Page 69 of Under Pressure
A long breath came through the mic.
Three thoughts popped into his mind almost simultaneously.
Knox voiced the first. “There’s no way we’re getting this out of here without help.”
“And just who do you suggest we get to help us on our top-secret, undercover mission to salvage five tons of treasure?” Gray snarked.
“Let me think,” Knox replied.
They would need help. A lot of it. They’d have to get Aaron and Ryker, but what they absolutely couldn’t do was call Mack and Liam back. They couldn’t run the risk of their behaviorseeming suspicious to their superiors. They had to figure out what they were up against first.
Thought number two was that they were all dead men.
A ship that was only supposed to have stolen goods from one country, had stolen goods from a whole heck of a lot more than that. Whatever conspiracy had led to the attempt on Ryker’s life, was somehow connected to multiple other royal families or just plain wealthy families. Anyone connected to these treasures was also in danger for their lives. Any organization that managed to steal all this, was not amateur. They knew what they were doing, they’d already attempted to kill to get what they wanted, and for this much wealth, Sean guessed in the billions of dollars, they’d do whatever it took to get it back.
“I’ve got it,” Knox said. “I know who we can ask.”
“Who?” Gray asked, with more than a little exasperation in his tone. Likely he was coming to the same realizations Sean had about their lives being on the line—at least, more than they usually were in their undercover protection duty.
“You’re not going to like it,” Knox said.
There was a pause of a beat before Gray spoke. “No, forget it.”
“Like it or not, he’s the perfect choice,” Knox argued. “He has two boats, a crew of ten—all military.”
“They’reMarines,” Gray said with distaste.
“Right, and they’ll keep our secret.” Knox was right. They’d worked with Titan before, which was where the long-standing feud between Gray and Titan had started, but he was an honorable guy who worked with honorable people.
“Have you lost your mind?” Gray snarled.
The two jumped into an argument that Sean, Wolfe, and even Gray, knew Knox would win. They needed help, and they’d get it where they could. But that’s not what Sean was thinking.
No, his mind fixated on the third thought that’d popped into his mind, and wouldn’t let it go. If he was going to die, and basedon what he was looking at, he thought there was a very good chance he would die sooner rather than later, he wasn’t going down without telling Blue how he felt about her.
15
Chapter 15
Blue
If a month ago someone had told Blue that she would have friends knocking on her door, she would have thought they were nuts.
But that’s exactly what happened. Five days ago, she’d gone to a girl’s night out with Grace and Kate the librarian. That night, she’d met a bunch of amazing gals, was added to a group chat of half a dozen or more women, and now, she was letting two of them in her living room as if she entertained all the time. She did not. Her world was small and male-dominated. Girls asked too many questions and cared. Men were content as long as you didn’t show emotions, they didn’t think too hard about having you around.
“You’re getting married tomorrow?” Kate asked, slipping through the door. The night sky was calm and dark with no indication of the coming storm. It was eerie.
“How’d you know?” Blue asked. She leaned against the doorway, trying to be casual. Even before Blue went into witness protection, she’d never had friends like this. Never in a million years would she have thought it was possible to make friends so quickly. Ones she wanted to spend time with.
Grace held up her phone, showing the group text message. “Not because you told us.”
“Your guy mentioned it to one of the employees at the grocery store,” Kate said. “Avery was there buying some water and overheard him.”
“When did you decide this?” Grace asked. “I thought you were in a holding pattern.”
Blue put her hand over Grace’s phone. “No, I—we just decided this afternoon.” And had gone to the registrar right after they’d decided to get all the necessary paperwork. It’d taken them half an hour. She couldn’t believe their luck.
“After the party?” Kate asked, looking surprised.
