Lily and her Mercenary

Lily Andrews knew exactly twenty-six ways to remove glitter from classroom surfaces but had absolutely zero ideas on how to remove the unconscious, bleeding man from her fire escape. Yet there he was—all six-foot-something of muscle and menace—sprawled outside her apartment window at 3 AM on a Tuesday. The smart thing to do would be to call the police. The kindergarten teacher in her wanted to help. The woman who hasn’t dated in two years noticed that beneath the blood and bruises, he was devastatingly handsome.

Ryker O’Toole was a man who never showed mercy to anyone

But one night, while on assignment, he was knocked out until hisphone buzzed in his pocket. With a groan, he pulled it out and squinted at the text from his brother Royal: MISSION COMPROMISED. STAY HIDDEN.

No shit he thought as he tried to sit up on what appeared to be a couch covered in… was that a unicorn print blanket? His hand instinctively reached for his concealed weapon, finding nothing but bandages and the cotton of borrowed sweatpants.

“Looking for this?” A soft voice came from the doorway. A petite woman with honey-brown hair held up his Glock, dangling it from two fingers like it was a dead mouse. “I unloaded it. The bullets are in my cookie jar. The dinosaur-shaped one.”

Ryker stared at her. Who the hell disarms a mercenary and puts the ammunition with their baked goods?

His assignment that’s who.