Janie Crouch - Armed Response

Roman gestured to the door. “Here he is.”

It could not possibly be. There was no way. She turned, slowly. No. Way.

Yes way.

“Jace. Jace Eakin,” she whispered.

“You know him?”

“I did. A long, long time ago.”

She felt like her heart had completely stopped beating. Jace was the new guy? Part of her wasn’t surprised that he was qualified. He’d been strong, fast and smart when she knew him twelve years ago. Evidently the army had turned him into someone even more dangerous.

And he was particularly dangerous for her. He knew every secret she’d gone to such lengths to keep hidden from the team. He knew how she used to steal and run illegal items all over town for the gang they’d both been in. She’d been fast, trustworthy and had looked innocent. She’d never once gotten caught.

Jace Eakin knew every secret she’d made sure no one else at Omega Sector knew.

Except one. And he would never know that one.

She kept him in her peripheral vision as she returned to her assault on the punching bag.

“If you know him, don’t you want to go talk to him?” Roman asked, grabbing the bag.

She shook her head. It was all she could do to not run from the room. And Lillian was known for not running from anything.

She saw Jace put his bag on the floor and talk to Derek. A few minutes later he was headed toward the locker room.

Fifteen minutes after that Derek was calling the entire team together, including Jace.

“Everybody, this is Jace Eakin. Eakin, the team.” Derek looked around at everyone. “They’ll all introduce themselves individually.”

So far Jace had avoided looking at her directly, but Lillian had no doubt he was aware of her presence. She could almost feel his awareness of her.

The same way she was aware of him.

“Jace is coming in to help us with the Law Enforcement Systems and Services Summit next week in Denver,” Derek continued. “The LESS Summit, as everyone knows, is going to bring in the bigwigs from all over the country. Our job is to provide internal protection for that event.”

Ashton Fitzgerald, team sharpshooter and general smart-ass, spoke up. “LESS is more.”

Everybody echoed Ashton’s statement, the slogan for LESS, as they always did. LESS was a system that would link together law-enforcement-agency computers all over the country, providing valuable instant connectivity and the ability to share data.

“Denver is also expecting a number of demonstrators and protesters, so if needed, we’ll help out with that. Everybody knows we’re a little undermanned right now. Roman and Lillian are both coming off injuries. Jace is joining us as temporary replacement for Liam. Saul is also going to be joining us as a full member for the LESS Summit.”

Everyone was quiet at those words. Building the cohesion needed for the team to run smoothly in just a week wasn’t going to be easy. Lillian shifted restlessly. She wasn’t the only one.

Derek looked at each one of them. “You’re angry at Damien Freihof. All of us are angry after what happened to Grace Parker, not to mention our team. We all want to get our hands on Freihof and make him pay. And that time is coming. But our focus right now is on the LESS Summit. It’s about keeping those attending safe. So I want everyone to stay frosty and focused. We have a job to do.”

Lillian raised her hand halfway. “What about the rumor that there’s a mole inside Omega providing Freihof intel?”

She wanted to nail that traitor bastard just as much as she wanted to nail Freihof.

“I know a mole is suspected,” Derek responded. “But to date, no official evidence has been found to support that rumor. We all know Freihof loves to play head games. Getting us to turn on each other, go on witch hunts, is exactly what he wants. So we’re not going to do that. If you see anything suspicious, you report it to me, but we don’t go around accusing each other of anything.”

Lillian nodded. She glanced over and found Jace openly studying her. Their eyes met and she was determined not to look away first. Jace, damn his still gorgeous blue eyes, seemed to have the same determination.

Derek saved them both from their battle of wills.

“We’re going to get into training immediately to get us working as a team. And this week we’re going to put in long, team-building hours.” Derek turned to Jace, who had changed into workout clothes from the khakis and collared shirt he’d arrived in. “Eakin, although you come recommended from a man we all highly respect, if you don’t mind, we’d like to see what you’re capable of.”

Jace nodded. “You’d be a fool not to.”

Lillian froze at the sound of Jace’s voice. The deep timbre still did something to her. Nudged at parts of her that had been sleeping so long she’d thought they were dead. The most feminine parts of her. For a moment she couldn’t breathe as her mind attempted to figure out what she was feeling.

Desire .

It had been so long—twelve years, in fact—since she’d felt clear, untainted desire for a man.

And she was feeling it for the man who, with just a sentence or two about her past, could destroy the rapport she’d taken years to build with her team and probably cost her her job.

Omega Sector generally frowned upon employing people who were once part of an unofficial gang in the streets of Tulsa. While their gang hadn’t had turf wars and drive-bys, she’d definitely broken the law multiple times throughout her teenage years.

“We’ll hit the team obstacle course this afternoon,” Derek continued. “But I thought we’d begin with some sparring.”

“Sounds good to me.” That deep voice again.

“Who would you like to start with?”

Jace’s full lips were turned up at one corner as if he knew some private joke. “Why don’t you just pair me with your best close-quarters fighter and I’ll go from there.”

Everybody chuckled at the new guy’s guts.

Even Derek smiled. “Even better, why don’t you tell me who you think our best close-quarters fighter is?”

Surely Jace would pick Roman or Derek. Both of them were big—over six feet tall with biceps the size of tree trunks.

Lillian could take down both of them. Had done so, in fact. She was pretty damn fast, stronger than she looked, and had spent the last twelve years making sure no man—no matter what his size—would be able to force her to do something she didn’t want to do.

Never again.

“Sure.” Jace looked at everyone around the circle, as people started stretching and warming up while listening. “There’s a number of people who I think could give me a run for my money. But if I had to guess who’s most capable of kicking someone’s ass, I think it would be this one.”

He pointed straight at Lillian.

She could hear the soft chuckles of her teammates, and felt Roman pat her on the shoulder. They didn’t know why Jace had chosen her. Because he really thought she was the best close-quarters fighter? Because he thought she’d be easy to take down? She wasn’t.

Damn it, she didn’t want this. Didn’t want to touch Jace Eakin in any way. But she’d never been one to back down from a fight.

She wasn’t going to start now.

Stretching her shoulders, she put on the sparring mask and gloves and met Jace in the sparring ring. They gave each other a brief nod and then began.

They spent the first couple of minutes dancing around each other, throwing a jab here and a few kicks there. Lillian felt herself loosening up. She excelled at close-quarters combat. Her body knew what to do from muscle memory.

Jace got a little more serious, sending a spinning back kick in the direction of her head. She dropped low and hooked the back of her leg behind his, bringing him to the mat with a thud.