Chapter One

Geoffroi "Roi" Majors tossed his feet onto the conference table and leaned back in his chair. Captain Lukian Vlakhusha, his brother by way of shared lycan DNA, cast him a cautioning look. The colonel was due in at any moment and he'd frown upon Roi's behavior, not that Roi gave a shit. Sticking it to "the man" was his thing.

As if on cue, the door to the debriefing room opened and Colonel Asher Brooks made his way in, wearing his standard stoic game face. The man always seemed like he knew a huge secret and wasn't about to let any of them in on it. He also tended to always come off as tired of the majority of the team's antics. And while most assumed he was only human, Roi didn't exactly buy it. Something was different about Brooks, but he'd never been able to figure out what.

"Sorry to call you in on such short notice, but important matters have come to our attention. It's big," said Brooks.

Generally, Brooks tended to understate everything. If he thought something was big, it was huge. Roi exhaled, knowing he wasn't going to like what he was about to be told.

"Big, huh? The last time we were told that it was because shit hit the fan in Roswell. Tell me we're alone and that the truth isn't out there. I don't think I can handle another revelation like the last time," said Wilson, the team's wererat and resident smart-ass, from across the table the conference table.

Brooks lifted a brow, appearing annoyed.

Wilson kept going. "Did the tabloids claim to have proof of aliens? Ooo, do we get to lie about it again? That was great pretending like we hadn't seen a thing. Who wants to do it again? Raise your hand! We can force Green to make up another lame-ass weather balloon story. Everyone believed it the last time. By the way, has anyone talked to the Area-51 guys lately? I get nervous when they go radio silent for too long."

Roi stifled a laugh. It had been funny watching Green—the team's egghead—try, and fail, to offer the public a viable alternative explanation for what had gone on in New Mexico all those years ago. The truth of the matter kept Roi up at nights sometimes. Humans would never be able to handle it.

The warning growl that came from the captain made Roi wonder if he would have to restrain Lukian so he wouldn't put a world of hurt on Wilson. Guess the captain didn't find the joke as funny as Roi did. Wilson always knew the quickest way to get the captain to lose his patience.

It was a true gift.

When no one was immediately maimed, Roi relaxed. Though the idea of getting a few good punches in on Wilson did sound like fun, but that always sounded like a great idea and could wait until a better time. He'd always seen Wilson as something of a pesky little brother, despite the fact they were in no way biologically related.

The colonel ignored Wilson's comments and hit the light switch, bathing the room in artificial light. Since a laptop sat near the projection screen, that meant the colonel had plans to show them something that would require the room to be dark. Flipping on the lights meant the colonel just wanted to be a dick. The lights wouldn't be needed.

Jon groaned and shielded his amber eyes, no doubt hungover again. He'd taken the loss of their fellow I-Ops teammate, Lance Toov, the hardest. The two had been close friends, and Roi wasn't sure that Jon would be able to pull out of his funk. So far it seemed as if the only sort of help Jon was after was found at the bottom of a bottle. The only people he had to confide in were the other Immortal Ops (I-Ops), his team members. It wasn't like Jon could parade into any old shrink's office, rambling on about losing his best friend of the past several decades, who never aged a day in all that time and who also happened to have been able to shape-shift into a panther. Yeah, a confession like that would have Jon locked up in Bellevue in two-point-two seconds.

Too bad Wilson wasn't prone to pouring out his heart. Seeing him in a straitjacket would be priceless. Roi suppressed a grin at the thought.

Roi tipped his head and then directed his attention to the colonel. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, why did you call us in here today? We've already debriefed you on the events surrounding Lance's death, and Parker has been eliminated. Please don't tell me there's another leftover insane team member on the prowl. I'm not sure my nerves can take that today."

Truth be told, his nerves couldn't ever handle that again. They'd had to kill a fellow op. Sure, Parker's mind had broken long ago from all the testing, but that didn't change the fact he was one of them. He was a brother-in-arms, an Immortal Op. Fuck the government and their Outcast term for the men who didn't come out of the I-Ops testing and DNA manipulations perfect and fully functioning as per government requirements.

Killing a fellow brother was hard, and he didn't want to have to do it again. He didn't blame the broken men; he blamed the scientists who had God complexes and he blamed the assholes forking out large sums of money to back the program.

"Call me Nervous Nelly, but I can't handle that shit either," Wilson said with a derisive laugh.

A cold smile spread over Roi's face as he kept his feet on the table. The colonel glanced at Roi's feet and lifted a brow. Ticking off the colonel was his favorite pastime. Well, that and sex, but since there weren't any eligible hotties around, he'd have to just settle for harassing the colonel.

I give and I give.

The colonel flipped the lights off once more and Jon let out a long sigh of relief. Yep. As suspected, Brooks was just being a dick. The lights were not needed. The overhead projector came on and an image of Benjamin Parker flashed up. He was the former-I-Ops agent, who had been labeled an Outcast and who had gone AWOL, later killing one of their own. Parker had lost it shortly after Lukian's natural-born wolf-shifter DNA had been introduced to him. The testing and Parker's breakdown had happened decades ago. The man had escaped one of the facilities the government liked to hold the Outcasts in, and had long since been assumed dead until he'd shown up a little over a week ago, trying to not only kill the I-Ops but Lukian's mate, Peren, as well.

He'd nearly accomplished taking out everyone. And he'd done a hell of a job mind-fucking them all. He'd let them think he was dead and lost, only to show up and play the long con. He'd orchestrated a well-thought-out deception that had drawn Lukian to his mate, made sure the rest of the Ops team would be near, and ultimately, nearly kill them all. He'd been successful in ending Lance's life. That was a loss Roi wasn't sure the men would ever recover from. Lance was like family to them all, and they'd spent decades fighting the good fight together. His absence was still fresh and noticeably missed.

Lukian sat up straight in his chair as images of Parker flashed by on the screen. Seeing the pictures even made Roi uncomfortable. Part of him wanted to mourn the loss of Parker, and the other part wanted to bring him back to life so he could kill him for what he'd done. He couldn't even begin to imagine the range of emotions Lukian was going through.

Colonel Brooks glanced up at the screen, not seeming to notice Lukian's obvious discomfort with the situation. That or he was ignoring it. "Intel just sent these. Here you'll see Parker in Munich with Gisbert Krauss."

"Krauss?" Green asked from the other side of the table. Green was their resident scientist who had a handy werepanther gene. Sad thing was that Green actually looked tougher than he was—despite Lukian swearing the guy could kick ass. He was as tall as Roi with a head of deep red hair and a set of biceps that rivaled any other I-Op, but Green had never taken to the beast side of his shifter abilities. Rather, he submersed himself in books and research, vowing to make headway in the safe creation of more I-Ops teams.

When Green had a question, they all listened. He was the smartest man they'd ever known, and considering the room's combined age, they'd been around long enough to know a whole lot of people.

"Yes, Krauss," Brooks said, flipping to the next image, this one showing Parker standing again with the short, balding Gisbert Krauss. The old man didn't look like much of a threat. "How much do you know about him?"

Green shifted in his seat a bit and shrugged. "Just that he's big in the field of genetic research. Big enough that I've seen his name in a number of related publications. They're claiming he's on the verge of some sort of breakthrough. He's also well backed financially from what I've been able to discern. I saved all references to him. I can get them if you'd like."

"Why am I not surprised that you have that all at the ready?" Wilson asked and glanced at Roi. "They're probably filed next to the pile of 'things he does instead of date' collection."

"If you're done," Colonel Brooks said, staring at Wilson, appearing annoyed.

"He's done," Lukian said sternly. No one dared to question him. One, they respected him. Two, he'd rip their heads off and spit down their necks before they had a chance to blink. He wasn't like the rest of the team. Lukian was born a shifter, a lycan. His strength was unrivaled and he had other perks as well, like being king of the North American Lycans.

"Tell us why Parker was meeting with Krauss." Lukian leaned forward in his seat, a keen interest on his face. "I think we all know that it wasn't for an in-depth look into the life of a cell."

Colonel Brooks ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair before pointing at the image. "We've had our eye on Krauss for a while now. We found out that he had a hand in an underground paranormal website that talked about DNA manipulation, human-animal hybrids, and the making of super humans with the potential to be used as weapons for the highest-paying bidders."

The men all shared a concerned look at one another before each one began paying more attention to what Brooks had to say.

Brooks advanced the image and the next one showed Krauss standing with Parker near I-Ops Headquarters. The room went silent. That was a little too close to home for their liking. They glanced at one another nervously.

Clearing his throat, Brooks continued, "We think Parker may have sold secrets to Krauss, led him straight to us and, worse yet, participated in human studies."

Green shot out of his seat. "Studies? What the hell do you mean by studies? Mixing straight shifter DNA with a normal human has a one hundred percent fatality rate. If they've been sacrificing men to serve their purpose then—"

Brooks put his hand up and interrupted Green. "Not just men, women and children too. At least that's what Intel's come back with."

Roi's stomach tightened. "Why in the hell is 'Intel' just getting this information to us now? Christ, if we were that slow, half the country would be dead or vampires by now."

"Same difference," Wilson said, snickering. Everyone ignored him.

Colonel Brooks shook his head slightly. "Intel is not flawless. You know that. We do what we can with the information they're able to retrieve. Have you ever asked yourself how many men died for what you're seeing now?"

Roi snorted. "What I'm asking myself is how many fucking women and children died, sir."

"What else do we have on him?" Lukian asked, raking his fingers over the table and ignoring Roi's outburst. "Do we know how many children they've killed?"

"No. But we know for certain that a large group of children were assembled in Asia from around the world and experimented on in utero. We also know that the mothers disappeared once the children were born and the only reason they stopped the experiments was because we got a little too close to discovering them. They spread the children who survived out to orphanages and stopped for a bit. At least we hoped they did."

"How long ago are we talking about?" Jon asked, concern evident in his voice.

Colonel Brooks turned the lights on. "The thick of their experiments on fetuses and newborns were conducted between twenty and thirty years ago—or around then. We can only guess what they were doing off-site though. They most likely still are doing this. My guess would be they're keeping the numbers smaller now. The Asia project was massive. If these children managed to survive, they're adults now. Imagine what it would be like to have enhanced abilities all your life and not understand why. Or worse yet, turn into an animal or a vampire without warning."

Lukian looked like he was about to be sick. "If they physically survived the change without guidance, they could very well have ended up like Parker."

"Great, just what the world needs. More superhuman sickos." Wilson's comment was more on the mark than any of them wanted to admit.

"Do we have any data on the children? Any idea what orphanages they went to?" Green asked his voice low.

Roi put his hand up, snorting. "Let me guess. Intel has a rough idea, but they only just found out about it. That or they just now felt it pertinent to share the news with us. Why the Intelligence community doesn't gather their covert agents up and shoot them one by one is beyond me. They are inefficient bastards who let innocents die."

Brooks cast him an angry look and Roi stuck his middle finger up. Everyone knew the I-Ops were basically their own bosses. Brooks was acutely aware of this, but they often afforded him every opportunity to appear as though he was in charge. It kept the higher-ups in the government happy, believing the I-Ops could be controlled, and it seemed to make Brooks pretty damned content as well. Roi had never been much of one to play the game, so no one expected him to.

"Could you pass this salute on to Intel for me, sir? Thanks!" Having had more than his fill of fun Intel factoids, Roi stood up to leave. Lukian would brief him, as he always did. Right now, he needed a fuck, a shower, some food, and some sleep. Didn't matter what order he got them in. He wasn't picky.

"Majors, are you going somewhere?" Brooks asked, arching a brow.

Roi smiled as he walked past him. "Yes, sir, to get laid. You could ask Intel if they have any idea who the lucky lady will be though, if you'd like. Heads up, I'll be long done with her before they even hint at it and I'm not one who is disposed to to finishing early."

Chapter Two

"Missy, you coming?" Melanie Daly asked as she brought a tray of food over to their table. The array of burgers, fries, and pizza smelled delicious.

Missy Carter shook her head slightly as she watched her friend with the body of a supermodel slide into the booth across from her. "Tell me again why you're waiting on us."

"Because her family owns the place," Peren said, laughing softly.

Peren Matthews and Melanie had been Missy's best friends for as long as she could remember. Missy grinned. "Oh yeah, get me another drink, will ya, server wench?"

Melanie tossed a stack of napkins at her and rolled her blue eyes. Lifting a plate of fries from the tray, she wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, I don't think I can eat this."

"If you aren't eating the food here then I'm not either. Wouldn't want to be poisoned or anything." Missy smiled wide, letting Melanie know she was just joking.

"Missy!" Peren scolded her.

She shrugged and laughed. "What? I've eaten here almost every day since I was little. I love it. You know that. We'd hang here every night if Melanie's dad and brother would stop chasing me away from her. Okay, change of subject, and for the love of big dicks don't let it be about Lukian."

"What? Are you saying that I talk about Lukian too much?" asked Peren, her eyes widening.

Missy glanced at Melanie and they both burst out laughing. "Yeah, you could say that. I mean, you've known the guy for like two weeks and you're acting as if you're practically married."

"I guess we do act like that. Sorry." A knowing look passed over Peren's face and Missy couldn't help but wonder if there was more to the story than Peren let on. Her friend had been so damn secretive since Lukian had come into the picture. Now that Missy was between assignments, she planned on looking into Lukian. In fact, she planned on investigating the entire team of operatives he ran with.

"You know that you can tell us anything. We know that something is different with them all. I did some nosing around in my father's files and—"

Peren just about shot out of her seat. Missy simply stared at her. "Missy, you cannot let on about them. I've explained that to the rest of the world they don't exist. They're a special team of men. Think of them as the CIA. Your dad's a lieutenant general. It's not like he'll leave well enough alone, Mis."

Missy's father was far more than just a lieutenant general, but Missy couldn't reveal that. Just like Melanie's father was far more than simply the owner of the bar they were in. There was much about herself and her family that she couldn't tell Peren or Melanie. There were times it felt as if all she did was lie to her friends. Times that she sensed something was different with her friends, but she didn't dare bring it up, because the life she led was dangerous and they didn't need to be a part of it.

It had been all she could do to refrain from talking about the Fae and what the group of magiks could do with Melanie. Missy knew Melanie was Fae. She knew that Melanie was aware of what she was, but she could never discuss it with Melanie. There was a reason Melanie's father had insisted Melanie not be brought fully into the world of the supernaturals. Missy wasn't sure what the reason was; she only knew it was vitally important to Mr. Daly that Melanie be left in the dark as much as possible. Missy had always honored his wishes.

"At no point did I say I told my father about Lukian and his buddies. I just said that I nosed around a bit. I can't help it." Missy gave Peren an innocent smile. The lies simply rolled off her tongue. "I make my living as a system analyst. I look at things from every angle—it's what I do." That was putting it mildly, but that was all Peren could know at the moment. The idea of withholding all of the truth from her best friends never appealed to her, but when it was a matter of life and death, she made an exception to the "best friend bonds."

Peren sighed. "What did you find?"

Missy's brow furrowed as she pushed a fry around her plate. If her suspicions were right, then Peren already knew the truth of what Missy had found. That would mean Peren was in danger as well. "Umm, actually I found mention of your dad's name, Peren. And here's the weird thing, Dr. Lakeland Matthews's contact information had been given to my father five months after I was adopted."

And a month before Peren was conceived. Missy left that part out for now. If what she'd always suspected about Peren was true, then this information explained a lot. Missy understood she was different— that she was more than human and more than simply a standard, everyday, run-of-the-mill supernatural. Who better to sort out what she was than one of the world's leading geneticists? "I wouldn't have thought much of it, except the letter was in the folder with my adoption records. Why would someone refer my father to a geneticist?"

Peren shook her head slightly. "I don't know, hon. I'll ask my dad and see why. Clearly, your father contacted mine because we've known each other since we were itty-bitty. I met Melanie at the same time."

Melanie shrugged. "That's not really shocking. You already know that my dad and Missy's go way back. Before my dad got out of the Corp, he served right under Missy's dad. They still talk at least four times a week. I think we should just tell everyone we're sisters. We've known each other that long. Of course, Missy would be the old hag sister. What are you now, Missy, one hundred and two?"

Missy snorted and tossed a fry at Melanie. "I'm twenty-six, at least for the next four months. Leave me alone. I can't help you're both babies. Besides, everyone always thinks I'm the youngest of us."

"Because you're five three and tiny as hell. Plus, you barely look legal. I love that you get carded everywhere." Peren grinned from ear to ear.

Melanie pushed her food away from her and groaned. "Uh, well, I for one still can't get over the fact that we know," she leaned in closer to them and glanced around wildly, "secret operatives."

"Pfft, like that's a big deal." Missy's eyes widened as she heard the words come from her mouth. Knowing special agents wasn't a big deal to her because of her profession and her father. Desperately needing to change the subject, Missy snorted. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I've got to wonder how they do anything 'secretive.' I mean, think about it. They all look like Greek gods. Don't you think people are bound to notice a group of six hotties running around?"

"Five," Melanie said softly.

"Huh?"

Peren shook her head and glanced at Melanie. It hit Missy then what was wrong. Lance, one of the operatives, had died two weeks ago. Lance and Melanie had spent one night having sex together, and Melanie hadn't been taking his passing well. "I'm sorry, Mel. I wasn't thinking. I know that Lance meant something to you, and I…"

Melanie put her well-manicured hand up and smiled. It looked forced. "It's no biggie. I hardly knew him, right?" From the way she bit her bottom lip, it was clear she wanted to cry.

"Sweetie, Peren and Lukian are proof that time doesn't matter. I'm sorry I was insensitive. I love you." Having never intended to bring up painful memories for her friend, Missy sighed and laid her hand over Melanie's, squeezing it gently.

"Thanks," Mel said with tears in her eyes.

Music began pumping loudly from the DJ's table and all three of the women groaned. "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees blared out at them as they shook their heads.

"Great, sounds like Eadan's in the mood for some 'classics' again. This will really keep the dickheads seated for a bit," Melanie droned. "My brother is so weird."

Snorting, Missy glanced around the bar. "Be on the lookout for the ones who didn't get the message that leisure suits are no longer acceptable nightlife attire. I mean, I know those workout pants and muscle shirts I've seen some guys in here wearing aren't leisure suits, but they really remind me of them. Who gets out of bed and thinks that is acceptable nightlife attire?"

Peren's eyes widened. "I just got a vision of a thick gold chain and an excessively hairy chest. Make it go away."

"Can't, I've got it too," replied Missy.

Melanie blinked. "I'm going to need to bleach my brain to get rid of the thought."

Missy nodded. She'd need to cleanse her mind too. "I'm going to make a voodoo doll of the man who first started that revolution in the back corner of the bar right now. Don't bother me. I'll aim for the second idiot who latched on to that craze too. It's not like one man alone could have made that fashion nightmare stick."

Missy grinned as she dipped a fry in ketchup. "I mean, did the guy not notice the massive amounts of Yeti-like hair that was ripped from him as he got undressed at night? Pulling those gold chains off was hazardous to his image and health."

Smiling, Peren nodded. "Oh, I know. Right? And if that wasn't enough, needing a guard and a spot at Fort Knox to house his collection of oversized gold jewelry should have told him something."

Melanie snorted as she pushed the plate of food farther from her. "Can you also make a doll of the person who thought leg warmers were fashionable? I cringe when my family pulls out pictures of me when I was little. I blame my mother. She loved the 80s and was always trying to re-create the awesomeness of it all years later."

"I may be old but I didn't wear those," said Missy with a snicker. "Pretty sure my mom did though."

Melanie grinned. "When you were little, you used to dress up in just about anything you could and pretend to be a spy. How many times did you have us make-believe we were bringing down the bad guys? Though we never really named the bad guys or saw them. We were just always ready to kick their butts."

"Oh yeah. We were totally badass kids," Peren said and then laughed. "It was funny right up until Missy tried to teach us how to rappel down the side of my dad's house. I think you loved the endless amounts of training he put me through. I swear you were the daughter he should have had. You ate up every detail of it all and then went home to soak in some more. Our fathers needed sons."

"No." Melanie winked at them. "My dad got one and he's as weird as Missy."

Missy waved her hand before Melanie's face. "Hey, sitting right here."

She grinned. "I know."

They all fell silent as a short man wearing workout pants, a white muscle shirt, and a thick gold chain walked past. He strutted along with the beat of the song playing, making the entire scene feel very surreal. The look on his face said he was eyeing them up. The second he licked his fingers and ran them over his Einstein-like eyebrows, Missy burst out laughing. Peren and Melanie followed right behind her.

"Mmm, I'm gonna go get me some of that. Yum-yum," said Missy.

Peren laughed so hard that a tiny high-pitched squeal came from her. It was music to Missy's ears when Melanie joined in too. Her friends needed to be happy. Too much had gone on in their lives. They needed moments like these.

"Lukian asked me to marry him," Peren said abruptly, breaking the mood instantly. A blanket of awkward stillness settled over the table. Seconds ticked by with no one saying a word, the proclamation simply hanging in the air.

Missy opened her mouth to say something and then closed it when nothing came to her. Repeating the motion two more times, Missy finally found her train of thought and her voice. "What? I don't think I heard you over the music. I thought you said that you're marrying a man you hardly know, but that can't be right. That would make you insane, and at last check you were odd but not crazy. And marrying Lukian so fast is fucking crazy."

Melanie came to Missy's aid. "Peren, you hardly know the man. Missy may be a bit of a bitch, but she has a point there. It's only been like two weeks since you met Lukian. Talking about marriage is pretty sudden, don't you think?"

"Hey, I'm sitting right here." Missy smiled at Melanie. "Oh, and thanks for the compliment. I'd like the title of 'The Bitch' now. Thanks."

"No problem, sugar." Melanie winked at her and they both chuckled. They had long ago gotten used to playfully calling one another bitches. When one of the group truly was being a bitch, the other two just shouted it out and that was the end of the drama.

Peren cleared her throat. She sat there with her long auburn hair spilling around her shoulders and looked nervous. Who could blame her? They'd been friends a long time, and tossing a marriage proposal out on the table meant it was up for debate. Like it or not, they were like sisters. Peren wanted their approval. Missy wasn't entirely sure she was willing to give hers. Too many questions still roamed around her head regarding Lukian and his team of men. Something didn't add up. If it was what she suspected, then fine. If not, then there was no way in hell she was going to let her friend do something so bone-headed, like marry a guy she barely knew.

Missy nodded slightly. "I know that your father is taken with Lukian, but is he okay with the idea of you marrying him so soon?"

Peren bit her lower lip and shrugged. "It's odd, but he was the one who suggested we have a ceremony for humans…erm… everyone to attend."

Humans? It was odd that Peren would use that term. Did she know more about what else existed out there than she was letting on? Missy didn't dwell on it. Instead, she focused on her friend. "If you love him, and it's what you want, then I'm all for it. I can't promise not to kill him if he tries anything stupid. And he better not be thinking of monopolizing all your time. I'll be kickin' some Lukian ass if he does."

Peren grinned. "Lukian would never limit my time with you two. He knows we're like family. It's like that between him and his men too."

"I don't know how Lukian puts up with Roi." Missy shook her head, her thoughts going to her first encounter with the man who was friends with Peren's boyfriend. They were all members of some elite military group, but Missy suspected they were far more than just that. She'd find out soon enough. Her first run-in with Roi had happened on the night of Peren's birthday. Missy and Melanie had set up Peren on a blind date with Lukian and they had agreed to meet up with his friends as well. Melanie had met Lance online and arranged everything. The night had been a disaster pretty much from the word go.

The story Peren told them was there had been a kidnapping attempt on her because of who her father was, and the fortune her family had. Seemed plausible, but Missy knew there was more to it all than that. She'd sensed shifters in the woods around the bar that night and she'd nearly charged out to try to handle them, but her gut had told her to stay in place—to follow along with what Lukian and his men were doing and to not tip her hand just yet.

So she'd done just that.

And she'd found herself on the receiving end of Roi Majors's sexual advances and dickhead personality. She grinned, thinking about the nickname she'd given him.

Pig's Asshole.

It fit.

Nonetheless he was hot. There was no denying it. The problem was, he was well aware of just how good-looking he was and he wasn't shy about telling people. There was something about him that both infuriated her and totally turned her on. That only ticked her off more.

She snarled. "The man gets on my very last nerve. He's so damn cocky. I mean, come on, he totally looked up my skirt and then smiled when I slapped him. If that wasn't enough, he spent the entire time we were with them making every lewd comment he could think of to me. The sick thing is I firmly believe he thinks he truly is a god, that he was put on this earth as a gift to women and that we should all be in awe of him. How in the hell can anyone stand being around that?"

Peren and Melanie laughed softly. Missy's face reddened as her mouth dropped open. "You think it's funny the way he runs around all 'I'm a sexy male with a big gun, hear me roar'?"

"Growl," Peren said softly.

"What?"

She shook her head and giggled. "Nothing."

"Melanie, help me out here."

Melanie covered her mouth quickly and jolted out of the booth, heading straight for the restrooms.

"My turn," Peren said, rushing off to follow her with a worried look on her face.

That was the second time she'd done that since they'd been out together. It had been Melanie's idea to get out for a bit, even with everything they'd just been through. Losing Lance, even though Melanie hardly knew him, had taken its toll on her. She'd spent a night having wild monkey sex with him and the next day he was dead.

That wouldn't go over well with too many people.

Missy herself was still having issues with the events of the last two weeks. She'd been abducted by a league of hunky secret government agents and held in a secure house until it was safe to leave. Now that wasn't so new. The hard-to-handle part was being introduced to the world's most annoying man, whom she couldn't seem to stop thinking about. Roi had plagued her thoughts from the moment she'd laid eyes on him.

It's a weird case of Stockholm syndrome. Snap out of it.