Shane headed to his truck which he’d left near the hangar earlier. He called Yael but she didn’t answer so he left a message saying he was going to be late and asking did she want to join him for a quick drink at the bar with the guys. He headed over to Quantico and followed instructions to drop the evidence at the National Laboratory. One of the scientists was waiting for him when Shane got there. He signed off the evidence transfer and headed off base.

He was tired and didn’t really want to go for a beer but they hadn’t had the chance to raise a toast to Montana yet. The urge to head straight to Yael’s was equally strong. It wasn’t only the thought of sex driving him. He wasn’t an animal. It was the need to connect with her and tell her what had gone down thanks to her hard work. To thank her in person.

And if thanking turned into naked body worship, he didn’t consider that a problem. She’d been responsible for catching this bastard. He would worship her as much as she’d let him.

He checked his phone. She still hadn’t called or texted him back. Maybe she was asleep. They certainly hadn’t gotten much last night.

Bar or Yael’s place?

Shane wasn’t even sure which choice he was going to make until he took the turn to the bar almost against his better judgment. He parked and sat there, torn. Even the memory of her soft curves had him feeling restless again and he almost put his truck in gear. But these were his teammates. He didn’t really have a choice.

Someone rapped on his window. Cowboy stood there grinning at him.

Shane slid his phone in his pocket, pushed open his door and got out of the truck. He slipped his cast into the sling that hung around his neck because the bone ached and he should rest it.

“Where’s Yael?” Cowboy asked with a knowing smile.

Shane shook his head and shoved Ryan aside before pushing into the bar.

The guys were in their usual corner and a few shouts went up when they arrived. He laughed, feeling the warmth of belonging surround him. It felt good to be part of a group like this. A woman with long dark hair that reminded him of Yael’s sat next to Hunt Kincaid and was laughing at something Demarco—one of the snipers—said to her. Her arm banded her stomach she was laughing so hard.

What would Yael think of his friends? He checked his phone again. Still nothing.

Charlotte Blood walked in with another negotiator, Dominic Sheridan, and his fiancée. Novak swept Charlotte into his arms and gave her the sort of kiss that could blister paint. Everyone whooped and she blushed. Sheridan put his arms around the woman at his side.