He followed her into the small back room and did a fast search of the mail bins and under the tables, ensuring the space was empty. He didn’t have time for more.

“I’ll come for you once we have the lodge.”

“Watch out for George.”

He nodded and turned to leave, then stopped. He faced her and placed a hand at the back of her neck. She was trembling.

It was a punch in the gut to feel the physical manifestation of her fear, but he understood it. This wasn’t her world.

Hell, it shouldn’t even be his anymore.

“When this is over…” He shook his head, unable to say the words.

If you’ll let me, I’m going to love you like you deserve. I’m going to do everything I can to be a man worthy of you.

Instead, he pressed his mouth to hers. She opened her lips, and he slid his tongue inside for a deep, intimate kiss that ended far too soon.

He released her and headed for the heavy wood door. “Bar the door behind me. You know the knock.”

If Xavier wasn’t able to retrieve her, Flyte or one of his men would. They all knew the knock pattern.

Without looking back, he left her in the tiny, musty post office and slipped into the woods to take his position with the team. In twenty minutes, the most important op of his life would begin, with nothing less than his future family at stake.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The back room of the stamp-sized post office was what one would expect for an office that was only open for four hours twice a week during the off-season. Audrey figured they’d committed a federal crime by breaking in, but Xavier had wanted her inside the log structure because the thick log walls were as close to bulletproof as possible and there was only one small window at the front, which was inset in the door.

It was a tiny fortress.

But the thick walls and lack of windows also meant Audrey couldn’t see what was happening outside, just a hundred yards away.

The next hour was destined to be the longest of her life as she would wait and wonder if the father of her unborn child would return.

And then there was George. He’d more than proven he was an adversary for the mercenaries who’d invaded his forest, but he didn’t have body armor like the SEALs, and it had been more than fifty years since he’d fought in a war.

It was useless to pace such a small room, so she dropped down in a corner and wrapped her arms around her knees. But it didn’t take long for shivering to overtake her, and she was back on her feet.