The sound of her voice on the other end of the line keeps scraping against my memory. I was just getting ready to head into a morning meeting with the NES staff when my phone rang. I asked Olive if she could sit tight at work, and when she agreed, I told her that I’d meet her as soon as my meeting ended.

My mind murky with thoughts of her and the fact that she’d just received a threatening e-mail, I take a seat at the long table in the conference room at the Night Eagle office. Leaning back in the leather chair, I rub my hand against the rough stubble on my jaw.

“What’s up?” Dare Conners, fellow NES member, slides into the seat beside me.

I barely acknowledge him, because my head is too full of all things Olive and what I’m going to learn about her situation.

Grisham Abbot walks into the room with our boss—and also his future father-in-law—Jacob Owens. Taking a seat across from us, Grisham shoots both Dare and I a chin lift before leaning forward on his elbows. “Dude. You look like you’re about ready to jump out of your chair. What’s up?”

Dare leans in closer as Jacob welcomes an unexpected guest: Sayward Diaz.

“Something going on?” Dare speaks quietly, not wanting to alert Jacob to our conversation.

“I’m dealing with it.” I don’t meet either of their gazes.

Dare and Grisham are more than friends. In the time that we’ve all worked together at NES, they’ve become more like brothers. And when it comes down to it, I know that if I need them to help out with either Elle’s case or whatever Olive’s got going on, I’ll reach out. But I don’t know all the pieces moving on the board yet. I want to know exactly what I’m dealing with before I share the situation with them.

Plus, anything I do on my own time concerning Elle’s case can’t have anything to do with NES. I’m on my own with this, and I know it.

Grisham’s shrewd eyes study me. He pushes his blond hair off his forehead. “You sure?”

I give a slight nod as I focus in on Jacob at the head of the conference table. Sayward settles in the seat beside Dare, whipping her laptop out of its bag.

“’Morning.” Jacob’s voice is a permanent bark.

We all know his gruffness comes from years of having been in charge of some of the strongest, most aggressive men in the world: army Rangers. As all of us served in Special Forces at some point, we’re more than familiar with the nature of his leadership and we all respond to it like professionals.

“I want us to welcome Sayward back to the fold.” Jacob clears his throat and glances at Sayward. Her eyes remain fixed on her laptop screen, but it’s obvious she’s listening.

“With Teague gone,” Jacob continues, “Sayward has agreed to step up and join the team. You’ve all had firsthand experience with what she can do on a computer, and I don’t want to let her get away. You guys good with that?”

I sit up straighter in my seat. “Brains is coming back though, Boss Man.”

He meets my gaze head-on. “Yeah. I know that. And when he returns, we’ll adjust. We can use Sayward on all the tech, even though Brains is our resident geek. It’ll give him more time to focus on taking a more active role in missions, leading more. He’ll be good with it.”

I consider it. Sayward really did a kickass job on the last mission, and she wasn’t a permanent member of the team then. I can only imagine what she’ll be able to do after she gets to know us better and has a firm grasp on NES protocols.

“Yeah. We’re good.” I speak for the team, but Dare’s and Grisham’s nods cosign the effort.

Jacob has been accepting more and more private ops contracted by the government. We’ve done everything from protecting important international diplomats to bringing down illegal arms dealers in South America. Even though Jacob has a second branch of NES open in Texas, with a friend of his from the army running that branch, our Wilmington base is garnering so much work that adding more team members is inevitable. I think Sayward is just the first wave of what’s to come.

“Do you have a military background, Say?” Grisham asks.

She snorts, finally looking up from her screen. “Um, no. Even basic training would be more difficult for someone like me than it is for everyone else. I wouldn’t have wanted to put myself through it. I’m good at home where I’m behind a computer.”

Jacob speaks up. “She received her training from the School of Hard Knocks. I did a job with her father a long time ago, though. I know Sayward is going to fit in here, gentlemen. Trust me on it.”

Grisham nods. “Got it.”

Sayward’s hands leave the keyboard of her laptop, only to begin fiddling with the zipper on her hoodie. She focuses on Jacob and he rubs his hands together in preparation to launch into the meeting agenda.

“There’s been an unusual amount of illegal activity here in Wilmington over the last few months.” Jacob’s voice goes even more solemn than usual. “My friends at the Wilmington Police Department have been talking about it, but we’ve now had an official request from the FBI’s Organized Crime unit. They want us to step in, put together an op to infiltrate the Margiano crime family and bring it down. I think we’re up for it. But it’ll take about a month to gather intel. We’ll then penetrate the organization, and then bring it down. Once Teague is back with us, we’ll definitely be up to the task. Agreed?”

We all nod without a moment’s hesitation. “Agreed.”

Jacob continues the meeting with wrap-ups from a personal security assignment and then dismisses us. My hands were clenched in my lap the entire time, aching to pick up my phone and check to make sure Olive hadn’t called or texted in the last forty-five minutes.

As the meeting ends, I flag Jacob down and pull him to the side. “I have to get out of here, Boss.”

He lifts a brow. “Why?”

I’m almost bouncing on the balls of my feet, ready to head for the truck. I lower my voice further. “Jeremy asked me to keep an eye on his sister-in-law while he’s gone. She’s got something going down. I need to be there.”

Jacob’s thick, sandy brows furrow. “What can I do?”

Shaking my head, I take a step back. “I don’t know yet. Maybe nothing. I’ll keep you posted. Keep this between us for now?”

Jacob nods, pointing a finger at me as I take another step backward, heading for the door. “Regular updates. Got it? You don’t go off-grid. Not even for an hour.”

Lifting my chin in understanding, but not making any promises, I turn and head out of the conference room, down the stairs, and follow the route leading out of the NES office.

I shoot Olive a text while I head to my truck.

Midmorning traffic in the fall is minimal, so it takes me only ten minutes to get to Olive’s design firm. When I burst through the glass front doors, Berkeley is standing behind the counter, and she smiles when she looks up at me.

Walking around until she’s standing in front of me, she reaches up and gives me a quick hug. I squeeze her back before holding her at arm’s length and nodding my head toward Olive’s office. “Hey, Berk. Olive’s still here, right?”

She nods, her expression clouding. “Yeah. She’s waiting for you.”

I stop short in the doorway. Olive is standing by the window, her back facing me.

I pause at the sight of her, just watching. You wouldn’t know at first glance that she’s feeling threatened. She stands tall, poised as ever. The tendrils of hair hanging down around her slim neck are slightly curled, and I can tell that her arms are folded across her chest.

The only thing amiss—and I’m pretty sure I’m only noticing because I’ve studied her—is the slight hunch of her shoulders. It’s like she’s trying to cave in on herself…like if she curls up tight she’ll be safe, protected. My chest aches at the sight, and I rub my hand absently over the spot.

Stepping in, I clear my throat. Olive turns around with a start, and when she sees it’s only me, she lets out a breath.

“Hi,” she whispers.

I walk right over to where she stands, stopping only inches in front of her. I didn’t expect to feel so much relief at the sight of her. I knew she’d be okay, but still…

I tuck a finger under her chin, forcing her to hold my gaze. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

Her phone already clutched tightly in one hand, she gives it over and pulls her lip between her teeth as I scan the e-mail. A simmer of rage begins to boil in my veins, and when I glance up at her again she looks so close to tears I want to reach through the phone and grab whoever sent that e-mail.

“Who the fuck is M.J.?” A small spark of possessiveness ignites in my chest, and I try hard not to let it spread. She’s not mine. I’m only keeping an eye out for her while Jeremy’s out of town.

But I can’t ignore the twinge in my gut, the twist of something dark and nasty. Jealousy? I haven’t felt the emotion for so long, I’m not even sure that’s what it is.

“He’s an ex. Someone I dated in college. He was bad news then, and his family ties are despicable. I can only imagine what he’s like now. I told him back then that I never wanted to see him again. I thought ignoring him before I went to Europe would make him go away…”

She inhales, and I can see her slender throat working as she swallows.

“Wait a minute.” Confusion flares. “Before Europe?”

She nods, her face flushing. “Yeah, he contacted me with an e-mail once before. Just ahead of my leaving. And then I jumped at the chance to go, get away from the thought of him tracking me down. It was stupid to ignore it, and now I’m back and…” She gestures helplessly at her phone.

It’s so obvious that feeling helpless is something she’s not used to. There’s a fearful expression in her eyes, but it’s mixed with this fierce determination, something ingrained inside of her to beat whatever odds are stacked against her no matter what.

Where does she get that kind of intensity? How’d she become so tenacious?

She squeezes her arms even tighter around herself, and the urge to take her into my arms becomes almost uncontrollable. “God, Ronin. What am I supposed to do?”

There are more words on the tip of her tongue, but she doesn’t say them. There’s more to this than an e-mail from an ex. He doesn’t exactly threaten her, but there’s something creepy about his words. And the sight of them clearly scares Olive to death.

“Why are you so scared of this guy, Olive? What am I missing here?”

She sighs, hugging her arms around her middle. “I ended things with M.J. because he became obsessive. He was controlling who I saw and when I saw them, where I went and anything else about my life he could control. When I broke up with him, he went crazy, following me, threatening anyone I spent time with. I almost took a restraining order out on him, but he suddenly disappeared and I didn’t hear from him again until a few months ago.”

Shit. No wonder she’s scared. The thought of this dude having the nerve to even glance in her direction again, much less contact her? Fury.

I pull her to me, holding her against my chest. With a sigh, I press my lips to the top of her head. “Okay, Red. Listen to me. You don’t do anything. You let me handle this dude. I need all the personal info on him you can remember. I’ll find him, and make sure there are no more messages. Okay?”

“What if he doesn’t want to leave me alone? You didn’t know him back then…there was nowhere for me to turn. The night I ended things…he squeezed my arms so hard he left bruises. My roommate walked in on him losing his shit completely…she’s the one who gave me the courage to break it off then and there. There was a time in my past when I felt completely helpless…I never wanted to feel like that again. And then M.J. happened.” Her eyes fill. “I thought I had put that part of my life behind me, Ronin. Having him show up here now, like this. It feels like it’s starting all over again. Like he wants to hurt me for hurting him.”

Fuck. I’ve never seen her like this…didn’t know it was possible. Suddenly, I want the asshole’s throat in my hands more than I want my next meal. “I’ll guard you, Red. Until we’re sure you’re safe.”

Her eyes widen, on the verge of disagreeing with me. “You have a job. You don’t have time to be my bodyguard. Even saying it makes me feel ridiculous.”

My hands tighten on her shoulders just a little bit. Her expression becomes obstinate, and I want to roll my eyes. “Listen, woman. I know you’re all independent and that’s great, but this is serious. You’ve been threatened, your home has been breached. I’m qualified to protect you. Let me. If not me…”

I inhale, because I want it to be me. No, I need it to be me.

But should it be me? What if I fail? What if he gets to her? It’d be just like Elle…

Shaking my head to clear it, I drop my hands from Olive and ball them up at my sides. “If you don’t want it to be me, that’s okay, too. I’ll call Dare or Grisham. Or we can get Jeremy and Rayne back on the first flight from Aruba.”

Before I can list any more options, Olive stiffens and practically shouts, “No! Don’t you dare call Jeremy and my sister. Fine. I choose you.”

Lifting an eyebrow, I pull my phone out of my pocket. “You sure? Because Jeremy’s number is right—”

She reaches for my phone and I lift it out of her reach. Then she actually leaps for it, and I can’t help the rumble of laughter that bursts from my chest. This woman…Jesus.

“Ronin.” She glares. “I said I choose you, okay? Put the damn phone away.”

Sliding the phone back in my pocket, I focus on her. “And you swear to listen to me, even when you don’t want to?”

Listening to her mumble something under her breath about never wanting to, I chuckle and wait.

Finally, she sighs. “Yes. I’ll listen. I’ll be a good girl, I promise.”

The term “good girl” in reference to Olive doesn’t seem far-fetched, but it does draw all kinds of dirty pictures in my mind that I can’t erase.

I gesture toward her desk. “Good. Let’s get out of here, then. You’re riding with me. We’re going to the police station. You’re going to show this to the detective working on your B and E from last night. If you think it could be this M.J. dude, it’ll be good to have him on their radar. We’ll go from there.”