Chapter 37
He took off his ear protection. They were alone on the range of HERO Force Atlanta, the other men being punished by Cowboy with a pilates class in the gym. “How’d you do?” he asked.
“Terrible. This sucks. I’m changing hands.”
“You’ll get the hang of it. Just keep practicing.”
She cocked her head to the side. “I’m a freaking rocket scientist. Must I be good at everything?”
She was adorable. He tapped the end of her nose. “Only if you want to, sweetheart.”
The door opened, Logan and Booger walking in. “Oh, my freaking God, don’t ever call Cowboy a pussy,” roared Booger.
Logan bent at the waist, stretching. “I am never going to have sex again. My ass is so sore, I won’t be able to do the thrusting thing.”
Booger glared at him. “It’s called a thrust, asshole. Not a thrusting thing.”
Cowboy and Austin walked in. “Hello, ladies. How was class?” asked Cowboy.
The men groaned.
“I didn’t even know I had hip flexors,” said Austin. “But I do, and they fucking hurt.”
“You are the most masculine man I’ve ever known, Cowboy.” said Logan. “You have testicles the size of cantaloupes.”
“And don’t you forget it.” Cowboy nodded to Luke. “You should join us next time, Wiseman.”
“What did I ever do to you?” He smiled. He’d been with the team almost a month now, and he liked them almost as much as he liked Mac’s crew. They were good guys, but they lacked that underdog quality of the New York group that had initially rubbed him the wrong way.
He wasn’t ashamed to be broken anymore, though lately he thought of himself more as glued back together than shattered.
Cowboy pulled out a sheet of paper. “All right, listen up, pansies. We have a few assignments to choose from this week.”
“I want to be a bodyguard for the USC Cheerleaders,” said Booger.
“Unfortunately, not an option, but I like it. We have a high profile lawyer who needs a personal escort to Bogota, an heiress looking for her lost mafia-family father, and a politician who’s embroiled in a scandal where they added gate to the end of his name is looking to prove his innocence. Who wants what?”
The men looked at each other. “You’re letting us pick?” asked Logan.
“No, not really.” Cowboy turned around, pinning the paper to a bulletin board. “There are your assignments, girls. Hope to see you all back here next week for some more pilates.”
Summer put her arm around Luke’s neck. “I like that guy. He’s funny.”
“You got any plans today?” Luke asked.
“Charlotte and I are getting our hair done and having lunch.” She liked Cowboy’s girlfriend even more than she liked Cowboy.
“Well, la-dee-da.”
She kissed his mouth, the taste of her bubble gum sweet on her lips. “Just be happy I’m going to be pretty for you.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and swung her in a half circle. “Baby, you’re always pretty enough for me.”
“You’re an idiot, but I love you anyway.”
“See you home for Jeopardy?”
She winked at him, making him feel like the luckiest man on earth. “I’ll be there with bells on.”
Thank you for reading Protecting his Witness.