HAYDEN (Dragon Security Book 5) Read Free

chickadee symbolizes in art and mythology.
    Purity of soul.
    He liked that.
    “I’d like for you to pose as Hayden’s wife,” I said, just putting it out there before anyone could say a word.
    Sam glanced at Hayden, a blush like you couldn’t even imagine burning her cheeks. She started to get up, but Hayden grabbed her arm and yanked her back down.
    “You’re not afraid of me, are you, sweetheart?”
    They glared at each other and I suddenly felt like I was witnessing something I wasn’t supposed to see.
    “This case…the loan officer is using some trick to make customers look more desirable then they really are. I need you to use your computer hacking skills to figure out how she does it.”
    “I could do that from here if you got one of these bozos to upload a virus onto her computer.”
    “Hey, what did I do?” Dominic demanded.
    “That’s the problem. We don’t want to tip this woman off to what we’re up to. So I need you there, I need you prepared to handle any problems that might come up.”
    Sam didn’t normally go out into the field. She was more of an office person. She was my office manager, my assistant, my secretary. She handled everything with the business that I couldn’t or wouldn’t. Everything that had more to do with logic and practicality. I was more of a charmer, working with clients, getting them to trust me and my people. I corralled the assets, made sure the targets were protected in a way that reflected well on the business, on me, and on my family name. Sam did everything else and I don’t know how we could have become as successful as we were without her.
    But this…she needed this as much as I needed her to do it.
    “Gentlemen,” I said, standing, “would you give us a few minutes?”
    Hayden leaned over and said something to Sam that made her punch his shoulder. I’d never seen my friend quite so violent. She was normally a very gentle person, always kind to everyone around her. This was out of character. But, somehow, Hayden had always managed to pull out the more passionate parts of her.
    When they were gone, I moved around to the front of my desk.
    “I need you to do this, Sam. This is a potentially big client. If we could get them to allow us to run security on their buildings…it would be huge.”
    “I know.”
    “It’s just a few hour’s work, probably be over in one afternoon.”
    “I know.”
    She looked up at me, the remnants of her blush still putting color into her beautiful face. “But does it have to be with Hayden?”
    “I thought the two of you were getting along. I keep finding you whispering together in the break room—”
    “Once.”
    “Once is more than enough.”
    She sighed. “If you really want to know, that was about you. We were talking about you and Dante. Hayden worries about you. I think he feels responsible for you since Luke left. Or maybe he has a thing for you.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Hayden is more of a brother to me than Cole.”
    Sam giggled because Cole was my brother. And because she knew more than anyone else that Cole and I were closer now than we’d ever been, in part because he’d finally grown up and committed himself to one women rather than the dozens he was always chasing in high school and during his time in the Marines. He was married to Amber, the mother of our nephew, and they were expecting another baby in six months.
    I took her hands. “I know I ask a lot of you. But this is really important.”
    “Okay.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Yeah, I’ll do it. But if he makes one more grandma joke…”
    “Don’t worry about it. I’ll dress you up so sexy, he’ll lose his dentures.”
    Sam laughed, thinking I was joking. I wasn’t.

Chapter 2
     
    Sam
    I felt like I’d been transported back to high school. I was sixteen and watching Megan get ready for a date with Luke. But this time I was the one who was trying on the sexy tops, not Megan.
    “Pink has always been your color,” she said, holding a simple pink