Dangerous Heat (Aegis Group, #8) Read online

  Dangerous Heat

  Aegis Group #8

  Sidney Bristol

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  Inked Press

  Dangerous Heat

  Aegis Group 8

  Retired Marine Paxton Mills likes working from the shadows, but a high speed bridesmaid rescue brings him to the forefront as he takes over a tricky case while on vacation in South Africa. It's hard to keep his attention on the job when his partner is the sexiest woman he's ever met.

  Coco De Jong likes animals more than people. Navigating the social waters of her best friend's wedding gets even more complicated when she finds herself in the arms of a guy who looks like an action hero come to life. Her one night stand is one of the truly dangerous ones: an animal lover.

  What should have been a hot wedding fling turns serious as Paxton and Coco are drawn into a poaching investigation with ties to one of Coco's old flames. Paxton has to face the reality, that he's begun to care for Coco. As they get closer to their answers they find a new question. Are they ready to say goodbye when the vacation ends?

  Explore the whole Aegis world in these series...

  It all began with the Aegis Group.

  Dangerous Attraction

  Dangerous in Training

  Dangerous Games

  Dangerous Assignment

  Dangerous Protector

  Dangerous Secrets

  Dangerous Betrayal

  Dangerous Heat

  More Coming Soon!

  Within Aegis Group, special teams take on special jobs, beginning with the Alpha Team.

  Dangerous in Love

  Dangerous in Action

  Dangerous in Transit

  Dangerous in Motion

  Dangerous in Charge

  Other specialized teams exist under the Aegis Group umbrella, including Lepta Team.

  Dangerously Taken

  Dangerously Involved

  Dangerously Deceived

  Dangerously Broken

  Dangerously Entwined (2019)

  In Dangerous Games it continued with the Gone Geek girls.

  Beauty and the Geek

  Mr. Purr-fect and the Geek

  The Jock and the Geek

  The Gamer and the Geek

  The Adorkable Girl and the Geek

  The Fake Boyfriend and the Geek

  When the Seattle office of Aegis Group opened the Twisted Royals took the stage.

  The Origin Story

  Alpha Prince

  Her Prince

  Bad Boy Prince

  Noble Prince

  Stay tuned for the appearance of the Troy Team and Omega Team.

  For short reads, tune in this December for the Body of Danger novella series kick-off.

  Heart for Danger

  Mind for Danger (2019)

  Soul for Danger (2020)

  The other Smith brother takes us to the Texas SWAT series, a small town suspense series.

  Fighting Redemption

  Stolen Redemption

  Reckless Redemption (coming soon)

  To my angel, Nina.

  I hope to be there for you how you’ve been there for me.

  Table of Contents

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  24.

  1.

  Wednesday. Mlilo Animal Reserve, South Africa.

  Paxton Mills peered out at the passing landscape from behind his sunglasses. There was far too much sunshine after spending twenty-seven hours on planes. All for a wedding. His first wedding, to be exact. He still wasn’t entirely sure why he’d agreed to come to this one when he’d avoided every other wedding to date.

  It was the animal angle. He was intrigued.

  In a few days’ time he and the rest of the guys would head out and assist the park staff and other conservationists in ensuring the safety of the wildlife. Namely, from poachers. It was essentially the same job he always did as a bodyguard. Only these bodies would weigh a couple tons or have fangs and claws or who knew what else.

  Silas reached over and flicked Paxton’s sunglasses, causing them to fall in his lap.

  “What the fuck, man?” He turned his head and glared across the aisle at his best friend. When they’d been paired up in the Marines as a sniper pair Paxton hadn’t expected to like Silas. Now he was the only family Paxton claimed.

  Silas grinned. “Thought I saw a bug.”

  “Asshole.” Paxton snorted.

  “Nerd.”

  Brett Jones twisted in his seat and glared back at the two of them. Chances were they’d gotten carried away on that last flight after one too many drinks.

  “You’re both asshole nerds,” He said. Brett was a former CIA agent and current fresh meat recruit seeing as he’d gotten fired after helping one of Aegis’ own save his girlfriend from a tight spot.

  “That’s Mr. Asshole Nerd to you.” Silas wagged his finger in Brett’s face.

  Paxton choked back a laugh. After this many hours traveling together, they were all a little punchy. The other two fresh meat guys were passed out in the back of the bus while their other buddy and roommate Vito did the smart thing and tuned them out with headphones.

  They should almost be to the reserve and resort.

  Paxton wasn’t sure what to expect. There were roughly thirty other guys from Aegis Group attending, plus their significant others and children in some cases. Then there was everyone from the bride’s side of things, and she’d trekked all over the globe. From what Paxton understood, this was an international event. Lots of people and noise and color. It made him want to find a dark, quiet room and hole up for a while.

  He wished he didn’t have this strange sense of foreboding. Every time someone got hitched this knot of tension took up residence between his shoulder blades and just under his skull. It was why he’d never gone to a wedding. They just weren’t for him.

  Maybe there’d be so many people no one would notice if he didn’t sit for the actual ceremony?

  He pulled out his phone and unlocked the screen. He was beyond ready to be at the resort.

  Six phones began ringing at once.

  That was never a good sign.

  Paxton’s vision narrowed to the name on the caller ID.

  Zain.

  What was their boss and tech-god calling all of them for? Wasn’t he at the resort already? Had something happened? Some sort of poacher attack?

  “Got it,” Paxton said and tapped the speaker button on his call. “What’s up, man? You’re on speaker.”

  “Who is this?” a woman asked. Her voice was tight with anxiety and she panted, as though she were running or had just been running. “I mean, which are you?”

  “This is Paxton, ma’am.” He glanced at Silas. “Who is this?”

  “It’s Lacey.” The bride. Her voice vibrated with fear, anxiety, pent up frustration. “One of the reserve employees snuck a baby pangolin out and my maid of honor just went after the guy by herself. You’re not far out. She just left. I’m hoping you’re about to pass her or something.”

  The atmosphere in the bus had shifted. The fresh meat guys were awake. Luggage was being opened, gun boxes unlocked. Silas jerked his head at Paxton, signaling he’d handle their gear freeing him up to focus
on the call.

  Paxton got out of his seat and approached the front of the bus so he could peer out at the road. “How am I supposed to know what we’re looking for?”

  “If you see her you’ll know it’s her. Teal shirt, teal boots, probably attacking a group with a rock or something. That’s Coco.”

  He chuckled despite the seriousness of the situation.

  “No, Pax. Here.” Silas pressed the cool metal of a handgun into Paxton’s palm.

  He slid the gun in the waistband of his jeans and lowered himself to sit on the steps. “We’re looking for her, Lacey.”

  The line clicked, and the call ended. Paxton didn’t need more information, they had their marching orders. He’d worry about getting a hold of Lacey later.

  The bus rolled through another little town, these homes were a bit nicer than some they’d passed. They didn’t look like a strong wind would knock them over. Kids kicked a soccer ball around in a field.

  Up ahead a cluster of people gathered on one side of the road.

  Paxton tapped the driver’s shoulder. “Hey, will you slow down, man?”

  “You don’t want to stop here, man.” The driver glanced back at him.

  “Just slow down.” Paxton strained to see over heads.

  The light glinted off reddish curls.

  Was that a bit of teal?

  One side of the crowd parted as a man crashed to the ground, giving Paxton a visual of a goddess with golden honey skin baked to a beautiful brown color, a halo of reddish curls wearing a Bride Tribe teal tank top, jean shorts and shit kicker teal boots. And yes, she was wielding a tree branch like a weapon, all the fury of some female deity imbuing her with supernatural strength as she cracked a guy over the head with her makeshift weapon.

  This had to be Coco.

  Lacey had her pegged.

  “Stop!” Paxton shoved at the doors, forcing them open despite the driver’s protests.

  Paxton’s boots hit the asphalt, and he darted around the bus, assessing the situation. There were maybe two dozen on-lookers ranging from children to older men. Quite a few looked ready to throw a few punches. Paxton could feel the tension even if he couldn’t understand the words people were yelling.

  He didn’t want to draw his weapon here unless he had to. That was only going to escalate the already tense situation.

  “Hey. Hey!” he yelled, drawing attention to him and not the woman.

  The two men she’d already gifted welts to glared at him as they rose to their feet. Paxton rushed past them toward Coco, his hand on the gun at his waist.

  He finally glimpsed something small, brownish-gray cradled to her side. She hadn’t yet glanced at him, her whole attention on a young man who couldn’t have been more than sixteen. They were trading heated words Paxton didn’t have to understand.

  He turned his attention to the people crowding around them. More were joining those he’d seen from the bus. She might have her direct conflict under control, but it was the crowd that made him nervous.

  Where the fuck were the others?

  He glanced back at the bus and saw the five guys watching them from the road.

  What were they waiting for?

  Paxton couldn’t worry about them. His focus needed to be here.

  “Coco?” He closed in on her, turning so that they were both watching half the circle.

  “Who the hell are you?” she demanded. It said something that she only spared him a token glance.

  “Paxton. Lacey sent us.”

  Coco lifted her chin. She really had this warrior queen thing down. It was damn hot. “I don’t need to be rescued.”

  “Obviously.” He chuckled. “I’m just back-up. In the interest of getting us all out of here safely, I think it’s time to go.”

  She ignored him and let loose a flurry of words, using her branch to gesture at the young man. Was this the now former employee who’d stolen from the reservation? Lacey’s words were a blur.

  Paxton eyed the crowd. Some of them looked like curious onlookers; just people watching some sort of fight go down. But there were others who stared at Coco like a problem to be tackled. Those were the ones Paxton didn’t like, and there were more of them now. The rest of his team was too far away to do anything if these people pounced.

  “Coco, it’s my professional opinion that we get out of here now.” He slid his hand under his shirt to grip his weapon.

  At that moment a man in the crowd lunged forward.

  Paxton didn’t think. He moved, darting into the guy’s way and landed a punch. Someone else grabbed Paxton from behind.

  The situation was deteriorating.

  It was time.

  He twisted away and pulled his gun from his waistband. A coldness gripped him. It had been a long time since he’d had to point a gun at someone. He could have gone his whole life without having to do this again.

  “Easy. No one has to get hurt,” he said.

  “Let go!” Coco ordered.

  Paxton pivoted and aimed the weapon at a man who’d emerged from the crowd to grab Coco.

  Paxton locked eyes with the man. “You heard the lady.”

  Coco wrenched her arm out of the man’s grasp. Paxton didn’t want to have to fight these people and his asset when it came to getting her out of there. If he could just get her moving toward the bus, the others would be there.

  “Ma’am, do you agree it’s time to leave now?” he asked.

  “I’m done here.” Coco held her head up high and marched toward the street.

  People scattered out of her way save for two men.

  What were the chances they’d attack? If they wanted whatever it was she’d taken back from the boy, if it was valuable enough, odds were they’d go for it.

  The bigger man sneered and said a few words to Coco, who responded with something that sounded snappy. She brushed past them without incident and approached a silver Honda Translap motorcycle.

  “I think it would be better if you rode in the bus.” Paxton glanced over his shoulder. Others had joined the two men. Whoever they were, they were not fans of Coco.

  She glanced back at him. “I’m not leaving my bike here.”

  Paxton kept watching the group. At that moment a car pulled up and the two guys got in, but they didn’t go anywhere. They just sat there watching them.

  “We’ll handle this. We just need to get out of here.” Paxton grabbed the bike before she could protest and steered it across the road toward the bus.

  Silas jogged to meet them.

  “Where the hell were you?” Paxton asked.

  Silas shrugged. “You had it handled.”

  “Here.” Paxton pushed the bike toward Silas.

  “Keys?” he asked.

  Coco dug in her pocket and handed over a collection of silver and brass keys. “I have to get this back.”

  “Understood.”

  Until they were on the reserve, Paxton wasn’t going to leave Coco’s side. It was standard operating procedure, whoever had the most rapport with an asset stuck closest to them. At this point he doubted she could tell them apart, but that didn’t matter. She was now his responsibility, and he wasn’t going to let her out of his sight.

  Coco let out a deep sigh and her nose wrinkled. “Lacey didn’t have to send you. I was doing fine on my own.”

  She allowed Paxton to guide her into the van where the others were waiting. Brett and Vito had their windows cracked, guns out of sight, watching the crowd.

  “We were just passing by. Here.” He gestured at the seat Silas had vacated.

  That was when he saw the rust red marks on the side of Coco’s tank top as she adjusted whatever the hell she was holding. It looked like an armored basketball.

  The bus lumbered forward, following the silver motorcycle zipping ahead.

  “You’re bleeding.” Paxton leaned toward her.

  “I’m fine.” She bent her head toward the ball of scales. The fierce warrior melted away as she cooed soft words to the bal
l. “Everything’s fine now. You’re safe, Sushi.”

  Paxton glimpsed the cuts on Coco’s arm. They weren’t bad, but he still wanted to clean them up.

  The ball of scales quivered.

  “What is that thing?” Brett leaned over the seat.

  Lacey’s words and a nature documentary Paxton had seen as a kid collided and everything clicked.

  “Pangolin.” He snapped.

  Coco glanced up. All the sharp edges were softer. Her smile was warm and inviting. “Correct. Sushi Roll here is a ground pangolin. Her mother was rescued from poachers right before she gave birth.”

  Paxton propped his elbows on his knees. Was that a little, dark eye looking at him? “Mama’s going to be happy to see you?”

  Coco ran her hands over the baby’s scales. “Sadly, no. Her mother escaped her enclosure after about two weeks. She was badly traumatized. I’m not surprised.”

  “Damn. Poor little girl. She going to be okay?”

  The tail of the creature slapped out, smacking Coco in the knee and revealing the animal’s soft underbelly along with claws as long as his little finger. Sushi stared up at him with her long nose and dark eyes.

  “Oh, there she is.” Coco ran her fingers along the animal’s stomach.

  Brett shook his head and eased back into his seat. “That’s weird, man.”

  Sushi rocked sideways, almost throwing herself off Coco’s lap.

  “I know, I know. You’re hungry.” Coco picked the animal up under its front legs and draped it over her shoulder, almost like a baby. The armored tail lay flat against her chest while its nose led its head swaying back and forth.

  “What’s she eating?” Paxton asked.

  Coco studied him for a moment.

  A guy couldn’t be interested in animals?

  He’d grown up in the backroom of the bar watching nature documentaries, pretending he was the guy narrating the scenes. It had given him a world outside his own private hell. And now he was here. He wanted to see all of it during the handful of weeks they’d be on site.

  “A little formula but mostly she forages for her own ants. Want to hold her? She’s not scared so she won’t hurt you.”

  Paxton was surprised by the offer, but he sure as hell wasn’t passing it up. “Yeah. Is that okay?”