Overjoyed, Ian picked her up around the waist and swung her around before capturing her mouth with his and kissing her like crazy again. Around them there was a chorus of cheers and clapping, but for him, his angel was the only person there.
Epilogue
Boomer sat at the desk in his office, his eyes narrowing as he studied the paper before him. The answers should be easy, but for the life of him, he couldn't come up with the solution. He glanced at his cell phone to check the time and saw it was eighteen-twenty hours. The six-thirty appointment Colleen had scheduled for him was later than normal but she'd told him the new client had requested the evening hour, so here he was trying to kill a few more minutes.
Mondays and Tuesdays were the only evenings it wasn't a problem for Trident clients to come to the compound where their offices were. The rest of the week, Ian and Devon Sawyer's other venture, The Covenant, was open. Some of Trident’s clients might be a little shocked to see the BDSM club's members in varying stages of undress walking through the parking lot.
As Boomer tapped his pen on the desk, he looked over the hints available to him and got more frustrated because he still couldn't figure it out. He glanced up as Ian walked in and sat in one of the two guest chairs on the other side of the desk. "What's a nine letter word for vague? Starts with an 'A' and fifth letter is a 'G’.
"Ambiguous." Ian rolled his eyes. "And if you're going to keep asking me for help with the daily crossword puzzles then I'm getting you a fucking thesaurus for Christmas this year instead of your bonus."
Boomer gave his boss a smirk. "You do, Boss-man, and I'm signing you up for an anchovy-of-the-month club."
Even though he knew his friend and employee was joking, Ian got a queasy look on his face. Boomer always found it funny how, out of six former SEALs, he was the only one who liked the oily, yet salty fish, considering how much time they'd spent in and on the ocean while in the Navy. Well, maybe that was the reason.
"Not funny, Baby Boomer." Ian picked up the stress squeeze ball the other man kept on his desk and tossed it back and forth between both hands. "So, did you find out any information on this new client?"
Boomer tossed the pen down on the desk and leaned back in his chair. "Nope. Colleen said the woman, a Kate Zimmerman, needed to hire Trident but she wouldn't deal with anyone but me. I've racked my brains and can't recall ever meeting anyone by that name. I tried calling the phone number she'd left but got the standard computerized voice telling me to leave a message. The number comes back to a throwaway cell."
"One-night-stand?"
He snorted and didn't take offense since all the guys on the team had more one-night-stands over the years than any of them cared to admit. Their time in the military and then the security business didn't give them many opportunities for long term relationships. Even if it did, Boomer wasn't interested. "I'd be lying if I said I remembered the first and last name of every woman I've ever slept with or scened with. But I'd like to think it would ring some sort of bell. Maybe she's a friend of a friend or something."
"Could be," Ian knew a lot of their business was gained by word of mouth. "Guess we'll know in a few minutes. If she has no objections, and even if she does, I'll be sitting in on the meeting until we find out what she needs from us. If it's a bullshit my-husband's-cheating-on-me thing, I'll leave you to it."
"Fine with me. Are we the only two left in the office?"
Both men's phones chimed a text. The guard at the front gate was alerting them to their new client's arrival. Murray would buzz her through the second gate and instruct her where to park. They both stood and Boomer grabbed a legal-sized yellow pad and his pen, while Ian headed for the door. "Yeah. Colleen left. Polo and Egghead are on their way to New York to escort that shipment of diamonds from a dealer to the buyer here in Tampa. Jake is trying to track down one of his informants who he's worried about. He hasn't seen the guy in about two months, which he says is unusual. And my lucky brother is wedding venue shopping with Kristen and probably picking out pink tablecloths with matching napkins as we speak."
"Ha!" Boomer barked and shook his head. "I wouldn't fuck with him, Boss-man. You're right behind him and karma's a bitch. Angie's going to be dragging your ass through the same tablecloths and napkins someday soon."
"Don't I know it. I'm trying to talk her into eloping but I'm not having much success." The pained look on his face was mostly false since he'd give his woman the world if she asked for it. Well, as long as he didn't have to help pick out matching flowers, cummerbunds and bridesmaids' dresses to go with it, he would. "I'll go get your client and meet you in the conference room."
"K. Just going to hit the head real quick."
While Boomer headed in one direction for the bathroom, Ian walked in the other, toward the reception area. He pulled the front door open and found himself looking at a brown-haired beauty who seemed to be about Boomer's age of thirty. Wearing a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved navy blouse, she stood about five-foot five in her flat off-white shoes which matched the belt at her slim waist. Her slender build made the shirt and pants look a little big on her as if she'd recently lost some weight but hadn't yet gotten clothes to fit her new frame. In Ian's opinion, she looked too thin. She took off her sunglasses and peered up at him, with big chestnut-colored eyes. "Hi, my name's Kate Zimmerman. I'm looking for Ben Michaelson. I have an appointment with him and the guard told me he was in this building."
When she glanced over her shoulder to where Murray was keeping watch at the gate, Ian's eyes didn't follow hers. Instead, he looked with interest at Beau, who was sitting near the driver's door of Ms. Zimmerman's Ford Focus. The goofy faced dog was panting but something about his posture and the fact the seemed to be in a 'stay' position had Ian eyeballing the woman in front of him. She saw where his gaze had been and the corners of her mouth curved upward a tad as he raised a curious eyebrow at her. Her smile didn't quite meet her anxious eyes and when he got no answer to his unasked question, he opened the door wider. "Please come in, Ms. Zimmerman. I'm Ben's boss, Ian Sawyer. It's nice to meet you. If you don't mind, I'll be sitting in on your appointment."
Her smile faltered a little before she recovered. "Um, no. I mean, it's fine; I don't mind. It might actually be better that way."
Ian's curiosity was now further peaked but he wasn't getting any bad vibes from her other than her nervousness, so he let her last comment slide for the moment. He glanced back at Beau, who was still sitting there with his tongue hanging out of his mouth and seemed to be waiting for a command. Ian tapped his leg. "Beau, heir." The dog rushed over to his master, stopped and when he received a slight hand signal, trotted past him on the way to the darkened conference room.
"He's a beautiful dog. Lab and Staffordshire Terrier, correct?"
"We think so. I found him as a pup...well, actually, he found me." He shut the door and gestured her toward the conference room. "The vet thinks there may be something else mixed in there, possibly Great Dane, because his legs are a little longer than normal for the two breeds." He turned on the overhead lights to the room as they entered. "Please have a seat. Boomer will be here in a moment."
"Boomer?" she asked as she placed her large purse on a chair while he pulled out the one next to it for her to sit in.
Ian then took the seat across from her, leaving his usual chair on the end empty. Although this was his company, he trusted his employee to take the lead in the unknown case. The client had requested him specifically and Ian was willing to concede his authority for the moment, therefore giving Boomer the 'head' seat at the table. He studied the woman for a few seconds before answering her. "Sorry, I meant Ben. Boomer is his call sign from the Navy. No one really uses his first name around here but it's out of habit." He heard the man in question come down the hallway and saw him enter the room a second later. Ms. Zimmerman's back was to the door, but Ian knew the moment she realized Boomer was there without having seen him. Her body stiffened.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ms.
Zimmerman. I..." Boomer walked over, peered down at the woman's face and froze. Confusion in his eyes turned to pure shock and Ian watched as his teammate's blood drained from his face. His normally strong voice changed to a whisper. "Katerina?"
And with that, Benjamin Thomas 'Boomer' Michaelson did something he'd never done before in his life. He fainted.
THE END
About the Author
Samantha Cole is a retired policewoman and former paramedic who has started a third career as an author. She has lived her entire life in the suburbs of New York City and has plans to become a ‘snow-bird’ between New York and Florida. Her two dogs, Jinx and Bella, keep her company and remind their ‘mom’ to take a break from writing every once in a while to go for a walk, of course with them in tow.
An avid reader since childhood, Samantha was often found with a book in hand and sometimes one in each. After being gifted with a stack of romance novels from her grandmother, her love affair with the genre began in her teens.
Samantha is continuing to work on the Trident Security series and also has a few other stand-alone books planned.
Other Books By Samantha Cole
Leather & Lace: Trident Security Book 1
Coming Soon – Waiting For Him: Trident Security Book 3 (Boomer’s Story)
Connect With Me
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SamanthaColeAuthor
Website: https://samanthacoleauthor.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamanthaCole222
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
His Angel: Trident Security Book 2 Page 25