Page 41 of My Temptation

“Has the director called you himself?” Jax asked.

“No. I’m hoping he’s let go of the idea since my father couldn’t convince me.”

“From this moment on, your father is no longer your problem.” Brody spoke, and I twisted my head to meet his stare. “He’s Elite’s problem.”

My eyebrows drew together. “What does that mean?”

“That means Jax and I will handle him. You follow instructions from us, and we’ll protect you.”

He looked at Jax who lifted his chin in agreement. “No one is going to strong-arm one of our employees, not even the director at the FBI.”

“You do realize he could make things difficult for the company, right?”

Jax smirked. “He won’t do that.”

I glanced between them and looked toward Kyle, who was also wearing a smug smile, before facing Jax again. “Why not?”

“Because we did a job for him personally.”

My eyes widened. “You have government contracts?”

“Sometimes,” Brody admitted.

“How?” Ethan spoke up.

“There are times the FBI doesn’t choose to take a case, and it’s handled externally,” Brody explained. “They’ve used us several times. They like that we were trained by the military. They know both of our records while we served and that we’ve led teams successfully. They also know we understand confidentiality and how important that is, which is why the director chose us specifically to handle a personal matter for him.”

“Which means...?” I gestured for him to move on when he paused.

“Which means Elite is safe from any government interference as long as we stay within the legal bounds. They won’t do anything to shut us down.”

“Are you sure?” I questioned them. “My father has a lot of influence.”

“Your father only has that much authority over the team he manages. Everything that has anything to do with Elite and our contracts with the FBI, is well above him.”

My shoulders dropped and the weight I’d been carrying finally lifted. “That’s a relief.”

“In the future, if something like this happens, we need to know about it.” Jax continued. “I understand you didn’t think this was a priority, but anything that puts any member of our team at risk needs to be reported immediately. We like to get out in front of shit,” Jax watched me closely while he spoke. “It’s a hell of a lot easier than playing from behind.”

“Understood.” I nodded. “But something I don’t understand is if the director knows I work for Elite, why would he try to get me back? Wouldn’t he think that would piss you off?”

Jax raised his eyebrows. “That’s my question also, and one I’ll have an answer to by the end of the day.”

With a nod, I glanced at Ethan who was also watching Jax closely. I had a feeling today would get a little uncomfortable for the director of the FBI.

12

MILA

I crossed the parking lot when I saw Ethan pull in and met him as soon as he parked. Opening the back door, I threw in my suitcase and a few other bags, shut the door, and climbed into the front seat.

I glanced at Ethan while putting on my seat belt. “Morning.”

“Morning,” he replied, but it was easy to see he wasn’t happy with our latest assignment, and he sure as hell couldn’t hide it. We also needed to clear the air before we could work this case effectively, but I wasn’t sure this was the right time. Other than the small amount of conversation we had in Brody’s office, we hadn’t spoken since our argument, and it was bothering me.

I’d only just gotten settled, and Ethan pulled out of the parking lot when my phone beeped.

“Who’s texting you this early?”