His broad shoulders filled the door frame, his athletic build far too appealing.Knox was fit, with chiseled features, dark stubble across his jaw, and deep brown eyes.He was tall and muscular, confident, and commanded a room without even trying.Knox was quieter than his teammates but always observing.Always watching her.
And damn if she didn’t like it.
His dark eyes bored into hers, and he seemed slightly surprised that his teammates were in here joking around with her.Sometimes he’d find ways to stop by just to say hello to her or ask Quinn a question.Given they worked together, it made sense for him to check in.Except he’d paid her more notice than anyone else, and Quinn thrilled at the attention.She knew for a fact that he didn’t go out of his way to socialize with other people in that same manner.And damn.Being the focus of a masculine guy like Knox’s attention sent her girly parts all aflutter.
Cheesy?Yes.Accurate as hell?Also a yes.
“Hey,” she said, feeling the heat of his gaze as his eyes briefly raked over her.It was quick, but she felt every moment as if it were a caress.Her heartbeat sped up, her stomach doing a funny little flip.Maybe his attention should’ve left her flustered, but she just felt...warm.Safe.It made no sense, given they were colleagues, but something about being around him just felt right.The chemistry between them was undeniable, but so far, they’d kept things professional.They were all new hires, starting up the West Coast office.It was hardly the time to jump into bed with a man, let alone start a relationship.
What if they dated and things fizzled out?It would be awkward as hell to be around him all the time.
And if things did work out between them?Quinn had a feeling it would be amazing.
“Hey there,” Knox said with a nod, his deep voice rumbling right through her.His gaze briefly landed on his teammates, but he didn’t say a word to Cooper or Xaden.Both men looked amused, exchanging a look amongst themselves.
Knox was the strong, silent type.He wasn’t the type of man to go around engaging in locker room talk—not that a single thing had happened between them.He seemed lost in his own thoughts much of the time—a trait they shared.When Quinn was in the zone, working, she had laser-like focus.Few things could distract her, and she’d joked with her own teammates that it was a good thing she worked behind a keyboard.While the men on Bravo Team were observant and sharp, always aware of their surroundings, her own situational awareness skills were sometimes lacking.
Which was why she’d been laughing with the two men and didn’t even hear Knox approach.
“Quinncess got us in,” Cooper told him, gesturing toward her monitor.
Knox bristled, looking somewhat surprised that Cooper already had a silly nickname for her.That was just Cooper’s personality.He’d teased Radley Moore as well, a former operative who’d joined Shadow Security.Everyone could see that she had the hots for Boone Langford.And vice versa.That hadn’t stopped Cooper from flirting with her or every other woman here at Shadow Security though.
“Ignore him,” Quinn advised.
“Damn straight,” Xaden agreed.“Cooper’s just trying to piss you off.”
“Sure am,” Cooper agreed.“We all know you’ve got a thing for our Quinncess.”
“Don’t be a dick,” Knox said.
Quinn flushed as three pairs of male eyes swiveled toward her.It felt like Knox was sticking up for them both, not that she couldn’t handle the team of rowdy men.The guys in this room were the least of her concerns.They had goddamn homegrown terrorists to track down.
“I got us into the surveillance systems,” Quinn said smoothly, trying to get the conversation back on track.“I can monitor things from here, assisting Bravo Team when they’re in downtown Seattle.Once the others arrive in L.A., they’ll let me know what they require access to there.We’ll be good to go when the terror cell members begin their movements.”
Knox crossed his arms, nodding.“That’s good news.”
“It’ll make our jobs easier, at any rate.I guess you and Gage will be here with me?”she questioned.
His eyes slid toward hers.“Affirmative, unless the boss has other plans.You can do your computer voodoo, and we’ll assist as needed.Holt wants a couple of us on standby to be ready to move in as necessary,” he said, referring to Holt Blackwell, head of the West Coast office.A former Delta himself, Holt was a force to be reckoned with.All of the men Quinn worked with were badass, former Spec Ops guys.She hardly knew what to do with all the testosterone flowing through the office.The men worked seamlessly together, and she did what she could on her end to ensure they had the intelligence they needed to run ops.
Her lips quirked.“You guys are the muscle of this little operation.I’m hoping Seattle and L.A.are the only places Bravo Team needs to be monitoring.We’re already spread too thin.At least the guys at headquarters will handle the East Coast.”
“Don’t you worry about us,” Cooper said with a grin, giving them both a mock salute as he headed for the door.“Xaden and I have to head down to the armory to gather supplies.Our briefing with the boss got moved to this afternoon.Tonight, we should be a go.”
Xaden’s gaze darkened.“We’ll get those mofos.They have no idea we’re already onto their plot.It’s sick how Americans can become radicalized and want to harm their own country.Some of these idiots weren’t even born yet when the war on terror started.”
“Yeah, well, they might not be around when it ends either,” Knox said, his voice darkening.
Quinn’s gaze darted between the two men.“I’ll let Holt know about the newest developments with the surveillance downtown.I expect he’ll want me at the briefing later to update the team.”
“Sounds good,” Cooper said, all traces of his earlier humor gone.“We’ve got a lot of shit coming our way over the next several days, and I’ve got a bad feeling this is only the beginning.”
