Page 43 of Lethal Illusion (Six Points Security #8)

Navarre’s whole body tensed. “Last time I checked, she was going to be fine—”

“That’s not what I’m asking, and you know it.” Jackson rubbed a hand along the side of his neck. “I’m not blind. You know better than that.”

Struggling for normal, Navarre slapped on his best poker face, determined not to have this discussion at work. Or after work. Probably never. Yeah, never worked best for him. “You’re imagining things.”

“Am I?” A low chuckle rumbled from Jackson’s chest. “Dude, it’s me, so let’s be real. I saw how you looked at her in that motel room. I also saw those rumpled sheets, and your boxer briefs on the floor.”

It was times like these when it really sucked to have observant friends.

“She’s a beautiful woman, inside and out,” his friend continued. “There’s nothing wrong with being attracted to her. There’s also nothing wrong with acting on that attraction.”

He considered denying it, but what was the point?

He and Jackson had been friends for so long, they could practically finish each other’s sentences.

He was best man at Jackson’s wedding. They’d lived, fought, bled, and damn near died together more times than he could count.

Most important, he was the closest thing Navarre had to family, and family didn’t bullshit each other.

“She’s a coworker. That makes it all kinds of wrong. ”

Jackson scoffed. “You’re consenting adults who work in separate units. Neither of you have authority over the other. I don’t see how that could pose any kind of conflict. As long as you act like professionals and don’t let your relationship interfere with your jobs, you’ll be fine.”

If only it were that easy. “That’s all well and good, but what happens if things fall apart and we still have to work under the same roof?”

Jackson simply stared at him for a good five seconds. “You’re worried about the potential fallout from the end of a hypothetical relationship?”

“You know me. I always plan for the worst so I’m never disappointed.” The practice had served him well for more than a decade, and he had no intention of stopping now.

“Sometimes you’ve just got to take a leap of faith and see where it leads you,” his friend insisted.

“I’ve tried that before. Didn’t like the results. Don’t plan on doing it again.” Granted, those leaps of faith hadn’t been romantic in nature, but a similar risk level applied.

Jackson’s shoulders rose and fell with his deep intake and release of breath. “You could be missing out on something spectacular.”

“Or I could be dodging a bullet.”

“So now it’s Schrodinger’s relationship?” Jackson chuckled.

“It’s not funny.” An edge crept into Navarre’s voice, and he caught himself before he lost his temper.

Lips pressed into a grim line, he searched for a way to make it make sense to somebody looking in from the outside.

“Look, I love you like a brother. I’d lay down my life for you without a moment’s hesitation.

But this place…everyone I work with—you, Austin, hell, even Wade…

it’s like I have a family again. I belong here.

Six Points is my home. I can’t afford to fuck that up by getting involved with a colleague. ”

All traces of humor left Jackson’s expression.

He nodded. “I get it, man. I really do. Your family hurt you something fierce, and now you’re scared of losing the new family you found here.

Let me finish,” he said when Navarre opened his mouth to argue.

“But here’s the thing: family’s not supposed to be conditional.

It sure as hell ain’t perfect. We haven’t always seen eye to eye, now have we? ”

“Yeah, but—”

“No buts. We’re still family, even though we’ve pissed each other off more times than I can remember.

Nobody in this building is going to judge you for following your heart.

You owe it to yourself. If you don’t even try, you’re going to spend the rest of your life wondering about what you missed.

It might not work out, but if it does…” He smiled.

It was that goofy grin he always got whenever he thought about Essie.

They’d gone through their own rough patch, but now that they’d worked through their problems, they were in a really good place.

“Damn, it’s something special. I can’t even begin to describe how phenomenal it feels.

I want you to experience it someday. After all the shit you’ve been through, you deserve to be happy. ”

“I am happy.” He hated the fact that came out sounding defensive.

Because it was the truth: he was happy with his life.

He had a job that he loved, respect from his peers, money in the bank, a roof over his head, and friends he’d take a bullet for and who would do the same for him.

So what if he wasn’t in a romantic relationship?

That wasn’t a deal-breaker for him. Sure, he dated, but he’d yet to find a woman worth taking that kind of chance.

The look in Jackson’s eyes made it clear that he saw straight through Navarre’s bullshit.

“Sometimes you’ve got to take that leap of faith.

It’s scary, I know. It hurts like hell when things don’t work the way you want.

But when they do…” The smile came back. “The reward is worth any risk. Just think about it, man. I’d hate to see you miss out on something amazing. ”

A knock at the door put an end to their conversation, which was good, because Navarre couldn’t come up with a single thing to refute what Jackson said.

He checked the security feed and saw Pinto in the hall.

That was odd. Sierra had flown back to Orlando two days ago, which meant Pinto should be at her estate.

Curious, Navarre hit the buzzer to disengage the lock.

“Hey, man. I thought you were still working Sierra’s detail.”

“I am.” Pinto stepped farther into the room, and the door clicked shut behind him.

His tanned skin looked a shade or two darker than usual, the product of his weekend in the Caribbean.

“She’s meeting a few friends for dinner, but she insisted on stopping here along the way so she could talk to you. ”

“What—me?” He hadn’t expected that. As far as he knew, the woman didn’t know he existed. He traded a puzzled look with Jackson. “Why?”

“Fuck if I know,” Pinto said. “It’s not my place to ask. I’m guessing it’s got something to do with Austin’s report about what happened in North Carolina. Sounds like you guys had a wild weekend.”

“That’s one way to describe it.” He thought of Sloane, soft and warm and naked in his arms, and his internal temperature jacked up a good ten degrees. He really needed to stop thinking about that, or at least not think about it until he was in the privacy of his own bedroom.

“Anyway, she’s waiting in the conference room,” Pinto continued. “When you get there, could you do me a favor and tell Hatch I’ll be there in a few? I’ve got something I need to take care of.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem.” Navarre secured the armory, parted ways with the guys, and walked the short distance to the conference room, where Hatch stood guard at the door. He must have forgotten to pack sunscreen, because his face was almost as red as his hair.

Navarre relayed Pinto’s message, and said, “I take it you don’t know what this is about either.”

Hatch shook his head. “I know better than to ask that shit.”

Yeah, but it was worth a try. Navarre paused at the door. After spending the day in the armory, he probably reeked of gun metal and grease, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it now. He drew a deep breath, blew it out, and went inside.

Sierra Page sat at the head of the table in Austin’s plush office chair, her legs crossed at the knees.

Her short red skirt allowed an unobstructed view of her toned, mile-long legs, while the scooped neckline of her form-fitting blouse showed just a hint of cleavage.

Her makeup was flawless, not a hair out of place.

The scent of her perfume tinged the air, floral but not overpowering.

She glanced up from her phone as he entered the room, and her gaze sharpened like a raptor that just spotted its favorite prey.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Page.” The door swung shut behind him. “I was told you wanted to speak with me.”

“Please, call me Sierra.” She tucked the phone into her tiny purse and stood. “Ms. Page feels way too formal.”

He nodded, even though he disliked using first names when speaking with clients. It stripped away a layer of professionalism that he preferred to keep in place. “If that’s what you prefer, Sierra.”

She smiled, a flash of white behind ruby lips. “I read your report, and I wanted to thank you for taking such good care of me.” She made a soft sound of amusement. “Well, the other me.”

“I was just doing my job, ma’am—Sierra,” he corrected himself.

She gave him a pointed look. “Did you really break a man’s kneecap?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Good. Serves him right.” She rounded the table and moved to where he stood.

“What I read in your report sounded really exciting. I’d love to hear a more detailed account of how you evaded a team of mercenaries while keeping my body double safe.

If we play our cards right, it could even be turned into a screenplay. ”

Okay, he hadn’t seen that one coming, even though Sloane had pitched the idea to the old guy in the bait shop. “You want to turn what happened to us into a movie?”

She looked at him as if the answer were obvious.

“It has all the makings of a summer blockbuster: action, suspense, mistaken identity, man—and woman—against the elements. The whole bodyguard/protector thing. Now that I think about it, that would make a fantastic romantic subplot. I know a few screenwriters who would kill for the chance to sink their teeth into all that.”

Something inside him went cold. No way would he allow what happened between him and Sloane to be twisted into a cheap plot device. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

A sensual smile curved her lush red lips as she closed the remaining distance between them.

Reaching out, she trailed one finger from his shoulder to his chest. “Oh, come on, I can make it worth your while. You’re cute, in a rough-around-the-edges kind of way.

I normally don’t mix business with pleasure, but I’d be willing to make an exception for you. ”

Navarre swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. There had been nights—more than he cared to admit—when he’d fantasized about moments like this. She was temptation personified. A body built for sin. And here she was, offering to turn those fantasies into reality.

And yet, God help him, he felt absolutely nothing, not even the slightest twinge below the belt, because he couldn’t stop thinking about the woman he really wanted.

The one he’d fallen in love with.

It hit him then, with a bit of a shock, that he’d used Sierra as a placeholder of sorts, an unattainable fantasy to fill the void created from wanting the woman he saw every day at work but couldn’t have.

Or could he?

Maybe Jackson was right. Getting involved with a coworker was a monumental risk, but not taking that risk could lead to a lifetime of loneliness and regret. He didn’t want to live the rest of his life wondering about what could have been.

He gripped Sierra’s wrist and gently pulled it away from his chest. “I’m sorry, but no.”

Sierra blinked, blinked again, and a pair of faint lines appeared in the space between her eyebrows. “What do you mean, no?”

“Please don’t take offense. I’m flattered by your offer, I really am, but… I can’t do this. I don’t want to do this.”

Now she looked downright perplexed. “Nobody tells me no.”

“Well, I suppose there’s a first time for everything.

” He shifted to put space between them. From a professional standpoint, he didn’t want to offend her.

She was a client, after all, and a high-dollar one at that.

If they lost the account after all this bullshit, Austin was going to be pissed.

But he also didn’t want to be an asshole and hurt the woman’s feelings.

“Trust me when I say it’s not you. Any other man with a lick of sense would crawl on their hands and knees over broken glass for a chance with a woman like you.

But there’s a woman I care an awful lot about, and cheating on her is out of the question. ”

“Are you sure about that?” The seductive smile hit him full blast, but it didn’t faze him one bit. “This is a one-time offer that expires the moment I walk out the door.”

He nodded. “Positive.”

Sierra’s smile vanished. Her lips pursed into a pout, but she didn’t really seem all that broken up about it. “Can’t blame a woman for trying, right? She must be a special woman.”

“She is.” Just thinking about Sloane made his body light up like a Roman candle.

“Will you still be part of my security detail?” Sierra asked. “I kind of like knowing there are people on my team who won’t think twice about shattering a kneecap.”

He nodded again, relieved to know this wasn’t going to cost Six Points its contract. “I’ll be part of your Florida team as long as that meets your approval.”

“It does.” She eyed him again. “If you change your mind about the screenplay, you know how to reach me.”

Navarre watched her leave, not moving a muscle until the door clicked shut behind her.

He’d just turned down the sexiest woman on the planet. Scratch that, the second sexiest. The woman holding the number one position was down the hall in the cyber security unit, probably cursing his existence because he was a dumbass.

That needed to change as soon as possible.