Page 41 of Armed ’N’ Ready

“Nick!”

Taking up every inch of the front doorway were his best friends. He’d all but forgotten they were coming into town to supplement security at the Northeast Expo.

“Sonofabitch,” he muttered as the entire crew surged to the bar. He hoped Eric had filled them in that he was quasi-undercover. Customers—particularly women—were beginning to stare at the boisterous bunch.

“I take it these are friends of yours?” Andi watched as they clapped Eric on the back, then took up surrounding stools.

“Sadly, yes.” In reality, he was always glad to see them.

She leaned in. “They’re police, too?”

He nodded. “Police or federal agents.”

“Wonderful.” She pasted on a sarcastic smile. “A bar full of cops and feds. Did you call in backup to make sure I don’t run off to meet Joe in Canada?”

He looked down and spoke the truth. “I never thought you’d do that. Despite what you think, I trust you to see this through.”

For a moment she looked at him with disbelief, then her eyes softened. “Thank you.”

Those two little words caused something inside him to shift, altering his perspective and forcing him to take a virtual step back. They’d come to a crossroads, where his personal and professional lanes intersected. Exercising caution was the paramount tenet of police training, so as he stood there, gazing down into her clear blue eyes, he was frozen in time and place, assessing and reassessing.

Questions and concerns jabbed at his brain and his memory, and when forced to make a choice, he honestly didn’t know which way he’d turn. “You’re welcome,” he said finally, and was rewarded with the second genuine smile he’d ever seen on her face. One that had his gut twisting with the need to kiss her. For real, this time.

Matt was the first to extend his hand. “Good to see you, Nick.”

He took Matt’s hand, shaking it firmly. He’d walk through fire for any of his friends, but he and Matt knew each other’s shit like nobody’s business. “How’s Trista?”

At the mention of his wife, Matt grinned like an idiot. “She’s good.”

A year ago, Matt had married a CIA analyst he’d fallen crazy-ass in love with. Nick had stood up for him at the wedding. Since then, he’d come to cherish his friendship with Matt’s new wife almost as much as he valued Matt’s. He still got a kick out of how a five-foot-one-inch sprite had tamed his best friend. Matt was over a foot taller than Trista, but he was a doting pile of mush where his wife was concerned.

“This is Matt Connors.” He rested his hand at Andi’s back, urging her closer to the bar. For a moment, she stiffened at his touch. Then, unless he was imagining it, she actually leaned back, increasing the contact. And damned if he didn’t keep his hand right where it was.

“How do you do.” She reached out to shake hands with Matt.

He went down the line, introducing Kade Sampson and Dayne Andrews next. Despite being the DHS’s toughest K-9 cop, Kade’s dimpled smile never failed to win over the ladies. Dayne’s ruggedness and intense green eyes drew women like flies, but he remained his usual, reticent self.

As Andi shook hands with Markus York, Nick eyed the grisly scar over his friend’s left eye. Markus had gotten into some kind of scuffle a few months back but wouldn’t talk about it. Since he’d been wounded, his friend’s obsidian eyes seemed darker than ever.

“And this,” he said as he stopped in front of the man whose cocky grin and swagger were a source of never-ending amusement, “is Jaime Pataglia.”

When Andi held out her hand, Jaime clasped it, then pressed his lips to her fingers. She grinned, and Nick ground his teeth, shooting Jaime a look that said it all. Back the fuck off. He knew his friend didn’t mean anything by the overtly flirtatious display. Hardly. Jaime’s excessively friendly manner was a time-perfected cover for some seriously heavy baggage the man had been carrying around for years.

“Romeo”—Eric dropped a hand on Jaime’s shoulder and tugged him back onto the barstool—“I think the lady’s had enough of your smoochy city ways.” He shot the other man a warning look.

Somehow, Eric had known exactly what Nick had been thinking—that if Jaime didn’t get his lips off Andi’s fingers, he might have to take him out back and beat some sense into him.

Nick had no business going all Neanderthal-possessive on Andi. They’d almost kissed. Big deal. That didn’t make her his. And Jaime was his friend, for fuck’s sake.

But I want her.

That was the thought hammering in his brain as he watched her blush and take back her hand. The realization sent his possessive thoughts into overdrive, and he resisted his caveman need to brand her lips with his right then and there in front of his friends and everyone else in the restaurant.

“Gentlemen, it’s been a pleasure.” She glanced to the front door where Tess was playing hostess. The place was brimming with people trying to get in for the show. “I’d better get back to work.”

He tracked her as she joined Tess at the front door. When he turned back to his friends, Matt chuckled. Eric and Jaime grinned. Dayne, Markus, and Kade rolled their eyes.

“Fuck all of you,” Nick said as he went back behind the bar to pour his friends beers. Laughter followed him every step of the way.