Page 16 of Being Bold (Tactical Operations & Protection (TOP) Security #1)

Bo

When Selene gave Bo her address, he plugged it into his truck’s GPS. They’d follow Yumi to Selene’s apartment, but he wanted it as backup just in case. He still didn’t fully trust the agent and wouldn’t put it past her to try to lose him.

Mulling that over, he asked Selene, “Do you trust her?”

When she didn’t answer right away, he glanced over and noted the furrow in her brow.

Maybe she’s not sure about Yumi either.

Waiting, he tapped his fingers on the wheel to the beat of the classic rock song on the radio.

With the volume turned down, the lyrics were barely discernible over the crunch of snow under the tires.

The county never treated this road. They probably wouldn’t find any cleared ones until they got closer to Big Sky.

It was a good thing his pickup was built for this type of weather.

“Yes,” Selene finally answered. “She wasn’t lying about our friendship. I think she wants to help fix this.”

“Are you sure? What she did almost got you—” Bo cut himself off, cursing internally. He shouldn’t have brought that back up. He doubted it remained far from her mind, and he didn’t need to up her stress level.

Her voice came out soft, and he had to strain to hear when she responded, “She made a mistake.” She shook her head. “But who hasn’t? It doesn’t mean you just give up on someone. Not when you care about them.”

He didn’t think he’d ever be so blindly trusting. Not when he’d seen what humanity was capable of. With a grunt that wasn’t really a response, he focused on the treacherous road. He’d make up his own mind about Yumi. Let her actions prove her loyalty because words were too easy to betray.

Jordy had them all fooled. For years.

Thinking about his TOP teammate, Bo felt the need to explain. With a disgruntled sigh, he told Selene, “We had a former CIA agent on our team at TOP up until a few months ago when he turned on us.”

She let out a small gasp.

“So my trust mechanism’s a little rusty. I just want you to be sure about Yumi.”

Her hand landed on his arm, and he nearly jumped before she squeezed it. She was trying to offer him comfort, but his dick saw it as a green light.

Fuckin’ A.

Bo gritted his teeth.

“I’m sorry that happened.” She dropped her palm back to her lap. “But Yumi’s different.”

For her sake, he hoped she was right.

Clearing his throat, he changed the subject. “Are you warm enough now?”

He’d removed his gloves but was starting to swelter with the heat cranked up.

“Oh, yes, you can turn it down.”

Not wasting a second, he adjusted the temperature. He knew he was going to hell, but he didn’t need to feel like he’d already landed there.

They rode the next few miles in silence, which typically wouldn’t have bothered him, but he couldn’t help wondering what she was thinking. He didn’t do small talk, backstories, or hell, conversation, but he wanted to with her. He wanted to learn everything about Selene.

Because he couldn’t help but look, he watched her from the corner of his eye.

She lifted her arm and her hand fluttered, like she would touch her mouth, but she dropped it, looking away and shaking her head slightly.

Caught up, he turned his head, watching her.

Was she . . . she couldn’t be thinking about the kiss, could she?

His hands clenched around the wheel.

Nope. Doesn’t fucking matter. It was not happening again.

“Bo! Look out!”

His gaze snapped forward to find Yumi stopped in front of them. He slammed on the brakes. The tires lost purchase, and they fishtailed.

“Oh my God!” Selene screamed when they came dangerously close to sliding into the guardrail blocking what would’ve been a steep drop-off down a snow-covered slope.

By the time he got the truck under control, his hands shook. He cursed himself for not paying better attention and being too wrapped up in thoughts of her that he had no right thinking. His job was to keep her safe, and he’d almost fucked that up.

This is why kissing her is out of the question .

“I’m sorry,” he growled, angry at himself.

Her breathing was rapid enough he heard each expulsion. “I think that scared ten years off my life.” She placed a hand over her breastbone, letting out a strained chuckle. “Did I mention I hate the snow?”

Bo let out a weighty sigh. He loved the snow, but he got it.

She hadn’t had any good experiences with it yet.

Glancing out the windshield, he tried to see if anything blocked the road, but it seemed like the SUV had just stopped.

Shaking his head at the situation, he told Selene, “I’m going to check on your friend. Do you want to stay here or . . .?”

“I’m coming,” she supplied with a sharp nod.

“Fine.” He’d leave the car running so she’d have the warmth to return to. “Here,” he said, leaning over. He intended to open the jockey box for his spare pair of gloves, but she went rigid as soon as he was in her space.

Worried he’d scared her, he met her gaze and froze. Her gray-green eyes were hazy with desire. They fell to his mouth, then she licked her bottom lip.

Aw, fuck me.

He’d never wanted to kiss a woman so badly. But he couldn’t. She was a job. Not some chick he’d picked up at a bar. His focus needed to be on keeping her safe, not wondering what she’d feel like with her legs wrapped around his waist as he—

Yumi’s car door slammed, cutting off his thoughts. He glanced toward the SUV again and saw her assessing how buried the tires were. She must have gotten stuck. He’d have to pull her out.

Making sure to avoid Selene’s ocean eyes this time, he reached between her legs for the jockey box. When she let out a strangled little moan, it was nearly his undoing. Clenching his jaw so tight it ached, he forced a deep breath in through his nose. But that was a mistake.

Because she wore his clothes, she smelled like him. Like she was his. He’d never let a woman stay in his space long enough for that to happen, and he realized now how fucking intoxicating it was. Which was another reason for putting some distance between them.

Grabbing the gloves, he shoved them into her lap. “Put these on.”

He didn’t wait for a response, couldn’t stand to be in the cab with her a moment longer without taking what he wanted but didn’t deserve.

Climbing down, he walked to her side and opened the door. “Still coming?”

A sadness lurked in the wells of her eyes as she laid a gloved hand in his. “Yes.”

He helped her down and tried not to think about what put it there.

As they reached Yumi, Selene seemed to brighten. She laid a hand on her friend’s arm. “Hey, what happened?”

Yumi turned with a scowl. “A freakin’ mountain lion jumped in front of me. I feel like the stupid cat is taunting me.”

“There are mountain lions here?” Selene shuddered as if thinking she could’ve run into one while tramping through the woods.

A sharp growl echoed from the trees, and she practically jumped into his arms. “Oh my God,” Selene breathed as she clung to him, her head swiveling in all directions. “Everything here wants to kill me,” she muttered.

Gritting his teeth against the desire to pull her closer, he grunted in what he hoped was a soothing manner.

Yumi ignored Selene’s outburst. “When I slammed on the brakes, I got stuck.”

She looked at him, and he answered before she could ask. “I’ve got a tow strap. I’ll pull you out.”

Selene’s eyes were wide when she tore them away from the trees. “Maybe I’ll wait in the truck, after all.”

Bo released her and instantly missed her warmth.

His heart squeezed in his chest as she walked back to his pickup.

His hand twitched, wanting to massage the spot, but he clenched it into a fist and ignored the feeling.

He didn’t have time to worry about what it meant.

Not when they were losing the race. Every second it took for them to retrieve the chip was a second Dao could use to find it first.

◆◆◆

Selene

Selene drummed her fingers on the armrest as she stared out the windshield of Bo’s truck.

The night remained quiet enough that the soft tapping of her fingertips against the dark leather echoed in her head.

They’d managed to make it the rest of the way to her apartment without incident, but the churning of her stomach left her with an unshakeable feeling of unease.

Bo had parked in the back corner of her apartment building’s lot—away from any lampposts—then demanded she stay inside while he and Yumi retrieved the hidden microchip from her home.

She’d wanted to argue, but she was scared.

She didn’t have the skills they did. Hiding in the truck provided a measure of safety, no matter how small.

But it also left her with too much time to think—to worry.

About their kiss, about almost dying, about her best friend being in the freaking CIA.

She was a planner, and not having one was upping her discomfort.

She needed a way forward, but the situation she faced was one she’d never expected to encounter.

Bad people wanted her dead.

How do I plan for that?

Her thoughts revolved from one problem to the other and back again, until she’d worked herself into a pressure cooker of anxiety.

How do I fix this?

Having Bo’s protection was comforting, but where did she go from there? She couldn’t expect to have him as a bodyguard for the rest of her life. A pang reverberated through her chest, reminding her of the hurt he’d caused her.

That kiss had left her aching in more ways than one. It also left her with more questions than answers. What had Bo been through to think he was undeserving of her? If she asked him, would he even give her an answer?

Doubtful.

“Ugh,” she huffed and shifted in the passenger seat. Now was the worst time to start falling for someone, especially someone who wasn’t interested in her, but no matter how much she might wish it, the heart didn’t abide by logic. No pro-con list would stop it from stuttering whenever he came near.