Page 15 of Being Bold (Tactical Operations & Protection (TOP) Security #1)

Bo gritted his teeth and shook the memory from his head. He couldn’t let it happen again. He didn’t do relationships, and there was no chance of this being a one-night stand when she was under his protection.

Damn it all to hell!

He needed to get his head on straight. Her life was at fucking stake. With a growl, Bo pushed off the sink. He had to call Victor and let TOP know what was going on. If he were lucky, they’d be able to help.

He slapped a bandage over his cut, refusing to think about the tender way she’d blown on it, while he waited for the line to connect.

“Bo?” surprise colored Victor’s voice when he answered.

Bo sighed. He’d never called his team lead. Usually, their conversations were a one-way street, with him getting a call from Victor whenever TOP had a job. Not the other way around. “Yeah.”

“We missed you last night.” Bo heard the smile in Victor’s voice, but he didn’t have time for pleasantries.

“I’ve got a situation.”

That’s all it took to transform Victor into the Delta Force troop leader he’d once been. He sounded all business as he said, “Report.”

Bo broke it down, catching him up to speed on everything he’d learned about Selene’s situation so far. Then he finished with, “Can TOP help, or am I on my own?”

“Fuck, frogman. You brought me a shit sandwich.” Victor blew an audible breath. “I’ll talk to HQ and let you know.”

The five people who made up TOP’s leadership were people Bo had only met once when he’d been hired. He was more than happy to leave reporting to them on Victor’s shoulders.

“In the meantime, I’ll send the team out,” he tacked on.

“Copy. But leave the newlyweds alone.” It was the least Bo could do for Crane and Rogue.

Considering the rest of the team, he scratched at his beard.

“It wouldn’t hurt to have Duke on standby in case we need him.

” He was the team’s pilot. He’d been in the Air Force and managed to be a pain in the ass most of the time.

“I’ve got to move on the apartment now, though.

We don’t have time to wait for Romeo and Herc to get here.

” Romeo had been a SEAL like him, and Herc was a former Green Beret.

He’d appreciate the backup, but time wasn’t on his side.

He lowered his voice. “This CIA chick’s not going to want to hand over the chip. ”

Victor cursed. “If it contains what you said, it needs to be destroyed.”

“Agreed.” An AI weapon with the capabilities Yumi claimed was too damn dangerous to exist. He didn’t trust that even the CIA wouldn’t abuse its power. As soon as Bo had the opportunity, he’d dispose of it.

By the time he ended the call with Victor and emerged from the bathroom, the women were dressed and ready to go.

He cleared his throat. “Let me grab a shirt and we’ll get going.”

They didn’t say anything, so he headed for the loft.

After he’d dressed appropriately for the conditions, they exited the cabin and he locked it behind them.

The wind bit at his nose and the exposed skin of his cheeks.

Riding on the sled was going to feel ten times worse.

They needed to get moving before the temperature dropped anymore.

He opened his mouth to tell Yumi the plan, but she spoke first.

“My car’s not far from here. I’ll meet you at the apartment.”

Bo frowned. He bet she’d like that, but it wasn’t going to happen. If they split up, she’d have the opportunity to reach the apartment first, get the chip, and disappear.

Not on my watch.

“We go together. Meet us at this location.” He extended a hand, waiting for her to hand over her phone so he could share the pin he’d dropped.

It was the spot where he kept his truck parked.

With a huff, she complied. “We’ll be there in half an hour.

If you don’t show by twenty hundred . . .

” He didn’t finish the statement, but she understood what he didn’t say—they’d leave without her, and if she ended up at the apartment first, things wouldn’t go smoothly.

“Fine,” she quipped. After shooting a smirk at him, she hugged Selene. “Be safe.”

“You, too,” Selene told her with a squeeze.

For Selene’s sake, he hoped Yumi showed up at the meeting point. With a grunt, he broke them up. Then, after a nod to Yumi, he told Selene, “Let’s go.”

She trailed him to the woodpile, where he dug around until he found the edge of the blue tarp that covered his snowmobile. Grunting at its weight, he tugged, pulling a couple of feet of snow off with the plastic.

The sled underneath was clear of the precipitation. Once he’d started the engine, he climbed on and offered a hand to Selene. When her bare hand landed in his, he cursed. “You need gloves.”

“I don’t have any with me.”

And they were losing time. “Climb on,” he growled over the noise of the engine.

When she settled behind him, he felt her hands fluttering for something to hang onto. Sighing, he told her, “Wrap your arms around me.”

When she did, he backed away from the pile of logs for the fireplace, then came to a stop. “Good.” The word rasped from his lips as he tried and failed not to think about her body molded around his. He had no right to think about cupping the curves pressed into his back. No right.

Dammit! This ride would be torture.

Gritting his teeth, he said, “Put your hands in my coat pockets. I’ve got spare gloves in the outfit you can use for the way back.”

“Okay.” Her response was a squeak, making him wonder . . .

“Have you ridden one of these before?”

“Once. When I was a teenager.”

Fuck. They didn’t have time for a real lesson. “Just do what I do, okay? If I lean, lean with me. If I stand up, do the same.”

“All right.” She sounded slightly less terrified.

After a grumble, he said, “You’ll be fine. I won’t let you fall off.”

With that, he hit the gas. Old and fresh snow covered the path to his truck. The ride would be bumpy as hell, and the temperature made it feel like driving through an ice storm. She had to be miserable.

Well, that made two of them.

Liar.

Selene wrapped around him, leaning into him, and it felt too damned good. Most of the way there, he struggled to think about anything but finishing what they’d started in the bathroom. He wanted to make her come. Watch those ocean eyes fog over as she screamed his name.

Too bad that wasn’t going to happen.

They’d been riding for twenty minutes when he felt her shivering. Though she wore his sweats, she wasn’t used to this weather. Snow-covered trees whizzed by as he pushed the sled into the powerband. The engine squealed, but he yelled over it, “Almost there. Hold on, Selene.”

She’d buried her face in his neck to protect it. With the wind chill, the temperature felt below zero, but her breath kept him warm. He only hoped his body blocked enough of the gusts that she didn’t freeze before they made it to his pickup. He’d been driving hard, determined to arrive before Yumi.

When they reached the pull-off where his Super Duty stood, a flicker of surprise coursed through him. The suspicious part of him expected her to be a no-show, but Yumi waited in an SUV with snow tires.

She rolled down her window as he cut the sled’s engine. “I’ve got a scraper. Crank the truck and I’ll help you clear it off.”

Bo heard Selene’s teeth chattering behind him. She hadn’t taken her hands from his pockets, and her shivers were violent enough to shake him, too.

Cursing under his breath, he stood, turning to help her off the snowmobile. “Thanks,” he called over his shoulder to Yumi, “but leave yours running. She needs warmth.”

“Selene?”

She blinked up at him. He wasn’t sure if it was the moonlight or the cold, but her lips were a disturbingly light color. “I’m so-o-o cold,” she chattered.

He placed a hand on her back, ready to guide her to the passenger side of Yumi’s car. “Let’s get you inside where it’s warmer.”

She stumbled on legs gone stiff from the freezing temperature. By the time they reached the SUV, he was half-carrying her. When he opened the door, a blast of heat swept over their faces.

Selene closed her eyes. “God, that feels heavenly.”

“It’ll feel even better when you’re inside.” He started to lift her into the vehicle, and her eyes flew open.

“Oh, I could’ve . . .” But he’d already set her on the seat.

“Alone” by Heart played through the speakers, taunting him.

He started to lean away, but her pretty sea fog eyes pulled him closer until they were mere inches apart.

Her gaze fell to his mouth in invitation.

All the reasons he shouldn’t kiss her again blared a warning in his head, and he blinked, jerking away.

Stepping back, he gripped the car door tight enough to turn his knuckles white as he told her, “Stay warm. Yumi and I’ll handle the outfit.”

He shut the door before she could respond or he could do something he’d regret. Slammed it was more like it.

Grumbling under his breath, he walked back to his pickup. Yumi had cleared half of it already. The thermostat would help do the rest. After cranking the engine, he grabbed his scraper and went to work on the remaining snow, sloughing off a foot of it with an angry swipe.

How the hell was he supposed to resist Selene when she practically begged him to kiss her? She had to be confused. Her life had been turned upside down in the space of a day.

He hadn’t saved her. Not really. She’d saved herself.

Maybe when Herc showed up, he’d turn over guard duty to him. Maybe it’d be better that way. He could trust Herc to leave her alone. Romeo, on the other hand, . . . that idiot hit on anything with boobs.

If he let Herc be her bodyguard, it’d prevent him from taking advantage of her. Because that’s what it would be. Just like the kiss he’d stolen.

Thinking about what he’d done, he wanted to roar but settled for throwing snow a few yards with another swing of the scraper.

Yumi didn’t say anything, but he felt her gaze, sizing him up.

He expected her to lash out at him. She probably thought he was an asshole for kissing her friend, considering the situation.

For fuck’s sake, the woman had almost died yesterday.

The reminder burned through his gut, and his head turned to the SUV, searching for Selene.

What is it about her?

He wondered why she had him so churned up.

No other woman had caused him this much grief.

Her head turned, catching him staring, and he swallowed, his insides twisting.

He felt lost. Like he floated on a rickety raft amid the rocking waves of the salty sea, one wrong move would send him toppling into its depths.

And he was so damned thirsty—thirsty for another taste of her.

Aw, fuck.

Those ocean eyes might be the death of him.