Calculated Risk (Blackbridge Security #5) - Marie James Page 0,1

my head as I open the office door to leave, laughing when I hear a squawked, “Pussy.”

Like the bird is a human, Wren begins to argue with the thing. Luckily, I can close the door and not have to listen to them.

“New job?” Kit asks as I cross the breakroom area and head toward the coffee machine.

I narrow my eyes at him. He should be the one holding this damn list, not me.

“And why exactly couldn’t you do this?” I wave the paper before placing it on the counter.

“I have other jobs coming up that conflict with the class schedule.”

“How convenient,” I mutter as I pop a dark roast pod into the single cup coffee machine.

“You really are irritated with this, aren’t you?”

I grunt in response without turning back to face him.

“You’re going to have the undivided attention of over a dozen women. What man doesn’t want that?”

“Me.”

He chuckles.

“This is a job better suited for Brooks,” I tell him, and this isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned it either.

“Brooks would probably end up in an orgy,” my boss says as he walks right into the middle of our conversation.

“There’s an orgy?” the man in question asks as he trails behind.

“See?” Kit says as he points to the most charming man we have on the team. “He’d never get any work done.”

I look at Deacon as I lift the cup of black coffee to my lips, wondering if he’d consider a change for this class.

“Ignacio is a great instructor,” I say, praising our language expert. “What if there’s someone that speaks a different language?”

“All students in this current class speak English,” Deacon says. “And Alex has baseball practice on Thursday evenings.”

I can’t argue with Ignacio spending time with his son. Hell, a couple months ago, he didn’t even know he had a son. He’s spending as much time as he can with the thirteen-year-old kid to make up for all of that lost time.

“I know you don’t want to do this,” Deacon continues. “And that’s why you’re perfect for the job.”

I honestly feel like a sullen child not getting his way, but not only would throwing a tantrum not change anything, I’d never stoop so low.

“Jude is great with weapons as well,” I hedge, but great is probably an overstatement.

My best friend, Jude Morris, is Blackbridge’s in-house medic, science expert, and biological warfare expert. He could easily disarm a bomb, but I doubt he could hit a target from ten yards.

“If he shoots like he throws a baseball, then he’s more of a hindrance than helpful,” Brooks says with a wry grin.

I hold back the laugh at remembering the black eye he sported for a week last year after Jude smacked him in the face while playing ball at the park. He complained more about the bruising than I ever will about taking on this six-week class. The man is vain to the bone. Granted, the jobs he takes use his handsomeness as a weapon, but even when he’s not working, he doesn’t know how to turn it off.

“Jude isn’t comfortable in large groups,” Deacon says, making it sound like my friend is antisocial, when in fact, he really just doesn’t like people. It’s a completely relatable trait to have, in my opinion. “But the class isn’t until tomorrow, and we have work to do today. Quinten, let’s go over that case you just wrapped up.”

I snatch the list of names off the counter and follow my boss back to his office, tossing a middle finger over my shoulder when the guys start to laugh.

Chapter 2

Hayden

“What are you doing?”

I don’t startle at the sound of my best friend, Parker’s voice when she opens my front door. I saw her pull up in the driveway, and she has a key. I also don’t acknowledge her. This day has been coming for two weeks, and with each hour it drew closer, the more I hate the idea of it.

“You aren’t even ready,” she hisses. “We talked about this, Hayden.”

I continue to use the sponge I’ve cut to fit in the tracks of my windows, frowning when the stupid thing just pushes the dirt to the end rather than actually cleaning it.

“Hayden,” she groans. “Go get ready. We’re going to be late.”

“I decided I don’t want to go.”

“Do you realize how exclusive it is to get into this class?”

I do, actually, because she’s been more excited than me to go.

The class she’s referring to is a six-session course that teaches gun safety and shooting.