pulled up beside Kip and stepped out of the car.
“I heard a motor fire up behind the trees, but there’s no way to get back there before whoever it was hits the highway. Besides, I haven’t been up long enough to run that far.” They started walking toward the house as Phoenix dialed Brandt—so much for the nap he’d been looking forward to. But knowing he was going to spoil Brandt and Ryan’s plans made him grin, hell, why should those two have all the fun?
Chapter Five
J oelle hadn’t even gotten to sleep when Phoenix’s call sent both Brandt and Ryan into hyper drive. I thought SEALs were supposed to be super calm in the face of crises? Both of them had “mobilized”…whatever the hell that meant, and rushed her out of the club so quickly her head had been spinning by the time they reached the club’s sheltered parking area. Brandt had tossed her keys to Nate on the way out and they’d piled into Ryan’s car.
They’d basically shoved her into the backseat of the silver Bentley Bentayga and been moving before she’d even fastened her seat belt. “Hold on, baby.” Yeah, no shit. A seat belt wasn’t going to do any good, she’d be better off with a parachute the way they were flying down the road. Joelle wasn’t a gear head by any stretch of the imagination, but this happened to be a car she’d actually heard about. It was an amazing piece of automotive engineering for sure, and from what she could tell it probably doubled as a rocket. Her dad had always enjoyed expensive automobiles and this one more than qualified as expensive. But she had to admit, she was more than a little curious how a former SEAL, who’d only recently finished his residency could afford a car that had likely cost well over a quarter million dollars.
“Joelle, cinch your seatbelt tighter. Ry sometimes forgets he’s in a car and not flying.”
“Not true. I’ve never flown this close to trees. Trees fuck you up when you hit them. I avoid them at all costs. Besides, I’ve got precious cargo in the backseat so I’m going to be careful.” She could see his mischievous grin when he turned and winked at her over his shoulder before he shrugged. “But you might want to cinch up anyway, better to err on the side of the angels, baby.” Yeah, well thanks for the tip, but I’m already having trouble taking a deep breath I’ve got the damned thing so tight. Evidently Brandt hadn’t trusted her to tighten the strap herself because he reached around and gave the strap a hard yank causing her to gasp. Hell, she wasn’t going to be able to feel her legs by the time they got back to Pine Creek.
Things were flying past in a blur and Joelle needed a distraction to keep the rising panic at bay. “This is a nice car, but I’m curious how you got your hands on one already. I didn’t think it was supposed to be out for a few months.”
Ryan grinned over his shoulder. “I’ve got connections.” When she didn’t take the bait, he shrugged and continued, “I’ve got friends in the oil industry and they called in favors. It was a graduation gift from my dad’s company.” Brandt laughed out loud earning him a glare from Ryan. The look didn’t hold any real heat, and reminded her of the looks she and her roommate had shared in college when one of them said something absurd.
“We’ll chat about Ry’s parents later, minx, but suffice it to say, this bauble didn’t even make the line-item list for their accountant.” What? Is he trying to be ambiguous? Deciding to let it go, she leaned back and let the plush leather of the comfortable seat cradle the back of her head.
She tried to listen as Brandt spoke on the phone, but he was speaking in what she was sure was some mix of military and police code that wasn’t meant to be understood by mere mortals. Why do they do that? It’s like they are purposely excluding anyone who isn’t in their special club. She’d have to get a decoder ring if she was going to care about such
“I heard a motor fire up behind the trees, but there’s no way to get back there before whoever it was hits the highway. Besides, I haven’t been up long enough to run that far.” They started walking toward the house as Phoenix dialed Brandt—so much for the nap he’d been looking forward to. But knowing he was going to spoil Brandt and Ryan’s plans made him grin, hell, why should those two have all the fun?
Chapter Five
J oelle hadn’t even gotten to sleep when Phoenix’s call sent both Brandt and Ryan into hyper drive. I thought SEALs were supposed to be super calm in the face of crises? Both of them had “mobilized”…whatever the hell that meant, and rushed her out of the club so quickly her head had been spinning by the time they reached the club’s sheltered parking area. Brandt had tossed her keys to Nate on the way out and they’d piled into Ryan’s car.
They’d basically shoved her into the backseat of the silver Bentley Bentayga and been moving before she’d even fastened her seat belt. “Hold on, baby.” Yeah, no shit. A seat belt wasn’t going to do any good, she’d be better off with a parachute the way they were flying down the road. Joelle wasn’t a gear head by any stretch of the imagination, but this happened to be a car she’d actually heard about. It was an amazing piece of automotive engineering for sure, and from what she could tell it probably doubled as a rocket. Her dad had always enjoyed expensive automobiles and this one more than qualified as expensive. But she had to admit, she was more than a little curious how a former SEAL, who’d only recently finished his residency could afford a car that had likely cost well over a quarter million dollars.
“Joelle, cinch your seatbelt tighter. Ry sometimes forgets he’s in a car and not flying.”
“Not true. I’ve never flown this close to trees. Trees fuck you up when you hit them. I avoid them at all costs. Besides, I’ve got precious cargo in the backseat so I’m going to be careful.” She could see his mischievous grin when he turned and winked at her over his shoulder before he shrugged. “But you might want to cinch up anyway, better to err on the side of the angels, baby.” Yeah, well thanks for the tip, but I’m already having trouble taking a deep breath I’ve got the damned thing so tight. Evidently Brandt hadn’t trusted her to tighten the strap herself because he reached around and gave the strap a hard yank causing her to gasp. Hell, she wasn’t going to be able to feel her legs by the time they got back to Pine Creek.
Things were flying past in a blur and Joelle needed a distraction to keep the rising panic at bay. “This is a nice car, but I’m curious how you got your hands on one already. I didn’t think it was supposed to be out for a few months.”
Ryan grinned over his shoulder. “I’ve got connections.” When she didn’t take the bait, he shrugged and continued, “I’ve got friends in the oil industry and they called in favors. It was a graduation gift from my dad’s company.” Brandt laughed out loud earning him a glare from Ryan. The look didn’t hold any real heat, and reminded her of the looks she and her roommate had shared in college when one of them said something absurd.
“We’ll chat about Ry’s parents later, minx, but suffice it to say, this bauble didn’t even make the line-item list for their accountant.” What? Is he trying to be ambiguous? Deciding to let it go, she leaned back and let the plush leather of the comfortable seat cradle the back of her head.
She tried to listen as Brandt spoke on the phone, but he was speaking in what she was sure was some mix of military and police code that wasn’t meant to be understood by mere mortals. Why do they do that? It’s like they are purposely excluding anyone who isn’t in their special club. She’d have to get a decoder ring if she was going to care about such
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