03-Strength of the Mate Read Free Page A

Tim for favors. “You know when you asked earlier if there was something you could send me?”
    Tim didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, absolutely. What do you need?”
    He sat back down on his bunk. “I don’t need anything, actually. Ares takes really good care of us. I thought maybe you could send me whatever it is you could have used when you were deployed. They’ve got a PX here, but a lot of things are rationed. Anyway, the guys with the three/three…they say they’re just doing their jobs, but none of them do their jobs halfway. You know what I mean?”
    “I know exactly what you mean. And I know just what to send. I’ll even ask Noah if the werewolves could use anything that I’m not aware of.”
    “I really appreciate that, Tim. I can pay for whatever you send—”
    Tim didn’t let him finish. “We can talk about that when I get everything together.”
    The mention of Noah’s name jogged Adam’s memory. “When you talk to Noah, could you find out when we should expect Rivers? Just a general idea.”
    “No problem,” Tim answered easily. “I take it you have access to your email?”
    “Yeah. That would be great.”
    “I’m really glad you called, Adam,” Tim said quietly. “Even if it is midnight and only to rip me a new one.”
    The muscles in Adam’s back tensed at Tim’s words. He usually got pissed when his brother talked to him like this. Tim’s teasing tone took the sting from his words, this time. Adam wondered how often he’d focused on the words and ignored the humor.
    “Sorry about that,” he said stiffly. “Apologize to Jeremy for me?”
    “Don’t worry about him. The brat went right back to sleep like nothing happened.”
    Adam smiled at Tim’s pet name for his mate. It was so like his brother. “If you want to write it down, I’ll give you this phone number. I only carry it when I’m driving, otherwise it’s off. But you can leave a voicemail.”
    Tim eagerly took down the number. “Take care of yourself and call me if you need anything. I’ll tell Mom and Dad I heard from you.”
    “Thanks. I’ll look for your email.” When Adam ended the call, he felt something bordering on pleasure. Usually, when he and Tim talked, it ended in a fight.
    He liked this way better.

CHAPTER TWO
    Adam climbed down out of the truck cab, leaving the diesel engine running to warm up. He glanced around casually, hoping to spot Dawson Rivers. He’d arrived at Camp Fallujah four days ago, but Adam hadn’t crossed paths with him yet. Pulling his bullet-proof vest from his large duffle bag, Adam slipped it over his head. He tossed his Kevlar helmet onto the seat of his tractor. Adam hated that thing. He’d wait until they were on the move to put it on.
    Paul Mercer was approaching from a distance, a tall, rangy red wolf at his side. Kilo company was up again, to provide security for Adam’s convoy.
    “Rodriguez is gonna ride with you today,” Mercer called. “Is that okay?”
    “Yeah, that’s fine,” Adam replied, fastening the Velcro straps of his vest.
    “I’m riding in the Humvee directly behind your rig, so we got you covered,” said Paul.
    “There’s a couple new drivers bringing up the rear. They’re probably going to have trouble maintaining the right spacing.” Adam would do his best to coach the drivers, but the Marines were ultimately responsible for keeping the convoy safe.
    “Thanks for the heads up, man.” Paul slapped Adam’s shoulder as he stepped past him.
    Adam glanced at Rodriguez. “I’ll open the cab door on your side. You climb in when you’re ready.”
    The wolf followed him around the front of the rig. Adam opened the passenger door and Jason easily leapt up onto the seat. He sniffed around the cab briefly, before jumping out again.
    Adam climbed back into the driver’s seat. He checked the gauges in the instrument cluster. The brand new Mercedes-Benz Actros was running well. Everything looked good. So his sat-phone would be within easy reach, he set