Page 19 of Dangerous Mission

Axel pulled into Terri’s building and up to the security gate. A person she’d never seen before stood at the gate. Normally, George worked the day shift, and if he took a vacation, she knew all about it. He loved to show her pictures of his grandkids.

“ID, please,” the gentleman said.

His face was turned to the side, so she couldn’t get a good look. The condo’s emblem was on the side of his sleeve. She felt a little uneasy about the guard.

Axel handed over his ID, and the guy ran it through the black box on the counter. “Good morning, Blake Jessup. I need her ID, too, please.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but Axel grabbed an ID from the center console. “Here.”

The guard ran the ID just like Axel’s, and he peered down at it with a frown.

“Katie Jessup. Thank you for giving the IDs. We’re upping security. The president’s daughter lives here, and it’s caused an issue lately, so now they want us all to be more protective. We haven’t seen her in a few days, so if you do, can you let security know? We have some questions, but her side entrance makes it hard to catch her.”

Axel nodded. “Sure. Spoiled ones ruin it for everyone.”

She wanted to smack Axel across the chest for his comment but kept her mouth shut and her head turned to the side.

The gates opened to the garage, and he drove up to the second floor.

“What the hell?” she asked.

“I didn’t trust him the second we drove up. He wasn’t in any of the information I had on this building. I’ve studied everything, including the normal guards who have worked here for years. It’s too much of a coincidence.”

“You had other IDs made?”

Axel shrugged. “Your dad actually helped with that. The names are registered to a place here.”

He stopped the car on the second floor and pulled into a guest spot. “Put this on.” He handed her a hat. “We’ll take the elevator to a few floors below yours then hike the remaining ones.”

She hated that she had to sneak into her own place.

They made it to the top floor, and she took a deep breath. Her thighs burned from walking up four flights of stairs. Axel stood next to her, not even breathing heavily.

Axel pushed the door open and stepped in front of her. “Let me look around.”

He disappeared into her place. She pulled out her phone and brought up TikTok. She had a ton of new DMs. Her new assistant had said she would go through her DMs for her, but she wasn’t ready for that after how her old assistant had done it without asking. She’d been rude to people and caused a hell of a lot of drama. When a few of the DMs were leaked, it made it look like Terri was the diva the media made her out to be.

Axel came back to the main area. “Everything is clear.” He’d put the two duffle bags of guns down on her glass dining room table.

“I’m going to go take a nap.” She needed a break and headed to her room before he could say anything.

Terri stripped out of his shorts and climbed into bed almost naked, but she didn’t care. The electronic blinds were closed, keeping out all the light. The door to her room opened, and she shot out of bed, causing the blanket to drop. Her shirt had ridden up, showing the underside of her boobs. With a quick tug, she covered herself. “Is something wrong?”

“Nope.” He pulled a gun from his holster and set it on the table before stripping off his shirt.

Her mind went blank as she stared at his perfect abs. The man was way too sexy for his own good. He proceeded to loop his fingers under his jeans and tug them down. He only had a pair of boxers on.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice squeaking.

He pulled one of the blankets from the bed and laid it on the floor. “Taking a nap with you.”

The man was practically naked in her bedroom. She’d never let a man into her condo. That was probably why her relationships didn’t last, but she hadn’t trusted one long enough to allow someone in there.

“But there is a room down the hall.”

“You lost the bet. I sleep where you sleep.”

He shrugged, and her eyes traveled down his body to his tented boxers.

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