by Amelia Jade
Jarvis bowed his head. “You’re right, I suppose.”
Garrin laughed, a booming noise that filled the room. “Well of course I am. That’s why I’m the colonel and you’re the major!”
Jarvis rolled his eyes and punched Garrin in the arm. Hard. “Go get us that evidence of where he’s being kept, you arrogant ass.”
The two of them laughed at that.
Internally Garrin breathed a sigh of relief. He and Jarvis had never been at odds over something, and he didn’t want to start now. Part of him had wondered if he was making this decision out of a misguided attempt to impress Mia. But if that had been the case, Jarvis would have pressed him far harder over it.
It still might have started as that, but there was a sound, logical reason to carrying out the raid, and now he knew all his men were with him.
A snarl pulled at his upper lip.
They were going to Fenris!
It was about time.
Chapter Five
Mia
She looked out the window for the fourth time that hour, her eyes scanning back and forth on the street.
Then with a hiss she pulled the curtains back tight to each other, blocking out the light, and preventing her from seeing out.
Or anyone from seeing in.
It was a Saturday, and thankfully she didn’t have to work. She was supposed to have gone to work the day before, but had called in sick so that she could go explain things to the Green Bearets.
She’d hoped they were going to keep things quiet, and leave her mostly alone.
Mia had been so, so wrong. Firstly Garrin had followed her home and removed the watcher she hadn’t even known existed. As if that wasn’t enough, she’d noticed several other Green Bearets in the neighborhood now. They were discreet, and tried not to be noticed, but it was hard to miss a hulking behemoth as they strolled by.
There was also at least one now taking up residence in the same house the Fenris watcher had been in.
Mia was getting dragged into their war, and she hated it. This was the opposite of what she’d wanted.
They’re there for your own protection, to ensure that nothing happens to you. Garrin probably put them there himself. He doesn’t want a hair on your head being harmed.
It was sweet of him, but Mia wanted to live her own life. She didn’t want a pair of thick-muscled bodyguards following her around everywhere she went. When she saw him next, the first thing she was going to do was ask him to get rid of them. Mia did not like the feeling that she was being watched.
Mia glanced at the clock as her stomach rumbled.
It was one in the afternoon. Well past lunchtime.
Get some food in your stomach. You’re getting hangry, and that’s making you cranky.
She snorted to herself and pushed back off the couch and away from the covered window, making her way into the kitchen.
“Oooh, milk sounds delicious,” she said to herself, pulling the jug from the fridge door and twisting off the cap, preparing to pour herself a glass.
The front door rattled on its hinges without warning and Mia shouted, dropping the milk container.
The plastic jug hit the ground and splashed up and out, splattering her, the fridge, and the floor.
Whoever it was knocked again as she stood there dripping.
“WHAT?” she shouted in the direction of the door, her voice thick with anger.
“Uh, Mia?” came the reply, the voice distorted but still intelligible despite the barrier between them.
It was Garrin.
“Don’t you people know how to knock with a proper amount of force?” she snapped, using a towel to begin drying the worst of it off of her. “You don’t have to try and break the damn thing down just to prove your strength to me.”
There was a long, sheepish pause. “I’ll come back later,” Garrin said at last, his voice muffled through the door but still understandable.
Mia sighed, abandoning the cause of cleaning for the time being and went to the nearby door, unbolting it and pulling it open.
“No, no. Come in. I doubt you’re here just for a social call.”
Garrin arched an eyebrow. “Maybe I’m here for half and half?”
Mia went back to the kitchen, where she could see the door, and started drying herself off some more. “No, you aren’t. You’re just making that up as you go because you can see I’m in a terrible mood.”
The big shifter didn’t respond for a moment, and then he slipped his boots off and came into the kitchen as well. Still without speaking he grabbed some paper towels and began to mop up the floor.
“I didn’t realize you wanted me to come for a social call,” he said at last.
Mia stiffened.
That hadn’t been quite what she’d meant.
“Well, I certainly didn’t feel like cleaning this all up by myself,” she said haughtily, playing it off.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have spilled it in the first place.”
Her jaw dropped open and she sputtered to come up with a reply. Finally she shook her fist at him. “This is your fault, I’ll have you know. So it’s only appropriate you help me clean it up!”
“My fault?” Garrin gasped in over-the-top surprise. “How is this my fault?”
“I was all ready to have a nice glass of milk. Then you decided to shake the door like a bloody paint can with your first! Scared the milk out of me!”
Garrin snorted with laughter at her choice of words.
“I really didn’t hit it that hard,” he said gently after a moment. “Are you okay? Still on edge about everything?”
“Well, there’s the fact that I might have condemned by brother and me to death, for starters. Then there’s also the big issue where you came and went all super soldier on my neighbor’s house.” She paused, and then raised a finger in the air. “Oh, and then there’s the fact that now you people are spying on me, instead of the enemy.”
Garrin frowned. “Spying on you? We’re not spying on you.”
She waved her hand at the closed window. “Why do you have your bullies walking around my neighborhood, or taking up position in the same house you tried to remodel?”
“To keep an eye on you, in case Fenris tries anything,” the shifter said slowly, as if that should be obvious. “They’re there for your protection, Mia.”
She waved her hand in the air. “They’re making me feel nervous and tense. Can’t you tell them to be inconspicuous about it all? They walk down the street and stare at my house. It’s rather unnerving.”
A look of distinct unhappiness came over his face. “They are supposed to be inconspicuous. I’ll have a chat with them, to, ah, impress the importance of staying mostly unseen. It would appear they didn’t take my orders as seriously as I might have expected.”
Mia wondered how that conversation would play out. Just as quickly she decided she was glad that it would happen far away from her. Somebody was about to get an ass-chewing, it sounded like.
“I apologize,” he said. “They weren’t supposed to reveal themselves to you.”
She waved it off. “It’s over and done with now, and I have faith you’ll fix it. Thank you,” she said at last.
The last of the milk cleaned up, she put the jug back in the fridge—oddly she was no longer wanting a glass—and turned back to face Garrin again.
“So, what was your actual reason for coming here?”
“It’s about your brother. We’re going to try and go after him. But I can’t send my men into Fenris without a plan of attack. I won’t. I need to know if they sent you any proof, a photo, video, anything that you could show us to help us identify where it is he’s being held in Fenris itself.”
Mia’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re serious about going after him,” she said, stunned.
Garrin frowned. “I said we were going to try and get him back. I meant it.” He paused, and then his eyes pierced her gaze. “Did you not believe me?”
Shit. She hadn’t meant to
accuse him of being a liar, as if she’d never believed him. It wasn’t that at all!
“I wanted to,” she said pathetically, hoping he wouldn’t be mad. “But that’s just such a huge thing to promise, that I didn’t actually expect you to be able to follow through, I suppose.”
Garrin’s shoulders flexed and he worked his jaw. “I see.”
“I’ve hurt you,” she said softly.
“No,” he replied, brushing it off. “No, not at all.”
But Mia could tell he was lying. The pain in his eyes wasn’t as easily disguised as his words would have her believe.
“Yes, I have,” she repeated. “For that, I am sorry. I should give you the benefit of the doubt. After all, you’ve done more for me already than I ever expected. So, from now on, I’ll believe you until I learn otherwise.”
Garrin’s jaw came up at that. “I’ll try to never give you a reason to believe otherwise.”
Mia was hit by the force behind his words, the solidity to that vow. Garrin was deadly serious.
“I believe you,” she whispered, looking up at him, letting him stare into the depths of her smoky gray eyes.
“Good.”
“Stay here,” she said, and before he could protest, she went down the short hall to the other room on the main floor, her home office and computer room. There she went to a drawer and pulled out a file folder from it.
The folder had several manila envelopes stuffed into it. She removed the first one, feeling the small, square-ish items it contained.
“Here,” she said to Garrin, putting it down on the kitchen island. “That’s all I have. But don’t open it here,” she said as his fingers went for the flap. “I don’t want to see it again. Take it with you, and let me know if it’s enough.”
Garrin paused his motion, then slowly patted the envelope and left it where it was, not making any attempt to take it. “I’m sure it’ll be enough,” he said.
“I hope so,” she said.
The big shifter looked around her house for a moment. “Nice place here,” he said, even though he’d seen it the night before.
“It’s not bad, though when you’re under house arrest, it can get a little cozy,” she replied.
“House arrest?” he asked quizzically.
“Yeah. Your goons have kept me penned up here. I didn’t think I was supposed to leave.”
Garrin shook his head. “You absolutely can leave.” He paused, a thoughtful look on his face. “In fact, why don’t you come with me? We’ll go get some food.”
Was he asking her out on a date? Or was he just trying to be polite, to show her that she shouldn’t feel scared to leave her house?
It was tough to tell.
“While I’m not against the idea in principle,” she found herself saying, “I don’t think it’s a good idea right now.”
“Oh,” Garrin said, the disappointment evident on his face.
“Not because I don’t want to,” she assured him hurriedly. “But because right now, I don’t think being seen out in public with the head of the Green Bearets would do much for my brother’s well-being.”
“Valid point,” he admitted. “So, let’s order some pizza then. Get it delivered, and I’ll stay here.”
Mia swallowed hard through the sudden lump that appeared in her throat. Him, stay here with her? To just hang out?
The idea of spending time close to him, without anyone else around, was…dangerously tempting. Her skin tingled as tiny little bursts of electricity ran up and down her spine at the thought, sending shivers through her body.
This was a deliciously bad idea.
***
Garrin
Had he just invited himself to have a dinner date with her…in her house?
Garrin replayed the conversation in his head.
Yes, yes, he had done exactly that. Mia had yet to give him an answer though, so perhaps she wasn’t feeling it like he was…
“That’s going to depend,” she said at long last with a sly smile.
“On what?” he asked, his heart fluttering nervously. Thankfully his voice stayed level and didn’t betray him.
“What kind of pizza toppings do you like?”
Garrin grinned. “Easy. Any meat. Also onion or green pepper are also acceptable.”
Mia frowned, making a thoughtful but unsure noise that made him wonder just how far off base he was with his response. Was she a vegetarian perhaps? Or the type that liked hot peppers and olives? He could live with the first, but the second was just not acceptable. Nobody was allowed to ruin a perfectly good meat-filled pizza with olives. It was practically blasphemy!
“Well, don’t just stand there and evaluate my answer,” he said in exasperation at last. “What do you like, if those toppings are no good?”
Mia arched an eyebrow with slow, deliberate patience, designed to drive him wild when she didn’t immediately respond.
Garrin mock-glowered at her.
“If that’s your tough face, I think you have some work to do before you get back out in the field,” she remarked. “’Cause it’s not very good.”
His jaw dropped open.
“Oh, now that was a low blow,” he said, clutching at his chest where his heart was. “I’m not sure I can ever recover from that one.”
Mia giggled, a delightful sound, like the burbling of a fast-moving brook in the spring.
His blood heated in response, and Garrin felt his bear come to life.
No. Down boy. Now is not the time for that. Pizza. We’re having pizza. That’s not a code word for anything, it literally means we’re ordering pizza and eating it. So you’ll have to live with the deliciousness of oven-baked pizza dough, and not what you’ve got on your mind.
Garrin often had full-on conversations with his bear in his mind. It probably said some things about him, but he’d never claimed to be entirely normal. The point was always driven home, and his animal rarely gave him problems, obeying his commands and generally making life easy.
Not this time though. This time it was shaking off his calming thoughts and promises of melty cheese and deliciousness. It wanted something else, and it wanted it bad. Garrin was no fool; he was well aware of his bears intents. After all, his animal side and his human side were mostly in agreement this time. They wanted the same thing.
They wanted her.
Mia. Mia Jameson. Coordination manager at the Cloud Lake Logistics Facility.
“What do you do for fun?” he blurted out suddenly, his eyes focused on her shoulders and arms, marveling once more at the muscle on them.
She wasn’t body-builder big, but there was definitely some definition in her arms, and her simple build told him that she did something athletic, something challenging.
“Given up on getting an answer already?” she teased.
“Ah, uh, I guess so?” he replied, mentally hitting himself over the head with a hammer.
Stop acting like a little boy with his first crush! You’re a full-blown adult, and then some. This isn’t the first pretty girl you’ve been around.
No, but it was the first pretty girl that interested him in ways that were more than just a tumble in bed. Garrin found that he wanted to know Mia, to be able to understand her inside and out, to be close to her, until he knew what made her tick. He wanted to spoil her, to lift her up to the stars and give her everything she ever deserved or wanted.
It was the first girl he’d ever wanted to live the fairytale romance with.
“In my spare time in the spring and summer I double as a whitewater rafting instructor at a place an hour south of here,” she said.
Garrin nodded, looking once more at her long, powerful arms and upper body. Yes, that made a lot of sense.
“Neat,” he said aloud. “I’ve never been. Is it hard to learn?”
“Learn? No, it’s easy to learn. But to be good at it is a lot harder.” Her eyes ran him up and down in an elevator stare, appraising him. “You’re kind of big though. Could be hard to find
you a spot.”
Garrin regarded her dryly. “I’m kind of big? You don’t say,” he drawled, glancing down his tall frame.
Mia blushed mightily.
Why was she blushing? He’d just been sarcastically commenting on her observation and—
Oh, you idiot! She doesn’t think you’re referring to that sort of big. Quick. Say something smart and witty to change the subject before she does.
Across from him, Mia recovered her composure. “Perhaps,” she said, moving to the counter behind her and grabbing her phone from it. “But I’m sure there’s bigger.”
His jaw dropped open for the second time that afternoon at the bluntness of her comment.
“All right, what kind of pizza toppings do you like?” he said, shaking his head at her with slow, precise movements, trying to prevent a smile from blossoming on his face.
“I’m all about the meat,” she said with crisp precision, and then spun around to punch numbers into the phone.
Garrin tried to recover his voice, but by the time he had, she was already ordering their food.
Mia had a tongue on her! He was loving her acerbic wit and the way she didn’t hesitate to poke fun at him, despite him being twice her size. It was…refreshing. All too many people were afraid to have playful banter with him. Even his friends in the Green Bearets were a little cautious, simply because at the end of the day, he was their superior.
But not Mia. She wasn’t holding back, and so far had no problems teasing the shit out of him. It was driving him nuts, and he was craving more.
He looked around as she spoke to the pizza place. The single-story house wasn’t overly large. The front door opened practically into the kitchen, with the entertainment area around to the left. Straight ahead was a hallway with what he imagined was her bedroom and bathroom. Nice and compact, without feeling claustrophobic.
Mia moved to her right as she spoke, and he heard dishes clattering in the sink in front of her. It was that that clued him in to the rest of her house. Dust and debris on any number of surfaces. Some garbage and recycling that hadn’t been taken out. He saw a pile of what appeared to be clean laundry in a hamper on the floor next to the couch, as if she’d been meaning to fold it.