Chapter 13

Monica followed her GPS to Luke's office while her two bodyguards followed closely behind. After the introduction in the café, she felt much better about having them around. Knowing that someone was watching her every movement wasn't ideal, but she preferred to make the best of the situation. This meant putting her customer service smile on and being nice every time they interacted.

It took her all of two seconds to understand why Luke had sounded disgruntled when Ryker had attempted to charm her. The man was good looking, but he didn't give her the same butterflies that just thinking about Luke caused. Dominic, on the other hand, was more reserved and professional.

Her GPS chimed that she had reached her location. The nondescript building wasn't what she expected. Actually, she wasn't sure what she had been expecting. More windows maybe. Or something that hinted at the company that was supposedly housed inside. Instead, she found a brick building that looked more like a warehouse in the middle of a shopping district. Luke and his friends probably got a killer deal because of that.

A knock on her window pulled her from her musings.

"You planning to sit here all evening or come inside?"

Ryker's lopsided smirk likely made women all over the country swoon. If she hadn't met Luke first, there was a good chance she too would've been enamored by that smile, but alas, she did, so his good looks did nothing for her.

Except cause her to roll her eyes.

"Luke's going to punch that smirk off your face when we walk inside," she told him after throwing the car door open.

"I'm actually looking forward to it."

She would never understand men and their need to prove themselves against other men.

"There might be something wrong with you."

"No might about it," Dominic said, waving her toward the front door. "There absolutely is something wrong with him. Let's get inside."

Ryker's only response to that was to waggle his eyebrows at her. She mentally shook her head. This was going to be interesting.

The inside of the building was nothing like the outside; at least inside there was furniture and paint on the walls. Although technically those walls were also concrete. It made her wonder how old the building was and why such an industrial-style building was located in this neighborhood.

"Kringle Security?" She read the name on the wall aloud. A unique name for a unique building.

"Yeah, there's a story behind our company name."

This time her stomach buzzed; she knew how that voice sounded in the heat of the moment, how it rumbled against her neck and against her apex when his face was buried between her legs.

Monica spun around and found the only man who made her heart speed up.

"You planning on telling me that story or are you going to leave me hanging?"

Today Luke was in jeans and a Henley. It was a sin how well the clothes hugged every part of his body. Was it normal to be jealous of a set of clothing? Because she was. Hands down jealous of a pair of jeans and a shirt.

"It doesn't exactly paint us in the best light."

She thought the clothes he wore turned her on, but it was nothing compared to what the hint of color on his cheeks did to her girly parts. Whatever that story was brought out a blush on the apple of his cheeks.

"Now you have to tell me."

She got comfortable leaning back against the large table. She spent all day in an office chair, so she had no desire to sit again so soon.

"It all started because of one drunken night at a bar."

Monica dropped her head back and barked out a laugh so loud she was sure everyone in the room stopped what they were doing. She couldn't rein it in. That one sentence was just too funny.

"Isn't that always how it goes?"

Tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes, and with the back of her hand, she did her best to wipe them away without destroying her makeup. She had every intention of touching it up before she left the office, but a last-minute phone call threatened to make her late, and she hated to be late.

"Yes, well, I guess you can say we are a cliché, then. We were meeting for our semi-annual get-together. At this point, we had already decided that we were all ready to leave our previous employment and start a security company. We had been jotting down ideas on a bar napkin and Caden mentioned we needed a name. We couldn't agree on anything, so figured the only way to make it fair was to let everyone put their suggestion in a hat and let the bartender pick. Whatever name was pulled would be the one we used no matter what."

"So, who put Kringle into the mix?"

"Who do you think?"

Oh God. She hardly knew anything about any of Luke's friends, but that one question was all the information she needed.

"Ryker," she laughed.

"The one and the same. He figured it would be funny, and since the chances were one in seven, he figured the odds weren't in his favor. Unfortunately, they were."

"And now you fuckers get a kick out of it because people are intrigued, so you're welcome."

She looked around the room, but no one seemed to argue with that fact. She had to admit his explanation had some merit, it was a great conversation starter. Not a company name she would've ever picked, but a conversation starter for sure.

"So why Kringle?" she asked Ryker.

"Because Christmas is the greatest holiday of all time and it was the first Christmas word my drunken brain came up with."

Couldn't fault that logic. She was also a huge Christmas fan, but she could think of a few other words that would've been better, but she was also sober. An advantage Ryker didn't have at the time.

"You mentioned semi-annual get-together. How long have you all known each other?"

"Nearly twenty years." It was Caden who answered. "We were all in the same unit in the Army. Got out at different times but stayed in touch over the years."

Impressive. Not many people could say they knew the same people for twenty years let alone stayed in touch enough to go into business together. That spoke volumes about the level of friendship they had and the trust they all shared.

"What did everyone do when they left the Army?"

She was supposed to be meeting the team and then going for dinner, but she was fascinated by the dynamic of these guys. They reminded her so much of the teams Bentley and Falcon were part of. Dinner could wait a few more minutes.

"FBI," Luke answered first and then the rest just seemed to follow in line.

"CIA." Somehow, she found that strange for Caden. "I stuck to collecting intel," he elaborated. Now that made more sense.

"Secret Service." She wasn't sure who he was, but based on the stern look, she could see how that would fit.

"Stayed in the Army." Dominic's answer was barely audible. Which seemed on course for the man she met earlier in the day. Even his introduction at lunch hadn't been more than just his name. Like he wasn't keen on telling her who he was.

"NYPD." Ryker winked. The man clearly didn't have much thought in self-preservation.

"DEA." Another man she had yet to meet spoke up.

"Marshals Service." Austin was the last one to answer her question as he was the farthest away from the table.

Each one had been polite enough to answer, but most went back to whatever they were doing before she walked in.

"Wow, that's a lot of former government agencies in one room. I've met everyone at one point or another, except Mr. Secret Service and Mr. DEA."

She managed to get a smile out of one of the men. The other one looked like her presence was merely annoying to him.

"Nash was in the DEA and Jayce was Secret Service," Luke helpfully provided.

"Well, it's nice to meet you both."

Nothing seemed to soften Jayce. She would have to make sure to ask Luke about that later. She couldn't imagine she had done anything to offend him but she hated to assume.

"You ready to grab some dinner?"

She was ready to find out what she did to Jayce, so she guessed that was the same thing.

"Yup. Am I riding with you, or would you like me to meet you there?"

"Actually, we're going to walk. I found this great little restaurant a few doors down. An older couple own it and they have the best Mediterranean dishes. Are you okay with that, or we can find somewhere else? There are several restaurants within walking distance."

"Mediterranean sounds perfect."

She wasn't picky and loved to try new places. She never knew where she would find a new hidden gem.

Luke waited until they were outside the building before he spoke again.

"I'm sorry about Jayce."

"You mean that winning personality wasn't just for me?" She bumped his shoulder, only half joking.

"Ah no. He pretty much reserves it for every woman he meets. He was married at one point and his ex-wife did a number on him. Fifteen years later and he still allows her to live rent-free in his head."

That was sad. No one should let one person affect them so much.

"I hope he kicked her to the curb."

"Unfortunately, she likes to come around every now and then to dig the knife a little deeper. Jayce does his best to act like it's no big deal, but we can see it takes a little more from him each time."

That was even sadder. Whoever the bitch was better hope Monica wasn't around when she showed her face the next time.

"She deserves a bitch slap."

Luke's hardy laugh soothed her uncertainty at meeting his entire team.

"That she does. Now let's grab something to eat so I can get you back to your place and show you how I pay you back for all that teasing."

Her insides tingled with anticipation. She couldn't wait to see what he did to her.