“Okay, I will be in soon, sir. Give me a bit to get around. See you soon.” He hangs up the phone after saying goodbye.
I roll over in bed and give my black cat, Midnight, his morning scratches. He is curled up at the end of the bed by the window. His fur is shining in the early morning sunlight coming through the window.
“Good morning, my sweet boy.” I lean down to give him soft kisses on the top of his head.
Finally deciding to climb my ass out of bed, I head to the bathroom to get myself cleaned up. Splashing my face with cool water and lathering up my cleanser to wash my face. Taking a few moments to apply my skin care before brushing my teeth and running a brush through my long black locks. Throwing on a pair of black leggings and a t-shirt before tying my tennis shoes on my feet. I fill up my water bottle and grab my crossbody purse before running out the door.
The sun is shining through my windshield. It is a warm morning in downtown Detroit for early October, so I am driving around with my windows down. The song “The Tigers Won Again” by Gmac Cash is blaring through my speakers, celebrating yet another Detroit Tigers win.
Trying to find parking in town is going to be a nightmare before getting to the precinct, but there was no way I wasn’t getting my caffeine fix. I had to leave my apartment in a hurry and didn’t make my own coffee.
The Tigers just secured a home playoff game for the first time in a decade, and I know this town will be full of all kinds of celebrations in a few days, and Cap is going to want to get security situated as soon as possible. The state is going crazy, and we need to be prepared.
Pulling up alongside the road in my electric blue SUV, I park outside my favorite coffee shop. This is a little hole in the wall joint called Down Under Coffee. It’s a bright space for being located in the basement; not only is the name a play on words but also because it carries an Australian theme. This coffee shop is always a must stop on my way to these dang security meetings. One thing I will say, Detroit fans are always loyal to their teams, and when they do well, this town turns into a riot in the best way.
“Good morning, Nyx,” Niko, behind the counter, calls as I come into view. “Do you want the usual this morning?” Niko is almost always working when I come in, so it is not surprising that he knows my go-to is a macchiato. Niko is an adorable early twenties guy, with shaggy sandy blonde hair, and his skin has a beach glow to it all year long. He always looks like he’s stepped right off the Gold Coast itself.
“Good morning, Niko! My usual would be amazing; I need all the caffeine I can stomach. Are you ready for the entire state of Michigan to descend on District Detroit while everyone celebrates?” I chuckle. We act like we aren’t just as pumped for Detroit sports to finally be a thing to be excited about again. I am secretly hoping I get placed somewhere I can keep an eye on the game myself. I am a sucker for a good baseball game!
“Hell ya! Let’s go Tigers!” He whispers screams with the brightest smile on his face. He puts the lid on the disposable cup with the sleeve and slides it over the counter to me. “Have fun keeping the city safe, Nyx.” Grabbing my lifeblood off the counter, I quickly go to head up the stairs knowing that if I don’t hurry up the vein on Captain Montgomery’s forehead will start pulsing. I spin around quickly to make for the stairs to head back up to the ground level when I run into a brick wall of a delicious smelling man. I bounce off his perfectly sculpted chest being shown off by the tight t-shirt he is wearing. The only thing savingmy ass from meeting the tile floor is his hands snapping out to steady me.
“Woah,” he murmurs. “Watch where you’re going, Little Witch.” My brow furrows, confused by the nickname. While my hair is currently cascading down my back in dark waves, and my skin does not cling to an ounce of color outside of lobster or Casper the Friendly Ghost; I don’t understand the nickname. Dragging my gaze up his body to take in his Norse God-like face. His skin, sun-kissed just enough to make him look like he glows from within, a hint of dirty blonde scruff lines his sharp jawline, and the brightest blue eyes I think I have ever seen in my life.
“Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry. Thank you so much for stopping me from falling flat on my ass.” I blush slightly, embarrassed by my sheer lack of awareness.
“It is not a problem. A beautiful woman like yourself can run into me anytime.” His smirk makes my blush darken as I lower my gaze. “How ‘bout you make it up to me and sit and have a coffee with me?” Suddenly his phone starts ringing loudly, the “Halls of Montezuma” coming from the phone speakers. “One second, Little Witch, I need to answer this.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket while moving off to the side of the coffee shop to take his call.
I take this moment to sneak out of the shop while he’s distracted. I need to get to the precinct and help Cap come up with a plan. The first game here is in a few days, and we need to ensure that security is top notch. I exit the building and hurry over to my SUV, plug my phone in to start my audiobook and make my way towards work for the day. I try not to think about the golden god who just stopped me from falling on my ass. Reminding myself that my book boyfriends are always the safer bet.Boy, did Nick do a number on me!
CHAPTER 2
GRAHAM
Damn it, Demitri. The asshole needed to interrupt me when my Little Witch, wait a minute I don’t even know this woman’s name, she isn’t “MY” anything. She may have smelled like coffee and spice and had the most gorgeous warm hazel eyes I have ever seen in my life, but I cannot claim someone I do not know.
Demitri and I run Devil Dog Security, a private security company. The city likes to call us in when they need extra personnel or additional skills that they may not have on staff. We have served more than enough years in the United States Marine Corps as snipers and have a team of roughly 15 other veterans that can also be called in, depending on the size of the job.
“What the fuck do you want, Meadows?” I snap when I answer his call.
“Good morning to you too, Sunshine!” He snips back at me. “Captain Montgomery wants our help for the playoff game in a few days. What crawled up your ass and died this morning, Hutch?”
“Well, I haven’t had a single drop of caffeine yet this morning; I was in the middle of trying to ask the most beautiful girl in the world out to dinner when my annoying best friend decided he needed my attention more. So you tell me, Demitri, why do you think I am so crabby?” I take a deep breath before I let my temper get the best of me. He knew I rushed out of the house first thing this morning to go handle some tech stuff that popped up overnight. I am more of the technical talent in this duo, but I can still handle myself with a gun.
“Sorry, brother, I didn’t mean to interrupt you, but Cap wants us at the shop like yesterday.”
Rolling my eyes, I let him know that I will grab our coffee and be over as soon as I am done here. I turn around from the corner I have been hiding myself in, to look for my Little Witch. She is nowhere to be found. I grind my teeth in frustration and walk up to Niko to give him my order.
“Good morning, Hutch, two coffees, one cream, one sugar in one and two cream in the other right?” This guy is good.
“Do you remember everyone that comes in here, Niko?”
“The regulars. Nyx, the girl that ran into you, comes in everyday, she has a shift or has to run to the shop for something.” Holy shit, I finally have Little Witch’s name. Nyx. I repeat it over in my mind a few times, zoning out. My mind wanders back to those beautiful eyes again.
“Here is your coffee, man.” Snapping my attention back to the present. Niko hands the two cardboard cups over the counter to me.
“Thanks Niko. Have an amazing day!” practically skipping up the stairs now that I know what her name is. I will find her. How hard can it be to find someone named Nyx, in the city of Detroit?Little does she know, she has the best hacker in the city on her trail.
CHAPTER 3
