“Did you know?” Matt asked Jake.
“Know what?”
Because this man was his boss and he respected the hell out of him, Matt resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Did you know Kat and I used to date? I’m the only one you took into your office earlier, so I assume you did.”
Sighing, Jake sat back down. “Ryker contacted me late last night. Told me he referred a woman named Katherine to us. He didn’t give me a ton of specifics, only that she was a scientist working on a top-secret project for the military, and she felt she was in danger because of it. As soon as we got off the phone, I looked her up. Saw she grew up in the same town you did, I figured there was a good chance you knew each other. I took you to my office because I wanted to see if you did, in fact, know her. If you did, I wanted to gauge how well the two of you got along.”
“Ryker referred her?” Matt felt his brows raise. “How the hell does she know him?”
Jason Ryker was R.I.S.C.’s Homeland Security Handler. He ran a special division within the agency, and sometimes hired both Alpha and Bravo teams to either assist or fully execute sensitive jobs.
The guy was like a fucking ghost. Everywhere and nowhere, all at the same time.
“Jason said Kat’s father contacted him because he was concerned for her safety and wanted advice. Ryker suggested she come here.”
“Hold up.Kat’sdadis friends with Jason Ryker?” Falling back in his chair, Matt linked his hands behind his head and laughed. “Oh, man. This shit keeps getting better and better.”
“Then you’re probably going to love this next part.”
“There’s more?” Matt wasn’t sure he could take it.
Jake nodded. “I’m assigning you to be Kat’s protection detail.”
He stared at Jake, waiting for the ‘gotcha’ to come. It never did.
And the hits just keep on coming.
Matt didn’t know who he’d pissed off, but goddamn. He must’ve done a bang-up fucking job to deserve this shit.
“Boss, that’s a terrible idea.”
And understatement of the fucking year goes to…
“You might be right. But Ryker thinks this is our best shot, and I happen to agree.”
“Best shot at what?” Matt looked back at the other man as if he’d lost his damn mind. “Killing each other?”
“You two have a history. I get it.”
“All due respect, Boss. You don’t.”
Jake studied him a few seconds before nodding. “Fair enough. But this isn’t about you. It’s about finding out who put the target on Kat’s back.”
“I get that, but I really think it’s in everyone’s best interest if someone else took this on.”
Jake hesitated a half second before dropping yet another bomb. “You brought up the possibility that Kat was involved.”
Shit. “I was just…” Matt tried to figure out the best way to say it.
One of the guy’s dark brows rose with a knowing smile. “Trying to piss her off so she’d leave?”
Matt sighed before admitting to his boss, “Yeah. I was.”
“Well, Ryker is wondering the same thing. We’re certain Kat has a target on her back. Question is, is it because someone knows she’s the key to getting the formula, or is it because they’ve given up on the idea and want to get rid of the final loose end? Personally, I think she’s telling the truth.”
There was a time Matt would’ve died to defend her honor. The only thing he said was, “But?”
“Ryker wants to be sure.”
