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Except, now, that ache was gone.
He looked at Rhiannon, and instead of pain, warmth bloomed behind his ribs.
It never would’ve worked between him and Ellie because, even then, his heart had belonged firmly to Rhiannon. He just hadn’t known it yet.
“Can we get back to the weapon?” Oz asked with unrestrained annoyance. “How come I’ve never heard of Xenarium-136?”
Pierce took a second to force his wandering train of thought back to the right track.
“Because it doesn’t occur naturally on Earth,”he signed. “It was created specifically for the weapon and has to be synthesized in a lab under extremely precise conditions. Without the Xenarium core, Tectra-X is nothing more than a billion-dollar paperweight.”
“So we remove or destroy this core and neutralize the weapon,” Ethan said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Pierce shook his head.“Destroying the core is possible but too dangerous. It’s essentially a bomb. We need to remove and secure it very carefully so we don’t kill ourselves.”
“Ah, cakewalk,” Nolan said with a wave of his hand.
Zak crossed his arms. “Yeah, except for one problem. We still have no idea where it is or who has it.”
“Oz is working on that,” Ethan said, nodding toward the grumpy tech guy. “We should have the location within the next…” He trailed off and looked at Oz, who scowled.
“I’ll get it when I get it. I can’t give you an exact time.”
“Guess,” Ethan said dryly.
Oz winced. He obviously didn’t like guessing about anything. “Twenty-four hours. Give or take.”
chapter
twenty-three
Twenty-four hours was both toolong and not long enough. Too long because every second Tectra-X was out there, more lives were at risk. But not long enough to plan a foolproof mission to secure the device and neutralize the core. They’d be going in blind, and that never ended well.
The next several hours were spent planning and strategizing, but without a location, there was only so much they could talk about. Eventually, they were just rehashing the same points, talking themselves in circles.
When Pierce saw Rhiannon hide a yawn behind her hand, he stood and crossed the room to the chair she was curled up in. He felt Rylan’s eyes following his every move as he pulled her to her feet and rubbed his hands open and down her arms.
“I’m okay,” she murmured sleepily.
He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted it until she met his gaze.
Everything was catching up to her. She was all but swaying on her feet. He signed to his teammates, “We’re taking a break.” Then he scooped her into his arms and carried her upstairs.
“Pierce,” she protested, but it was half-hearted. She wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled in. She was asleep before he reached the door of their room.
He kicked the door open and carried her over to the bed that was still rumpled from their night together.
She surfaced again, for just a moment, as he laid her down, her smile a little dopey with sleep. “We got this. I know we do.”
Pierce couldn’t help but be struck by the “we.” Despite everything, Rhiannon had placed her trust in him, and that realization hit him harder than he expected. He wasn’t used to relying on others—or being relied on. And yet, here she was beside him, ready to face whatever came next as a unified “we.”
A lump rose in his throat as he tucked her in. Then he just sat there, watching her as she drifted off again. The late afternoon sun slanted through the curtains, casting a golden glow over her delicate features and bringing out the bits of red in her hair. She had the most beautiful hair he’d ever seen. It looked dark at first glance, but it was actually a rich chocolate brown with hints of caramel and auburn that shimmered when the light hit it just right. He could stare at it for hours, mesmerized by the way it shimmered and changed in the light.
She looked so peaceful in sleep. So innocent. So fragile.
He’d never wanted anything as much as he wanted to keep this woman safe, to ensure no harm ever came to her.
He brushed a strand of hair from her face, letting his fingers linger on the silky smoothness of her cheek. She sighed softly and turned into his touch, seeking him even in sleep. It humbled him, the trust she placed in him. Trust he wasn’t sure he deserved.
