of Ivy didn’t mean shit to him. When he wanted to know
about her previous partners, he’d ask her.
“Thanks for sharing,” he replied.
Foley looked like he had more to say, but he backed off when four men casually sauntered up to the
table. Three of the men looked nondescript, but the fourth guy was quite memorable. Easily six-foot-seven,
he was blond and built like a pro wrestler. Or the guy from that Thor movie he’d seen over in Afghanistan.
He was also the one Foley must have disliked the most. The curly haired man threw a scowl his way, then
nudged Hightower.
“Let’s go.” Foley gave Landon a pointed look as he stood. “Watch your back.”
Landon didn’t say anything. The four newcomers sat down, the pro-wrestler lookalike sitting across
from Landon.
“Was Foley filling your head with lies about Ivy?” asked the dark-haired one with blue eyes and a neatly
trimmed beard and mustache.
“He tried to,” Landon said. “I didn’t buy what he was selling.”
The bearded man nodded. “Good. Because he’s full of shit. Ivy’s one of the best operatives at the DCO,
and if Foley wasn’t such an asshole, he’d realize that. I’m Tate Evers, by the way.” He nodded at the two
men sitting next to Landon on each side. “That’s Brent Wilkins and Gavin Barlow. And this big guy”—he
jerked his thumb at the pro wrestler—“is Declan MacBride. He’s the EVA part of our team.”
Landon looked at the big blond man. He couldn’t imagine him growing claws and scaling a wall.
“EVA?”
“No one told you what that stands for yet? I’m not surprised.” Tate snorted. “The DCO always does a
lousy job of explaining stuff. EVA is short for extremely valuable asset.”
Asset. As if the DCO didn’t think of Ivy and Declan as people. Landon swung his gaze back to Declan.
“You can do what Ivy does?”
Declan laughed. “Not on a good day.”
Tate grinned. “Declan’s skills are different than Ivy’s. You two didn’t have the talk yet, huh?”
The talk? That sounded ominous. “Apparently not.”
“Then I won’t be the one to steal her thunder. After this morning’s training, I’m sure you’ve already
figured out she’s special, right?”
“Very.”
All four men regarded him thoughtfully, but once again, it was Tate who spoke.
“Look, you’re going to run into people like Foley who’ll tell you people like Declan and Ivy are freaks.
That’s bullshit. She and Declan and people like them aren’t any different than you, me, Brent, and Gavin.
They just have special skills that make them unique. Regardless of what Foley told you, you can trust Ivy to
have your back. And she needs to know she can trust you in return.”
“She can,” Landon said without hesitation. That was a given, regardless of what happened with her
previous partners.
“Good,” Tate said. “Because in this job, both your lives depend on it.”
***
It was cowardly to use Kendra as a buffer between her and Landon, but Ivy couldn’t help it. Her new
partner might not have freaked out at the sight of her claws—or that she’d dug them into his arm—but she
wasn’t quite ready to have the talk with him yet.
“What do you think of Landon?” Kendra asked Ivy.
Ivy’s gaze strayed to her partner to find him looking at her. She quickly turned her attention back to
Kendra. “He seems okay. You could have warned me he’s military.”
“Why? So you could obsess about how awful he’d be every waking minute until you met him?” Kendra
bit into one of the two chocolate chip cookies on the tray in front of her. “So what if he’s Special Forces?
You two obviously work well as a team. And he’s definitely nice to look at.”
“That’s not the point. I thought you were going to have some say in picking my next partner.”
Kendra scowled. “You guys were great together on the course. Stop being so closed-minded.”
Ivy finished off the cookie she’d been nibbling on. “I’d
about her previous partners, he’d ask her.
“Thanks for sharing,” he replied.
Foley looked like he had more to say, but he backed off when four men casually sauntered up to the
table. Three of the men looked nondescript, but the fourth guy was quite memorable. Easily six-foot-seven,
he was blond and built like a pro wrestler. Or the guy from that Thor movie he’d seen over in Afghanistan.
He was also the one Foley must have disliked the most. The curly haired man threw a scowl his way, then
nudged Hightower.
“Let’s go.” Foley gave Landon a pointed look as he stood. “Watch your back.”
Landon didn’t say anything. The four newcomers sat down, the pro-wrestler lookalike sitting across
from Landon.
“Was Foley filling your head with lies about Ivy?” asked the dark-haired one with blue eyes and a neatly
trimmed beard and mustache.
“He tried to,” Landon said. “I didn’t buy what he was selling.”
The bearded man nodded. “Good. Because he’s full of shit. Ivy’s one of the best operatives at the DCO,
and if Foley wasn’t such an asshole, he’d realize that. I’m Tate Evers, by the way.” He nodded at the two
men sitting next to Landon on each side. “That’s Brent Wilkins and Gavin Barlow. And this big guy”—he
jerked his thumb at the pro wrestler—“is Declan MacBride. He’s the EVA part of our team.”
Landon looked at the big blond man. He couldn’t imagine him growing claws and scaling a wall.
“EVA?”
“No one told you what that stands for yet? I’m not surprised.” Tate snorted. “The DCO always does a
lousy job of explaining stuff. EVA is short for extremely valuable asset.”
Asset. As if the DCO didn’t think of Ivy and Declan as people. Landon swung his gaze back to Declan.
“You can do what Ivy does?”
Declan laughed. “Not on a good day.”
Tate grinned. “Declan’s skills are different than Ivy’s. You two didn’t have the talk yet, huh?”
The talk? That sounded ominous. “Apparently not.”
“Then I won’t be the one to steal her thunder. After this morning’s training, I’m sure you’ve already
figured out she’s special, right?”
“Very.”
All four men regarded him thoughtfully, but once again, it was Tate who spoke.
“Look, you’re going to run into people like Foley who’ll tell you people like Declan and Ivy are freaks.
That’s bullshit. She and Declan and people like them aren’t any different than you, me, Brent, and Gavin.
They just have special skills that make them unique. Regardless of what Foley told you, you can trust Ivy to
have your back. And she needs to know she can trust you in return.”
“She can,” Landon said without hesitation. That was a given, regardless of what happened with her
previous partners.
“Good,” Tate said. “Because in this job, both your lives depend on it.”
***
It was cowardly to use Kendra as a buffer between her and Landon, but Ivy couldn’t help it. Her new
partner might not have freaked out at the sight of her claws—or that she’d dug them into his arm—but she
wasn’t quite ready to have the talk with him yet.
“What do you think of Landon?” Kendra asked Ivy.
Ivy’s gaze strayed to her partner to find him looking at her. She quickly turned her attention back to
Kendra. “He seems okay. You could have warned me he’s military.”
“Why? So you could obsess about how awful he’d be every waking minute until you met him?” Kendra
bit into one of the two chocolate chip cookies on the tray in front of her. “So what if he’s Special Forces?
You two obviously work well as a team. And he’s definitely nice to look at.”
“That’s not the point. I thought you were going to have some say in picking my next partner.”
Kendra scowled. “You guys were great together on the course. Stop being so closed-minded.”
Ivy finished off the cookie she’d been nibbling on. “I’d
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