Captured By The Mercenaries

Rafe thought about it, then nodded. “Alright.”

“Seriously?” I asked with a laugh.

“You’ve changed your mind already?” He raised a brow at me, irritation clear in his tone.

“Nope. No, I would rather help out where I can.” I was just shocked that they didn’t put up more of a fight.

“Then it’s agreed,” he said.

The others looked as shocked as I was, but no one argued. Arsen kept the conversation moving. “What else did you learn?”

“Rumor has it Roj has a compound east of Tikrit.”

“Rumor,” Sig repeated, doubt heavy in the single word.

“It came from Brando.”

Arsen and Sig relaxed after hearing that. I was so lost and I hated to slow down the discussion, but I needed to know who the players were so I could keep up with the game. “Brando?”

“Brandon is one of our friends. He’s CIA, more or less.” Sig explained.

“CIA, so… He’s an American?”

“That’s right,” Rafe answered. “He’ll be leaving in a few days and has his own reasons for being here right now.”

“Which means we won’t be able to ask him for help,” Arsen interpreted for me. “Any intel on the compound?”

“No. Not even a definite location. We’ll find it, though,” Rafe said. “It’s not so hard finding a weapons cache if you have a good starting point. It will be guarded, and the locals will steer clear of it. A little recon and we’ll be able to figure it out easily enough.”

“When do we leave?” I asked. Excitement took hold and now I could understand why they did this. It was thrilling, in a you-might-die-but-at-least-you’ll-have-fun sort of way.

“We’ll head out tomorrow. It might take us a few days to find it,” he replied. “Then we’ll come up with a plan on how to take out Roj.” He set aside his plate, a new hunger sparking in his eyes.

My nipples tightened, brushing against my shirt as he stared at me the way a predator would watch prey.

“Until then, I know what can keep us busy.” His eyes dropped down to my belly. “I don’t mind you helping us for now, Pet, but once you’re round and swollen, you’ll be staying back at the camp.”

“Round and… Huh?”

“Pregnant,” Sig said in a tone that said he thought he was being helpful.

I choked on the bite of food I’d just put into my mouth. “Who said anything about getting pregnant?”

Rafe raised a brow. “That’s typically what happens when you fuck as much as I plan to.”

My swallow was audible—more of a gulp really—and I set my plate down before I dropped it. “Oh, well there’s no need to worry about that.”

Arsen coughed, covering a laugh, although not very well. “He’s not worried about it, Little Warrior. He’s planning on it.”

My eyes shifted back to Rafe. “Why?”

“Because I want to see you pregnant with our child.” He watched me with those intense silver eyes.

I’d never really thought about becoming a mother. I’d been too intent on my career. The prospect wasn’t unpleasant, but there were a few reasons I would rather wait. Being a nomad in the desert was at the top of that list. “Well, I’m not having a baby in a mud hut, so that’s just going to have to wait. Luckily, it’s all taken care of,” I told them.

“Taken care of?” Rafe asked, eyes narrowing.

“I haven’t seen you with any birth control pills,” Sig responded.