Trevor smiled. “Hey, Olivia. I gotta say, it's damn good to see you, girl.”
“H-hi.” She tried to smile. Instead, her face crumbled, and she burst into tears.
“Ah, baby. Come here.” Jake pulled her back into his arms.
With her face buried against his chest, Olivia’s entire body shook as everything hit her all at once. After a few embarrassing minutes, she pulled herself together and backed out of Jake’s arms.
Wiping her face dry with her hands, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Looking as though he wanted to throttle her, Jake spoke low, his words only for her. “You don’t ever apologize to me. Not for this. You hear me?”
Warmth spread through her chest, and for the first time since leaving the cave, Olivia felt something other than fear. “Yeah, Jake. I hear you.”
His eyes softened, and he gave her a smile. “Good. Now, what do you say we get the hell out of here?”
Finally able to breathe again, Olivia smiled back. “Okay.”
Jake linked his fingers with hers, his thumb caressing the skin on the back of her hand. It was a small gesture, but to her, it meant everything.
After weeks of living in hell, it was finally over. Jake’s team had found them, and they were going home. The rest was simply too much to deal with, so Olivia chose to focus on what mattered.
With a sideways glance, she couldn't help but wonder where she and Jake would go from here.
Hand-in-hand, they walked toward the three men. Like Jake, the others were dressed in black cargo pants, boots, and t-shirts. They even had matching backpacks.
If she wasn’t still reeling from nearly dying just a few minutes earlier, Olivia probably would have made some joke about them looking like a super-soldier boy band.
Trevor and the blond were still smiling back at her and Jake. The other one—the bigger one—just stared. His cold-as-stone expression made her nervous, but if Jake trusted him, she figured she could, too.
“Guys, meet Olivia Bradshaw.” Jake turned to Olivia. “Liv, this is my team. Well, part of it. This is Derek West, the computer specialist I told you about, and Grant Hill, our explosives expert. Of course, you already know Trevor.”
“Ah, talkin’ about me to your lady, boss? I’m honored.” Derek greeted her with a nod, “Ma’am.”
His sandy-blond hair was a bit unruly, but it somehow worked for him. He reminded her of a surfer-slash-cowboy. The guy’s nose had obviously been broken at some point, and his eyes were a bit on the small side, but he was still nice-looking, in his own way. The smile reflected in his eyes seemed so genuine, he immediately put Olivia at ease.
Trevor stood to Derek’s left. Olivia remembered meeting him that first time and thinking he was almost too handsome, if there was such a thing. His dark eyes were round and beautiful, his nose near perfect, and his strong jaw and chin had just enough scruff on it to be sexy.
Trevor’s dark, brown hair was cropped short on the sides and back, but the top was a little longer. Even now, after traipsing through the humid jungle, there didn’t appear to be a single one out of place.
He slung his weapon over his shoulder and opened his arms, but made no further movement toward her. Olivia’s heart swelled a little when she realized he was giving her the choice to either accept or deny the gesture.
Tears began to well up again, but she fought against them. Stepping closer, she wrapped her arms around his narrow waist and squeezed. “Hey, Trev.”
He hugged her back. “Hey, honey. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
After a few more seconds, she ended the hug and found herself pulled against Jake’s side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, lazily running his hand up and down her bare skin. Olivia leaned into him, her head resting against his chest.
The third man, Grant, was still just staring. He was a little shorter than Jake, but not much. And the man was built.
The others were all ripped, too, but this guy was nothing but a wall of muscle. Not in a steroid-induced, obsessive bodybuilder kind of way. Just enough to set him apart from the others.
His light brown hair was cut very short, and while Trevor’s and Jake’s scruffy jaws made them appear sexy, Grant’s only added to the stay-the-hell-away-from-me vibes he was putting off. His eyes were a light blue, the color just this side of grey, and there was an unyielding darkness there.
Grant looked at her, his face expressionless as he gave her a slight tip of his head. Apparently, it was the only greeting she was going to get. Okay, then.
Olivia straightened her shoulders and did her best to smile at the two men she didn’t know. “It’s nice to meet you. I know it doesn’t even come close to being enough, but thank you. For helping me, and for having Jake’s back.” Jake’s arm squeezed her to his side a little more.
Derek spoke up, his drawl adding to his easy-going personality. “Nice to meet you, too. Sorry it had to be under these circumstances.” He motioned toward the two men Jake had been forced to kill.
Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.
Sensing her distress, Jake started forward, guiding her as he moved. The others fell in line with them.
“So, aside from the obvious, what the hell happened?” Trevor asked as they finally walked away from it all.
Jake kept the palm of his hand on Olivia’s back. It was almost as if he couldn’t stop touching her. Not that she was going to complain.
“Long story. I’ll fill you in, and then you can tell me how you managed to find us. I’m assuming you called Ryker?”
Trevor’s face bunched, “Yeah. He’s pretty pissed.”
“I’ll deal with him.”
Jake glanced down at Olivia and winked, but she wasn’t really following the
