Page 27 of Ground Zero

“Brody, I’d love to have you join my team. I would compensate you well for your time. When you’re on a mission, you will get a cut of the contract. When you’re not on a mission, you will be required to train regularly, of course, and you’ll have a set salary that we can discuss later. Other than that, you’ll have all the free time you want.”

He lifts his beer and takes a long draw. “Who’s the money man backing you?”

“His name is Aurei Moore. He’s a venture capitalist, former Army Aviator, Apache pilot. We go way back.”

“Do you have training facilities?”

“Yes, Aurei bought a ranch outside of Vegas.”

“Vegas, huh?” He grins.

“Yeah. It is definitely a perk.” I grin with him.

“Who else have you recruited?”

“Mike Franks, Jack Black, Jocko Malone and Lucifer, and Nina Fox. They all served with me on Bravo.”

“Sounds like an impressive group.”

“They are. Does it sound like something you’d be interested in?” I take a long draw off my beer.

“You definitely have given me something to think about. I love what I do, but I’ll give it consideration.”

“Fair enough,” I tell him and sit back in my seat. After I watch him searching the dancers again, I ask, “So tell me about your last mission?”

He opens his mouth to say something but doesn’t. Instead, he presses it into a hard line. His brows darken. I know that look. That is his badass bar brawler face. He shifts in his seat and reaches for another beer.

I look again to see what has him irked, and I spot her—a very curvy, gorgeous girl dancing with another man. I laugh, knowing Badass won’t let that stand, and I poke the bear into taking action. “I’m betting that’sMissLizzy Mayer out there dancing with another man from the look on your face.”

“Yes” is the only word he says before draining the beer. Then he slams that dead soldier on the table and begins recounting his last mission to me without taking his eyes off her. He is just getting to the good stuff when he stiffens, and I look back out to see Lizzy pinned between two men. She is looking for an escape, and they are rubbing their junk all over her under the pretense of dancing. If it were happening to anyone other than the girl Badass has a thing for, I would signal Damien to come to her rescue and throw their asses out, but I know B. A. will serve them up and make them pay in a way Damien isn’t allowed to.

His jaw sets, and he says through clenched teeth. “Later, Jeff.”

I offer, knowing he won’t want help and certainly won’t need it. “Let me know if you need my help. I’ll send my boys over there.”

“I got this.” He tells me and storms into the crowd.

I laugh, knowing he sure as hell does.

I signal to Amanda to close my tab out. While I wait for her, I send a text to Nina.

How are they doing?

They will be all right.

It will just take time.

ETA[estimated time of arrival]?

I’m going to hang

around for at least

another hour.

Just to be sure

Bethany is sound asleep.

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