Son of a…
In one swift move, he removed the one hand from her panties and the other from her breast. Pushing himself up and over, he hopped down from the bed on his way to grab his gun.
“Where are you going?” Shadow threw off the covers and stood beside her bed.
He picked up his pistol from the nightstand, not bothering to check for a full mag or one in the chamber. That had already been previously confirmed.
“That was out back,” he answered on his way to her door. Without looking back, he ordered a gruff, “Stay here. Lock the door, and don’t open it for anyone but me.”
“Slade, wait—” she called after him as he exited the room.
But he ignored her and shut the door, hoping like hell she did as she was told.
His mind raced as he ran down the stairs wearing nothing but his boxers and carrying his gun. It was implausible to think that anyone outside the team knew they were there. But this was Shadow, so he wasn’t about to risk her safety by making a dumbass assumption.
He quickly disarmed the security system, the ear-piercing alarm cutting off as he opened the cabin’s front door. It was the middle of the night, but the exterior lights were all motion activated, so when he stepped out onto the porch, everything within his immediate area was within view.
Thankful for its automatic lock system, Slade shut the door and moved as he’d trained, his eyes sweeping back and forth with efficiency and ease. Seeing nothing but the shadows of slightly blowing trees, he followed the same path he had before and went to his right.
The noise he’d heard while he and Shadow were in the midst of a hot and heavy make-out session had sounded as if it had come from around back. The grass was cold beneath his bare feet, his steps purposeful and silent as he followed the structure’s southernmost wall.
Slade stopped and waited before rounding the corner. Gun in hand, he took in a deep breath, steadying his weapon and preparing himself for whatever he may find.
With his weapon held tightly out in front of his near-naked body, he rounded the corner just as he had countless times with his team in the field. The lights mounted near each corner of the roof’s guttered edge illuminated the back patio and beyond.
It took mere seconds for him to assess the situation, and he soon realized there was no actual threat. Not to Shadow, at least. But the two metal trash cans that had been positioned up against the wall, well…
Those were a different story.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Slade watched as two round-bellied raccoons scurried away from the overturned cans. They were empty, but their scent had apparently piqued the animals’ interest enough for them to have wanted to investigate further.
He stormed across the grouted pavers and righted the cans with his left hand while still holding his gun at his side. With their lids re-secured, he continued checking the rest of the area, because again, the woman inside wasn’t one he was willing to risk.
Minutes later, Slade was back inside and the security system was once again reactivated. Heading straight upstairs, he didn’t stop until he got to Shadow’s bedroom. And when he tried opening the door, he was pleased to find it locked.
“It’s me,” he announced after tapping his knuckles against the smooth wood.
The sound of soft footfalls reached him seconds before she unlocked it, and her gorgeous face appeared.
“You just let two masked intruders walk away?” She stared up at him with a teasing smirk and a light click of her tongue. “My father is not going to be happy.”
“Very funny.” He made no move to re-enter the room. “I take it you were watching out the window?”
“Computer, actually.” Shadow slid to the side, revealing an open laptop resting in the middle of the bed. “I hacked into the cabin’s security feed the second you left. I could see the adorable creatures before you even made it outside.”
“You didn’t think to tell me?”
“And miss all the fun?”
Digger scowled, but he was more upset with himself than with her.Heshould’ve thought to check the feed before storming off half-naked into the dead of night.
You didn’t think about it because you were too busy focusing on other things. Namely the woman standing less than a foot away in nothing but a thin tank-top and barely-there panties.
His inner voice was right. He hadn’t thought things through as clearly as he should have because he’d done something he never did on a job…
I got distracted.
