Page 31 of Nuclear Option (Owens Protective Services)

She sighed, tossing her magazine on the table. “Listen, there’s nothing to know. Rafe is someone Cash knows from the past. He’s not going to do anything to put him in danger. Besides, Cash wouldn’t have agreed to come here if he thought he was being set up.”

“I just don’t like Cash being put in this position. I’m worried about him.”

Rae laughed at that. “You don’t have to worry about Cash. He’s as steady as they come. He’s a Marine.”

“Okay, what does that mean?”

“Well, let me put it this way, Marines are like…the most badass of any of the military. They call them door kickers, because they’re the first in to kick down the doors and make way for everyone else. First in and last out. The door kickers, the pile drivers,” she reiterated.

I stared at her, still not understanding.

“Okay, let me put it this way. They’re the craziest fuckers on the planet. There’s no fear, no filter, a complete lack of forethought, so they literally go in without a care. They have a job to do, and they go in without a thought for their own safety.”

“So, you’re telling me Cash is crazy.”

She laughed at that. “Cash is a special brand of crazy, because he’s a sniper.”

“He doesn’t seem crazy to me.”

“That’s because he’s got it all bottled up inside. The things they see…let’s just say it’s very hard on relationships because they look death in the face every day.”

“But he doesn’t do that anymore.”

“First, you never stop being a sniper. He lived and breathed that life. It never truly goes away. It’s always inside him, simmering under the surface. He’s locked the crazy down tight so he can be effective in his job, but when it comes out, there’s no harnessing it.”

That was a little terrifying. The way she described Cash, it made it sound like there was no room for any kind of relationship with him. In which case, did I really want to pursue anything with him? Things were hard enough in my life without adding a man that apparently had a death wish.

Just as I was sitting down to mull that over, the door opened and one of the soldiers walked in. “Rafe needs to see you.”

“Me?” I asked, sure this was a mistake.

He gave a curt nod. “Now.”

“But…” I glanced at Rae, who immediately stood. “I was told to stay here.”

“She doesn’t go anywhere without us,” Rae answered.

“Your rules don’t apply here.”

Rae immediately moved to stand in front of me, guarding me as ifThen you’re going to have to go through us.

New Guy was on my other side in an instant. Gone was the carefree man that was just shoving a donut in his face. Now, two formidable security agents stood in front of me, ready to defend me at all costs.

“Lady, don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

I couldn’t see Rae’s face, but her body language shifted into fight mode. If I hadn’t worked with her at the gym, I never would have noticed it. “You haven’t even seen hard yet,” Rae retorted.

The man stared both of them down and then called over his shoulder. “Roberts!”

A second man entered the room, this one just as big as the one in front of us. Only he looked like he was spoiling for a good fight. I swallowed hard, taking a step back to get out of the damage path. I was a liability at this point, and the best thing I could do was give Rae and New Guy space to do their jobs.

The tension shot to a fever pitch as each of them waited, then the soldier made his move, going after Rae, obviously thinking she was the weak link. I watched in awe as she expertly avoided him, using her small size to keep out of his reach. She only struck when necessary, almost as if she was letting him do all the work. I was so wrapped up in watching her that I almost didn’t notice the second fight that broke out, this one more violent than the tactics Rae was using.

New Guy went full on destruction. He slammed his fist into the guy’s face over and over, then tossed him into the table of snacks like he was a sack of potatoes. I watched in fascination as he strolled over to him, grabbing a donut hole off the floor and popping it in his mouth before hauling the guy up by the collar and tossing him into the wall.

Footsteps pounded down the hall and burst into the room. I watched in horror as four more soldiers entered, all of them headed right for me.

“Rae!” I called out, not knowing what else to do.

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