Page 6 of If Our Hearts Collide

COLLINS

“I have a new assignment for you,” Graham Hoffman says, passing me the document with the salary highlighted in bold print on the top line of the contract.

It is significantly larger than my previous payouts over the course of the last few years, and even then I felt like I was a bit overpaid. If anything, I’m the one who owes the Hoffmans—for giving me back my life.

“Is there a mistake?” I ask, pointing to the sum. “Perhaps a couple too many zeroes?”

“Call it a bonus. For the loyalty, honor, and respect you have shown our family.”

I lean back in my chair, sneaking a glance over at his brother, Nic, who is hanging out near the floor-to-ceiling windows. His fiancée, Claire, is pregnant, and the man is determined to shadow her every movement just in case she stubs her toe or needs assistance with anything that she is fully capable of doing herself.

Graham isn’t much different. Angie, his recently appointed wife, has shaken up his entire world and softened his hardness in a way I never thought could be achieved. How these Hoffmanbrothers found the two most independent women in the city of Portland is almost comical for their overprotective tendencies.

The women are best friends, working at Plus None, just a few floors below us in this building. While the two of them—and the danger that inevitably finds them—keep my job secure, I can’t help but wonder why I am being summoned here today. I’m cocky enough to know that my work is stellar. In a way, I’m the invisible enforcer who keeps the empire intact. With a broken moral compass that got fractured after being discharged from the military, I’m a valuable asset when protecting the loves of these Hoffman men’s lives.

What I don’t let others know is that this sense of purpose helps me get through my days. I like having a set goal in mind and a plan to execute the mission. Graham Hoffman basically rescued me from my previous life and has given me more than I could ever ask. He helped me heal when he didn’t even realize I was broken from the foundation up. Thus, when he is raising my salary this much, it makes me feel a bit of unease.

It’s because I need the Hoffmans just as much as they seem to need me.

“You know I’ll do anything that you ask,” I inform the men.

Without a family of my own, my priorities have shifted into protecting these men and their women that have welcomed me into their lives. Graham and Nic are like brothers to me, and while there is a contract and money exchange involved, the roots of allegiance run thick.

Graham looks toward the window, deep in thought, before returning his gaze to me. “You always have, and thus”—he gestures toward the contract—“your monetary compensation should more than cover any inconveniences this next assignment should bring. And there may be many based on recent history.”

I nod, allowing his ominous words to register. I hope both Hoffman brothers know I would do the work for much less than they are offering. Loyalty can’t be bought, and the bond I have with them is something that I need to maintain. So, of course, whatever they want from me, I will do—willingly and without question.

And if it crosses into illegal territory, so be it.

I’m not afraid to serve time in prison, especially if the outcome is worth the temporary loss of freedom.

But something is off about this meeting. It appears that my next assignment won’t be so straightforward or predictable.

“I’m not used to seeing you nervous,” Nic says in a joking tone.

I tip my head in understanding. “Please forgive me for being a bit taken aback by this meeting. What has changed with the current arrangement?”

Nic clears his throat and joins us. “It’s nothing you have done wrong. So don’t think that.” He lets out a sigh, allowing his frustration to show. “Claire is very stubborn, as you know.”Oh, I know.

“It is glaringly obvious that her need for independence is part of her personality, and not just pregnancy hormones—which I recommend never suggesting to her.” Nic shudders, mouthingouch. “She has insisted that anyone I hire to watch over her or assist her with her doctor’s appointments needs to have a vag, um, needs to be female.”

“Got it…”

He expels his breath, running a hand over the back of his neck. “While I hate pulling you from your assignment, Graham and I have another pressing matter, which is what you were called in today to discuss.”

I am a fixer. An enforcer. I’m the problem solver and solutions expert. I do not cave under pressure, nor do I flinch atthe first sign of trouble. I’ve been trained to shoot a gun, and I know exactly when to pull the trigger. My body wears the scars from my past experience of working as a dedicated bodyguard, but the extensive former military discipline is what keeps me grounded and a threat to those who want to double-cross me.

Nothing fazes me.

Nothing challenges me.

Nothing scares me.

“It’s Penny,” Graham states simply.

Fuck.

Except her—dammit.

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