One day later Katie sat on her couch and called Gray Holden. Part of her felt like a shit for not tossing the card away.

Since when have I become so damned suspicious of everyone and everything?

Gray answered her call promptly. “Miss Slane. Nathan said you might call. It’s nice to talk with you.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“You’re right to be cautious. There are plenty of men out there claiming to be spec ops or Navy SEALS who aren’t. What would you like to know about him?”

She swallowed hard. “Now that I have you on the phone, I don’t know.”

Gray’s chuckle was deep and genuine. “Okay, I’ll start and then if you have more questions I’ll try to answer. First, Nathan is one of the best Navy SEALS I’ve ever had the privilege of working with. He was also a highly-trained sniper.”

Sniper. Holy crap.

“I didn’t know that. He doesn’t…he hasn’t said much about his military career. I didn’t even know he was a SEAL until my uncle told me a month after he hired Nathan.”

“That’s the kind of guy Nathan is. Modest as hell. It’s one of the reasons I wanted him to work for me at The Omega Team. He’s a good operator, a team player, but also capable of working entirely on his own. Impeccable credentials. He’s honest.”

All of that sounded good. Almost too good to be true.

“What’s his greatest fault?” she asked.

Gray answered without a pause. “He took it extra hard when he couldn’t get back into the teams. He blamed himself for the knee injury. It was during training. He fell into this sort of crevice and his ankle was caught. He fell to the side and ripped the hell out of his knee. He feels stupid about how it happened.”

“It was just an accident.”

“Yes, but you have to remember as a SEAL he’s one of the best the military has. He didn’t expect himself to make mistakes or for accidents to happen, even though he had to know things like that could happen. He held himself to a higher standard. My guess is he still does. It’s unrealistic.”

She didn’t know what else to say, a silence hanging there for a few seconds.

“Anything else you want to know?” he asked.

“I don’t think so, but if I remember anything, I’ll call back.”

“Sounds good. By the way, if you want a woman’s perspective on him, you can talk to my partner Athena. She’s really good at picking up things about people.”

“Oh?”

“If he was an ass, believe me Athena would tell you.”

A feeling she couldn’t identify at first made her ask, “Was he…did he have a relationship with Athena?”

“Hell, no. Athena and I are together.”

She laughed. “Oh, sorry. I mean, sorry I assumed…”

“It’s okay. Like I said, give us a call if you need anything or have any questions.”

She smiled, but it felt brittle. “Thank you. I might take you up on that someday.”

* * *

Nathan talked with his friend Henry Finn, a former Army Special Forces soldier and Nathan’s landlord about the situation at the pub, and the man agreed immediately to let Nathan out of the lease. If Miles hadn’t, Nathan wouldn’t have balked. He would’ve packed some of his stuff and lived at the pub until the lease ended in two weeks.

Now, two days later, Nathan had settled into his new apartment. Nathan sat at the breakfast bar drinking coffee and stared at his couch, coffee table, recliner and the general emptiness. He’d never accumulated a lot of stuff in his life, so the large space before him echoed with a need for more. It needed more than furniture. It needed a decent bed. He’d recently bought one of those crazy mattresses that comes in a tall box. He needed a good bed frame to put it in—his other bed had broken down a long time ago and he’d been too lazy to shop for another. He needed motivation to decorate this place, especially if he planned to stay here for long. This place needed…

It needs a woman.

The thought jumped into his head, and a picture to go with it. Katie. Whether he liked it or not, his dreams had started to include her. The walls were thick enough he couldn’t hear her moving about her apartment, but he heard it when she opened or closed her front door. Last night he’d dreamed of fucking her against a wall, and he woke up with an erection. He’d taken care of it in the shower, imagining all the things he’d love to do to her and with her.

That kiss had started a new craving inside him for her that grew each day. Part of him regretted the kiss, the other part didn’t. He hadn’t slept with anyone since he’d left the SEALS. Maybe he could blame his craving to kiss Katie again on being celibate so long.

Yeah right. He’d never wanted a woman as much as he wanted her.

“Damn it,” he whispered as his cock hardened again. “Get control.”

He reflected back to the conversation with her in the office where he’d given her Gray’s card. At the end of the conversation, he’d wanted to drag her against him and kiss her. He held back at the last minute. It wasn’t the right time. Hell, maybe it would never be the right time to kiss her again. She’s responded to his kiss, so he knew she was at least attracted to him, and God, that dance had driven him crazy.

What he wouldn’t give to feel her lose control. To feel her soft heat tighten around him as he thrust inside her. He wanted it all and that scared him shitless. He couldn’t recall a time when a woman had obsessed his thoughts this way, or the raging desire to protect filled him so thoroughly.

He looked at his wristwatch. Time to rock and roll. The pub would be open in less than two hours.

A knock came on his door, and he looked through the peephole. Malcolm stood there. He opened the door to him.

“Hey, Malcolm. I was just on the way down.”

“Okay, can I come inside a moment?”

He let him in and closed the door. “Glad you’re here. I’ve been trying to give you rent money for two days but you’re always so busy.”

Malcolm shifted on his feet and looked a bit uncomfortable. “Several things I’ve had to do lately.” He held up his hands. “But I’m not taking your money.”

Nathan groaned. “Come on. I gotta pay rent.”

“No, you don’t. If you want, consider it payment for protecting Katie. Because I’ve thought about it, and I think she really needs it.”

Several red flags popped up in Nathan’s mind. “Wait a minute, Malcolm. Now you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

Malcolm shook his head. “I’m worried about Katie now more than ever. I trust you with her life, Nathan. She’s like a daughter to me. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost her.”

Worry escalated inside him. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”

“I know.” Malcolm shifted away and went for the door. “Thank you, Nathan.”

After he left, Nathan sat on the couch and pondered Malcolm’s twitchiness. What if Gray was right and Malcolm was involved with Irish mafia? Nathan’s bullshit meter went on full alert. Self-doubt crept in. Nathan needed to talk with Gray soon. If this situation really was connected to Irish mafia, the police needed in on this. Before he could grab his cell phone to make that call, someone knocked on his door again.

Katie stood there, so he opened the door. She smiled, the curve of her mouth warm and making his heart beat a little faster. Her tousled black hair touched her shoulders, her blue eyes and milky white complexion reflecting her Irish heritage like nothing else. Today she wore a short sleeved purple blouse with jeans.

“Hey,” he said. “What brings you here?”

“Can I come in for a moment?” she asked.

Hell yeah.

He stepped back and let her inside. “Can I get you anything? Something to drink?”

She looked around his sparse room. “No. I won’t be here that long.”

Rather than offer her a seat, he stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. “Okay, what’s up?”

“I called Gray.”

“And?”

“I’m sorry I doubted you. I…he thinks you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread.”

He smiled, but he wasn’t relieved yet. “I’m glad. You feel better now?”

She looked him dead in the eye. “Yes. And no.”

Shit. “No?”

“Not about you. That isn’t it. I’m worried about recent events. The woman that was murdered for example. What if the person who killed her is also one of our patrons?”

He frowned. “It’s possible.”

“That’s what scares me.”

He couldn’t ignore the fear in her eyes or her voice. He gently cupped her shoulders, drawn to her powerfully.

“Katie, maybe I should review some security ideas with you and your uncle. I just talked to him.”

She sighed. “It sounds like a good idea. I’m worried about him. He’s working too hard. The other night I don’t think he slept at all. He looked like death.”

“Do you know what he’s worried about? Anything beyond just recent events?”

She shifted, looking away from him as if trying to sort it out in her mind. “Not that I can tell. Do you think he’s worried about something else?”

“Mostly he wants me to protect you. He told me that’s why he won’t let me pay rent. It’s payment to protect you.”

“Oh, God.” She rubbed her hands over her face. “Something else has to be wrong. We have to get to the bottom of it.”

Her reaction didn’t surprise him. She obviously loved her uncle just as he loved her. “We will. One step at a time. Let’s talk to him.” He didn’t release her shoulders. Instead he looked down into her vibrant eyes. “Do me a favor, okay? If I tell you to do something as an added security detail, it isn’t because I’m trying to lord it over you, okay?”

She smiled and patted him on the chest. “I know. I get that now. I’m a little…I can get a little bossy myself.”

“Ya think?”

She swatted him playfully. God, her touch made him crazy. Made him want things. Her teasing smile made it more intense. He released her before he ignored his common sense and kissed her.

“Come on, let’s talk to Malcolm,” he said.

* * *

With new security measures in place, Katie felt better as Friday night came around. She trusted Nathan one hundred percent, her doubt removed by his concern and care. Every day that went by, she felt that tug toward him and a need to get closer. He, however, seemed particularly reserved and hands off lately. As if he was a professional bodyguard afraid to put a foot wrong. She understood that. Maybe he couldn’t do his job if he got too close.

Or maybe he isn’t that in to you.

True. Very possibly true. She should be happy about that, but she found she couldn’t.

Dana and Katie took to the hustle and bustle doing their normal routine. Malcolm seemed damned satisfied with the arrangement of having Nathan living with them. Days had passed without incident. Every day the evening crowd grew. People showed up in droves at the bar, and her uncle loved the cash flow. Dicky arrived for work on time and seemed unusually enthusiastic to do his work.

She should’ve loved it right along with her uncle, but something still nagged at her. She couldn’t define what, and that made her more determined to discover what bothered her. Maybe it was just too many things happening at once.

She entered the kitchen later that night and found Dicky on his cell phone, his face expressing total panic. At first he didn’t notice her. He looked pathetically unsure of himself. At about five feet four inches, he stood shorter than her. His lanky hair, though thick, hung over his face uncombed. Sweat pebbled his clean-shaven face. The nurse in her turned concerned.

“No man,” he said, his voice high-pitched. “I ain’t doing that to them. I won’t. I’m done with this.” He looked up and jolted when he saw her. Mortification came over his face. “Holy—” He stuffed the cell phone in his back jeans pocket. “Katie.”

She planted her hands on her hips. “Dicky, what’s going on?”

Dick brushed his hands down his apron. “Nothing.”

“That phone conversation didn’t sound like nothing.”

He wiped his hands down the apron again. “I’m…it’s just personal.”

“Dicky, if you need help…” She sighed with frustration. “Okay, first…are you okay? You’re sweating like a racehorse.”

Dicky smiled. “I’m good. It’s just hot in this kitchen.”

Dicky had always been a damned good cook, one reason why her uncle kept him on. He also felt sorry for the gangly, socially awkward young man. She didn’t know if she believed him that nothing was wrong.

She nodded. “All right. But you know you can come to me or my uncle if there’s a problem, right?”

Dicky echoed her nod. “Yeah, I know.”

Disturbed, she left the kitchen determined to tell both her uncle and Nathan about Dicky’s odd behavior as soon as the pub closed. Since the pub had instituted new security measures, including walking lone female patrons to their cars at night, Nathan had become too damned popular. Women intent on bagging a former Navy SEAL wanted him to walk her to their car. While Katie couldn’t blame the women for wanting backup, she guessed that some of them came alone to the pub for that specific reason—to see if they could get to know Nathan more intimately.

As the last female patron strolled out the front door with Nathan that night, Katie watched them leave. Dana and Malcolm stood in the bar area and so did Dicky.

“Would you look at that?” Dana laughed. “That lady had to be twice his age.”

Katie didn’t bother to mention that Dana had already ogled Nathan for the same reason the other woman did.

“I’m going home,” Dicky said, looking morose. “See you later.”

With a chorus of goodbyes, they sent him on his way. A few moments after he left out of the front door, a series of shots rang out.