Dash by Rae Marks
Book 2 in the Hart Consulting series
General Release Date: 11th Jan 2022
Word Count: 88,651
Book Length: SUPER NOVEL
Pages: 356
Genres:
ACTION AND ADVENTURE,CONTEMPORARY,CRIME,EROTIC ROMANCE,GAY,GLBTQI,MEN IN UNIFORM,THRILLERS AND SUSPENSE
Add to Goodreads
Book Description
Working with the guy who turns him on and pisses him off has Nick in a tailspin.
Nick’s trying to get everything together—his life, his job, his family. After leaving the military, he joined both his brothers at Hart Consulting, but he can’t seem to get his shit organized. His brother still won’t speak to his father, his dad is willing to go to crazy lengths to see his brother and Nick has to train for his new job.
Just when he thinks he might have everything under a bit of control, he’s assigned to work with Ax, the only operator who’s able to get under his skin. Nick needs to put his head down and make a good impression on his first assignment with HC. Too bad Ax is determined not to make it easy…
Reader advisory: This book is best read as book two in a series. It contains abduction and trafficking of minors, references to torture and medical abuse and violence.
Ax’s whole body hummed with satisfaction. He’d been picturing Nick bent over one of the weight benches as he’d stroked himself in the shower. When he’d heard a locker open and close, he’d peeked out and seen Nick through the tiny crack between the stall door and the wall.
Nick had gotten off right along with him. Ax had heard his gasp and groan. He wasn’t sure why Nick was so determined to hate him, but the man could sure set his anger aside to beat off to the sounds of Ax in the shower.
Ax smiled.
He shouldn’t push Nick’s buttons, but there were just so many. Nick was strung way too tight. Ax had about a million more pounds of weight on his shoulders than the precious Nicholas Hart did, and yet he hadn’t lost his sense of humor.
Ax whistled as he pushed the call button for the elevator. He’d considered waiting for Nick to get out of the shower, to try to see if his cheeks were still pink, either from embarrassment or just from getting off. But he’d spent enough time playing, so he headed back up to the second floor.
Just as the doors were about to slide closed, Chase called out for Ax to hold the elevator. Chase and a kid strolled toward him. Their building was secure, so Ax was curious about their visitor, especially if he was going to the second floor. First floor had low-level security, which by any other standards was high. The higher floors actually required security clearance.
“Who’s your friend?” Ax asked as they stepped into the elevator.
“This is Max Freeman, our new tech guru. Max, this is Ax.”
“Hey, we rhyme.” Ax smiled.
“Jeez,” Max groaned.
“You okay?” Chase asked.
Max nodded at Chase, but he did look a little queasy.
“Does everyone look like you two?”
Ax and Chase looked at each other. They looked nothing alike. Chase was all dark hair, light skin and light baby blues. Ax was dark—dark skin, dark hair, dark soul. Ax rolled his eyes at his own joke. His eyes were actually pretty light, considering his Latin heritage.
“We’re not exactly twins, Maxie,” Ax said.
“I mean tall and hot,” Max said before his eyes widened.
Max slapped his forehead. When the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, Max hurried out, but Ax followed him and caught his shoulder.
“Hey.” Ax lowered his voice to try to soothe the kid. “You may not be tall, but you’re still hot.”
Max dropped his hand and gaped. Ax gave his most encouraging smile. For some reason, the kid reminded him of his little brother, Diego.
“Don’t fuck with the new recruit,” Chase warned.
“I’m not fucking. Who’s fucking? Look at him? Are you telling me he’s not hot?”
Chase rolled his eyes but turned to assess Max. Max’s ears turned red. He looked like a nerdy James Dean with his narrow cleft chin, his full lips and the eyebrows that were more like thick slashes above his gray eyes.
“You’re plenty cute, Max,” Chase said, “but a little young for me. And I’m seeing someone, so I try not to look too hard.”
“See, Maxie? You fit right in.”
“It’s not ‘Maxie’.” He grumbled. “My handle is ‘Sin’.”
“Sin? Wait! You’re Sin? You’re the one who saved Bray’s ass in Kiev?”
Ax couldn’t believe this kid, who was probably eighteen, was Sin. The Sin. Without another word, Ax picked him up and gave him the biggest bear hug in the history of bear hugs. Ax swung the kid around in circles until they were both laughing.
“I can’t believe it’s you,” Ax said as he set Max down.
“Excuse me.”
Ax turned to see Nick stepping off the elevator. He looked even more grumpy than usual. Is he really that pissed about what happened in the bathroom?
“Hey, Nick,” Max said.
“Hey, Max,” Nick smiled. “They got you, too?”
Max gave a shy nod.
“Bray mentioned something, but I didn’t think they’d be able to…”
Nick stopped and looked at Ax with a frown. Then he looked back at Max. All four of them ended up looking at each other as if they were trying to figure out who was who. Max apparently felt the need to fill the silence.
“I think HC will be able to use more of my hardware. The government is really interested in the software—or at least what I can do with it.”
“When did you start?” Nick asked.
“Today, I guess.” Max shrugged. “I’m supposed to meet someone named Wade.”
“I’ll show you where Wade is,” Ax offered.
“I’ll leave you to it, then.” Chase gave Ax a pat on the arm and wandered into the bullpen.
“How long have you two known each other?” Nick asked.
“Depends on what you mean by ‘know’,” Ax teased. “I’ve known about Sin for about six months. I never met Max until today.”
“I have no idea what the hell you’re even talking about.” Nick rolled his eyes but turned to Max. “It’s great to see you, Max. If you need a sparring partner…Ax is your man. He’ll, uh, ‘show you how it’s done’. Right, Ax?”
Nick stomped off down the hallway.
“Thanks, I think,” Max muttered. “What’s wrong with Nick? He’s usually the life of the party.”
“He’s pissed at me, not you. So, you’re Sin. Fuck. I thought you’d be older, kid.”
“Yeah. I get that a lot, but I’m not exactly a kid. I mean, I’m twenty-four. I have a double masters in Math and Engineering.”
“Don’t sweat it. It’s more of a vibe thing. Bray’s a kid too.”
“He and Nick are older than me. I, uh, skipped a few grades, and Bray always had my back all the way through high school. I mean, I stopped skipping grades so I could stay with him and Nick. The other kids were brutal.”
“Yeah, sure you stayed with Nick and Bray for protection. It’s not like those two are easy on the eyes or anything.”
Max snorted and followed Ax into the bullpen. There were a few guys hanging around, but Ax took his charge directly to Wade’s desk. Wade was just ending a call and turned to face them. When he saw Max, he stood with a smile on his face.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Max whispered.
Ax’s smile grew even wider. It looked like Wade did it for the kid. Wade was big, probably one of the biggest guys on the team. He was also the team leader, for all intents and purposes. He was six-foot-three and built like a boxer. His biceps were bigger than Sam’s.
“Max, so glad you’re here. We’ve all been dying to meet you. I don’t want to overwhelm you, but we have a list of things we’d like your help with that’s about a mile long.”
“Yeah.” Max stopped to clear his throat before continuing. “I’d be happy to look at you— I mean, look at it for you. Sorry, but I’m a little nervous.”
“Don’t be nervous. We’ve been chomping at the bit to see what you’re willing to help us do.”
“Anything,” Max said. “I mean anything within reason that doesn’t compromise any of my other contracts.”
“Of course. In fact, the most important thing, the first thing on the list, is to have you help us locate a former brother in arms. We’ve lost track of Dakota and thought you could help out.”
Ax patted Max on the arm and took a step back. He was in good hands and hopefully Max could help find Dakota. They’d been looking for him for a few months, since he hadn’t contacted anyone at HC or even his own father.
When Max had a few minutes, Ax was going to pick his brain. If anyone could help Ax with his personal mission, it was Max.
Buy Links
Choose Your Store
First For Romance
Amazon
Rae Marks
Rae has been secretly penning romances since high school. It started with short stories that grew into full-length novels. When she received her first Kindle and had thousands of books at her fingertips, she became a little distracted from writing. Then one day she read a book that she would have written a different way. She began writing again and hasn’t stopped since.
When she’s not writing, Rae can usually be found reading, walking along the beaches of Half Moon Bay, or taking her geriatric dog to the vet, yet again.
You can follow Rae on Instagram.
Enter for the chance to win a $50.00 First for Romance Gift Card! Competition hosted by Totally Entwined Group.
