Page 6 of Nuclear Option (Owens Protective Services)

Rafe’s men were posted outside the building, and were watching for any potential threats as best they could. Still, an uneasy feeling had settled in my stomach from the moment we arrived. It took a good hour for them to assess her condition, and then another two hours for an operating theater to become available. According to the surgeon, the repair of the tendons in her shoulder would be an outpatient procedure, which meant we’d be out of here in a matter of hours.

The men that were after her were still out there. And knowing that the governor was involved made this all the more difficult. He had resources at his disposal with a simple phone call. I had similar resources, but if I were to use them, I would be labeled a murderer.

“Boss,” New Guy said as he walked up to me. He glanced around, lowering his voice. “What the fuck is going on here? Who are these men?”

Jack Cox stood outside the ER entrance. Dressed like a fucking biker in a black leather jacket and aviator sunglasses, he didn’t scream safe by any means. The way he stood told everyone not to fuck with him, and while I normally liked to try and blend in just a little in public, I was perfectly fine with it right now.

“They’re here to help. I’ll update you when I get the chance.”

“You have the chance now,” he argued. “Look, the chick is in surgery and—”

He didn’t get a chance to finish that thought as I grabbed him by the shirt and hauled him up against the wall, slamming him into it. “Watch your fucking tone with me. I don’t know what gave you the impression that you could walk right in and tell me how to run my company, but believe me, I will cut you loose if you don’t listen to what I tell you to do. There’s a time and a place to discuss business, and this is not either. Are we clear?”

His nostrils flared as displeasure swirled in his eyes, but he nodded and didn’t try to fight back. Jerking back from him, I pointed at the door. “Go call in and find out what’s taking Dash so fucking long with the paperwork.”

He tugged his shirt down sharply and walked away, not sparing a glance over his shoulder.

“Looks like you’ve got your hands full with that one,” Rae said as she walked up with coffee.

“He needs to learn his place.”

“Maybe his place isn’t with us.”

I sipped my coffee, grimacing at the awful taste. “He helped Eva.”

“Yeah, and any one of us could have done that.”

“He’s a medic. Face it, we needed him and he came through.”

“Still,” she shrugged. “There’s something about him I don’t trust.”

“Like what?”

She shook her head slightly. “I don’t know, but when I find out, you’ll be the first to know.”

I sighed and glanced at the clock again. “What the fuck is taking Dash so long?”

“Boss, you asked him to make a new identity for Eva. That’s not an easy request.”

“The hospital staff is wondering why I don’t have her identification,” I said, my voice low. “I told them I was having it sent over, that it was lost in the crash. There’s only so long I can hold them off.”

“Not to mention, the staff is getting a little jumpy about our new friends outside.”

I followed her gaze out the ER door. Jack looked like he was going to murder someone, and I knew he was packing more than one gun. “They look like something out of a magazine,” I retorted.

“Because of their good looks?” she grinned.

“Good looks? You callthatgood looks?” I nodded to Jack.

“He’s got that rugged look about him, like he just stepped off a helicopter and he’s all dirty and sweaty from taking out the bad guys. I like it.”

I barely bit back my sarcastic retort. The last thing I was going to do was debate whether our new friends were good looking or not.

“Where are we off to after this?”

“We need a new safe house for Eva. Rafe needs me to meet up with Hayes. Apparently, he’ll only talk to me. And I won’t bring Eva anywhere near this crap if I can help it.”

“You want me to watch her?” she asked.

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