Page 76 of Dangerous Mission

There’s a whole silent conversation in the way her expression tightens for an instant as our gazes hold.

Aria doesn’t want her brother to know.

Well, fuck that. He’s gonna know her line might have been tampered with, and he’s going to make sure Brundage never dives again.

“There was a problem,” I say bluntly.

“Not now, Scout,” she hisses at me before she turns back to Griff. “We can talk about that later, once you’ve had time to get settled.”

Griff’s keen attention gets more acute. “What kind of problem?”

“Equipment damage, I suspect tampering.”

Aria fists her hands. “Helloooo. I thought we could save this for later.”

Griff shifts his weight, his own fisted hands going to his hips. “Whose equipment?”

“Hers.”

It takes less than two seconds for his anger meter to peg.

“Come on.” He motions for his sister to go to his rented SUV. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

I step between them and wrap a hand around her upper arm in a possessive move. “Aria’s coming with me.”

Griff’s face flushes red. He swallows roughly, and I half expect to have to do hand-to-hand combat with him in the middle of the road.

It wouldn’t be unwelcome.

I’m primed for a fight right now.

Going toe-to-toe with Griffon Kane would be an ideal way to shake off some of the dangerous energy coursing inside my veins.

He growls, “Aria…”

Narrowing her eyes to slits, she huffs and throws her hands up in the air. “Griff, I am not a five-year-old. I have a say in this.”

“Not now,” he replies flatly.

“No, now.” She gives him a withering glare. “I’m tired, Griff. The dive was stressful. I’ve been worried about you. Scout is taking me back to the farm.”

This only makes her brother more angry. If he were a bull, he’d be goring me right now.

The feeling is mutual. Much more of this and I’ll be pawing the ground and snorting.

“Griff, I’m getting her out of here.”

His anger rises around him like a thunderhead, dark and unpredictable. “I’ll take her.”

If I were a rational man, I’d push her toward his vehicle, and I’d go back to the cave to help them search. But that part of me vanished somehow in the last twenty-four hours. Now I’m running on pure emotion.

I hate it.

I’ve never been like this. But damned if I can stop it. Somehow Aria cracked open a door that I can’t seem to close.

Before I can tell her brother to fuck himself properly, Aria makes her statement loud and clear. “I’m going with Scout.”

Griff’s nostrils flare as he takes a step forward. “You’re making a mistake, Aria.”