BODY SEARCH
Whit Baker was itching to get back into the field after a mission gone wrong. The security expert wasn’t a fan of pushing papers behind a desk, and he wasn’t looking forward to the vacation time his boss forced on him. But his trip back home put him in the right place at the right time to save a gorgeous wildlife photographer.
With as much experience as Victoria Ashe had in the wilderness, she never expected to need a search-and-rescue team. But she also never thought she’d be hunted by a bunch of bad guys who were after the cargo from a crashed plane. Luckily, Whit knew what the real treasure was—her.
1
WHIT
Paperwork was my least favorite part of my job, and that was all I’d been doing lately. I hadn’t joined Kane Security to spend my days dotting i’s and crossing t’s. I was a man of action, and time spent at my desk felt like a waste to me—something my coworkers were well aware of with how often I’d bitched at being sidelined for so long. So when Devon walked into my office with a folder and plopped it down in front of me with a grin before dropping down onto one of the chairs across from me, I was sorely tempted to jump over my desk and nail him with a right hook straight to the jaw. The only thing stopping me was the knowledge that I’d pay for the action later with pain.
Devon was perceptive as fuck, which meant he deliberately chose to ignore all the visible signs that I was pissed when he said, “Since you’re not busy, I figured you could finish an end-of-mission report for me.”
“Fuck off,” I grunted as I shoved the folder off my desk and onto his lap.
He flashed me a grin, completely unbothered by my response, but that didn’t stop him from yanking my chain somemore. “C’mon, don’t be so cranky. Did you forget to take a pill this morning or something?”
Devon and I had known each other for years. We’d served a couple of tours together in the Army and worked together at Kane Security for a long time. The decision to join Brecken when he launched his firm had been easy for me since we’d met at boot camp and decided not to re-up at the same time. Eight years of active duty together had forged an unbreakable bond between us, so it hadn’t been a surprise when Brecken had asked me to be his right-hand man. “Cut the shit before I decide to write you up for insubordination.”
My threat didn’t faze him in the least. He just snorted and shook his head. “If you were going to go on a power trip with me, you would’ve done it years ago. It’s not as though I haven’t given you plenty of reasons in all the time we’ve worked together.”
I couldn’t argue with his logic. Devon was a great guy, but he could be a royal pain in the ass at times. He’d mellowed out quite a bit over the past year, though. Being loved up tended to have that effect on my closest friends, badasses who’d found their softer side as they fell hard and fast when they found the person they were meant to be with. Leaving me as the awkward seventh wheel when we all got together since I was the only one left who was still flying solo. Which hadn’t bothered me much until I’d found myself sidelined at work. “Maybe I was just waiting for the perfect moment to drop the hammer on you.”
“I wouldn’t put it past you.” He chuckled softly. “You can be a sneaky bastard when it’s warranted.”
I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest. “Like when I’m cranky?”
“Damn, you got me there.” He slapped his knee with the folder before standing. “But I guess that’s what I get for pushing your buttons instead of just telling you that Brecken needs to talk to you.”
I glanced at my phone, which hadn’t rung a single time since I’d been in the office. “I don’t have any messages from him.”
“We just wrapped up a debrief, so I offered to pop in and let you know since I was going to be walking past your door anyway,” he explained with a shrug.
“Thanks.” I stood and rounded my desk. “I guess I’d better go see what the boss man wants.”
“Good luck,” he muttered.
I wondered about his serious tone, but he didn’t give me the chance to ask him what was going on before he ducked into his office next door. Steeling myself for bad news, I strode toward the huge corner office Brecken used. The door was open, and I rapped my knuckles against the hard surface before striding inside. He glanced up, his dark gaze following me as I crossed the room and dropped onto one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Devon said you needed to talk to me.”
“Yup.” He leaned his forearms on the top of his desk and sighed. “There’s no easy way to say this, Whit.”
“You’ve never bothered pussyfooting around me before. Don’t start now. Just spit it out,” I urged as I mentally braced myself for the worst.
He gave me a sharp nod. “I think you came back to work too soon. You have a fuck ton of time off banked, and I want you to use at least two weeks of it.”
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it definitely wasn’t that he was going to force me to take a vacation. “What?”
He leaned back in his chair and sighed again. “Let me put it in a way that you’re sure to comprehend. I don’t want to see your ugly mug around here for two weeks.”
“Fuck you,” I huffed. “I understood what you were saying. I just don’t get why you’re making such a big deal about me taking some time off.”
His gaze dropped to my midsection, and he quirked a dark brow. “Really? I thought it would’ve been obvious.”
“I’m fine, dammit. There’s no reason for you to kick me out of the office. Especially not for so long,” I grumbled, stretching my legs out in an attempt to get comfortable. The pull in my side made it nearly impossible, and I pressed my lips together to hold back a groan. I refused to give him more ammunition to use against me when I was still hoping he’d take pity on me and change his mind.
Brecken shook his head and chuckled. “Take it up with human resources. I doubt they’ll think I’m the world’s worst boss for making you take some R&R after you were shot on the job.”
Normally, I would've been thrilled to get some extra paid time off, but I was chomping at the bit to get back into the thick of things. “I was already out for ten days, and I’ve been riding a damn desk ever since I got back.”
