Chapter 5 #2
She let out an exasperated huff. “I’m quiet. I didn’t know you were here either until I was right on top of you. Not on top,” she backtracked, but a grin spread across his face anyway. His gaze briefly ran over her body, and Radley felt her cheeks heating once more.
“Once I disarmed you, I didn’t mind the company.” There was that brief flicker of amusement in his eyes again. She’d fought against him as she’d been trained to but still was no match for his larger size. It irritated the hell out of her.
“What’s that frown for?” he asked with a quirk of his lips, not missing a thing.
“I was trained by the agency,” she finally said. “You disarmed me with little effort.”
“I’m former Special Forces, kitten,” he said, looking amused. “All of the guys on Bravo Team are. You might be experienced at doing recon work, gathering intelligence and whatnot, but Holt specifically sent me here for your protection.”
“I’m used to working alone,” she retorted, trying to ignore the way her heart was suddenly pounding.
She worked with all sorts of men in the past. Government.
Military. Civilians. Sources she met with clandestinely under the dark cover of night.
None of them made her body react the way Boone did.
He shifted slightly, and her gaze tracked over his broad shoulders and muscled chest. She’d felt him pressed against her, and the way her body responded was alarming.
She was a professional. She didn’t date coworkers—not that her last one had taken no for an answer.
Radley resisted the urge to shudder.
Boone wasn’t the type of man that would ever force a woman. She could tell from their brief interaction that he wasn’t arrogant and sleazy the way Schultz had been. Boone radiated confidence and self-assurance, but he was protective, too.
“I worked with a team at the agency,” she continued, “but ever since separating from the government, my sister and I have handled jobs on our own.”
“I usually work alone, too,” Boone said, his intense gaze still on her.
“I’m a former sniper. I’d watch my teammates from above, taking out the tangos when necessary.
But if we’re assigned to scope out this warehouse together, I’ve got no problem with it.
Just let me take point if we run into any trouble.
I’m bigger than you,” he said as she opened her mouth to protest. “And regardless of your background, I’m more highly trained when it comes to this.
If someone from your past is tracking you, we don’t know if or when they’ll show up. ”
“Trust me, if they show up, I’ll have no trouble letting them know my feelings about it.”
“I believe that, kitten,” Boone said with a sexy grin. “Any idea who’s targeting you?”
“I have some ideas, but—” Inexplicably, she shivered.
There were multiple times they’d been in country, and the men she’d worked with had hit on her or her female colleagues.
She’d trusted them, and one of the men had betrayed her in the worst way possible.
Radley steeled herself, meeting Boone’s dark gaze “My former colleague is in jail for drugging and assaulting me. I doubt I’m his only victim, but I’m the one who brought him down.
If he wants revenge, I have no doubt that he’d send someone after me. ”
A flicker of emotions crossed Boone’s face—disbelief and anger, followed by protectiveness.
“I’ll keep you safe, Radley.”
A tremble ran through her once more, but it had nothing to do with the threatening messages and everything to do with the gruffly handsome man before her.
He looked damned pissed on her behalf, which was saying something given that they’d just met.
The agency had tried to hide the case—to cover up Schultz’s wrongs.
It stung a bit that a man she didn’t even know was more upset on her behalf than colleagues she’d known for years.
A flash of anger washed over her. Damn Schultz for drugging her drink and taking her back to his room—for attacking her when she was vulnerable and helpless.
He was far more of an animal than a man, and she hated that the bastard could still be bothering her now from afar.
He didn’t deserve even a second of her thoughts, and yet here she was—back on home soil, yet still on guard, always alert.
Telling the barest details of her story to a man she hardly knew.
Radley cleared her throat, trying to get her mind back on track.
“We’ll watch each other’s backs,” she told him.
“Let’s secure the door so we can search the space.
The lock is busted—I checked it when I came in.
We’ll have to find something to temporarily block the entrance so no one sneaks up on us while we’re in here. Then we’ll search the boxes together.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Boone quipped, but he shot her a wink and strode toward the smaller room and door, shocking the hell out of her. Radley had a feeling that this was probably the only time he’d do exactly what she’d asked.