Rob just had no interest in pursuing a relationship.He had been given a second chance to serve in the military as part of a secret group stationed here in Vegas.
Colonel Weber had orchestrated their group when he’d realized the potential of medically discharged soldiers still serving their country, just on a different battlefield.They did covert operations that weren’t sanctioned by the government.He and his team were disposable if they were ever caught.It was a risk he and his teammates all willingly took to serve their country again.
They had been doing it for about five years now.All had been approached and recruited by Nick Weber himself.All of his teammates were from different branches: Army, Navy, Marines.They’d all had different combat experiences, yet they all got along.For the most part.There was still ribbing about which branch was better.
But they all came together with the same goal.Serving their country and proving they still could even with a few missing limbs.Except for him and their leader, Luke.He had lost vision in his eye and partial hearing in his ear.Everyone else was missing arms or legs.
“June,” Rob whispered, shaking her lightly.
He tried not to notice the sweet floral scent coming from her hair.It smelled like jasmine.Something he wouldn’t have noticed a year ago, but two of his teammates had women in their lives and wore perfume or tried feminizing their workspace with female scents.
All the guys hated it, yet no one said anything to their faces.He was convinced the women did it just to torture them.
“June, come on.Wake up.”He tapped her cheek softly.
Her eyes fluttered behind her eyelids before opening.He braced himself for screaming or any kind of hysterics, but her eyes just looked around before settling on him.“What happened?”
“You fainted,” he explained.
“Oh,” she said looking crestfallen.“Well, that’s not very dignifying, is it?”She braced her hands on his arms as she pulled herself up to standing.She stepped back, and Rob reluctantly let go of her.His arms tingled from where she’d held him.He barely resisted the urge to touch where she had touched him.
“Are you alright?”he asked, focusing on the matter at hand.
“I am, thanks to you.”Rob had been thanked many times over the years, so he wasn’t a stranger to it.“I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come along.Well, I had an idea of punching him in his—” June’s eyes widened in shock at what she almost said.“Um…private area, but you came before that could happen.”
Rob’s lip twitched in humor.“Glad I could be there to prevent that.”He would have paid to watch her do it, but seeing her pinned like that, he had reacted before thinking.
June looked toward the street, her hands wringing in nervousness.Was he making her nervous?Shit, he should have thought about that after what just happened.
He instantly took a step back, so she didn’t feel crowded.
“Well, I should get going.Thank you again.”June moved to walk by him.
“Do you want me to walk you?”he blurted out.
She opened her mouth to answer and just stood there like that for a moment.He could practically hear her mind at work.
“Just to make sure you get to your destination.I doubt you’ll see that guy again, but just to be safe,” he offered so she didn’t think it was for any other reason than to protect her.
June smiled, and Rob felt his insides flip.“I’d appreciate that.”
He waved toward the alley opening, his other hand behind his back.“Where are we headed?”he asked, following behind her until they could walk side by side on the sidewalk.
“The parking garage.It’s just a block up.”She pointed ahead of them.
“Where were you coming from?”
“Sandy’s, it’s a bar a block behind us.My friends and I meet up there after work every Friday.”
“What do they do for work?”
“What is this, an interrogation?”She didn’t sound irritated, only curious.
“I’m just curious to know more about you.”He had seen her many times but didn’t know anything about her other than she worked as a physical therapist, and also that she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.
“After five years of seeing each other in the hallway and only saying hi, now you want to know about me?”
Well, when she put it that way…
