Todos los capítulos de Unprofessional Conduct: The Storme Shield: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

"The priest is running late, but the paramedics are downstairs. Try not to die in the next three minutes; it’ll ruin the upholstery," Kendrick’s voice crackled through the comms, sounding entirely too amused for a man whose lead operative was currently being used as a human floor mat.Roderick exhaled a jagged breath, the weight of Apollo’s marble thighs pressing into his shins. "I’m fine. Just get this... divine intervention off me.""Don't worry, darling, I’ve got you!" Elias shouted. He grabbed the statue’s marble arm again, his designer sleeves pushed up to his elbows. He let out a grunt of exertion that was mostly theatrical. "Heave! Ho! Oh, blast, it’s like it’s made of stone.""It is stone, Elias," Roderick ground out through clenched teeth. "Stop pulling. You’re shifting the weight toward my ankles.""Am I? Oh, heavens, I’m so sorry. I was trying to be the dashing rescuer for once. It looked much easier in that one action movie—you know the one, with the guy and the explosions

"Don't move. Don't even breathe loudly," Roderick whispered, his voice vibrating against Elias’s ear."It’s a bit hard not to breathe when you’re squashing the oxygen out of me, Roderick," Elias managed to wheeze, though he didn't pull away."The shooter is using a suppressor. One shot, then silence. They’re waiting for us to panic and run into the light.""Well, I’m panicking! I’m just doing it very quietly. Is my back on fire? I felt something hot.""The acid hit my jacket, not you. Keep your head down. We’re moving toward the service bar on your left. On three. One, two—now."Roderick didn't wait for a response. He hauled Elias up, keeping his own body hunched over the smaller man, and propelled them through the chaos of the darkened ballroom. Screams echoed off the high ceilings, a symphony of terror that Roderick used as cover. They slid behind a heavy oak bar just as a second muffled thwip hit the wood above them, sending splinters flying."They’re persistent," Elias noted, his

The first glass pane of the conservatory didn’t just break; it disintegrated into a million diamond-like shards that rained down on the rare orchids."Roderick! My ears! My actual ears are ringing!" Elias scrambled behind a massive stone planter, his hands over his head."Stay small, Elias! Don't move until I tell you!" Roderick fired three suppressed rounds toward the dark silhouette swinging through the ceiling. "Tessa, if you value your life, crawl into the potting shed and stay there!""I’m already halfway there!" the journalist shrieked, her voice muffled by the foliage.Another shadow dropped from the rafters, boots hitting the marble floor with a heavy thud. Outside, the sky finally opened up, a torrential downpour slamming against the remaining glass panels."Roderick, there’s another one by the ferns!" Elias hissed, pointing a trembling finger. "And he’s wearing night-vision goggles! That’s so unfair! We don't have goggles!""We have me. That’s enough," Roderick growled. He l

The silence in the SUV was heavier than the armored plating in the doors. Dorian’s parting words—Mogadishu, Ghost Unit, instability—hung in the air like toxic smoke. Roderick kept his eyes fixed on the road, his knuckles white against the leather-wrapped steering wheel."So," Elias said, his voice unusually small. "Are we going to talk about it? Or are we just going to pretend the scary man didn't just call you a ghost?""It’s classified, Elias. And it’s in the past," Roderick replied, his voice a flat, iron wall."He said 'dishonorable discharge.' That doesn't sound very 'in the past.' It sounds like the kind of thing that follows you around with a bell around its neck.""I did what I had to do. The military and I had a disagreement on the definition of 'acceptable collateral damage.' That’s all you need to know."Elias turned in his seat, his silk shirt rustling. "You’re a terrible liar, Roderick. Your pulse was jumping under my hand back there. You weren't just angry. You were... w

The world vanished into a roar of displaced water and the sharp, whip-crack of a high-velocity round. Roderick’s shoulder slammed into Elias’s chest, the force of the tackle sending both men deep into the freezing, lavender-scented basin of the fountain."Stay down!" Roderick barked, his voice bubbling through a lungful of water."I’m drowning! Roderick, I’m literally drowning!" Elias sputtered, his head breaking the surface for a split second before Roderick’s hand clamped onto his collar, hauling him behind the thick marble base of a sea nymph."Do you want to drown or get your head turned into a canoe? Because those are your options!""The canoe! Definitely the drowning!" Elias gasped, his chest heaving as he pressed his back against the cold stone. His eyes were wide, fixed on the red dot that was dancing across the marble just inches from his ear. "Did he hit me? Tell me I’m too pretty to be bleeding.""You’re fine. But the stone won't hold forever. He’s using armor-piercing roun