Edge of Reason (EDGE Security Series Book 2) (2 page)

Rhys swore to himself. There were too many of them. If they didn’t get out of here they’d be slaughtered. He signaled his two other teammates to fall back to the helicopter.

He grit his teeth. He would get this woman, this Valkyrie, out of here even if he had to throw her over his shoulder and carry her to the helicopter. He’d started to rise when she grabbed his shoulder and hauled him back down.

“Three, two, one,” she said.
 

The tangos had crossed into whatever kill zone she’d set up. The explosion boomed across the valley, followed by two more in quick succession. Pulverized rocks and dust covered the area, making it impossible to see.
 

A vibrating rumble shook the ground under them. The dust began to clear, and he saw Taliban soldiers bracing themselves where they stood or had fallen.

A deafening crack stopped the vibrations. A new mushroom cloud of dust surged up and over the area. At the same time, the thunderous crashing of rocks slid down the mountain in an avalanche, the men screaming as they fell under the wave of it.

“Shit,” Rhys breathed. “Remind me never to piss you off.”

She stood up and walked over to the waiting helicopter without replying.

Now
that
was a woman. Rhys grinned.
 

On the bird flying back to safety, she pretended to ignore him, but he could see her glancing at him from the corner of her eye every once in a while.
 

This wasn’t over.
 

He would find out what E.D.G.E. was, because he planned to meet Valkyrie again.

Present day…

Cat ‘Valkyrie’ Richards shouldn’t have come. She scanned the fancy-pants wine bar Liam had insisted on. The downtown after-work crowd filled the place. Men in suits and slicked-back hair chatted with women in spiky heels and silk blouses.
 

Cat played with her wine glass on the table, not listening to whatever legal issue Liam spoke about with his lawyer buddies. She’d only had a few sips, but her tolerance for wine had always been low and she avoided drinking more than one glass in public.
 

She’d just gotten back from a particularly nasty mission, and she could still feel the grit of sand in her eyes. Her body ached from the remembered weight of her body armor. She just wanted to go home, throw on her PJs, crack a beer, and catch up on
The Bachelor
.

She shifted the material of her clingy, black blouse. It was ridiculous, with its plunging neckline and low back. A single tie at the back of her neck held the thing up. She wished she hadn’t let Dani, her friend from E.D.G.E., talk her into buying it. It showed off her muscular shoulders and back. Dani had said she looked sexy, but from the sidelong glances of the men and women around her she wasn’t so sure. Muscles like hers weren’t often found on a woman. She twirled her wine again, the red color deep and almost absorbing the light. White wine had always been her preference, if she had to choose.
 

“Catherine? Earth to Catherine?” Liam said, his pale blue eyes focused on her.
 

With his expertly styled brown hair and lean, gym-fit body, he was attractive enough. He was no Bachelor, though. Last month he’d hit on her at the Chien Noir, the bar near E.D.G.E. headquarters, and on a whim she’d exchanged numbers with him. This was their second date.
 

“Yes?” she said.

“Geez, didn’t you used to be a soldier? Always on alert? I think you wouldn’t notice a terrorist right now if he were sitting next to you.”

Not likely. She frowned. “Did you have a question?”

“Relax, Kitty-Cat,” he said. “I didn’t mean it.”

“I’ve asked you not to call me that.”

His two friends smirked, so she pretended they were Taliban fighters and planned out the best way to kill them without a gun. She let her thoughts show in her eyes.
 

The friends blanched and turned away.
 

“What is with you tonight, Catherine?” Liam said, scowling. “Why are you pulling this tough-guy shit? You’re just a marketing peon now, remember?”

Her cover was a marketing job at E.D.G.E. Securities, a small security company that catered to clients both in North America and abroad. She couldn’t tell anyone what she really did—not even her own family.
 

“I told you, Liam, I just got back from a work trip and I’m tired,” she said. “I’m going to the restroom.” She picked up her black clutch and headed for the back of the bar, where the washrooms were.

In the ladies’ room, two women stood gossiping while a third leaned toward the mirror and applied bright red lipstick. Their conversation stopped. Lipstick woman straightened and gave a small shriek. Cat tensed, scanning the bathroom for a threat.
 

The woman put her hand over her heart and gave a little laugh. “Omigod, you’re so…tall. I thought you were a man.” All three women laughed embarrassedly before leaving the bathroom. Cat stood silent while they did. Responding never helped—she’d learned that in high school. She couldn’t fight them physically, and she had never been good with words.
 

She wished Dani were here; her friend could out-snark anyone. Instead, Cat just grit her teeth and did her business.
 

She washed her hands and eyed herself in the mirror. She stood taller than most women—and most men—at six feet, and had lean muscular arms and shoulders from doing pull-ups and carrying rucksacks. With her short blonde hair, it was probably easy for people to mistake her for a man. And she wore heels tonight. That made her even taller.
 

More of a freak show.

She blew her bangs out of her eyes. What was she doing here? Why did she even bother to try? She didn’t fit in with these dressed-up dolls.

But she didn’t exactly fit in with the soldiers, either.
 

She shook her head. She was getting melancholy. It was time to go home.

Cat made her way back to Liam who, by the look of the bottle of wine, was on his third glass. His voice was loud and too exuberant for whatever story he told. She tapped him on the shoulder.
 

“Liam, I’m tired and I’d like to go home,” she said.
 

“What? No way, Kitty-Cat. Come on, you can stay out a bit later.”

“I asked you not to call me that.”

“Kitty-Cat? But you like it.” He reached out and stroked her hair. “You should really grow your hair long. It’d be amazing.”

She pulled her head away from his hand. “So I can look like Barbie? No thanks.” What had she seen in this guy? Or had she just been tempted because some civilian actually wanted to date her? “I’m heading home. I’ll see you around, Liam.”
 

He grabbed her arm. “Wait, Kitty-Cat—I mean Catherine. Why don’t you let me finish my wine and I’ll see you home?”
 

His friends Dumb and Dumber stood behind Liam grinning over their glasses. She shook off his hand. “No, thanks. I can take care of myself.”

Liam frowned. “You know what, Catherine? That’s your problem. You’re too much of a man to accept help from one.”

She’d had enough. She was aware of someone tall standing at the edge of her vision. Her instinct told her to look, but she needed to finish this. “You mean I should pretend I need you to protect me?”

His lip curled. “No wonder you’re single.” He turned to his friends. “That bet is not worth it. It’d be like taking a guy to bed.”

Her insides froze to ice with his words. The sounds of muted conversations and tinkling glasses rushed away. “What did you say?”

Liam turned to her and put his face close to hers. “I only went out with you on a bet. Seriously, you’ve got more muscles than most men. You’re barely a woman.”
 

The ice inside her cracked and split. She wanted to run, but her temper had other ideas. “You were going to sleep with me on a bet?”

“Yes,” he said, straightening to his full height. “I hit on you that night because I was dared to. It’s been interesting, if nothing else.” He flicked his fingers as if to brush her away.

She didn’t really recall snatching his hand, twisting it, and digging her strong fingers into the pressure point at the wrist, but suddenly Liam was on his knees before her, leaning forward trying to ease the pain in his wrist and shoulder. She twisted harder and he writhed.

“Fuck,” he said. “Let me go, you crazy bitch.”

 
She applied more pressure and he shrieked. His friends shifted their feet, but did nothing to help their buddy. No worries there. The rest of the crowd had edged back from the confrontation.

The tall figure in her periphery moved toward her main line of sight. Her stomach dropped. What was he doing here? This was
so
not her night.

Petty Officer Second Class Rhys ‘Lucky’ Lafayette didn’t wear his uniform tonight, just a pair of low-slung jeans, a black t-shirt, and a battered leather jacket. He should have looked out of place among all the suits, but instead he radiated such a bad-boy vibe that every woman in the place followed him with her eyes.

“Hey, Cat,” he said. His eyes flicked over Liam before catching hers again. “Whatcha doing, chère?”

His Louisiana drawl wrapped around her, just like his strong arms had six months before.
 

She swallowed, pushing away the memories of that one explosive night.
 

“Just teaching someone some manners,” she said. How much had he heard? Crap. She could feel her face heat. With her pale skin, it would burn bright red. She looked away from those whiskey-colored eyes and down at the man still cursing her. She tightened her grip and he writhed again, but at least he’d shut up.

Rhys leaned on the table and sipped the beer he carried. “You know, chère, there’s going to be a lot of paperwork if you break his arm.”
 

She shrugged. It might be worth it. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be deployed.”

“I was,” he said. “I did my tour and now I’ve got a new one. I’ll be an E.D.G.E. operator starting tomorrow.”

Crap.
 

Liam squealed, and she realized she’d twisted too hard. She eased off a bit. “You’re assigned to E.D.G.E.? But you’re a SEAL. What about your team?”

A grin eased onto his lips and lit his eyes, as if he could barely control his laughter. “E.D.G.E. is my team now.”

This couldn’t be happening.
 

Cat saw two male waiters hovering nearby, whispering furiously and gesturing toward her. She yanked Liam’s head back by his hair and leaned in, speaking softly. “If I ever hear of you betting about sleeping with a woman again, I will find you and cut your balls off before you even see me coming. It’s not like they ever got any use before–you’ll hardly miss them.”
 

She flung him to the ground and watched for a moment to make sure he wouldn’t attack her when she walked away. Then she picked up her clutch and strode toward the front of the bar. People parted for her. Her heels clicked on the concrete floor in the silence. Everyone watched, but she refused to look around and kept her chin high, though her insides writhed in humiliation.
 

Outside, she breathed deep of the crisp late-August air, so different from the heat of the desert where she’d been yesterday. A cool wind from the river blew over her skin and she shivered.
 

She knew Rhys had followed her. He stood behind her right now, not speaking. She liked that. He somehow knew to give her space. She took another deep breath, watching the street traffic. “How much did you hear?” she asked.

“The guy was an ass, Cat.”

“So…all of it, then.” She closed her eyes. Crap. She did not need the rumor going around the unit that she couldn’t get a date. It was true, of course, but she hated people talking about her. She turned to him. “Look, I appreciate you not interfering in there.”

He shrugged. “Why would I interfere? You had everything under control.”

“Right. Just not my temper.”

He laughed. “I repeat, the guy was an ass and needed to be taken down. He’s lucky it was you. I wouldn’t have let him off so easy.”
 

A warmth spread through her at his words, but she ignored it and stifled the urge to smile back at him.
 

“Thanks.” Then her mind latched onto the last words he’d spoken in the bar.
 

E.D.G.E. Securities, the top-secret, international government unit where she loved working, now also employed Rhys. Her stomach fluttered with nerves. She wasn’t sure if they were from Rhys standing too close to her, or the fact that he could destroy her reputation and even her career with a few well-chosen remarks.

She lifted her chin. “I’d appreciate you not telling anyone about this.” She waved her hand at the bar and then waved it between them. “Or anything about…that night.”

His head tilted as he studied her. She wanted to squirm under that intense gaze, but she held still. A slow smile lit his face and his eyes. “I don’t kiss and tell, chère.”

She blew her bangs out of her eyes. She was too tired to deal with Rhys. “I’ll see you tomorrow at work.” She pretended that thought didn’t make her queasy and started walking home, leaving the temptation of his smile behind.

What the hell? Rhys stared after Cat as she walked away. He let her go for a moment and just appreciated the view. The top she wore exposed her back and narrow waist. The tight jeans showed off an excellent ass and long legs. The woman didn’t need heels, but he wasn’t complaining. They did something to the way she walked, giving more sway to her stride, focusing his attention there. It brought back memories of their night together.
 

He and his buddy Jake had just finished working an op with E.D.G.E., the Elite Digital and Global Enforcement unit. It had been a test run to see if he fit with the E.D.G.E. team. Cat had joined him in the elevator on the way out of HQ. He’d smiled a welcome.
 

“Looks like your friend, Jake, found a reason to join E.D.G.E.,” she’d said. “Dani seems like a nice girl.”