Calculated Risk (Blackbridge Security 5)

I take a step back as Jude pulls my friend against his chest, and the hug I’m witnessing looks nothing like the one he gave me. The man is smitten with my friend, his hand a little low on her back for an acquaintance who just pretended like they’ve never met before. The entire situation is suspicious.

“We’ll talk soon,” Parker tells me after she steps back from Jude. “Text me your new number once you get your new phone.”

She gives a little wave over her shoulder as she walks away. Jude watches her, and I watch him.

“Want to explain that?” I ask him once he realizes he’s been staring.

“Is she single?”

I frown at him. “Parker will always be single.”

He frowns, giving me a little nod before walking away.

I don’t waste time in the hallway. My body urges me back to the breakroom to find Quinten.

Chapter 33

Quinten

“Like I’ve told every other one of my men when they’ve found themselves in this situation, take as much time as you need. You’re important around here, but we can manage without you for a little while.”

I frown at my boss. “What do you mean in this situation?”

“Completely in love of course.”

Deacon’s smile isn’t teasing. He isn’t fishing for a confession. The look on his face says he’s one hundred percent sure about my emotions. How does he know when I’m just discovering them for myself?

“I don’t know what you think—”

“Stop before you say something untrue. Take the time off.”

I stand from the chair opposite of his desk and leave his office.

Flynn’s office door is open, indicating that Parker has left, and my blood heats as I prowl toward the breakroom looking for my girl.

If Deacon is right, and I get a fluttery feeling in my gut that he does for Anna, then I need to talk with Hayden. I need to lay it all out and see where she stands. This dancing around each other, especially after the intimacy we shared yesterday, is ridiculous. We’re adults, and we should be able to talk about what we’re feeling and what our expectations are. I may have to tone mine down because I’m not sure she’d be keen on the idea of moving in with me and staying naked in my bed twenty-four-seven, but that’s exactly where my head was at when I requested a few days off.

Finding her is easy. She’s sitting on one of the sofas talking with Flynn and Ignacio. The clench of my fists calms slightly knowing that both of those guys are in committed relationships to the point that they won’t even flirt with her in an attempt to get my hackles up, unlike Finnegan and Brooks who see messing with people as an Olympic sport.

“Ready to go?” I ask her the second I step into the room.

“Sure,” she says, telling both of the guys goodbye.

Her eyes are on mine as she draws closer to me, and I don’t know if it’s my own obsession with her or actual heat in her gaze, but my body begins to respond immediately.

The guys chuckle as we leave the room, and it makes me press against her back just a little harder on the way to the elevator. Pam gives us a little wave as we walk through as she continues her conversation on the phone.

She doesn’t put any distance between us on the elevator ride down, and she seems reluctant for me to step away when I help her into the truck. Both of those are great signs going into the conversation I know we need to have when we get back to my place.

I don’t offer to stop and get food. If she’s hungry, we can order delivery, but the longer I put off this talk, the more I’ll lose my nerve. Part of me is telling me to take things slow and let whatever it is between us progress at a natural speed, but being with her only for her to pull away the next day is bound to drive me insane. The other part of me is urging me to start the conversation at the first red light we come to.

I manage to keep my lips clamped closed on the drive back, and still in the elevator on our way up to my condo.

She gives me a weak smile when I open the door and indicate for her to step inside. She doesn’t pause as she crosses the threshold as she walks toward the guest bedroom.

“Hayden.” She stops in her tracks, but I need more than just her attention right now.

In a flash, I have her back pressed to the front door, and I smile as she blinks up at me. When her tongue licks at her bottom lip, I nearly drop the conversation we need to have in favor of stripping her naked right here in the entryway.