It was a Neanderthal move, and Tripp knew it. He just couldn’t help himself. Beau was built like a brick shithouse. Dark haired, dark-eyed, and Hispanic, he was one of those bulky, grouchy types who could turn on the charm at the drop of a hat. He shouldn’t have grabbed her hand like he had, and he’d better stop smiling like he’d just found a delectable morsel. That alone was unlike the guy.
True, there was nothing to worry about with anyone here at TEAM HQ. Tripp knew that. Beau was happily married. Most agents were, or, like that dumbass Jameson Tenney, soon to be married. That was a mistake waiting to happen if Tripp had ever seen one. The guy was not only blind, he was marrying the first woman he’d dated in years, aka the boss’s Protocol Officer, Maddie Bannister. They’d barely met a few weeks ago! What was Alex thinking, hiring a blind agent in the first place? And what were those two kids thinking? Love at first sight? There was no such thing.
Never mind that Tripp had just met Ashley. He sure as hell wasn’t in love with her and yeah. He knew he had no right being possessive. He was as big an idiot as Jameson. Yet he couldn’t help growling at Beau, who was still holding Ashley’s hand, damn it. “You mind?”
The big guy flashed a toothy grin, then smoothed his free hand over the back of hers, almost like he was petting her. “I don’t mind, but it sure seems like you do,” he teased, as he finally released her. “Like I said, Ashley Cox, you need anything while you’re here, just ask. We’re all here to serve. Can I get you a cup of coffee or a donut while you wait? I think there’s some left in the breakroom.”
“Thank you, no. I’m good,” she answered, a little more breathlessly than Tripp would’ve liked.
What the hell was wrong with him? Again, the Neanderthal inside roared to the surface with a need to pound Beau’s grinning ass into the floorboards. Fighting the urge, Tripp placed one arm around her shoulders, a definite caveman stamp of, ‘She’s mine. Back the fuck off or die.’
Beau, damn him, winked. The prick knew precisely what he was doing.
“Tripp. Beau,” Mother said from where she sat on her side of the counter. “Mark wants you two and Jameson in his office now.”
About time. Tripp turned to the real technical advisor for The TEAM. “You mind if Ashley sits with you while I’m in with Mark?”
“The more the merrier,” Mother muttered without looking up at him and with no hint of friendliness toward Ashley.
Jameson strolled up. “You brought a friend,” he told Tripp, his hand already extended toward Ashley as if he could see. “Hi, Ashley, I’m Jameson Tenney, junior agent in charge of light bulbs. That’s a joke, by the way.”
How that guy got around the office as easily as he did still amazed Tripp. Except for the round-framed dark specs perched high on his nose, you’d never guess Jameson was blind by the way he moved.
“Nice to meet you, Jameson,” Ashley replied evenly, shaking hands again. “You’re visually impaired?”
“That’s me, the token handicapped kid in an office of military geniuses. But I’m learning.” Jameson lifted both shoulders and managed to look humble, a skill Beau ought to think about acquiring.
“Don’t let him jerk your chain, Ashley,” Beau muttered, cuffing Jameson’s shoulder a solid one. “This guy’s a former Navy SEAL. He’s got radar none of the rest of us have. Like sharks and dolphins, he doesn’t need to see to know which way to shoot.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Ashley gushed all over Jameson. “How do you do it?”
While he regaled her with a minute of humble deference meant to distract her from his disability, Tripp focused on not ripping the blind guy’s jugular out and hanging him from the ceiling with it. Not that he would have, but—
Why was he so damned territorial all of a sudden? He didn’t own Ashley. Hadn’t even kissed her. Sure, he wanted to, but he’d barely touched her yet, mostly just to keep her from falling. Maybe that was it. She’d been scared of him, but she didn’t seem to mind these guys handling her, and that bugged Tripp.
“Well, yes,” she exclaimed. “I’d love to meet your fiancée for dinner. Tell me when and where.”
Jameson asked her to dinner? Tripp ran a hand over his head, pissed that he’d missed the invitation. Jameson did have one of those cavalier guy-smiles that snared the ladies. Tripp had to give him that.
“Great. Let me check with Maddie. I’ll be in touch.” Jameson rapped his knuckles on the countertop. “Hey, Mom, how’s Justice?”
Justice was Mother’s hubby or boyfriend, Tripp still wasn’t sure which, and he wasn’t about to ask, either. Not as grouchy as she’d been since he’d been hired.
“Don’t call me mom,” she growled.
“But it fits you,” Jameson replied innocently, his head cocked in that uncanny way he had when he was really listening. Which seemed to be all the time. The guy might be blind, but he was damned perceptive. It was almost as if he could read minds. “You take care of us guys and gals. We don’t know what we’d do without you. You are The TEAM’s mom.”
“I am not,” she replied haughtily.
“If you say so.” He grinned and stepped away, then deliberately stage whispered, “Mom.”
That brought Mother to her feet. “Damn it, Jameson! Stop calling me that.”
Ashley tipped back on her heels. She was ready to run. Tripp latched onto her wrist before she could make a break for it. “Don’t mind them,” he whispered into the side of her head. “Jameson’s just teasing. I’ll be right back, then we’ll go grab that cup of coffee, okay?”
“Sure, yeah. Okay.” Ashley skirted
