Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 109640 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109640 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
He needed to get inside so he wasn’t late but, damn, he couldn’t resist watching her go.
He’d hit that.
If she wasn’t so damn young.
And he had a roll of duct tape on hand to seal shut that smart mouth.
He wished good luck to the poor fucker who had to deal with her ass. They’d need it.
Thank fuck it wasn’t him.
“Do I get to pick Butler’s replacement? Is that why I’m here? To give me some options?”
For fuck’s sake, say yes. Don’t stick me with someone I don’t want and knock my well-oiled team out of whack.
Unfortunately, PA State Police Corporal Ian Butler had to bow out from the task force. His wife was experiencing a difficult pregnancy and was bedridden until she delivered. That meant Butler was needed at home more than ever, both to tend to her, as well as their two other young children. The task force consumed more time than he could currently give.
It sucked but Crew understood that family came first. However, that left him a team member short. The whole reason he sat on the other side of the desk belonging to the supervising special agent in charge of group one’s investigation.
And the man Crew reported to.
“No,” Bob Williams answered.
“I picked the rest of the team.”
“And I picked your newest member.”
Crew stared across the desk, not liking Williams’ tone. It made the fine hairs on the back of his neck rise. The SSA was normally an easy-going guy but something was up. “Do I know him?”
“No.”
That meant this agent was most likely brought in from another field office. “Where’s he from, or is he new to the organization?”
“She’s newer but not quite wet behind the ears new.”
She? He had to choke that down because it almost burst free from his lips and that would not go over well.
He had no problem with women in law enforcement.
None.
Not even a little bit.
He cleared his throat. “How new?”
“She graduated in the top one percent of her class.”
“That means nothing.” And didn’t answer his question.
“To you, maybe, since you weren’t in that top one percent.”
Damn. “I did well in the academy.” Graduating was all that mattered, not being an ass-kisser.
“‘Well’ is a subjective term.”
Jesus. Williams was out for blood today. “When did she graduate?”
“A year ago. She has more grit and determination than a lot of our senior agents.“
Had he walked into a massacre without a bullet-proof vest? Crew had enough gaping wounds now that he was beginning to bleed out. “That’s because she’s fresh and determined to make the world a better place. Once she learns that’s an almost impossible battle to win, she’ll be as tarnished as the rest of us.”
“How about letting her keep that enthusiasm for a while? You could take her under your wing. I see great things in her future and believe she’ll be an asset to the agency, as well as your task force.”
“How old is she?” If she graduated the academy only a year ago, she could be as young as twenty-one. A complete baby needing a whole lot of hand-holding. Right now, he didn’t have to micro-manage his team.
He also didn’t want to.
“She’s young, so I think she would do well dealing with the Demons.”
Dread filled his chest. “She can’t go undercover. They’re,” he bit back an F-bomb, “bikers!”
Williams leaned back in his leather office chair. “They don’t have women hanging around their organization?”
Organization? Williams made them sound like a legit business.
“Not without putting out. Hang-arounds and sweet butts don’t get the pleasure of spending time with those lovely gentlemen without paying a price. I doubt she wants to bend over for a bunch of outlaw bikers. And I’m not talking only one.” Crew shrugged. “Unless she tries to become an ol’ lady. Even if she does that, do you want her having sex with even one of them?”
The reality was, no biker was taking an ol’ lady who didn’t put out. It wasn’t romantic sex, either. Sometimes it was rough, degrading and bordered on abusive.
He’d seen plenty of it on the camera feeds. None of it was hot and all of it was stomach-churning. Sex to the Deadly Demons wasn’t an intimate connection, it was solely for busting a nut.
“No. Find something else for her to do, then. She’ll be an asset to your team no matter what task she’s assigned.”
For fuck’s sake. He’d preferred not to assign her anything at all. They were better off being one member short. “Why are you pushing this?”
“Because you’re down a team member and she’d be perfect for it.”
Perfect was a subjective term. “No.”
Williams’ eyebrows smashed together. “No what?”
“We’re a cohesive team. We’ll be fine with fourteen members.”
“Are you refusing an order? Do I need to remind you that doing so is insubordination?”
Shit. “I haven’t heard an order yet.”
Williams got to his feet, picked up a paper off his desk and sailed it toward Crew. “Here’s the official order.”