“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice gentler.
“Just more bad memories,” she murmured quietly.
Gray studied her for a moment, and it felt like he could see right through her. “I know about bad memories, hellish moments that live with you forever.” Their eyes met, something passing between them. Gray hid his demons well, but she sensed that what he’d just told her wasn’t something the others were privy to. No doubt they knew he’d been tortured, but the mental anguish he still dealt with? The thoughts that plagued him in the middle of the night?
Gray kept that shit locked up.
She shifted slightly, and Gray’s eyes moved from her own, tracking down over her. She felt his gaze on her hips. Her thighs. Trailing down her legs to the high heels she wore. He looked ready to roll into battle, and she felt like a sexy secretary or something. Why couldn’t she be strong like him? “You’re braver than me,” she said. Brave in his career choice, brave for approaching her. Gray and his teammates literally ran into danger. She’d panicked in the middle of the night.
He shook his head. “You’re brave as hell, Lena,” Gray told her. A beat passed as she searched his dark eyes. Nothing but sincerity shone within them.
“Oh, I meant to tell you—those zip ties you found were one of my neighbors,” Lena said, grateful for a reason to change the subject. “A guy up the street was finishing his basement and had a number of supplies delivered. A couple of smaller items blew away in a wind gust. Another neighbor had plastic sheeting in her yard.”
Relief crossed over his face. “That’s good news. When did you find out?” His jaw ticked, and she could tell he’d been worried.
“Just this morning. I’m still not sure what I heard outside the other night, but at least the zip ties were nothing nefarious.”
“I’m glad,” he said.
“Me too. Oh, and don’t worry about the bedroom door. I already had a handyman install a new one.”
“Hell. I was going to pick one up this weekend.”
“I know. I just feel safer when I can lock my door. I know it’s silly since the house is locked.”
“It’s not silly at all,” he countered. “And now I feel guilty for not doing it sooner.”
“There’s no need to feel guilty. It’s already taken care of,” she assured him. She cleared her throat. “I need to head downstairs. I’m helping Anna out with the numbers again and have to check the inventory for a few—”
“I’ll go with you,” he said abruptly, cutting her off. Her lips parted in protest. “It’s no trouble, Lena.” Once again, a shiver raced through her as Gray said her name. His deep voice calmed something inside her, and she definitely shouldn’t like it as much as she did.
“There you two are!” Jett boomed, sauntering over to them with Anna at his side, baby Brody in a stroller. “I’m taking Anna home for the day so she can rest. She should not have given our nanny the day off,” he chastised, soothing Anna’s frown with a brief kiss. “I’ll be back soon. We’re briefing at fourteen hundred.”
“Got it, boss,” Gray said.
“You’ll help Lena downstairs,” Jett said. It wasn’t a question.
“Already taken care of.”
Lena stiffened, not liking that Jett seemed to think she couldn’t handle going back down there alone. Anna quickly jumped in, thanking Lena for covering for her yet again. “You might have to hire someone else when baby number two comes,” Anna said sweetly, snuggling closer to Jett.
“Don’t I know it. We need more admin help, more men on the Shadow Ops Team.” He muttered a curse. “We’re busy, which is damn good. I have to admit even I didn’t expect Shadow Security to grow so quickly.”
“Tell your brother to retire,” Anna said with a wink. “I’m sure he’d love to join the team.”
Jett barked out a laugh. “Slate? There’s not a chance in hell he’d retire from the Navy to come work for me.”
“Yeah, I don’t see that happening either,” Lena admitted. Jett’s brother Slate commanded a SEAL team in Coronado. There wasn’t a reason for him to give that up at this point in his career. The two men were complete opposites. Whereas Slate thrived on military order, Jett ran things his own way. Not every man was cut out to run black ops. Jett loved toeing the line, seeing how much he could get away with. Lena had to admit, his team got shit done. She could hardly fault her boss for being on the right side of justice. Not when she knew of the evil that lurked in the world.
Jett eyed Gray. “You were the last guy I convinced to come on board. Who was that old buddy of yours that you hung around the pool halls with? You swore up and down he was one of the best damn snipers you’ve ever known.”
Gray smirked. “Boone? I think he’s out of the game, boss. And for good reason.”
Jett pointed a finger at Gray. “I want his contact info. We’ve got a hell of a lot going on, but there’s more on the horizon. It’s about damn time I looked at expanding the group.”
Gray’s chuckle filled the lobby. “The day Boone joins the Shadow Ops Team will be the day hell freezes over, but sure, I’ll pass on his contact info to you. I’ll tip him off, too, so he knows that you’re coming for him.”
“You do that. We need the best of the best on the team. If you trust him, that’s all I need to know.”