Page 49 of Lock ’N’ Load

She held her arms out. “What?”

“Nothing.” Although it didn’t look like nothing to her. He looked pissed, and his friends had picked up on it, too. Half of them raised their eyebrows, while the other half looked like they were struggling not to snicker.

“We need to discuss procedure,” Matt announced, sporting the scowl she was becoming accustomed to. He slapped a small pad and pen on the counter in front of her. “While we talk, make a list of what you want me to pick up in town, and call ahead for a new set of glasses or contact lenses. I’ll pick that up, too.”

“Okay.” She reached for the everything bagel that had been calling her name for the past few minutes, then tore off a small piece and popped it into her mouth. Chewing, she asked, “C-can’t I just go with you? How will you know wh-what size clothes to get?”

His gaze did a leisurely sweep of her body, starting at her neck, then progressing slowly to her bare feet then back up, lingering on her breasts. The heat in his dark eyes set her skin on fire, and she nearly choked on the bagel in her mouth.

“Get a room,” Dayne said, rolling his beautiful green eyes.

“Think we should give them some privacy?” Kade whispered, grinning so broadly his dimples looked even deeper.

“Nah.” Jaime snickered. “This, I wanna see.”

She felt her skin flush at the implication that her and Matt’s relationship was—or would ever be—intimate.

Matt’s lips compressed into a tight line. “I’ll take an educated guess. Write while I talk.”

“Yes, sir.” She gave him a mock salute, then set to work making her list, relieved to have something else to do besides face him.

“I’ve explained to everyone what went down this week and the presumption that this has something to do with the Russians. If I have to leave the property, one of them will always be with you.” He paused to look around the table at each of his friends, who nodded. “Starting Monday, each of them is assigned to one of the many pre-election protective details around the Capitol. As for you, the only thing you have to do is to keep your head down. Don’t tell anyone where you are. Don’t call your friends, and don’t check your email. If one of us tells you to hit the ground, you hit it and don’t get up until you’re given the all-clear. Got it?”

“G-got it.” She bit off another piece of bagel, wishing like hell she didn’t stammer so much around Matt. It either didn’t bother his friends or they were too polite to say anything.

“I’ll stop by the police station to get their report on the fire, then call my office to see if there’s anything new we should be aware of. After that, I’ll shop for your things. I’ll be gone a few hours.”

“No problem. We got this, Matt.” Jaime put his arm around her shoulders, and Matt’s gaze instantly went hard. “She’s in good hands. And we’ll take Sheba out with Hugo. You know how she loves my big guy.”

Matt clenched his square jaw, staring at Jaime until the other man let his arm drop from her shoulders. “Good deal, then.” Matt grabbed a split bagel, slathered it with cream cheese, then pointed to her list. “Done with that?”

Nodding, she tore it from the pad and handed it to him.

“Keep an eye on her, guys.” Then he was gone, slamming the door shut behind him. A moment later, a truck’s engine started, followed by the receding sound of Matt driving off.

“Well, damn, little pixie.” Kade again grinned at her. “What’d you do to get ole Matt so worked up?”

As she reached for the tub of cream cheese, she raised her brows. “Worked up?”

Markus, who’d been silently watching them all up until then, snorted. “When Jaime put his arm around you, I thought Matt would deck him.”

“Why would he do that?” She slathered her bagel halves with a generous amount of cream cheese.

“Lady,” Nick said, uttering a low laugh in that smooth baritone of his. “That’s something the two of you need to figure out.” He went to the refrigerator, grabbed a six-pack, then pulled out a River Horse and handed it to her. “Gotta have beer with poker.”

“Me? Play poker? I don’t know how.” Having grown up with almost no friends, except for her fellow computer geeks, there hadn’t been much playtime in her life.

“Not a problem.” Eric was already shuffling a deck of cards, and the other men were pulling bills from their wallets. “We’ll teach you.”

Trista took a bite of her bagel and swallowed. “Guys, I don’t have any cash. Except for my cat, everything I own burned in the fire.”

“I’ll spot you.”

Dayne handed her twenty bucks, and before she knew it, they were dealing her in and she was quickly learning how to play poker for the first time in her life. And she was also unexpectedly enjoying herself, feeling at ease with the men around her. They didn’t make her hot and edgy, the way Matt did. More importantly, when she spoke with them, she didn’t stammer a single word.

Chapter Fourteen

Nearly three hours after he’d left, Matt pulled into his driveway. He’d spent an extra twenty minutes taking a circuitous route home, repeatedly checking for a tail. Luckily, there’d been none.