Tempest - Kris Michaels Page 0,99

attorney at law. Period. As in, end of story. So, whatcha say? Make me an honest woman. Marry me." She arched an eyebrow in a dare.

A smile spread across his face. "Name the place and time. I'll be there."

She narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head. "Not a binding agreement. Is that a yes?"

"Yes ma'am, I'll marry you." He placed his lips on hers and pushed her back into the bed. The time and place would be after tonight. Tonight, his little lawyer had business to conduct.

Epilogue

Smoke watched the water from the deck of his ship. The boat was lonely without Sage. Sage's mother had contracted cancer; his mean bastard of a father had dementia, and none of his siblings gave a flying fuck, so Sage had taken a leave of absence from Guardian. He listened to the creak of the ship as it rocked against the waves of the inner harbor. He'd worked alone before, he could do it again.

He cocked the hammer of his .45 magnum and chuckled as the soft padding of someone's foot faltered. "Show yourself or die. Don't really care which at this point."

The stowaway came forward from the shadows of the main cabin. "You’re pretty good for an old man."

"I heard you come aboard. The ship talks if you listen to her. Why are you here?"

"Anubis figured you'd get lonely. Fury agreed."

He released the hammer of his weapon slowly and rode it to a rest. "So, they sent you to what... babysit me?"

"Nah, I don't care much for kids, but I've completed my training at the Rose. Our profiles say we could mesh. You like people; I don't."

She moved with a grace and poise most people tried to acquire but only very few had naturally. Long strong legs encased in tight denim shorts crossed as she sat down in the chair next to him. He sent a side eye glance at the woman he'd met once or twice at the Rose. For the life of him he couldn't remember her name. "I have a partner."

"True, but his parents have long term conditions, and he has requested a leave of absence without a return date."

"Where is your partner?"

"He... he died."

Smoke twisted in his chair. She now had his complete attention. "How?"

"Believe it or not in a vehicular accident. He went home to visit his parents and was hit head on by a drunk driver going the wrong way up an interstate off ramp. He lingered in a coma for two weeks."

"Fuck. I'm sorry to hear that. You were teamed up with..."

"Carter Paulson."

Smoke nodded. The guy was affable.

"So, you don't have a teammate and neither do I. I'm willing to take care of you in your old age if you're willing to show me some of your tricks." She leaned in toward him. "I like to make things go boom, too."

Smoke turned his head and stared at her dark brown eyes. "What's your name?"

"Charley."

"Just Charley?"

"Yup. Like Ashanti, Enya, Ke$ha..."

"Who?" He’d never heard of those women.

She snorted a very unladylike laugh and slapped her tanned leg. "Right... um... Cher, Madonna, Sting? Any of those people ring a bell, Gramps?"

"Watch it or I'm going to yell at you for walking on my lawn."

She leaned forward and extended her arms, turning to look at the water. "Hey, Gramps, I hate to tell you this, but you don't have a lawn."

"It’s a figure of speech. Call me Gramps again and I'll show you exactly why they sent you to work with me." He arched an eyebrow and glared at the laughing woman.

"Okay, okay. Truce." She extended a hand.

He took it in his and told himself he did not feel a zing of excitement race through him. He did not. Did not happen. Nope, it wasn't there. He cleared his throat. "All right Charley, I'm assuming you have orders for us."

A big bright smile spread across the young woman's face. "I do, and I'm one hell of a first mate. I have my captain's license, and I can tear apart a diesel engine and put it back together again."

"Handy. What is your specialty?"

She shrugged. "I do a lot of things well."

He narrowed his eyes. "What do you do best?"

She stood up and took a deep breath. "If you ask my parents? Get into trouble."

Smoke chuckled and stood also. The young woman was tall, at least five-feet-ten-inches in the flat tennis shoes she wore. Her brown hair was hoisted into a ponytail which fell to her waist. Yeah, this one looked like she was still in high school. Calling him Gramps. Talking about her parents. Damn. He was getting fucking old.

"Please don't tell me you have daddy issues, too."

"Oh hell, yeah. What woman doesn't?"

He cocked his head. He could stand being around this one. She was sassy, irreverent and feisty. Besides, he needed a diversion from his self-inflicted misery.

"Well then, Charley, we might make one hell of a team. Trouble is my middle name."

"Mine's not, but I usually end up stirring up a truckload of the stuff."

"Only a truckload? Woman, I have things to teach you. Let's get this show on the road." He tossed his soda can into the garbage and headed to the bridge. "Cast off and stand-by."

"Aye, aye!" The woman raced to the lines. He was impressed with the way she worked. Smooth fluid motions. She knew what she was doing with the coil and was sturdy and sure-footed. Hell, now he was thinking of her in horse terms. Damn, he was seriously damaged and missing Sage. The two of them would have had one hell of a laugh about it. He needed to call Anubis and Fury and determine why the fuck they'd stuck him with an operative who was so damn young. Hell, she didn't even look legal. He shook his head. Maybe that was her specific skill, infiltrating high schools or taking down assholes who had a fetish for teenage girls. Hell, it might actually be a usable skill, still...

He chuckled to himself. Whatever. He'd run her through her paces before he'd allow Fury to give them an assignment. He needed to know what and who they'd dropped into his lap.

Thank you for reading Tempest’s story. If you’d like to preorder Smoke’s story, here is the link.

Smoke, Guardian Security Shadow World - Book Six

Also by Kris Michaels

Hope City

HOPE CITY DUET - Brock and Sean

HOPE CITY - Brody- Book 3

Hope City - Ryker - Book 5

Kings of the Guardian Series

Jacob: Kings of the Guardian Book 1

Joseph: Kings of the Guardian Book 2

Adam: Kings of the Guardian Book 3

Jason: Kings of the Guardian Book 4

Jared: Kings of the Guardian Book 5

Jasmine: Kings of the Guardian Book 6

Chief: The Kings of Guardian Book 7

Jewell: Kings of the Guardian Book 8

Jade: Kings of the Guardian Book 9

Justin: Kings of the Guardian Book 10

Christmas with the Kings The Kings of Guardian

Drake: Kings of the Guardian Book 11

Dixon: Kings of the Guardian Book 12

Passages: The Kings of Guardian Book 13

A Backwater Blessing: A Kings of Guardian and Heart's Desire Crossover Novella

Montana Guardian: A Kings of Guardian Novella

Guardian Defenders Series

Gabriel

Maliki

Guardian Security Shadow World

Anubis (Guardian Shadow World Book 1)

Asp (Guardian Shadow World Book 2)

Lycos (Guardian Shadow World Book 3)

Thanatos (Guardian Shadow World Book 4)

Tempest (Guardian Shadow World Book 5)

Smoke (Guardian Shadow World Book 6)

Everlight Series

An Evidence of Magic (Everlight Book 1)

An Incident of Magic (Everlight Book 2)

STAND ALONE NOVELS

SEAL Forever - Silver SEALs

A Heart's Desire - Stand Alone

Hot SEAL, Single Malt (SEALs in Paradise)

Hot SEAL, Savannah Nights (SEALs in Paradise)

About the Author

USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Author, Kris Michaels is the alter ego of a happily married wife and mother. She writes romance, usually with characters from military and law enforcement backgrounds.