Page 267 of Unexpected Hero

I open my mouth to answer, and he stops me with a raised finger. “And I mean more than what you put in the background file you gave me before we hired her.”

A slick-as-shit grin eats up my face. I couldn’t stop the rare show of emotion if I tried. I’ve always liked how he knows me that way and is fine with it.

I can only hope he feels the same when I tell him that my digging into his background turned up an old and outdated copy of a birth certificate with his name on it.

“I did my due diligence on Mia if that’s what you mean. She helped me by giving me her personal laptop on her first day here. I held onto it for a few days, copied everything I needed to be able to monitor her. So far, nothing concerning has come up. Of course, she could have engineered it that way, but I’m watching.”

He smacks his lips in a tsking sound. “You’re always watching, aren’t you?”

My sly grin grows. “Old habits die hard, Boss.”

“Yeah. I guess that’s fair after the shit we saw over there. And back home.”

I don’t answer. He didn’t ask a question.

His knuckles tap on the desk. “So Mia is good. What about Klein?”

Without hesitation, I answer in earnest. “She makes him better.”

He purses his lips, eyes widening in either surprise or disbelief. “Really?”

“Yeah. He watches her. A lot. And not only because he’s attracted to her.”

He laughs quietly this time, and it holds a hint of alarm. Makes sense because it’s likely not the best idea to have staff involved when working together so closely on our new three-person intel team.

I rub the back of my neck. “But while he’s watching, he’s learning. His thought process is different than it used to be. I can see him working through challenges differently. Asking for help less and taking more initiative. She’s good for him.”

“Excellent. That’s great. I want to make it permanent for him if I can. I know he wants that. Guess he got sick of risking his life for the wealthy who hire us.”

“That’s not why he wants it. Not entirely.”

The wrinkles in his forehead deepen. “What is it?”

“I think his mom is sick. He hasn’t said as much, but something is going on with her.”

He’s taken too many calls. Snuck away too many times. And his emotions are all over the place. And all that started before Mia flipped him upside-down.Since he wears his heart on his sleeve, it’s plain to see if you’re looking.

Plus, I hacked into his texts with his sister.

“Shit. I’ll talk to him about that. I have a one-on-one with him later this week unless something urgent distracts the team. And isn’t that always the way?” He exhales a haggard rasp. “But I wanted your evaluation on his readiness first since he’s likely to ask about a permanent transfer.”

I nod, waiting for a question. That wasn’t one.

“About the two of them.” He lowers his chin. “Is it going to be a problem to have them working together?”

Drawing back in my chair, I roll my shoulders to loosen the brewing tension. Although he’s moved the topic away from me, it’ll never stop rolling around my mind.

Tension that’s mostly there because I want to tell him about Lettie. But I think I need to tell her first.

Or do I?

Fuck.

I shake off that worry for now and redirect my thoughts to his question. “I snapped at them about an hour ago when the tension spiked. Then I walked out to give them a few minutes to handle their shit, and when I got back the vibe was much better. I think they’ll work it out. They’re both committed to the job, so I expect that’ll prevail regardless of their personal issues.”

He checks his phone, nibbling his lip. “I’ll avoid thinking about how they relieved the tension and just be grateful they did.”

If they have sex in the lair, I’ll put them both on the MFKL.

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