“No fighting, boys.” Kole raised his brows. “Sarah’s only rule for today.”
“Only one? I’m sure there are plenty of other ways we could cause a ruckus.”
Kole shook his head at Nate. “You do, you’re gonna have to deal with my fiancée.”
Nate considered this a moment, then sat back and relaxed. “No, thanks. I’ve seen her when she gets pissed.”
“Right? That woman is a force to be reckoned with, for sure. Luckily, I don’t usually see that side of her unless I’m watching her try a case in court.” With a wink, Kole walked back over to flip the burgers and brats.
Nate smiled back at him, but his eyes soon became glued on the woman on the other side of the glass door. He could see Gracie moving gracefully around the kitchen as she helped Sarah get everything ready. Matt, the fucker, had just said something that made her laugh.
The same, unfamiliar feeling returned from before, only this time it was stronger. Wilder.
The longer Nate continued to watch Matt talking and laughing Gracie, the less he could deny what it was.
He was jealous.
Out of nowhere, Nate pictured himself standing up, storming into the kitchen, and pounding the shit out of his teammate.
Whoa. Where the fuck did that come from?
Nate shook his head and looked away from the door. Maybe Matt was right. Maybe he just needed to get laid.
After the thing here was over, Nate decided he’d go back to Bucky’s—the country bar and dance hall they’d all gone to the night before. He’d see if he could find the woman from last night and try to sweet talk his way back into her bedroom.
If that didn’t work, he’d surely findsomeonehalf-way decent who’d be willing to take him home for the night. Or at least to his truck for a quick one-off.
For the rest of the afternoon, Nate and the others ate and shared a few drinks. When it began to get dark, the temperature dropped and a cool breeze came rolling through. They all moved their chairs around the stone fire pit Nate had helped Kole build a few weeks back.
There was a lot of laughing when the guys began telling Sarah and Gracie a few funny stories. They talked about their time spent training together when Bravo was first formed and some jobs they’d been on since.
They didn’t share details, of course. Their jobs—especially those they did for Homeland Security—were highly classified. Only those with a certain level of government clearance could be read in on the specifics.
Thanks to her former position with the NSA, Gracie held almost as high a clearance as Nate and the rest of Bravo Team. He was still shocked she’d given up a job like that for what basically amounted to an office manager’s position in their company.
“I can’t believe you left a job with the NSA to come work for R.I.S.C.,” Matt said bluntly, mimicking Nate’s most recent thoughts.
Gracie simply shrugged. “Trust me, my job in Maryland wasn’t very exciting. Plus, I wanted to be closer to Sarah and Kole. I love what R.I.S.C. does, and even though it’s only been a week, I can already tell Mr. McQueen is a much better boss to work for than my last one.”
“Yeah, Jake’s awesome,” Matt agreed. The other men all nodded their heads, as well.
“The entire Alpha Team is, really,” Zade added in his thoughts.
“They’re right, Gracie,” Nate joined in on the conversation. “You won’t find a more supportive, respectable boss. As long as you show up and do your job to the best of your ability, McQueen will have your back one hundred percent.”
Gracie’s perfect, bow-shaped lips turned upward. “That’s the impression I got when I spoke to him on the phone that first time. And he was so nice when Sarah introduced us in person my first day in Dallas last week. Your team was in Mexico then, right? Working a human trafficking case?”
“We were,” Nate answered, not surprised she’d been apprised of what the team was working on at the time.
Gracie’s brown brows turned inward. “It’s so scary how easily young girls and women can find themselves caught up in all that.”
“Not just girls, either.”
They all turned to Gabe, who’d been sitting quietly and listening for most of the evening.
“The number of young boys who are taken and sold gets higher and higher every day.” He shook his head, a muscle in his jaw bulging. “Sick bastards.”
“Sick is right,” Matt chimed in. “The things these monsters do…seeing shit like that almost makes you lose your faith in humanity.
