Chapter 4
Kate Richards shifted in the sleek chrome and black leather seat, plucking at an invisible piece of fuzz on her black pant suit and trying not to squirm under the intense stares of Colonel Mack Grey and Ranger James.
Grey sat tall in his chair, his intense gray eyes seeming to peel back layer after layer of all of Kate's thoughts and memories even though no one said a word.
Ranger, with his sandy blond hair and light blue eyes, leaned forward and steepled his fingers together, placing his elbows on the desk separating Kate from her potential new bosses.
"So tell me Miss Richards, why did you quit the CIA? "
Kate hid a grimace and bit back her initial response, that her boss was a sexist asshole.
Instead she offered them a tight smile, and the carefully blank expression which she'd honed over the years as an analyst for the CIA.
"I had reached a plateau in my career, unable to advance further in my field, I decided my services would better serve my country elsewhere. "
Grey spoke, drawing her back to his office. "I spoke with your previous employer. He stated that he consistently had an issue with your work ethic and with you having inappropriate relations with coworkers."
Kate’s heart ski sloped down into her belly, hit the bottom and bounced back up, sending a rush of hot blood to her cheeks.
Frank's intent was to leave a permanent scar on her career.
"I'm sure Franks told you all kinds of stories, except how he tried to force me to have sex with him to keep my job. "
Grey’s eyes flared and Kate bit her lip, soundly cursing herself and her big fat mouth. It was like quitting her job had ripped off the tight lid of control she kept on every aspect of her life.
Kate opened her mouth to apologize, but Grey held up his hand. “You know, I kind of got that vibe, that's why I went ahead and spoke with some of my other contacts at the CIA, none of which had anything good to say about him.”
Surprise filtered through her. She’d been the only female in her unit, working quietly among a group of men who’d stood by in silence as Franks constantly harassed her. “They did?”
“After more digging, I found out there were three separate sexual harassment suits filed against him that had been quietly swept under the rug.”
“Those were sealed documents. How did you get them?” They were also highly classified.
The CIA had witnessed the media’s field day with the military when the law suits accusing superior officers of sexual harassment and assault hit the courts and they’d done everything in their power to sweep their own little problem under the rug.
Grey offered his own tight smile, “That is what I do, Agent Richards.”
Kate sat back in her chair, her thumb immediately going to the simple silver ring she wore on her right hand and spinning it around her ring finger. She’d have to reprise her original assessment that Grey’s team was a group of mercenaries for hire.
For the first time in the interview Ranger cracked a smile. "Is it true you kneed him in the nuts when you quit?"
Kate spun the ring faster as she frantically reached for the appropriate response.
If she glossed over that very true fact, they might take her as dishonest. If she agreed and told the truth, they might think she was some sort of rogue agent unable to work with others.
Neither of those options were shining letters of recommendation.
Then again, she wasn’t a liar, and she couldn’t start being one now, even if it meant losing this opportunity. Kate uncrossed her ankles and sat straight. “Yes, I did, after he tried to feel me up.”
Ranger turned to Grey. “I like her.”
Grey didn’t answer his soldier, instead he continued to pin Kate to the spot. “You’ve been a CIA analyst for nearly seven years. How much experience have you had in the field?"
“I've had minimal field experience, sir. However, I am trained in hand to hand combat, evasion and weapons qualified. I’m also the best code breaker within the whole CIA.”
Grey frowned and Ranger gave him a slight head shake. A trickle of worry formed between Kate’s shoulders. “If you need references for my certification and qualifications in field training, I can provide them."
"I'm sure you can, it's not your qualifications that I'm worried about, it's the fact that you haven't actually been in the field since you first started with the CIA," Grey said.
"I train daily and hit the range at least once a week. I promise you, I can handle any physical task you assign me, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to meet your standards."
"Of that I have no doubt, Ms. Richards. It's your gut instincts, your immediate reactions to threats – that's what is the unknown here.
And I'm looking for a specific type of person, a female, for the next mission we've accepted.
I have no doubt your brain capacity functions at a much higher level than mine – but do your reactions happen as quickly? "
As if his last word was some signal, Ranger bolted from his chair and rounded the desk in three strides, ripping a pistol from behind him as he came at Kate full force.
Kate’s lungs locked down and she rolled from the chair.
She hit the ground and scissored her legs, tossing him to the ground.
His pistol flew over his head and scraped across the floor, banging into the back wall of the office.
Kate was on her hands and knees, heart thundering as she scrambled after the weapon, Ranger clawing his way right behind her.
What the hell was going on? Was this some kind of set up by Franks? She shouldn’t have threatened to expose the recording she had of Franks making a deal with Mr. J.
Kate stretched her arm overhead and reached for the gun. Her fingers closed around the butt of the pistol and Kate rolled to her back and raised the gun. Ranger paused up on his knees, hands held up in surrender.
Grinning, Ranger climbed to his feet and held out a hand. “I think your instincts are just fine."
Kate’s mind blanked. This was part of the interview? Her hand trembled and she gripped the gun harder, keeping it trained on her attacker. “You’re damn right my instincts are fine. Now, get back.”
Kate kept her pistol leveled at Ranger and got to her feet. He kept his hands lifted, seeming totally unphased by the fact that he could die if Kate’s finger so much as twitched. “That was a test, Kate, to see if you could handle a surprise attack.”
“A test? I could have killed you.” An evil part of her was tempted to fire the gun and see just how high he would jump.
“You wouldn't have done much harm with a fake gun,’ Ranger lowered his hands and nodded toward the weapon.
Kate followed his gaze and zeroed in on the plastic mold of a pistol. “Crap.”
She’d completely failed to notice that minor detail. Kate dropped the gun to her side and sighed. So much for her shining reputation as the best analyst ever produced by the CIA.
As if reading her mind, he said, “I didn’t expect you to realize it was fake. I wanted to see if you could handle the situation the way we expect and need from our Team members, and you did.”
“I think you're rusty, but with a little bit of training, you’ll be perfect." Grey strode around the table and held out his hand, "I'd like to offer you a position on the team for the mission."
“You’re both crazy, you know that right?”
“A small dose of crazy is good sometimes.” Grey kept his hand out, waiting on Kate to accept.
She sighed and shook his hand. “When do you need me to start?”
“Right now. Follow me and I’ll introduce you to your new co-workers.”
Grey sauntered down a short hallway and Kate took the moment to quickly straighten her jacket and check for wrinkles. She was about to meet her new co-workers and looking like a slob just wouldn’t do.
“You’re fine, most of these guys haven’t worn a suit a day in their life.”
Kate jumped and spun, having forgotten about Ranger bringing up the rear of their little group.
“Sorry, habit.” Kate forced her arms down to her sides and instead rubbed her ring. New people and a new job. She didn’t like new. She wanted consistency and clarity.
Grey pulled open a door on the right and gestured Kate to precede him. She made it through the door and barely managed to hold back her gasp. Three things took her attention.
First: The room was filled with men. Big men with beards and black shirts and wicked looking tattoos. All but one of them were studying a blown up topographic map on the wall.
Second: The long table was a mess. Papers, photos and various other items lay scattered completely out of order. Her fingers itched to rearrange, instead, she curled the into her palm and kept her hands at her sides.
Third: A lone wolf with shaggy black hair and a look of utter boredom, leaned against the opposite wall with his massive arms crossed. A scorpion tattoo wrapped up his arm from his wrist and disappeared in his shirt sleeve. Awareness rolled down her spine.
She’d never seen a chest that wide. Or hips that lean.
Her skin tingled and she glanced up, freezing on the spot. His Nordic ice blue eyes bored holes straight to her soul.
She’d never felt a look like that, like he was stripping her raw in the crowded room.
“Men, I want you to meet our female bodyguard.”
Blue-eyes gave her a once over and then his lip curled and he glanced away. Heat lit up her cheeks and Kate forced herself to focus on the other men in the room.
Ranger maneuvered her over to the group, hand sweeping around as he named the men. “This is my brother, Hunter. The twins, Hoyt and Jared.”
Who didn’t look like twins at all. Jared had black hair and Hoyt blonde, along with a large nasty looking scar that ran down the side of his face. A scar that perfectly matched the dead look in his eyes.
Ranger continued, “That’s Riser, Aaron and Cord.”
“Nice to meet you.” She was mentally making a note to go to her quarters and write down all their names.