Page 14 of Ground Zero

She shakes her head. “No, he didn’t. He tried to rape me.”

The pit of my gut knots and I feel my lips compress into a hard line. I shake my head. “Keyword is tried?”

“Yes,” She smiles and reaches for my hand, laying hers on top and squeezes it. “He tried, so I fucked him up.”

I can’t help the satisfied smirk that I have when I say, “Explain how you fucked him up because if it doesn’t meet my approval, I’m going to pay a midnight visit to him.”

She grins. “I tased his cod sack, more than a few times.”

“Damn, that is fucking him up.”

Her eyebrow cocks again, “He literally crawled out of my place, and I never heard from him again.”

I laugh and pull her hand to me, so I can kiss her lips. “So, no, is your safe word?”

She grins. “Correct. No is my safe word.”

I pucker my lips and kiss hers. “Copy that.”

When I let her go, she asks, “What about you? What have you been doing since Bravo?”

I smirk, “Look around, babe. Getting this place profitable again has been my life. Between the hotel, the restaurant, and the bar, I haven’t had time for much of anything else. I eat, sleep, and work.”

“Speaking of work,” She grins, “Let’s discuss my new position with your new company.”

“You’re my first official hire.”

“Oh! Well, we are ground zero then.” She grins, making me laugh.

“Yes, Foxtrot, we are ground zero.”

I show her my notes, and we discuss the ins and outs of running a private company like a military operation. I explain how the money will flow and how we will utilize my CIA and gaming connections to fill in the overwatch positions. I give her the SEALS list that has agreed to join us, and she agrees we have a good group of guys.

“But there is so much to do.” She looks at me with her big eyes.

“It’s a huge undertaking.” I nod in agreement, “but one worth doing.”

“Oh, absolutely! I will have nightmares for the rest of my life about what almost happened to Bethany. But I’ll sleep easy knowing all the good that came out of it.” She leans forward for a kiss, and I slip my hand around the nape of her neck and shove my tongue into her willing mouth.

Chapter 9

Part Two

Las Vegas, NV

May 16, 2010

Maximus Aurelius Moore

I driveSiri’s Ford Shelby GT500 under the canopy at Been Jammin’ and stop.

Siri turns to the back seat and tells our German Shepard, “Angel, be a good girl today. Mind your manners. We leave in the morning for more training, so enjoy your day off. It’ll be the last one you have for two weeks.”

I smile at her talking to our dog like she understands every word, but I know if I tease her about it, she’ll respond with, “She understands more than you think.”

Then Siri leans to me for a peck. “You be good today too. I can’t wait to hear how it goes.”

I laugh as I place a wet smack on her perfectly puckered lips. “I’ll give you the full report before we fall asleep tonight. You bring down the house tonight, Wild Thang.”

---