Before she could reply, he latched onto her bicep and steered her inside the building where he released her and locked the front doors. He whipped out his cell phone and dialed 911.
“God, what just happened?” she asked.
“Someone just tried to kill us or scare us, and I think I know who it is.”
“Who?”
“Those two Irish fuckers in the bar earlier tonight. I got a look at them as they raced by in the car.”
By this time Malcolm came rushing downstairs—she could hear his frantic footsteps—and when he emerged at the front, his eyes were wide with concern.
As Nathan talked to 911, she explained to her uncle what had happened.
“Oh, my God,” Uncle Malcolm said. “What the hell is going on around here?”
The cops came and for another forty minutes or so, Nathan, Katie and Malcolm explained what happened. By the time the cops left, Katie felt exhausted and rattled. They sat in the office.
Malcolm rubbed his face. He leaned back in the chair where he sat behind his desk. Nathan stood by the door, arms crossed over his chest, while Katie sat in another chair by her uncle’s desk.
“What a night,” Malcolm said. “What is going on in this neighborhood? A murder and now crazy people coming into my bar.”
“Can you think of any reason why those Irish suits even came into the bar?” Nathan asked.
Malcolm frowned. “Now you sound like the police.”
Katie examined Nathan’s expression, looking for a clue as to why he’d ask that question.
“We don’t usually get guys in suits as customers. I noticed them when they came in just for that reason,” Nathan said.
Katie had seen how Nathan operated. He noticed and analyzed everyone who came through the door, even when he worked as bartender and had a lot to do.
“What this tells me is that everyone needs to stay on guard,” Malcolm said. “Especially you, Katie. And Dana. Those creeps touched you and tried to run you and Nathan over. Who knows what else they might do. I’m damned glad we have a security system on this place, but I don’t think it’s enough. Nathan, I have a proposal for you.”
Katie wanted to groan. When her uncle got a notion in his stubborn head, it usually came to be no matter what the obstacle.
“I’m all ears,” Nathan said.
“Move in here with us. That apartment next to Katie’s on the third floor is in good shape. I’d planned to rent it out soon for the extra income, but you can have it for free if you just want to move in until all of this blows over. I’m not a young man anymore, and I want Katie safe.”
Katie saw the surprise on Nathan’s face at the same time she felt the surprise herself. Other emotions hit her, too. Nathan here? Having him here would be too unnerving, too…tempting?
“Wait a minute,” she said as she put a hand up. “I’m not five years old. I don’t need supervision. I get a say in this, don’t I?”
Malcolm’s usually easy going personality changed to a bit pissed in two seconds. “No you don’t get a say. I own this building. I’d like Nathan here to do a little protection detail. I think if he’s living here there’s less chance someone would want to mess with us.” Malcolm pointed a finger at her. “And you…Nathan can keep you safe, too.”
She noticed Nathan watching the exchange, but he didn’t look amused at all.
“It’s a good idea,” Nathan said a few seconds after.
Her mouth popped open. She hadn’t expected him to say that.
Before she could throw in another objection, Malcolm beamed from ear to ear and said, “Excellent. How soon can you move in?”
Nathan leaned forward in the chair and propped his forearms on his legs. He laced his fingers together. “My lease is almost up, and I was on a search for a new place. I’ll talk to my landlord and see if he’ll let me break the lease a couple of weeks early.”
Malcolm frowned. “He’ll probably expect you to pay extra, won’t he?”
Nathan shook his head. “Not likely. He’s an old military buddy of mine. I don’t think he’ll mind when I tell him why.”
Malcolm broke out in another smile. “Excellent. I love it when a plan comes together.”
Katie pulled a face, but what could she say? She couldn’t object to Nathan being here because part of her didn’t know why it freaked her out so much. So what? Nathan was here most of the time. If he moved into the building it would make things easier for him to get to work since his apartment was a good thirty minutes drive to the pub.
That kiss. It’s messed with your brains.
“But I’m not living here rent free,” Nathan said. “So think up a reasonable monthly rent.”
The older man saluted. “Roger.” He sighed. “And with that, I’ve had enough for tonight. I’m going to bed.”
After he left, Katie rose from her chair. “I can’t believe this is happening. Who were those guys who tried to run us over?”
“I don’t think they meant to kill us.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because they could’ve shot us from a distance or done something else equally lethal. It was intimidation. A scare tactic.”
She shivered. “Well it worked, didn’t it?”
Nathan walked to her until he stood near her. “You all right?”
She shook her head. “When you put me in that alcove and ran out there, I was sure the car would come after you again.”
One corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile, his eyes still a little perturbed. “And I told you to stay in the alcove.”
“When has telling me to stay ever worked?”
Instead of returning her smile, his pissed off look deepened. “Why the hell did you come after me?”
“Because I was worried about you, damn it.” The truth came out without her thinking.
“I’m not that easy to kill.”
She looked up at him, took in the way his expression softened. “If I didn’t know you were a modest man and that it wasn’t true, I’d say you were trying to brag.”
“You know me better than that. I don’t brag.”
“That doesn’t make you immortal.”
His eyebrows lifted, and he made a scoffing noise. “It doesn’t?”
Another shiver went through her, and his attempt at humor fell flat. She looked at the floor, seething with new anger at the men who’d come after them.
“I never thanked you for telling those guys to get out tonight, and for trying to keep me safe when that car came after us. That was…” She shook her head. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Are you cold?”
“No. I’m…mad.”
“And scared. Anybody would be scared.”
She looked up at him again. “Even you?”
“I’m trained in close quarters battle and everything in between and beyond. But yeah, it scared me, too.”
“You’re so cool under pressure I find that hard to believe.”
Their gazes tangled, and what she saw in his eyes caused her breath to catch. Heat. Concern. Attraction. It hadn’t diminished after that kiss. If anything it felt more potent.
“Why do I even try?” she asked.
“Why do you even try what?”
“You and my uncle. Both of you are like stubborn bulls. Once you get a notion in your head…”
He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, but it didn’t work. The springy, thick hair just fell over her ear again. As his finger brushed so lightly against her skin, a hot coil of need grew in her belly and spread lower.
“I think I see a family resemblance,” he said softly.
“Oh?” she asked, feeling a bit breathless.
“Yeah. You’re complaining about your uncle being obstinate, but so are you.”
She laughed, but it came out half-hearted. “I can’t argue with that.”
“Why did you object to me moving in here?”
How did she answer that without telling him that he drove her nuts? That
whenever he stood this near she lost her mind, her tongue became tied, and she lost every brain cell she had?
“Katie, if you don’t trust me, just say it. Don’t leave me hanging here,” he said.
“I won’t say that because it isn’t true. I do trust you.”
“I get it,” he said, that husky voice deeper and brushing against every nerve ending she possessed. “You think Malcolm’s trying to control you. And by extension you think I am, too. What happened in your life to make you think every man is trying to boss you around?”
“Because I’ve had a lot of evidence for it. My parents for one. My father is very traditional and sometimes he tried imposing that on my mother and I.”
“Your dad was in the Army, right?”
“Yes. Retired as a full bird colonel in the infantry. Luckily for me I had a good role model in Mom. She was a nurse for twenty years. She taught me to stand up for myself even when dad wanted to put me in a safe little feminine box with no risk.”
“You don’t think he was just concerned about his little girl? Because you’re an only child?”
“That was some of it, but not all. He tried to get my mother to quit nursing more than once. He wanted to be the sole bread winner.”
Nathan winced. “Ouch.”
“And there are other examples of male domination around here. Those assholes that came in here tonight and thought it was okay to touch my ass.” Her words came out heated. Mad. “They did it because they think they’re entitled to it. Because they’ve gotten away with it before.”
“I know. But I’m not like that, Katie.” He held his hands up in apparent surrender. “When I objected to you taking the garbage out the other night, and when I told you to stay put in that alcove tonight it had nothing to do with wanting to lord it over you.”
His statement surprised her. She hadn’t run into many men that open with what they thought and felt unless it related to anger. They seemed pretty damned good at expressing that.
“Did you run into a lot of male troglodytes in the medical profession?” he asked.
“A couple. Oddly enough, the other female nurses were a hell of lot harder on each other and me. Competition for ER jobs was stiff. It was dog-eat-dog. You couldn’t make a mistake in that job and survive.”
“Why did you leave nursing?”
She drew in a shaky breath. “Plain and simple burn out.” She shrugged. “And maybe I just couldn’t hack the pressure. I started having these heart palpitations. When I went to a cardiologist, they discovered there wasn’t a thing wrong with my heart. When I wasn’t stressed, the palpitations when away. I realized nursing was…that I couldn’t do it.”
“Do I hear self-condemnation in there?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s bullshit.”
She glared at him. “What do you mean?”
“You’re the strongest woman I think I’ve ever met. It took guts to quit and find something better for you. Something that didn’t kill you because of the stress. There’s no failure in that.”
“Says the man who quit the SEALS.”
“I didn’t quit the SEALS. They medically discharged me because of my right knee injury. I wanted to stay in the teams and believe me, it was fucking depressing when they told me the knee wasn’t going to be good enough anymore.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “That had to be tough.”
“Yeah. It sucked. But I’ve moved on.”
She gestured to the room. “To this? To a bartender and bouncer? That’s a lot different than being a SEAL.”
He grinned. “Maybe not. After tonight I’m wondering.”
Silence gathered between them for a moment. He reached in his wallet and drew out a business card. He handed it to her, and she looked at it.
“What’s this for?” she asked.
“If you don’t trust me for any reason, you call him. You can trust him to give you everything on me he’s got. Okay, that’s not true. He can’t tell you anything related to covert ops. But he’ll tell you anything else. I’ll let him know you might call him someday so he won’t be surprised.”
“Gray Holden?”
“We worked together a few times when we were both still in the military. He wanted to hire me as a full time employee at The Omega Team.”
She slid the card into her pocket. “This is overkill.”
“Maybe.” He slipped his fingers under the hair at the back of her neck. His touch was so warm and reassuring, so soothing. “The only thing I could think about tonight was protecting you. And that’s the truth.”
His gaze landed on her mouth, and her lips parted in reaction. That hot tingle in her lower belly increased, went wild and asked for action. He leaned forward for a moment, and she thought he might kiss her. Her entire body went on high alert, a yearning building. Instead, he released her and headed for the door.
“I need to get home and sleep,” he said as he started to leave.
“Wait.”
He turned.
“Text me when you get home. I want to make sure you made it. With those Irish guys out there…”
He smiled. “Deal. See you tomorrow.”
He left, and she stood there for a long time thinking of the crazy night. For those few minutes, she worried. Thankfully, about thirty minutes later, Nathan sent her a text and relief flooded her.
Made it home in one piece.
She texted back a smile emoji.
Five
One day later Katie sat on her couch and called Gray Holden. Part of her felt like a shit for not tossing the card away.
Since when have I become so damned suspicious of everyone and everything?
Gray answered her call promptly. “Miss Slane. Nathan said you might call. It’s nice to talk with you.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“You’re right to be cautious. There are plenty of men out there claiming to be spec ops or Navy SEALS who aren’t. What would you like to know about him?”
She swallowed hard. “Now that I have you on the phone, I don’t know.”
Gray’s chuckle was deep and genuine. “Okay, I’ll start and then if you have more questions I’ll try to answer. First, Nathan is one of the best Navy SEALS I’ve ever had the privilege of working with. He was also a highly-trained sniper.”
Sniper. Holy crap.
“I didn’t know that. He doesn’t…he hasn’t said much about his military career. I didn’t even know he was a SEAL until my uncle told me a month after he hired Nathan.”
“That’s the kind of guy Nathan is. Modest as hell. It’s one of the reasons I wanted him to work for me at The Omega Team. He’s a good operator, a team player, but also capable of working entirely on his own. Impeccable credentials. He’s honest.”
All of that sounded good. Almost too good to be true.
“What’s his greatest fault?” she asked.
Gray answered without a pause. “He took it extra hard when he couldn’t get back into the teams. He blamed himself for the knee injury. It was during training. He fell into this sort of crevice and his ankle was caught. He fell to the side and ripped the hell out of his knee. He feels stupid about how it happened.”
“It was just an accident.”
“Yes, but you have to remember as a SEAL he’s one of the best the military has. He didn’t expect himself to make mistakes or for accidents to happen, even though he had to know things like that could happen. He held himself to a higher standard. My guess is he still does. It’s unrealistic.”
She didn’t know what else to say, a silence hanging there for a few seconds.
“Anything else you want to know?” he asked.
“I don’t think so, but if I remember anything, I’ll call back.”
“Sounds good. By the way, if you want a woman’s perspective on him, you can talk to my partner Athena. She’s really good at picking up things about people.”
“Oh?”
“If he was an ass, believe me A
thena would tell you.”
A feeling she couldn’t identify at first made her ask, “Was he…did he have a relationship with Athena?”
“Hell, no. Athena and I are together.”
She laughed. “Oh, sorry. I mean, sorry I assumed…”
“It’s okay. Like I said, give us a call if you need anything or have any questions.”
She smiled, but it felt brittle. “Thank you. I might take you up on that someday.”
Nathan talked with his friend Henry Finn, a former Army Special Forces soldier and Nathan’s landlord about the situation at the pub, and the man agreed immediately to let Nathan out of the lease. If Miles hadn’t, Nathan wouldn’t have balked. He would’ve packed some of his stuff and lived at the pub until the lease ended in two weeks.
Now, two days later, Nathan had settled into his new apartment. Nathan sat at the breakfast bar drinking coffee and stared at his couch, coffee table, recliner and the general emptiness. He’d never accumulated a lot of stuff in his life, so the large space before him echoed with a need for more. It needed more than furniture. It needed a decent bed. He’d recently bought one of those crazy mattresses that comes in a tall box. He needed a good bed frame to put it in—his other bed had broken down a long time ago and he’d been too lazy to shop for another. He needed motivation to decorate this place, especially if he planned to stay here for long. This place needed…
It needs a woman.
The thought jumped into his head, and a picture to go with it. Katie. Whether he liked it or not, his dreams had started to include her. The walls were thick enough he couldn’t hear her moving about her apartment, but he heard it when she opened or closed her front door. Last night he’d dreamed of fucking her against a wall, and he woke up with an erection. He’d taken care of it in the shower, imagining all the things he’d love to do to her and with her.
That kiss had started a new craving inside him for her that grew each day. Part of him regretted the kiss, the other part didn’t. He hadn’t slept with anyone since he’d left the SEALS. Maybe he could blame his craving to kiss Katie again on being celibate so long.
Yeah right. He’d never wanted a woman as much as he wanted her.
The Omega Team: Lethally Yours (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 4
