Chapter 1
WHIT
Paperwork was my least favorite part of my job, and that was all I’d been doing lately.
I hadn’t joined Kane Security to spend my days dotting i’s and crossing t’s.
I was a man of action, and time spent at my desk felt like a waste to me—something my coworkers were well aware of with how often I’d bitched at being sidelined for so long.
So when Devon walked into my office with a folder and plopped it down in front of me with a grin before dropping down onto one of the chairs across from me, I was sorely tempted to jump over my desk and nail him with a right hook straight to the jaw.
The only thing stopping me was the knowledge that I’d pay for the action later with pain.
Devon was perceptive as fuck, which meant he deliberately chose to ignore all the visible signs that I was pissed when he said, “Since you’re not busy, I figured you could finish an end-of-mission report for me.”
“Fuck off,” I grunted as I shoved the folder off my desk and onto his lap.
He flashed me a grin, completely unbothered by my response, but that didn’t stop him from yanking my chain some more. “C’mon, don’t be so cranky. Did you forget to take a pill this morning or something?”
Devon and I had known each other for years.
We’d served a couple of tours together in the Army and worked together at Kane Security for a long time.
The decision to join Brecken when he launched his firm had been easy for me since we’d met at boot camp and decided not to re-up at the same time.
Eight years of active duty together had forged an unbreakable bond between us, so it hadn’t been a surprise when Brecken had asked me to be his right-hand man.
“Cut the shit before I decide to write you up for insubordination.”
My threat didn’t faze him in the least. He just snorted and shook his head. “If you were going to go on a power trip with me, you would’ve done it years ago. It’s not as though I haven’t given you plenty of reasons in all the time we’ve worked together.”
I couldn’t argue with his logic. Devon was a great guy, but he could be a royal pain in the ass at times.
He’d mellowed out quite a bit over the past year, though.
Being loved up tended to have that effect on my closest friends, badasses who’d found their softer side as they fell hard and fast when they found the person they were meant to be with.
Leaving me as the awkward seventh wheel when we all got together since I was the only one left who was still flying solo.
Which hadn’t bothered me much until I’d found myself sidelined at work.
“Maybe I was just waiting for the perfect moment to drop the hammer on you.”
“I wouldn’t put it past you.” He chuckled softly. “You can be a sneaky bastard when it’s warranted.”
I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest. “Like when I’m cranky?”
“Damn, you got me there.” He slapped his knee with the folder before standing. “But I guess that’s what I get for pushing your buttons instead of just telling you that Brecken needs to talk to you.”
I glanced at my phone, which hadn’t rung a single time since I’d been in the office. “I don’t have any messages from him.”
“We just wrapped up a debrief, so I offered to pop in and let you know since I was going to be walking past your door anyway,” he explained with a shrug.
“Thanks.” I stood and rounded my desk. “I guess I’d better go see what the boss man wants.”
“Good luck,” he muttered.
I wondered about his serious tone, but he didn’t give me the chance to ask him what was going on before he ducked into his office next door.
Steeling myself for bad news, I strode toward the huge corner office Brecken used.
The door was open, and I rapped my knuckles against the hard surface before striding inside.
He glanced up, his dark gaze following me as I crossed the room and dropped onto one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Devon said you needed to talk to me.”
“Yup.” He leaned his forearms on the top of his desk and sighed. “There’s no easy way to say this, Whit.”
“You’ve never bothered pussyfooting around me before. Don’t start now. Just spit it out,” I urged as I mentally braced myself for the worst.
He gave me a sharp nod. “I think you came back to work too soon. You have a fuck ton of time off banked, and I want you to use at least two weeks of it.”
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it definitely wasn’t that he was going to force me to take a vacation. “What?”
He leaned back in his chair and sighed again. “Let me put it in a way that you’re sure to comprehend. I don’t want to see your ugly mug around here for two weeks.”
“Fuck you,” I huffed. “I understood what you were saying. I just don’t get why you’re making such a big deal about me taking some time off.”
His gaze dropped to my midsection, and he quirked a dark brow. “Really? I thought it would’ve been obvious.”
“I’m fine, dammit. There’s no reason for you to kick me out of the office.
Especially not for so long,” I grumbled, stretching my legs out in an attempt to get comfortable.
The pull in my side made it nearly impossible, and I pressed my lips together to hold back a groan.
I refused to give him more ammunition to use against me when I was still hoping he’d take pity on me and change his mind.
Brecken shook his head and chuckled. “Take it up with human resources. I doubt they’ll think I’m the world’s worst boss for making you take some R&R after you were shot on the job.”
Normally, I would've been thrilled to get some extra paid time off, but I was chomping at the bit to get back into the thick of things. “I was already out for ten days, and I’ve been riding a damn desk ever since I got back.”
“I understand where you’re coming from, Whit.
” Brecken stood and rounded his desk, walking over to the wet bar to pour each of us a finger of whiskey.
After handing me a glass, he leaned against his desk and took a sip of his drink.
“But we both know you need some time to get your head together before you’re ready to get back out in the field. ”
I hated admitting he was right, but I’d be lying my ass off if I tried convincing him that I was fine. Scrubbing my free hand down my face, I sighed. “Two weeks?”
“Maybe longer.” Brecken shrugged. “Whatever it takes, man. We both know when shit like this messes with your head, it can be unpredictable.”
I took a gulp of the whiskey, enjoying the burn as it went down.
This wasn’t the first time I’d been shot, but I was struggling more than I had before.
The physical recovery hadn’t been easy since the bullet I’d taken had lacerated my spleen and caused massive internal bleeding.
If Devon hadn’t gotten me to the hospital as quickly as he had, I probably wouldn’t have made it.
However much I wanted to argue with Brecken’s decision, I knew he’d made the call with my well-being in mind.
And as much as I hated to admit it, I couldn’t fault his logic.
Getting away from the job was probably exactly what I needed to get my head screwed on straight again—if I could come up with something to do other than twiddle my thumbs.
“I’m sure it’ll be more than enough time.
After a couple of days of R&R alone at my place, I’ll probably be bored out of my skull. ”
“Go home for a visit. Your mother was beside herself when I called to let her know you’d been shot.”
It was a great suggestion. She hadn’t been much better when I’d dropped her off at the airport a few days after I’d been discharged from the hospital.
And every time she called me since then—which was twice a day when we used to talk once or twice a week—she made the same joke about checking to make sure I was still alive.
Only it fell flat because I knew she wasn’t really kidding. “Can I take one of the jets?”
“Hell no.” He laughed and shook his head. “It’s going to be hard enough to get by without you for two weeks. We don’t need to be down a plane, too.”
Fuck. I hated flying commercial.