Wicked Force (Wicked Horse Vegas #4.5)(2)

I just stare at him.

There’s a flash of white teeth as he laughs at me. “Only white hat stuff. Saving people, helping to fight terrorism.”

That I could work with.

“We only assassinate really bad guys,” he adds.

That gives me pause and he must see it on my face because he raises both hands up in mock surrender to indicate he’s done teasing me. “The only government contracts I’m interested in are ones in which we’d be joining up with special ops forces. Things that are sanctioned by our governments and where they might need extra support. Those bring in high dollar compared to the risk. But honestly, I want to build the company up with a lot of domestic type of work. Like I said, security services, armed protection. Stuff like that.”

“And I’m the first you contacted?” I ask him, and I’m not sure why that’s so important to me. I know Jerico has worked with a lot of high-level military during his short career as a marine and probably has a lot of mates he’s closer to than me.

Yet here he is in London buying me a fancy dinner.

“Your experience in human intelligence is a plus, but you’re the first I asked because you’re the one I’d trust the most with my life,” he tells me, and then pulls an envelope out of the inside breast pocket of his suit coat.

Leaning forward, he hands it across the table to me at the same time our waiter returns with our drinks. Jerico picks up his scotch but I ignore my beer as I break the seal and pull out a document titled “Offer of Employment.”

I take my time to read it, noting that the salary and benefits far exceed what I could make working at a luxury car dealership. But the risk is greater too, so most of the money is considered hazardous duty pay.

“That offer to you is confidential as I’m not offering those same exact terms to other recruits,” Jerico says blandly. “But—”

“But I’ll also be the first you’ll call up for something dangerous.” I finish his sentence as I fold the document back up and slide it into the envelope. Setting it down on the table, I pick up my beer and take a sip. “It’s a good offer. Great even.”

“Yes, it is,” Jerico agrees.

“Where are you going to have your main offices?”

“Vegas,” he says and I blink in surprise, because I figured he’d locate closer to Washington, D.C., if we were going to be doing contract work for the government.

Jerico chuckles. “Seriously, Kynan... most of the work is going to stay domestic. It’s not going to be uber exciting stuff. Trust me, after you have to guard some pop diva princess for a few days, you’re going to be begging me to send you on a dark op. The truth is though, it’s a higher return on investment to build up a volume of private security work with less risk to us.”

“Then why do contract work at all?” I ask him.

Jerico shrugs and gives me a sly grin. “Because that money is very, very good and I’ll personally need something to combat the boredom of protecting pop diva princesses.”

I turn back to the issue of being headquartered in Vegas as it’s not my favorite place in the world. “Why Las Vegas?”

“Because my first private contract I have in place is to upgrade the security on three major casinos owned by a large consortium,” he tells me. “It’s enough money to completely fund startup expenses and salaries for a full five years. The project will take months and the tax breaks are really good.”

“Damn.” I blow out a low whistle of appreciation. “How did you score that? You’re not even in business yet.”

“Let’s just say the CEO of the consortium owes me a huge favor.”

I cock an eyebrow at Jerico. He can’t leave me hanging like that.

He grins. “I served with his son and had an occasion to save his life. His dad is eternally grateful. But I had to put in a legit bid on the project and compete with some other security firms. Still, it was the boon owed to me that pushed the odds in my favor.”

I take a moment to consider what I’ve learned. A damn good offer of employment that lets me do what I’m good at. While I didn’t want to serve in the Royal Marines for the span of a life career, I did love the work. And while private security might be as dull as selling luxury cars, I can read enough between the lines with Jerico. We’re going to have some jobs that are going to pay insanely well and will satisfy our need for adrenaline rushes. I’m an admitted adrenaline junkie and this sounds right up my alley.

“I hate Vegas,” I tell Jerico and he snorts. I can’t help but laugh. “But I like your offer and I’ll gladly accept. When do you want me to start?”

Jerico’s face lights up with relief and I truly understand just how much he must respect my abilities. “As soon as you can, buddy. We have some casinos to fortify.”

I pick up my beer and hold it out. He does the same with his scotch and we tap the glasses against each other.

“Cheers, mate,” I tell him with a smile. “Here’s to a great new adventure for us.”

“Cheers,” he replies and tips his glass back.





Chapter 2



Joslyn



The last lingering notes fade away and the applause is instantaneously thunderous. My arms are stretched high in the air for a victorious moment, one clutching the wireless microphone and the other waving to the crowd. The relief that I pulled off another successful show pulses through my body.