Into the Lair (Falcon Mercenary Group #2)(42)

“Gee thanks, man. You’re all heart,” Braden drawled.

“You know this makes us ass**les,” Ian said. “She’s injured, exhausted, bloody and bruised, and all we’re thinking about is how good in the sack she’d be.”

Braden chuckled. “Yeah, well, so we’ll never win any sensitivity awards. But glad you’ve finally admitted you want her.”

“I didn’t do any such thing.”

“Goddamn liar. And hey, I’d be gentle with her. I’d be more worried about how rough she’d be with me.”

Ian shook his head but cracked up at the hopeful look on Braden’s face. Yeah, he wanted her. As much if not more than Braden did, but unlike his brother, he didn’t plan to do anything about it.

***

They landed at a remote airstrip in the mountains of Austria an hour before dawn. Ian descended the steps carrying Katie who was still out cold, whether from exhaustion or pain he wasn’t sure.

Braden ambled down after him, carrying their bags. A shadow emerged from the darkness, and Ian tensed. A large black man with arms and legs the size of tree trunks stared, unflinching, at him. His bald head gleamed in the glare of the lights from the plane.

Braden stepped in front of Ian and Katie, his stance belligerent. Then he relaxed when Eli Chance stepped out beside the big dude, a grin cracking his lips.

“What’s up?” Eli asked as he closed the distance between them.

“Damn good to see you,” Braden said as he bumped fists with Eli.

Eli looked beyond him to where Ian held Katie. “You kill her?” he asked in a tone that was half serious.

Braden looked over his shoulder then back at Eli. “You’re kidding, right? That hellcat? We’re lucky she hasn’t killed us.”

The man beside Eli chuckled, the low sound rumbling into the night. “She has nice tits.”

Eli laughed. “Gentlemen, meet Tits.”

This was Tits? Ian shifted Katie in his arms as he stared at the mountain in front of them.

“I thought you’d be bigger,” Braden said.

Tits laughed again and stuck his beefy hand out to Braden. “I get that a lot.”

Braden snorted and slapped his hand against Tits’ to shake it. “Damn glad to meet you finally. You do good work.”

“That I do,” Tits said immodestly. He glanced beyond Braden to where Ian stood. “Want me to take her?”

Ian tensed and then shook his head. That annoying tingle, the prickle of alarm, skated up his spine, raising the hairs at his nape.

Braden looked cautiously at his brother and then put a hand out to stop Tits’ advance. “Not a good idea, man. I’ll explain everything later. For now, let’s get the hell out of here. We’ve had all the damn excitement we can take.”

Tits sent a curious look at Ian but retreated. Ian immediately relaxed and looked down at the still-unconscious Katie.

Her cheek rested against his chest. The position implied trust, even though Ian wasn’t stupid enough to think she had any idea how she was positioned. Or that she trusted him.

If she truly had any inkling of how vulnerable she looked nestled in his arms, she’d be fighting him tooth and nail.

“How is Tyana?” Ian asked Eli as they headed for a Range Rover parked on the helipad a few feet away.

“Tyana is Tyana,” Eli said enigmatically. “More worried about D than her own recovery.”

“He’s just mad because Ty Baby wanted him out of her hair which is why he’s here playing babysitter to you guys,” Tits said, his teeth flashing in amusement.

Eli grunted. “Fuck you.”

Tits slid into the driver’s seat while Eli got into the front. Braden hopped into the backseat on the opposite side while Ian carefully got in holding Katie.

“And how is D?” Braden asked quietly.

Eli grimaced as he looked back at Braden. “Not good.”

Ian and Braden exchanged uneasy glances when Eli didn’t elaborate. Braden slumped further down in his seat, and for the first time, Ian saw defeat in his brother’s demeanor.

“Marcus is at the house,” Eli said. “He wants to take a look at both of you after he checks Katie out.”

“You’re not planning to stay, are you?” Ian directed his question at both Tits and Eli.

Tits glanced in the rearview mirror, his earring glinting briefly. “There a reason we shouldn’t?”

“Yeah, two reasons. A jaguar and a panther,” Braden said. “We’re getting worse, man. The shifts…they’re even more unpredictable.”

He glanced over at Ian as if weighing his decision to say anything further. Ian tensed but didn’t call Braden down. He looked away though, not out of guilt or shame, because he truly didn’t regret killing Ricardo. All he regretted was the fact that he had no control over when he shifted or his apparent victim.

“Ian killed someone after a shift,” Braden said.

His statement fell like a bomb in the small interior. Tits yanked his head to stare over his shoulder into the back while Eli turned completely around, his eyes flaring in the darkness.

“Bastard deserved it,” Ian said calmly. He tightened his hold on Katie as he said it.

“Did you realize what you were doing? Did you go after him purposely?” Eli asked. “Think, Ian. This could be a huge breakthrough.”