“Honey, how do you want to handle the meeting?” Declan questioned.
“What? Sorry Dad, what did you ask?” Ryleigh had been so caught up in her own thoughts, she hadn’t realized her Dad had been speaking to her. She hoped it hadn’t been that long, but in reality, it could have been several minutes.
“I want to know how you want to handle this? I think my guys need to hear your story, but if you need me to do all the talking I will.”
Ryleigh wanted to protect her Dad. His men were going to be angry. If she could save him from that, she would. He didn’t need it. He may be one of the most lethal men in the world, but he was also her Dad.
“I’ll take the lead on this one, Dad. My team found the information, it's my responsibility to share it.”
Ryleigh wanted to puke. She didn’t want to do this, but what she had to say had to be told in person. She steeled herself against the inevitable backlash. Turning the worlds upside down of six men who might turn into animals and tear her apart was not high on her list of things to do today, but it needed to be done. They had a right to know what their world had come to and the danger that was nipping at their heels.
She didn’t want to let her Dad down or show him how much this was affecting her. Her Dad taught her how to be confident. He would say, “Never let them see you sweat, baby girl.” She might have taken that lesson to a level he hadn’t intended because sometimes she came off as aloof and detached. She needed to look at every situation from an academic perspective or one day she would wind up curled into herself unable to stop the demons that haunted her. If she never let anyone see how much she truly cared, she couldn’t be hurt. The coolness was her armor, and she planned to keep it. She would lead the meeting in the calm and professional manner she ran the meetings at her own agency. Everything would be okay… at least she hoped it would be.
“Don’t worry. You know I’ll protect you from the fuckers in that room. Follow my lead, baby girl. We will get through this together. They are good men. My boys will listen. But if they don’t, well, then they’ll have to answer to me.” Declan reassured, embracing Ryleigh.
“Thanks, Dad, but you can’t order your way through this. We are giving them a bitter pill to swallow. They aren’t going to be happy we didn’t come to them sooner with the information. Put yourself in their shoes.”
“You might be right, but these men are trained to roll with the punches. If they don’t, I’ll have to remind them of that fact.”
Chapter 6
Jackson “Jacks” Thorp looked around the room, and he couldn’t contain his frustration. He noticed that the other team leaders weren’t faring any better. Liam was staring at the ceiling. Milo was making balls out of paper and throwing them at the trash can. Dane and Carter were playing football with a folded piece of paper, and Kayden was staring out the window. Their frustration mixed with his own was clogging the room.
He wasn’t one to sit around for days on end, shuffling paperwork. He was a man of action, and his current state of inaction was pissing him off. Staring at the conference table that had become somewhat of a home the last couple of days, he examined every scratch and scuff mark as if they held the answers to the question they all had been asking. He smirked. When the hell had he become such a pussy? Looking to scratches for answers, being all poetic and shit, but worse of all, sitting on his ass instead of taking action. Damn the monotony was getting to him.
Files littered the surface of the table. Words mocked him from the dry erase board; victim’s name, age, and her last known whereabouts. To top it off, there was that haunting photo.
When he was called into headquarters alone to assist in the case, he was surprised. When he arrived, and discovered that the other team leaders had received the same summons, he was puzzled, but willing to give his boss the benefit of the doubt. When they were briefed on the case (if you want to call it that) and asked to remain at headquarters rather than going into the field, he was intrigued. He knew something was up. But that curiosity ran out a day ago. Now he was just pissed. A kid had been taken and he couldn’t figure out why his CO was putting up roadblocks to finding her.
Cassie Larson was a cute girl, not beautiful, but cute. Blonde hair with big brown eyes, freckles across her nose, and braces on her teeth. Despite being only seventeen years old, someone in her family decided it was a good idea to let her go on spring break unchaperoned, to Cabo San Lucas with a bunch of friends. Jacks couldn’t help but wonder, do these people not pay attention to the news? Well, shit, lesson learned in the worst possible way.
Cassie Larson had been missing without a trace for three weeks. That was another thing that bothered him. Why had his boss waited so long to bring someone in to find her?
“This is taking too long. We should have a substantial lead by now,” Jacks said. All the guys stopped fooling around and looked at Jacks. “Anyone have any ideas, leads, scumbags you can roll? Shit, at this point how about a psychic, clairvoyant? Anything?” His colleagues remained silent. This case was testing them all.
“Something needs to give, and it isn’t going to come from this paperwork,” Jacks said, pushing the offending paperwork away from him. “We’ve been looking at the same damn files for three days. There isn’t anything here,” Jacks fumed.
Leaning back in his chair, Milo, another team leader, broke the silence, “Shit man, I am game for anything. We have to find something, not only for the victim’s sake, but for our own. Senior is going to be pissed if we keep on chasing our tails.” Milo looked as frustrated as Jacks felt.
Fuck, no one wanted to piss Senior off. Declan Quinn was not a man to mess with. He was more Alpha than the rest of them. Life experience had hardened his soul.
Senior staffed his team with the best of the best. The men of NAC had been trained by Uncle Sam himself, they were all Special Forces. They had something else in common, they were all Shifters. Their Shifter genes made them stronger physically; they healed more quickly and were also excellent trackers. Their CO, or rather their boss now, equipped them with the latest technology, which they put to good use.
The NAC was effective. They flew under the radar and bypassed the red tape. They left no stone unturned. They worked around the clock. They solved cases. They prevailed when everyone else failed because they were willing to take risks and make the hard calls.
They were not living up to their reputation today. The conference room held the Alphas, every team leader. Each man represented the six NAC teams. Alpha wasn’t just a title, it was a calling. A Shifter deemed worthy by the Gods to lead. Their dominance and leadership controlled and enhanced their teammates. But they were also given something extra, not that any of the team’s men were lacking, but the Alpha’s were more.
Looking around the table Jacks noted the Alpha’s he had served with and come to think of as brothers: Kayden Walker (Bravo), Liam Lucan (Charlie), Carter Shadow (Delta), Milo Stern (Echo) and Dane Whalen (Zulu). He trusted them as much as the men on his own team who were currently cooling their heels back at the base.
None of this made any sense. His men had skills that would be helpful. If he didn’t get some answers soon, he would be forced to confront their fearless leader. Jacks could not get a read on why Senior was isolating the team leaders and excluding their extensive resources.
Throwing the pen he had been holding down on the desk, he said, “I have a shitload of new cases waiting on my desk. Why not involve all the teams on this? Shit, my guys Frost and Green could have hacked the hotel's security system and been through all the video by now. We’ve exceeded the crucial 48-hour window. Jeezus, we don’t even have boots on the ground. I can’t help but question Senior’s plan on this one.”
Just then the air in the room changed, and Jacks knew that Declan, “Senior,” Quinn had entered the room. Jacks wasn’t afraid of much, but Declan Quinn was a force to be reckoned with. He had his men’s backs at all times, but he also wasn’t afraid to show them their place in the pecking order. It took a
lot to turn a bunch of hardened sailors and soldier’s pasty white, but that was the effect he had on all of them. The air was thick with his presence.
Turning slowly in his seat, Jacks was met by the disapproving glare of his fearless leader. “Listen, Jacks, if you have somewhere better to be,” Senior growled raising a disapproving eyebrow, “you know where the door is. But make sure you keep on going because NAC doesn’t employ quitters or whiners.”
“No, shit. I am sorry. It’s not that,” Jacks fumbled, but couldn’t continue; to the right of Senior stood the most beautiful woman Jacks had ever laid eyes on. She was small with curves in all the right places. He usually went for leggy blonds, but the little redhead in front of him held an unexpected appeal. Maybe it was her perky tits, he was definitely a breast man.
She stood 5 feet and change. That could be a challenge for his six-feet-six-plus frame, but then again everything evened up when you got horizontal. With a muttered curse, he adjusted himself to avoid the strangulation of his favorite body part.
Peaches and cream assaulted his senses, which made his bear growl, and his little problem under the table expand. What she was wearing didn’t help either; a tight black skirt, white blouse, and heels that made all his boss-secretary fantasies explode. She probably thought the get-up was understated. He imagined bending her over a desk, pulling up that tight little skirt, and taking her from behind.
He appreciated that she didn’t wear heavy make-up or a fussy hairdo, she didn’t need it. Besides, it would only get messed up after he was done with her. He was surprised at how much he liked her hair. He wasn’t a man that paid attention to copper highlights or how a chick’s skin glowed. As long as her hair was long enough to grab hold of, he was a happy man. But he wanted to run his fingers through this woman’s silky locks. His eyes took another detour of her body, and damn, he was impressed. What really got him were her eyes. They were a shade of green that he had never seen before in a human. More of a Kelly Green with a brightness unique to his kind. He guessed she was in her early to mid-twenties. The set of her shoulders suggested the strength and confidence of someone much older. His bear perked up wanting his prey.
She was standing at Senior’s side. He could see by the white-knuckled grip of her hands that she didn’t feel comfortable in the situation. Jacks was a sucker for a strong woman, but he would take a meek one as long as she knew how to play. It freaked him the fuck out.
“Shit, sorry, but I’m not being particularly helpful at the moment. You know my strengths are on the ground, not in the office. There is no money trail, no record of phone calls, no eye witnesses. Nothing has turned up on social media. We’ve checked every lead you provided, and they have all led nowhere. We don’t even have a starting point beyond the fact that the girl is missing. Hell, for all we know, she could be off with a local having a little too much fun to contact her family.”
“Cassie Larson was taken from her hotel room on June 10th around midnight. Two unidentified men accosted her roommate Jenny Clark. They assaulted her, took the room key, and left her to die in a storage closet at the hotel where she and Cassie had been staying,” Senior’s voice snapped him out of his reverie.
“How did you get this information? We couldn’t even get her roommate's name.” Jacks wanted to get up from the table and pace, but his nature was being cowed by Seniors presence. The man was in defensive mode, he needed to tread lightly. A protective Shifter was bad news, but a protective Alpha Shifter was napalm.
“And who is she?” he asked, pointing in Ryleigh’s direction.
“Remember your place boy. You won’t disrespect the lady again if you know what’s good for you. Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to Ryleigh Quinn, the founder of the Holly Group. She also happens to be my daughter. Ryleigh, these sorry excuses are the best of the best, or so I thought until a few seconds ago. These are the team leaders of NAC.”
Jacks tried to hide the gut punch he felt. Fuck, he had been lusting after Senior’s daughter. That was wrong on so many levels. Senior was like a second father to him. He could feel the blood leaving his face. Unfortunately, he could also feel all that blood going somewhere else.
Jacks was lost in his body’s reaction. He was a grown man. He hadn’t popped a boner like this since he was fourteen. Sweat was starting to drip off his brow. This woman had him in an instant state of want and need, and it was freaking him the fuck out.
Being in the presence of the men he respected most didn’t help the situation either. He was on the fucking job. Never before had his body just taken over. He was reliving puberty. It was embarrassing. If the guys caught a whiff of his dilemma, he would be toast.
He was a dead man if Senior ever got wind of what his was thinking. Yep, he would end up as one crispy, fried critter. Fuck, he didn’t even know that Senior had a kid let alone a daughter. It figured. Jacks had always had a bit of a death wish.
Chapter 7
When his brain finally caught up with the conversation going around the room, what Senior had said fully registered. Wait a minute, he thought. This woman was the founder of The Holly Group? Damn, things just got real.
“Senior, sorry ma’am, you said the Holly Group?” Milo interrupted. Thank the Lord above for Milo. He could be a pain in the ass with his continuously running mouth, but at least he wasn’t sitting in his chair fighting a hard-on.
“Yes, that’s what I said,” Senior grumbled.
“We’ve been led to believe that The Holly Group functions as a ghost team. Why the spotlight all of a sudden? Again, sorry ma’am, but if you already have this information on Cassie Larson and are working the case, what are we doing here?” Milo inquired.
Ryleigh had been taking in the room while her Dad talked. Why the hell didn’t he hire ugly men? How about even average men? These men were anything but average. All of them were gorgeous as in GQ model gorgeous. All big, some more bulky than others, but large all the same. They also all seemed to have that authoritative nature about them. The one that makes a person want to listen and do as commanded or told. Shaking that thought away all Ryleigh could think was, what the hell. She had been in meetings with men in power of all shapes and sizes and never once had this reaction. She had encountered a few good-looking men in her life, but again none of them even came close to the guys in this room, and it looked like she had every variety: businessman, surfer dude, hardcore soldier, cowboy, and biker. Anything but average Joes. Yum.
Businessman badass was dressed in a very expense suit, clean-shaven, with perfectly styled hair. Ryleigh idly wondered how long it took the man to look so put together. She could barely put her look together with the help of beautician, stylist, and personal shopper. He was large, but not the largest. From his seated position, she couldn’t gauge his height, but was sure it was over six-and-a-half-feet. His turquoise eyes, though, were otherworldly, not as in regular blue with some green, but turquoise.
Surfer Dude badass was the exact opposite of businessman badass. He wasn’t put together at all. Holey jeans, ripped t-shirt, and flip flops made up his attire. Ryleigh wondered if he realized that his tears and holes were in all the right spots. She could see a glimpse of his six-pack from the tear on his shirt. Ryleigh was pretty sure there should be a rule against seeing a guy’s happy trail, at least until they had been introduced. The holes in his pants told a different story, one of the holes was precariously close to exposing his dangly bits. Yeah, she looked. How she could not? Not that Ryleigh wanted to see them, but dang. His hair was a light, sandy brown color and messed up in that way that made a person wonder exactly what had he been doing before coming to this meeting. His were blue, and again, not a traditional blue, but a cornflower blue with a really dark navy ring. Hot.
Cowboy badass wore exactly what you would expect. Jeans, button up shirt, and a large belt buckle that drew the eye. Yeah, this guy knew what he was doing with that shiny thing. And of course, cowboy boots. His skin was tan, his eyes were a melty chocolate color, and his hair
was a rich mahogany. Beautiful like the others, but he was the only one that seemed to catch on to what Ryleigh was doing, lifting his eyebrow as if to ask, “do you like what you see?” Ryleigh was intrigued, but put off. She also didn’t like getting caught. Waiting for him to turn away, she continued her badass review.
The Boy-next-door badass guy was anything but average. He wore jeans and a tight t-shirt that exposed his huge biceps and shoulders. For some weird reason, Ryleigh always liked a man with muscles. She especially liked the veins that would bulge because of said muscles. He had that coffee and cream complexion and, damn, his eyes were as good as the others. They were like a feline green and absolutely stunning. Looking around the room, he was probably the smallest if you could call a man well over six foot and probably around 230 lbs. small. He was also calm. Eerily so, like nothing bothers him or ever would. Maybe detached. Ryleigh wasn’t sure, and she doubted she would ever find out.
Now biker badass, well, he was typical without being typical; big, bad, and tattooed. The man had prettier art on his arms than Ryleigh had in her apartment. The black leather, chains, and studs completed his attire, but what blew him out of the water were his eyes. They were a stunning purple. If Ryleigh didn’t know he was a Shifter, then she would have been looking for contacts. She was pretty sure he covered them while in the human population, but damn, she was happy that she got one look. Amazing. Those eyes also told her something else. This was Kayden Walker, Bravo team, the man she was to going deeply hurt in a few minutes.
Hardcore soldier badass was the one who really caught Ryleigh’s eye. She kept looking at him and then averting her eyes. It was as if she was some giddy school girl, but she couldn’t resist the draw. His features were striking, but that wasn’t what was getting to her. She had this urge to go to him, wrap herself around him, and let his essence seep into her pores. How corny, but the man was beyond hot and way out of her league. He wore a tight black t-shirt and fatigues. The outfit should have taken away from his looks, but it didn’t. This man was trouble with a capital T.
NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team Page 5
