Page 22 of Under Fire

Of all the years he’d been enlisted, he’d never seen such fucking audacity.

“Chief, I didn’t want to do this. Don’t get me in shit,” Gaudet said.

Warren’s cold gaze intensified, sending a message. “Too late.”

Insistent, Gaudet waved his hands in the air. “Boss, look… The engagement party is tomorrow. I’m the best man. I promised Crash I’d get you there.”

“It’s not my thing,” Warren countered, keeping his cool. “I made that clear.”

Over-trained, Warren’s threatening gaze didn’t leave this opponent’s face as his mind worked through options for getting rid of him. Alisa didn’t need to get dragged into his shit. That was all that mattered. Why was the goddamn engagement party such a big fucking deal, anyway? Who gave a shit? The more they wanted him there, the more suspicious he became.

“So, this your girlfriend?” Gaudet stepped forward with a scheming look, trying to get an angle to judge Alisa. “She can come, you know. You can bring her.”

Warren held Alisa behind him, firing a cautioning look at Gaudet, then at the gate. “Get going.”

“Come on, boss. You’ve got to live a little.” Gaudet cocked his head, and Warren had no doubt unhealthy machinations swirled in the guy’s mind.

Warren wouldn’t have it. He shook his head dismissively and held his ground. “You want to test me, kid?”

“Look, boss. If your entire team will be there, except you”—Gaudet thought aloud—“how does that look?”

“Crash’s wedding is not a team event,” Warren retorted fast and hard. “It’s time for you to leave.”

“The guys need you. Crash needs you,” Gaudet urged. “I’ve got to get you there. We have all been through a lot together.”

Warren jutted out his jaw, biting his comeback. He had something to fucking say about that, but Gaudet was not the type he cared to get into a debate with. Gaudet didn’t fucking get it, as much as he pretended he did. So, Warren left the man with his signature cold-as-fuck death stare, making it damn clear that he wasn’t going to engage with terrorists. Most sane people got the message pretty damn quick.

But apparently Gaudet wasn’t a sane person.

And so Gaudet kept pushing.

“Morale is low,” Gaudet said. “If you keep riding us so hard, you aren’t going to have many left—”

Seeming to realize he’d hit a nerve, he halted.

Warren kept his body unmoving, his face stern and he said nothing else. The silence in his backyard became deafening. And just like he’d expected, Gaudet eventually got the message. His grin wavering, he finally realized it was over and turned on his heels to leave.

Warren mulled over all sorts of sick options to punish the rookie. No one came at him like that and lived to tell the tale. It was going to be a fun weekend at work.

But in the back of his mind, Warren knew that Gaudet had hit close to the truth. Pressure rising, operational tempo was throttling forward—hard—and team morale was dropping. Recruitment wasn’t as easy. Warren couldn’t let that stand. He had to be part of the solution.

Hand on the gate, Gaudet stopped dead in his tracks, shooting Warren one last conspiratorial look over his shoulder. The unabashed gall was almost amusing.Almost.

“I’m telling everyone that you’re coming and that you’re bringing her. You’ve got to learn to take a break, Chief.”

Warren let out a furious growl as Gaudet spun and marched out, slamming the gate in his wake. The rookie had no idea what was coming for him. Warren wasn’t going to make it nice.

“Fucking brutal.” Warren rotated to find his guest. “Who wants a goddamn break?”

Drawing Alisa in, he assessed her for damage, as if they’d just survived a brutal firefight. Finding the gorgeous creature still dripping wet, her bright brown eyes flickered at him in surprise as he touched her chin. Then, running his hands down her arms, he finally released her, like his shoulders had been flexed for too goddamn long.

“Wow.” Alisa pushed herself farther back, shaking him off. “That was intense.”

“We’re an intense group.”

“He seemed pretty concerned about you? He was being brave…”

Her voice trailed as he fired a warning look.

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