Page 5 of Guarding Salvation

He was unwrapping his knuckles as he approached the others. “Anyone want to go for a drink tonight?”

“Can’t, man. I have to leave for London with the boss lady.”

Reaper was ex-Australian special forces and looked like he’d just stepped off a surfboard with his blond hair and relaxed charm, but he didn’t get the name Reaper by wearing a Halloween costume. He was deadly, and his kill ratio was high. There wasn’t a target he couldn’t hit. There was only one person better with a sniper rifle on the team and that was Bein.

Years hunting in the Scottish Highlands had made him skilled before he joined the military and they’d honed him into the best sniper the army had seen since Zack Cunningham had been up on the wall of fame. “We headed to The Crown?”

Titan rolled his eyes. “Is there anywhere else around here?”

He wasn’t wrong. The Crown was the only pub in the town of Longtown that was close to them and owned by Bob Harris, a friend of Shadow who knew exactly who they were. Jack Granger had set the man up in business ten years ago when he’d been planning Shadow. Putting an ex-special forces guy in the local pub to help with their cover had been a good plan. If anyone came sniffing around, Bob was always the first to hear about it and gave them the heads up.

“Meet you in an hour up top. Make sure someone invites Snow. She looked a little fed up earlier.”

“Ah, look at you being all caring and shit.”

Bein gave Reaper the middle finger before he walked off to shower and change. Getting out tonight would be a good thing, because next week he had to deal with his family estate, and he wasn’t looking forward to it.

Chapter 2

The sound of wood crackling in the pub’s log fire greeted them as Bein, Titan, and Lotus walked up to the bar. The pub was quintessentially British, from the brass taps to beer mats on the wall and it was a comfort on a cold night like this one. Bein nodded at Bob, who was talking to a local at the other end of the wooden bar and he waved back, acknowledging them. He was starving and one of Bob’s steak and ale pies with creamy mash was just what he needed tonight. His head was buried in the menu deciding if he was going to have extra chips on the side when he heard a voice.

“What can I get you?”

He looked up and was met with the best pair of tits he’d seen in a long time, but that was nothing compared with the face that greeted him when he dragged his eyes upwards. He quickly averted his gaze from the plain purple tee, which shouldn’t be sexy but, on this beauty, should be damn illegal.

Her eyebrows raised and he realised he’d been staring so long he’d forgotten the question. “Sorry, what?”

“What would you like to drink?”

“Oh, I’ll have two pints of ale and a pint of Bulmer’s Original, please.”

He watched her begin pulling the pints with the ease of someone who’d been doing it for a long time. His eyes skimmed over tight fitted jeans that complimented her arse to perfection to her flat boots, which had seen better days but weren’t cheap, which meant she must’ve had money at some point.

She had long dark hair that had red highlights through it when she moved her head and the firelight caught her just right, startling jade green eyes, pale skin, and if he wasn’t very much mistaken, an Irish accent that she was trying very hard to hide.

Closing the menu, he concentrated on the woman who was moving around the bar with ease, but he noticed she never once turned her back on him or anyone else in the room. Fascinated, Bein took in her frame, which was thin despite the all-natural curves that weren’t from some weird injections or filler.

Her eyes wouldn’t meet his as she placed his drinks on the bar mat in front of him. She seemed shy, hesitant, hyper-aware of her surroundings. “That’ll be ten pounds, fifty-seven pence, please.”

Bein handed over a twenty and she quickly turned to the cash register to get his change, again keeping the door and the patrons in sight. Someone in the pub dropped a glass and as it smashed, she jumped, her whole body tensing, her terrified eyes moving to the door looking for an escape before she realised what it was and visibly relaxed her shoulders.

She moved to hand him his change and he held his hand up. “Keep it, darlin’.”

“Are you sure? That’s a lot.”

“Yeah, you have a drink yourself.”

“Thank you, that’s very kind.” Still, she didn’t meet his eyes.

He watched her put the change in the tip jar, which he knew would be shared out among the other members of staff at the end of the week. “You’re not from around here, are ya?”

She gave him a deer in the headlights look before dropping her eyes in a way that made his dick sit up and take notice. His thoughts immediately went to her on her knees looking up at him through those long sexy lashes in a submissive position. God, he needed to get laid, and soon, if he was fantasising about terrified barmaids.

“No. How do you know that?”

“Relax, darlin’, I work at the search and rescue centre so know most people around these parts, plus this is my local and I certainly would’ve remembered a beauty like you.”

Usually, he didn’t have to work to get a woman interested but this one fell flat, and she just shook her head. “I need to get on.”