Chapter 1
Logan Sarich dumped his rucksack in the lobby of The Aegis Network main building, well aware he hadn’t showered in forty-eight hours and the Orlando summer humidity clung to his pores like flies on shit.
“Hey, Ashley.” He leaned against her desk and smiled.
Normally, he’d go clean up after an op, but Ashley’s message said it was urgent.
“Where’s Asher and Decker?” He bit back a chuckle.
He always wanted to say black n’ decker when discussing his bosses and the co-founders of The Aegis Network.
“Talking with a client,” Ashley said, plugging her nose. “What’s that smell?”
“A combination of two days of surveillance, stale coffee, fish tacos, a hot dog, and something I can’t pronounce,” Logan said, smiling. “You told me, and I quote, to get my ass to the office.”
She shook her head. “No, I said to get your cute little tush in here as soon as you can. Next time wash that ripe smell off before you enter my space.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Logan had only been working for The Aegis Network for six months, after spending six years in the Special Forces, and before that, six years in the infantry. “I can leave and come back, if you’d prefer.”
“I’ve smelled worse.” She pushed a file toward the end of the table. “You’ve been assigned a new case.”
He’d been hoping for a couple of days off, but he’d taken this job under the premise that all he wanted to do was work.
Be careful what you ask for.
He picked up the file.
“In Jupiter, Florida,” she said.
He didn’t open the file, just peered over the top. “The bosses want me to go to my hometown for a job?”
“Open it.” Ashley crossed her legs, swiveling the chair.
Logan did as asked but frowned the moment he saw a picture of Mia Vanderlin and her twin brother Markus. “My mother works for the Vanderlins. I can’t take this job.”
“I was told you’d say that.” Ashley waggled her brow. “And I was told to inform you that you have no choice. You know the layout, the people, so you’re the best man for the job.”
Logan had learned his first week on the job not to argue with Ashley. She might not be the boss, but she ran this place for the bosses, and she was a force to be reckoned with. “What’s the assignment?”
“Bodyguard.”
“Of the twins?” He flipped through the pages, ignoring the childhood memories of skinny-dipping with the smartest and sexiest girl in school. “Why?”
“Mia and Markus are ethical hackers. Mia was hired to do a security check for DANA Corp.”
“The defense contractor?”
Ashley nodded. “While doing the check, Mia found some sort of virus that swapped out good specs with bad ones.”
“So, stealing information from DANA Corp?”
“Decker believes an organization known as STEALTH was behind the attack, but it hasn’t been confirmed.”
“I take it she blew the whistle?”
“Not at first.”
“Please don’t tell me she messed with the a-holes in STEALTH.” But Logan knew the answer. When messed with, Mia tended to fight back.
“She created a program that would spit out false information to STEALTH regarding various defense contracts and designs on some top-secret material. She also managed to send a message to the CIA, who were able to trace the origin of the original hack back to an abandoned warehouse. The CIA have people in custody. None of them are talking.”
“Where?”
“Like the CIA is going to tell us that.” She held her hand up. “Not that Asher and Decker didn’t try, so let’s focus on the assignment.”
Logan still knew a few people at the Agency, and he suspected his boss knew that he’d use his contacts. “If she’s the one who ratted out STEALTH, why does Markus need protection?”
“STEALTH threatened Mia directly, but since they are business partners, she thinks he could be a target as well.”
Logan should dump the file back on Ashley’s desk and inform his bosses this was one job he’d have to say no to. While it would be good to see Mia and her brother again, no way would he be setting foot on that property. “Why isn’t the CIA protecting them?”
“They have bigger issues to deal with, like a breach in security, so when Mia was threatened, her family called us.”
“We are the best.” Logan tried not to wince at the memory of the last time he’d been at Mia’s house.
“I’m grateful for the work, but seriously, someone else has to take this one, and I’ll need your help to convince the bosses.
I know for a fact that Mr. and Mrs. Vanderlin will take one look at me and slam the door in my face. ”
“Dressed like that.” She pointed at his muddy T-shirt that used to be white. “And smelling like a cow pasture, I’m sure they would, but I’m guessing that’s not why you want to go running for the hills.”
“My skill set is better suited for other ops. I’m not cut out to be a babysitter for a bunch of rich people.”
“Asher and Decker won’t see that as a good reason to reassign.” She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms, almost daring him to continue arguing with her.
“There might be a little bad history there,” Logan admitted.
“Such as?”
The corners of his mouth tugged upward into a smile. The incident had been both part of the best times of his life, and the most embarrassing. “The Vanderlins think I deflowered Mia.”
“Deflowered? Really?” Ashley laughed, tossing her long hair behind her shoulder. “I never thought a word like that would come out of your mouth,” she said.
“It’s the word they used when they told my mother they caught me in Mia’s bedroom with my pants down.”
“So, it’s true?” Ashley cocked her head, her face turned serious.
“Let’s just say we deflowered each other.” He covered his mouth, gliding his hand down to his chin, trying to wipe off the grin. There hasn’t been a time in his adult life where remembering Mia didn’t make him smile. He often wondered if she thought of him the same way.
“Well, it was the family who requested you personally, so I think you’re screwed.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He picked up his rucksack, flinging it over his shoulder. “When?”
“Right after you shower. It’s only a two-hour drive.”
“I’ve done it in less,” he said as he turned toward the door.
“And Logan,” Ashley said, her words laced with humor. “Don’t sleep with the client.”