Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
The man named Beck walked through the door. He was a tall, fit man who was probably pushing forty. He wore slacks and a button-down sans tie, and absolutely, one hundred percent was at least ex-military. It was there in the way he moved, in how his eyes had gone immediately for the dude in the room he didn’t know. This man had already taken in Kyle’s appearance and was asking himself if he was a threat. “Hey, MaeBe. Who’s your friend? Are you okay?”
And the man had assessed him properly. This told Kyle two things. One—Beck was trained and likely had been working for a long time. Two—MaeBe wasn’t trained in any way beyond whatever she did with code and whatever basics his uncle taught all new recruits. Beck was worried about her being with a new person, which also meant MaeBe probably didn’t have great instincts when it came to danger.
“He’s the new guy,” MaeBe announced. “Kyle. Grace’s son.”
Beck’s eyes narrowed slightly, and then he was all smooth smiles and relaxed shoulders. He held a hand out. “Of course. You’re Kyle Hawthorne. It’s good to meet you. Your mom and stepfather run my absolute favorite restaurant.”
He shook the man’s hand but wasn’t in any way fooled by the quick change. He would actually bet that Beck had been out of the game for years and that was the reason for the slight slip of the mask. He would also put money on the fact that this man had done his fair share of fieldwork for whatever intelligence agency he’d worked for. He wasn’t a simple soldier, but he’d been working here for a while. “Top is an amazing place. I’m happy to be back home. You don’t get that kind of grub on a ship, you know.”
Beck stepped back. “I heard you were Navy. Special Forces, right?”
“Spent a decade in, and now I’m planning on enjoying civilian life.” He hadn’t been out of the game for long. He’d lived in a heightened awareness for years.
Not that it had stopped him from missing the most important clue of all. It hadn’t stopped him from sleeping with the enemy.
“Welcome, Kyle. You’re going to enjoy it here. You’re going into the bodyguard unit, right?” Beck asked as he headed toward the inner door. He turned as he opened it. “That’s one floor down. I’m sure Wade will be happy to show you around. MaeBe, I’ll let Hutch know you’re here. I’ve got some data for you to look at when you have a chance.”
“Of course,” she replied.
But Kyle got the actual message. Beck saw him. Perhaps not all the information, but the other man had seen enough to know he was a predator and MaeBe was some sweet, soft prey who needed protection from him. She was too innocent to know who she was talking to, and he should stay away.
What Beck couldn’t possibly know is how little he wanted to hurt the woman in front of him, how much he wanted to protect someone for once in his life. Even if the person he was protecting her from was himself.
“Well, it was good to meet you.” He didn’t want to walk away from her which was precisely why he should and quickly. “I should go downstairs and find my new CO.”
“Wade’s awesome,” MaeBe said. “But I don’t think he’s in this early today. I think he’s taking his daughter to something.”
The door came open again and a pretty woman with dark hair breezed in. “Are you talking about Wade? He and Genny are going to be late today. Bella has a checkup this morning, and they both wanted to be there. She hates shots. Hey, you must be the new guy. I have your key card and a welcome packet ready for you. Don’t worry. I took the condoms out.”
MaeBe snorted. “But, Yas, that’s the best part.”
“Ah, that would be my uncle. I should have known he would have his own version of a welcome pack, but you should understand that I’ve worked here before,” Kyle said as the receptionist walked behind her desk and set her purse down. “I spent several summers trying to learn the weirdest filing system in the world.”
Yasmin opened a drawer and pulled out a folder. “Oh, you will find that Genny completely redid that system so it makes some sense now. I also took out the very invasive questionnaires. No one needs to know how you feel about vinyl records or whether you’ve ever owned a pork pie hat. The boss has strange ways, but I suspect you know that.”
He snorted as he took the folder that would contain all of his first day paperwork and security clearance. “I know it so well. I’ve had many a Thanksgiving with him. The key to any holiday with Uncle Ian is to set him up in front of whatever football game is on and make sure he keeps a beer in one hand and meat in the other. We have a saying in our family. Beware wandering Ians. He’ll show up in the kitchen and try to give my stepdad cooking tips, and that always goes poorly.”