She’d whirled around, slammed her hand into his chest, but he’d caught her wrist, then the other, and just stared at her, his breaths hard, matching the fierceness in his eyes. And there was an edge in his voice when he said, “Enough games, sweetheart. Spill.”

In that moment she knew the wounded man she’d nursed, who’d joked and flirted with her, charmed her with games of chess and Sorry! and called her Flo, had a side to him that was downright dangerous. Even reckless.

She’d seen it today on the cliff when he’d unhooked himself. Yes, to protect her—she got that. But it was as if he didn’t care about the consequences.

Still, she didn’t know what it was about him, but knew in her core that he’d never hurt her. She could still feel his arms around her when they dangled over the edge of the cliff. Still hear his voice.

“I got you. You’re okay.”

She was falling for this guy, and . . . and now that her story was out, she had no choice but to leave.

“Don’t worry, Tae. We’ll figure out what’s going on.”

And get killed, like Faheem? And what about Noemi? How did she get grabbed instead of Tae?

She rolled over in her sleeping bag, tried to settle.

“You okay over there?”

Echo’s voice, sleepy.

“Yeah. Just . . .” She sighed.

“He likes you,” Echo said softly. “I can tell.”

“No. He’s just . . . well, you heard what he did in Nigeria. Distracting the guards so Noemi could get away. He’s a hero. It’s what he does. Besides, getting involved with me is probably a bad idea.”

“Oh, trust me, Colt is . . . well, yes, he’s a hero. But when he likes something, he goes after it, regardless of the cost.”

She opened her eyes and Echo’s were open too, her gaze on Tae.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Let’s just say I have firsthand experience with that.”

Tae’s mouth opened. “Wait . . . you and Colt? But I thought you and Dodge were childhood sweethearts.”

“We were. Always. But for a short time, we weren’t exactly . . . together. And Colt sort of . . . well, he kissed me. And Dodge saw us. They got into an epic fight. Dodge really hurt him, something he deeply regrets, and it sent both of them to opposite ends of the globe for about a decade. It’s good to see them back again, but Colt is the guy who believes the end justifies the means. He once tracked a bear into the woods for three days to keep it from killing their cattle. Terrified his brothers to death. And their sister, Larke.”

“I haven’t met her.”

“She lives in Florida with her Navy SEAL husband. She’s expecting a baby.”