Warrior's Hope (Dark Protectors #16)(3)

Hope smoothed out the tree skirt with one foot. “That’s not a bad idea. We’ll keep you safe, whatever you decide. We can give you a new ID, or you can stay here in Realm territory until we figure things out. I promise we’re not going to abandon you now that we’ve rescued you.”

“I appreciate that,” Lisa said.

An owl hooted loudly from outside the heavy doors leading to the deck and down to the lake, and Hope moved to open the door. “Hey, Wingman,” she called out.

Lisa popped up at her side. “You have an owl for a wingman?”

“It’s his name.” Hope chuckled. “He somehow adopted me a while back. He’s just a friend, or a pet, or maybe neither.”

Lisa’s eyes widened. “Are you like a witch? You know from those old fairy tales where they have a familiar?”

Hope mulled the question over. “I don’t think so. He just appeared one day and hangs around a lot. He does show up at odd times, though.” While she did have some witch heritage, she wasn’t able to form plasma out of thin air, so her main identity as an immortal probably wasn’t as a witch. Unfortunately, she hadn’t discovered any talents, so she couldn’t figure out what kind of immortal she should identify with. It was quite frustrating.

The bird was beautiful, with thick white feathers and a dark marking around his beak. He was also a good size but flew gracefully when he wanted. “He disappears fairly often,” Hope said. “Because he is a predator.” Like most people in her world, actually. Her phone buzzed, and she looked down and instantly pressed a button, nerves flaring to life in her abdomen. “Paxton, hi.”

His face came into view on screen. Silvery-blue eyes, thick black hair, rugged features with a nice shadow covering his jaw. He looked like a tough-guy wildlife biologist on safari.

Next to her, Lisa sucked in air. “Whoa,” she whispered. “Seriously hot.”

Hope smiled. “I was just talking to Wingman.”

“That bird’s weird,” Paxton said. Behind him was a beautiful sunlit beach with aqua-colored water that looked too inviting to resist.

She wished she could vacation with him and get out of the snow. “Where are you?”

“I’m in Saint Thomas,” he said, leaning back a little bit. “We’re in the Caribbean studying the migration patterns of the Gulf fritillary. We’re trying to figure out how the little beauty initially arrived here.”

Hope assumed he was talking about a butterfly. “Fun.”

“Yeah, they’re part of the ‘brush-footed’ or Nymphalidae butterfly family, referring to the short hairs on the front of its legs.” His eyes shone as he warmed to the subject. “They like passionflowers, so they’re also known as the passion butterfly.”

Hope gave Lisa a look. “That’s fascinating, Pax.” He combined adorable geekiness and rugged sexiness in a way that warmed her heart as well as other parts of her anatomy.

He grinned. “Sorry. I got carried away. But I’m calling you for a reason. Guess what?”

“What?” Hope held her breath.

“We’re coming home for Christmas.”

Elation whipped through her. “Oh, I’m so glad.” She had found him the perfect cutting-edge microscope set and had wanted to give it to him in person. She had also bought brand-new editions of Realm Sudoku, which for some reason he seemed to love, although he never sat still long enough to play. “When will you be home?”

“I think the day before Christmas, but I’ll let you know for sure.” He looked over his shoulder. “Oh, my uncle is calling me. I have to go. I miss you.”

“I miss you too. I’ll see you soon.” She clicked off.

“You look way too happy for him to be just a friend.” Lisa returned her attention to her mug of rum.

Hope let herself bask in the moment for two seconds and then shoved the dream away. “The male has grown up nicely.”

“I would say so,” Lisa burst out. “Did you see that chest? He wasn’t wearing a shirt. Did you notice? Because I sure as heck noticed. That was one heck of a chest.”

Hope chuckled. “Yes, Paxton ended up very muscled and good-looking somehow, even though he chases butterflies around the globe.” She was grateful that he wasn’t part of her world of strategy and war. After his upbringing, he deserved peace. “But we’re friends, and we’ll always be just friends.” She knew fate had other plans for her. But the words rang hollow just the same.

Lisa fanned herself. “If you say so, although I think you’re crazy, girlfriend.”

Hope thought about explaining just as her cousin Collin strode into the room.

“We’re on go,” he said, securing his duffel bag over his shoulder. “Two women, definitely enhanced. Our first solo mission. The team is heading to the helicopter to take us to the coast. We’ll catch a plane there.”

Hope put her cup on the table near the tree, her heart beating faster. “Where are we going?”

“Paris.” Collin glanced at his watch. “We’re wheels up in twenty minutes.”

Hope thought through mission parameters. “I have a go bag and will meet you at the hangar.”

“You’ve got it,” Collin said. “Liam is acquiring weapons, and I’ll assist him. See you there.” He strode out of the room.