Page 1 of Fighting For You
CHAPTER ONE
Jess
An ember of rage smoldered in my belly. I gritted my teeth against the rising fury and maintained my neutral face because I could see where this was heading and any attempt to change it would be an attempt to stop a runaway train with a high five.
The meeting had started normally enough—a recap of all assignments each Saint Security employee had been tasked with and looking ahead at the rest of the final quarter of the year in broad strokes. But quickly enough, we’d arrived here… to the doom.
And the only other person in the room who should be as infuriated as I was stood coolly in the corner like an inert Goliath with a case of resting jerk face.
“There’s not much wiggle room here while Eddie’s travel starts Thursday. Cookie’s down for at least anotherseventy-two hours with the flu, Tristan’s out of town, and we’ve got just about everyone else tasked. So Pop and Beast, you two will head to Snowberry Resort and run the op for Ms. Halter.”
The buzzing in my mind went quiet when Bruce’s words hit the room. Or maybe that was the pin-drop silence shrouding the conference table. Could’ve been the feeling of every person in attendance shifting their attention not-so-subtly to me.
Adam cleared his throat lightly and spoke up. “Are we sure there’s no?—”
“No. It’s the plan we’ve got. Beast has agreed to the out-of-town assignment.” Bruce’s gaze flicked up to meet Beast’s, who grunted with arms crossed. “And that’s what we’re going with so we can get this place vetted.”
He set his hands on his hips and exhaled, waiting a beat before taking us all in. Eight of us sat around the conference table in the Saint Security main office, and he stood at the far end in front of the screen where he’d been clicking through his all-hands brief.
We did this every Monday morning, and mostly, it served to get us all on the same page. They kept it short since we all had work to do. Today felt like a particularly quick one compared to last week’s when they’d doled out assignments not only for the next few weeks, but who we’d be tasked with guarding during the upcoming Silver Ridge film fest.
Typically, these meetings didn’t elicit the feeling of acid burning my trachea. Generally, I didn’t experience much in the way of emotions here beyond interest or light satisfaction with an assignment.
Unlesshewas here, hulking and grunting in a corner.
He always stood. He was six foot six-but-might’ve-been-a-thousand inches of disgruntled man-child who refused to behave like a normal human and speak in complete sentences. And yes, some people did have legitimate reasons for limited speech. But I’d met Jude Rawlins aka Beast a decade ago and he hadn’t had a problem stringing together a few phrases to say what he needed then.
Somehow, while the rest of us were growing and changing and rolling with the punches of life, Jude had devolved into a literal brute of a human being… at least when it came to me.
Actually, no. He made sounds of agreement or refusal rather than speak words in meetings or with his friends… it wasn’t just me.
Bruce had moved on to review assignments for the film fest, checking in with those who’d teleconferenced in from Europe and Asia, but my mind circled the situation he’d just shoved me into.
“If anyone needs anything, I’ve got a half hour in my office before I have another meeting. Otherwise, have a great week and see anyone who can make it for drinks on Friday.”
He double-tapped the conference table between where Kenny and Eddie sat at the far end, then gathered his notebook and coffee mug and exited the room as everyone else slowly stood and stretched.
Wilder left right after him, and I didn’t bother pretending I wasn’t crawling out of my skin to speak with them.
“Can I talk with you?” I asked, jogging to catch up with the two men—my fellow former EMU soldiers and now my bosses.
Wilder sent me an inspecting glance, then notched his head toward Bruce’s office. I followed them in andshut the door. Bruce took a seat behind his desk, and Wilder leaned against the file cabinet to the left. I stood behind the seat I should’ve taken but didn’t, given how I didn’t want to feel like the smallest or shortest person in the room about now.
Eddie and I were, by far, the shortest people in the office. A few others fell under six feet, but somehow, every man here had ended up drinking from the tall guy well.
“Go ahead, Pop,” Bruce urged, his voice pleasant and measured as always.
I hadn’t thought about what I would say, but I wouldn’t let the fury that’d built a little pyre in my chest explode. I had self-control, and I would use it.
“I think you both know why I’m here.”
Bruce nodded immediately, and Wilder dipped his chin.
Dang it, I’d hoped they’d give me a little more… something. A hint about alternatives, something.
Since I’d signed on with them a little over a year ago, I’d made clear I couldn’t work with Beast. We had too much ugliness in our past, and though I hated to admit it, I genuinely couldn’t stand to be around him. He’d also made clear he felt the same way, never backing down, dropping snide comments, and generally acting like the beast he was named after whenever we were near each other.
But he’d signed with them first. So when I got my contract, they’d made sure I understood he was already employed, and he didn’t plan to travel. I hadn’t fully absorbed this until last spring when I got sent on a five-month assignment overseas after telling them I couldn’t be near Beast.
