Darkest Before Dawn (KGI series)

She looked at him, faintly puzzled, but then realized he would have been on the mission to rescue her from Maksimov. Which meant that she was facing an entire room of people who’d seen the way she was when they’d gotten her out.

Her back went up. She refused to feel shame for that. She was going to stop feeling humiliated about things she had no control over, and she was going to stop being so easily intimidated and stop acting like a timid freaking mouse. Maybe she could take lessons from the only two female members of KGI. They certainly didn’t look like scared mice.

“Who can tell me where to find Hancock?” she demanded, donning her most ferocious look. The one Brad told her made her look like a really cute kitten hissing for the first time.

She pulled at her hair in exasperation, not even waiting for an answer.

“What is with men making arbitrary decisions, thinking they know all the answers to the universe? What is with them torturing themselves because they think they’ve betrayed or hurt someone, and yeah, while it might look to the person that they’d been screwed over, the man knows it but doesn’t bother to explain because he believes he is guilty of betraying her and hurting her. So he goes off in some giant manhurt and broods and sulks and God only knows what else men like you do,” she said with a sniff of disdain. “But I know what Hancock isn’t going to do, and so help me if one of you doesn’t cough up some information fast, you are not going to like the results.”

The others had watched her with open mouths in obvious befuddlement, but by the time she got to the end of her tirade, they started laughing until tears rolled down their faces. She was furious with them for laughing like hyenas when her life was on the line. Her future. Her child’s future. And Hancock’s.

Garrett wheezed. “Oh God, he’s never going to live this down. I’ll torture that bastard the rest of his life over this. How priceless is this?”

Honor gritted her teeth and stalked over to get right into the big man’s face. She nearly mowed him over, and would have, but his back bumped against the wall, effectively trapping him.

“What is wrong with you, laughing at a time like this? You’re being a complete asshole.”

Garrett gave her a meek look. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I meant no disrespect.” He rapidly looked at his teammates, begging for help. They just laughed even harder.

Honor threw her hands up. “This is pointless. I wasted an entire day by coming here. Fine. I’ll find him myself. No thanks to you.”

She stalked past them all, Conrad falling in behind her, as she headed for the door. Sam caught her arm and gently halted her, his eyes still full of mirth, but he made a concerted effort to be serious and sincere.

“We honestly don’t know where Hancock is, but I just might know someone who can help. Give me two seconds to make that call?”

She studied him a moment, saw that he was all business now. Finally someone with some damn sense. She nodded.

Sam picked up the phone and punched one digit, obviously a contact.

“Eden, honey? This is Sam. I need you to come to the war room as soon as possible. Can you do that? It’s important.”

There was a brief pause and Sam smiled. “Thanks, Eden. You’re the best.”

“Joe, step out and meet Eden so she won’t feel awkward coming to the war room,” Sam instructed.

Donovan glanced at the surveillance cameras that gave viewpoints of over thirty areas. He grinned. “No need. Swanny’s with her and he doesn’t looked pleased that he wasn’t included in the invite.”

“God save us from newlyweds,” Joe said in disgust.

Everyone in the room shot him knowing grins from all directions.

“Oh your time is coming, baby brother,” Garrett said smugly. “And I predict you’re going to fall harder than all of us put together.”

Joe lifted his middle finger amid laughter from everyone else.

P.J. and Skylar, the two female members of KGI, had made their way to where Honor stood, either out of solidarity so she wasn’t surrounded by so much testosterone or because they were simply being nice.

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