“Not that anyone knows about.”
Dammit all to hell.Franks had gotten his bluff in on her perfectly. She should have thought to do more in depth digging into his past. “Bastard.” She could have used that knowledge for leverage against him.
“Look, knowing that wouldn’t have helped your case. Franks is still where he is for a reason. The higher ups know about his reputation and haven’t cut him yet, they probably wouldn’t for you either.”
K’s matter of fact tone helped calm her down some. She could deal with facts way better than she could deal with emotions. “Let me guess, you know why that is.”
Again with the shrug. “Maybe.”
“You’re starting to piss me off, K.”
“Not my intention at all. I’m just trying to offer a helping hand to one of the most talented and hardworking analysts I know.”
“You’re good at diffusing.” And he was making it hard for her to hold on to her frustration. “It doesn’t really matter anyway. No one will hire me when Franks gets through ruining my rep.” She’d end up as a freaking checker in the grocery store.
“These guys don’t care about him and don’t like the CIA. I promise, if he trashes you, it’ll only make them want you more. Plus, they like me, so they’ll listen if I recommend you.”
She eyed him cautiously. “If they don’t like the CIA, why do they like you?”
“Let’s just say we’ve got a mutual enemy. So, what do you think?”
“Think?” What was she supposed to think? She didn’t know anything about them or what they did. Her entire world had just been turned upside down – she couldn’t think past the next street.
K shifted from his right foot to his left, ignoring the people passing them by. “Look, they’re good guys who do good work. You’d be working with someone who respected you.”
She bit her lip. “I don’t know…”
“It’ll give you some time and cash to figure out what you want to do next. It’s a win – win.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I mean unless you’ve already got something else planned.”
The only thing she had planned was downing the entire bottle of merlot in her apartment and licking her wounds. Her current cash situation would get her through the next six months if she was frugal and she could probably find a job in another state working for a tech company or something.
K was offering her an opportunity to serve and maybe keep her in a field similar to her own. She might not have to startcompletely over. “Any of them chauvinists?”
K grinned. “Nope. Half of them are happily married. I promise, you’ll like them.”
She adjusted her bag on her shoulder and blew a strand of black hair out of her face. “Fine. I’ll do it.”
K rocked up on his toes. “Great, I’ll call Grey and let him know you’re coming to the interview.”
“Interview? I thought you said they needed me for a job.”
“They do. Grey’s just gotta clear you first.”
Chapter 3
Ethan Slade,Sergeant 1stClass of Task Force Scorpion, an ultra-classified unit of the United States Special Forces, downed a gulp of his cowboy cold beer, silently wishing the dive he'd ended up in had invested in a refrigerator that actually kept drinks cold. As it was, his decision to go out with his buddies tonight was starting to look a lot more like a bad idea than he'd originally thought.
After the attack last week on TF-S’s headquarters by their old CIA liaison, Mr. J, his team needed a minute to wind down and get some of the leftover adrenaline out of their veins. Aaron, Riser and Ethan had been the trio who'd decided that going out, slamming back a few and finding a woman was the answer.
“Look, she's still staring at you. Ethan, you need to go talk to her.” Aaron Speirs, TF-S’s medical sergeant and resident jokester, nodded his head toward the bleach blonde a few tables over. To civilians, the trio looked like everyone else. Bearded, regular clothes – they were meant to blend in to any surrounding, but to those who paid closer attention, they might notice the way each man at their table constantly scanned their environment, looking for threats.
Ethan glanced her way. “Not my type.”
Riser Malone, assistant medical sergeant, rolled his eyes, alock of shaggy blond hair fell in his face and he tucked it behind his ear. “You don't have a type other than female.”
“Yeah, I saw you hook up with two chicks in one night,” Aaron chimed in.
That had been a long night and one he never wanted to repeat. The years of deployments and random women to fill the spaces between didn't hold the same appeal anymore and he didn’t know why. Not that he wanted to settle down, he just wanted...something. Something he knew the already-buzzed blonde likely couldn’t provide.
