Chapter One
Hunter sat in the large, leather chair at the head of the conference table. Around the room his team stood talking, some with muffins in their hands. Tiny had been baking again. Hard to believe that a man who looked a boxer could bake. He’d taken over Jacey and Derrick’s kitchen, not that they were complaining.
Hunter took a bite of a lemon and cream cheese muffin, nearly closing his eyes in ecstasy, his taste buds dancing. Damn, that was good.
Not that any muffin was about to save Tiny from Hunter’s fury.
“All of you sit down, this isn’t a fucking PTA meeting,” he growled.
They all glanced at him warily and took their seats. Hunter wasn’t a friendly, easy going man. He had a temper and he wasn’t afraid to show it.
Gray Mathers, his partner in Black-Gray Investigations, sat to his left. Gray was dressed impeccably, as usual, in a white shirt and black slacks. Most people didn’t realize that beneath the calm exterior and expensive clothing hid a dangerous man.
Tiny sat across from Gray and took a sip of his coffee, quietly watching those around him. He was the shortest man in the room, but what he lacked in height, he made up for in muscle. His nose had been broken multiple times, lending him a menacing look.
Connor took a seat down from Tiny. Connor was their tech expert. A quiet, observant man who most people underestimated. But then most people didn’t know his background. He’d been recruited into the FBI at a young age for his hacking skills.
Jaron was the youngest member of the team, and perhaps the most personable. Hunter had hired him on last year when he’d been discharged from the U.S. Army Special Forces.
Two of the team weren’t here. Curt, who was also former Special Forces, was watching over Derrick and Jacey with Josh. Josh had been their first recruit after he and Gray had sent up Black-Gray Investigations. Like Gray and Hunter, he was an Ex-Navy SEAL.
“So someone want to tell me how the hell our client ended up in the hands of Evan Sanders when we were supposed to be watching her?” Hunter asked in a low voice.
Hunter and his team had been hired by Derrick Ashdown, Jacey’s fiancé, to protect her from Sanders and her ex-husband, Stephan Worthington.
Jacey had witnessed Worthington and Sanders murdering Worthington’s assistant, Gerry Lyons. She’d gone on the run, living on the streets, hiding from both of them. Then she’d met Derrick, a wealthy billionaire, and fallen in love. When Sanders and Worthington found her, Derrick had hired Hunter and his team to see to her protection.
Two days ago Jacey had been kidnapped by Evan Sanders. The team had gotten to her quickly and she was safe again, but it was unacceptable that she’d been taken in the first place.
Connor glanced over at Tiny before looking back at him. “We were protecting her the whole time.”
“Protecting her? How exactly? She was in a car with Sanders. She nearly died.”
“Under control,” Tiny replied. Tiny wasn’t much of a talker and he rarely spoke in full sentences.
Connor sighed. “Look, Tiny and I were in charge of looking after her, we had to make a decision when Jacey told us that Sanders had contacted her and that he was holding Derrick’s sister-in-law and her husband, that he would kill them if she didn’t go to him. We set the plan in place. She would pretend to play along with what Sanders wanted, while Tiny followed her and I tracked her through the GPS chip hidden in her necklace. If we’d refused to help her then she would have just snuck out, you know that, Hunter.”
Evan Sanders had been an evil fucker, with no conscience. He was Worthington’s half-brother and it looked like Worthington had used him to do all his dirty work.
He could easily have shot Jacey the minute she walked into that building. It could have gone disastrously wrong. It nearly had.
“They weren’t our responsibility,” Hunter growled. “Jacey was. She should have been protected at all costs. When she told you that she wanted to leave, you should have tied her up and watched her like a hawk, not helped her go to him and put herself in danger.”
“Helped us get Sanders,” Tiny interjected. Sanders had been killed as they rescued Jacey.
He glared at Tiny. “We would have gotten him eventually.” He’d made it his life’s mission to take down Evan Sanders and his half-brother, Stephan Worthington. But he would never do it at the risk to an innocent. Particularly a woman.
“Maybe,” Connor acknowledged. “But Brax and Holly Jamieson would be dead and Jacey would be a mess. It all worked out in the end, Hunter.”
Hunter stood, his fisted hands resting on the table. “It all worked out in the end?” he roared.
A knock sounded on the door and he glared over at it, daring the person to enter, wanting someone else to vent his wrath on. He knew there was truth to Connor and Tiny’s words. Everything had worked out, but there had been too many unknown factors, too many things could have gone wrong.
Hunter didn’t work like that, especially not when it came to the safety of a client, a woman. He and his team had been charged with her protection and the risk she’d taken was unacceptable.
“Come in,” he roared.
Cady stepped into the room. His anger morphed into something else. Something hotter, wilder. Her dark hair was pulled back into a pony tail, making her gorgeous, brown eyes seem larger in her too-thin face. She glanced around the room warily. She was tense, poised to flee if anyone made a wrong move toward her. She was an enigma. Tough on the outside, but he knew there was a vulnerable side to her.
A man would have to work hard to gain her trust.
But it would be worth it.
Fuck, get it together, man. It had been too long since he’d taken on a sub. Maybe, it was past time he looked at settling down.
“Ahh, hi,” she said. She remained in the doorway.
“Good morning, Cady,” Gray said warmly.
He’d only met her twice, why did he sound so friendly? Hunter sent him a sharp look. What was his interest in Cady?
“Won’t you come and sit down?” Gray stood and pulled out a chair.
Damn it. He should have done that.
Cady looked at Gray suspiciously as he held the chair out for her, making Hunter feel better. She wouldn’t trust anyone easily, even Gray who had women throwing themselves at him.
After a brief moment, she took the seat offered.
“You’re late,” Hunter barked. Gray sent him an admonishing glance as Cady stiffened and looked ready to bolt.
Smooth move, idiot.
“We hope you didn’t have problems finding the hotel, Cady,” Gray interjected.