Hidden Away (KGI #3)(62)

“SO who pissed Van off?” Cole asked as he boarded the seaplane on Kodiak Island with his teammate P.J. Rutherford and team leader Steele. “And why did Dolphin and Baker get the get-out-of-jail-free card on this gig?”

“What are you whining about now, Coletraine?” P.J. asked as she slid in beside him. She tossed her duffel bag onto the floor between her legs and then stretched out in the seat. Not that her legs took up much room.

Steele, ever silent, crawled into the cockpit with the pilot and turned to glance at Cole and P.J. “Everyone set?”

At their nods, he motioned to the pilot they were ready and he revved up the engines in preparation for takeoff. The plane set off over the water, gathering speed as they left a foamy trail in the emerald-green sea.

“Alaska,” Cole grumbled. “It’s f**king cold here even in summer, and it stays light too goddamn long. How are we supposed to sleep?”

P.J. chuckled. “I think the point is that we’re not supposed to sleep.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re a damn robot. You’re not human. No one can go as long as you without sleep.”

She shrugged. “If I fall asleep, someone could die.”

Cole shook his head. P.J.... P.J. was something of an enigma. She’d been part of his team for a few years now, and he’d yet to figure her out. He knew next to nothing about her past, only that she’d come from S.W.A.T. and that she was a damn good shot. Better than him—not that he ever admitted that in front of her.

They were competitive, and he liked to give her shit. He didn’t always understand her, but then it had been his experience that all women were creatures from an alternate universe anyway. But she was steady. He could always count on her. The entire team could.

The plane sailed over the water and in the distance, the island was visible.

“What are we looking at here, Steele?” Cole asked. They hadn’t had time for a full briefing. Steele had taken the call from Donovan and pulled him and P.J. They’d left on a minute’s notice, not that it was anything new.

“Garrett is bringing Sarah Daniels here. Our job is to be invisible and make damn sure no one gets on this island,” Steele replied.

“Well, that’s nice, but who is Sarah Daniels?” P.J. piped in.

Steele’s expression didn’t change. “Does it matter? Our job is to keep her safe. Watch Garrett’s back. Do the assignment, just as we do all the others.”

“Don’t you ever get curious?” P.J. grumbled.

Steele raised an eyebrow and turned back around in his seat. Cole shot her an amused look and she scowled and flipped him off.

“Steele, curious?” he mouthed.

P.J. rolled her eyes and said in a low enough voice that Steele wouldn’t hear, “And you said I wasn’t human. He’s a machine.”

The plane dipped and P.J. turned to look out the window as they nosed down toward the water.

“There’s a bald eagle,” she said in an excited voice as she pointed.

Cole ducked his head and leaned forward to look. “I had no idea you were such a wildlife buff.”

“You’re unpatriotic if you don’t get a thrill at seeing a bald eagle,” she said, shoving at his arm. “Aren’t you army guys supposed to be more gung-ho about national symbols?”

He winced and then growled through his teeth, “I was not in the goddamn army and you damn well know it. Navy, P.J. I was a SEAL, for God’s sake. Have some respect.”

“I get you all confused,” she said defensively. “Who the hell can keep up with all the branches of the military you people wimped out of.”

Cole gave her a look of disgust. She was so full of shit. She had a memory like a steel trap. She didn’t forget anything. She could probably name branch, serial number and rank for every single one of the KGI members.

“Yeah, well, what’s your story, Rutherford? You talk shit about us, but all that I know is that you wimped out of S.W.A.T. after being the first female in your unit. Couldn’t take the heat, or what?”

Though he was teasing, pain swamped her brown eyes followed quickly by ice so prevalent it shriveled his ni**les. Her lips tightened into a line but he saw the betraying tremble. It was the first time he’d ever seen true emotion from her. She could joke and give hell with the best of the guys, but for the most part, she kept to herself, and when she wasn’t teasing, she kept her mouth shut and followed orders.

He would apologize, but that would only piss her off, so he pretended he hadn’t seen her reaction and dropped the subject. But it intrigued him. The first crack in her give-a-shit attitude. Somehow it made her more human. And it made him want to know more about the mystery that was P.J. Rutherford.

The plane skimmed the surface of the water before slowing and turning into a cove. They coasted to a stop alongside an aged, wooden dock and the pilot hopped out to secure the plane. Cole stepped out and reached back for his bag. He didn’t offer to help P.J. He’d made that mistake before. She carried her own weight and never asked for help. It made her a damn good team member, but it bugged the shit out of Cole. He couldn’t even put his finger on why.

After their bags were on the dock, the pilot gave them a wave and climbed back in. A few minutes later, he took off toward Kodiak Island. Cole stood with Steele and P.J. as they surveyed the immediate area.