Ryan blinked, amazed at the explanation and of the sheer number of words the man spoke all at once. The contents of the dart sent a shudder through him. "Remind me not to get on your bad side." Where the assassin came up with the ingredients and the know-how to put them together, he didn't even wager a guess. Some secrets best remained uncovered.
"I set the spyware, although it sounds like it might not be needed."
"I doubt he'll be doing too much six feet under."
Ghost reclined back, driving with the traffic. Ryan watched the man, unsure what to make of the military sniper turned assassin. An enigma, he didn't expect Ghost to share anything about his life, his past, or his future.
Silence reigned after their small exchange, lasting until Ghost pulled the car into the parking lot of the airport. Turning off the engine, he twisted to look at Ryan, as bland as always.
"Go back to Rogue and Tempest. Enjoy what they offer."
Taken by surprise, Ryan tensed in defense before grasping onto his control, his gaze meeting the other man's. "How did you…?"
"The expressions on your faces when you're together. They make you happy."
"It's not conventional and to some quite unacceptable." Ryan spouted the truth and one of the obstacles in his relationship path with the two.
Ghost stared at him a long moment before turning back around, looking straight ahead. "Love is fleeting. So is life. Whatever form it takes, you have to hold on tight to what you have and enjoy every minute of it."
Ryan looked at the back of Ghost's head as if he quoted Shakespeare in tongues. From the mouth of what appeared to be a hired killer came logical and emotional advice on his love life. No judgment. No criticism. Nothing but a flat statement that hinted at something deep down inside the secretive man—pain, misfortune, a ball of ice in the man's gut. One thing was sure, Ghost spoke from experience and would say no more about it than he already had.
Stepping out of the car, Ryan stopped at the driver's window, his suitcase firmly in one hand. He looked down at Ghost, seeing him in a different light than before. Cold blooded no longer fit. Instead, he would lay all odds on just the opposite.
Holding his hand out, he waited for Ghost to take it, smiling when he did. "See you on the other side?"
With a brief nod, Ghost shook his hand, then restarted the engine, driving down the lines of cars.
Ryan watched him go, spun on his heel, and walked to the terminal.
Chapter 27
"You son of a bitch. Didn't bother to tell me what you were up to." Rogue stepped up to the table, growling under his breath, his brown eyes snapping in anger at Ryan.
Ryan's shoulders slumped. He had taken a red-eye flight home from Paris, arriving at daybreak. His sister called just after noon, dragging him out of bed and an exhausted sleep, to a restaurant to have lunch with the team. He almost hoped Rogue wouldn't attend, not ready for the sure argument between them.
He couldn't blame Rogue for wanting to take a bite out of his ass. If the shoe had been on the other foot, he would have been pissed too. Too bad it had to be now, in public, rather than in private after more much needed rest and recuperation.
Lark kicked Ryan's shin under the table. "You didn't tell him?"
When he remained mute, she shook her head. "Stubborn mule." She beamed up at Rogue. "I can't vouch for his brains. With all that blond hair he has and all." She shook her own short blonde locks.
The corners of Rogue's mouth twitched. He set his tray down beside Ryan's and scooted him over.
Tempest bounded over, plopped her tray on the table, and gave him an enthusiastic hug and a quick kiss before stealing the spot right beside Ryan. She shot Rogue an impish grin as Rogue scowled at her for taking his place.
"Sorry, slow poke." She squished Ryan over farther and tapped the leather booth seat. "There's plenty of room."
Rogue mumbled under his breath, but took direction, sliding in snugly.
Lark grinned, then leaned into Bryce, who sat beside her, his leg angled out beneath the table in order to keep it straight.
"How is it?" Rogue gestured toward Bryce's heavily braced leg.
"Getting there. Doctor said it would take a few weeks after surgery to get back to normal. In the meantime, I'm on desk duty, and going to physical therapy three times a week."
"Meaning, it sucks?" Rogue asked.
"Big time." Bryce sighed heavily.
"Hey, I thought you liked having your own personal nurse. You sure didn't complain when I put on the outfit and gave you a bath this morning." Lark winked at Tempest.
The corners of Bryce's mouth turned up. "There is that."
Ryan rolled his eyes and grumbled, "TMI. I swear. You two are going to send me into the loony bin with these images I so don't need in my head."
Tempest patted his hand. "I won't let them drag you off in a straitjacket. No way. If anyone is tying you up, it'll be me."
Rogue snorted. Ryan choked. A flush gave Tempest's face a healthy glow.
"Talk about TMI." Lark waved her hand.
"What's TMI?" Loco pulled a nearby table over, bumping it next to theirs.
Spoon, Night, and Cale ambled up, all with trays of food in hand. Each found a seat, Cale being careful of Bryce's leg when he sat next to him. Spoon wore a sling, but appeared fit after his recent bullet wound.
"Seems Tempest wants to try bondage," Rogue tossed out, grunting dramatically when she elbowed him in the gut.
"Man, oh, man." Loco waggled his eyebrows. "I think I need to dig out my handcuffs."
Spoon smacked him in the back of the head. "Oakley will kick your ass if you even think about it."
Ryan glanced around. "Where's Ghost?"
Night shook his head. "Who knows? He's like the wind. Comes and goes without anyone paying much attention."
"You did tell him about our get-together?" Lark asked Night.
"Yep. He grunted, said all threats had been eliminated, and hung up. Whatever that means."
"He saved our asses, but that's one cold, emotionless bastard," Spoon tossed out, taking a bite of his hamburger.
Ryan shook his head, recalling the man's words a day earlier. "No. He's not." Sipping his drink, he continued, "Something he said to me in Paris spoke of love lost, deep sadness, and mourning."
They all gaped at him.
"Honest. I swear the man has emotions, just has forgotten they exist."
"He's probably lived through hell," Loco added as he stared out the window as if looking into his own past. "Something bad killed his soul."
Lark tapped her lip. "I'm not so sure about that. Buried, yes. From the sounds of it, his soul is still there, waiting for the right person to come along and discover it."
The group remained quiet for a long moment, busily eating and wrapped up in their own thoughts.
Ryan felt a hand lightly rest on his thigh. Reaching down, he intertwined his fingers with Tempest's, giving a squeeze and a grin. Rogue caught his eye, a look of longing mixed with frustration painted on his face. He couldn't wait to be alone with them both, cooling Rogue's pent-up wrath and exploring Tempest's newly discovered kinky side. To share in the moment and learn a bit more about love.
"Mind if I join you?"
Glancing up, he found his recent partner standing at the end of the table, tray in hand. He dressed in jeans and a simple pullover shirt. Light brown hair glistened with dampness as if he just stepped out of a shower, though his eyes remained lifeless.
Ryan shot him a grin. "Glad you could make it." Though surprised, he was happy the other man joined them. By what little he knew about the guy, Ghost could stand some socialization and friendship.
"About to think you were going to snub us." Night shifted over, making room for Ghost to sit at the end of the joined tables.
"And miss this?" He settled down in the seat and opened the wrapper on his hamburger.
All eyes locked on him until Loco took the lead. "To catch you up, Tempest here wants to tie Ryan down and do naughty things to him. Rogue likes that idea if the gleam in his eye is any indication. I considered it, but Spoon reminded me my fiancée would kick me to the curb should I show up in bed with a set of handcuffs." He sucked in a breath. "Did I miss anything?"
"Bryce gets sponge baths from Lark dressed up as a sexy nurse," Rogue reminded everyone.
"How could we forget that?" Bryce leaned in to brush a kiss over Lark's lips.
"My eyes. My ears," Ryan protested.
"Yeah, you're a dork," Cale threw out with a smirk.
"Am not, dickhead."
Ghost's gaze bounced from person to person.
Shooting him a quick grin, Ryan explained, "Don't worry. They don't know you well enough to throw insults. Yet."
"My advice," Night offered, "is to practice selective hearing. Keeps my sanity intact."
With an eye roll and a long suffering sigh, Ghost went about eating his meal.
Ryan listened to the banter for a bit longer, shaking his head at the antics of the highly skilled group, as he looked over the motley band of brothers and sisters. Some would call them mercenaries. Others, hired killers. But he knew better. The Wind Warriors flew under radar to rid the world of deadly bullies intent upon destruction, havoc, and endangering the lives of everyday people. Innocent people. He had another term for the small group willing to sacrifice everything in order to protect others. Heroes.
Chapter 28
"Why in the hell didn't you tell me what you were going to do?"
"I couldn't," Ryan bit out. No sooner had they ventured into Rogue's home than the dark-haired man started ripping him a new one. He knew the blistering argument would come after Rogue's earlier huffiness at the restaurant. So be it. Get it out in the open and over with. He had plans for much more entertaining events today, if the stick-up-his-ass gorilla would cooperate.
"That's a fucking poor excuse and you know it." Rogue crossed his arms over his chest, his cheek ticked as his jaw clenched.
"The mission was classified. You remember what that means, right? I couldn't say jack shit about it. To anyone."
"You couldn't have just told me what you were going to do? Not like I was going to go around whispering national secrets. Instead you race off halfway across the world with no backup."
"There wasn't any choice. We had to move when we did. And, what do you mean, no backup? What do you call Ghost?" Ryan bristled under the scathing interrogation. Realizing the pent-up fury stemmed from worry, he soaked up the evidence that Rogue truly cared. However, the fact didn't cool his quickly erupting temper.
"Not good enough. Who was watching your six while he was out playing with poisonous darts?"
Tempest's head swiveled back and forth like a toy top.
"I don't need a fucking babysitter. Ranger here. I am more than capable of taking care of myself."
"Bull shit. Any number of things could have happened. What if Rossi made you? You would have been dumped in the river."
"A chance we all had to take."
"Shouldn't we just be happy no one is trying to kill us instead of bickering over what it took to make that happen?" Tempest frowned up at both of them. "It's over. We're alive. Why in the world would you want to spend the day fighting when we're all home. Together. Alone."
Rogue sighed heavily. "You're right." He shot Ryan a glare. "Just make sure it doesn't happen again."
"I'll do what I can." He shrugged. Like he had much control over FBI secrets.
"Gonna let bygones be bygones?" Tempest poked Rogue in the side.
"Okay. Okay. I give." Rogue threw up his hands in surrender.
"Personally, I think the end of this mess calls for a celebration." Ryan grinned, waggling his eyebrows at the other two. He knew as soon as they agreed to meet at Rogue's house what would happen. Despite being a bit nervous, he embraced their first time together as a threesome. Not sure what would actually happen and on the fence about his readiness for man on man intercourse, Ryan refused to let his concerns ruin his time with the two people he cared deeply for, maybe even loved. He could ponder that later, after they came together as a trio, expressing physically what they hadn't verbally admitted.
"What did you have in mind?" Tempest shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"Oh, I don't know. Getting naked?"
She shot him an impish grin. "You're fixated on naked. Obsessed even."
"Yeah, but he looks great nude." Rogue stepped into the byplay, staring at Ryan and licking his lips.
"Yes. Yes, he does. You both do. It's enough to make a girl's mouth water."
Ryan's erection throbbed with both their antics.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Rogue grabbed Tempest's hand. She, in turn, took Ryan's, forming a train to enter Rogue's bedroom.
Rogue stopped and turned around. "Anyone wants to walk away, now's the time to do it." Rogue's gaze flicked from Tempest to Ryan.