When Day Breaks

“Shit. I should probably head back home. She’s probably going to want to nurse. I was hoping to give Sarah a longer nap,” Garrett said with a grimace.

Without waiting for a response, Garrett all but ran for the exit, laughter in his wake. He only paused to raise his right hand and extend his middle finger before disappearing from the war room.

“I meant what I said,” Sam said in a serious tone, turning everyone’s attention back to him. “If this is something you think you need backup on, you call me immediately. Garrett and I are out of commission for the short term, but Van and Ethan as well as the other two teams can bug out on short notice. I’ll put them on alert just in case we need them.”

“We got it, big brother,” Nathan said dryly. “We’re big boys now. It’s time to wean us off the tit and let us out into the world.”

“Dick,” Sam muttered. “It’s my job to worry about y’all. I’m the oldest, so that falls within my job description.”

“As long as you don’t claim to be the brains of this operation,” Donovan drawled. “That’s my title. Super geek, remember?”

The others rolled their eyes, but then Joe picked up his pack and motioned for the others.

“Let’s hit the road. We’re wasting time. Sam, is the jet fueled and ready?” Joe asked.

Sam nodded.

Joe slapped Nathan on the shoulder. “Okay, little brother. You’re flying the jet.”

“With permission this time,” Sam said dryly.

“Y’all are never going to let me live down the time I stole the company jet, are you?” Nathan asked in exasperation.

“It was a righteous cause,” Swanny said sagely.

Nathan had commandeered a KGI jet and left home like a bat out of hell, but he’d returned with Shea. With a new lease on life. Swanny could see the difference in Nathan. He’d come a long way from the man who’d been rescued from the same hell Swanny had endured. Swanny had no doubt Nathan still dealt with his past, but there was a peace about him that was evident. He was . . . happy. Content. Wasn’t that what everyone wanted in the end?

Donovan smirked. “Truth, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to give him shit about it whenever we get the chance.”

“Fuckers,” Nathan grumbled.

Skylar and Edge hauled their packs up and headed for the door. Swanny stooped to retrieve his bag while Nathan and Joe raided the KGI arsenal in a room just off the main staging area.

They walked briskly in the direction of the hangar. It was a pretty good distance from the war room, but by the time they shoved all their gear into multiple SUVs and drove to the airfield, they’d already be there just lugging it themselves.

Though petite, Skylar kept stride with the much taller men and didn’t even look winded. She kept herself in impeccable shape. One thing Swanny had noticed from day one of her joining the new team was that she hadn’t come in with a chip on her shoulder, nor had she seemed to think she had anything to prove just because she was a woman in a predominantly male organization. She was sharp as a tack, smart and confident. And the few times Swanny had actually not looked at her as a teammate—as just a part of a whole—she was beautiful in an effervescent way. But confident. Yeah. That was an attractive quality in a woman. Maybe some men didn’t agree, or perhaps they felt threatened by a woman fully capable of taking care of not only herself but others around her, but Swanny didn’t think there was a more beautiful woman than one who knew her mind and dared the world to take her on.

Perhaps not being the only woman in KGI had helped in that regard—though Swanny acknowledged that probably had little to do with it. Sky was her own person. She wouldn’t have needed P.J. to break ground for her. She could do plenty of groundbreaking and ass kicking all on her own. She and P.J. both, for that matter.

P.J. Rutherford . . . damn it, Coletrane now. He had to correct himself every time. She and Cole were married now but it was hard to start thinking of her as P.J. Coletrane. At any rate, P.J. was a kick-ass female warrior who could easily take down a man—or men—twice her size. Skylar wasn’t any less of a badass and none of the guys treated her like . . . well, a girl.

Like P.J., she was one of the guys. As he’d already mused, both women were more than capable of taking care of themselves, and more importantly, perfectly capable of backing up their male teammates. Swanny had no qualms about having Skylar—or P.J.—at his back. He trusted Sky with his life just as she trusted him with hers.

It was the way it worked in KGI. The chemistry had to be just right within each team in order for them to perform and function as a well-oiled machine. Their lives—and those of others—depended on that fact.

As they boarded, Swanny was contemplating Eden. Her image swam in his mind. Impossibly beautiful and sweet natured, and she had a heart of gold by all accounts. He used his phone to study up on her recent activities, curious about the woman her brother used to talk about so much. And where she was now in her career. If she’d been one of the world’s most beautiful women a couple of years ago, what about now? Had she changed?

But as he stared at recent photos, courtesy of Google, he realized that if anything she’d grown impossibly lovelier than ever. Lovelier. The word amused him. He couldn’t remember a time that word had ever been a part of his vocabulary, and he damn sure hadn’t ever used it in actual speech. And yet he couldn’t think of a more appropriate word. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Those were common. Tossed around with enthusiasm. But lovely? Somehow it seemed more elegant and timeless. Like her. Her kind of beauty never went out of style. She would have been beautiful in any time period.