Armed Response. Janie Crouch

now is on the LESS Summit. It’s about keeping those attending safe. So I want everyone to stay frosty and focused. We have a job to do.”

      Lillian raised her hand halfway. “What about the rumor that there’s a mole inside Omega providing Freihof intel?”

      She wanted to nail that traitor bastard just as much as she wanted to nail Freihof.

      “I know a mole is suspected,” Derek responded. “But to date, no official evidence has been found to support that rumor. We all know Freihof loves to play head games. Getting us to turn on each other, go on witch hunts, is exactly what he wants. So we’re not going to do that. If you see anything suspicious, you report it to me, but we don’t go around accusing each other of anything.”

      Lillian nodded. She glanced over and found Jace openly studying her. Their eyes met and she was determined not to look away first. Jace, damn his still gorgeous blue eyes, seemed to have the same determination.

      Derek saved them both from their battle of wills.

      “We’re going to get into training immediately to get us working as a team. And this week we’re going to put in long, team-building hours.” Derek turned to Jace, who had changed into workout clothes from the khakis and collared shirt he’d arrived in. “Eakin, although you come recommended from a man we all highly respect, if you don’t mind, we’d like to see what you’re capable of.”

      Jace nodded. “You’d be a fool not to.”

      Lillian froze at the sound of Jace’s voice. The deep timbre still did something to her. Nudged at parts of her that had been sleeping so long she’d thought they were dead. The most feminine parts of her. For a moment she couldn’t breathe as her mind attempted to figure out what she was feeling.

      Desire.

      It had been so long—twelve years, in fact—since she’d felt clear, untainted desire for a man.

      And she was feeling it for the man who, with just a sentence or two about her past, could destroy the rapport she’d taken years to build with her team and probably cost her her job.

      Omega Sector generally frowned upon employing people who were once part of an unofficial gang in the streets of Tulsa. While their gang hadn’t had turf wars and drive-bys, she’d definitely broken the law multiple times throughout her teenage years.

      “We’ll hit the team obstacle course this afternoon,” Derek continued. “But I thought we’d begin with some sparring.”

      “Sounds good to me.” That deep voice again.

      “Who would you like to start with?”

      Jace’s full lips were turned up at one corner as if he knew some private joke. “Why don’t you just pair me with your best close-quarters fighter and I’ll go from there.”

      Everybody chuckled at the new guy’s guts.

      Even Derek smiled. “Even better, why don’t you tell me who you think our best close-quarters fighter is?”

      Surely Jace would pick Roman or Derek. Both of them were big—over six feet tall with biceps the size of tree trunks.

      Lillian could take down both of them. Had done so, in fact. She was pretty damn fast, stronger than she looked, and had spent the last twelve years making sure no man—no matter what his size—would be able to force her to do something she didn’t want to do.

      Never again.

      “Sure.” Jace looked at everyone around the circle, as people started stretching and warming up while listening. “There’s a number of people who I think could give me a run for my money. But if I had to guess who’s most capable of kicking someone’s ass, I think it would be this one.”

      He pointed straight at Lillian.

      She could hear the soft chuckles of her teammates, and felt Roman pat her on the shoulder. They didn’t know why Jace had chosen her. Because he really thought she was the best close-quarters fighter? Because he thought she’d be easy to take down? She wasn’t.

      Damn it, she didn’t want this. Didn’t want to touch Jace Eakin in any way. But she’d never been one to back down from a fight.

      She wasn’t going to start now.

      Stretching her shoulders, she put on the sparring mask and gloves and met Jace in the sparring ring. They gave each other a brief nod and then began.

      They spent the first couple of minutes dancing around each other, throwing a jab here and a few kicks there. Lillian felt herself loosening up. She excelled at close-quarters combat. Her body knew what to do from muscle memory.

      Jace got a little more serious, sending a spinning back kick in the direction of her head. She dropped low and hooked the back of her leg behind his, bringing him to the mat with a thud.

      For just a moment they were face-to-face near the floor.

      “I taught you that move,” he whispered.

      She leaped up to her feet and he followed, pushing off from his shoulder and straight onto his feet.

      Lillian didn’t let him get resituated. She used her greatest advantage—her speed—and flew at him with a series of punches and kicks. Jace was forced to go on the defensive, and did a damn good job of it.

      She stepped back as he nearly backed out of bounds, ending her attack. “You didn’t teach me that.”

      He grinned. “I sure as hell didn’t. Impressive.” Without warning he came at her, forcing her to go on the defensive this time.

      All in all, they were pretty evenly matched. Derek eventually called the match to a halt when it became apparent neither of them was going to win easily. “Let’s save some energy for the rest of today’s training. There’s a lot of hours still left.”

      Jace took off his gloves and held his hand out to shake hers. “Nice job, Tiger Lily. Although I’m not surprised.”

      You could’ve heard a grasshopper karate-chop a fly. Tiger Lily. Nobody ever called her Lily, not if they expected to live to see the next sunrise. And no one had ever called her Tiger Lily—the beautiful and exotic flower—but Jace. Hearing the words did something to her she couldn’t explain and didn’t want to delve into too closely.

      So she kept her cool.

      “Welcome to the team, Jace. And it’s Lillian. Just Lillian, nothing else.”

       Chapter Four

      “Lily, hold up.”

      He smiled as he saw her shoulders stiffen at the name. Her curt instructions on the sparring mat not to call her anything but Lillian had just spurred his desire to call her by her old nickname.

      But it was her whispered words as they had left the sparring area that had really caught his attention.

       Don’t say anything about who we were.

      Jace wasn’t sure if that meant their personal history or the gang-related activities they’d participated in during their youth. She might not have ever told anyone about that, especially the latter. Since she had never been arrested, nor had he, it wasn’t in either of their permanent records. She didn’t have to worry about him spilling her secret. Not that one anyway.

      Working with her today, fighting with her, seeing how everyone else interacted with her... Jace couldn’t help being impressed. She had taken all the natural physical skills she’d had as a teenager—speed, flexibility, sheer grit—and had formed herself into nothing short of a warrior.

      He’d known it from the first punch she’d thrown in the sparring ring. She’d always been feisty, but now she was deadly. Small but fierce.

      She’d been the only woman in the room