He signed his name to the clipboard she’d handed him while she called for a security guard. Buck liked that they’d beefed up security. Not that one guard would have had any chance against the Russians, but it was a start.
The man who rounded the corner surprised Buck. Over six feet, he was trim and looked like he kept in shape. He wore all black, including a gun belt, taser, and baton. So they weren’t messing around.
Buck offered his hand. “Grady McCormick.”
The guy’s grip was firm. “Officer Collins. You’re going to the second floor to see Dr. Emerson?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What’s your business?”
“I’m in love with her and I need to tell her that before she realizes what an asshole I am and won’t ever take me back.”
Officer Collins laughed out loud. “Okay, that’s a worthy cause. Come on.”
Buck followed the officer to the elevator, where he swiped a key card. The door opened immediately and they stepped inside.
On the second floor Buck followed Officer Collins to the bullpen.
“Here you go. Good luck,” the officer said, heading back to the elevator.
This time, scientists sat at desks working or talking to one another rather than kneeling in fear while terrorists held them at gunpoint. The fresh carpet didn’t escape his attention, either.
In the middle of the room a pretty Asian woman shifted to the side to reveal Mindy wearing gray slacks and a green shirt that highlighted the sea foam color of her eyes. Her hair was piled up in a messy, wavy mass on her head, a couple of escaped tendrils tucked behind her ears. He remembered what that sensitive skin right below her ear tasted like. It made his mouth water thinking about it.
“Dr. Emerson,” he said, standing tall at the opening of the hallway with his arms crossed. He used his SEAL voice that carried over a distance. Everyone in the room froze and looked in his direction.
“Grady?” Mindy said. “What are you doing here?”
“Someone suggested I should put in for a transfer to San Diego,” he said. “Something about being in love and having a life together.”
The room had fallen silent. Everyone shifted to look at Mindy, then back to him. The Asian woman bit her lip and grinned.
Mindy stuffed her hands in her lab coat pockets and sauntered in his direction, a smug smirk on her face.
“So somewhere between my house and Virginia, you expect me to believe you had an epiphany?”
“I stopped in Kentucky along the way. Someone suggested that, too.”
“Indeed someone did. It went well?”
He nodded. He didn’t want to talk about that now. He’d save it for a private time, like maybe when he had her in bed after he’d made hot, sweet love to her.
“And you decided to drop everything to come live and work here? For me?”
When she stood in front of him, he reached out and caressed his knuckles along the length of her jaw. She closed her eyes for a moment and shivered. It made his heart skip a beat. God, she was fucking gorgeous.
“For us,” he said.
Another woman made a little ‘aw’ sound. Buck recognized her as Wolf’s wife, Caroline.
Melinda’s eyebrow went up like she wasn’t having any of it.
Damn, he loved her.
“Are you always going to be such a cocky bastard?” she asked. But the look on her face softened as she considered him, and he knew he had her.
“You like it when I’m cocky.”
“Hmph.”
“Kiss her,” someone said.
Happy to oblige, he swept her into his arms and dipped her to the side, then pulled her back up into a kiss. Their lips met and she sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. That little sound—that happy, satisfied, safe sound—made his heart swell. It made everything worth it.
Everyone in the room started clapping and cheering and catcalling.
Buck broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against Mindy’s. “I’m sorry I left you, that I didn’t respect you and your career. I swear, it’ll never happen again.” He kissed her again. “I love you.”
Her eyes got all glassy and she smiled. “I love you, too.”
He stepped back and cleared his throat, then grabbed her hand, twining his fingers with hers. Waving his other hand at the crowd, he said, “Okay, everybody go back to work. Show’s over.”
They moved reluctantly, but shifted their attention back to chatting or working.
“So,” Buck said. “You think you and Wiggles have space for me at your place? I don’t have anywhere to stay.”
“Let’s go to my office and talk about it,” Mindy said, waggling her brows at him.
“Are you propositioning me? Sex in exchange for a place to live?”
They crossed the bullpen heading for her office. When they passed Caroline, she stopped them, resting a hand on Mindy’s arm.
“There’s been a lot of romance going around here,” she said.
Buck shot Mindy a puzzled look. “Remember my friend Jayla?,” she said. “Her SEAL came by not too long ago to profess his love.”
Caroline’s hand went to her heart and she sighed. “I just love a happy ending.”
“Man, I hate coming in second place,” Buck said.
Mindy smiled. “You’ll always be first with me.”
THE END
To Wren and Anne: Thank you for your sharp eyes and spot-on suggestions and attention to detail. You helped polish the story and whip it into shape!
To the Relentless Writers: Thank you for helping me with all my out-of-the-blue panic when scenes don’t work, and for always being there to listen to my whining and still offering your help anyway! You guys are my homies.
To Wren: I had so much fun weaving our stories together and I look forward to more adventures with Melinda, Jayla, Buck, and Hound!
To LeTeisha: Thank you for the fabulous cover. You’re amazing!
To my family: As always, thank you for being there for me. I love you.
To my readers: Thank you for your support and for your enthusiasm for my books. I’d be nowhere without you!
To Deena and eBookBuilders, the formatting wizard.
If you enjoyed BANG FOR THE BUCK, you’ll love the Caine Brothers series. After all, Buck McCormick is a member of the same SEAL team as Damian Caine.
Find the Caine Brothers here:
HUNTER
XANDER
DAMIAN
JAXON
Nevada Bounty Series
GAMBLING ON THE OUTLAW
DEPENDING ON THE DOCTOR
Forever Faerie Series
FAERIE FATE
Tales from Beyond the End
HERO FOR HIRE
I write historical romance for Entangled Publishing and paranormal romance for Evernight Publishing. I write contemporary romance, historical romance, and science fiction through M&M Publishing. I’m an Oregon Ducks fan. I’m a donut and pastry addict (pretty much any carbs, really). I like cats. I’m terrified of balloons. When I’m not writing you’ll find me in a college classroom teaching English, or working as a literary agent for an amazing agency…and of course, wrangling my family.
FACEBOOK
WEBSITE
WATTPAD
TWITTER: @mmadiganauthor
PINTEREST
GOODREADS
AMAZON
Sign up for the Newsletter
Join The Minions
Want more Special Forces: Operation Alpha Kindle World Books?
Get them here!
Thanks for purchasing and reading this ebook. Authors love it when readers review their work on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, blogs, or wherever else they think of. When you talk about something you’ve read, not only does it make authors ridiculously happy, it also lets other readers know it’s a great read and they should run out and buy it. So if you enjoy something you’ve read (like this book), please review it! Authors will love you forever if you do.
Ebook
conversion by EBookBuilders
the digital division of The Book Connection
Verified ePUBcheck
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Bang for the Buck (Kindle Worlds Novella) (SWAK Series Book 1) Page 14
