Unlocked (The Alpha Group 3)

"No problem. Seeya round."

Once she'd disappeared around the corner, I took a moment just soaking in my surroundings. That might seem like a strange thing to do — I mean, for all its prestige, it was really just an office — but after having given the bulk of the last six years to Little Bell, sometimes it felt more like home than my own house. When Sebastian had handed me those pages, I'd been fairly confident it would be enough to get me back in the door, but I hadn't been certain until now. I was back. At least one part of the nightmare was over.

It didn't take me long to find my feet again. After letting everyone know I was available again, work quickly began to flow in. In just a few hours, I was once again neck deep in case files. Ordinarily that might have had me slightly frazzled, but today, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

Surprisingly, Sebastian was waiting for me when we got back. Most days he didn't return until well after dinner.

"I wanted to be here when you got back from your first day," he said when I asked. He held a bottle of champagne in his hands, and there were two glasses laid out on the bench in front of him.

"Aww, that's very sweet of you," I said, leaning in for a lingering kiss. "But you didn't have to go to all this trouble. It's not like I got a new job. It's the same one I always had."

"That doesn't make it any less worth celebrating." He gave a wolfish grin. "Besides, I felt like champagne."

I laughed. "Ah, now the truth comes out."

He poured and then we settled into the couch.

"So, how was it? Everything went well?"

"You could say that. Evil was vanquished, order restored and all that good stuff."

"I'm glad to hear it. It must feel nice to be back."

I nodded. "Hell yes it does. I can honestly say, I don't think I've ever been so happy to be so busy in my life."

"I'm glad."

"Ernest also dropped a few not so subtle hints about 'recently vacated positions' that might need to be filled."

His face lit up and he pulled me in for a hug. "Congratulations! That's wonderful."

"It is, isn't it?"

"I bet you'd have been promoted years ago if not for those two," he said. "You'll be running that place one day, mark my words."

"Yeah, then maybe I'll have the credentials to join Alpha myself."

He gave a wry shake of his head. "You'd seriously want to do that, having seen what you've seen?"

"I don't know. It's not like it hasn't entered my mind. If you ignore all the guns and kidnappings and such, it is pretty cool." I took a sip of champagne. "Besides, it would certainly solve one of our current predicaments."

"I suppose it would."

"How exactly does one join anyway? Joe said he kind of just plucked you out of the army."

His smile gained a hint of nostalgia. "He told you about that, hey? Yeah, I'm not sure what I would have done if he hadn't found me. I was pretty lost, up until that point. Now I've actually got a purpose.

"As for recruitment, there's no one way. You get people like Thomas, who just work ridiculously hard in their chosen field until we can't help but notice them. He made an absolute killing working for one of the big oil companies, before we found him. And then you've got the guys like Trey, who just get in on their family name."

"Ooh, trust fund baby, is he? I had no idea. He doesn't seem like that much of a dick."

Sebastian laughed. "He's fine, most of the time, although to be honest, a bunch of us didn't want to accept his application. We like to recruit people on their merits, not their bloodline, but his dad was a member before him, and he desperately wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. I think it was one of those old money tradition things. Anyway, he pulled some strings and had enough friends that eventually he got his way. Keep that to yourself, though."

"Yeah, sure. I guess since my family has all the eminence of a McNugget Happy Meal, I'll have to go the hard working route."

His expression lost a little of its playfulness. "Let's cross that bridge if we get there, hey?"

I wasn't really sure if I was being serious, but the idea seemed to distress him, so I decided to drop it.

The next few days took on a strangely comfortable quality. If you ignored the nightmarish backdrop, Sebastian and I almost looked like an ordinary, wholesome, professional couple. Each day we'd race through a quick breakfast together before heading to our respective offices. We'd slave away for ten hours or so, occasionally calling each other to whisper sweet nothings, before returning home and spending a few hours in front of the TV or making love, and then collapsing into bed and doing it all again. I'd never really pictured myself being in a long term relationship, but if I had, that was basically how it would have gone. Only the occasional harried expression on Sebastian's face and the presence of our little security team managed to shatter the illusion of normality.

Of course, things were far from fixed. Work was a welcome distraction, but it didn't quite temper the edginess that I seemed to carry around with me permanently, now. In fact, if anything, it made it worse. Logically, I knew that nothing was likely to happen. My building was swarming with people until well past dinner time every night, and my bodyguards met me just feet from the front door. Someone would have to be incredibly bold or incredibly stupid to try anything there. But, nonetheless, I couldn't shake the sensation that I was constantly being watched. It made me jumpy and agitated.

Sebastian seemed to recognise that I was struggling, because he was really putting in a ton of effort. Between the sexy texts and cute little gifts he had delivered to my office — I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a sucker for a bunch of red roses — I was actually feeling rather spoilt. And then he delivered the coup de grace.

On Saturday, I arrived at home to find a note on the kitchen counter. Despite the fact that there was nobody else living there, he'd addressed it like all the others. Sophia. Unlike his last letter, this one sent a wave of excitement shooting though me. He was back to his old tricks.

With eager fingers, I unfolded it.

Dear Sophia.

I may be a little later than normal tonight. Hopefully you can excuse me. I know things have been a little difficult lately, so I've decided we need a nice romantic night together. I'd like you to set up a few things for me before I get home.

In the freezer you'll find a bag of ice. Take it into the bedroom and fill the bucket that's on the dresser. There's a bottle of champagne next to it which I'd like you to chill.