Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Redemption for Misty (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Pierce Securities Book 5) by Anne Conley Page A

the love bog. She could only hope he’d meant what he said and wasn’t just trying to keep Andrew from killing him.
    As Misty showered and dressed, she hummed absently, unable to stop herself. She danced around her house, getting ready, and then laughed at herself because she was acting so silly. But she didn’t care. Misty floated on a cloud to work, nothing seeping into the happy feelings she felt. Not even her brother.
    Andrew would get over himself.
    At her shop, Misty was surprised to see a crowd of people from all walks of life milling around. Due to the neighborhood, there were typically pan-handlers trying to get some spare change from the professionals who went in and out of the capitol building, as well as the tourists trying to get a great picture. But the people here were all races and income levels. She remembered the rumor about the emergency legislative session at the Chamber mixer last night and smiled to herself. She loved being in the middle of stuff. There was no doubt she would be busy today.
    Misty sent a text out to her employees, asking if she could get all hands on deck today, then went into the kitchen to start the baked goodies before opening.
    When a scraping at the loading bay had her seeking out the source of the noise, Misty was surprised to see Ghost standing in her kitchen. He wore all-black fatigues with all sorts of paraphernalia strapped to him, including guns. Her eyes widened. She knew it. He must be the Delta guys she’d heard about last night. Suddenly, his warning about the chatter on her Wi-Fi flooded back to her. She’d been so distracted with Chris and sex, she hadn’t given Ghost a second thought. Judging by the seriousness of his attire, she’d made a mistake there.
    “Um, couldn’t wait until we opened for your coffee?” She laughed through her unease. This wasn’t like Ghost to scare the crap out of her. “I thought you were on a different assignment?”
    His grim face didn’t do much to allay her fears. “I’m here now. Is there any way I can convince you not to open today? I’ve been working a case, and your coffee shop is smack dab in the middle of it,” he pleaded with her, which was a rare thing for the usually no-nonsense man.
    She thought on it, but honestly, she couldn’t imagine anyone targeting her little shop for anything nefarious. Even with Misty’s background, she chose to believe the best from people. In her wildest imaginings, she just couldn’t come up with a picture of some suicide bomber walking into her store with dynamite strapped to his chest.
    She couldn’t shut down on what was promising to be the busiest day she’d had so far. Thoughts of all those lost donations filtered through her head.
    But Ghost seemed adamant.
    “I’ll keep an eye out. If things look rough outside, I’ll close up shop. Okay?” She was trying for some sort of compromise, but Ghost’s face didn’t buy it.
    He pressed on his throat and murmured something before turning and leaving the way he came.
    Well, that was weird.
     
    Chapter thirteen
    “So, what’s up with the new job?” Chris was anxious to get his buddy thinking about something different. The cold shoulder on the way downtown was ridiculous. Crash drug Chris along, the least he could do was explain himself.
    “It’s at Pierce Securities, with Jordan. He’s a cool guy. They’re all cool.” The square around the capitol building was full of protesters and law enforcement. Everyone was edgy. The protesters were looking to make the news and the police looked terrified of making the news. Media was everywhere, capturing it all on film.
    “I filled out the paperwork a couple of months ago, and when I got fired from the surveying job, I called Jordan. City of Austin sub-contracted every security firm in the city to help out with this. It has potential to turn into a cluster-fuck.”
    A shiver of unease coursed through Chris. “Then why am I here?”
    “I’m keeping you away from my sister,”