Chapter 1 #2
The FBI and Navy investigators had made the connection between the deaths of Jeff and Lisa Mullins, Eric Prichard, and Quincy Dale.
The men of Trident security had been tapped to sort through boxes and boxes of classified missions they’d been on to figure out why Team Four had been targeted.
Only after two attempts on the lives of the remaining four men on the hit list did they find out who wanted them dead and why.
Since then, both the senator and the hitman had met with their own untimely demises.
During all the chaos, Devon and Kristen met and fell in love.
Devon pinched his fiancée’s ass hard, and she jumped and squealed, almost dropping the raw hamburger in her hands. “Who says we can’t? And don’t roll your eyes at a roomful of Doms, Pet.”
The others all chuckled, knowing the sweet submissive wanted to glare at them and say something snarky before she thought better of it.
Her ass would be spanked red if she did.
“Fine, but come on, guys. This is the first date I’ve heard of her going on since she moved down here.
You should be happy she’s doing something fun, especially with the anniversary of her parents’ deaths coming up.
I’m sure she'll introduce you to the guy if there’s a second or third date. ”
Ian had stayed with Jenn for three months in Virginia following the murders so she could finish up her high school education.
She’d moved to Tampa and into Ian’s apartment before moving again into a dorm room at the University of Tampa, where she was now enrolled.
It’d taken her a while to deal with the loss of her parents, which everyone understood.
But between counseling, her new school and friends, and her beloved uncles, Jenn was coming out of her shell and returning to the bubbly, outgoing woman they all knew and loved.
The men mumbled their reluctant assents and changed the subject.
“Hey, Boss-man.” Brody handed Ian a bottle of Bud Light. “It seems you’re shit-out-of-luck with my new neighbor.”
Ian’s eyes narrowed and grew cold. “What’re you talking about?”
Brody shrugged his broad shoulders. “Some guy’s been hanging out with Angie all day, and they seem kinda chummy.
His car was in her driveway all through last night.
A little scruffy-looking, which I wouldn’t think was her type, but it’s obvious they know each other pretty well. Too well to be a relative.”
Ian had met Brody’s next-door neighbor, Angelina Beckett, once while helping his buddy move into his new house.
She was a pretty woman, about thirty-three years old, with a killer body that made Ian’s cock react like a snappy salute to an Admiral—fast and stiff.
She'd starred in several of his dreams over the last two months with her long blond hair down to her shoulder blades, soft green eyes, lush breasts, and an ass he would love to get his hands on. More than once, he’d gotten off in the shower imagining her on her knees in front of him, giving him the blow job of a lifetime.
Since their introduction, he’d only had a few glimpses of her, but his teammate must have noticed his interest in her.
Without saying another word, he uncapped his beer and took a swig before heading out to the patio with Beau on his heels.
While the dog ran straight to the grass and began to sniff everything in sight, Ian sat at the outdoor table facing Ms. Beckett’s backyard.
She was also sitting at her patio table with her back toward him, although her chair was turned slightly so she was facing her guest. The strands of her long hair were twined in a braid that lay down the center of her back atop her teal blue shirt.
He preferred her hair down and wished he had the right to walk over there and undo the confined tresses.
Shifting his gaze to the strange man who sat at a ninety-degree angle next to her, Ian studied him.
Brody was right. The man was a little on the disheveled side, with a scraggly beard, mustache, and shoulder-length hair.
But otherwise, he appeared clean, wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers.
He seemed to be around the same age as her.
What pissed Ian off, though, was how the guy had Angie’s bare feet in his lap, massaging them as the two spoke.
He watched as Angie’s boyfriend’s eyes flashed to his, then back again to hers.
Ian wasn’t fooled. In that split second, the stranger had noticed, evaluated, and determined Ian wasn’t an immediate threat.
It was obvious the man had training. His honed physique and body language screamed former military to Ian, yet he could almost disguise it.
In fact, if Ian hadn’t been just like him, he may have underestimated the man.
As the rest of Ian’s team filtered out to the patio and took seats around the table, the man’s gaze flashed over to them before settling again on Angie.
Ian watched as she stood with the grace of a prima ballerina, her long legs and heart-shaped ass encased in faded capri jeans making his mouth water.
When she turned toward her back door, he heard her say to her boyfriend, “Give me a few minutes to freshen up, and we’ll grab something to eat. I hope you’re in the mood for Mexican.”
The moment she disappeared into the house, without hesitation, her boyfriend turned his attention to the six men beyond the chain-link property fence.
Standing, he approached them like a lion interested in intruders entering his domain.
He was about six-one, two hundred and ten lean pounds, with brown hair and eyes.
Several tattoos were peeking out from under the arms of his short-sleeved T-shirt.
He was also smart enough to stop two feet from the chest-high divider when he noticed Beau run over and place his big body between his humans and the stranger.
Ian took it as a good sign that the dog, while in protective mode, wasn’t growling a warning.
Warily, Brody stood and walked over to the fence to greet the man. “Hi, I’m Brody Evans, Angie’s new neighbor.”
Crossing his arms over his muscular chest, the other man nodded at Brody before intensely gazing at Ian and Devon.
“I’m aware of who you are, Evans. I was wondering if I could meet with you and your employers, the Sawyer brothers over there, sometime tomorrow morning at the Trident Security offices. ”
Ian’s eyes narrowed as his stunned teammates looked back and forth between him and the stranger, who knew quite a few things about them, while they knew nothing about him, including his name.
None of them were happy with the fact either.
Staying in his seat, he leaned forward, put his beer bottle down, and pinned the bearded man with a warning look. “Who are you?”
He glanced over his shoulder before continuing, and Ian wondered why he didn’t want Angie to hear the confrontation. “My name’s James Athos, and I’ll explain the rest tomorrow, but for now, let’s just say we have a mutual friend, and I need your help.”
Ian raised one eyebrow, his icy stare never wavering. “Friend? And who would this friend be?”
“A man named Carter.”
If any of them were further surprised at the guy’s revelation of knowing their longtime friend, associate, and U.S.
government spy, T. Carter, they didn’t show it.
Carter was so deep into the world of black ops that Ian’s team had no idea who the man actually worked for.
He seemed to have very high connections in every alphabet agency in Washington D.C.
—FBI, CIA, NSA, et cetera—as well as in the Pentagon, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and several foreign countries.
He was also the man who’d killed the hitman targeting the team several months ago and most likely the senator who’d hired the guy, although none of them would ever know for sure.
Ian’s eyes flashed to the backdoor beyond Athos before returning to the man’s face. “Tell me one thing… is she in danger?”
Athos shook his head. “No, and I’d like to keep it that way. I also don’t want her to know anything about our conversation. Angie means the world to me, and I’ll do whatever I can to protect her. What time can I meet you?”
Ian did a mental check of tomorrow’s schedule. “Oh-eight-hundred?”
As Athos nodded his agreement, the woman in question chose that moment to come back outside and lock the door behind her.
Now wearing white canvas slip-on shoes and carrying a small white purse, she strolled over to where her boyfriend stood.
With automatic reflexes, the men relaxed their tense expressions, giving her no indication anything was wrong.
When she stopped next to Athos, she looked at Brody, then the rest of the men with a friendly smile on her pretty face.
“Hi, Brody. Hi, guys. I see you’ve met Jimmy. ”
Ian felt a jealous punch to his gut as the other man put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on her temple tenderly.
“I introduced myself, babe. I’m glad your new neighbor seems like a nice guy.
I was worried you would get someone like the last asshole who couldn’t seem to keep his hands to himself.
That was until I had a little conversation with him and threatened to tell his wife after I beat the crap out of him.
” There was a not-so-subtle warning in there to the other men.
Angie rolled her eyes and smacked the guy in the stomach with her hand.
“I told you I had it under control. And you didn’t threaten to beat him.
If I recall, you threatened to cut off George’s manhood and shove it down his throat, followed by his fingers.
Now come on, I’m starving. Take me to dinner. ”
“Your wish is my command, babe.”
She looked back over the fence and gave the men a cute little girlie wave.
“Have a nice night, everyone.” As they turned toward the path leading to her driveway, Ian could have sworn she looked straight at him with a flash of heat in her eyes.
But it was gone so fast he must have been mistaken.
Whether it was real or imagined didn’t matter to his dick which twitched inside his khakis at the sight of her retreating buttocks.
Fuck, how he wanted to take a bite out of those ass cheeks.
“What the fuck?” Boomer asked. “Who the hell is he?”
Ian was still staring at where the two of them had disappeared around the side of her house. “I don’t know, but you can be sure I’ll find out. You know how much I hate surprises.”
No one said anything more about the mystery man as Kristen came outside with a plate of hamburgers and chicken cutlets ready for Brody to grill.
A few minutes later, the conversation returned to the usual banter that always occurred when they were together.
However, Ian was no longer in a relaxed and talkative mood.