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“Wait?” Hollis said. “You know him?”
“I do.” Sawyer crossed the room and held out a hand. “Do you mind getting off my woman?”
Park slapped a hand into Sawyer’s, and Sawyer hauled him to his feet. Then Sawyer helped Hollis up off the floor, keeping her close.
“Damn good to see you,” Sawyer said.
Park’s lips lifted. “You too.”
Then they were hugging and slapping each other’s backs.
“I’m guessing this means he’s not one of the hitmen?” Hollis asked.
“No. Hollis Stanton, meet Parker Conroy. A buddy of mine.”
She blinked. “Um, hi.”
Park nodded.
“Vander sent him to help me keep you safe.”
“Oh, well—” she pulled a face “—sorry for swinging a frying pan at you.”
Sawyer raised his brows.
“What about the glass bowl?” Park nodded at the bowl upside down on the floor.
“That barely hit you,” she said. “I thought you were an assassin here to kill me.”
Park’s lips moved, and Sawyer knew that was the closest thing they’d get to a smile.
“I’d better rescue the groceries,” Sawyer said. “And fix the front door.”
“Bring the groceries in and I’ll make some lunch for all of us,” Hollis said.
Soon, Hollis was busy in the kitchen. After Park and Sawyer used tools from the truck to fix the door, they headed out on the deck. They both held mugs of coffee and freshly-made cookies.
“Hell, that’s a view.” Park looked at the sweep of hillside.
Sawyer sipped. “Vander bring you up to speed?”
“Yeah. He had a dossier for me to read on Reuben on the private jet over here. Sounds like a nasty piece of work.” Park bit into a cookie.
Sawyer nodded. “Not all the bad guys are warlords. Some are harder to spot.”
“I prefer the warlords.”
“But you got out. I never thought you would.” If there was ever a man born for the job of Ghost Ops, it was Parker Conroy.
Park looked at the view again. “I…just couldn’t anymore.” He rubbed the scars on his neck.
“You okay?”
“I healed up fine. The doctors put me back together. There was an explosion, and the recovery sucked.”
“I don’t just mean the physical recovery.”
The man’s fingers tightened on his coffee mug. “I’m fit for duty. I’ll help you protect her.”