Page 14 of Ruthless Protector

“Chocolate. That was mom’s favorite.”

“Sounds good. I’ll get the stuff we need today.” I tucked the hair that had already escaped her hair tie behind her ear. “We’ll get baking as soon as you get home.”

The bus pulled up and I waved goodbye as she climbed on. I stayed there until the bus turned the corner and disappeared from view.

I headed home, and got ready, dressing carefully. If I couldn’t convince Alf to take me back, I’d be pounding the pavement until I got another job; that was my only choice.

I was in the living room slipping on my shoes, the TV going in the background, when I heard the news anchor say a familiar name. My head jerked up and I shot to my feet, closing in on the television.

“Video footage of the amazing rescue by former police officer Jude Wayland has been popping up all over social media. Oscar Award-winning actor Jack Reeves released a statement today about his ordeal and thanked the brave men and women from The King Agency for risking their lives to get his daughter back. Both men involved in the kidnapping were apprehended and are now in police custody.”

They replayed the footage. It looked like something you’d see Jack Reeves do in one of his action movies. The second-story window of an old warehouse seemed to explode, glass raining to the ground below, then a large figure appeared. Jude. He held a small girl, who looked only four or five, against him in one strong arm, while the other grabbed a rope and he swung out, rappelling down…with one arm. As soon as he hit the ground, he curled round her, shielding the kid with his huge body and sprinted to a waiting vehicle, jumped in the back, and it sped off. And while that was happening three other figures dressed in black moved in, rushing the place, guns up and ready to fire.

The clip ended and I just stood there, stunned, my mouth hanging open like a guppy. Holy shit. I searched the footage on social media, found it easily, then played it again, and again. There was a time and date stamp at the bottom of the film, and if it was correct, he’d rescued that child and rappelled two stories, one-handed, a mere three hours after dropping Tilly’s medicine off at my front door.

This man, capable of all of that, had a job that required him to do crazy, insane, brave, inhuman things—and still he’d made the time to run to the drug store for us. Someone he barely knew.

And I’d given him attitude. Again.

I cringed and flicked the TV off. Dear God, I never wanted to see the man again.

Ever.

Jude

I poked my head out of Hunter’s office door and seeing the coast was clear, made a break for it.

Hunter’s laugh followed me and I offered the prick a middle finger salute without looking back. Hunter King and his older brother, Van, owned The King Agency. Working for them had turned out to be a good move for me, and it helped that I’d known both of them since high school. We’d wreaked havoc together in the same neighborhood, had been friends for years. Same went for Zeke, Neco, and his woman, Ruby, who were also agents here. We hadn’t seen a lot of each other while I’d been on the force, but the guys here had given me a place at the agency when I’d handed in my badge, had kept me fucking sane when I was hanging onto that sanity by my fingernails…

“Well, if it isn’t the Greatest American Hero,” Neco drawled when I hit the office.

Zeke laughed, and I couldn’t help but do a double take. Since he’d met Sunny, and they’d had their baby girl, Hope, he’d slowly started returning to his old self. The guy we’d all known before he did his time in Afghanistan.

Ruby walked up and slugged me in the arm. “You did good.” She whipped a piece of paper and pen from her back pocket and thrust them at me. “Now can I have your autograph!” she shrilled, like some obsessive boyband super-fan.

I grunted. “No, but I’ll happily shove that pen down your fiancé’s throat if you don’t get it out of my face.”

“It’s a price I’m willing to pay,” Ruby said dramatically, batting her lashes at me.

“Hey!” Neco said, sliding a finger through the belt loop of Ruby’s jeans and tugging her back against him. “We know you’ve got skills, baby,” he said. “I mean, you managed to knock Zeke on his ass, I’m sure you could take Jude; no need to sacrifice me.”

“I was distracted,” Zeke muttered for the millionth time.

“That’s a lie, and you know it,” Ruby fired at Zeke. “I bested you, and you can’t handle it.”

The argument between the two had been ongoing, for months, and neither would relent. I could only imagine the shit she gave Zeke when they were on the job. They partnered up more often than not, which suited Ruby and Neco, since they decided being partners in the field might not be the greatest of ideas for their relationship. Neco knew Ruby could handle herself, but his instincts to protect her sometimes kicked in. Understandably, that did not go down with Ruby. This way, everyone was happy.

I stared down at Ruby. “Jesus, I should have sent you in to get the kid.”

“Like any of us could have held you back,” she said, then instead of slugging me again, she rested her hand on my forearm and gave it a squeeze, her eyes softening in a way that told me she saw way too fucking much. Jesus, they all did, but they knew better than to go there with me. We kept things light, pretended I didn’t have the issues I did, that I’d dealt with my shit, when the truth was the complete opposite.

Ruby gave my arm another squeeze, then grabbed Neco’s hand and tugged him toward the stairs, where Neco’s office, a holding room, and our gym was located. “Come on, babe, let’s go spar.”

Neco smirked. “Gym’s occupied,” he called back. “Anyone comes in, I’ll shoot you.” Then they disappeared.

Zeke shook his head. “I’m out. Sunny has an exhibition at the galley tonight, so I’m off duty, gonna spend some time with Hope.”

The guy’s face lit up, like it always did when he talked about his woman and their daughter. Sunny had given Zeke a reason to wake up each morning. She’d saved our friend and we all loved her for it. “Catch you tomorrow,” I said.