His Secret Child (Slade Security Team 2)

Settling back with her latte, she dove into her research.

Two hours later, she had to face the idea that this

treatment really could be the best thing for Jason. The option for breaking his leg, resetting it, and letting the bone grow that way was there, but Dr. Baxter’s work in pioneering his treatment was remarkable. Slade was right yet again. But that didn’t mean he was right about everything. Or that she was wrong to be cautious.

Staring at a browser, she sipped her now cold coffee. What was she going to do with Slade? The man liked to run not only his own life, but probably everyone’s life. If she let him, he’d take over until she didn’t even have a life—and she’d look back and wonder what had happened.

Yet, he had people around him—did it take someone who would stand up to him, or someone who could ignore his pushing? She frowned over that. Did she even want to hang around and find out? But how could she cut Slade out of Jason’s life? That was yet another problem.

She was feeling like she had felt back in the tech world—the boys club. That was Slade’s work—all guys and testosterone and they all thought they knew best. She could sympathize with Tayra now, and the urge to bail on this.

A woman could be swallowed up by a guy like Slade. If she let him, he’d put her in a nice safe box where she’d suffocate. Bethany had walked away from the tech world to avoid that kind of smothering, but how could she walk away from Slade? She also had to admit that part of this was her problem—she’d always had a problem accepting help from others. Could she bend a little? Could she give Slade some room to help her? Could she make that change, too?

Feeling eyes on her, she glanced up. Two guys who looked like surfers—shaggy, sun-streaked hair, tans, and lean bodies—were hanging out one table over, sipping iced drinks. One of them smiled at her and turned back to his phone. She almost dismissed them, but there was something off about the two of them.

They weren’t flirting with the pretty girls at the counters, who were doing their best to get noticed by these two guys. They were watching their phones, but they weren’t texting or talking or doing anything else. She glanced at her smart phone. She brought up her program that would trace and kill any snooping software, which had been cloned onto her phone with the local Wi-Fi. She started it running—just in case. Five seconds later, one of the guys swore and hit her with a glare.

She gave the guy an innocent stare. He got up and headed over to her. He tossed his smart phone onto the table. “You did that?”

She glanced behind her. “Excuse me, did you want something?”

He sat down next to her and held out a hand. “I’m Trent. That’s my brother, Travis, and yeah, Slade had us trail you; but that’s no reason to melt my damn phone from the inside. Now how’d you do it?”

She bit her lower lip. She could keep up the innocent act, but from what Slade had said these guys knew their way around computers. She shook his hand and started to explain her program. Travis drifted over, sat down. The two men listened intently to every word. Trent started to grin. “That’s it; I don’t care if the boss is sleeping with you or not, but he damn well better hire your ass.”

Leaning back in her chair, she said, “I’d ask you to call your boss and tell him to get his ass over here, but that’s going to be a problem.”

Trent pushed a finger at his dead phone. Reaching into a back pocket of his jeans, he pulled out another one. “Backup,” he said. He called Slade, spoke briefly, and what seemed to be mostly in code to Bethany. Slade arrived fast enough that she knew he hadn’t been far away. Of course.

He came over to her table, nodded at Travis and Trent. The two surfer dudes drifted away. Slade sat down. He looked buttoned-down again, with a white shirt, tie, and dark trousers. He looked great. Bethany tried to hang onto her resolve. She was not anyone’s property. She was never going to let Slade own her. Time to put down some ground rules. She nodded at the counter. “The least you can do is buy a drink.”

He rose, went to the counter, bought two tall coffees, and came back. Sitting down again, he smoothed his tie. “I’m sorry if I come on too strong at times.”

“Yeah, well it’s no wonder Tayra ran for her life. Is Brock just like you?”

Slade winced. “Close enough.”

Bethany nodded. “I get it now. Tayra had to run. You guys—you steamroll everyone, don’t you? It’s ‘my way or the highway’ and ‘take no prisoners’ crap. Tayra never would have been able to stand up under that. Brock probably swept her off her feet, then kept telling her what she wanted until her only choice was to give in and let herself become what he thought she was, or go. That’s why she never stopped loving him—but she couldn’t live with him.”

Slade rubbed a hand over his chin and asked, “And you?”

Bethany leaned forward. “I’ll only say this once, so listen up and forget the questions. You were right about Jason and the treatment.” Slade opened his mouth, but Bethany held up a finger. He shut his mouth again. “We’ll talk to Jason and we’ll vote on it.”

Slade frowned. “Is this a damn democracy?”

“That’s a question, and you bet it is. That means it’s open for debates, too. I am not Tayra. I don’t run from a fight. I don’t pull my punches either. If I’m going to stay, I’ll stay because I want to, not because you’ve done your ‘claim the fair maiden as your price’ knightly thing—got it?”

“Does that mean I get to talk now?”

She shook her head. “That’s a question—I’m looking for an answer.”

“What I ‘get’ is that you’re about the biggest pain in the ass who ever put on a skirt—not that I’ve seen you in a skirt, but I wouldn’t mind. You’ve got great legs. I also get that you and Jason are a package and I’ve been thinking.”

“Will wonders never cease?” She leaned back in her chair. “It’s about time you put your brain into gear. What are your conclusions?”

“I’m okay with you going toe-to-toe with me. I don’t like it, but I’m okay with it.”

She pushed at the drink he’d bought her. “You don’t have enough people going toe-to-toe with you. That’s just the problem, Slade. You seem like a bright guy, you like to run things—no wonder you went into business for yourself. Well, I’m about the same, so anything we do is going to have to have compromises. Think you can handle that?”