Like his friend’s brother, Matt grew up thinking he wanted to be a pilot. That all changed the night his dad got wasted and fell through their glass patio door.
Matt was home and came running when he heard the loud crash. Glass was everywhere, and his dad’s leg was bleeding profusely.
Thankfully, the idiot was too out of it to fight Matt when he told him to stay still. After calling 911, Matt went to the drawer by the sink, grabbed a couple clean dishtowels, and made a homemade tourniquet by tying the ends of the towels together and wrapping it around his dad’s leg.
When the medics arrived, they asked who had done it. Only thirteen at the time, Matt was afraid to answer, thinking he’d done something wrong. Instead he was shocked when the guy told him he’d saved his dad’s life.
Funny thing was, he hadn’t even thought about what he was doing. He’d just acted. Which was what he’d told the paramedic that day. The older man smiled and said something that would change Matt’s life forever.
Son, that was a very smart and brave thing you did. Not many adults would’ve handled themselves that well. You get older, you should think about a career in emergency medicine.
Rather than choose, Matt decided to combine the two and become a Navy corpsman. By the time he was twenty-three, he’d gotten a bachelor’s degree in nursing on the government’s dime, allowing him to become an officer.
After that, Matt continued to work his ass off, pushing himself harder than most, earning several Atta-boy’s and even more documented commendations. His performance both in and out of the field caught the attention of several higher-ups…as well as Jake McQueen’s.
Working alongside the legendary former Delta Force operator and the other members of R.I.S.C. was like a dream come true. He’d heard enough to know McQueen only hired the best, so when he asked Matt to join the new Bravo Team Jake was putting together, Matt hadn’t had to think about it.
Now he got to do pretty much the same thing he did in the military, without all the side-stepping bullshit that came with being under Uncle Sam’s thumb. For the first time in a very long time, Matt finally felt as though he’d made it.
A shrink would probably tell him his overzealous need to succeed was a bigfuck youto his dad. They’d be partially right, but his dad wasn’t the only one who thought Matt wasn’t good enough.
Nope. Not going there.
Shaking those thoughts away, he took a sip of the same whiskey he’d been nursing since he sat down half an hour ago. He was about to say screw it and call it a night when an attractive blonde sauntered her way over to him.
“Hey, handsome.” She smiled, her perfect teeth framed by a set of bright red lips.
Normally this would be the part where his dick would stand up and take notice, but once again, the fucker was asleep on the job.
“Hi,” Matt muttered back with a forced smile.
The woman got even closer. “I couldn’t help but notice you’ve been sittin’ here alone for quite a while. Thought maybe you could use some company. Mind if I sit?”
When the exaggeratedly obvious woman tilted her head to the empty bar seat to his right, Matt felt he had no choice but to say, “Sure.”
“Good.” The blonde’s smile grew wider. She sat down, the action causing her already-short skirt to slide up even more. Licking her lips seductively, she said, “You know, you’re awfully cute. Way too cute to be alone. Where’s your girlfriend?”
He should’ve said he was waiting for her to meet him here. Instead he heard himself say, “No girlfriend.”
Her blue eyes brightened at that. “Really?” She leaned forward, resting her hand on his denim-covered thigh. Running her palm slowly up his leg, she licked her lips again.
“What do you say we find someplace a little quieter?”
Jesus.He hoped like hell he didn’t come off this desperate when he hit on women.
With her fingertips precariously close to his still-not-hard dick, Matt scrambled to come up with an excuse to get him the hell out of there when his phone screen lit up and began vibrating across the top of the wooden bar.
Relieved to see the name of the caller, Matt abruptly stood, the woman’s hand falling as he blurted, “It’s my boss. Sorry, but I have to go.”
Ignoring the pouty look on her face—and the fact that Gabe wasn’t technically his boss—he spun on his heels and quickly made his way to the door. The second he stepped onto the sidewalk, Matt answered the call.
“Turner.”
“I was about to hang up,” his team leader quipped. “Is this a bad time?”
Not even close.Matt checked for traffic and started walking across the street to the pothole-infested parking lot. “Nah. I’m heading home. What’s up?”
“Jake called. He wants us in the office at oh eight hundred.”
