Page 16 of Missile Strike

He rapped on Nathan’s closed door. “L-T, you in there?”

“Come on in.”

When Danny stepped inside, he found Nathan seated at the round table in the corner of his window office next to another man working on a laptop. Nathan’s normal attire of T-shirt and jeans had been replaced with navy trousers and a light blue button-down, making him look less like a member of a biker gang and more like a corporate executive.

Albeit one that could use a shave.

“Hey, amigo,” Nathan greeted him. “You’ve spoken with Ryder?”

“Just left him and Lachlan in the conference room with the senator.”

Nathan gestured him forward. “Come meet Ryan.” The big Texan smirked. “We won’t hold it against him that he’s Army.”

He turned to the man seated next to him, dressed in a white button-down shirt and khaki trousers. “Ryan, this is Danny Mayhew, one of my former Team Guys. He’ll be our security lead for Senator Strickland’s gala in Charlotte.”

Nathan’s icy gaze swung back to Danny. “Ryan will be your point of contact for the necessary background checks.”

The new guy carefully levered himself up from his seat and adjusted his balance before offering his hand. “Ryan Holloway.” A trace of a scar peeked out from beneath his neatly trimmed brown beard, but his blue eyes were clear and focused, and his grip strong.

“Caleb will be happy to have another grunt in the company,” Danny said. “You just get out?”

“I’ve been rehabbing.” Ryan lifted his left pant leg to reveal a metal prosthesis. “The tactical vehicle I was in hit an IED.”

Danny grimaced. “Sorry, man.”

Ryan shrugged. “It sucked when it happened, but I like to think of myself as a recalibrated warrior now rather than a wounded one.”

“A recalibrated warrior with a positive attitude and kick-ass computer skills,” Nathan added. “That’s why I hired him.”

“You can thank my physical therapist at Walter Reed.” Ryan’s smile was the same sappy one Danny was used to seeing on the faces of his Dìleas colleagues when they spoke about the women in their lives. “She appreciates you all offering me the job since she’s the reason I wanted to stay in DC.”

Danny gave a mock shudder. “Another one bites the dust.” It was one reason his schedule stayed so full. He was one of the dwindling number of single guys left in the company, and spending more nights on the road than in his Alexandria apartment had never bothered him. The place was little more than a crash pad.

Nathan laughed. “Danny’s allergic to love.” He clapped Ryan gently on the shoulder. “We’ll finish getting you up to speed after lunch.”

“Sure thing.” Ryan lifted his hand in a casual salute. “Nice to meet you, Danny. I look forward to working with you.”

“You, too. Welcome aboard.”

When the door shut behind Ryan, Nathan gestured for Danny to sit, then took the chair behind his executive desk. Two large monitors on movable arms sat mounted to the desk’s exterior edge. Off to the side sat a black computer tower that probably rivaled the computers at NASA, knowing Nathan.

Danny’s gaze lingered on the framed photo of Emily and Nathan from their wedding that hung on the wall to Nathan’s left. A smirk tilted his lips. The men in the wedding party had gone on a side quest the morning of the wedding that almost landed them in hot water with the bride.

Good thing they’d made it to the church on time.

Barely.

Nathan scrubbed a hand through his hair, creating spikes.

The muscles in Danny’s shoulders knotted.

“This woman, the senator’s daughter, she was your sister’s friend?” Nathan asked.

“Best friend.”

The one who could make Jaynie laugh. Who crawled into bed and held his sister when the pain and nausea were too much for her. The one Danny had done his damnedest as a teenage boy to protect without her ever knowing.

Until he became the one she needed protection from.