Wicked as Lies (Wicked & Devoted 3)

“No offense to your sons, sir, but I left my last gig to work for you,” Cutter said.

One-Mile glared at him, then sent his displeasure the colonel’s way. “That’s the first thing in months the Boy Scout has said that we agree on.”

“Same,” Josiah chimed in.

Trees and Zy both stuck up their hands. “Put us in the same boat. Zy came here because I told him there was no one better to work for or learn from.”

The colonel actually looked somewhere between choked up and humbled. “I appreciate that. I didn’t reach this decision lightly. As many of you know, I recently remarried. My wife, Carlotta, is cutting back her hours as a nurse. We’d both like to travel and enjoy our time together. Since we’ve been married, it’s been nothing but missions, danger, injuries… I’m not as young as I used to be. It’s time I passed the torch.”

When he stepped back, Hunter, the oldest, took over, naturally assuming the reins. “Hi, everyone. We don’t know much about you, except through Dad’s descriptions. Well, Tessa being the lone female makes her easy to spot. But we’d like to talk with each of you as soon as possible.”

Logan nodded and added his two cents. “We’re looking at a transition that may take a couple of months to complete, simply because I’m still on active duty, and we have paperwork and legal crap to take care of first. We want you to know that we’ll be fair, have an open-door policy, and will do whatever we can to make sure you’re satisfied with the new arrangement. We know that won’t happen overnight and it will take time to win your trust.”

“But we will win you over,” Hunter swore. “The three of us have had extensive conversations over the past two days. We’re united on what will make this business and this team the most elite in the country. And we’re up for the challenge. We hope you’ll give us a chance to prove that.”

No one said a word. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Tessa risked a glance around. The guys she worked with all looked pissed. She understood. While she hadn’t hired on with Colonel Edgington because he could teach her about mission strategy or tactical operations, she had seen for herself just why the operatives who worked for him respected him so much. He was straightforward, fair, smart, well-connected, and honest as hell.

“Thank you for coming to introduce yourself to us.” She broke the silence. “What do you see happening next and when?”

“Good question.” Hunter seemed grateful for the lifeline. “After a lot of consideration and deliberation, we’ve collectively decided to rename the organization. We’ll be known as EM Security Management.”

“For Edgington-Muñoz,” Logan cut in.

Hunter nodded. “Exactly. But creating a new legal entity will take some time. It will also take organizational skills we’ll be leaning on you for.”

Tessa was always happy when she was essential in this high-octane environment. “Sure. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll help make it happen.”

“We appreciate that. Dad said you were great.”

She smiled.

“So we’ll need everything new from legal documents to business cards. We’ll also be doing some interviews to get better acquainted with each of you and your skills, so we can realign ourselves and make the best use of them. You’ll be hearing from us soon about these informal meetings.”

Cutter leaned in. “Our current employment contracts state that if we’re dissatisfied with management, we can leave for any reason within thirty days of written notice.”

The statement sounded more like a threat. Tessa had never heard the Louisiana local be anything but a Southern gentleman.

“What’s your point?” Logan sounded just shy of annoyed.

“Just stating fact.” Cutter shrugged.

Hunter stepped in. “That’s an option, and it’s up to you. We only want operators who’d like to stay and make a difference. If that’s not you, we’ll help you pack up.”

Cutter shrugged, but he clearly didn’t hate that response. “If you’re forming a new company, I’m assuming you’ll be presenting us with new contracts to consider?”

The trio looked at one another as if they hadn’t discussed that specifically yet. Then Hunter nodded. “Yeah.”

“Will that out clause still be offered in the new contract?” One-Mile asked. “If it’s not…”

Seriously? Walker, the elite sniper, was half the reason their clientele had the colonel on speed dial.

“We’ll be looking at every clause in your existing contracts before we create our own terms and conditions. If you’d like a similar clause in the updated agreement, we’ll make sure you have one. Most everything else is open to negotiation.”

Did that include the one that prohibited in-office dating?

Tessa started. Beside her, Zy stiffened.

As if pulled by some invisible force, she glanced over her shoulder. He stared straight at her, his gaze drilling into her.

She couldn’t blink and couldn’t look away. But that stare told her he had the same question. Was there a chance that, once they signed the EM Security contracts, they wouldn’t be prohibited from exploring whatever was between them?