Chapter One
Wade
The lunch rush at the restaurant had just ended, leaving us in the usual lull before the dinner crowd arrived. The Watering Hole, the pub I co-owned with my friends—most of whom were former military, along with one former cop—wasn’t exactly where I envisioned my career heading. Still, it was part of our larger plan after retiring from the military. Vince, Jack, and I had served together during my last tour, and during downtime, we often talked about our post-duty ambitions. Vince’s cousin, a cop looking to transition into private security, inspired us to team up with him and Archer to bring our vision to life.
Considering three of us were Army Rangers, our special ops skills made us highly qualified to do private security. Vince, having learned from his bounty hunter dad, and Archer, a former cop, also allowed us to add private investigations and fugitive recovery to our business.
However, a business like that usually takes time to build up clientele, so we’d decided to buy into the pub first to build up cash flow for the security business. My uncle ran the Watering Hole for thirty years, but was ready to retire, so I’d talked him into selling the pub and restaurant to me. The best part was he owned the whole building. The pub was on the ground floor, with a large empty space on the second floor, which we’d turned into the security company, and then two small apartments on the floor above that.
I lived in one apartment, and the other belonged to Jack, though I mainly kept an eye on it now while he was finishing up his last tour. Once he was done, hopefully in a few weeks, he would join us at the security company.
We’d recently put in a surveillance room upstairs where we could monitor all the extra security cameras we installed around the inside and outside of the building. It was necessary for the security company, but also for the pub, so I could keep an eye on everything when I wasn’t there.
It was a great location, just on the north side of Atlanta near Dobbington Air Reserve Base. Plenty of servicemembers came to the bar during downtime, which made it a good spot to recruit more people for when our business – Ranger Shield Security – took off. Archer and Vince were basically heading up the security company since Jack was still overseas, and I was running the bar most days.
Jack had called a couple of days ago to give me a heads-up that his sister was going to move into his space temporarily until he came home. He didn’t say much, but apparently his sister quit her job, broke up with her boyfriend and was moving here. He also asked if we could hire her at the bar, which was fine by me because we were short-staffed, and she apparently had experience working in restaurants and bars. He gave her my cell, and she’d texted me to tell me she would be here this afternoon, which was what I was currently waiting for.
I was hoping to get her to fill out all the paperwork and give her the basics today and then have her start training tomorrow with Tammy, who had been here about as long as my uncle. Speak of the feisty devil, Tammy stood in the small office doorway and knocked.
“Hey boss-man, got a lady here to see ya. A real looker named Ellie. Is this the one you want me training?”
“Yeah. Would you send her back so we can get started on her paperwork?”
“Sure thing. I’m glad we share tips, ‘cause I have a feelin’ this one will bring in lots of them from the boys. She’s certainly easier on the eyes than Sam and Corey,” Tammy said with a wink.
“Thanks, Tammy,” I said as I rolled my eyes. Tammy had made it her life’s mission lately to try setting me up with every girl who walked into the bar, no matter how big the red flags were.
Small raps at the door had me looking up again, and I immediately did a double-take of the woman standing next to Tammy. She hadn’t been kidding. This woman was stunning. Jack had a picture of him and his sister he carried around with him while we were overseas, but the girl in the picture was a scrawny fourteen-year-old girl with frizzy blond hair and braces. The woman before me was not that girl. She had filled out in all the right places.
She was quite tall. She practically towered over Tammy, though that wasn’t saying much since almost everyone was taller than Tammy, but what Tammy lacked in height, she more than made up for with attitude and brass balls.
“Here ya go, boss. Once y’all get the paperwork signed let me know, and I can show her around the place and figure out a time for her to shadow me.”
“Thanks Tammy. Will do,” I said, shaking myself out of my daze as I stared at the beautiful woman in the doorway. I noticed some discoloration on her face – bruises, maybe, that were starting to heal, but she also appeared to have makeup on, so I couldn’t tell for sure.
“I’m Wade. You must be Ellie,” I said, extending my hand.
She took it, and the soft brush of her skin against my arm sent a jolt through me—not good, because it felt way too nice. Shake it off, soldier.
“Yes, hi. Thanks for helping me out,” Ellie said in a cheery voice, though she looked a bit nervous. “I know you’re only considering me for the job because of Jack, but I promise you won’t regret it. I have plenty of experience with bartending and waitressing.”
“Jack already told me you had plenty of experience, so I’m not worried. Let’s get all this paperwork signed, and then I’ll show you around the place,” I said, knowing full well that Tammy had offered, but I felt the sudden need to do it myself.
I handed over several sheets of paper for her to fill out and sign. While she did, I pretended to do some stuff on my computer but found myself glancing over at her with her eyes looking down. Those definitely looked like healing bruises now that she was up close. Was she in an accident? Jack hadn’t mentioned anything.
She had fair skin and bright blue eyes like her brother, but whereas Jack had brown hair, she had light blonde hair that was wavy and landed just past her shoulders. It looked so soft that, I just wanted to run my hands through it.
Inappropriate.
She is your employee now, not to mention your best friend’s little sister.
“How old are you?” I asked. I hadn’t looked at her résumé yet, but I had a general idea based on how many years younger she was than Jack.
“I just turned twenty-one,” she said, looking up at me, and I was immediately captivated by those beautiful blue eyes.
I nodded back. Way too young for my nearly thirty-year-old self, that was for sure.
And Jack’s little sister. Remember that.
I tried to distract myself while she finished the paperwork, but I couldn’t stop staring.
We got her all set, and then I took her out to show her around the place.
I should have had Tammy do it, but I had this weird compulsion to be near her. I told myself I was just looking after Jack’s sister, even though I knew that wasn’t it.
We toured the kitchen and the break room in the back. I introduced her to other staff, and then headed out to the bar area and main dining room.
I took her behind the bar to show her where everything was, and for the first time I realized just how tight that space was. Our bar was long and could easily fit two dozen patrons, but the space behind the bar was narrow for the bartenders and staff. With me, Ellie, and Tammy behind there it was cramped. Ellie was right in front of me, and my body vibrated with an odd excitement. She was so close I could smell her perfume. She smelled like lemons and cookies, or maybe that was just her shampoo or something. Whatever it was, my body wanted to be closer.
She and Tammy talked about what was a good time for her to come and shadow the next day while I just stood there awkwardly and stared at her. I could tell she had a great body, even though most of it was hidden behind a bulky T-shirt and jeans. Still, those jeans hugged her curves, emphasizing the attractive figure beneath.
Nope. Don’t go there. Jack’s sister. Jack’s little sister. If I kept repeating it in my mind, hopefully, it would sink in.
“Wade, you good?” I looked up to see Tammy staring at me with a knowing eye.
Yep, she’d caught me looking at Ellie’s ass. She just grinned her sneaky little grin at me, and I rolled my eyes.
“Yeah, you good?”
“Yep. She’s all yours,” Tammy said winking at me. “I’ll see you tomorrow, girl,” she added, looking at Ellie.
I took Ellie back to the office and grabbed a few things. “We don’t have a uniform per se, but everyone just wears these T-shirts with our logo on them. Almost everybody wears them with jeans.”
“That’s fine,” she said, taking the T-shirts I handed over. “We had to be dressed up at my last restaurant, so I’m looking forward to being more comfortable.”
Her mouth made a half smile, half smirk. My first thought was to kiss that smirk right off her face.
Damn. Where did that thought come from.
Shut it down.
“Do you have time to show me to Jack’s apartment? If not, I can just get the key and show myself in,” she said.
That’s right. I’d briefly forgotten she was staying in Jack’s place until she could find her own.
Great. Just great.
Because Jack’s apartment was right next to mine.
