The woman drove me crazy. She pushed my buttons. She was stubborn and prickly, and she left me completely unbalanced.

“Miss Lane—I mean, Maggie. I need to bring my team in to analyze this letter. You need to tell me everything.”

I reached into my pocket and dug out my cell phone as I walked back into the living room. “Ben, I’m going to send you some pictures.” I stood over the letter and snapped several photos with the phone: front and back, the envelope, close-ups of the handwriting. I sent anything I thought might help him analyze the new note and compare it to the previous ones.

“Yeah, she got another letter.” I sighed, holding the phone back to my ear.

“Did they tell you anything?” Ben asked. “The ones you put in the hospital?”

“No. Those three guys I took down must have just been muscle.” My phone pinged in my ear as I received Ben’s most recent findings.

“Sounds like we’ll all be staying put,” he said.

“I agree. It’s not over. We have to figure out who sent them.” I peeked through the curtains at the parking lot below, looking for anything odd or out of place. I didn’t see my men Leo or Connor, but I knew they were there. “Call me if you find anything.” I ended the call stuck my phone back in my pocket.

My guys were really good at their jobs. I had put together a great team. When I left the service, my skill set didn’t exactly translate to standard employment. After several unsuccessful weeks of job hunting, I created Scorpion Security as a safe place for trained killers like myself to use our skills in the real world. What other job calls for sniping, tracking, shooting, hand to hand combat, jumping out of airplanes, surviving in the wild, knife wielding, and more? Waiting tables, delivering mail, working in an office may have been right for most people, but none of those jobs made use of our skill sets. Thus, Scorpion Security was born.

As it turns out, people all over the world are willing to pay quite a bit for our brand of expertise. I took only the best of the best and formed teams that operated all over the world. Even the U.S. government hired us.

Of course, my skills tended to scare away normal women. The ones who were attracted to me tended to have either have a danger fetish or were completely nuts. I don’t do nuts. I keep too many weapons around for nuts. Nuts is a bad idea. The Taliban is safer than turning your back on a crazy woman in a house full of weapons.

“Liam…” Maggie came up barefoot behind me and put her hand on my arm. I dropped the curtain and turned to look at her. “I’m sorry,” she said. I raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. “I should have listened to you.” She bit her lip and stared up at me with big, apologetic eyes. “I was wrong.”

“Thank you.” I looked her up and down. “You’re right. You should have listened to me.” She looked down at her feet, shuffling the toes of one foot against the carpet and twisting her hands together. I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “Look, Maggie,” I dropped my chin and faced her, “let’s start over.”

“What do you mean?” Her green eyes fixed on mine and there was a little catch in her breath.

“You listen to me and do everything I say. No more slipping your guards. No more going out unprotected. In return, I keep you on your tour and safe from the crazies, and my team finds your stalker.”

Sniff. She nodded, blinking back her tears. “I can do that.”

I smiled at her, and she took my hands, offering me a wobbly smile.

I heard raised voices outside and got up from the couch to stick my head out the door.

“Hey guys, what’s going on?” I shouted at Ben and Leo, who were blocking someone from entering the restricted space we’d set up around the band’s housing area.

Ben turned to me, and I caught a glimpse of a face I never thought I would see again. I stumbled back in shock, tripping over my own feet. She’s here! What is she doing here?! Excitement welled up from my belly and I forgot all about Maggie asleep back in her bedroom. Rushing out the door and across the gravel lot, I came up on my men and the woman I’d once thought I would spend the rest of my life with.

“Ben, Leo, I’ll take it from here.” I gestured with a nod for them to head out.

“Are you sure, boss?” Leo asked, looking at me askance.

“Yes. Thank you.” I turned away from them. “Come with me,” I said, taking her hand and dragging her to the surveillance van. I opened the door and ordered, “Out.” I shooed the two guys watching the screens away. “Go get something to eat. Come back in twenty minutes.”

They didn’t hesitate.

“Liam, it’s so good to see you!” she said. As soon as we were alone, she jumped into my arms. She grabbed my face and peppered kisses all over it. I caught her, reveling in the feel of her familiar weight in my arms.

She slid down the front of me, running her hands down my chest, and looked me up and down appreciatively. “Oh! You look so good! The doctors didn’t think you would ever walk again.”

And just like a splash of cold water to the face, I remembered why we weren’t together. “Why are you here Jeannie?”

“Why am I here?” She laughed. “To see you, of course, silly!” She playfully smacked my arm.

“Jeannie,” I pushed her away and held her at arm’s length. “You can’t be here. I’m working. You need to go back to your husband.”

Her eyes danced over me and she shook her head. “I made a big mistake marrying Joe. I never should have left you.”

“You didn’t just marry Joe,” I reminded her. “You had a baby with him while I lay half dead in a hospital after being blown up while fighting for my country in Afghanistan.” Saying the words out loud made the distant memory somehow closer, more real. “Go home to your family, Jeannie.”

“You don’t mean that, Liam.” She pouted.

“I do mean that. You need to go home. Now. I can’t do this right now. I’m working.”

“But, baby—”

“No! Go home, Jeannie. I can’t deal with you today.” Leaning around her, I opened the door and waved the guys back in.

“Will one of you take her back to the airport and make sure she gets on a plane back to Texas?”

“Sure thing, boss.”

“Thank you.” Turning back to Jeannie, I looked her straight in the eye. “Get on that plane and go back to your family.”

She batted her hurt, teary eyes as my men turned her from me. Watching them escort her away, I had to stop myself from calling her to come back. Seeing her, it felt like no time had passed, and all those feelings I thought were gone flooded back. I missed her. I still wanted her.