Ryleigh knew she was making Jacks mad by questioning his abilities, but she was ecstatic to hear that he planned on practicing getting into the safe without any issues. He just didn't understand her need for knowledge; not many people did. She felt bad about the ego blow, but it couldn't be helped. Knowledge was how Ryleigh cooped, and she was never afraid to ask questions.

"Now you're the one that is going to have to trust me, Rye," he said. "We are going in as a team, and we need to have each other's backs. Are you okay with that? I won't let anything happen to you, just trust me."

Ryleigh wanted to laugh. She had just asked him to do the same in the plane and look how that worked out. It seemed Jacks wanted her trust but didn't want to return it. But she had to admit, if even to herself, that she did trust him to keep her safe and that kind of surprised her. So, she decided to go for broke and at least admit that much to him.

"Yes, Jacks, I will have your back," Ryleigh guaranteed him. "You need to know that trust does not come easy for me, but for some reason you make me feel safe. There is only one other person on the planet that makes me feel that way, and that is my Dad. He saved me when I thought there was no hope, and he has proven himself to me for the last fifteen years. I have only just met you, and I am finding the level of trust I have for you a little disconcerting. I hope you are worth it, Jackson."

Jacks should have been p.i.s.sed, but he wasn't. He had to admit that he liked that Ryleigh trusted him as much as she trusted her Dad. Declan "Senior" Quinn was a good man and a great leader and soldier liked being thought of in the same respect.

"I would never hurt you, Rye," Jacks said. "My bear wouldn't allow it, even if I tried. We have a connection that I am hoping you will let me explain when this mission is over."

Ryleigh was floored by what Jacks had just revealed to her, and she had to hope it was true. But she wasn't going to get all girly and gush about what Jacks had just said to her. After all, actions spoke louder than words in her book. He could mean that he just wanted to get into her pants. He was a guy, after all, isn't that what they all wanted or considered a connection of the most primal kind?

"I need to talk to my Dad and Grandfather," Jacks continued, "- but if what I suspect is true, then neither one of us has anything to worry about. But we need to table that discussion for after the mission, okay?"

Jacks had needed to talk to someone that actually knew what happened when you met your fated mate. He knew he wanted Ryleigh and was feeling protective of her. He also knew that his bear wanted her as well, but he wanted to be sure what the signs were before he told her. She was human, well mostly human, after all. She didn't have any idea what fated mates were or what they meant to Shifters, and he didn't either. He hoped that his Dad or Grandfather would be able to tell him.

"Okay, Jackson," Ryleigh responded. "I will trust you. By the way, do you prefer Jackson or Jacks? I noticed some of the guys called you Jacks, and I have been doing it, but I never asked you what you liked."

Things were getting a little too serious for Ryleigh. She needed a break and asking about his name was safe. The question was both personal, but impersonal. They needed to get away from talking about s.e.x or connections; she just wasn't that comfortable with those feeling yet.

"You can call me anything you like, but Jackson is generally reserved for when I do something wrong," he said jokingly. "Most people just call me Jacks."

"Okay, Jacks," Ryleigh giggled. "Discussion tabled until after the mission."

Ryleigh liked it when Jacks acted like a regular guy and not the douche bag he had a tendency to revert to and she was starting to feel more at ease with him. She hoped it continued. She actually liked the man and was afraid it could turn into some more, pretty quickly.

The flight was rather smooth with no turbulence and clear skies. They landed at Fort Campbell without an issue, and Jack seemed a lot more comfortable about landing than taking off. Maybe he was just happy to be back on solid ground, but maybe, just maybe, they had settled some things. Ryleigh hoped that it was the latter.

On their way out of the plane, a soldier walked up, "Captain Quinn Base Commander Fry would like to extend an invitation to join him for lunch if you have the time."

"Sorry, soldier, please inform the Base Commander that I will have to take a rain check and will call him later," Ryleigh said without any forethought. "I should be back in a week to fly out. I will make time to meet with him then. Also, please let him know that I will give him a call to explain and express my regrets personally within the day."

"Roger, Captain," the soldier said. "We will stow your plane and expect you next Sat.u.r.day. I will also let the Commander know. Now if you will follow me, I will take you to the vehicle we have secured for your arrival."

Chapter 22.

Once they arrived at their new vehicle, Jackson was looking even more tense than usual. Ryleigh decided to let it go for now. The less they spoke, the better. At least until they could get off base and check for trackers or bugs on the car.

She would love to think that her adopted Uncle would never betray her, but one never knew. Too many things were up in the air right now, Ryleigh thought to herself. Everything that they were finding out pointed to traitors being in the mix, and that was a hard pill to swallow. Slamming the door and getting behind the wheel much to Jacks dismay, Ryleigh started out for the highway.

After heading towards Clarksville and away from the base, Ryleigh pulled over to the side of a busy gas station. Jacks must have been thinking the same thing as she was because he had hardly spoken a word since getting into the car. The silence was okay, but the constant disapproving scowl was another thing.

"Jacks, I need to get something out of my bag would you mind giving me a hand?" Ryleigh asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

He got out of the car with a grunt. Once they were about ten feet from the car Jacks came unglued.

"What the f.u.c.k do you think you are doing, Ryleigh?" he roared. "We just flew into a military base where the Base Commander asked to have lunch with you. Way to bring attention to yourself and me for that matter. Those soldiers noticed you and will remember you because the Base Commander wanted to see you. Right now, they are thinking, who is this woman and how does she rank? You must be pretty well known there for him to have done that."

The jerk. What was all that stuff he had just been saying about trust on the plane? Obviously, he only wanted her trust but wasn't willing to return it, and it seemed his little tirade wasn't quite finished yet either.

"What part of undercover do you not understand?" Jacks demanded. "Or how about, under the radar, do you even know the meaning? If that wasn't bad enough, you got into a car and drove away without even checking for tracking or bugs. I expected a h.e.l.l of a lot more from the leader of Holly Group."

Ryleigh was not a happy girl. It seemed that the guy she was attracted to and stuck with was also bipolar. One minute he was sweet and kind and the next he was a raving lunatic questioning her abilities. What a jerk. She watched has he stomped around the car gesturing his points with his hands. She just hoped they didn't draw any attention and still he continued to berate her "You wouldn't have even pa.s.sed covert operations 101, what the f.u.c.k," Jacks continued with his tirade. "We are not supposed to be a.s.sociated with each other, and you just waltzed me through a f.u.c.king military base. With the use of facial recognition, they probably knew who I was before we left the d.a.m.n tarmac. IQ of 270 my a.s.s, you might have the book smarts, but lady, your common sense is way off. We are going to have to sc.r.a.p this f.u.c.king mission."

So much for trust, jerkoff, Ryleigh thought. She needed to get this madman to stop his little hissy fit or tantrum. She wasn't quite sure which would explain what he was doing.

"Now wait a minute, Jackson," Ryleigh finally interrupted. "First off, that sunscreen I had you slather all over you face will distort your image to even the most sophisticated facial recognition software."

Jacks was fit to be tied and p.i.s.sed beyond belief. How could Ryleigh have made such an amateur mistake placing both himself and her in danger like that? There were other less conspicuous airports that they could have flown into and if she was even half as good as she was supposed to be she would have known that. Then he realized what she had just said, and his anger turned to himself. Why couldn't he just trust her? If they had a chance of ever having anything more he would need to and he felt guilty for questioning her and acting like a f.u.c.king three-year-old.

"Also, you were listed as Joshua Toms on my Gen-Dec," Ryleigh continued. "Josh happens to be the co-pilot I often fly with on longer flights. My Uncle, and my Dad's best friend, the Base Commander, also made sure that the soldiers focused on me, not you. As for covert operations 101, give me a break, we needed to be far enough away from the base to determine if we had a tail before we could check the car or didn't your super spy skills tell you that."

Ryleigh started to head for the trunk. She was going to do her job whether the jerk in front of her thought she was capable of it or not. Jacks followed without saying a word.

"There is a bug detector and a scrambler in my bag," Ryleigh revealed. "Now if you don't mind, we have a job to do. And thanks for the trust, by the way," she said, rolling her eyes, making the sarcasm evident in her statement.

Jacks knew he f.u.c.ked up, but he didn't know how to fix it. He had just accused her of awful things and he was surprised that she was even willing to talk to him at this point.

"Trust goes both ways, Jacks," Ryleigh said. "You have to trust me as much as you want it from me. The fact that you thought, even for a minute, that I would put you in jeopardy shows I'm not the only one that has trust issues."

Jacks knew she was right, and he needed to get his s.h.i.t together before he lost what could possibly be the best thing in his life; Ryleigh.

After checking the car out and finding nothing, they set the scramble up and set off. After about half hour, Jacks finally decided that he needed to break the silence.

"Sorry Rye, I should have known you would cover our a.s.ses," he apologized. "We just need to work on our communication. If you had told me about the face cream, I wouldn't have blown up as bad. I am used to working with my team, and I am always in charge. Keeping vital information from me is not going to work. I need to be able to protect you, and I can't do that if I don't have all the information. Not to mention I have just the tiniest trouble playing second fiddle. That whole scene just put me off my game. I promise to try harder in the future. This arrangement is just going to take some getting used to."

Jacks felt like dirt. He knew what Ryleigh was saying was the truth. He didn't trust her but expected her to trust him; it wasn't fair.

"Thanks for that, Jacks," Ryleigh acknowledged. "I didn't think about telling you about the face cream because I was using it as a distraction when we took off. I also use it all the time; I never fly into any place without it. Shoot, I have started using it as a real sunscreen it's that good," she joked, trying to ease the tension.

Ryleigh was relieved that Jacks was finally coming to his senses. She hoped that she never saw the untrusting, hissy-fit-making man again. She really couldn't blame him, but that didn't mean she liked his behavior by any means. She didn't throw fits when she didn't understand something and neither should he. However, Ryleigh knew that she needed to cut him some slack because he didn't know her or how she worked. And she had to admit it wasn't his entire fault; she should have let him know what was going on from the beginning.

"Also, I will be the first to admit that I do not like field work," Ryleigh confessed. "Put me in an office with raw data, and I am in heaven. But, Jacks, I am highly trained, and this might surprise you to hear, but I have no desire to lead. Manage and advise: those are my strength within the Holly Group, and I would like to continue them with NAC. But you have to know, Dad would have never let me out in the field if he hadn't vetted my training. If you don't trust me that is fine but please trust him, he knows what he is doing. So, as far as I am concerned, from here on forward, you can take the lead."

"Good, pull over then," Jacks demanded.

"What, why?" Ryleigh questioned, not knowing what was going on.

"No questions. Just comply; pull over," he insisted once again.

"Okay, Mister Control freak," Ryleigh obeyed.

"That is Master control freak to you, Missy. You just handed over the reins, and I am taking you up on it," Jacks replied. "You might be able to fly a plane, and land on a dime like you said, but you suck at driving a car."

She laughed to herself. Her driving did suck. Ryleigh hated staying between the lines and the speed limit signs were only suggestions as far as she was concerned, but she wasn't going to tell Jacks that.

"You know those lines are there for a reason, right?" Jacks continued to joke. "You are supposed to stay in between them; not drive over them. When a car is coming at you in the opposite lane, most people veer away from them; not drive towards them like some f.u.c.ked up game of chicken. Not to mention, yellow on the traffic lights means slow down not floor it."

Ryleigh couldn't figure out if he was really giving her a hard time or if he was indeed a control freak to the tenth degree. If she had to guess, she would say the latter. Jacks didn't like things he couldn't control, and she knew this after just one day. She also knew it would only get worse the longer she knew him. His true colors started to shine through, or at least that is what she thought. But she couldn't resist ribbing him just a little bit.

"Oh, please, Master control freak, I don't drive that bad," Ryleigh countered, "-and just so you know, I have never gotten a ticket before. My driving record is perfect."

"What, did you do give the cops one of your alternative ids just so you can say that?" Jacks snapped back. "Because no way in h.e.l.l have you never been pulled over before. No law-abiding cop would let you pa.s.s without a ticket. You were going 60 mph in a school zone for Christ's sake. And, Baby, the next time you call me Master, just leave the control freak part off, and we will see whose engine gets revved."

Dang, the man knew just how to hit her where it hurt, or rather gushed. She would never call anyone Master, but it did open up a whole new world of possibilities.

"I never said that I haven't ever been pulled over, Ma...Jacks," Ryleigh responded. "I just said that I have never gotten a ticket."

Better not tempt the bear, Ryleigh thought. There was no way that she was calling him Master again, even though it just kind of naturally slipped through her lips. What was going on with her? After what she had endured she shouldn't be thinking about calling anyone Master. Ryleigh also had an internal dilemma. What is it with this man? Ryleigh wondered. No, he wasn't just a man, he was a Shifter, an Alpha Shifter. She needed to remember that maybe that is why she thought that she wouldn't mind a little of his control. It was almost like her soul called to submit to him. It was both scary and exhilarating at the same time, and it freaked her out.

Could she let this man take her over? Could she trust him to keep her safe? Would he protect her heart? She was asking herself so many questions. Christ, she actually thought he would, Ryleigh convinced herself, because she already knew it was true. She trusted him to at least keep her safe.

"Nice catch, by the way," Jacks said, bringing Ryleigh back into reality. "It's when you don't have to think about it, and it comes naturally. Then we will know we made some progress. There is something between us, Rye, that I haven't ever felt before."

Ryleigh was both flattered and freaked; she didn't know if she wanted to have these feelings for Jacks. She didn't know if she wanted to have these feelings for anyone, but he was right; something was developing between them.

"We really need to get back to work," Jacks said, trying to change the subject. "That discussion can wait until the mission is complete. We have the rest of our lives to explore what I think is going on."

Ryleigh was relieved; she didn't want to have that discussion anytime soon. Instead, she needed time to think and figure out what she wanted. Her body was on board, but her brain wasn't.

"Now, we have about a half hour before we meet up with my team," Jacks declared. "Before we get there, are you going to have a problem working with a bunch of burly ex-military guys? Our Shifters genes cause us to be a little larger than normal human males, and we are a bit more aggressive. If something goes wrong, things tend to break. Even fighting happens. It's just within our nature to express extreme emotions outwardly."

Jacks hoped that Ryleigh could handle his team because he had no plans of ever leaving them for her, or any woman. The guys of Alpha Team where his family and had been for a very long time. He just hoped her past didn't make her afraid of men, really big men, with guns "No, I will be okay," Ryleigh a.s.sure him. "My triggers occur within confined s.p.a.ces, humiliation, and cages. As long as none of you try to put me in a cage or start calling me horrific names in Latin, we shouldn't have a problem."

Jacks really wanted to make her incubators and Pandora pay for what she went through as a child, and he vowed that he would make that happen as soon as possible. He didn't have any problems delivering a little payback for everything that Ryleigh had been through. He would prefer to do it himself, but he knew a few people that, for the right amount of money, could make just about anything happen behind the prison walls.

Chapter 23.

"I was one of the lucky ones," she continued. "Dad got me out early. I had a chance to see that not all people are heartless monsters who just wanted me to perform otherwise they would hurt me. Shoot, sometimes they just hurt me for their personal amus.e.m.e.nt."

Jacks thought, yeah, he would definitely be putting some cash out, because those people really needed to pay for what happened to Ryleigh. But what concerned him more was her nonchalant way of conveying what happened to her, like it was nothing. When, in fact, it was the biggest ordeal. No person should ever hurt a child; that's all there was to it. And if they did, G.o.d help them because he would make them pay.

"There was this one Latin tutor that was brought in several times a week," Ryleigh recalled, "- and I knew he would have hurt me even worse if he ever got the opportunity. He just had this look about him. Now that I am older, I know what that look meant. But even as an isolated eleven-year-old with very little human contact, I could just tell that he was a creep."

Jacks didn't want to hear this, but he needed to know more about Ryleigh, and unfortunately this was a part of her. He also knew that he would have another name to add to his ever-growing list of people to punish after she finished.

"In my late teens, I discovered a news article that mentioned that he had been arrested after a fire had broken out in his house," Ryleigh remembered. "They found three little girls in cages in his bas.e.m.e.nt that he had been molesting for months. He had smuggled them in from overseas, and no one knew they were there."

Yep, he was definitely adding another name to his list. People that hurt children didn't deserve to live, in his book. He was trying to stay calm and listen to Ryleigh, be supportive but the cracking sound that was coming from beneath his hand was an indication that he wasn't doing very well. He needed to calm down and breaking the steering wheel wasn't an option. So, after taking a few deep breaths, he willed his grip to lessen on the wheel.

"Shortly after I read the article, I finally got the courage to look into the case further," she revealed. "All of the little girls had been between 8 and 11 with red hair and green eyes. One of them wasn't even a natural redhead. He had dyed her hair."

Ryleigh looked Jacks in the eyes. She tried hard to hide the looks of disgust and fear on her face. She hated reliving this part of her life, but for some reason she felt that Jacks needed to hear it.

"He had dyed her hair to look like me," Ryleigh said with a pained look on her face. "He had pictures of me in the bas.e.m.e.nt where the girls were found. Lots of them. I never knew because Dad kept that away from me. When I told, him I was looking into the case he got me the original case file."

Jacks wanted to kill the a.s.shole and he would as soon as he got that chance. How could the people that were supposed to protect and love her let someone as depraved as the man she was describing into her life?

"I sparked something in that evil man. What he couldn't do to me he did to those little girls," Ryleigh explained. "It took me a long time to realize that it wasn't my fault. His demented mind is what allowed him to abuse those girls."

Ryleigh had been faking that reaction for so long that it just became natural. It wasn't true; she definitely blamed herself. If it weren't for her, those girls would have never been hurt. She could psychoa.n.a.lyze it a hundred different ways. Yes, the fault lied with the horrible man, but she would always feel responsible as well; nothing would change that.

"They were one of the first people we helped with the Holly group," said Ryleigh. "We vetted psychologists and psychiatrists and grilled them about their methods until we found the best people to help. We also found the girls loving guardians to support and take care of them. Lastly, we provided the girls with scholarships. We were so full of ourselves. Two of the girls, Isabella and Sophie are living happy and healthy lives. Both have great careers and positive relationships. One even has a boyfriend. He didn't win, at least not with them."

"What happened to the third little girl?" Jacks inquired.

"Noel? We lost her'" Ryleigh revealed.

Ryleigh always felt sick to her stomach when she thought of her failure with Noel. She had been so pompous thinking that she knew everything, and the situation with Noel proved she didn't know enough.

"The psychologist we placed her with failed to tell us about their obsession with regression therapy." Ryleigh continued. "We found out later that she made Noel relive what happened to her over and over again. The women actually thought that it would help her accept it."

Jacks couldn't imagine why a person, a professional no less, would subject a kid to reliving the worst days of her life. He understood the need for therapy and dealing with what happened to move on, but the way Ryleigh was making it sound, the therapist wasn't interested in Noel moving on. It seemed like she wanted her to relive the abuse over and over again. He would never understand that.

"The family that we had placed her with noticed a decline in her mood, but had dismissed it as typical teenage angst," Ryleigh explained. "She had started getting moody and acting out; not bathing and wearing the same clothes for days on end. They talked with the psychologist, and she had stated it was normal." Ryleigh continued.

Just relaying the facts always made Ryleigh p.i.s.sed. They trusted these people to keep Noel safe, and they ignored every sign. She blamed them because she trusted them to keep Noel safe, but she blamed herself more because she had obviously made the wrong choice in placing Noel with them. She had to admit that they were good people and did what many others would have in the situation; accepted the professional's opinion. There were so many clues and everyone involved failed, and that really p.i.s.sed her off.

"They were making progress and Noel would come out of it, according to the specialist. The guardians never told us in our monthly reports that she had any problems, only stating that she was doing well and just acting like a typical teenager. We didn't look into it any further. She killed herself six months after we had placed her."

The grief she still felt for failing Noel hit her hard. She didn't want Jacks to know just how much of a failure she was. Ryleigh went on with her life after Noel, trying to help others, but Noel was her biggest failure.

"d.a.m.n, Rye. I don't even know what to say," Jacks said apologetically. "What happened to the Psychologist? Is the Latin teacher still alive?" Because Jacks thought if he was, the f.u.c.ker wouldn't be for long. He would make sure of that for those girls and especially Ryleigh.

"We got the psychologist's license revoked," Ryleigh disclosed. "She won't be practicing or causing harm for the remainder of her life."

Ryleigh looked away from Jacks, embarra.s.sed by her failure to help Noel. Getting the psychologist's license revoked was nothing in the grand scheme of things. That damage had already been done and it was Ryleigh's fault. She promised Noel at her grave the day they buried her that she would make sure the women never hurt another child, but it was little too late the damage had already been done to one precious child. Choking back a sob, she continued to answer Jacks questions.

"We have eyes on her constantly because she was a fanatic," Ryleigh said. "We learned a very hard lesson with that women and have taken measures to ensure that we are never in that position again. We have been able to help quite a few of our survivors since then with qualified, caring professionals. We also try to make sure the family groups we a.s.sign the survivors to be aware of all the signs; making them complete a course with our Group before they are even considered an option."

Yeah, Ryleigh thought, they have helped many but losing just one wasn't acceptable.