Bean (Delta Force Protection #2)

Chapter 1

Brady “Bean” Carpenter pulled at the collar of his shirt.

He wasn’t wearing military dress. Instead, he was in a penguin suit like the rest of the guys on his team.

They were at a small state dinner to honor them, but the brass didn’t want anyone to know they were Army, let alone Delta Force.

They came in disguise as just normal citizens who were there for the event, but unnamed and unidentified for those in attendance.

The suit was uncomfortable, to say the least. He appreciated the honor and the effort that went into the dinner, but he would rather be in front of his TV watching some crazy show, eating pizza, and drinking beer.

He turned and took a step at just the wrong time, causing a woman with red hair wearing an orange dress to trip. Her drink went flying, the glass bouncing on the carpet. Bean moved fast, reaching out with his free hand and grabbing her arm, keeping her upright.

“Oh,” she gasped, her green eyes going wide as she pivoted toward him instead of dropping to the floor.

Bean took a moment to study her face. Freckles dusted her cheeks and ran over her nose. Her eyes stayed on him, growing even wider as he examined her. She looked delicate, her pale skin almost ethereal, but her arm had muscles he could feel underneath his fingers.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to trip you.”

Her laughter danced around him like bells, making his body tighten.

Then she placed her hand on his chest, and it was like an explosion of sensations running through him.

He’d been on dangerous missions with people literally shooting at him, knives thrown his way.

Hell, on one mission, he had a spear lobbed at him.

But nothing in his past compared to the overwhelming sensations running through him.

He actually gasped.

What was it about this woman? She could have asked him for anything at that second, and he would have given it to her.

“I’m clumsy as a panda, though I don’t look like one. Except for my ghost-white skin. I swear, I could double as a neon sign since I’m so pasty.”

“You look amazing.”

More laughter spilled from her lips, and her cheeks turned a beautiful shade of pink. He was irrationally charmed by her.

“You must be drunk, or maybe you’re blind.”

He shook his head. “Nope on both accounts. My vision is near perfect, and I wouldn’t drink at this event even if you tried to force me to. This is club soda, that’s all.”

“Oh, really?” She took the drink from his hand and lifted it to her mouth. He watched her place the glass to her lips, and he thought it was one of the most intimate things he’d ever seen. She tipped the glass up and took a sip, then frowned. “No alcohol at all. Where’s the fun in that?”

“This isn’t a fun night for me.”

“Oh.” She looked him up and down, a sly smile coming to her lips.

“Are you one of the people being honored? Or no, maybe you’re a secret bodyguard.

” She shook her head, laughter bubbling from her.

“No, you’re not a secret bodyguard. You have the body for it, but you look uncomfortable.

I think you’re someone being honored, and you don’t really want to be here.

Same for me, but I wasn’t warned to not drink.

I probably should slow down. Thank you for spilling my drink. ”

He smiled down at her, noticing one of the servers picking up the champagne flute she’d dropped. People moved around them, but no one was actually paying attention to the two of them talking. She didn’t have a group of people here with her, or if she did, they weren’t focusing on her.

Curiosity ate at him. Why was she here at this event?

He was in attendance because his team was being honored.

He knew other groups were being honored.

Maybe a few CIA agents, but this wasn’t one of those well-publicized state dinners.

This was a group of people getting together without the press invited so the president could say thank you.

Was this woman a spy, or an agent of some sort?

What had she done to get invited? Or was she someone’s date?

None of them had brought dates. Even Ansley had stayed at home, so Link was here on his own.

They’d talked about her going, but she’d insisted she didn’t care to get dressed up and meet the president.

One thing he knew for sure, this woman had to have a certain level of clearance, otherwise she wouldn’t be mingling around this room just waiting for the dinner to start.

“So.” She stepped back and cleared her throat. “You’re obviously muscular, so I’m guessing you aren’t one of the other nerds.”

Her words brought a smile to his lips. “I may be nerdy about some stuff, but I’m probably not one of those nerds you’re thinking of.”

“Thank goodness. I don’t date fellow nerds. Not that I didn’t give them a chance, but my goodness, talk about bad experiences.”

He thought about what she’d said. “You want to date me?”

“Well, if I knew your name, I’d give you my phone number.

I don’t give that out to people I don’t know.

So, your name? Let me guess.” Her lips thinned, and her eyes narrowed as she took a step back and studied him.

Her gaze raked down his body, then back up.

“It would be too much of a coincidence if your name was Bond, so I’m not even going to guess James. ”

Heat washed over him. This woman was tossing out compliments like she was leading a parade, and he liked it.

He liked the heat in her eyes, the way she smiled when she looked at him, all of it.

He may never see her again, but he sure as heck wanted her name and number.

If he left this night without her number, it would be a crying shame.

“No, not James.”

“You’re not a Lewis or a Frank. I’m going to say your name is…Levi, no, that’s not you.” Her smile widened, and she rolled her eyes. “Of course, you’re Brady.”

He narrowed his gaze, wondering how she knew. Panic flirted for a moment, but everyone here was on an approved list. This wasn’t some random chick he’d met in a bar. “How did you guess that?”

She stepped closer so that only he could hear her low words.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I know everyone in the room.

Part of it is my overactive brain that remembers every face and name I’ve ever seen.

I’m also a computer nerd, and I was asked to check the list. It’s what I do.

It’s also why I’m here. I assume you’re here for a similar reason that can’t be mentioned to the press, and though we’ll be honored, no one will ever read our names on documents for twenty-five to fifty years. ”

“So you know all the names of everyone in attendance?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, it’s a blessing and a curse. Like I can be at some random bar, especially here in DC, and know every single person by name.”

“That’s an interesting skill.”

Her lips twisted up to the side. “It is, and it isn’t.

Random meetings like this will make you wonder if it really was random.

I try not to remember every name and face, but it’s a curse I have to live with.

I wasn’t even the person who really looked into your background.

I just had the information. With a quick flip through, I had all the names memorized. ”

“So you knew my name from the second I ran into you?”

She lifted one shoulder, and her eyes narrowed as she flashed an apologetic smile. “Before you even stepped over to the bar, I’d pegged you for Brady.”

He frowned, worry sliding through him. She had his name, but did she know what he did for work?

“You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

Her cheeks grew darker. “No, you don’t.”

“Should I guess?”

One shoulder went up, and he took that as a yes. He was at a disadvantage. She had an amazing brain, and he didn’t know anyone’s name here other than his team and a few of the elected officials who were glad-handing everyone.

“Your parents would have been very boring if they had named you Ginger. I mean, it would be a go-to name for a baby with red hair, but I bet they were more inventive than that.”

He slowly walked around her, taking in the way her dress hugged her torso and then flared at her hips. He wished the dress was tight all the way down to her thighs so he knew what her ass looked like, but he could wait and find that out later.

“Do you want any hints? I mean, I had an advantage you don’t.”

He stepped around to stand in front of her. “No. I think your parents were forward-thinking and named you a gender-neutral name. I bet your name is something like Sam or Kelsey.”

Laughter spilled out, and she shook her head. “Absolutely not. My parents didn’t name me Ginger, but they saw red hair and thought Garnet.”

He blinked at her. “Oh wow, I’m surprised.”

“It’s okay. They were perfect parents, other than the obvious miss with my name.”

“Garnet. That’s not a typical name for our modern age.”

Her laughter was light and airy. “Yes, it was popular a long time ago. At least I was the only Garnet in my entire school.”

“So you know my full name.”

She nodded. “I do. My last name is Stratton. So, Garnet Stratton.”

“Nice. Garnet, I have to ask, do you want my number?”

Her eyes narrowed. “You didn’t ask for my number. That’s interesting.”

He nodded. “I want it, but I’m leaving it up to you to call me first. Sometimes women give numbers when they don’t want to because they feel pressured.

Though I asked first, and we’re in this environment where we both know we have security clearance, I’d rather let you change your mind later about me having your phone number if you like.

I think you’re gorgeous, and funny, and smart, but I want you to be in control. ”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Did someone tell you to say that?”

He shook his head. “Not directly. I have a habit of excessively scrolling social media, but only on Saturday mornings when I wake up early. I stumbled upon the advice. It made sense.”

“Wow. So yeah, I’ll take your number.” She handed him her phone, and he input his name and number.

“My buddies call me Bean. I put that in the name field.”

“Interesting.”

“Not really. I’m big, and they thought it was a funny juxtaposition.”

“You are big. I mean, the suit looks good on you, but you are huge, like the Jolly Green Giant, but not green.”

Her words struck him funny, and he threw back his head, laughter spilling out. “You’re funny.”

“Thank you. I try to be. It comes in handy while entertaining tall men with impressive beards.”

He liked chatting with her. She was fun. “You’re witty.”

Again, she did that one-shoulder pop-up thing, and her lips tipped up higher on one side. “My brain got me here, so I just keep using it.”

The doors opened at the end of the hall, and dinner was announced. There wasn’t any chance he was sitting next to Garnet, and he wished he could force the issue and sit with her through dinner. It wasn’t that type of event. He had to sit in the seat assigned.

Next time they got together for a meal, it would just be the two of them. He couldn’t wait for her to call or text. He saw promise in this woman, and he hoped she felt the same way.