Page 23 of What About Love

“Understood, sir.”

With his face clouded in anger, he strode to the door, still barking orders. “Be in the conference room at eleven o’clock sharp. Eric is joining us by web conference. He’ll have the details on the most recent missing girl by then.”

He dismissed them with a loud, and emphatic, slam of the door.

Angie stared after him. “Was he like that in the service?”

“Worse.”

She’d seen him stern with Megan and in full command at Rossi often, but never in scary take-no-shit-from-anyone Green Beret Captain mode.

“You get used to it.”

Six members of the Rossi team had been in the same unit, commanded by Cap. When he retired a few years ago, his men had soon followed, many moving cross-country to join his new business venture. It was a testament to the esteem they had for their captain.

“He went easy because of you. If it had been only me with the problem, he would have unleashed the pronto speech ten minutes earlier and peppered it with so many F-bombs your ears would be singed.”

“How did you do it for so many years?”

“The same way you handled the chain of command at the SAPD until it went south with Stapleton’s shit. The big difference is I have nothing but respect for my captain. When he announced he was done, Rick, Dex, Sean, Jonas, and I didn’t think twice before following. None of us were about to stay and put our asses on the line for anyone else, or without our full team intact.”

Angie raised her eyes to find him watching her intently. For a long, silent moment, she looked back at him.

“Six men working in the trenches for years, you learn to read each other, anticipate one another’s reactions. That’s what he’s asking us to do in less than seventy-two hours. What do you say, little bit? Are you up for it?”

It seemed an impossible task with the uneasiness between them, but lives were at stake. She nodded, her gaze on his unwavering. “Let’s find this bastard and make him pay.”

His grin, despite the heaviness of the situation, came quickly. “That’s my girl. Let’s get to work.”

As her eyes followed him to the equipment locker to get protective gear for their sparring session, she replayed his words in her head.

His girl. If only that were true.

Chapter 6

AS HE GATHERED HEADGEAR, a mouth guard, and gloves, all in size small, from the equipment closet, T thought back on Cap’s call that morning at dawn with his new assignment. His first reaction was to refuse, right off. Getting close to Angie when she had feelings for him wasn’t fair to her.

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