Twentyminutesaftermakingthe call, Logan stormed in, his fists clenched at his side.
Xander stood, pushed his chair back and leaned against the window. He sensed this was going to be an explosion.
“What the hell, Xander? Harper’s been living with you since she was sixteen? I didn’t think you were into young girls.”
Not the one he was expecting. Xander breathed through his nose, focusing on taking steadying breaths because he felt like throwing the big giant out of the building. Where the hell did Marrock get off talking to him like that? The man should damn well know better, and it pissed Xander off that after giving him what he wanted, he came in with this bluster of anger. But Xander wasn’t going to rise to his bait.
“If Harper told you that much, then shetrustsyou,” he said, keeping a tight rein on his temper. “I wouldn’t misplace it.”
Logan put his hands on his head and turned away from Xander. “That’s no way to care for someone by keeping them locked up.”
“She hasneverbeen locked up,” Xander said, working to unclench his jaw. “Did she mention the degree she got? That’s she’s working on the next one? Did she tell you how I looked out for?”
Logan slammed his hands on the desk, sneering at Xander. Xander stared right back at him, unflinching. He had no problem with the quiet.
“So, what did I miss, guys?” Ares said, entering the office, looking from one to the other.
“Logan’s mad at me for keeping Harper safe.”
“Ahh. Maybe he’s mad that he doesn’t know why you needed to,” Ares said. His younger brother came and stood next to him. “Logan should get over it.”
Logan glared at them, spun away, and leaned against the wall, the furthest he could get from them. Xander couldn’t help but smile; it seemed the giant man was at a loss for words.
An alert on his phone that was connected to the front doors, told him the others had entered the building. It amazed him that this team of highly trained former military men he and Ares had put together always came through.
The purpose of Team Stealth was to go in and do those jobs they wanted out of the press, to take on those dangerous assignments. Back when Xander had thought Axis Management would only be a security company specializing in personal and cyber protection, he’d never thought such a team would exist.
But these men had come through for him every time.
“Good morning,” Nick Laurent said. He had contacts in today and his curly hair was slicked back, but usually, he looked more like a librarian than a seasoned former military officer.
“Morning, Nick,” Ares said. “Thanks for coming in.”
“It’s about time something happened around here.” Nick grinned. He also spoke several languages and because of his tech giant father, couldn’t help but have mad computer skills. He was the calmest of the bunch and a whiz at dissolving conflict.
“Thinking of working for the old man?” Xander asked.
He pointed a finger at Xander and shook his head. “Never.”
Xander smiled, knowing the dig would get his blood pumping.
“Where are we going?” Gabe Arthur was the next to enter the office. He looked more like a sprinter than an army vet, but he knew his way around a dangerous situation. When Ares approached the medical technician about being part of Team Stealth, he wasn’t done in the military, but he couldn’t ignore the offer they made him and recruited him to the private sector.
“It’s a plane ride,” Ares said.
Gabe pulled a face and Xander smiled to himself, knowing it wasn’t his favourite.
Erik Knight sauntered into the office, a brick wall of a man, and walked over to stand with his back to the windows. He was a valued person on the team—when they didn’t hate on him.
“Morning Erik,” Ares said.
Erik gave them a crisp nod. Xander depended on Erik for anything that required discretion because the man could blend in seamlessly with any crowd and he knew a thousand different ways to get the scoop on someone.
“Hey, all,” Logan said, flashing his buddies a smile and fist-bumping them as if his feathers hadn’t been ruffled a moment before.
Damn it, that’s what made Marrock so likeable.
Looking out of his office, he caught Harper taking off her jacket and hanging it in the closet. Logan caught his eye and looked away. Damn, he wished she hadn’t told Logan anything. “Just waiting on Meg to get started,” Xander said.
