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R oyce drove to The Club to meet up with Grant and TS. He was just about done with his captain. The man was solid, but he was also not open to trying new tactics. And he didn’t take suggestions. As far as the guy was concerned, north Idaho wasn’t experiencing enough “big city crime” to justify the added expense of the enhanced training Royce believed SWAT needed.

So he would put out feelers. And the first one had been to the owners of the Outlaws. A lot of the time it was who you knew when looking for a new job or change in career. Shift change had been at seven. He’d gone home, taken a shower, and slept like a dead man for three and a half hours. He’d functioned on less.

“Thanks for meeting me. I hadn’t expected such a quick response, so that tells me two things.” He sat back and waited. TS and Grant may be his friends, but right now was all about business.

TS spoke first. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the first?”

Royce grinned. “That’s easy. You two don’t spend forever in the boardroom debating what’s good for the organization. You’re always moving forward. No rest for the wicked.”

Grant returned Royce’s grin. “That’s fair. And the second?”

“You’ve already started your search for a new head of security. Now, I’m not looking to fill that role, but I’d like to find out what your plans are and see if the experience I have is a good fit.”

TS didn’t so much as blink. He sent Grant a quick glance before returning his attention to Royce. “I knew you were more than just a pretty face. You nailed it on both counts. And we would be fools not to consider you for a position within the Outlaw organization. We’ve been searching for someone who has both management and tech skills to become Head of Security, but that doesn’t mean whoever this person turns out to be won’t take our recommendation on personnel.”

Grant’s nod was a bigger relief than Royce had anticipated. He knew he was taking a big chance stepping away from what he thought would be a life-long career. But people changed, priorities changed, and he wanted a new challenge. Amber’s face popped into his mind unexpectedly. Yeah, she would be a challenge as well. He also knew that she’d come to mean too much to him to treat her as one of his many conquests. Maybe if he started taking his future more seriously, he could become the type of guy who could give more than just a night to someone like her.

“What do you think, Royce?”

The moment came back into focus, and Royce looked at Grant and TS watching him, waiting for a response. Man, he had it bad.

“Look, we know you were probably looking for a definitive yes today, but we’re pretty sure the candidate we just met with, his name is Zak London, is our guy. Once we make the final decision, we’ll bring you in and go from there. How’s that sound?”

Royce was one lucky son of a gun because he’d totally been out it daydreaming about Amber. He took a deep breath, lifted his water glass and offered the men a salute, “Sounds good. Thank you for the chance. I want to earn a position on merit and not as a favor. I look forward to meeting with whoever it is you hire.”

“Don’t thank us yet because you’re right. We don’t hand out jobs to people we like or share a beer with. You’ll earn it on your expertise. Now, we want to hear about that asshole you took down and saved Amber.”

Royce laughed and ran a hand through his hair. “How about we have a couple beers, and then I’ll?—"

“Well now, what’s going on here? Looks like high-level stuff.”

“Hey, Reese. Would you like to join us for a beer as your brother tells us how it feels being a hero?” TS stood and pulled out the fourth chair.

“I’d love to, but I’ll have to wait until later. We’re short a server today. But I’ll be happy to bring you three beers on the house.” Reese then leaned closer and whispered into Royce’s ear, “How about you see me after your done and then explain what the hell is going on between you and Amber?”

His sister patted him on the shoulder without giving away to TS and Grant how pissed off with Royce she was and walked toward the bar. He knew this day would come. He should have planned better.

The bartender delivered their drinks, and Royce relayed the events of Amber’s attempted abduction. What he didn’t share were the flowers he’d sent or the half dozen text messages they’d exchanged. He was being a friend, a shoulder to lean on—from a distance. But that last text she’d sent had him thinking she may see him as more than her rescuer.

After TS and Grant left, he sat at the table and contemplated if he should bail and deal with his sister later, much later. The server returned with his credit card and receipt and a note from his sister.

Don’t even think about leaving.

He looked over his shoulder to see her standing in the doorway to her office. Royce let out a long sigh and thanked the young woman. “Hi, my name’s Clancy.” She licked her lower lip and looked expectantly at him.

Had it been six months ago, he’d ask for her number. He’d call a day or two later and set a meetup. He’d make sure they both had a good time and on to the next. But he wasn’t that man anymore and now, he guessed he’d see what his sister had to say first.

“So, I’ll just dive in. I know you sent Amber flowers. Her favorite flowers. I had no idea you even knew what a florist is.”

Royce straddled the chair across from his sister’s desk. “If you think your snarky attitude is going to get you answers, try again, sis.”

“Fine. We’re no longer kids. Amber’s a gorgeous woman. I get it. And to be honest, she’s kinda out of your league, and she’s a friend. A friend to a lot of the same people you hang out with. Seems you might need a reminder of a promise you made me.”

“Reese, don’t you think if I wanted to make a move on Amber I would have done it long before now?”

He watched as his sister raised her left eyebrow. He hated it when she’d give him that look when they were kids, then teenagers. The one that said “you’re full of shit” because out of everyone, she’d always known him best. “Caught me.”

“That wasn’t my intention, Royce. But I do want to know what you’re do?—”

“I’ll save you the inquisition. Because I’m not sure I know what the hell it is I’m doing. At first, yeah I thought about making a move on her, get her out of my system. I thought that would work, but then I kept thinking about that damn promise, and the longer time went on, the more I saw her, the more I saw her, you know?” He tipped his head back and had no clue what he wanted to say next.

“It’s not that hard to see, Royce. She’s a beautiful, smart, funny, caring person. And she deserves someone who wants more than one night, no matter, um, how great a time you might show her. Is that what you’re thinking here?”

Okay, this was turning into a conversation he so did not want. “Nothing has happened between Amber and me.”

“Huh? Because I see the way you look at her and how she tries not to look at you. And I know you two shared one hell of a lip lock at O’Malley’s.” Reese crossed her arms.

Shit. “How long have you known?”

“Oh, I guess within an hour after it happened.” She relaxed and leaned forward and rested her chin in her hand and smiled at him. “And before you ask, one of my part-time line cooks is dating a server at the pub. She saw you two, told him, and here we are.”

“Small town gossip. Perfect.” One of the things he’d liked about living in Dallas was anonymity; running into people you knew rarely happened. “Okay, so what do you want me to say, to do because?—”

“I want to know when you’re going to figure out that using your job, the dangers of your job as an excuse from getting close to a woman. You deserve happiness, just like the rest of us. When you find someone you want to come home to every night, you need to take a leap, Royce.”

When had his sister become so wise? “Are you saying I should do that with Amber?”

“I’m saying what’s taking you so long?”