The Men with the Golden Cuffs (Masters and Mercenaries #2)(13)

Because he wanted to see if Serena had a hand in this herself. Adam didn’t agree, but there was zero reason to argue with Jake until he had some proof. Jake was a “guilty until proven innocent” kind of guy.

Jake came to the backyard gate and gave it a tug. It didn’t budge. “Good girl. She has a lock on it. Unfortunately, I can climb.”

Jake hefted himself over the tall gate without a care. Adam planted his feet, pulled himself up, and followed. If this stalker worked out at all, he wouldn’t have a problem.

Her small backyard looked like an oasis of calm. She had a lovely patio with sunny furniture and a little fire pit. The whole house was surrounded with old-growth trees—the kind that would be easy to climb and hide in.

There were five windows on the back of the house. Jake checked the largest two carefully.

“Sensors on these.”

Adam inspected the smaller windows. The blinds were drawn. It could lead to a bedroom, but he would bet his money that this was a kitchen or a dining room window. He didn’t see any wires or other sensors. “Here’s our in. Are you sure we shouldn’t just keep knocking on the damn door? We could easily prove this to her without giving her a heart attack.”

“No.” Jake shook his head as he pulled out the super sharp knife and duct tape he’d brought. Jake had a bag in the trunk of his vehicle filled with helpful items. “She needs to understand a few things. We won’t always protect her in the manner she wants to be protected. You know how these things can go. She thinks because she’s the ‘client’ that she gets to call the shots. And that will get her killed. I would rather have her pissed off and alive.”

“And if she knows we’re out here and she comes after us with a baseball bat, or worse, she shoots our asses?” Both were very reasonable scenarios. He’d just recovered from the last time he’d been shot. Without thinking about it, he put a hand over the scars on his gut. A single bullet had torn him apart. He was lucky to be alive. When he’d woken up and realized he hadn’t gone into the light, he’d sworn he wouldn’t let anything hold him back. He wouldn’t give in to fear. He would be open to the possibilities. But when the possibilities included another round of surgery…

“She won’t. If that woman owns a gun, then I can’t read people. She’s one of those ‘gun control’ nuts. Trust me, the only thing we might be in for is her cat meowing us to death.” Jake worked quickly. It wasn’t the first time they’d broken into a place to complete a mission. He passed Adam the knife as he tore through the duct tape. “Get to work on the glue.”

It was a frighteningly simple thing. Jake made small handholds out of the duct tape while Adam cut through the glue that held the glass pane to the window. His knife was small and wickedly sharp, making quick work of the glue. In mere minutes, Jake pulled the entire pane out of the window and they had easy access to Serena’s haven.

Adam decided to go first. Maybe she’d hold back when she realized it was him. He was pretty sure she’d shoot off Jake’s junk the minute she had a chance. He lifted the shades, and sure enough, there was someone waiting for him. An enormous dog sat with wide eyes as though he’d just been waiting there for a playmate to show up. Adam got a big old kiss from the large mutt who seemed to have some form of doggy halitosis. He sputtered a bit, wiping away dog drool. “You were wrong about the cat. It’s a really big dog.”

Jake’s low voice floated into the room. “He doesn’t sound like he’s growling.”

The dog wasn’t. His tail was wagging in a powerful thump, and he licked at Adam’s face as though greeting an old friend. “Yeah, I think we can bet that this boy wasn’t top of his class at security dog school.”

The dog panted and did a couple of circles as Adam threw a leg over the sill and hauled himself in. The dog took advantage of his now fully exposed body to hop up, put his massive paws on Adam’s shoulders, and lick at him enthusiastically.

“Well, at least we know you’re going to find love in this house. It’s a guarantee now,” Jake said with a smirk as he, too, entered. “That dog is worth nothing.”

But he put a hand out and greeted the enormous thing. Jake snorted slightly as the dog licked him, too. “I think this is a mix between a lab and a retriever. Do you think she walked in and asked for the biggest * dog she could find? Yes, boy, I called you a *. That’s what you are. You should have already gnawed through Adam’s leg. Yes, that’s what good dogs do.”

Adam had to admit it. Things weren’t looking great for Serena Brooks. If he’d wanted to brutally murder her, he’d already gotten past her security system. He’d made friends with her guard dog, and so far, no one had shown up to clock him with a baseball bat.

Either Serena was very na?ve or she wasn’t that terrified.

His concern must have shown on his face since Jake slapped him across the shoulder. “There it is. I knew you could do it. I knew you could think with the other head.”

“You’re an *.” His gut churned a little at the thought that he was wrong about Serena.

Jake shrugged. “Yep, but I’m an * who so far has managed to keep us in one piece.”

There it was—that odd invisible tether that somehow kept them together. They had met their first day of basic training. Adam had felt the weight of generations of service on his shoulders. Jake had joined because he had nowhere else to go. Adam had come from privilege and Jake from poverty. And they had fit. Ten years, a war, several near-misses with death and countless women later, Adam couldn’t imagine his life without Jacob Dean in it.