoothing his tie, he puffs up his chest. “Aria and Mr. Brundage, I’m Professor Mason, one of the advisors Agile Security & Rescue hired. These gentlemen are with me.”
The two younger men each lift a hand.
Kindergartners.
Probably follow him around like baby ducks, too.
The professor continues as he points. “That’s Shane, he’s completing a Ph.D. in geology. The other guy is our doctor from the university clinic, Doctor Morales.”
“And?” My tone is rude and I could give a damn.
Professor Annoying looks down his nose. “We all agree that your divers have to dive today. As you know the weather is deteriorating.”
Clenching my jaw, I consider all the ways I could twist that tie around his neck to extinguish the flow of air.
Justice clears his throat and I realize I’m staring at the man like he’s got a target on his chest.
I snap, my tone overly loud. “You’re not calling the shots here.”
Aria startles in front of me, making me realize exactly how loud I was.
If I was a different man, I’d rest a hand on her shoulder to soothe her tension. But that’s not who I am. Instead, I clench the back of Aria’s chair as the professor turns red.
Behind me, the deep familiar voice of our team leader breaks the heavy silence. “Actually, Aria is making the call.”
I crane my neck toward Beast who is assessing the room with the keen eye of an operator who has seen a lot of shit. “Aria’s making the call on what?”
On silent feet, he moves into the room and crosses his burly arms over a chest that’s almost as wide as mine. “I just spoke to Griffon Kane. Aria’s the diver in charge of this operation.”
Concern crawls up my spine. For a beat everyone is silent.
But Aria’s reaction is easy for me to spot even from where I’m standing behind her. Her color blanches. Her mouth slides open, but she quickly closes it and tightens her shoulders.
Just in time for Brundage to shoot forward and slam both his hands on the table in front of her.
I’m already lunging for him when he snarls, “The fuck she is. I’m senior to her!”
Chapter Twenty
I leap back as Scout launches his six and a half feet of body in front of me.Holy what?
It happens fast—air swooshing across my face, tangling my hair around me. The scuffle of feet is loud in the small dining room. Big arms slice space around me. It’s like being caught in a mosh pit only this isn’t for fun.
Snarls and a tidal wave of testosterone consume the entire dining room.
When I snap back to my senses, Brundage’s neck is clutched in Scout’s hand. There are two men in black wrangling my coworker’s arms behind his back. Everyone’s breathing hard.
On my side of the table, things are much calmer. Scout’s teammate has my arm, guiding me away from the fray as he chuckles. “That went south fast.”