Page 28 of Knot Yours

Hosfeld bends over me and grins. “You’re quick on your feet for an old man.”

“Fuck you.”

He offers me a hand, and I let him pull me up. “You’ll be where I am in six short years.”

The former Raider winks at Sadie in the next ring before pulling down his blindfold. Piper trots into the room, and I grin. Using only hand gestures, I call her to make a silent approach. I wait until Hosfeld turns his back and signal Piper to knock him down.

She leaps from a distance of five feet and springboards off Hosfeld’s back. The man flies forward but still pulls off a successful forward roll. Unfortunately for him, Sadie was only two feet away from his landing spot. As soon as he’s on his feet, she knocks him off them again.

Sadie leans over Aaron and tsks. “Taken down by two bitches in one day. That’s tough, Grim.”

I roll my eyes at the heat in their gazes, and someone across the floor yells, “Get a room.”

When morning training is done, I check on Piper and go to my office to find Dillan Knot sitting in one of my guest chairs. He’s not wearing a jacket, and his tie hangs loose around his neck. “Rough day?” I ask.

“Shit,” is his only reply.

The big boss sometimes prefers to meet me here, away from corporate eyes and ears. We were friends before being coworkers, so he can relax and let loose around me.

“What’s up?”

He scrubs a dark hand over his bald head. “We’ve got to bring in more people.”

I understand his concern. We have more work than operatives, which is a good problem to have. However, bringing new people into this business is not a simple process. And hiring the wrong person can jeopardize the entire organization.

“I’ve got jackets on fifteen people. Birdie is sifting deep through their backgrounds. I’m waiting on their military records. Once they clear us, I want you and Sadie to take a run at them. She’ll go first and start working on team reassignments. Whichever ones we pick, I need them onboard ASAP. Otherwise, you and I will have to pick up a contract.”

I don’t doubt he could, despite the near-fatal gunshot he is still healing from. The former SEAL may be riding a desk, but the man’s a battle legend, his tactics as dark as his skin.

The CEO of Knot Corp stands, and I start gathering my shit. “You cutting out early again?”

“Early? Again? You checking up on me?”

“No. I’m just used to you being here as long as I am, even though you’re done by two.”

I shrug. “I’ve just had somewhere to be lately.”

Knot smiles at what I’m not saying. “It’s about damned time.”

Marisol

I swipe a bit of lipstick on and double-check my reflection. Done. After stepping into my heels, I grab my bag and iced coffee and head for the door. This is a new week at the lab, my first whole week.

I’m excited about the happy changes coming about in my life. Though I hated not waking up next to Austin, I understand he has an early work schedule and left before sunrise. The weekend will be here soon enough, and I’ll get to kiss his sleepy morning face.

When I’ve locked my front door, I turn to walk to my car but pause when I spot the red Mercedes. I set my coffee on the roof of my car, march over to the men watching me, and knock on the window. The two men inside the sleek ride share a look, and the passenger’s window lowers.

“Tell my father to call me. There’s no reason to have men watching me all the time.”

The driver chuckles. “Sure about that, puta?”

The men laugh, and I jump back as they drive away. Puta? There’s no way my father would tolerate his men speaking to me like this. I need to try calling him again. I cross the street and get into my car. Puerto Rico is in the same time zone as Virginia, so it’s not too early to call.

I tell my car to dial his number but don’t get an answer. This time, I leave a message. “Apá, call me right away when you get this.”

All during the drive to work, my nerves are on edge. I’m in meetings all morning, getting up to speed on projects our lab is working on and what developments have been made. I’m assigned a project and return to my office with research materials to get started. If anyone’s noticed my unease, they’ve thankfully attributed it to being new to the company.

I’ve checked my phone fifty times but still haven’t heard back from my father. When I haven’t stopped by two, the assistant pokes her head in my open door. “I noticed you haven’t left to get lunch. Can I pick up something for you?”

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