Hannah…
For sixteen years, he hadn’t given her more than a passing thought. Then she’d popped back into his life and he’d thought of little else since.
He wanted to blame that on the surprising speed with which she’d then adiosed herself right backoutof his life. But that was a lie. The dreams he’d been havingprovedthat was a lie.
Dreams he made himself forget the moment he woke up.
“And speakin’ of missions.” Fisher swung back to Eliza and distracted Sam from his thoughts. “I got one for ya.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper, handing it over with a flourish.
After giving him a critical look, BKI’s girl Friday unfolded the note. “This is a grocery list.” Her tone was the same one she might’ve used had she said,“I just stepped in dog shit.”
“You know I’m not allowed inside Costco. I’ll come out with six new shirts, a television we don’t need, and a rotisserie chicken you’ll turn your nose up at and feed to the cat.”
“Beer, alpha whiskey,” Eliza read aloud from the list, not batting a lash at Fisher’s use of military slang when referring to toilet paper.“Hot dogs, hot sauce, potato chips, Twinkies. More beer.” She lifted an eyebrow.
Fisher made a face. “If it’s nice, buy it twice.”
“Except for the beer, you have the palate of a thirteen-year-old boy. You realize that, right?”
Fisher shrugged. “I don’t know. I liked beer at thirteen too.”
“That explains a lot. Specifically your chronic case of immaturity. Your developing brain was stunted by alcohol consumption, you poor thing.”
“Why are ya always bustin’ my balls?” Despite his words, Fisher’s grin was good-natured.
“Uh, maybe because you whip them out so often? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I could’ve sworn I saw a redhead slinking through the front gates this morning. I thought we agreed it’s too much of a security risk to bring our dates back here. Or, in your case, your latest one-night stand.” Cocking her head, she eyed Fisher up and down. “Surely you can do your business elsewhere. I mean, a guy like you must have a standing reservation at some off-brand motel of the no tell ilk.”
“First of all, what do ya meana guy like me? What kind of guy do ya think I am?”
“The kind who probably has half a dozen sex trophies running around with his hazel eyes and Tom Hardy mouth.”
“Please,” Fisher scoffed. “Give me some credit. I know how to use a condom.”
“Which are only ninety-eight percent effective at preventing pregnancy. At the rate you’ve gone, you’re bound to have run up against the short side of that statistic a time or two.”
“At the rate I’ve gone?” Fisher pretended offense. “Are ya callin’ me a slut?”
She shrugged, her button-down shirt looking as freshly starched at the end of the day as it had at the beginning. That was one of the wonders of Eliza Meadows. She always looked the picture of perfection. Not a hair out of place. Not a wrinkle to be found. “If the shoe fits, wear it,” she declared. “What’s the second thing?”
“Huh?” Fisher scowled.
“You saidfirst of allwhich leads me to believe there was a second of all coming.”
“Oh. Right. Second of all, I didn’t bring herhere.” Fisher waved a hand to indicate the three-story factory building housing the world-renowned custom motorcycle shop that provided the cover for the true work of Black Knights Inc. “I took her out to the cottage.” He gestured toward the two giant garage doors that opened to the outside where a ten-foot-tall brick wall topped by razor wire enclosed a two-acre plot of land that included the old factory building, various outbuildings, and the little stone cottage that’d been home to the foreman’s family back when the place had been making menthol cigarettes instead of badass bikes.
Eliza’s lips twisted. “That’s splitting hairs and you know it. Besides, I would’ve thought after the close call you just had you’d take at leastonenight off.”
She was referring to their most recent mission to South America. They’d helped Colombian forces take out a cartel leader who’d been systematically maiming and killing the locals who’d refused to fall in line with his brutal authoritarian tactics.
Unfortunately, the intel the Knights had received about the job had been bad. Instead of the kingpin having fifteen guards roving his compound, he’d had nearly fifty.
The ensuing firefight had lasted half the night. And near the end of the siege, a bullet had grazed Fisher’s hip, barely missing his favorite body part.
“It wasbecauseof that close call that I was so quick to hop back in the saddle.” Fisher dipped his chin. “When you’re two inches away from losin’ your best feature, ya come to appreciate it that much more.”
Eliza rolled her eyes. “If you have nothing else, Fish, at least I can always count on you to have the audacity.”
“Thanks, doll face.”
