The Squad

Jason

“Who the hell are you people anyway? And what do you want with me?” She finally turned back to the room, and I had to remind myself how to put two words together; the woman was unbelievably gorgeous. Like the kind of gorgeous, you only expect to see in the movies. Granted, Ash and her new friends are nothing to sneeze at, but who’d risk looking at any of them long enough to see just how beautiful they really are?

I’m not a small guy, and I’m sure I can hold my own pretty much in any given situation. But from what little I’d gathered in the short time I’ve known them, their husbands aren’t exactly the forgiving types when it comes to their women, and they seem very possessive.

It took Lyon damn near ten minutes to say goodbye to his wife, and the two of them already have a whole damn football team and then some between them. The SEALs hadn’t been any different, and Law looked like he was going to cry when he had to give his son up to leave to come here. And why am I thinking about this shit?

What was it that she’d asked me again? I couldn’t remember fuck, and the way she was looking at me said she thought I was very slow. The truth is, I had no idea why I’d been sent after her. What I do know is that no one is putting hands on her. I don’t give a fuck who it is. Sure she may have killed a few people, but who’s to say they didn’t deserve that shit?

Mancini hadn’t said much about his reasons for wanting to bring her in, and neither had the others. But from all that shit he’d been talking about earlier about the ancient organization, I’m hoping it’s for her protection like he said. After all, wasn’t she doing the same damn thing each and every one of us has been? Except her shit was personal, which makes it even more fucked up if we were bringing her in for anything but to protect her from the asshole FEDs.

She wasn’t interested in all of that right this minute, though, I’m sure. So I set about putting her mind at ease, or at least I tried to. “No one is going to hurt you here, Roxana.”

“Roxy, only people I know and like are allowed to call me Roxana, and you still haven’t told me what I’m doing here or what it is that you want.”

“I told you, Roxana,” I made a point of calling her name again because damn if I’m not going to be one of the people she likes. If I were a lesser man, I would’ve taken a step back from the venomous look she threw me. I think she actually took a step my way before checking herself. I ignored her little pique and carried on. “You’re safe. It’s like Mancini said it was only a matter of time before the FEDs came after you. Besides, isn’t this better than living on the streets?”

Her face flushed red, and she gritted her teeth as she rocked back on her heels. I know the embarrassment of having to do that shit and, even worse, how it feels when others find out. It was fine for me, I’d long come to terms with it, but no one who looked like she did should’ve been in that position.

I’m dying to hear her stories of how she survived her first weeks and months out there with every kind of predator known to man on the loose. Then again, after what she’d probably been through as a kid, the streets would’ve been a cakewalk. It still remains to be seen who had taught her to fight to kill. I’m pretty sure the assholes who took her hadn’t been that damn stupid. It would be like raising a tiger cub in your own backyard.

“Who says I was living on the streets?” I just raised my brow at her show of bravado, which started a stare-off between us. Her stomach rumbled, and she blushed even redder in embarrassment. I don’t know why but that sound pissed me off more than anything else had in the last few hours.

“When’s the last time you had something to eat?”

“That’s none of your business.” Oh, you think so? It is now, sweetheart. I didn’t say those words out loud because there was no use. I wasn’t in the mood to fight with her, and I’m sure if she knew where my mind had gone, that’s exactly what I’d get. Instead, I moved over to her side, pretending not to care that her lethal ass could take me down if I weren’t careful.

“Let’s go get you something to eat.” I started to say let's get something in you, but that sounded too much like what my body really wanted and had been wanting since I caught her damn scent, which, if I haven’t mentioned, has been driving me nuts this whole damn time. So no, I wasn’t in the mood to go another round with her. I have other ideas on how to tame that fire she’s got going on in there.