by Marie James
It takes ten minutes for my soul to reenter my body. Another five for my eyes to refocus.
And by the time I’m able to move, Tinley is snoring softly beside me.
It only takes three minutes for me to wake her up with my mouth.
We don’t get a wink of sleep the rest of the night.
***
“You look exhausted,” Flynn says as I step into the breakroom area of the office.
I grin at him, not regretting a single second of what happened last night when Tinley came home from Paddy’s.
“You don’t look much better.”
His grin is wide, telling me he probably had a night much like my own. Remington, Anna, Whitney, and even Pam all went out last night. Speaking of…
“I didn’t see Pam up front.”
“She called in hungover,” Deacon says as he walks toward me. “Said we better not mess anything up while she’s gone.”
Flynn and I chuckle, laughing harder when Wren comes in looking like he’s been on a four-day bender.
“Good night?” I ask, earning a middle finger.
“I’m fucking exhausted,” he mutters as he inches slowly toward the coffee pot.
“I think we all are,” Flynn says but that same smile is on his face. “Isn’t it awesome?”
“My balls hurt,” Wren mutters. “Why does alcohol turn women into fucking sex-crazed psychos?”
“I’m not complaining,” I tell him as I look over at Deacon. “Oh, sorry. I know Anna can’t drink, so—”
“If you think it takes alcohol to get my wife—you know what? Not your business.” He looks over at Wren. “Did you get that list together?”
“Really?” Wren complains, his hand gripping the handle to his coffee mug as if he’s going to snatch it out from under the single-serve machine the second the last drip lands inside. “I just fucking got here.”
“And I asked for it yesterday.”
“After hours,” Wren argues. “Just because you go home and keep working doesn’t mean the rest of us do.”
“The girls went out last night. What else did you have to do?”
“First, I had to referee a damn fight. I had to bring Puff back up here because Simon kept hissing at him,” Wren says counting things off on his fingers. “Then I had to get some work done.”
“But not the things I needed?”
Wren takes a deep breath, turning around to face the coffee pot once again.
“What he’s saying is he had to glue his nose to the computer screen to keep an eye on Whitney,” Flynn says. “But seriously, thanks, man. It put my mind at ease to know you were making sure they were safe.”
“Really?” Deacon says to Flynn. “Do you really think Remington doesn’t know you were parked outside of Paddy’s the entire night?”
Flynn narrows his eyes. “Does Anna know you were in the passenger seat?”
Deacon snaps his mouth closed before looking at me.
I hold my hands up. “I knew you guys had it under control. I was at the house with Alex.”
“What are we arguing about?” Quinten asks as he walks into the room, his huge hand swiping down his long, dark beard.
He’s the only one with pep this morning and I hate how much of a morning person he always is. I know this guy would still have just as much energy if he was like the rest of us and didn’t get a wink of sleep.
“Obsessive men,” I say, feeling like a rock star but wondering if Wren is going to speak up and explain that we texted a hundred times last night as he gave me updates on the girls.
“Wren was telling me that he didn’t get to the list I needed,” Deacon adds.
“So that means we can wait for Kit to get back?”
“No. Wren’s going to get that list to me today. We won’t be delaying the new program.”
“Kit is the weapons expert,” Quinten hedges. “Maybe waiting would be best.”
Deacon narrows his eyes. Wren is normally the troublemaker in the group. Flynn balked and argued about being sent to New York a while back, but he came home in love. Quinten never argues about a job.
“What’s going on?” I ask, somehow out of the loop.
“Oh!” Wren yelps, the excitement enough to breathe a little life into his exhausted body. “Let me show you.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Quinten hisses, shoving past Wren as he pulls out his phone and begins swiping. “I haven’t gotten around to compiling the list, but I do have the graphics already up on the website.”
Deacon’s lips twitch as Wren turns his phone around for me to see.
“Really?” I look up from the phone to stare at my boss.
He’s normally so serious, but I know Anna is changing things for him. I just never thought he’d go to this extreme.
“Hashtag Blackbridge Special?”
Flynn snorts. He knows exactly where that damn viral tag came from. Remington just happens to be the daughter of a very famous TV-series couple. Her parents are awful, but their relationship was splattered all over the country, hitting the front page of gossip magazines more than once. When people found out he was hired as her babysitter/bodyguard, women came out of the woodwork wanting to work with Blackbridge. They didn’t need real help, and they were clogging up the time it took for Deacon to go through real requests.
“Is that you?” I ask, turning to face Quinten. “This is gold.”
Right on the front page of our website is a picture of Quinten, his huge stature looking a little mean and way too serious. His bulging arms, covered in tattoos, draw my eye.
“Did you touch up his tats?” I ask Wren.
“I added a little color,” Wren says with the hitch of one shoulder. “Figured it would draw more women in.”
Quinten grumbles.
“Are we an escort service or something now?”
Deacon shakes his head. “Keep reading, asshole.”
I scroll and scroll through numerous pictures of all of us, narrowing my eyes at the liberties Wren took in touching up my own picture. “My eyes aren’t green.”
“But how hot would you be if they were?” His eyebrows waggle.
“Fucker. There’s nothing on here explaining what this shit is for.” I hand the phone back to him.
“Wren,” Deacon snaps, a warning in his voice. “I told you to make it professional.”
“Look.” Wren moves his fingers, expanding the screen where down at the very bottom of the page, only visible by zooming in does it say…
Learn how to shoot with a Blackbridge hottie.
“Nope.” Deacon shakes his head. “No fucking way. This isn’t what we discussed.”
“We already have over three hundred women signed up,” Wren argues.
“What?” Quinten snaps. “There are only seven fucking lanes at the gun range. I can’t possibly teach that many people.”
“Horny women, you mean,” Flynn adds with a cough behind his hand to hide a laugh.
“Wren—”
“It’s not all horny women! You said you wanted to help the community by teaching women to protect themselves. I’m doing that.”
“By having three hundred women show up?” I chuckle. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“It’s an interest form, dick, not a free-for-all. I figured—”
“Wren,” Deacon warns again already guessing Wren’s plans.
“If you want to help. This is the best way to do it. I’m able to track those that complete the form. I have a bot set up to flag the ones that need the help the most.”
“Because they’re hornier?” Quinten hisses. “Are you tracking like lube and vibrator purchases on Amazon?”
Wren hisses and since he’s normally the jokester, the one giving us the most shit, we all pay attention.
“I’m tracking police reports, calls to 911, and hospital visits for injuries. There are women out there who need us. Women who are afraid to call. Who would never admit what is happening to them? Women being stalked. Women afraid after a v
icious attack. We can help them.”
Deacon mulls over the information, but hell, I’m sold on it, and Quinten doesn’t open his mouth to argue either.
“Get me the list,” Deacon says before he walks out of the room.
THE END
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OTHER BOOKS FROM MARIE JAMES
Newest Series
Blackbridge Security
Hostile Territory
Shot in the Dark
Contingency Plan
Truth Be Told
Calculated Risk
Heroic Measures
Sleight of Hand
Standalones
Crowd Pleaser
Macon
We Said Forever
More Than a Memory
Cole Brothers SERIES
Love Me Like That
Teach Me Like That
Cerberus MC
Kincaid: Cerberus MC Book 1
Kid: Cerberus MC Book 2
Shadow: Cerberus MC Book 3
Dominic: Cerberus MC Book 4
Snatch: Cerberus MC Book 5
Lawson: Cerberus MC Book 6
Hound: Cerberus MC Book 7
Griffin: Cerberus MC Book 8
Samson: Cerberus MC Book 9
Tug: Cerberus MC Book 10
Scooter: Cerberus MC Book 11
Cannon: Cerberus MC Book 12
Rocker: Cerberus MC Book 13
Colton: Cerberus MC Book 14
Drew: Cerberus MC Book 15
Jinx: Cerberus MC Book 16
Thumper: Cerberus MC Book 17
Apollo: Cerberus MC Book 18
A Very Cerberus Christmas
Cerberus MC Box Set 1
Cerberus MC Box Set 2
Cerberus MC Box Set 3
Ravens Ruin MC
Desperate Beginnings: Prequel
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Book 1: Sins of the Father
Book 2: Luck of the Devil
Book 3: Dancing with the Devil
MM Romance
Grinder
Taunting Tony
Westover Prep Series
(bully/enemies to lovers romance)
One-Eighty
Catch Twenty-Two