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I spent hours diving into the dynamics of the group and felt confident that I would be able to weasel my way into it somehow, as long as one of them was attracted to me.
Was I interested in a relationship? Absolutely not. I barely had time to keep a houseplant alive in my tiny apartment. But I’d do what Bob expected of me. I was a workaholic through and through. Which was partly why I wasn’t interested in a relationship in the first place, but creating a romantic relationship while undercover, and using that to my advantage, was my specialty. I could play the part well.
The only things I was interested in from men were free drinks and the occasional one-night stand. Adam Strong looked exactly like the kind of guy I would have let buy me a drink at the bar and then bring me home.
I purchased my plane ticket online and then left the office and grabbed my gym bag. I was determined to get a good sparring session in before I left for paradise.
CHAPTERTHREE
adam
Istepped up to the back door of my Uber and felt a barrage of emotions. I was excited and nervous and wished this wasn’t a mission-related trip. I could use a week to get drunk and hang out with my friends. Then I felt selfish for that thought. I was going to the island to watch my friends get married and then save a bunch of missing women from the sex trade. One of my battle buddies was in a morgue somewhere, waiting for eternal rest, and I was worried about a vacation. I pinched myself as punishment.
“Damn, you’re a large fellow, aren’t you?” the driver asked me as he rolled down his window.
“Yeah, that’s not the first time I’ve heard that, and it won’t be the last,” I grumbled. I added annoyance to the list of emotions.
If I had a dime every time someone mentioned my size, I’d have just as much money as Jones. Christine’s wealth was too large to wrap my head around, so there was no comparing it to that.
“You’re going to the airport?” he asked me.
“Yes, and I’m in a hurry,” I answered as I climbed into the back with my bags.
“My apologies. Let’s get you there, then,” he said and shifted the car into gear.
We pulled onto the highway, and I settled into my seat. I wished I had thought to ask an old friend of mine to come with me to the wedding, but the idea didn’t come to me until late last night, and by then it was too late. While Christine had told me I could bring a plus-one, and marked it down, I would be showing up by myself.
I was fucking lame. None of the others were showing up with dates, but I held myself to a higher standard. While they claimed they weren’t looking for a woman, I was the opposite. I wanted my special someone, and it was pathetic that I still hadn’t found someone.
Wells had Christine, and Jones had Jasmine. I only had myself. I had spent a lot of time watching how they interacted with each other, and I decided I wanted what they had. I wanted to find someone that I could lean on like they did and someone who drove me just as crazy. I wanted to find that person who lit a spark and set my world on fire.
I was a romantic at heart, but I kept that close to my chest. That didn’t fit most people’s preconceived notions of me. I wished I had tried to find a date sooner, but I thought I would be fine. I thought it wouldn’t affect me to show up single, but as I laid in bed with my thoughts last night, I realized how wrong I was.
I wished I could tell my mom about this, but she already knew about how I was feeling from the other side. That was the thing about spirits—they were supposed to be all knowing. Talking out loud to her was difficult and made me emotional. There was no way I was going to do that in the back of this cab. The driver might piss himself seeing a man like me cry.
I shook my head to help clear my thoughts, and I played with the zipper to my bag absentmindedly. I needed to focus on the upcoming mission; we had another asshole to take down, and I spent two weeks itching to get started.
The two weeks after Vegas had been a blur. I spent my free time in the gym and learned new fighting moves, and I went to the range to practice my marksmanship. It didn’t matter that I was already a sharp blade, a lethal weapon forged by the U.S. Army; every blade could become dull, and I’d never let that happen to me.
We had a few group phone calls and started to put things into motion, but most of it was wedding related. So much of what we were getting into with the trafficking was unknown. Boss’s file of information hadn’t been too thick. All of Wells’ and Christine’s guests would be flying to the island and arriving at the resort today; and tomorrow was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The wedding would be the following day. Then the guests would leave the day after the wedding, and we’d get started on our mission.
Life was going to get extremely busy due to our almost full-time bounty-hunting gig. Christine had a lot to juggle as the Vice President to Green Oil Industries, but according to her flexible boss, AKA her father, she was able to do a lot of her work remotely. He understood her wish to help other survivors like her. So he allowed her to take her work remote so that she could spend several weeks giving talks to groups of survivors. He wouldn’t be so accommodating if he knew what his daughter was really up to, catching the guys nightmares were made of. Those who thought so little of others’ lives that they were willing to destroy them, just to make a few bucks. It wasn’t too long ago that she escaped from a kidnapping situation, not once, but twice. She was tough as nails, and it was one of the things that drew Wells to her. He wasn’t often a man of many words—except for within our group. Although he didn’t need to use words for me to see how he felt about her. I could read it in his eyes, and the set of his jaw when anyone paid too much attention to her.
I tried not to let my jealousy turn me into a green monster. The comic book world already had one of those. I wasn’t jealous that Wells got Christine; I was just jealous that I was not in a relationship like theirs. I was steps away from my thirties, and I had no prospects, only my hand.
The taxi jerked slightly and pulled me from my thoughts. The ride was quiet as we made it through traffic to the airport. When the driver let me out in the departure lanes, I wasted no time loitering. I quickly walked to security—I needed to make sure that I made my flight with plenty of time to spare. I was anal about arriving early, and unfortunately I was a little later than I wished to be.
I made it through the TSA pre-check quickly; I didn’t bother with metal detectors due to the hardware in my foot from a bad break years ago. I was relieved when I made it into the main part of the airport with time to spare—so much so I didn’t pay attention to where I was walking. I bumped right into a beautiful blonde and knocked the bag out of her hand. It hit the ground with a thud. The only thing that stopped her from hitting the ground too were my hands as I reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her.
“I’m so sorry,” I offered in a rush.
I was so embarrassed, if I was capable my face would have turned red. That was not the best demonstration of my skills as a highly trained soldier. In fact, I could see my old drill sergeant laughing at me in my head. I hated the fucking dude. If I saw him again, he’d be lucky if I didn’t rearrange his face.
The blonde’s head whipped around to look at me. She looked a little surprised, probably due to my size or the fact that I nearly knocked her on her ass. I let go of her arm. She hesitantly smiled and then picked up her bag.
She made a show of righting her shirt, as if the collision had skewed her clothing. “No need to apologize. I was in my own head. I probably could have avoided this if I was paying attention,” she assured me. She certainly didn’t seem mad; her smile stayed plastered on her face. It took a lot of effort to tear my eyes from hers.
“That’s along the lines of what I was going to say,” I answered with what I hoped was a winsome smile.
