Enemy Zone (Trident Rescue #1) - Alex Lidell Page 0,3
the mountain got a faster response. Plus, there was only so long a man could sit behind a mahogany desk before he lost his mind, no matter how good a business he ran.
Today’s traffic accident was not the usual kind of thing the Tridents responded to, but once Cullen heard the radio report of a totaled vehicle matching Eli’s Escalade, he’d snatched the call. And though he’d never admit to it aloud, flashing images of Eli in a fatal crash had haunted him all the way to the scene.
Speaking of Eli, the man out and out refused to sit on one of the beds, despite being in obvious pain. Which figured. He’d behaved similarly when he’d broken his arm at sixteen. Actually, Eli’s father had done the breaking for him, though Cullen and the others hadn’t known it at the time. Having been wounded himself, Cullen understood. Suffering an injury in battle was one thing. To allow someone—even a brother—to hurt you when you were defenseless was an entirely different matter. Even if the hurting was for a good cause.
“Lieutenant.” Cullen infused the full command of his former rank into his tone, and Eli stilled immediately to focus on him. Technically, his friend didn’t have to obey a word he said, but after almost a decade of conditioning, giving orders and following orders still felt as natural as breathing, though they’d been out of the navy for a couple of years now. “Get your ass over here and give me your stupid arm.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jesus.
“So, Denton Uncovered has a new angle and a new face.” Cullen injected lidocaine into the wound, his own shoulder twinging in sympathy.
Eli winced. “If you want to distract me, can you pick a more pleasant topic?”
Cullen snorted. The only “news” that paper uncovered were the rumors and sensationalist gossip it created itself. The tabloid’s editor, Frank Peterson, lived for three things: power, chaos, and coming out on top. The man would do whatever it took to ensure he had all those at any given point too. And now a new low—sending in a drop-dead gorgeous reporter. Long straight strawberry-blonde hair flowing down her back like a waterfall. Fair, flawless skin. Bright blue eyes like a mountain stream. She’d been wearing a professional-looking blue pantsuit that had highlighted those eyes, and spoke with a soft and surprisingly sultry voice.
Cullen had no idea how Frank had managed to snatch Skylar Reynolds, but it likely had to do with the fact that she wasn’t from around here.
Either that or she was cut from the same cloth and was eagerly following her mentor’s footsteps. Who was Cullen kidding? Of course she was cut from the same cloth. She started planting lies right there at the scene. Drunk driving? Eli Mason, the head of the local pharmaceutical conglomerate?
It was a dick move. Though the girl seemed to actually believe her own words.
The sight of Sky’s face flushed with exasperation and her eyes flashing with reined-in temper had turned him on. Tremendously. And the visceral way in which his cock rose to attention against the zipper of Cullen’s cargos had only served to aggravate him further.
Arousal mixed with animosity proved to be an extremely uncomfortable reaction.
Besides, when it came to women and romantic entanglements, he had the worst track record imaginable. Which was probably a good thing in retrospect. Cullen had too many things fucked up with him to be fair to subject a partner to.
He’d just finished the last of Eli’s sutures when the private landline lit up next to him. Since his dispatcher was on maternity leave and his office assistant had gone out suddenly with appendicitis, there was no one to route the calls to. He snatched up the receiver.
“Trident Rescue.”
“Cullen, this is Suzy.”
Suzy Canefield, his dispatcher, thank Christ. The past three months she’d been on maternity leave had been hell. He’d been making do with temps, but none of those people had the skill set Suzy had, and frankly, the whole point of the Rescue was to have a small tight-knit group. He needed Suzy back, and he needed her yesterday. Which meant hearing her on the other end of the line filled him with relief.
“Great to hear from you, Suz. Looking forward to being back here tomorrow?” God knew he was.
“Well, here’s the thing, boss. I’m not coming back tomorrow after all.”
Cullen’s stomach sank to his knees. “Need more time off?” Please say no.