Page 1 of The Norcross Rescue

CHAPTER ONE

Tugging at his bow tie, Vander Norcross wondered again why the hell he’d agreed to this.

Stopping at his kitchen counter, he checked his phone, hoping one of his security clients might have had a break-in or a cyberattack he needed to deal with.

Unfortunately, nothing.

Which meant he had to attend this fucking office party.

Haldon Capital was getting in a few months early and throwing their annual end-of-year bash for their employees and clients in their new high-rise office in downtown San Francisco. Haldon was one of the fastest-growing investment companies in the city, and had plenty of very wealthy clients, including many of Silicon Valley’s most prominent tech founders. They were interested in having Norcross Security take over all their security, so he’d gotten the invite to their party.

He’d planned to ignore it—since crowded parties full of people, and wearing monkey suits, were not his thing—but his wife had seen it. And when his wife got an idea in her head, she was like a damn bulldog.

Speaking of dogs. Their dog, Shadow, wandered over and butted his head against Vander’s leg. He scratched between the Belgian Malinois’ ears, and Shadow looked up with adoration.

The corner of Vander’s mouth hitched. A while back, he’d rescued his wife from some scum at an illegal dog-fighting ring she’d been investigating, and Shadow had given them a hand. Somehow, after the dust had settled, Vander had ended up with a dog.

Actually, he’d ended up with a lot of things that hadn’t been in his plans.

He glanced around their open-plan apartment above the Norcross offices. His gaze snagged on the boxes stacked against the wall, and the half-built baby swing his dad was working on piecemeal every time he visited.

The boxes were full of baby things—tiny clothes, a high-tech stroller, diapers. He swallowed. Very soon, he was going to be a father. Even though he’d spent several years leading a covert black-ops team on the toughest missions, into some of the shittiest places in the world, and now ran one of the most successful security companies on the West Coast, discovering Brynn was pregnant had knocked him off balance.

Fine, it had scared the shit out of him.

He’d adjusted to falling in love.

He’d dealt with being in love with a cop.

But bringing a tiny, innocent child into a world where he’d seen way too much of the worst people did to each other, had thrown him for a loop.

However, on an Italian vacation, he’d been abducted by the Mafia, and his pregnant wife had stormed in to rescue him. It had helped him realize they could do this. Together. They were a team, and with Brynn at his side, he could do this.

He slid a hand into the pocket of his tuxedo pants. Except, these last few weeks she’d seemed a little off balance. Her body had changed, she’d had to cut back at work, and her hormones were all over the place. She was doing all the hard work, and he felt goddamn useless.

They’d been looking at houses, because neither one of them wanted to raise their kids in a warehouse apartment above the busy offices of Norcross Security. Besides, they didn’t have the room here for a growing child. So they’d been talking to a Realtor. There was one house they’d both liked, but Brynn was worried it was too big and expensive, and wanted to keep looking.

She just seemed edgy, worried, and restless.

He heard the click of heels, and his wife appeared.

Damn. It didn’t matter how long he’d had her, how long they’d been married, or how many times he’d moved inside her, every time she walked into a room, his chest still hitched.

Mine. He still couldn’t believe that she was his.

She was fastening her earring as she came his way.

Part of her hair was pulled up and fixed behind her head, while the rest fell in soft waves around her shoulders. He loved trying to pick out all the colors in her hair—caramel, mahogany, bronze, honey, oak. Brown just didn’t describe it.

He let his gaze drift down her body. She was wearing a deep-red dress that only had one shoulder, showing off her toned arms, and the silky fabric hugged her body. That included the large bump of her belly. From the back, it was nearly impossible to tell she was pregnant. Every day, he was in absolute awe at how her body had changed and what it was doing. Growing a small person, making life, a life they’d made together.

“You look beautiful.”

She let out a sound and made a face. “I look fat.”

He frowned. “You’re pregnant, not fat.”

“I feel enormous, my center of gravity is off, and everything aches.”