Hidden Impact (Safeguard #1)(41)

“And we’re going to get help for your sister. Edict complicates things, but it’s not a showstopper.”

“You haven’t told me much about Edict yet except that they’re another merc-...contract group.” Despite her assertion, her words came out in a whisper instead of a challenge. And he couldn’t blame her for thinking of mercenaries when it came to them.

It was a label. Most people had the worst meaning in mind when they thought of mercenaries. But he was what he was and he still made his choices based on what he decided was the right thing. Labels didn’t bother him much.

“There’s not a lot to tell you yet besides that. We’ll get facts here and as soon as I have them, I’ll share them with you. Trust me a little while longer.”

“Only if you promise to make the next long elevator ride more fun.”

She might have meant it as a joke, but desire roared through him, taking him by surprise. The visual of her with her head thrown back as he took her up against the wall of the elevator took over his entire mind for a full minute.

Down, boy.

“Careful what you wish for.” Wrestling as he was with the idea of the multitude of elevators he could take her to, he couldn’t be blamed for how gruff his voice had become. Right?

Desire sparked in her eyes. “Let’s table that for another time.”

Of course she had to mention tables. This conference room was looking tempting too, glass and all.

He watched her, wondering how he could be struck by how beautiful she was multiple times a day. Not as if he ever found her unattractive, but he just never got used to it. She took his breath away. And as he saw her own breath catch under the weight of his gaze, he had a hell of a time wrenching his mental processes back to the mission at hand.

“I’ll be back soon.”

*

“You look wound up tighter than a violin string.” The man behind the desk stood immediately and came around to pull Gabe into a quick hug, pounding him once on the back. “You need to go get laid or something.”

“You’ve got a way with words, Harte.” And he wasn’t particularly wrong either. Gabe just had a specific lady in mind and a mission to complete first.

Harte was one of those men who could head into a bar and walk out with his choice of women. He wasn’t pretty, per se. He oozed charm, though, and cleaned up good. He could also carry off the day-old-scruff look and still have women hanging all over him. That said, Harte’s advantage was his brown hair, brown eyes, slightly taller than average height stats. Anyone taking a description of him would get very little in the way of distinctive details to go on if they were trying to track the man down.

People instantly liked and trusted Harte when they met him, then couldn’t quite remember a day later. A very nice talent in their line of work. Besides, Harte actually enjoyed speaking to people. It was why he coordinated what major contracts they took and negotiated the terms, most of the time.

“How’s the missing girl job going?” Harte dropped into one of two armchairs arranged in a conversational grouping with a leather couch to one side of his office.

Gabe sat on the edge of the other, leaning forward so his elbows rested on his knees, and threaded his fingers together. “Good news and bad news.”

“Always the way. Gimme the bad news first.”

“We’re going to have to go through Edict to get to the missing girl. And since it’s Edict, they’ve got deep pockets funding them.” Gabe watched Harte closely to gauge his reaction.

Harte didn’t move but his expression darkened. “Professionally speaking, they get things done.”

“True.”

And private military contractors like Edict made the term mercenaries an insult to the rest of them. A big part of the reason Gabe had joined Centurion Corporation after he’d been discharged had been the ethics the Centurions held higher than money. Maybe not as noble as the US military branches, but simple and humble: do the right thing.

“It’s how and what they choose to do.” Harte stood and headed for the small bar setup. “You need anything?”

“Nah.” It wasn’t that Gabe didn’t drink. He just didn’t need one right now.

“Here’s some rocks in a glass so I didn’t feel like an * drinking by myself.” Harte returned holding the promised tumbler out. “What the hell is their acronym again? It’s some long ass thing.”

Gabe took the tumbler. “Edict is an acronym?”

Well, shit, he’d have to do some digging. Never occurred to him to look.

“Not officially. One of the boys came up with it one night after a particularly irritating scrape with them. I think we’d need to be shit-faced drunk to remember it.” Harte took a sip of his scotch. “It was funny as hell at the time.”

Not much humor in the current situation, though. “The added bad news is Jewel is working for Edict now and directly involved in this situation.”

Harte stared at Gabe, took another drink, and stared at Gabe again. “Didn’t she shoot you?”

“Yeah. But I got better.” And he didn’t plan to give Jewel the opportunity to do it again.

“She’s not carrying around her AK, is she?”

Gabe shook his head. “Not unless she’s got a creative way to hide it.”