Page 21 of Down & Dirty: Reaper

Vi sighed and spun in her chair until she faced the wall. She was tempted to bang her head against it.

“Hey, boss?”

She jumped and her heart skipped a beat before restarting again. She continued to stare at the back office wall wishing some secret hatch would open up and dump her somewhere else.

Anywhere else.

“Vi?”

She pulled a long breath in through her nose and quietly blew it out of her mouth.

“You okay?”

They needed to get this first initial awkwardness behind them. Then they could both go on with their lives.

She spun her chair back around and instead of meeting his searching hazel eyes, she focused on his chest. Her eyes landed on his dog tags. The ones he usually wore tucked under his shirt. For some reason they were currently on display.

She jerked her chin at them. “Why do some vets wear those once they’re no longer serving?”

All the former Shadows still wore theirs, too, despite no longer being active-duty military or “mercenaries.”

With an unreadable expression, he took a step further into the room. “Sometimes you wear them for so long, they’re a part of you. It feels weird to go without them. Plus, in our line of business, you never know when your body might need to be identified.”

Fuck, he looked good in his black tactical pants and black Under Armour shirt that clung to his muscles. “So, you’re prepared for the worst.”

“First to fight...”

“First to die,” she countered.

“Yeah. Comes with the territory. We’re just fighting a different type of war here.” He pointed to her office floor.

“Yes, let’s avoid combat, if at all possible. Did you need me for something?”

His mouth opened, then snapped shut, his lips twitched and his expression turned very readable.

Typical man, always thinking about sex.

Not that she couldn’t stop thinking about what they did, either.

But what came out of his mouth next was purely business. “Got two new locations to surveil.”

“Through a scope or binoculars?”

“Both. If I can get a clean shot or two off, I’ll do it. If not, I’ll take some notes on who’s coming and going.”

“So, another late night.”

One eyebrow rose. “Are you going to wait up for me again?”

“I’ll be up until I know you’re back safe.”

“I promise not to do anything stupid.” The corners of his eyes crinkled.

“We can consider what we did last night in that category.”

“Speak for yourself.” With that, he spun on his boot heel and strode out the door.

Chapter Five