Calculated Risk (Blackbridge Security 5)

I’m outside breathing in fresh air before I realize that both men followed us out.

“Just making sure you get to your car safely,” Quinten says when I give him a questioning look.

Suddenly, I don’t want to leave. I don’t know if it’s because the noise from the bar is trapped behind the heavy door or if it’s because I’m actually going to miss him looking at me.

“Goodnight,” I tell them. “It was nice to meet you, Jude.”

Jude gives me a quick nod.

My throat is dry when I look at Quinten, and I regret not sucking down the remainder of my drink before coming out here.

“Drive safely,” he says. I might be mistaken but his voice sounds a little huskier than I’ve heard it.

I resist the urge to hug him because that would be weirder than anything else I’ve experienced tonight. Parker gives me a weird look over the roof of my car before she opens her driver’s side door.

I slide into my car and pull away before she leaves because I don’t know when the thought of her talking to Quinten started making me feel a little territorial and jealous.

Chapter 9

Quinten

I sigh after Parker gets in her car and drives away.

“You told Deacon you weren’t going to date one of the women from class,” Jude says as we stand outside of the bar.

“I’m not.”

“Does Parker know that?”

I huff a small laugh because Parker isn’t even on my radar.

“She’s smoking hot, man. I’d completely understand.”

“I don’t have eyes for Parker.”

“She’s got eyes for you. I don’t think she stopped watching your mouth the entire night.”

“I didn’t notice.” How could I when I found it impossible to pull my eyes from Hayden?

I don’t think she was purposely trying to drive me crazy with her straw or her fingers, or the way she smiled when Jude actually opened his mouth to speak, but she did it anyway.

I left class annoyed with her but planning to try to grab a second alone to speak with her. The invite to the bar from her friend was just lucky. She didn’t fire a single gun tonight, and because the group is too large, something I told Wren more than once, I never got a chance to approach her and encourage her to fire.

I thought of offering her private lessons, wondering if the setting and being around so many other people is what made her nervous, but I shoved that idea down before I stupidly made the offer. Being alone with her probably wouldn’t be a good thing for either of us.

I can’t help but get the feeling that there’s more going on than what Wren says she was flagged for, and just imagining someone hurting her makes me homicidal.

“You should’ve danced with her.”

“Hayden doesn’t seem like the dancing type.”

I look at my friend when he laughs. “I freaking knew it! You have the hots for Hayden, not Parker.”

I shake my head, but I don’t deny it.

“You spent the entire night talking to her.”

Entire isn’t actually accurate. Jude spoke when spoken to. He’s not rude. He’s just not the type to instigate conversations with people he doesn’t know. It takes the man a while to warm up to people, and after that, you can’t get him to shut up, hence, the reason he was in class tonight. I think his intelligence bothered people growing up, and instead of fostering his knowledge, he was made fun of for it. Staying quiet is like a failsafe for him.

“Are you jealous? I wasn’t hitting on Hayden. If I were going to go after either of them, it would be Parker.”

“The woman who talks incessantly?”

He shrugs. “She could carry the conversation, but we aren’t talking about Parker. Let’s talk about Hayden. She’s very pretty.”

“She is,” I agree, knowing my best friend won’t give up even if I try to steer the conversation a different way. The best way to get over a conversation is going right through the middle of it.

“She’s tiny, though. I don’t know how it would work.”

With soft hands and practiced skill. With her on top and my hands gripping her hips in case she thinks about biting off more than she can chew. I’d hit the end of her every single time, looking for that little whimper I’ve never actually heard her make but I’ve dreamed about more than once.

“Are you thinking about it right now?”

“No,” I say a little too quickly not to be guilty.

“You are!”

“I’m not interested in either of them,” I lie. “They’re clients.”

“Do you really think Deacon would give you shit if you started dating Hayden?”

“It’s a moot point. Did you miss it when I just said I’m not interested?”

“Did you forget that I’m your best friend, and I know when you’re full of shit? Deacon is married to Anna. Flynn and Remi are together. Both of those women were clients. Wren’s relationship and his obsession with Whitney started at work. All we do is work. Deacon can’t get mad if that’s the only way we meet women.”