Hot Protector(57)

He wouldn’t know what the fuck to do with himself if he did. Sam flickered through his mind, but she didn’t stay. Hell, Sam was as dedicated to her career as he was to his. It was no longer a job but a lifestyle—for both of them.

What the hell would they do anyway? Get married? Kids were out for more than one reason. He was too old to deal with toddlers—and too impatient to handle them. Sam was in her forties too, and she’d never indicated a desire to have children. So what did that leave?

Buying an RV and driving to Florida? Touring the national parks? Sitting on a beach and losing track of time because he had nowhere to be?

Mendez tried not to shudder, but fuck, he shuddered anyway. No. Just no. Slowing down wasn’t for him. He’d die in this job if he could. Preferably not in this chair, but who the fuck knew what could happen?

When they’d talked about everything they could in the allotted time slot and Alex was sufficiently both briefed and overwhelmed at once, they shook hands and Alex left to take care of some of the details to do with his move to DC. He’d be in the office the next day for his first full day shadowing the outgoing deputy, and they’d go from there.

Mendez stared at the phone, then reached over and picked it up, dialing Sam before he could change his mind.

“Johnny,” she said when she answered, and her voice was warm like honey.

“How are you today, Sam?”

“Busy. You?”

“Same. Hey, anything for me in Paris?”

Sam laughed softly. “Not even pretending to butter me up first?”

“I’ll butter you up later,” he said with a smile. “Literally, if you like.”

“Oh, kinky. I might like that a lot.” She blew out a breath. “I’ve got nothing available in Paris right now. I’ve tried, but everyone is tied up with other assignments.”

Mendez ground his teeth and then stopped when his jaw ached. “Thanks for trying.”

“Is everything okay over there?”

He sighed. “So far as I know. I’m not involved, remember?”

“I know. And I know how upset you are about it.”

“Yeah.” Upset was a mild description of what he was feeling, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Pissed off and frustrated was more like it. “If that flash drive has something on it we could use… fuck.”

“You can’t take the risk, Johnny. You can’t use military assets to assist one of your soldiers in a personal matter.”

“I know.” He’d done it before, when push came to shove, but people had been on the verge of dying then. He hated that he had to wait for that kind of moment, but he wasn’t the dictator of his own military organization here. There were rules, and he believed in them.

He just hated when they interfered with what he needed to do.

“Why don’t you come over tonight? Let me ease your pain.”

“Can’t tonight, babe. Have to work late.”

She sighed. “Take care, Johnny. Don’t let the stress get you.”

“Roger that.”

But when he hung up, he stared at the wall opposite for a good long while, weighing his options. And then he took out his personal cell phone and made a call.

Ian Black picked up on the first ring. “What a surprise, Colonel.”

“Need your help, Black.”

“I’m all ears.”





IF IT WAS possible to have an almost perfect evening while being on the run for your life, then Sophie was having it. Chase held her hand as they walked down the Champs-Élysées. She’d been to Paris before, more than once, but she’d never enjoyed it quite so much.

Because she’d never come to the City of Love with a man before. And though she wasn’t in love—they weren’t in love—they were certainly in lust and having a great time of it. Lust in the City of Love was perfectly fine with her.

Chase steered her into a store where he forced her to try on the ugliest flowered tent dress she’d ever seen in her life. Then he added insult to injury by handing her a pair of clogs.

“No,” she said. “Not happening.”

So he found her a pair of black ballet flats instead. Not quite as bad, though nothing was fixing the ugliness of the dress.

“You can’t look like you,” Chase said by way of apology. “I’m sorry.”

Eventually they left the store with their bags and walked down the chilly street. They didn’t speak for a long while. Chase kept her close, tucked into the curve of his arm. The cool air kissed her cheeks, made her sniffle, and he stopped and turned her toward him.

“Look, I’m sorry about the dress. I know it’s hideous. But it’s best that way.”