1. Samantha

1

SAMANTHA

As I pull up to the gates of the Whiskey Run office, I have my badge out in my hand ready to show the guard. But he recognizes me, waves, and opens the gates for me to drive on in.

I pull into my parking spot and notice that everyone else is already here. Nash, Knox, Walker, Brooklyn—all their trucks and SUVs are here. Well, everyone except for Bear. I don’t see his truck, and I sort of kick myself for even looking for it. He was on a mission and probably got back late—heck, he may be taking the day off, for all I know.

I take a deep breath and start to think about my life in Whiskey Run. The whole team has been super nice, and this has really been a good change of pace for me. It's different than when I was stationed in Texas and was traveling nonstop and not knowing where or when I would be home again. When Walker approached me about this opportunity, I knew I had to take it. I'm 32 years old now, and more than anything, I want to settle down.

I look at myself in the rearview mirror and shake my head. Just thinking of settling down has my thoughts going to Bear, and that’s the last person that I should be thinking about. The last few days have been pretty relaxing with him out of town. He's the only one that I really can't make heads or tails of. He's a big guy. That would normally be intimidating to anyone. But just looking at him causes a flare in my belly, and it's not anything that I'm ready to examine yet. I mean, why am I attracted to the one man that hasn’t really been welcoming to me? It doesn’t make sense.

So these last few days without his grunts and growls I've been able to relax a little at my new home here, but I know that today he'll be back, and I have to prepare myself for it. I grab my purse and my tote bag out of the passenger seat, put them over my shoulder, and walk into the front door. Brooklyn, Walker’s assistant, is at her seat, and she waves me over. When I first met Brooklyn, things were weird between us but only because she thought Walker and I had a relationship or something, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. He's always just been a good guy that looked out for me, but that’s it. When he and Brooklyn got together, it thrilled me. It sort of sucked that she had to get kidnapped for Walker to come to his senses, but at least it all worked out in the end. Plus, seeing them together gives me hope for my future. I would give anything to have a man look at me the way Walker looks at her.

“What's up, girl?” Brooklyn asks with a smile on her face.

I just laugh. “I'm good. Is the meeting still on for this morning?”

Brooklyn nods her head. “And I believe they're all in there about to get started.”

“Okay, see you after,” I tell her before I pick up my stride and start to walk to my office at the back of the building. I set everything down and start digging in my tote for a notepad and pencil. With my head down, I don’t hear anyone come toward me until I hear a grunt, and damn, I squeeze my thighs together without even thinking about it. I’ve missed that grunt. I prepare myself before lifting my head.

I lift my head and come face to face with Bear. He's staring at me intensely, but there's still not a smile on his face. I try to hide my excitement of seeing him. I can't admit how much I had missed him and even worried about him while he'd been gone. Of course, I don't know why I would. If there's anyone that could handle a mission like the one he was on, it would be him. “Hey, Bear,” I say. He doesn't say anything back; his eyes just continue to search my face. For a second, I wonder if he’s missed me too, but that’s nonsense. I don’t even think he’s talked to me since I came to work here. Well, unless you count grunts. I get those all the time.

He just holds his hands out. And for the first time, I notice that he has a cup from Honeybee Coffee in one hand and then a brown bag from Sugar Glaze in his other hand. Without thinking about it, I reach for the cup and the bag and hold them up. “What is this?” I ask him.

He shrugs his shoulders. “I thought you would like those. I think they're your favorite.”

My eyes widen, and I open the bag and look down, and sure enough, there is an apple turnover that is still warm in the bottom of the bag. “How did you know?” I ask him as I reach into the bag, pull it out, and take a bite without even thinking. I moan as the flavors hit my tongue. My eyes close, and I savor the taste. Damn, that’s good.

Bear grunts again, and my eyes fly open. “This was so nice of you. Thank you for this.” He seems embarrassed, but I have to ask him, “Why did you bring these to me? Did you bring some for everyone?”

He shakes his head. “No. I only brought them for you.”

Before I can ask him why or how his time in Florida went, he stalks out of my office. I walk to my doorway and watch him go. My eyes are glued to his backside because how could I look at anything else? He really does a pair of denims justice.

I'm staring at him, not even thinking where I’m at, and before I know it, Brooklyn is elbowing me in the side. “Girl, I see what you're doing,” she says with a laugh.

I jerk my eyes from Bear back to Brooklyn, and she’s eyeing the pastry in my hand. She says, “You got a little something there,” and points to my lip.

I start to wipe it off. “Oh, it must be glaze,” I tell her, holding up the turnover.

She rolls her eyes. “No. It’s drool.”

I playfully swat at her. “Brooklyn! I’m not drooling!” But I don’t sound convincing.

Brooklyn chuckles. ”You obviously are, but I don't think it's one-sided. I've never seen that man act that way. If he has his sights on you, you are one lucky girl.”

Brooklyn is shaking her head as she walks back over to her desk. I could stand here all day and try to analyze what’s going on with Bear, but I know that I'm about to be late for the meeting. I grab my pad and pencil and put it under my arm. Then I grab the cup of coffee and eat the rest of my pastry on my way down the hall. There is no way I'm going to let it go to waste.

Bear

I walk down the hallway away from Samantha. It takes everything I have not to turn around and look at her. I know we're going to the same place. She has the same meeting to go to as I do, and I'm already about to be late, but I can't go in there—not like this. Instead of turning into the conference room, I take a side door and step outside. As soon as I'm out in the clear air, I let the door shut behind me and take three deep breaths. The Whiskey Run mountains are in front of me, and it's a beautiful view. But I can't enjoy them today because all I can think about is Samantha. She's all I've thought about since she came to work here.

I thought that since I had been gone on this mission that it would give me some perspective and some space. Enough time to get away from her or to at least get her out of my head. But it wasn't, because all I can think about is her. When I woke up this morning, I left my house early just so I could get her favorite coffee and her favorite pastry. She has me all coiled up in knots, and she doesn't even realize it. I'm standing outside with my hands on my hips, trying to will down my hard cock when Knox comes out the door.

“Hey, brother, you okay?” he asks.

I don't look at him, but I nod my head. “I'm good.”

I see him pointing inside. “You know the meeting’s about to start, right?”

I nod again. I should probably apologize for being an ass, but I think that the guys all are used to me by now. This is just who I am. I don't say a lot, but when I do, it means something.

Knox finally gets tired of waiting and says, “Okay, I’m going to go on in. I’ll see you in there.” He doesn’t move, though.

Finally I turn and say, “Let's go.” I follow him inside the door and into the conference room. We're all sitting at a big table with Nash at the front. He starts the meeting talking about everything that went down the last few days with John and Madison and how the FBI was happy that we had helped them shut down the Colombian cartel. Everyone is happy, but there's not a lot of time for celebration because instantly Nash starts to hand out the files. It's like this every time missions are handed out. They're in files with all of the information already prepared on what will be happening, where we need to be, and everything else we’ll need to know.

The side conversations all go on around me, and I know I should be paying attention, but all I can do is sit and stare at Samantha. I know I need to keep my mind on the mission that is probably being handed out to me as we speak. But I can't take my eyes off of her, she's so beautiful. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.

It's only when Nash says Samantha's name that I bring myself back to the conversation at hand, and then I start to pay attention. Nash is pointing to the file in his hands. “Samantha and Logan will be posing as husband and wife.”

As soon as I hear it, I act on instinct. I don't even think about what I'm doing, but I push back from the table and stand up. “Nash, I need to speak with you.”

He and everyone else in the room is surprised; I know they are. I never talk in these things. Heck, I never talk unless directly spoken to, but today there's no way I'm going to be quiet. He gestures to the people at the table. “Bear, can this wait? We're in the middle of a meeting.”

I tell him, “No,” and I don't even give him a choice. I walk over to the door and hold it open, gesturing for him to come with me. He looks surprised, and I wait for him to refuse me, fuck even fire me, but he doesn't.

He looks around the room. “We’ll be back in a minute.”

He walks out the door I’m holding open and stops in the hallway. He waits for the door to shut behind us before he starts. “Bear, what is this? What is going on?”

I shake my head. “Logan is not going on the mission. I will be going on the mission with Samantha.”

Nash puts his hands on his hips and looks at me with surprise on his face. “You do know that I’m the boss around here, right?”

I should back down, but I can’t. There’s no way I’ll stay here in Whiskey Run while Sam is in Miami posing as Logan’s wife. It’s not going to happen. “Sir, I’ve never questioned you before. You give an order, I do it. But this time, I can’t. I’m going on this mission.”

He shoves his hand through his hair. I know I’ve thrown him for a loop. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he fired me. I don’t think anyone’s questioned Nash. He’s someone that you just do what he says to do.

“You're going on the mission?” he asks.

He’s looking me in the eye, and I know that he can see there's no doubt on my face. I will be the one that goes on this mission with Samantha.

I nod my head. “Yes, I'm the one that will be going.”

Nash has the nerve to laugh. “No offense, Bear, but this mission is for a married couple.”

He says it like that’s going to stop me. I shrug my shoulders, acting as if that's not a big deal.

He shakes his head. “You don't understand. You will have to act like you like somebody; you have to be convincing. This is not something that we're messing around with. I can’t have you down there and blow our cover because you can’t pull it off.”

I start to think about it and try to piece together what this mission is about. I know it's in Miami, and I'm sure it has to do with the big human trafficking ring that is taking over there. I spit the words out. “I know that this is an important mission, Nash. I know how important it is. And you also know that I have never let you down before. Let me do this.”

Nash tilts his head to the side and looks at me. He crosses his arms over his chest. “Do you think that this is a good idea, Bear? Obviously there's something that you’ve got going on here to feel this strongly about it. Do you think that it’s going to be a good idea for you and Samantha to do this together?”

I grit my teeth together, frustrated that he would even ask. “I will do my job. I will bring Samantha back home safe, and whatever this mission entails, I will do it. You do not have to question me because I will make sure the job gets done.”

I stare at him, waiting and hoping that he's going to give me the answer that I want. Finally, he lets out a big breath. “Okay, I hope I'm not making a mistake here, Bear.”

I let out the breath I’ve been holding. “I won't let you down, sir.” And then I go back into the meeting before he has a chance to change his mind.