1. Legend

1

LEGEND

"Call me."

That's all the text says, and I know it's important because my boss, Cerberus, is a no-nonsense kind of guy. He's not going to have me call him to chit chat or gossip about something. I'm sure it's an assignment. After I retired from the military, I got bored, so I hired on at Spartan Shield Corporation as a bodyguard. It's a good job and for the most part I enjoy it. Though, this last mission was a doozy. After ten days in the field, I told Cerberus I was taking some time off. I guess he didn't like that.

I dial my boss' number and wait for him to answer. It's not a hello, how you doing, or anything like that. He's straight to the point. "Legend, where are you?"

I resist rolling my eyes. I have no doubt that Cerberus knows where I am. As a bodyguard under his command, he always knows where I am. "Florida."

"I have an assignment—"

I cut him off. "I told you I was taking some time off." I leave off the part where I'd spent the last ten days protecting some socialite that was more worried about her social media platform than being protected.

"You were requested for this one."

Well, that certainly piques my interest. There aren't many people that know I'm working for Spartan Shield Corporation. I hear dogs barking, and Cerberus calmly calls them down. "Zeus, Hades, Apollo… enough."

The barking stops instantly, and I ask him, "Who requested me?"

There's the sound of papers turning, and then my boss mutters, "A Maverick Calhoun."

Fuck, my best friend. He's tried for the past three months to contact me, and I kept sending him to voicemail. I know he's worried about me, but I didn't want to listen to the pity in his voice every time he tried to contact me. I've been in limbo since I retired from the military, but I knew I had to do it. I'm too old to be working the field and didn't want to go to a desk job. After the last mission, I knew it was time for me to be done.

Thinking it's some kind of bullshit mission just so I'll talk to him, I tell Cerberus, "I'll call him."

"He's overseas, and it took me forever to get the information from him because of the static in the phone. Do you want the assignment or not? I need to get someone to Tennessee if you're not taking it."

"Wait. There really is an assignment?"

"Fuck. What the hell is wrong with you, Legend? I just said there was an assignment." He clears his throat and continues. "Maya Calhoun has a stalker. We've been hired to protect the target and dispose of the problem."

My phone dings as he continues. "I've sent over a picture of the target. She's twenty-eight years old and lives in a house in Whiskey Run, Tennessee. She lives alone. She is a romance author, and her brother describes her as introverted and gullible."

As Cerberus continues, I pull the phone from my ear to look at the picture of Maya Calhoun. As soon as I lay eyes on the brown-haired bombshell, I suck in a deep breath. Her big brown eyes are staring straight into the camera, and it feels like she's looking right at me. I take in her long eyelashes and puffy lips, and as my gaze travels down the curvy length of her body, I can feel my cock twitch in my jeans. Fuck me, she's a sight. How have I never known that Maverick's little sister looked like this? It's no wonder he kept her away from all of us.

Cerberus breaks into my train of thought. "How long will it take you to get there?"

"I'll fly out on the first flight."

"So you're taking the assignment?"

Luckily, I already have a packed bag. I start stuffing my toiletry items in. "Yeah, I'm taking it. I'll find a flight—"

Cerberus interrupts me. "You're booked on the two p.m. flight from Miami International Airport. You'll land in Jasper, TN at approximately three-twenty p.m. There will be a rental car waiting for you. I'll send over all the details to your email. Let me know if you need any assistance."

Click.

I pull the phone from my ear and want to call him back to see how he knew where I was and how he knew I'd be able to make the flight that leaves in less than an hour, but there's no time for that. I throw my bag over my shoulder and get a ride to the airport. It's pretty hectic flying commercial, so I don't even open the email from Cerberus until I'm sitting on the plane as it takes off.

He has sent me her address, phone number, and links to all her social media. Cerberus has stationed what he calls local mercenaries outside her house until I get there to relieve them.

I read through the reports, and Maya has a stalker that is getting closer and closer as each day goes by. It started with emails, then letters to her PO box, then packages delivered to her home. He broke in and stole her underwear. And this last instance was him trying to break in while she was home. She alerted the police, but they did not catch the guy.

I go through Maya's personal social media, and there's not much to it. She doesn't post anything. Her author social media has some images of her at a signing, but for the most part, she is incognito. I look at her profile page that has all her books listed and download the latest one, thinking I'll read it if I get time. It's always good to be able to get in the head of the target, and this could help.

"Is that your lady friend?"

I turn to the little elderly woman next to me. "Excuse me?"

She gestures to the picture on my phone. "Is that your lady friend? Are you on your way to see her?"

I realize that I've been staring at the image of Maya for the majority of the flight. I turn off my phone and lean back in my seat. "Uh, yeah, I'm on my way to see her."

"Well, you two make a beautiful couple," she says.

Instead of correcting her, I just grunt, "Thank you. "

I'm not sure what it is about Maya Calhoun, but she's already got me in a lockhold. I pull up my phone and open the book app. As I start to read Maya's latest bestseller, I get two chapters in, and I'm completely engrossed in the story. It's a suspense romance, and I'm literally on the edge of my seat as the plane starts to descend.

"Put your seatbelt on, please."

I do as the stewardess asks and then tuck my head down and keep reading. There's action, sex, love, and betrayal, and I'm disappointed when I have to stop reading to disembark from the plane. The only bright thing is the fact that I'm about to see Maya in real life, and no matter what happens, no man is going to touch her. No one but me.