Thrasher (5 page)

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Megan strolled into my bathroom as I was finishing my hair and makeup. “Good morning. You look rather refreshed this morning.”

I rolled my eyes and shot back quickly, “I had a great run. What about you? You definitely have that
I just got some
look plastered on your face.”

She chuckled. “This is true. I did just get some about an hour ago, then about two hours before that, and maybe an hour before that, and a few hours before that, too.”

My mouth dropped open, and I began laughing at her response. “What am I going to do with you?”

She shrugged her shoulders, trying to hide the huge grin plastered on her face. “For starters, you’re going to take me to breakfast.”

During breakfast, Megan laid out every single detail of her hot date and what had taken place after her date as well. Needless to say, she’d been on her way home this morning when she’d received my text.

Our fingers and toes had a fresh coat of paint on them, and we were heading into one of our favorite stores to find an outfit for my dinner with Duke when my phone chimed.

Tonight isn’t going to work. I’m really sorry. I’m tied up at the office and won’t be done until late. I’ll call you later this week to reschedule.

“Well so much for that. I guess I don’t need a new outfit now.”

Megan glanced at me, confused. “Why not?”

“That was Duke. Apparently he’s tied up at work and isn’t going to be able to get away for dinner tonight, so we’re going to have to reschedule.”

I watched on as her famous
I have an idea
look began to take hold of her face.

“Well, if he can’t go out for dinner, why don’t you take dinner to him?”

I shook my head at her crazy idea. “I don’t think so. I don’t even know where he works, much less what he prefers to eat, other than pizza.”

“Let me handle the logistics of finding out where he works. You just keep looking for something cute to show up in.”

An hour passed, and I’d tried on several different outfits, finally deciding on a pair of skinny jeans, black knee-high riding boots, and a black blouse. All accompanied by matching accessories that added a pop of color.

“This is perfect. He’ll be so caught up in how hot you look he won’t have a chance to think about the fact that it’s totally creepy you found out where he works before he even told you,” Megan said confidently.

“Oh great. So now we’re turning the tables. I’m the creepy one. This is just perfect. Maybe this is a bad idea. I think I’m just going to save the outfit for when we reschedule.”

We were headed for the car, bags in tow, when Megan programed an address into her phone.

“Where are we going?” I asked perplexed.

She smiled devilishly. “Just figured we should probably do a drive by so you know where to go tonight.”

“Are you crazy? This is already weird enough. I am not going to go drive by his office. What if he sees us? Just go back to my house. We’ll look it up online, and I can get directions that way. I really don’t need you to drive by.”

She laughed evilly and continued taking instructions from the computerized voice of her phone’s GPS.

Ten minutes later, we were pulling into a gated warehouse less than five minutes away from my house. Duke’s truck was parked outside the front door, along with four other black vehicles.

“Okay, this is a really bad idea. I can’t believe you actually pulled in. I know where he works. Now let’s leave.”

Just as the last word escaped my mouth, Duke and six other guys came rushing out of the front door toward Megan’s car. They all had black vests and were holding handguns, which were now pointed in our direction.

“What the hell is going on?” I screamed to Megan, who seemed to be stuck in a state of shock, staring directly at all of the men who were pointing loaded pistols in our direction.

Before she could answer, the two biggest men in the group ripped our doors opened and yanked us out of the car. I tried to break loose, but before I could, my captor had already let me go and yelled back to the other guys. “Shit, they’re girls.”

I looked at each of the men who still had their guns drawn on Megan and me, locking eyes with Duke last. I could hear Megan arguing with the guy who’d pulled her out of the car, but it was muffled.

Then I heard Duke’s voice yell, “Lower your weapons, now!”

My body instantly went into a state of shock, and I gripped the side of the car to keep myself erect. Footsteps thumped the pavement, growing louder as they ran toward me, and before I could see what was going on, a body crashed into mine, engulfing me into a tight embrace. The smell of a familiar cologne filled my nose, and I knew it was Duke holding me. My body trembled with fear as he slipped his arm around my waist as he led me toward the building. He yelled over his shoulder, directing one of the other guys to bring Megan inside as well.

I watched, still in shock, as he opened the door to the warehouse and pulled me in before setting me on top of a messy desk. Another man took Megan and placed her in a seat across the room.

Duke’s hands rested on my waist. “Brie, talk to me. Are you okay?”

His words were ringing through my ears, plain as day, but my mouth wouldn’t produce a response. Instead, I sat there staring at him for what seemed like hours. When one of the other guys came over and tried to hand me a bottled water, I snapped out of it and went directly into fight mode.

I jumped off the desk and slapped Duke across the face with as much force as I could possibly conjure up. “Have you lost your damn mind?” I screamed. He backed up, rubbing his cheek, and I continued. “How dare you and your group of mercenaries, or whatever it is they are, pull guns on me and my best friend. What in the hell is wrong with you?”

He reached his arms out toward me, and I swiftly pushed them away. “Don’t touch me!” I yelled, scanning the room for Megan who’d already forgotten about the incident and was batting her eyelashes at one of the guys.

“Clear out. I need to talk to Brie.” His words were loud and demanding, causing the guys to follow his orders, taking Megan with them as they exited a door different from the one we’d entered.

Duke grabbed me, one arm around my waist, the other delicately holding the side of my neck so I couldn’t look away. “Brie, listen to me, please.”

I closed my eyes to avoid his stare, and he rested his head against my forehead, letting out a loud sigh. “I had no idea it was you and Megan in that car. How in the hell did you even find out I was here? This location is listed as an abandoned warehouse.”

My eyes flew open, and I responded, irritated. “I don’t know. Megan probably got your information from her brother. He’s in the CIA, and she always uses him to help her when she plays detective.”

Rubbing his hands over his face, he sighed again. “What are you doing here? I swear to all that’s holy if you would have been hurt today, I would have never forgiven myself, not to mention your father would have killed me.”

Finally able to relax, I let out a tiny laugh. “You have no idea, but what the hell, Duke? Why in the world are you all suited up with guns? What kind of job do you have?”

A grimace took over his face before he spoke. “I know you want answers, and after what just happened, you deserve them, but I can’t risk the safety of the guys, myself included, to fill you in on what we do. It’s not as dangerous as it looks, trust me.”

I rolled my eyes at his response as I rested back against the desk and crossed my arms over my chest. “Oh, give me a break. If it wasn’t that dangerous, you all wouldn’t have come crashing out of the building, guns blazing, acting like you were ready to put a bullet through both of our heads.”

His fists clenched at his sides as his jaw tightened. “Look, I can’t give you the details. Me and the guys are in private security, not your typical rent-a-cop shit. We deal with very high end clients and do whatever it takes to get the task executed. If you are going to be involved in my life, you have to realize that I can’t tell you everything. In fact, I can’t tell you most things. Our job is to protect without knowledge. Most of the people we are hired to protect don’t even know we exist, and we have to keep it that way.”

I tried to process his words as I began to think inwardly.
Of course, his entire life is one big secret. Why would his job be any different?

I pushed off the desk and slowly walked toward Duke, forcing myself directly into his personal space.

His eyes glanced down at me, unsure of what I was getting ready to do.

I hesitated for a moment before I took my hands and rested them gently on his hips, slipping my fingers through his belt loops. I gave him a seductive grin and whispered just enough so the two of us would hear, “So tell me, how involved in your life do you imagine I’ll be?”

His tongue darted out of his mouth, dampening his lips, while his arms wrapped snugly around my waist. “Knowing it’s not a good idea my response should be ‘not very,’ but not giving a shit at this point, I’d say ‘as involved as you’re willing to be.’”

A grin spread across my face as I cocked my head to the side. I began playing with his response, moving my fingers from his belt loops, gently gliding them up the front of his black vest, and lacing them behind his neck. “Too involved?” I questioned teasingly.

His grin was growing as he shook his head. “Nope.” He winked.

Molding my body to his, I pulled at his neck while pushing up on my tiptoes, meeting the spot right underneath his ear with my lips. I lingered there for a moment and then placed several featherlight kisses along his neck. A hushed moan escaped his lips as I skimmed my teeth across his earlobe. “Too involved?” I whispered again.

His arms squeezed me tighter, and he answered, “Not yet.”

I moved from his neck and pulled back so I could focus on his face for a moment. His green eyes hooded with desire. Caressing the nape of his neck with both hands, I brought his face as close to mine as I could possibly get it.

His eyes were burning into mine with raw passion, and before I could change my mind, I pressed my lips to his, taking his mouth in its entirety. It’d only been three days since he’d mysteriously appeared into my life, but it felt like I’d waited a lifetime to finally taste his mouth. I couldn’t help it as I pushed my tongue past his lips, a low growl escaping his throat.

He met my tongue with his, and together they danced a beautiful ballet before I pulled back, taking the breath I’d forgotten while kissing him. My chest rose up and down quickly as I peered up at him. “Too involved?” I asked for a third time.

A smirk took over his face. “I’m not sure. We may have to re-enact that in order to come to a firm conclusion.”

Laughing loudly, I gripped the shoulder straps of his black bulletproof vest and shoved his massive frame up against the wall.

He instinctively grabbed my ass with his bare hands, and in one quick swoop had me lifted up, legs wrapped around his waist, as his lips took mine with a force I’d never felt before.

My insides heated all the way to the core. His tongue thrashed around my mouth, and I could feel the pleasure that his newfound touch evoked from my body.

“Too involved?” he asked in between kisses, turning the tables on me.

I pulled away slightly and smiled down at his perfect face, lips swollen from our exchange. “Not at all.”

On that note, he lightly kissed my lips one last time before setting me back down on the ground. “Good.”

And like clockwork, the other guys came back into the room just as we finished, Megan squished between the five of them. I couldn’t help but stare at the group as I reached up and lightly ran my fingers over my lips. “So, Megan, I think it’s probably a good time to go. What do you think?”

She looked up at the guy on her left. He shrugged, and the smile on her face told me it wouldn’t be the last time she saw him. “Sure.” Her body swayed as she sauntered over to me, laced her arm through mine, and pulled me toward the door we’d come in. “Bye, guys. It’s been fun.”

I rolled my eyes and waved. “Yes, thank you for not killing us.”

They all let out boisterously loud laughs before saying goodbye in unison. Duke followed Megan and me to the car. He opened her door first.

“Why, thank you, G.I. Joe,” she remarked, chuckling at his gesture.

He nodded and closed the door once she was seated inside. Then he approached my side of the car and placed both hands on my hips. “Call next time before showing up. We all know who is scheduled to come in and out of this building, and when someone pulls in who isn’t expected… well, you saw firsthand what can happen.”

I nodded and reached for the door. His hand stopped mine from lifting the handle. “I’ll call you later on tonight,” he said before leaning in and kissing my cheek quickly and allowing me to settle inside of the car.

Megan put the shifter in drive, took off, and delivered me back to my house in record time.