Bait & Switch (Alphas Undone #1)(9)

“That may be true, Maxwell. But I recruited you for a reason. You were among my best and brightest, and so far, you’ve kept up the good work and haven’t let me down.”

Pride swelled in my chest. Before the ink had even dried on my discharge papers, Barton had personally asked me to come work for Redstone. It was a favor—and an honor—that I’d never forget.

“Thank you, sir.” I corrected the old reflex. “I mean, Mr. Barton.”

My boss’s bushy eyebrows lifted slightly. I couldn’t tell if he was amused or annoyed. “At ease, son. We’ve both been civilians for a long time now.”

I nodded. And I’m damn glad about that. Quitting the Navy was the best decision I’d ever made; joining Redstone was the second best.

Outside the firing range, I hadn’t shot my service weapon in nearly two years, and I didn’t miss the action one bit. Training police officers and escorting at-risk executives was a welcome reprieve from messy SEAL business. Not to mention working whenever the hell I wanted to work. That freedom was definitely one of my favorite parts.

But even if I hadn’t served under him, Jerry Barton wasn’t the kind of man you called by his first name. He commanded attention and respect as easily as breathing. Just looking into those steel-gray eyes made my back straighten—with a little fear as well as admiration.

“There’s something else.” He paused and looked away from the camera. “I have a special assignment for you, and it’s . . . personal to me.”

“Of course. Name it.”

“I will when the time is right. I’m still gathering a last bit of intel.”

I nodded. “Understood.”

I had no idea what kind of assignment could be personal to him. Maybe a vendetta against an old rival. Either way, he’d always been there for me, and so of course I’d help.

Seemingly satisfied with that, Barton ended the video call without saying good-bye. I turned off the projector and went back to my desk.

I was in for a long afternoon. While Redstone did provide physical security for important locations or at-risk VIPs, we outsourced whatever monitoring technology was involved—alarm systems, CCTV feeds, the works. I wasn’t the guy running wires under people’s desks. But I knew what needed to happen and who to call to coordinate it all. So today, I had phone calls to make and e-mails to follow up on from last week’s assignments.

I’d only been working for a few minutes when Greyson ambled by. “What’s up? We still on for the big game on Saturday?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, of course.” I turned away from my computer. “I was actually thinking of inviting someone.” Before he could ask, I added, “Yes, it’s a woman.”

Greyson’s mouth twitched. “Daniella working this weekend?”

I nodded.

“You should definitely invite her, then. I can come check her out . . . see what’s got you so interested.”

Oh, for Christ’s sake. I knew where Greyson was going with this. He wasn’t exactly subtle about his disapproval of my lifestyle. Maybe disapproval was the wrong word; it was closer to unease, or even worry.

“Sure, why the hell not,” I finally replied. “I’ll text her right now.” We had talked about catching a game sometime.

I pulled out my phone and typed a message: Longhorns vs. Sooners on Sat. 3 p.m. my place. You in?

Greyson looked over my shoulder. “Really, dude? You’re truly the master of romance.”

“Since when do I care about that?” I hit the Send button. “There. You get to meet Lacey this weekend. Now, f*ck off and let me work.”

With a smile, Greyson waved his middle finger at me and left for his own desk.

I settled in to wrangling subcontractors again. But as I composed e-mails and made calls, my mind still lingered on my phone, waiting for Lacey’s reply.

Fortunately, I didn’t have long to wait before my phone dinged.

Lacey: I’d love to.

? ? ?

When I got home, Daniella was lying on the couch in casual clothes, long limbs sprawled out comfortably.

I squinted at the book in her hands. The cover featured a young woman floating in outer space with a tentacled monster.

“You’re reading that again?” I asked.

She let the book drop just enough to smile at me. “Yeah, why not? People keep interrupting me.”

“Sorry,” I said with a shrug. “You’re working this weekend, right? I invited Lacey over to watch the game on Saturday.”

“Duty calls. That should be fun, though.” Daniella started to raise her book again, then paused. “So she’s cool with our whole situation?”

“Yeah, I told her everything. Well, maybe not everything. But she got the gist of it.”

Judging by Lacey’s brief moment of shock on our first date, my love life was hard enough to wrap her head around without adding BDSM into the mix. And she didn’t need to know all of our private details right now, anyway. If the moment called for an explanation later, I’d give her the short version.

“She said she was fine with it as long as I didn’t expect any threesomes.”

“I’m sure that broke your slutty heart into a million pieces,” Daniella remarked dryly.

“Careful. You shouldn’t insult the guy who holds the whip around here.” I gave her a predatory grin.