Page 195 of Protective Heroes

A shock of energy rushed her and she inhaled sharply. He felt the zap of energy too, because his eyes lit, acknowledging the exchange between them.

“Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?” His words were a rough whisper. He pushed away and stalked over to the window and the view that had held her attention for the better part of the day. She watched as he rubbed a hand along the outside of his right thigh out of habit.

According to the gossip girls of the office, Abigail found out soon after starting her new job that the injury he sustained, and that forced him to retire from the Marines, gave him a slight limp. By all accounts, he had become a hero that day by saving four members of his unit, including Caden.

She shifted in her seat and stole a glance at Caden sitting beside her. Anger simmered just beneath the surface, but he held it in check. A tendon in his jaw twitched, his eyes leveled on the floor by her feet. When she moved, his gaze shot up and pinned her with a heated look. Anger swirled in the depths of his eyes, but she saw fear there too. Fear for her?

She knew neither of the men would hurt her, but she couldn’t help but think that they were a force to be reckoned with when ticked off. The tension in her shoulders eased a fraction.

“He’s right, Abigail, you should have told us sooner. Now we might have missed any chance of nailing the person behind this quickly.” Caden remained seated beside her. He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees as Reece had earlier, but instead of holding her gaze he dipped his head, effectively hiding his eyes.

Regret crept in. Abigail realized she didn’t like it when he hid his eyes from her. What a time for a revelation.

Her pride bristled at what they said, but they were right. And this was no time to act scared no matter how much this shit made her want to run for the hills. They dealt with this stuff day in and day out. Death threats were just another day on the job, but she wasn’t equipped for this. She rubbed at her eyes, tired from a choppy sleep the night before.

Wait. Last night. Abigail shot up and grabbed her phone from the table. “Last night I received a phone call. Actually, three. I didn’t connect it until now. They were all hang-ups and I thought it might have been my ex-fiancé or some prank. Now I’m not so sure.” Abigail flipped and swiped until her recent calls tab popped up on the screen. “Here’s the proof.” She handed the phone to Reece with a sigh, hopeful that it was something they could use. She wasn’t up to date on all the high-tech things that went into tracking people, but even she understood how the phone system worked.

“You think your ex has something to do with this, Abigail?” Reece stepped back from the window and closed the distance between them in three strides.

“Who knows? Once upon a time I didn’t think he’d beat me, but now I wouldn’t put anything past him. The restraining order is still in effect, but those are as useful as toilet paper in a rainstorm.”

Her pulse skipped and her jaw dropped open at the sound of fierce rumbling growls from both men. The fire in their eyes said everything she needed to know about what they thought of douchebag men who hit women.

And she smiled. In a fucked up, dirty cave-man way their chivalry made her body tingle in all the wrong places.

“Caden, we have our first name for the list of suspects.”

As much as she liked their protective ways, her gut said Steven wasn’t the one behind all the threats. She held back from saying anything—second-guessing the man would be a mistake.

Abigail turned her attention to Reece. This close she could feel his heat surround her again. Her inner tigress purred, wanting more of whatever it was about him that had her so calm in his presence.

She shivered and crossed her arms over her chest as Reece spoke to Caden. “Call Tech, get our best guy up here and have them bring a secure company phone on their way up.”

Caden peeled off from them and moved over to the speakerphone, relaying orders to their team.

“Abigail.” Reece said her name on a long, drawn-out breath. She understood his frustration. After all, she was the one marked for death by some lunatic. She worried her lip. Her gaze on anything in the room but the man now sitting directly in front of her. “You keep biting your lip like that and I’ll do exactly what I’ve dreamed of since the day you walked into my office, Abigail Torres.” His voice was a grave whisper of intent.

A shiver of desire rushed her. Talk about straightforward.

For the second time today Abigail swallowed hard, only to find her mouth completely dry. This time, it was out of pure shock. Reece Sterling just issued her a warning and she was tempted to see what he had to offer as a punishment or prize, depending on what his dream involved. She hoped something that would take her mind off the twisted events of the day.

Abigail licked her bottom lip, soliciting a deep, throaty growl from Reece. His eyes heated and he settled his big hand over hers where they rested on her lap. “Don’t push me, darling. Once I’ve had a taste you won’t be needing a fake dick ever again.”

“That sounds like a promise.” She couldn’t pinpoint what made her say it, but once the words left her lips it was too late to do anything but wait for an answer.

His hold tightened around her hands. Before she could get her answer, Caden walked over and kneeled beside her. Both men surrounded her again, their nearness a delicious combination of comfort and relief. She was safe here. She needed to remember that. And Reece’s threat of something promising...she smiled inwardly.

“I just explained the situation to Walter Reid down in Tech. We’re getting the ball rolling on identifying who the hell’s behind the threats on your life, but they’ll need your phone for that. In the meantime, you can use this.” Caden passed a new cell phone to her. “We stock a few here in the office for clients that require immediate action.”

Heat tinged her cheeks and she cringed.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

“Those pictures. Oh my God.” Disgust left a nasty taste in her mouth, “They’re going to be out there for everyone to see.” She clasped a hand over her scarlet-colored face. It took all she had to show them the violating images, now the guys in Tech would know what she looked like after going skinny-dipping and what she looked like in black lingerie sucking on a dildo while getting off with a vibrator.

She talked with them on a regular basis dealing with one thing or another for Reece and Caden. Now she would never be able to look the Tech team in the eyes again. Maybe she should find another job?

“No, they won’t, sweetheart. I sent the pictures over to our secured phones a few minutes ago in case they are ever needed and erased them from yours. Tech only needs to know what happened, not see the evidence.”

---