“The tough life of a multimillionaire,” she said.
He smiled at her. “Billionaire.”
She rolled her beautiful blue eyes—they were pale, like Arctic ice. “Sorry,billionaire. How is business?”
His gut tightened. “Secura is ticking along fine.”
“There’s always a market for weapons of war.”
His brows drew together. “I don’t sell weapons. We sell gear. Body armor, uniforms, bedding, meals. Everything else soldiers need in the field. The stuff that often gets neglected or is of poor, cheap quality. It isn’t just bullets that takes lives.”
He heard the edge to his voice. He knew firsthand that good people got injured or killed because of the damn clothes they wore in the field, or because the gear and food they had was sub-standard.
Hadley cocked her head, studying his face. “You lost someone.”
Bennett fought the urge to move his shoulders. Damn her for being too perceptive. The Special Air Service had trained him to stay still when required, and show nothing. He cleared his throat. “I lost lots of people. Many of them for no good reason.”
But for a second, he saw the face of Hamed. A good man who used his language skills to help. Bennett had worked and fought alongside him, and he’d saved Bennett’s arse too many times to count. Hamed Rahmani had been a man who’d made do with what he had to help his country.
A man who’d died, splattered in blood, on the desert sand of a rundown village.
Not long after Hamed had died, Bennett had left the military. He’d come home, determined to make a difference in other ways.
Secura had been born. His company specialized in high-tech fabrics; lightweight, but durable, gear soldiers needed. Better, more nutritious meals. Hell, he spent a fuck-load on his team of scientists for research and development. And Secura had become more successful than he’d ever dreamed.
As he and Hadley whirled around the dance floor, he spotted Killian Hawke. The man raised his drink, and Bennett nodded.
Now, there was a man not to underestimate, and not turn your back on. Bennett was damn glad they were on the same side.
“So, you have a meeting at MI6 tomorrow,” Bennett said.
Blue eyes flashed. “None of your business.”
“Didn’t Killian tell you that I’m your backup, if you need help while you’re here?”
She shot him a smile. “I don’t need help.”
“But you don’t know what the job is yet.”
“It’s classified.”
“Mmm. It’s okay to ask for help, Hadley.”
“Not if I don’t need it.”
Yes, he’d noted her fierce independence before. He’d seen her smile, seen her with her Sentinel Security friends, but under it, he sensed how self-contained she was. Could feel the walls that he suspected could sustain an attack or a stealth invasion.
What had forced her to build them? And what would it take for her to let someone in?
You think you deserve to be that someone?The sly voice in his head made his gut clench.
His gaze moved over her face. “Christ, you’re beautiful.”
She blinked. Her gaze dropped to his mouth.
“Ah, I finally said something that’s made you speechless.”
“Hardly.” Her gaze flicked back up to his. “It takes more than some clumsy compliment from you, Knightley.”