Her gut rolled again. She’d never played Halo, but she knew what it was about. “No thanks. It hits too close to home.”
Before she realized what she was doing she’d put the controller on the table and headed down the hall to the bathroom, where she locked herself in. Her heart raced, threatening to send her toward a full-bore panic attack. One she couldn’t afford to have here. Not when she was supposed to be looking after and protecting these two goofballs.
No, in real life when troops got shot or blown up, they didn’t respawn just by hitting a button. They didn’t get save points. They didn’t earn extra lives.
Their best friends didn’t take an IED hit for them just to save their lives and end up dying in the process.
After a few minutes of standing there with her fingers clamped around the edges of the counter in hopes the trembling would go away and not turn into a full-blown panic attack, she heard a soft knock on the door.
“Manny? Are you all right?”
Rhys.
She looked in the mirror. No, she was anything but all right. “I’m fine. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s okay. I’m fine.”
She sensed he didn’t move from the other side of the door, confirmed a moment later when he spoke again. “May I speak with you, please?”
She quickly rinsed her face and patted it dry before unlocking the bathroom door. Not a hint of wry amusement anywhere in his features. “What?” she asked.
“I’m truly sorry,” he said. “I’ve been told I’m not exactly good at interpersonal relations. I spend so much time with my head firmly wedged inside code—”
“Or up his ass!” Korbin hollered down the hallway from the living room.
“Bloody hell,” he muttered before pushing the door closed and turning to her again. “Yes, or up my arse,” he said, the hint of a smile crossing his face. “I’m not good with people. I admit it. I didn’t blame my ex for tossing me out. Frankly, I’m surprised she put up with me as long as she did. I hope you’ll forgive me and give me another chance and have patience with me.”
She leaned against the sink, arms crossed in front of her. This was the most open and honest she’d ever seen him, no emotional barrier up against her. “I’m not exactly a people person either,” she said. “So it’s not entirely your fault. I’m sorry. I get triggered.”
“Feel free to tell me to go to hell, but may I ask what happened?”
She took a shuddering breath. “We weren’t a front-line unit. Support and mechanical services. Supply. That kind of stuff. But we ended up in a hot zone and we were trying to help evac wounded. My best friend, a guy I’d known since we were assigned together after basic, he threw himself in front of me when an IED went off. He didn’t make it.”
She felt a little guilty for not telling the whole story, that her and Andy were in love and had made a pact to explore a relationship together once they were back in the States.
“The man in the pictures at your apartment?”
She nodded.
“And that’s how you hurt your leg?”
She nodded.
“And that’s why you gave up police work?”
She nodded again. “I couldn’t handle street patrols. I was too jumpy, too edgy. Frankly, I was too much a danger to myself and innocent civilians.”
“Then why private security?”
“I know it might not make sense to someone else, but I don’t feel the siege mentality doing private security work.” She blinked as she realized what she’d just said, in response to what he’d said. “What? Wait, how did you know about that? That I work for a security company?”
He smiled. “I did a Google search the first day. Your name came up on the website at Sawyer Security Services. It didn’t take much for me to put it together considering everything that’s happened. I suspect Ormond hired you to keep an eye on us. I’m not that bloody ignorant.”
She slumped down on the toilet, her head in her hands. Because she was carrying a gun on campus, they’d opted to use her real name for the investigation since she wore a photo ID badge at work. Having to show a concealed carry permit with a different name might have caused more problems than it was worth.
“Shit. Does Korbin know?”
“No. I haven’t told him.” He shrugged. “Maybe he knows where to put the washer fluid in his car, but he’s far more trusting and accepting than I am. So you went to college after discharge, received your degree in criminal justice, did a short stint with the sheriff’s office, and then…?”
She looked up at him. “One of the detectives I worked with at the SO, he knew Rob and recommended me when I realized I wasn’t cut out for law enforcement.”
“I won’t tell him.”
“Thanks.” Well, that cover was blown. On the off-chance they were behind the problems, Rhys would likely cover their tracks.
Then again, Ormond had told her that day before lunch that the hacking attempts had grown even more intense. Another check in the box in the men’s favor.
“Let’s go back out and have an enjoyable evening,” Rhys said. “I think we all need to blow off some steam.”
Chapter Ten
Korbin thought he’d be able to spend the weekend relaxing and maybe not thinking about work for once.
Rhys made that damn near impossible. It seemed he managed to work Manny’s name, or some reference to her, into almost every conversation they had.
What he hated even more was that he couldn’t stop thinking about her, either. Especially since he already knew in his heart how badly that would end for them, even if he and Rhys didn’t trip all over each other trying to suck up to her and get her to notice them as more than just the geeky guys she worked with.
If it wasn’t for the perpetually sad look in her otherwise sweet green eyes, he thought maybe, just maybe he could put her out of his mind.
He didn’t want to tell Rhys what he’d found out about her, either. That she wasn’t exactly who she said she was. Obviously, Ormond either didn’t trust them, or worried someone else was out to harm them or Artemis. Why else hire a private investigator to check up on them?
If Ormond wanted to keep things hush-hush, fine. He wouldn’t ruin whatever surprise the man had up his sleeve.
He also didn’t want to worry Rhys in case there was more to it than just that. That maybe the break-in wasn’t some random crime.
That maybe they had been targeted.
Rhys tended to see the best in people. That was something he envied in his friend. That sweet, borderline naiveté he had about him.
Something Rhys’ ex had exploited. Another reason Korbin had hated her almost at first sight.
It doesn’t matter. We just need to get Artemis done and out the door and then we can sort everything else out later.
Plus, he knew when Artemis was delivered, it likely meant Manny would be gone anyway.
He just hoped she didn’t take Rhys’ heart with her when she left.
* * * *
Monday afternoon, they insisted on taking her out to lunch, and she didn’t have the heart to say no.
“So how did you end up going to college in the States?” she asked Rhys while they were waiting for their food.
Rhys shrugged. “My uncle offered to pay for it when he heard I wanted to try to come here for school. He and his family lived over in Tampa up until that large hurricane fifteen years ago or so. They still have a house in Tampa, but now they live full-time in Georgia. He came over decades ago on a scholarship and never left. Became a citizen.”
“But you never went back?”
“Oh, for the occasional visit, yes. But look at this weather.” He held out a hand, pointing toward the beautiful day outside. “We rarely get this kind of weather in England on a consistent basis. There’s only so much gloomy a bloke can take.”
“What does your uncle do?” she asked.
“He’s a writer,” Korbi
n piped up. “Tyler Paulson.”
Her eyes widened. “Wait a minute. The Tyler Paulson? He’s your uncle?”
Rhys blushed. “Well, I’m adopted, but yes. My mother is his sister.”
Korbin let out a laugh. “There’s a lot of ‘technically related’ people in his extended family.”
Rhys turned a light shade of pink. “We have a rather large, untraditional family, yes.”
“I don’t get it,” she said. “Lots of people adopt. There’s nothing untraditional about that.”
Korbin grinned. “His uncle has a husband and a wife.”
She thought she’d misheard him. “Say again?”
“They’re polyamorous,” Rhys explained, his face now a deeper shade of pink bordering on red.
“They’re Mormons?”
Korbin let out a snort. “No, but I understand your confusion. Believe me, I went through it, too, the first time I met everyone.”
“They’re not Mormons,” Rhys said. “They just have a plural marriage.”
Manny had read a romance book or two proposing that kind of scenario, but didn’t know people really lived like that outside of books. “Oh. That’s…interesting.”
Rhys threw a disgusted look at Korbin. “Brilliant, mate. You’ve made her uncomfortable.”
“No,” she hurriedly said, “I’m just… Processing.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Korbin said. “I’m not against it. I think it’s cool they bucked the trend. They’re great people.”
“No, I’m okay with that,” she said, although not really sure if she meant it. There were only so many questions she couldn’t ask before she had to sate her curiosity. “The men aren’t jealous of each other?”
“No,” Rhys said, “because Uncle Tyler and Uncle Thomas were partners before they met Aunt Nevvie.”
She stared at him. “What?”
“They’re bi,” Korbin helpfully offered.
“So no, they’re not jealous of each other,” Rhys finished.
“Oh. Well, good for them.” She was all for marriage and relationship equality for everyone regardless of their bent, as long as they were consenting adults. She’d just never thought people got into relationships like that in real life outside of polygamists and romance novels.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t put that niggling thought out of her mind the rest of the day, even when back at work.
A deep, hot flush filled her when the sneaky thought of being in bed with two men zipped through her brain.
Stop it. You don’t even have one guy. Besides, she knew these two guys in particular wouldn’t have anything to do with her outside of friendship. She wasn’t their type. She wasn’t smart like they were, for starters.
She also wasn’t attractive. The scar curling up the back of her leg was a reminder of that, never mind the scars on her heart and soul.
I just need to suck it up and admit I’m going to spend the rest of my life alone and get used to it.
* * * *
After work on Monday, the men rode home in Korbin’s car in relative silence.
“I really like her,” Rhys quietly said after a few minutes.
Korbin shrugged. “I like her, too. She’s nice.”
“I mean I really like her.” He didn’t want to give away what he knew about Manny’s undercover assignment.
“We work with her. I think there’s a company policy against dating.”
“You like her, too.” He knew his friend, could see the signs. How Korbin had tried putting up walls against her out of some sort of deep-seated fear of rejection he had.
“I said I liked her.”
“You stupid sod. You know what I mean.”
They pulled up to a stoplight. He looked at Rhys. “Well,” he quietly said, “you’ve already said you like her. What difference does it make if I like her or not?”
“I think we could make a huge difference in her life.”
His brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying why the bloody hell can’t we both date her?”
Korbin let out a snort. The light turned green and they started moving again. “You’re nuts. She’s not going to want that.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know that she’s smart enough not to violate company policy against dating.”
Rhys simply wanted to get a little concession, just the tiniest bit of agreement from him, enough to know he’d planted the seed in his friend’s mind and it had taken hold. “So you’re saying you’d never date someone I was dating?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“So you would be open to dating her with me?”
“Dude, again, she works with us.”
“Then hypothetically speaking. Could you share a woman with me?”
“Hypothetically, if we managed to find a woman who wanted both of us, yeah, you’re probably the only guy in the world I would be fine with sharing a woman. Okay? Happy?”
He felt the smug smile curve his lips. “Quite.”
* * * *
Korbin was seconds away from blowing his top when Rhys suddenly let the subject drop. Glancing over, he spotted the smug look on his friend’s face.
He couldn’t reveal what he’d already found out about Manny without blowing her cover. He still wasn’t sure if she was on their side or not, to be honest, although his gut told him she was. But yeah, he was attracted to her.
In a big way.
Not that he ever had any hope of her being attracted to him, or to Rhys. Much less the two of them together.
It was the truth that of all the people in the world, he wouldn’t have a problem sharing a woman with Rhys. Especially after meeting his family one year on Christmas break and seeing how well Tyler, Thomas, and Nevvie got along.
Okay, no, he wasn’t bi and he wasn’t attracted to Rhys like that. But sure, he could, hypothetically, share a woman with him.
Not that they had a snowball’s chance during a Florida July of ever finding that particular woman. They had a far better chance of spending their lives together as bachelors, playing DnD and Halo all night, working all day, and having their mutual friends over on a regular basis.
He’d already made peace with the fact that he wasn’t the ideal physical specimen. Sure, he was in pretty good shape from biking and running, so was Rhys. But he couldn’t compare with any gym rat. And he’d rather spend the rest of his life alone—or single and with Rhys—than spend it looking like an idiot and chasing a string of women who’d drop him after using him and never reciprocate his feelings in the process.
Been there, done that.
Not doing it again.
If the right woman was ever destined to cross his—or their—path, then sure, fine.
Meanwhile, he wouldn’t hold his breath.
Chapter Eleven
Tuesday, after working with the men for less than a week, the hacking attempts were growing even more frequent. The alarm at the men’s house had gone off twice while they weren’t home over the weekend, with signs of someone attempting to break in both times.
There was no more denying the fact that the men had become a deliberate target.
She had to tell Korbin the truth about her identity and the situation, because she knew she needed to tighten the security around them. Probably even move them to a different location for a while, if necessary.
She decided to tell them after a quick consultation with Ormond, who agreed it might be for the best.
An added bonus in Manny’s book would be finally shedding the ridiculous idea that she could possibly learn the job she’d been pretending to do.
She waited for Korbin and Rhys to finish up for the day and then joined them by their desks. “Look, I need to confess something,” she said to Korbin. “Rhys figured it out the other night, but there’s too much going on now to keep it from you any longer. Korbin, I’m not a ‘trainee’ trying to learn a new job skill. I’m a private investigator. Ormond hir
ed our firm to come in and try to figure out what was going on and keep an eye on you two in case someone’s trying to hurt you.” She filled him in on all the details of what had been going on behind the scenes.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Duh.”
Rhys’ eyebrows shot skyward. “What?”
He shot a disgusted look at Rhys. “Seriously? Dude, you think you’re the only smart one here? I knew it the first day she was here.”
Manny wasn’t sure if she should be happy he figured it out, or disgusted at her own apparently poor undercover skills. “How?”
“You’re carrying a gun, for starters. I noticed the way you always adjust your waistband when you sit in your office chair. You don’t just lean back, you always do this little tug thing first. Then I saw the outline of it under your shirt at the bar that night when you kicked the drunk’s ass. Oh, and there was the matter of you kicking the drunk’s ass. I did a Google search when we got home. Considering Ormond has a policy of no firearms on campus, it wasn’t hard to put it all together. He hired you to protect us and see if you could figure out what was going on.”
Note to self, make Rob update the damn website and remove our names from it. “So you knew this whole time and didn’t let on?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I didn’t think Rhys knew.”
“I think we need to talk about relocating you two somewhere, at least temporarily.”
“What?” Korbin asked. “Why?”
“Because I am only one person. I’m thinking we get you into a hotel tonight and look at other options tomorrow. I’ll sit down with my boss and Ormond to discuss it.”
“Well, why don’t we spend the night at your place?” Rhys asked.
She blinked. “What?”
“Sure. We’ll cook you dinner tonight. You have a guest bedroom.” He grinned. “Besides, we have a surprise for you.”