The King (Gentlemen Rogues 2)

LACHLAN

I couldn't keepmy bloody eyes off her. I wished I had a viable reason for why I couldn't, but every time I was near her, my mind took a mental vacation. I knew that I should be focusing. I had targets to hit. A course to run. Not to mention Saff was counting on me. If I'd been complaining that she should have been training me over the last two weeks, she made up for it in spades.

She woke me up at five a.m. sometimes to give me a surprise training exercise. Now that she was on board, she was taking no goddamn prisoners, and it would serve me well to understand that.

When she strolled out next to me, she raised a brow. “You ready?"

She stood just a hair too close and kept her voice low so I would lean into her. Jesus, fuck. That scent, the rose and vanilla, and… God, what was that other thing? I couldn't fucking breathe in all honesty. I'd learned to start holding my breath around her if I wanted to actually do any thinking, but she caught me by surprise with her closeness.

“Yeah," I cleared my throat. "A hundred percent ready."

She eyed me dubiously. “You've done the work, just stay focused."

"Right. Focused." Up ahead, I watched as Saint ran through the course.

Rook was up next, then it was me. Two of the other trainees had already gone before us.

Essentially, we had to run a course at targets, shooting only viable targets, no civilians, all under duress with ample distraction. The distraction was tailored to us. So for Rook, someone played the sound of his sister screaming for him. That had fucked him right up. He'd visibly struggled on the last three targets, but only missed one of them, which was still good enough for a pass.

Saint was having a harder time. He had to get a civilian out before he could annihilate the target. And the problem was, he had to make choices.

I didn't exactly know his story, because he kept his past pretty close to the vest. From the looks of it, he was struggling. There was plenty of time, but he was having a problem, and I could see him trying to make a decision about who to save first. The panic in his eyes was evident.

All we'd been told was that our training officer would be part of the course, but we didn't know how. Tabs had been there to distract him. He'd been able to counteract a sexual distraction easily. She'd wrapped her arms around him at one point during a bar scene. He'd hit that target dead in the eye and then quickly turned a charming smile on her. He looked like he might lean in and kiss her, but when she raised an eyebrow, he chuckled and released her. But what had tripped him up was the choice on who to save, his training officer or a child.

The child, as it turned out, was one of the daughters of someone on Oversight, and she was a volunteer. There were some pyrotechnics in there, and all she had to do was call out for help. I watched Saint as he went for the child and then went for Tabs at the same time. He was big. Not quite as big as I was, but broader. He'd thought he could save them both.

He whisked his arms around Tabatha’s waist, and she fought him. Clawed at him.He was going to have to put her down and save the kid, but would he have time to come back?

And then he did the one thing I never expected him to do. He put the kid down for a second and restrained Tabatha. He winced as he hit her at a pressure point on the back of the neck, and next to me, Saff hissed.

Tabs went down easily, folding. And then he lifted her over his shoulder and bent down to lift the kid. He held them both, carrying them as easily as if they were nothing. Out the door, fire threatening to burn him. But he was nothing but grit and determination as he walked them out of the course.

He put the kid down first, and she grinned up at him and gave him a high five. Saint leaned over Tabs, wiping the hair away from her face and checking her vitals. All I heard was Gabe's whistle. “You make it a point to assault women, Saint?"

I watched Saint's jaw tick from where I was standing and he mumbled something in response. Something that made Gabe back off, which I had never seen before. Webb had a very clear fuck-around-and-find-out vibe, but Saint wasn't afraid of him.

A couple of minutes later, Tabs was sitting up, blinking and clearly annoyed. But then she grinned up at Saint and gave him a high five. When he helped her to her feet, she gave him a tight hug.

My gaze flickered over to Webb, whose jaw tightened. And I frowned at that. Wait a minute, now was he into Tabs? That was worth noting. Next to me, Saff's tension eased. "Oh, she's fine."

“You didn't think he'd actually hurt her, did you?"

She shrugged. “You never know about these trainees. But he did the right thing. Sometimes you have to neutralize an asset to keep them safe."

"That's good to know. Are you going to knock me out if I need it? Then carry me out somewhere?"

She shifted on her feet, just an inch closer to me, and her scent wrapped around me. It was like choking me from the inside out, and all I could smell was her. This was not what I fucking needed right now. Not at all what I needed. But this is where we were. "Of course, I'll carry you out. And I’m happy to shoot you with a tranq gun again."

I had to laugh at that. “You know, I feel like I owe you for that."

“Yeah, you can absolutely shoot me with a tranq gun, but you'll have to catch me first."

She sauntered away then, and I knew she was heading into my course. I also knew watching her arse as she walked away was a bad move. My gaze flickered over her once, and I made sure I took that photograph and stamped it in my head and kept my gaze resolutely forward. I had no idea what I was about to face, but I certainly didn't need Webb catching me watching Saff walk away. He would make it a point to murder me for sure.

Saint came jogging over, and I gave him a lifted chin in greeting. “Well done."

“Yeah, it got hairy there, but I didn't really have a choice. She's a hell of a fighter. Tiny, but... Wow."