Breaking Her Rules
by
Katie Reus
Copyright © 2013 by Katie Reus
*****
Cover Art by LFD Designs for Authors
*****
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the
writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any
resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or
used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author.
ISBN: 978-0-9886171-6-2
Chapter 1
Iris Tarango slipped her hand into the crook of Gene Berr’s arm as they
bypassed the extra security outside the already packed house party. She had
more than one weapon strapped on her, as did all of the security team. The
only difference between her and the rest of the team was that she was
wearing a long, black formfitting dress. But strapping a blade to her thigh
and a small gun to her calf was the perfect way to conceal her weapons.
She hadn’t been inside yet, but the line of cars along the winding
driveway was a giveaway of the growing crowd and the security team
inside had already let her know how busy it was getting. Which would just
make her job that much harder.
With her two-inch heels she stood even with Berr at five foot eleven. He
was a handsome, broad-shouldered, middle-aged man in good shape and for
the most part she had no doubt that he could take care of himself in a oneon-one fight. There was a lot of muscle underneath the custom-made suit he
was wearing and she could tell his nose had been broken more than once.
She’d also read his detailed file and the man had been a boxer all through
his college years.
Even if he could take care of himself, he’d hired Red Stone Security
because someone had made it clear they wanted him dead. The threats had
been escalating and last week his assistant had taken a bullet meant for him.
Luckily the woman was going to be okay, though she was still recovering.
Berr had paid for the best care, letting her heal at home instead of a sterile
hospital. Berr was insistent that after his meeting tonight he be taken
immediately to the woman’s home. Iris was pretty sure he felt guilty that
someone close to him had been injured, but she could also tell Berr cared
for his assistant way more than a boss should.
Not her business though. Tonight Iris was his shadow. Everyone but the
security surrounding them would assume that she was his date for the
evening. In reality she was the lead for his protective detail. If it was up to
her he’d wouldn’t be at this party after such a blatant—if sloppy—attempt
on his life, but apparently he couldn’t miss talking with someone important.
She didn’t know the details of the meeting, just who he had the appointment
with.
“No one’s going to believe you’re my date,” Berr murmured as a man
wearing a tuxedo opened a large, heavy wood door into the main room of
the palatial home and motioned for them to enter.
“You’re rich, of course they’ll believe it,” she said as she kept an eye on
their immediate surroundings. Wealthy people could afford whatever they
wanted. Sometimes whoever they wanted. Just because she was younger
than him wouldn’t make most people at this party look twice. She actually
wasn’t that much younger than him, maybe fifteen years, but she looked
young for her age. Great genes was the only thing her mother had given her.
To their left Kell Malone and Vincent Hansen, two men she’d worked
with on multiple occasions, were alert and prepared for any threats.
Wearing dark suits, they blended in with the rest of this crowd. Well, sort
of. She could see them for what they were. Dangerous men with a certain
set of skills that would terrify most of the guests here. To their right were
more men and women she trusted with her life and more importantly, the
principal’s life. Protecting Berr was top priority tonight. They might be
blending in, but every one of the team was on guard. As they stepped
farther into the room, the team spread out into a circle surrounding her and
Berr, but Iris doubted anyone else would notice the fluid movements of the
team.
Berr chuckled next to her. “It’s refreshing being with someone so blunt.”
She blinked, then turned to look at him, realizing what she’d said.
Sometimes she spoke without thinking. When she’d been in the Marines
that hadn’t been much of a problem. Now that she was in the civilized
world, she had to remember certain things. “Ah…I didn’t mean it like that.
You’re handsome too…” She trailed off, realizing how lame she sounded.
But Berr just gave her a half-smile, clearly amused. “I meant that as a
compliment, trust me. You remind me of…” His expression grew pained as
he looked away, and Iris guessed he’d been about to say Loretta, his
assistant’s name.
At least this guy wasn’t sensitive. She’d guarded enough men like that
for a lifetime. Men who wanted her to stroke their ego—among other
things. As if they thought that was part of her job. Fucking losers. They
found out soon enough that she wasn’t just a pretty face. It was always a
pleasure watching the shock on their faces when some moron thought he
could lay hands on her then found himself flex-cuffed and flat on his face
with her boot in his back. Her boss always warned their principals how
things were done and made them sign very detailed contracts regarding
their own behavior with her, but some of them never listened.
“The meeting starts in five minutes. We’re going to get you in, you’re
going to take care of business, then my team is escorting you out. There
will be no socializing or bullshit tonight. I refuse to put you at more risk
than you already are. Understood?” Iris didn’t sugarcoat anything because it
clearly wasn’t necessary with Berr. They’d already been over all this before,
but she’d go over it a dozen more times if she felt it necessary. She didn’t
think he would ignore her, but the last thing they needed was for anyone,
including her team, to get hurt. Not only was she protecting Berr, but as
team leader tonight, she considered her people her responsibility too.
“You’re the boss,” Berr said good-naturedly as they continued their slow
trek across the marbled floor.
A few people nodded at Berr, but when he kept his expression stony and
didn’t invite conversation, everyone stayed away. Which made her job
easier. A jazz band played a slow song on the stage on the west side of the
dimly lit room. A few giant chandeliers glittered prettily above them with
what she guessed were real candles flickering from them. She was pretty
sure the lighting was supposed to be romantic, but she didn’t like it. The
brighter it was, the better she could see a potential threat. It was too dark
right now. The sound of clinking glasses and laughter filled the air, various
perfumes trailed around her, but she didn’t see anyone particularly
threatening. Any server with a tray that got too close was smoothly cut off
by Kell. The man was huge but moved with a stealth that impressed her.
But if someone had managed to slip a gun past security…no, not with her
team manning all the doors. It wouldn’t have happened. Still, she would
never let her guard down.
“Iris, there’s a man at your six bearing down on you two. I’m
intercepting.” Vincent’s voice had a deadly edge to it.
“Slow down,” Iris murmured to Berr, who immediately complied.
Turning to the left so that Berr’s body was blocked from whoever was
coming up on them, she swiveled and used her own body as a shield.
Then froze when she saw the man walking toward her, a determined glint
in his piercing blue eyes.
What the hell was he doing here? Seeing him in the flesh after a month
was a jolt to her system. She felt as if she’d been doused in ice cold water.
Or punched right in the face. Somehow she found her voice. “Stand down,
Vincent. Now. He’s not a threat.” Well, not to Berr. But he was a complete
threat to her sanity.
She didn’t have to give any more explanation than that. Vincent stopped
where he was, but his hand was close to drawing one of his concealed
weapons from beneath his jacket.
Berr stiffened beside her, but then he shifted and must have seen who
was walking toward them because he relaxed. “He’s fine, Iris. He’s joining
in the meeting tonight. Last minute addition.”
Okay, that would have been nice to know, but she held her tongue.
Mainly because she was having a damn hard time finding her voice. Her
stomach tightened because of a whole mess of reasons, none of which she
wanted to contemplate right now. As her pulse started to race, she bit back
her anger at the affect he always had on her. Shit, shit, shit.
“Wyatt, good to see you. Thought you’d already be in the meeting by
now. We’re running a bit late.” Berr held out a friendly hand to Wyatt, but
the other man’s laser-like focus was all on Iris. And he was pissed. The
anger rolling off him was almost palpable. “This is Iris Tarango, my date
for the evening.”
Iris swallowed hard. Oh, Wyatt freaking Christiansen knew her very
well. Too well. They’d grown up together, been friends for a long time, then
a month ago she’d gone and done the dumbest thing ever.
She’d married the frustratingly sexy man.
“Berr, get your fucking hands off my wife before I rip your goddamn arm
off.” A muscle ticked in Wyatt’s sculpted jaw, his voice a razor sharp blade.
Iris had seen that look before and she knew this situation was about to
get out of control fast if she didn’t do something. Berr jerked beside her and
actually tried to pull his arm away. Oh, hell no. She might be in a state of
shock at seeing Wyatt after so many weeks but she had a job to do. “Wyatt,
I’m working so there’s no need for pretense. I’m not actually his date so get
your shit together and get over it. If you make a scene, I’ve got five guys
surrounding me that will tackle your ass—if I don’t do it myself. However,
I’d rather not ruin my dress.”
Wyatt’s expression went lethally dark, but she ignored him. It wasn’t her
fault he refused to even discuss divorce. He wanted some Martha Stewart
type wife who stayed home and baked and did all that other kind of shit.
He’d made that perfectly clear so he had no right to even call her his wife.
Turning, she practically dragged a shocked Berr with her as they strode
toward the waiting staircase. Maybe it was the hard expression on her face,
but it was as if people just parted for them, creating a clear and wide path.
She could hear Wyatt’s growl of frustration behind her, but she ignored him.
The man wouldn’t actually make a scene. Or she hoped he wouldn’t
because the truth was, as trained as her people were, Wyatt fought dirty and
he was lethal too. The man had been Force Recon years ago, but more
importantly he’d grown up like her. They’d both had to learn to defend
themselves from predators early on. Fighting fair was a concept neither of
them abided by.
“Dude, did that guy just call you his wife?” Vincent asked what she knew
everyone else on their radio frequency wanted to know.
The earpieces were part of the job but right now she wished everyone on
her team hadn’t just heard his question. “Shut it, Vincent, and do your job.”
She’d fought hard enough to get where she was and she didn’t have to
explain herself to anyone.
Still, she understood why everyone would be curious about the sudden
mention of a husband. Wyatt lived clear across the country in Vegas and a
month ago she’d had temporary insanity and married her childhood friend
while on vacation there. The best damn vacation she’d ever had. When
she’d returned home to Miami—or rather, ran as fast as she could—she
hadn’t told a soul about it because she’d planned to get a quickie divorce.
Of course Wyatt wasn’t making that easy on her.
She wished she could be surprised that Wyatt was here, but after a month
of arguing every time they spoke on the phone—and him ignoring her
request for a divorce or annulment—she’d known he’d be visiting her in
Miami soon. She just hadn’t expected it to be this soon. Their marriage had
been a giant mistake. It wasn’t like they could base a relationship on hot
sex. Okay, maybe there was a little more than that between them. Wyatt was
one of the few people who knew where she came from. Hell, the man knew
more about her than almost anyone, but they were too different and if they
tried to make their so-called marriage work, in the end they’d just resent
each other when it didn’t work out. She’d seen first-hand what happened
when a volatile marriage didn’t work out and she never wanted to get to the
point where she hated Wyatt. Or worse, he hated her. She’d never be what
he needed and Iris would rather make a clean break. Neat and tidy.
How she liked her life.
Even if her insides were a quivering mess, she refused to let anyone see
how affected she was. But once this job was over tonight, she planned to
have more than just a glass of wine. Yeah, tonight was definitely a whiskey
night.
Chapter 2
Wyatt barely contained the primitive urge to chase after his wife, throw
her over his shoulder and get the hell out of there. This was the last place he
wanted to be. He avoided parties like this whenever possible, but he was out
of patience where Iris was concerned. He’d waited a fucking month for her
to come to her senses—and come back to him. He wasn’t waiting anymore.
Not when she belonged with him.
Always had.
He watched her walk away from him, her long, lean body moving with a
liquid grace that got him impossibly hot. She’d done that to him since they
were teenagers. They’d both grown up in a small Georgia town that might
as well have been the middle of nowhere. He’d been the son of the town
drunk and her mother had been one of the few Native Americans living
there. Because of small-minded, ignorant assholes they’d both been looked
down upon because of their families so they’d formed a fast friendship at a
young age. When they’d been just ten-years-old he’d caught some redneck
boys calling her racist slurs and bullying her on her way home from school.
Well, trying to. Before he had a chance to step in and defend her, she
decked one of the boys right across the face, breaking his nose and nailed
the other in the groin.
Fucking tough.
She’d always been like that and he loved it. Hell, that day he’d fallen a
little in love with her. Even if the job she worked now scared the hell out of
him, he needed her in his life. Needed her more than his next breath. Wyatt
didn’t want her protecting other people, putting herself in danger on a daily
basis. He got hives just thinking about it.
Watching her in that skintight black dress that hugged her curves in all
the right places as she held onto another man’s arm was making him crazy.
She’d secured her silky dark hair back against her neck in a complicated
looking twist. It wasn’t for fashion; Wyatt knew that much about his Iris. It
was so her hair wouldn’t get in her way if she needed to move fast. But he’d
seen it down, had felt it splayed against his bare chest as she slept on him.
Dark brown hair that looked midnight black in the right lighting. He craved
to run his fingers through it, to cup her head and pull her body tight against
his. And what a body—long, lean and perfect. When she was younger she’d
been self-conscious about being too thin, but she’d grown into her body and
her breasts…he’d been fantasizing about them for a long damn time. A
month ago he’d finally had one of his fantasy questions answered when he
discovered the color of her nipples; dark brown. He’d also found out her
favorite sexual positions and what she sounded and looked like when she
came.
Even if he knew it was just part of her job, his possessive side didn’t
want to listen to her order. And he actually liked Gene Berr. The man was
smart and honest to deal with. The latter was something Wyatt considered
very important. He dealt with a lot of sharks in his world—he could be one
himself—but he wouldn’t deal with liars. Still, he didn’t like anyone
touching Iris.
One of the men he’d noticed earlier, who was definitely part of Iris’s
security team, no matter how much he was trying to blend in, eyed Wyatt
suspiciously as he strode toward the stairs. The man’s pale blue eyes were a
bright contrast against his dark skin. Wyatt guessed the man used that look
to intimidate people when he wanted. It was a waste of time on him.
Ignoring him and the others he knew were with Iris, he headed for the
stairs, following her and Berr at a distance that wouldn’t make the team feel
threatened. He wasn’t interested in the three companies being sold off, but
when he’d learned Iris would be here tonight, Wyatt had orchestrated an
invite. It was time they figured things out between them.
Once inside the expansive conference room, their host, Palmer Oakes,
liked to conduct business in, Wyatt’s gaze immediately tracked Iris. She
stood by one of the wood-paneled walls, her alert espresso colored eyes
taking in everything and everyone. Assessing and calculating, she was
ready to move into action at a moment’s notice. She wavered when her gaze
raked over him. Just for a moment, but he had no doubt that he unnerved
her.
Good.
While he wanted her to acknowledge him a hell of a lot more than that,
now wasn’t the time or the place. He gave her a look he hoped she
understood. Soon they would talk and he’d have her flat on her back,
underneath him, and crying out his name as she climaxed around his cock.
Very soon.
Her dark eyes widened as if she’d read his mind before she glanced away
and he felt the loss immediately. Sighing, he rolled his shoulders once. Now
he needed to act like the civilized businessman he was and get this shit over
with. Nodding at Berr, Oakes and the fourth man joining them for the night,
he sat with them at the end of the long, rectangular conference table and let
the negotiations begin.
There were only two security personnel in the room, including Iris.
Everyone else had been left outside. Wyatt had left his own men
downstairs. The party was well guarded and he knew this room was
military-level secure, having been in it more than once. Oakes dealt with
various government contracts and though Wyatt preferred to deal with the
private sector, he occasionally worked with the government. Hell, he had a
huge deal lined up with a certain branch and negotiations were slated to
start next month.
Barely two minutes into their negotiations, Berr received a phone call.
From out of the corner of his eye, Wyatt noticed Iris touch her ear, clearly in
contact with one of her security team. After a few moments of one word
responses, Berr abruptly stood, shoving the chair back against the hardwood
floor. “Gentlemen, I have to go. I apologize.”
Iris straightened and stepped toward him, her low heels clicking against
the floor. She clearly knew what was going on because she gave Berr a
brisk nod. “Let’s go.”
Worry for Iris built inside him. Even though he had no idea what was
going on, Wyatt knew when she stepped outside that door she’d once again
be putting herself in danger. Unable to stop himself, he stood and crossed
the floor before they reached the door. “Iris,” he said quietly.
Her hand was gripping Berr’s upper arm as if she had to hold him up.
The man’s face was pale and worried, but Wyatt ignored him.
Iris’s dark eyebrows rose slightly, her expression wary. “Yes?”
“Will you call me tonight?” God help him, he needed to know she was
safe. Even if she only called and spoke to him for a few seconds, he just
wanted to hear her voice.
She paused, the moment seeming to stretch on for an eternity. He hated
making himself vulnerable in front of anyone, especially a room full of
sharks who would rip apart any perceived weakness, but at the moment he
didn’t care.
Iris was and always had been his weakness.
“Of course,” she murmured, her eyes softening for just a second before
her familiar mask fell back into place.
Then she and Berr were gone.
*****
Iris kept a firm grip on Berr’s upper arm as they headed down the stairs.
This time the team didn’t bother trying to be invisible to the partygoers. In
addition to her, they surrounded him in a tight circle as they hurried through
the house.
“I’m not going to collapse,” Berr muttered as they eventually reached the
waiting SUV. Vincent was already in the driver’s seat as she helped Berr
into the backseat.
“I know.” But she figured he might need the support right now and didn’t
want to admit it. “She’s fine, so you’ll be fine too.” Iris knew saying the
words out loud would help him stay calm on the drive to Loretta’s house.
They’d received word from one of her team that Loretta’s house had been
broken into while Berr had been at the meeting tonight. Turns out Berr
wasn’t the one being stalked, Loretta was. By one of Berr’s exes. The
gunshot she’d suffered earlier in the week hadn’t been intended for Berr.
Now Iris was incredibly thankful she’d left two extra men to guard Loretta.
It had saved the woman’s life tonight.
“I should have been there with her.” He glanced out the tinted window as
they zoomed away.
“She insisted you go and Loretta is forceful.” The petite woman with
flawless skin had been laid up with a gunshot wound and she’d still been a
little terrifying.
“I should have—”
“There’s nothing you could have done. And she’s alive.” That was what
mattered. According to her teammate, the woman who’d wanted to hurt
Loretta was now dead, one of Red Stone’s guys having been forced to kill
her in self-defense.
Iris figured that it might take Berr a while to come to terms with the fact
that a woman he’d once been involved with had tried to kill someone
important to him—and was now dead. She rubbed a hand over her face.
What a mess.
There would be a whole lot of paperwork and a trip down to the police
station tonight. She didn’t have to go, but if one of her men was filling out a
report and being interviewed by the police, she wanted to be there with him.
Iris also had a feeling that her boss, Harrison Caldwell, would show up too.
And he’d bring a lawyer or two.
They drove in silence, taking only fifteen minutes to arrive at the quiet,
middle class neighborhood on the outskirts of the downtown area. She
could see the flashing blue and red lights bouncing off the trees of the dead
end street before they’d reached the one-story cottage style home.
There were four police cars, two ambulances, a fire truck and two black
SUVs Iris knew were owned by Red Stone. Oh yeah, total mess. Before
Vincent had even parked, Berr had jumped from the backseat and was
sprinting across the asphalt.
“Crap,” she muttered, unsnapping her own seat belt and following suit.
A police officer with blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun held up a
hand as Berr neared the cordoned off area. The cops hadn’t taped anything
off, but they’d set up small cones signaling where civilians weren’t allowed
past and Berr didn’t look as if he planned to stop for anyone.
“Sir—” The woman stopped as Loretta cut her off with a shout.
“Gene!” Loretta sat on the back of one of the ambulances, a uniformed
EMT in front of her. She waved a hand, swatting at the man who tried to
stop her, and slid off her seat. Wearing a knee-length purple tube top-style
dress, her bandaged shoulder was visible but she looked well enough
considering everything. While her face was pale, she was definitely relieved
to see Berr.
Berr didn’t pause as he crossed the distance between them. Loretta
looked like she was about to say something, but Berr kissed her hard. Even
though he was Iris’s client and she was supposed to be watching him at all
times, Iris turned to the side to give them a little privacy. She ruthlessly
buried the unwanted emotions that built inside her as she thought of the
closeness she’d shared with Wyatt only a month ago. He’d kissed her the
same way Berr was kissing Loretta now. The need and hunger emanating
off both of them was almost palpable. And she so did not need to see that.
Not when she was already a conflicting mess of emotions.
She found Vincent hovering behind her. Kell and another Red Stone
agent were talking to the female officer, no doubt letting her know who they
were and why they were there.
For the next few minutes Iris and Vincent kept an eye on Berr and
Loretta who couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Eventually Vincent
opened his big mouth, just like she knew he would. “How is it that you’re
married, Iris? And how come none of us know about it? And why weren’t
we invited to the wedding?”
“Seriously?” Her head snapped up and she glared at him. He wanted to
talk about this in front of a client? Well, Berr wasn’t exactly in hearing
range, but the timing was inappropriate. Besides, she couldn’t find the right
words to tell her coworkers that she’d had a quickie marriage in Vegas a
month ago but now wanted a divorce without sounding like a flake. It was
too personal and she didn’t want others knowing all about her business. Her
private life was just that. Private.
Kell tried to smother a laugh with a cough as he strode up to them. It was
a pathetic attempt.
“What? I’m curious.” Vincent shrugged, those pale eyes of his flashing
with amusement.
She half nodded in Berr’s direction, hoping Vincent would get the hint,
but the client was now feet away from them and looking at her. Iris glanced
over his shoulder to find Loretta talking to a police officer and an EMT.
“I’m curious too. Wyatt Christiansen…” Berr trailed off, shaking his
head, his gaze growing speculative. “It makes sense that he’d end up with a
woman like you.”
Despite her desire to end this conversation immediately, a spark of anger
popped inside her. What was up with a relative stranger talking to her like
that? “Like me?”
He held up his hands in a placating gesture. “I just meant…bad ass.
Harrison gave me your resume. It’s impressive. You and Christiansen fit,
that’s all I’m saying.” Berr turned back to watch Loretta. “She said to give
her a few minutes while she packs a bag. They wanted to take her to the
hospital but she’s not injured and she refuses to go so we’re taking her to
my house.”
Iris nodded at him then looked at Vincent and Kell. “You two escort them
back to his house. I’m going to the station. Are the cops okay with our
presence?” Depending upon who was on duty made a difference for Red
Stone’s reception anywhere.
“Yeah,” Kell said. “And Harrison’s on his way to the station. I figured
you’d be going so he’s meeting you there instead of coming here.”
“Good. Call me if there’s a problem.” Iris said a polite goodbye to Berr,
then headed toward the closest police officer.
She tried to clear her head of all thoughts Wyatt, but couldn’t get his sexy
image out of her head. And she wanted to throttle Vincent for bringing up
her marriage. She still couldn’t believe she’d married Wyatt and she
certainly didn’t want to talk about it when her husband refused to divorce
her. Stubborn ass.
A month ago she’d had to take her vacation time or lose it and had no
clue where to go when Wyatt had asked her to visit Vegas for the week.
He’d just bought another hotel out there and she’d needed the break so
she’d gone. They’d been friends for a long damn time, but they’d somehow
ended up married her second night there. Okay, there was no ‘somehow’
about it. She’d been completely sober, unless you counted being high from
the most addictive sex she’d ever had. After making the jump from friends
to lovers so quickly they’d spent the next week practically naked the entire
time, and fucking on any surface they could. Wyatt had been adamant that
she wear his ring, that she show she was his. God, the man was so
possessive and with anyone else it would annoy the shit of her. But with
him, it terrified her because she felt possessive about him too. Always had.
But what chance did they have of making things work?
She felt her cheeks heating up as she thought about those nights—and
days—wrapped up in his strong arms. Damn Wyatt for being so sexy and
stubborn. All it had taken was one look at him tonight and she’d wanted to
run her hands through his jet black hair and pull his mouth to hers. Then rip
his clothes off and let him completely dominate her. She’d never been like
that with anyone else, but letting Wyatt take control came so naturally it
made her want to run far and fast from him.
Mentally shaking herself, Iris forced thoughts of him from her head.
Berr’s threat might be eliminated, but she wasn’t going to be distracted.
Until this job was officially over, she had to stay focused. She hadn’t gotten
to where she was by letting her emotions rule her and she wasn’t about to
start tonight. Something Wyatt should be aware of by now.
Chapter 3
Iris kept her lights off in her room as she stripped off her dress and shoes.
She could move around her house blindfolded if necessary. After securing
her weapons and washing her face she fell into bed with just her panties on.
It was four o’clock in the morning and she didn’t care about showering or
pajamas. Wyatt had liked her to sleep naked but that didn’t come naturally
to her. Gah, why was she thinking about him?
Because you want him naked and on top of you, that’s why.
Sighing, she snagged her cell phone from where she’d left it on her
nightstand. A month of arguing was enough. They needed to settle things
between them like adults. The scorching sex between them had really
thrown her for a loop. No, that was an understatement. It had disrupted her
entire world like an out-of-control volcano. She’d always been attracted to
him, but had never wanted to cross that line. He’d been in her life too long
to risk that. So was she a coward for running from him? Absolutely.
Now was time to rectify that. They needed to talk and more than
anything he had to see reason and give her a divorce. Then maybe they
could build their former relationship back. Okay, she doubted things would
ever be the same and that killed her inside, but she couldn’t stay married to
him. Not when she’d never be the type of woman he wanted forever. He’d
made that clear their last day together… She shook her head, shoving those
thoughts from her mind.
She scrolled to his name and pressed send. Cringing, she closed her eyes
as the phone started ringing. One ring, two ring, three rings… It was four,
but he was normally up at this time and he’d asked her to call but maybe—
“Hello?” A very husky, sexy female voice answered, jarring Iris out of
her thoughts.
Her throat seized. What the hell?
“Hello? Is anyone there?” the woman asked again.
Iris cleared her throat and found her voice. “Is Wyatt there?”
“He’s busy right now, may I take a message?” The woman was perfectly
polite, but Iris felt jealousy rising inside her like a raging fire, burning away
at her reasoning and making her want to strike out at a complete stranger.
Some woman was answering Wyatt’s phone at four in the morning?
Yeah, she didn’t like that one bit. She forced her jaw to unclench. “Tell him
his wife called.” Unable to say anything else, she hung up and set the phone
back on the dresser.
She knew Wyatt had multiple assistants so maybe that was one of them.
Maybe. Ugh. Iris hated the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that
threatened to overtake her. She wasn’t a jealous or possessive person by
nature, but Wyatt just brought that out in her. Which was another reason she
needed to stay away from the man. Control was one of the most important
things to her.
Letting out a frustrated groan, Iris turned off her phone so she could
sleep uninterrupted and curled up under her soft covers. She hadn’t slept in
nearly two days because of work. Worrying about anything else right now
was stupid when deep down she knew that Wyatt wouldn’t sleep with
someone else while they were still legally bound. It wasn’t the way he was
hardwired. And she needed rest in the worst way. When she talked to Wyatt
she needed to be on her game. Because if he sensed any weakness, he’d
pounce and take full advantage.
*****
Wyatt looked up from his laptop as the door to his office opened. He’d
recently bought a home in Miami and was settling into this one more
quickly than normal. Probably because the thought of living here on a
permanent basis was easier than he’d imagined. Because the sole reason he
wanted to stay lived here too. He just needed Iris to talk to him about why
she’d disappeared from his hotel one morning a month ago. After a week of
non-stop sex he’d assumed things were great. They’d had breakfast, talked
about the future, then he’d gone to work for a few hours and when he’d
come back, she’d been gone. At first he’d assumed she was lounging by the
pool, but then he’d realized all her bags were gone. In their place she’d left
him a pathetic note telling him she had to get back to work, but she’d call
him as soon as she landed in Miami. She’d never called. Instead he’d
received standard divorce papers two days later.
He got pissed even thinking about it. Divorce? It shredded him that she
could trivialize their marriage like that. He’d been holding back his feelings
for her for what felt like forever. Feeling a dark mood settle over him, he
looked up at his new assistant hovering in the doorway. The twenty-fouryear-old woman was more than competent and came highly recommended,
but she’d answered his bloody phone this morning and hadn’t gotten him in
time to talk to Iris. Now Iris’s phone was turned off and he was edgy at
being unable to speak to her. “Yeah?”
Ellie’s lips pulled into a thin line. “Don’t growl at me. I’ve already said
I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize the number and…” She threw up her hands in
exasperation. “We have a problem. One of your security team saw someone
leaving the house.”
Annoyance quickly disappearing, he stood. “Leaving? From where? Who
saw it?” he asked as he rounded the desk.
Before she could answer, Jay stepped up behind her, his large frame
filling out most of the doorway and dwarfing Ellie. As Wyatt’s longest-term
employee, Jay did a little bit of everything and was more or less his live-in
bodyguard. “One of the temps saw a person wearing all black leaving from
the east side of your house. A side window into the kitchen was found
unlocked but nothing is disturbed. The individual disappeared through the
east side hedges and by the time we followed, they were gone. I don’t even
know in which direction.”
“Man or woman?”
“Couldn’t tell. Lean, very fast, individual likely five feet eight, hair and
face disguised by a full face mask.”
Wyatt frowned. He’d just arrived in Miami and while he’d had some
security concerns in Vegas he hadn’t thought that would follow him here.
The security system that had come with the house needed a serious upgrade,
but it hadn’t been his top priority since arriving. Now it was. “And nothing
was taken?”
“Not that we can tell, but we’re taking inventory and checking for
explosives.”
His frown deepened as various scenarios raced through his mind. “Do a
full sweep of the kitchen. Check the food, drinks, everything.” He received
his fair share of death threats so it wasn’t a completely foreign concept that
someone would try to poison him. It had happened a couple of times in the
past, always when he was working on a big deal. Competitors got desperate
sometimes.
Jay nodded and turned away, not needing further instructions.
“What should I do? Should I call the police?” Ellie’s face had paled a
fraction as it dawned on her why he was having Jay check the food.
Wyatt held back a snort. He respected law enforcement but there wasn’t
anything they could do other than take a report. Which would just waste his
time. “Get Harrison Caldwell’s number for me.”
He might hate that the woman he loved put herself in danger every time
she went to work, but Red Stone Security was the best protection agency in
the region. And if he had to hire Iris as his personal security to get her to
talk to him, he’d do it. He clearly needed the extra protection right now and
the thought of Iris protecting him with her body…oh yeah, he could get on
board with that. Wyatt knew that under normal circumstances she’d never
be allowed to guard him. It would be a conflict of interest. But he’d done a
huge favor for Keith Caldwell, Harrison’s father, a few years ago, and the
man owed him. It was time to collect.
*****
Sato called her contact on one of her burner phones as she drove down
Highway 95. She’d waited until she was completely sure she hadn’t been
followed from her quick escape of San Marino Island. Miami wasn’t a place
she’d worked before so she was still learning the layout of the different
areas. There were a few manmade islands with atrociously priced homes on
them in the South Beach area. Of course that’s where her target lived.
Harder to access just like the other villas and mansions that were located on
the various Venetian Islands, but she would have no problem taking Wyatt
Christiansen out. If he wasn’t dead already.
Sato favored poisons, the sort that were undetectable until the target
consumed them, but someone had seen her leaving. She’d decided to break
into his villa in the early morning hours when most people were sleeping.
After finding a couple holes in his security, she’d opted to enter through the
kitchen and lay her trap there. But since someone had seen her leaving she
had no doubt Christiansen would have the place searched for every possible
threat. Bugs, bombs and poisons. It was standard operating procedure for a
man in his position.
She’d laced the exclusive, insanely expensive, coffee she knew only he
drank. Unlike her previous targets, her file on Christiansen was limited and
this job had been last minute.
Too last minute.
Now she was rushing when she preferred to prep for weeks or months if
possible. Leaving anything to chance went against her meticulous nature. It
was why she was one of the best in the business and highly sought after.
“Is it done?” her contact asked, his voice impatient.
“Possibly, but someone saw me leaving so I’ll likely have to find another
way.” Sato’s contact wanted Christiansen killed quietly. Nothing messy or
that would hurt anyone else. He was the sole target. Unfortunately that
meant she couldn’t use a bomb because of the risk of collateral damage.
“I hired you because you came highly recommended. I didn’t expect
sloppiness,” he snapped, heat invading his words.
It hadn’t been sloppy. One of the guards had changed up his routine. It
was why she’d been spotted. But she held her tongue. The man had already
paid her half her fee and she would finish no matter what. If she didn’t she
wouldn’t receive the other half of her money and it would damage her
reputation. In her business, reputation was everything. “It will be done in
the timeframe you’ve given me.” Three days.
“It better be. Don’t call me again until it’s done.” He disconnected.
Sato took out the battery with one hand and tossed the pieces onto the
floorboard of the passenger side. She’d be torching the stolen car as soon as
she found a vacant lot and wouldn’t be using that phone again. While she’d
worn gloves and had been careful to cover her entire body, she believed in
being extra careful. She’d been working as a hired assassin for three years
now and loved the income. Some in her field of work enjoyed the rush of
power it gave them, but she felt none of that. She just liked to see the
number in her bank account rise. If she played her cards right she’d be able
to retire in two years. She refused to end up like her mother, poor and
dependent on some abusive, sorry excuse for a man to take care of her. She
took care of herself and planned to make enough money to last ten
lifetimes. And killing Wyatt Christiansen would add a sizeable amount to
her growing nest egg.
Chapter 4
Iris arched her back, pushing her breast farther into Wyatt’s hungry
mouth. Water from the giant marble-tiled hotel shower rushed down over
them, the sound of it hitting the glass door seeming loud in the enclosure.
He lightly pressed down with his teeth and tugged her nipple, sending a
pulsing sweep of need through her. The man was too talented with his
tongue. He was going to drive her insane with the need to come.
She was pinned up against the slick wall with one of his big hands
clasping her hip tightly and the other cupping her bare mound—which he’d
just shaved for her this morning. Watching him do that had been erotic as
hell and his absolute gentleness had taken her by surprise. Even though he
cupped her most intimate place, he still hadn’t penetrated her. And it was
making her crazy. Instead, he gently teased her wet slit and occasionally
rubbed her pulsing clit with his thumb. Her inner walls clenched
convulsively, needing to be filled by him. But he was taking his damn time.
And he knew exactly how much he was torturing her. Maddening man.
When he drew his mouth away from her breast, she moaned in
displeasure, but he began a light trail of kisses along her chest, moving
until he reached her throat. He hadn’t shaved in a couple days so his
stubble rubbed against her, lightly scratching her skin. The feel of it was
wildly erotic.
“Who do you belong to?” He growled against her neck, his teeth nipping
at her.
Oh, God, he wanted to play this game again. He’d forced her to let her
guard down with him in a way she’d never done with anyone else. Just last
night she’d let him tie her to his bed, something she’d never thought she’d
want to do. But giving up control to him had been so freeing. She knew he’d
never hurt her and he played her body like she’d never imagined. He was so
damn dominant during sex but he’d proved to her that she could trust him
absolutely when she gave up control. All he wanted to do was bring her
pleasure.
Still, she held off on responding. She liked to tease him and if she was
being honest, she loved it when he got worked up and possessive. The man
was so controlled—except with her. Then he let his guard down too. Well, at
least in the bedroom.
He ran his finger along the length of her slit again and she pushed
forward, trying to force him to give her more friction. He let out an amused
breath against her neck before sucking on her earlobe. “Say it.” A soft, but
serious demand.
“You,” she rasped out because it was true. She wished she’d held out
longer, but she just wanted release right now. Her body was trembling for it.
The second she spoke, he pushed two fingers inside her. She was so slick
with need and the feel of him sliding in her was such a sweet relief. Her
inner walls tightened around him.
As he began moving inside her in slow—too slow—strokes, she could feel
the need already building inside her. She’d climaxed an hour ago, but Wyatt
had turned her into someone she barely recognized. She loved sex, but she’d
always been able to take it or leave it. Usually leave it because her partners
could never figure out what she wanted in bed. Wyatt certainly had no
problem reading her. Sometimes it was like he was inside her head. She
threaded her fingers through his dark hair, clasping his head as he flicked
his tongue against her ear. Shivers spiraled through her, singing all her
nerve endings.
“I want you here with me all the time.” There he went again with that
deep voice. It rolled through her, making her nipples pebble even tighter.
“When you quit your job we…”
The rest of his words funneled out as all the blood rushed to her ears.
Quit her job? What the hell was he talking about? It was hard to think
straight when he was teasing her so expertly and after he crushed his mouth
over hers, in the next few seconds she completely pushed everything else out
of her mind. They’d talk later…
Iris opened her eyes, blinking into the semi-darkness of her room as the
remnants of her dream faded away. A dream based on a very real memory
that she just wanted to forget. She shook her head, still trying to clear the
images and convince herself that she was alone, not in that hotel shower
with Wyatt naked and about to come. She sat up and rubbed a hand over her
face. The clock on her nightstand read three o’clock. She hadn’t slept as
long as she thought she would, but once she was awake there was no going
back to sleep. After turning on her cell phone she took a long, hot shower
that did nothing to ease the tension spreading through her shoulders.
Ever since she’d left Vegas she’d had hot, sweaty dreams about Wyatt,
but this one had jarred her. His words from her dream, “When you quit your
job” rung annoyingly loud in her head. It still pissed her off that he’d just
assumed she’d want to quit work. As if she wanted him to take care of her.
She forced her fist to unclench so she could shampoo her hair. Deep down,
she knew that wasn’t her problem with him though. Wyatt made her feel so
damn out of control with her emotions. He made her feel vulnerable in a
way no one else had the capacity to. And giving up control in her life? No
way.
She remained under the hot jets until her skin started to wrinkle. The
second she turned off the shower she could hear the insistent beep from her
cell telling her she had voicemail. A very big part of her hoped Wyatt had
called back, but then she chastised herself for being so damn giddy at the
thought of hearing his voice.
The first was from Wyatt, but she couldn’t read his tone. He simply said,
“Call me back…please.” The last word was strained because saying that
word didn’t come naturally for him. Wyatt’s dominant attitude stretched to
all areas of his life and sometimes he liked to demand things instead of
asking.
The next call was from her boss, Harrison, and his message was similar
in length and content. What was it with these men? Since it was her day off
it was unusual for Harrison to call her especially since she’d seen him at the
police station last night. Maybe something else had happened. Unable to
deal with Wyatt just yet, she called Harrison back first.
He answered on the first ring. “How’re you feeling?” he asked without
any preamble.
“Uh, fine. How’s Berr?” Last night hadn’t been that difficult. Well,
Wyatt’s unexpected arrival had thrown her for a loop but the job with Berr
had gone smoothly.
“Good. Wants to hire us for another job in a few weeks. Out of town
thing. Listen, I know you’ve got the next few days off but I have a job for
you. Similar to the Berr job, but a live-in thing for a few days and you’d be
going to a couple meetings with the principal. You’ll have a team plus the
principal’s normal security.”
Right now she needed work to keep her busy. “Okay. Have you sent me
the file already?”
He paused for a moment. “No. Before I do, we need to talk. Wyatt
Christiansen is the client.”
Iris tensed at his words. Hearing Wyatt’s name from her boss completely
threw her off balance. If Wyatt wanted to hire Red Stone that meant he
needed extra security. She hated the thought of him in danger.
Without giving her a chance to respond, Harrison barreled on. “I don’t
like the idea of you guarding him, especially since I found out you two are
fucking married. It goes against protocol, but…my father owes him a favor
and he’s apparently collecting. You still have the option of declining this job
though. You want it, it’s yours. If not, it’s going to Betina.”
If Iris had claws, they’d have sprouted at the woman’s name. Tall,
blonde, beautiful and bitchy as anything—hell, no. Iris inwardly groaned at
her stupid possessiveness. Betina was more than qualified, but Iris sure as
hell didn’t want the woman guarding Wyatt and posing as his damn date.
Not when he was married to her.
Married. Gah, she’d been avoiding even thinking the ‘M’ word. “I’ll take
it.” She didn’t have to think long because she could tell by Harrison’s tone
he was close to changing his mind anyway. “Being professional won’t be a
problem.” Not for her, anyway. And she’d make it clear to Wyatt where
things stood between them while they worked together.
“I’m not worried about that with you. Seriously though…I send you on
vacation, you get married and don’t tell anyone?”
Iris cleared her throat, unsure what to say. The question sounded
rhetorical anyway. While her first instinct was to say they’d be getting an
annulment or divorce soon, she couldn’t force the words past her lips. She
wasn’t sure why, but saying them out loud to someone else just felt wrong.
“Yeah, well…I’ll read that file as soon as you send it. When am I meeting
the team and setting up?”
“Tonight if that’s okay with you. The team’s already there but I want you
taking point. There was a potential threat at his house and—”
Panic punched through her at the thought of anything happening to
Wyatt. It completely shredded her. She might not want to be his wife, but
she still cared about him. Deeply. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, no one was injured and the suspect escaped. It’s all in the file.
Call me if you have any questions. If not, let me know when you arrive. I
want to be kept up to date more frequently with this job.”
“No problem.” As soon as they disconnected she located her laptop and
fired it up. Before she called Wyatt she wanted to know what she was
walking into. The man might drive her insane, but if anyone could keep him
safe, it was her. There was no way she was letting anyone harm him.
*****
Iris dropped her green military duffle bag she’d had since her years in the
Corps on the tiled foyer of her home. She still held onto the garment bag
which contained two formal dresses as she punched in her security code.
After it beeped once she opened the front door and hurried outside. She’d
have only ten seconds before it armed and the piercing sound it would make
if she didn’t get outside fast enough was beyond annoying.
As she hefted her bag on her shoulder, she paused at the sight of a dark
SUV with tinted windows pulling into her driveway. It wasn’t one of Red
Stone’s vehicles. Different model and newer year than they typically used.
And she’d told Harrison that she’d drive herself to Wyatt’s new home. She
still couldn’t believe he’d actually bought a home in Miami—something she
planned to ask him about as soon as she saw him.
Which might be sooner than later if this was him.
She wasn’t expecting a ride though so she casually withdrew one of her
weapons from behind her back. Some people might consider her paranoid—
and she was sometimes—but better that than dead. She might not be in the
Marines anymore, but some things went bone deep and in her opinion, there
were two kinds of people: those who were prepared and those who weren’t.
Those who weren’t ended up dead or victims, something she refused to do.
Keeping her trusty SIG out of sight, she took a couple steps down the stone
walkway, but relaxed when Jay Wentworth got out of the driver’s seat.
Jay was Wyatt’s long-time bodyguard and Iris genuinely liked him. The
man was huge, standing at six feet five and even though he was currently
wearing a dark, custom-made suit, she knew he was tatted up and down his
arms and across his chest. He’d been a SEAL until an op gone bad had
taken four of his friends’ lives. His decision to transition to civilian life had
been quick and final after that. Lucky for Wyatt, too, because the man was
loyal.
Jay nodded at her, a slight tilt of his head. His hard lips curved up into his
version of a smile. “Hey.”
Even though she was annoyed he’d showed up without calling she knew
this was Wyatt’s doing, not his. “I don’t remember asking for an escort.”
He ignored her statement. “You have more bags?” he asked as he started
to round the vehicle.
She tucked her weapon away and shook her head. “No, and I can get
these.”
He ignored her and quickly strode up the walk. She met him halfway and
let him take the bags, only because she knew he was following Wyatt’s
orders. Plus, Jay was a Southern boy, born and raised. She’d already had
this argument with him about carrying her stuff more than once in the past
and she knew when to pick her battles. She wanted to start things off on the
right foot, especially since she was going to be in charge of overall security
for the next week.
Trailing after Jay, her heart rate kicked up a notch when the back door on
the passenger side of the vehicle started to open up. Iris glanced around her
quiet neighborhood, instantly looking for any threat. After reading the
detailed file on Wyatt—and learning that Jay had found poison in Wyatt’s
ridiculously expensive coffee—she wasn’t taking any chances.
And Wyatt shouldn’t be either. Hell, the man shouldn’t even be here.
Coming out into the open like this was unnecessary until she’d done a
complete overview of potential threats. Hurrying across her lawn, she
nearly tackled him as the door opened completely. His blue eyes widened
for a fraction of a second as she jumped in the vehicle and shoved him over.
She slammed the door behind her and fought the urge to snap at him. She
might be worried about his safety, but he clearly just wanted to see her.
Before she could say anything, he fisted her hip in a tight grip and tugged
her so that she was straddling him. She knew she should protest but her
traitorous body moved over him as if it was the most natural thing in the
world—as if that was where her body belonged. After that dream she’d just
had she wanted to feel him pumping deep inside her. But this was no dream.
“What are you—”
His lips were on hers, his kiss demanding, probing and powerful. Her
entire body flared to life in that instant, need slamming into her with an
unexpected surge of intensity. She put her hands on his shoulders, ready to
push away but he beat her to it. His head pulled back a second later, his
breathing just as ragged as hers.
“I’ve missed you,” he rasped out, his eyes darkening with hunger and
need.
I’ve missed you too, she almost said, but was saved by the driver’s side
door opening. They’d only spend a freaking week together in Vegas. Sure, it
had been the best time of her life, but she missed him too much and
admitting that made her feel unbalanced. Letting him know would give him
too much control. She refused to do that.
She needed to set up ground rules during this job so she could remain
professional. Too bad it was difficult when she was actually close to Wyatt.
Just being around him and her senses went haywire.
Iris quickly slid off Wyatt and sat back on the plush, leather seat as Jay
put the SUV in reverse and studiously ignored them. She’d missed Wyatt
something fierce this past month but she didn’t want to discuss anything
personal in front of someone else. Clearing her throat, she said, “I’ve
reviewed the file on your new home and the security concerns you have.
They’re valid and I’d like to go over exactly who you’re meeting with over
the next week and who you think is the most likely individual to target you.
Poisoning something that you alone were likely to ingest was an interesting
choice and tells me a little about the person who targeted you. They don’t
want collateral damage, but that could always change if they get desperate.
I’m not sure what timeline whoever wants you dead, is working with—or if
they even have one. We’ll need to figure that out and soon.”
Wyatt’s eyes strayed to her mouth, his expression heating up and she
nudged his shoulder with hers. “Can you focus?” she whispered. “Your
security is important to me. Who’s the first name that pops into your head
as a threat?”
“Mark Keibler,” Jay muttered from the front seat.
The name was familiar to Iris. She frowned, running through all the
information she’d read in Wyatt’s file. Keibler’s name had been linked to
one of Wyatt’s competitors, but he hadn’t had a red flag next to him.
“What’s his deal?”
“We worked together in Iraq,” Wyatt said.
When he didn’t expand, Iris cleared her throat. It was clear he didn’t
want to talk about it, but whatever the issue was, she needed to know
everything. Wyatt had been in the Marines just like her, but he’d only been
in four years. After that he’d done contract work for another four years and
made a small fortune so he could have been referencing almost eight years
of possible time where he’d worked with this guy. “Feel like expanding?”
She glanced around their surroundings as Jay drove them through quiet,
residential streets. He was taking the long way to Wyatt’s place on the
Venetian Islands and she was glad. It would be easier to spot if they were
being followed. Whoever wanted him dead knew where he lived, but they
might try to attack his vehicle.
“I’m watching the rearview, don’t think we’re being tailed—and this
vehicle is armored,” Jay murmured, as if he’d read her thoughts.
She smiled at him in the rearview mirror then focused on Wyatt who was
watching her intently, those piercing blue eyes unnerving her. “What’s up
with you and Keibler?”
“We did some contract work together in Iraq. Worked for different
companies, but our groups teamed up together for a couple special
operations. He made a bad call on an op, I called him out and it turned out I
was right. He’s held a grudge ever since.” Wyatt’s words were clipped, his
jaw clenched tight.
Oh yeah, he was holding something back. She looked to the front seat
and caught Jay’s eye as they pulled up to a stop. “Give me all the details,
Jay.”
“I can’t tell you the operation specifics, but Wyatt was team leader of his
guys and Keibler was team leader of his men. I don’t know what the fuck
that guy was thinking, but Keibler mapped out this detail that would have
led their teams and the principal—a US Senator who will remain nameless
—right through a valley and into a trap. He changed plans at the last minute
so Wyatt got out of his truck and pulled a gun on Keibler in front of
everyone. Told him to back the fuck up, rerouted everyone then took over
the vehicle escorting the Senator. At the Senator’s request. To top it off
Wyatt had to play hero and got fucking shot later that day saving the man’s
life. Got a letter of recommendation and a bonus that Keibler thinks he
deserved.”
Iris had seen the long-healed bullet wound scar and had asked Wyatt
about it, but he’d brushed her off. Her eyebrows raised as she stared at him.
“So this is a male pride thing?” Something was bothering her about the way
Wyatt shifted uncomfortably in his seat. For how successful the sexy man
was, he didn’t like talking about himself or his accomplishments. She
understood that, but right now she could read his body language and he was
more than uncomfortable.
Wyatt shrugged. “I’ve also bought him and his business partner out of
some deals in the past couple years. It’s just business, not personal. He
knows that. Look, Keibler’s a dick but I don’t think he’d put out a hit on
me. If he wanted to do it, he’d do it himself. Trust me, the man is arrogant
enough.”
Iris’s lips pulled into a thin line. She planned to call Lizzy Martinez—no,
Lizzy Caldwell—computer genius who worked for Red Stone and was also
married to one of the owners and have her run everything she could on
Mark Keibler. If this guy was after Wyatt, Iris would personally destroy
him. Though she wanted to remain professional, unattached, she couldn’t.
Not with Wyatt’s life on the line. Wyatt wasn’t acting concerned, but she
knew he had to be since he’d hired Red Stone. He was very good at hiding
his emotions. The fact that he thought he needed extra security told her how
worried he was, even if he wouldn’t let anyone see it.
She pulled out her cell and quickly texted Lizzy. As she typed she said,
“By tomorrow morning I’m going to know everything about this guy, but I
need to know if there are any more surprises.”
“Wyatt…slept with a woman Keibler was seeing.” Jay’s words had Iris’s
head whipping up.
Wyatt swore under his breath as Iris looked at him. “Recently?” she bit
the word out, suddenly feeling very raw and exposed. Something she hated.
While growing up she’d taken a lot of emotional abuse from whatever man
her mother had been dating and ignorant kids at school. She needed control
in her life and Wyatt was the only man who ever left her feeling vulnerable
because she actually cared about his opinion. About him. The thought of
him sleeping with another woman while they were supposedly married tore
at her gut.
“No!” He shot Jay a murderous look before returning his attention to Iris.
“It was almost seven years ago, even before that op that went bad. It was
just some random woman that worked for the State Department. She told
me she was single and I believed her. Turns out she’d been seeing Keibler
for a while.” He shrugged, but his shoulders were tense.
“So there’s definitely bad blood between you two,” she murmured more
to herself than them as her thoughts started working overtime. Wyatt might
not be convinced the man was guilty, but pride could account for a lot of
things and this guy could have been waiting for the right moment to strike.
She fixed her gaze on Wyatt. “I don’t care who you slept with in the past,
don’t keep anything from me during this detail. I need to be able to protect
you. By withholding anything you’re hurting yourself and possibly my
team.”
He looked as if he might argue, but he just nodded as his expression shut
down. Damn it, she hated it when he did that. Just pushed her out like that.
She should be grateful he was putting up walls because it would make it
easier for her to keep her distance. Unfortunately it just made her want to
knock them down and get closer to him. Oh yeah, she was totally fucked up
where he was concerned. The man made her absolutely crazy. Being in such
close quarters with him was going to make it damn hard, if not impossible,
to keep her hands off him. But if she wanted to keep him alive and
neutralize the threat, that was exactly what she had to do.
Chapter 5
Sato put the forty-two foot Hatteras in neutral, then dimmed the lights as
the boat she’d rented idled quietly in Biscayne Bay. She would have
preferred to rent a Donzi because they were a hell of a lot faster if she
needed to make a quick exit, but the speedboat wasn’t conducive to this
type of operation.
There weren’t many boats out tonight and she had her scanner on,
listening for Miami PD or Coast Guard chatter. So far all was silent, which
was perfect for what she intended.
She didn’t drop the anchor and instead let the boat slightly drift as she
went below deck to retrieve her Dragunov. While she didn’t much care for
the Russians she occasionally dealt with in her field of work, they made
damn fine weapons and she loved her sniper rifle. She preferred poison or
close-quarter killing because it was easy to confirm elimination of the
target, but right now she had to utilize whatever was at her disposal. If that
meant taking out the target with a gun, she’d go that route.
Before ascending all the way to the upper deck, she paused at the top
step and looked around the quiet bay area for any threat, but all she saw was
the coastal outline of San Marino and San Marco Islands. Using Google
Earth and actual maps, she’d pinpointed exactly where Wyatt Christiansen’s
house was along the San Marino coastline. He was south side, which would
make her escape easier—since she could use the other islands as cover if
necessary. There was a string of six palm trees blocking some windows of
the Mediterranean style mansion, but she had clear visibility of the rear
facing upstairs and downstairs windows.
She smoothly slid her rifle up on the roof of the boat covering, then
hoisted herself up. The salty air tickled her nose, making her wish she was
actually in Miami to enjoy herself. After setting up the weapon’s tripod and
aiming the rifle toward Christiansen’s house, she stretched out on the flat
surface. Since she was petite, she had enough room to be comfortable
laying there. Peering through the scope, she slowly scanned the building
and surrounding landscape. She would need to get closer to take a shot
since her scope was calibrated for a shorter distance, but right now she
wanted to do some recon to see if it was even possible. There was a covered
pool between the back lanai and the stoned area to dock a boat—or more
likely a yacht. But she’d never get close enough to come in through the
water. Not unless she used diving gear. Sato filed that thought away for later
if her other plans fell through.
The extended balcony had the shades pulled down and the two expansive
windows to the left of it were also dark. She knew from the specs of the
house she’d retrieved that was the master bathroom. Unfortunately all the
windows on the bottom floor had shades drawn also. She could see the
outline of at least four people patrolling the grounds, but didn’t doubt there
would be more she couldn’t see. After she’d been seen there early this
morning security would be increased three-fold.
When one of the shadowed figures turned in her direction and paused,
she quickly rolled off the covering then grabbed her weapon. She knew she
hadn’t done anything to give her position away, but she was on a boat in the
middle of the night just idling. If someone was looking for a threat and saw
her boat, they would automatically be suspicious. It was too dark for her to
make out the individual’s features, but by the bulk of the figure she could
tell the person who’d been looking in her direction had been male. Instead
of securing the rifle, she propped it up next to the wheel and slowly
reversed the Hatteras. Once she was closer to Hibiscus Island and out of the
line of sight, she turned her lights back on and revved the engine.
Unless the person she’d seen had been using high-powered binoculars
she doubted they’d witnessed anything useful. But a boat idling in the water
near a home that was now under tight security was reason enough to be
curious. Seemed that a hit from the water wasn’t an option—unless she did
it in the middle of the day with the help of a huge distraction. But that
meant she’d have a very dicey escape. Instead she’d try for one of
Christiansen’s upcoming meetings.
And she knew exactly how to get in. Her client wouldn’t like it, but he
was going to help her with this next step.
*****
Iris’s shoes were silent against the kitchen tile as she entered the Tuscanthemed kitchen. She and her team had secured the house and swept it twice
for bugs and explosives residue. The home had already been searched
before they arrived, but she liked to be thorough. And this time she was
being extra careful because it was Wyatt. Extra security was stationed
outside the house and would remain there all night. Normally she would
take the first night shift since she was team leader for this detail, but Wyatt
had two important meetings tomorrow and he wanted her with him at both
of them. If she was being honest, she wanted to be at them too. Despite her
resolve to resist him, she loved being near him. The thought of seeing him
in action when he was negotiating was a little hot.
“There’s a boat idling in the bay maybe half a mile out. Lights are off,”
Vincent said in her earpiece. Like Wyatt’s guard, Jay, Vincent had been a
SEAL too, but he’d been with a different team and had gone through BUDs
years after Jay had gotten out so the two men didn’t know one another.
The house was situated on the water so boat traffic was to be expected—
but a moving vessel with no lights at this time of night was odd. She started
to respond when Vincent’s words stopped her. “Never mind, they’re
leaving.”
That didn’t mean anything. “Keep an eye on the waterfront.” Someone
could try to infiltrate the premises that way. It would be difficult, but Iris
wanted to be prepared for all scenarios.
After he signed off Iris opened the stainless steel refrigerator she could
easily fit in. She was headed to Wyatt’s room before she went to bed, but
she was starving and didn’t want to face him on an empty stomach. There
was a lot of food, but everything would have to be cooked. Ugh, no thanks.
When she tried the pantry she grinned. She found graham crackers, a bag
of marshmallows and a box of unopened Hershey’s chocolate bars. Oh
yeah, Wyatt had been prepared for her. Her favorite late night snack was
placing the trio together into a s’more and melting them in the microwave.
Not exactly healthy but she didn’t care. Food in hand, she turned and yelped
to find Wyatt standing in the entryway—looking a lot more delicious than
what was in her hands.
She’d forgotten how quiet he could be when he wanted and she hated
that he could sneak up on her.
“Everything okay?” Vincent asked in her ear.
Eyes fixed on Wyatt, she said, “Yeah, I’m in the kitchen and Wyatt’s with
me. I’m going radio silent.” Without waiting for a response, she turned off
her earpiece and put it in her pocket. For a live-in job she was technically
never off-duty except when she was sleeping. Not even then really. But she
wasn’t sleeping with her earpiece in and right now the ‘client’ was in front
of her so she didn’t need to worry about keeping tabs on him.
Wyatt shoved his hands in his pants pockets and leaned against the
doorframe. His plain T-shirt molded to the cut lines and striations of his
upper arms. “Late night snack?” he murmured, seduction in his voice.
Iris wasn’t sure how he could make such a simple question sound dirty,
but the man pulled it off.
Throat tight, she nodded. “Yeah.” He’d been quiet for most of the drive
to his house, then when they’d arrived he’d had to take a phone call. Since
she’d been busy securing his home they’d barely said two words to each
other.
His dark hair was damp and slicked back—which meant he’d probably
just had a shower. He wouldn’t have taken one in the master bathroom
because she hadn’t found something to cover those windows yet. Right now
her thoughts were more on what he’d looked like naked probably ten
minutes ago as hot water pulsed over his muscular body. She could actually
picture the steam rising up around his ripped, perfect body. They’d made
love in the shower so many times that even the thought of him in one made
her nipples tighten.
“What are you thinking?” he murmured, stepping into the big pantry.
When he pulled the door shut behind him, alarm jumped inside her.
Not that he’d hurt her, but close quarters with him spelled trouble. She
set the foodstuff down on one of the shelves. “I’m thinking you better open
that door.” Instead of trying to move past him, she crossed her arms over
her chest and waited for him to comply.
His sinful lips just curved up in an almost mocking expression. “You owe
me a conversation.”
“And you want to have it in here?” She didn’t want to have it anywhere.
Not while she was working, but that was one concession she would have to
give him.
He shrugged those broad shoulders, drawing her gaze to them. She
couldn’t help but undress him with her eyes, remembering every hot inch of
his naked body. Unfortunately he knew what she was doing.
“All you have to do is ask and I’ll take my clothes off.”
Iris gritted her teeth, hating that she was so transparent to him. She
ignored the statement. “You want to talk, I’m here.”
“I don’t want a divorce,” he said quietly. At the familiar words, she
opened her mouth but he cut her off with a shake of his head, his expression
determined. “It’s my turn to talk. Do I like that your job puts you in danger
almost every day? No. Do I want you to have to work? No. But does that
mean we can’t make this work? Hell no.” Wyatt took a step closer, his large
body crowding her in the small enclosure. When he placed his hands on her
hips and pulled her close, she fought to breathe.
His familiar scent intoxicated her, making her light-headed. “I love my
job, Wyatt. And I’ll never be what you need. We’ve been friends for a long
time.” Longer than she wanted to think about. He was the only person she
still kept in touch with from their rural Georgia hometown. After her mom
had died, she’d had no ties left to it.
Except Wyatt.
And up until last month when they’d got freaking married, they’d talked
on the phone pretty much every week. Both their schedules kept them busy
and on the road, but they’d always made time for each other. Her feelings
for him ran so deep it scared her. “But you made it pretty damn clear that
you expected me to quit my job and live with you wherever that might be.”
She had nothing against stay-at-home wives and moms, some of her best
friends were, but she couldn’t do that. Still, there was more to her running
away from him—even if she wouldn’t admit it aloud.
His fingers flexed possessively on her hips and she tried to ignore the
fluttering in her belly. Damn him for his effect on her. “I said that in the
heat of the moment. We both struggled growing up and I just…I made a
stupid assumption that was obviously wrong.”
“But it’s what you want.” She placed her hands on his chest, intending to
get him to back up a step, but her fingers curled against his soft T-shirt.
Lord, she was weak where he was concerned.
His jaw tightened before he answered. “I want you safe.”
Okay, not exactly an answer. And he knew better than most that no one
was truly safe. She was highly capable and trained, just like him. “I’m not
going to change who I am or what I do to fit some mold.”
“I’m not asking you to. I just want you to give us a chance. If we end up
not being able to live with each other, we part ways.” The determined glint
in his eyes told her he’d never be satisfied until he’d completely claimed
every single part of her heart.
She’d managed to keep some control where he was concerned but the
truth was, she was terrified that he would discover she wasn’t what he
wanted, and then he’d walk away from her. Leaving her heart in shattered
pieces. And there would never be anyone else for her. She realized that on a
fundamental level. He knew everything about where she came from. They’d
both grown up in the poverty bracket, though at least her mother had always
put food on the table and kept a clean house. He’d tried to be her defender
from the time they were ten years old—though occasionally she’d punched
a few kids for giving him a hard time. He just made her feel safe, like she’d
come home. So if he rejected her once he realized she wasn’t going to turn
into someone better suited for his lifestyle…she couldn’t even think about
what that would do to her. Running from him had been total cowardice, but
she’d been the one in the driver’s seat—in control. Now there was no
escaping him. Not when he was standing right in front of her. “What exactly
do you want?”
“A trial period. We live together and act like we’re fucking married.” His
expression dark, his grip tightened again and that possessive look on his
face turned her resolve to mush.
Iris swallowed hard and even though she worried she’d live to regret her
decision, she nodded slowly. “Okay…but only after this job.” She had no
clue how long it would end up being.
He got this triumphant look on his face, but before he could speak she
pressed a finger to his lips. “I’m serious. I’ve still got a job to do. That
doesn’t change. You’re in danger and I know I should step down as team
leader because I’m emotionally invested, but I’m not going to. No one will
protect you more than I can and I’m not leaving your side until this threat is
eliminated. Whether I’m team leader or not, I’m glued to you.” Wyatt was
just as trained as she was and was more than capable of protecting himself,
but in a situation like this he needed to be focused on his job. Not worrying
about people out to kill him.
She knew Wyatt wanted to argue, could see it in his eyes, but he held
back. Okay, that said something all by itself. Internally, she let out a sigh of
relief that this wouldn’t turn into an argument.
“Then you’re definitely sleeping in my—our—bed.” The triumphant
look was back, all smug and masculine. Pure Wyatt.
Iris didn’t bother fighting her smile. “Is that all you ever think about?”
“Since we were fifteen.”
She blinked at his bold statement, taken completely off guard by the raw
honesty of his words. He didn’t give her a chance to speak, just closed the
distance between them in seconds. Before she realized what he intended his
mouth was on hers, but rather than devour her, his kisses were soft and
sweet. She could feel the pent up energy thrumming through him, despite
the show of gentleness.
Her fingers curled against his chest as need swept through her like a tidal
wave. He tensed, his body going rigid as her fingers tightened, but he kept
up those sweet kisses. When they’d fallen into bed the first time over a
month ago, things had been intense. Wyatt wasn’t a soft or romantic man.
While he was incredibly giving as a lover, he was so rough around the
edges. Of course she wouldn’t want him any other way, but right now his
tenderness was freaking her out a little.
Hot, sweaty sex she could deal with. Hell, she craved it from him. This
slowness…she didn’t know what to do with it. One of his hands slowly slid
up her body, skating over her waist, arm and shoulder before he threaded
his fingers through her hair. His hold wasn’t tight, but caressing as his
tongue danced against hers.
Iris wasn’t sure what was wrong with her, but he had her feeling edgy
and impatient. Sliding one hand down his chest and taut stomach, she didn’t
stop until she reached the button of his pants. He’d changed out of his
typical suit and now wore a comfortable T-shirt and jeans. She started to
work the button free, but he pulled back.
His pale eyes appeared darker in the dim lighting of the pantry and his
breathing was rough, uneven. He swallowed once as he stared at her. “No.”
She blinked, not sure if she understood. Since she didn’t trust her voice,
she slid her hand down until she cupped his erection over his jeans.
He let out a pained sound. “Not…right now. Let me take this slow.”
Still unsure exactly what he meant, she slid her hand back up and linked
her fingers together behind his neck. “How slow?” she murmured, loving
the feel of her body pressed up against his. No matter what, her attraction to
him was potent. It had always been there, lingering between them, but once
they’d kissed, things had turned flammable in an instant. There had been no
going back.
“I’m going to get you off with just my fingers,” he rasped out before
dipping his head until his teeth and stubble rasped against her neck.
She arched into him, wanting to tell him to stop simply because they
were in a pantry that wasn’t exactly private, but also wanting him to do
exactly what he said. A month of using her hand and fantasizing about him
was nothing compared to how he could pleasure her. She wouldn’t mind
him using his mouth too. Iris’s nipples tingled with anticipation as Wyatt’s
hand teased the hem of her button-down black blouse. With impressive
speed, he deftly pulled all the buttons free.
Looking down at her chest, he slowly peeled the shirt open. Even though
she hadn’t planned on anything, she’d worn one of the few non-utilitarian
bras she owned. Black and purple lace covered her breasts, but left little to
the imagination. It had been a gift from Wyatt, but he hadn’t seen her in it
yet. By the look of pure hunger on his face, he certainly liked what he saw.
“You like the gift?” When he met her gaze there was a trace of
uncertainty in his eyes, surprising her.
Maybe it was because he hadn’t seen her wearing it yet. She nodded,
wanting to reassure him. Any sort of vulnerability from him shredded her.
“I love it.”
He watched her then for a long moment and she forced herself not to
squirm under that intense scrutiny.
Finally he spoke, taking her off guard with his raw sensuality. “I want to
feel you coming around my fingers, then my tongue.” His words sounded
starkly over pronounced in the small enclosure. He couldn’t even tear his
gaze away from her breasts and she couldn’t seem to stop her erratic
breathing.
Having his laser-like focus on her always made her weak in the knees.
As his words penetrated the haze in her mind she wanted to shout that she
wanted that too. She’d missed the feel of him teasing and stroking her to
orgasm with nothing but his mouth and fingers—and she really missed
doing the same to him. In the bedroom they never had any communication
problems. He leaned down, his tongue skimming the top lace of the demi
cup. “Wyatt—”
Panic slammed into her sharp and steady as she heard the jingle of the
door handle. Iris shoved him to the side as the pantry door swung open. The
only reason he moved so easily was because she’d taken him off guard and
put a lot of force behind her push. He tipped off balance, cursing as he
slammed into the shelves and knocked over cans of something. She ignored
him and withdrew her weapon. A second later she slightly relaxed to find
Ellie, Wyatt’s assistant, standing there. Her dark brown eyes widened as she
stared down the barrel of the gun. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish
a few times before Iris quickly sheathed her weapon behind her back. Out
of the corner of her eye, she saw Wyatt putting his own gun up. He might
have security but he still protected himself. Something she found incredibly
hot.
She inwardly cursed her shaking hands. Beyond embarrassed by her
behavior, she wanted to kick her own ass. Yes, she might be ‘technically’
off duty right now, but if they were going to fool around, she should be
upstairs behind a closed door with Wyatt. Not here right out in the open.
“I, uh, was just…” Ellie’s cheeks flushed bright pink, the color stark
against her ivory skin.
Wyatt growled in annoyance as more things toppled to the floor behind
them. “Did you need something from in here?” Iris asked with the little bit
of normalcy she could muster.
The color in the woman’s cheeks deepened and she glanced off to the
side and took a step back. “No, I need Mr. Christiansen for a call from
London and he wasn’t answering his cell. I thought I heard someone in here
but didn’t, uh…I can just come back.” She took another step back and Iris
realized her top was still undone.
“Yes, why don’t you.” Wyatt bit out.
“No!” Avoiding his gaze, Iris started buttoning her top. “Ellie, if you
need him, he’s all yours. We were just…” She had no idea how to finish
that sentence without sounding like a jackass so she cleared her throat.
“Wyatt, I’ll see you upstairs later.” Still ignoring him, she hurried out of the
room. He snapped something at Ellie, making Iris cringe that he was taking
his frustration out on his assistant, but she didn’t slow down.
She’d fought long and hard to be treated equally in this field. First, as a
Marine she’d had to make it clear to pretty much every man she’d ever
worked alongside that she wasn’t free to fuck. She’d had a job to do and sex
always complicated everything. During her time in the Marines she’d
practically lived like a nun. When she’d started with Red Stone she hadn’t
had to fend off any unwanted advances, but she had needed to prove herself
harder than any man did simply because of her gender.
One night under the same roof with Wyatt and she was acting like an
idiot, threatening to compromise all the years of work it had taken her to
gain that hard-won respect. They needed to get back on even footing and
she had to make it clear that during the day or while she was working, no
kissing and certainly no sex. Once they were in bed, however, was a
different story. She had no idea if she wanted to stay married, but her
feelings for him certainly hadn’t changed. They likely never would. When
she’d been in the Marines they’d stayed in touch via emails, but once she’d
gotten out and taken her job with Red Stone, they’d picked up right where
they’d left off as teenagers. For the past two years she’d looked forward to
those weekly phone calls with Wyatt more than she’d admit.
When he’d proposed getting married in Vegas—after the most intense
night of sex she’d ever had—the part of herself she’d kept hidden from
everyone had jumped at his offer. He’d never actually said the words ‘I love
you’, but then again, neither had she. Hell, she’d never had anyone say
them to her. Even thinking the words felt foreign. But deep down, she knew
what she felt for him was love.
Chapter 6
Wyatt stripped his T-shirt off and tossed it onto the chair tucked under
the small teak desk by the expansive windows overlooking Biscayne Bay.
Of course the ceiling to floor length drapes were pulled tightly shut and for
all he knew Iris had ordered to have the hurricane shutters drawn outside
too. Not that he blamed her.
He’d already ordered his regular security to close the house up tight, but
Iris had been vigilant when she’d arrived, checking and double-checking
everything herself. Going to pick her up with Jay had been a risk, but he’d
been willing to take the chance to see her. The poisoning attempt on his life
had been subtle, which told him a little about who was coming after him.
Well, as much as it could. He was currently in the process of bidding on a
company that had just produced a software program that was hack resistant.
The truth was, almost everything could be hacked eventually. But if he won
this bid he would also gain rights to work with Eldon Osborn, the man
who’d designed the program. Since Wyatt hadn’t been able to hire him
away from his current employer because of contractual issues, he hoped to
get the computer genius this way.
Osborn had written an article six months ago in some obscure science
journal about ideas he had on making clean energy more affordable to the
masses. And Wyatt was more than a little intrigued. He wanted Osborn on
his payroll and he intended to get him.
Shaking those thoughts free, he took a step toward the king-sized bed
and as his eyes adjusted to the dimness, he realized Iris was awake and
watching him. Her head was lying on the pillow and she had the covers
pulled up to her waist. He could see she was wearing a tank top and
wondered if she had anything else on under the covers.
She hadn’t moved when he’d first entered the room, but he’d known
she’d wake up soon enough. She was a lighter sleeper than he was. Part of
him was surprised she was actually waiting in bed for him after the way
she’d run from him in the pantry. Not that he blamed her. He was still
pissed that Ellie had interrupted them, but she’d just been doing her job. His
assistant slept as little as he did, so he couldn’t get too angry.
Iris’s gaze flicked to digital clock on the nightstand, then back to him. It
was close to four in the morning. “Everything okay?” Her voice was raspy
with sleep.
He nodded, loving the vision of her in his bed. Hair tousled around her
face and bleary-eyed, he liked seeing her like this. In an intimate way no
one else ever did. “Yeah. Just work stuff that wouldn’t wait.”
She sat up, as if she meant to get out of bed, but he shook his head. “I’m
beat. Stay with me tonight? Just to sleep.”
“I’d planned to…only to keep an eye on you in a professional sense.”
Her lips quirked up at the corners.
“Is that why you’re waiting in my bed?”
Rolling her eyes, she fell back against the pillow. “I’m not ruining my
beauty sleep waiting for you.”
Wyatt stripped off his jeans, but left his boxers on. Normally he slept
naked, but if he took off everything, he’d end up throwing his good
intentions out the window. He needed to knock down the walls Iris had
erected between them and get to the source of the problem. Because he
knew it wasn’t the reason she’d given him. Yeah, he’d made a stupid
assumption, but there was something else holding her back from him.
He slid into bed behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist,
pulling her tight against him. Her body was pliant, molding perfectly into
him. Inwardly he cursed when he realized she was wearing long pajama
pants. Okay, so she hadn’t been waiting here naked for him. Leaning closer
he buried his face against her neck and inhaled that sweet scent that was
purely Iris.
She tensed for a moment, then laid her hand over the one he’d draped
across her stomach, expelling a soft chuckle. “Go to sleep, Wyatt,” she
murmured. “I know you’re tired.”
He was, which was another reason he wasn’t pushing for things to go
further with her tonight—even if he was hard as stone. The next time he had
her flat on her back he wanted to spend hours pleasuring her. Not a frantic
fucking where they both got off then passed out. Right now was about
building trust and deepening that intimacy in the way he should have done
back in Vegas.
The house was well insulated so he couldn’t hear anyone else moving
around. Of course her security team was quiet and taking care to be
invisible. He’d sneaked up on a couple of them just because he could and to
remind himself that he might not be in the Marines anymore but he was no
less deadly. Once a Marine, always a Marine. Something he and Iris had in
common. While he still didn’t know everything she’d done while she’d
been in the Corps, he could guess. She’d been part of a secretive intel unit
that did…hell, he had no clue. He loved how smart she was though. Smart
and lethal. A sexy combination. But then, he loved everything about her.
Once he’d proposed marriage and she’d agreed he’d assumed she’d admit
her feelings for him. She still hadn’t. Instead she’d given him the most
intoxicating, addictive days of sex he’d ever had, then left. Like what they
shared hadn’t mattered.
His entire body tensed at the thought and he forced himself to breathe
normally. Getting pissed about it wouldn’t do him any good. He just needed
to figure out why she’d left and make sure he kept her in his life this time.
Because life without her was unthinkable.
“What’s wrong?” she asked quietly. Iris’s breathing was steady, but he’d
known she wasn’t sleeping. He didn’t like that she read him so well.
“Nothing.” The answer was automatic.
“Don’t lie to me.”
“Just thinking.” Oh yeah, that answer was going to pacify her.
“About?”
“I thought you told me to go to sleep.”
“Don’t be a smartass.” There was a tiny bite of censure in her words.
Wyatt loved getting her riled up. “You, me, other stuff. My dad died a
couple weeks ago.” He’d been planning to tell her, but hadn’t wanted to in
front of anyone else.
She sucked in a sharp breath and started to turn around, but he held her
tight. The room was dark, their sources of light the digital clock and streams
of moonlight coming in through the exposed window in the bathroom. Iris
must have left the bathroom door open for a source of visibility. “Why
didn’t you tell me?”
They’d done nothing but argue the past month every time they talked and
the truth was, he’d emotionally buried his father years ago. “It wasn’t
important.” Mainly because he’d known she’d have insisted on going with
him to the funeral and it would have been out of pity, nothing else.
She cursed under her breath, then said, “Did you have a funeral?”
“Yeah, it was just me and some of his old war buddies. I didn’t stay
long.” His father had been a drunk and a dick. Once Wyatt had become
financially secure he’d taken care of all his father’s financials but in the end
liver cancer had taken him. Not exactly surprising.
“I don’t blame you. He was an asshole.”
Wyatt smiled into her hair. Iris didn’t sugarcoat things very often and she
was right, his father had been that.
“I wish I’d been there for you though, I know that must have been
tough,” she whispered, her hand tightening on his.
He wished she’d been there too, but didn’t want to talk about it. “What
time are you waking up?”
“Gotta get up at six to get ready and meet with the morning crew. I set
the alarm on my phone, but I’ll be quiet when I leave your room.”
“Our room,” he said automatically. When she didn’t respond, he
persisted. “Say it.”
She let out a sigh of exasperation. “Only because you won’t let me sleep
if I don’t. Fine, our room.”
“You know everything I have is yours.” Something she didn’t seem to
understand. He’d tried to give her a diamond ring, but she’d looked so
uncomfortable wearing it, he’d had a simple platinum band personalized
instead. He could feel it on her now as her fingers interlocked with his. It
pleased him more than he’d imagined that she’d put it back on. It meant
she’d packed it with her.
“Hmm,” she murmured, snuggling tighter against him. “Go to sleep.”
Wyatt could have pushed her, but there was no point. He sure as hell
didn’t want to argue, he just wanted to hold the woman he loved and get a
few hours of uninterrupted sleep. And love her, he did. More than anything.
More than all his fucking money; a knowledge that scared the shit out of
him.
He’d grown up dirt poor with a father who’d blown almost every dime
on alcohol. Money had been Wyatt’s way of gaining security. Now he had
enough to last too many lifetimes to count. Some days he’d worried that it
would never be enough.
Until Iris had strolled back into his life. Technically they’d never truly
lost contact. She’d stayed in the Corps longer than him and he’d been busy
trying to get rich. But after she’d gotten out, they’d been in constant contact
for the last two years. While he’d always been attracted to her—since they
were teenagers—becoming successful had still been his number one
priority. Ending up like his father hadn’t been an option.
But he’d known he loved her a year ago when he couldn’t get in touch
with her for two weeks. His entire world had shifted and he’d known
without a doubt that he’d give up everything for her. Turned out she’d just
been on a job and unable to communicate. But it had been a wakeup call for
him. Ever since then he’d been slowly maneuvering his way into getting her
to Vegas. He’d known once he got her on his turf it would only be a matter
of time before he had her under him. That had happened a hell of a lot
sooner than he’d planned, but once it had, he’d needed to lock her down
with a ring on the most primal level. He’d needed everyone to know she
was taken. By him.
Now she’d agreed to a tentative marriage and he had no fucking clue
how to win her back. This was definitely unchartered territory. Iris wasn’t
like other women. She was tough, sexy but didn’t flaunt it, and she sure as
hell didn’t give a shit about his money. If anything it seemed to bother her.
And now she was busy working as a bodyguard for him. Deep down, he
didn’t know if he could handle it. The threat against him was damn real. He
knew that. But he was a lot more worried about her than himself and if
someone made a move against him, he knew he couldn’t let her protect him.
He’d die for her before he let that happen.
Chapter 7
Wyatt stood up from his desk as the door to his office opened. No one
should be in his suite except one person; Iris. As she stepped inside wearing
a simple black bikini that barely covered her body, his entire body heated
with the kind of need only she’d ever evoked inside him. Somehow he forced
his vocal cords to work. “Did you enjoy the pool?”
“Yes, thank you.” Her dark eyes widened as her gaze landed on his
growing erection.
He might be dressed but his pants did nothing to hide his reaction. Yeah,
that was a permanent thing with her around. He didn’t bother trying to fight
it anymore when it was just the two of them.
Before he could respond, she continued as she closed the distance
between them in a few strides. “Though it was unnecessary to have the
place cleared out. I was just doing laps.”
They’d been drowning themselves in sex for the past couple days and this
morning he’d realized that she’d needed some alone time. So he’d had one
of the hotel pools cleared so she could exercise in peace. And it had given
him some down time to work and wrap his head around the fact that he and
Iris were actually married. It should terrify him, but he was so damn happy
he barely recognized the feeling. Wyatt raked his gaze over Iris as she
stepped closer to him, a towel wrapped snugly around her trim waist. “I
didn’t want anyone seeing what’s mine.”
At that, Iris rolled her eyes, but a soft smile played across her face. She
was normally so reserved that he loved seeing her relaxed. Even without
makeup, the woman was stunning. Reaching out, he cupped the back of her
head and pressed his lips against hers. Though anxiousness to be inside her
hummed through him, he forced himself to go slow. The past few days
they’d been fucking like machines and this time he wanted to savor her.
She laughed lightly, the intoxicating sound rolling over him as she pulled
away. “I don’t want to get you wet and it looks like you’re working.”
“I don’t care. Trust me,” he growled. And he didn’t. He’d been on the
phone for the past few hours putting out fires at one of his hotels and
dealing with shipping regulation bullshit at one of his warehouses. He
might be successful, but sometimes it felt as if he never got a chance to
breathe. Spending this time with Iris was like being given a shot of fresh
oxygen. If only she’d open up to him more. She might have married him—
and he still couldn’t believe she’d said yes—but she hadn’t given all of
herself to him. He refused to let her hold back. Not when he wanted to claim
all of her, to know she loved him the way he did her.
Iris let out an exaggerated sigh that didn’t match the mischievous grin on
her face. She loosened her towel so that it pooled at her feet, then she
stepped into his embrace again. At the sight of her in a tiny bikini a shudder
rolled through him. He’d bought the damn thing for her but now he hated to
think that anyone else in his hotel had seen her dressed like this. With her,
he felt possessive on a level he’d never imagined possible.
He ordered himself to go slow, but as she grappled with his belt, he lost
the battle for self control. He clasped his hands around her waist and
tugged her flush against his body. She might be keeping part of herself
hidden from him, but she couldn’t deny her attraction to him. Hell, neither
of them could.
Sliding his hands up her waist and around her back, he tugged on the
strings to her bikini top. As the flimsy material fell away from her body and
slid to the floor, her nipples hardened into tight peaks. His cock ached
painfully as he drank in the sight of her bare breasts. Not wanting her to
undress him completely—just yet—he stilled her hands.
Iris looked up at him, her dark eyes curious until he grasped her bikini
bottom and let it join her top on the floor. Without taking his gaze off her, he
moved his laptop to the edge of his large desk and blindly shoved the few
papers that remained to the side.
“Sit on my desk,” he ordered softly.
She hesitated for a moment and not for the first time was he struck with
how vulnerable she seemed sometimes. She was always so damn strong, like
she had a steel cage built around her, but when she let her guard down with
him it warmed him from the inside out. Because he knew she didn’t do that
for anyone else but him.
When she did as he said, sitting on the edge, her hands clasping it so
hard her knuckles had turned pale, he inwardly smiled. The past couple
days she’d given up complete control to him, letting him tie her up and he
knew he was driving her wild with the way he took charge. She didn’t
vocalize her feelings well, but the way her body reacted spoke volumes.
“Lay back and spread your legs.”
She glanced over her shoulder, as if she was afraid someone might walk
in. “Wyatt…” She wrapped her arms around her full breasts. Breasts he’d
sucked, licked, and teased until she was begging for more.
“No one would dare disturb us here.” While he had a home on the
outskirts of the city, he used this penthouse suite as his personal living
quarters and his office was off-limits to everyone. He grasped her wrists
and tugged them to her sides, not wanting her to cover herself. The desire to
see her body, what he was claiming as his own, was a primal need inside
him. He covered her mouth with his, crushing and taking everything she’d
give him.
If she wouldn’t open up to him, he’d get her so hooked on him that she
wouldn’t want to leave. The woman was already like a drug. Addictive and
intoxicating.
As he probed her mouth with his tongue, he slid his hand down her
abdomen until he cupped her mound, feeling the slickness of her desire. Her
hips rolled against him, urging him on in a silent demand.
She might be okay with giving up control to him in the bedroom but she
sure as hell demanded what she wanted, sometimes with words and
sometimes with just her body. He loved that she wasn’t afraid to let him
know what pleased her.
Sliding his finger along her slit, he slowly pushed it inside her snug body
to test her slickness. She moaned and tightened around him. He couldn’t
bite back his own groan at discovering how wet she already was.
Withdrawing his finger, he kept his mouth on hers and their bodies
connected and leaned her back until she was flat on his desk. Clutching his
shoulders, she started to wrap her legs around him, but he grasped her
ankles and placed them on the edge of the desk.
Only then did he pull away to look at her stretched out—all for him. Her
body was long, lean and perfectly bronzed. With Irish and Native American
heritage, she had a lightly bronzed glow all year round. Her dark brown
nipples tightened even harder under his gaze and with each second that
passed, her breathing grew as erratic as his. His cock pressed hard against
his pants, demanding he take her, but Wyatt needed to taste her. The subtle
sent of her desire twined around him.
Even though he told himself to tease her, to work her up to it more, he
couldn’t. Pulling her all the way to the edge of the desk so her thighs
widened, he bent and covered her clit with his mouth. Sucking hard on the
swollen nub, he grinned when her thighs tightened around his head. She
gasped his name in a way that drove him insane. The desperate note in her
voice matched his feelings for her.
More than anything he loved hearing his name on her lips. Stroking and
teasing, he increased his pressure on her clit as he slid a finger inside her
tight body. As he added another, her hips jerked against his face, her rhythm
frantic.
One of her hands slid into his hair. She grabbed his head rougher than
he’d expected, ratcheting up his own hunger. “Quit teasing.” Her words
came out as a desperate plea.
Flicking his tongue harder over her sensitive bundle of nerves, his entire
body tightened when he felt her inner walls clench around his fingers. She
was so close he could feel it with each stroke of his fingers. But he wanted
to be inside her when she came. Wanted to feel her milking his cock as he
found his own release. Though he hated to pull away from her and her
sweet taste, he lifted his head.
Breathing hard, she propped up on her elbows and stared at him. She
opened her mouth, surprise clear on her face that he’d stopped. But she
paused when he quickly tore off his shirt. He snagged and ripped a few
buttons off, but he didn’t care. Then he grasped the belt she’d started to
undo earlier. Before shoving his pants down he grabbed a condom from his
back pocket. With Iris in his life, he’d decided to be prepared at all times
until her birth control kicked in.
As he started to open it, she took it from him. Smiling wickedly, Iris set it
on the desk beside her. She grasped the edges of his boxer briefs and too
fucking slowly pushed them down his legs until he kicked them away.
With her dark gaze still on him, she took her time opening the packet
then stroked his cock with one hand—slowly, torturously. She caressed him
once, twice, three times…he lost count of her long, even strokes. He gritted
his teeth, about to beg her to stop when she decided to have mercy on him.
With slightly shaking hands she rolled the condom over his hard length. He
jerked under her touch, unable to control himself.
What she did next surprised him. He was ready to take her on the desk
but she pointed behind him in the direction of his chair.
“Sit,” she said softly.
With his cock jutting out, painfully hard, he did as she said. The leather
was cool against his ass but she quickly slid off the desk and his entire body
almost went up in flames.
Straddling him, she didn’t pause or tease before impaling herself on him
in one long stroke. Her slick, tight sheath molded perfectly around him.
“Fuck,” he growled, pumping into her once before he grasped her hips
hard and held her still. He just wanted to savor the feel of her pulsing
around his cock.
Her dark eyes were heavy lidded as she watched him, hunger clear in her
expression. Reaching up, he cupped one of her breasts and rubbed his
thumb over her brown nipple. It was already hard, but it beaded tighter as
he flicked it. And each time he tweaked it, her pussy clamped tighter around
him.
“Take me in your mouth,” Iris whispered, need clear in her voice.
Normally he liked to dominate, but he loved it when she got a little
demanding. Wyatt didn’t have to be told twice. Covering the short distance
to her other breast, he sucked her nipple between his teeth, tugging gently.
As he did, she began to ride him in a steady rhythm. Swiping his tongue
around her areola, he savored the way she shuddered and moaned above
him. Though he wanted to draw this out longer, he desperately wanted to
feel her coming around him. With his free hand, he found her clit and began
rubbing it. She nearly vaulted off his lap at the contact. Yeah, he knew
exactly how to push her over the edge.
She let out a strangled shout and threw her head back as her orgasm
punched through her. As she let go, he finally allowed himself to. He’d been
holding back ever since she’d began stroking him with her hand. His climax
was harsh and unsteady as he pounded into her. Even when his orgasm had
ebbed, his hips still blindly jerked against hers until he got control of his
body.
Iris wrapped her arms tighter around him, burying her head against his
neck and shoulder as she pressed her breasts against his chest. “You’re so
perfect,” she murmured, the words sounding almost like an accusation.
He returned her embrace, holding her tight. Finding any coherent
thought right now was impossible. The only thing he knew was that there
was no way he was letting this woman walk out of his life…
Wyatt’s eyes snapped open as Iris’s phone alarm went off. His arms were
wrapped tightly around her, but they weren’t in Vegas anymore. They were
in Miami and he was still fighting to hold onto her. At least metaphorically.
As she groaned and slid out of bed, he grudgingly let her go. Hell, he
needed to get up in the next fifteen minutes anyway. “I want you on my
personal detail today, not patrolling the grounds.” His voice was raspy with
sleep. He shifted against the sheet and cursed the feel of it dragging over his
erection. With the dream he’d just had and the feel of holding her all night
he wasn’t surprised to wake up in this state.
She turned and thanks to the morning sun streaming in from the open
bathroom door he got a clear view of her expression. Her eyes narrowed
slightly. “Good morning to you too, Mr. Bossy. I will be on your detail, but
not because you’re ordering me to do so.”
“You like it when I order you around,” he murmured as he shoved the
covers off and stretched out. He wanted to ask her to join him in a shower
before she had to go to work, but knew neither of them would make it out in
time. She had to meet with her team and he had an early morning
conference call.
Her gaze briefly strayed down his body, desire evident in her eyes, but
she shook herself as if she needed to clear her head. “Only in the
bedroom…don’t you forget it.” At that, she turned and practically sprinted
from the room.
Wyatt scrubbed a hand over his face and sat up. After a night of simply
holding her—and dreaming about how good things could be between them
—now he was faced with a day of meetings with Iris by his side in
professional mode. Just fucking great.
*****
Iris glanced at Vincent who was sitting in the driver’s seat of their SUV.
Wyatt was in the back seat sitting between Kell and Jay. Sitting behind them
in the long palm-tree-lined driveway was another SUV with four Red Stone
personnel. Unfortunately, Wyatt was only permitted to bring two people of
his choosing into the actual meeting. Since Keibler—her number one
suspect—was going to be in attendance, Iris was edgy.
Henry Forest, the eccentric millionaire who was hosting this get-together,
was paranoid about his privacy and didn’t want too many people in his
home. Of course he didn’t need to have the meeting here, but a year ago
he’d been attacked in public at a well-known Miami restaurant and hadn’t
left his home since. So if anyone wanted to do business with Forest, they
had to come to him.
“I don’t like this,” Vincent murmured to her, though the others in the
vehicle could clearly hear.
“Me neither, but…” Iris trailed off and watched as an unfamiliar SUV
pulled up beside them. They didn’t exactly have a choice. Wyatt needed to
attend this meeting. He’d explained to her that Forest was selling a
company that Wyatt was determined to purchase. Not because of the
company, but because he wanted one of the employees and couldn’t get him
any other way. Some young genius.
From a tactical point of view, the secured meeting spot made their job
less complicated because any attackers would be easier to filter out, but Iris
didn’t like bringing Wyatt anywhere public at this point. And she didn’t like
leaving her team outside. Well, technically she could leave two of her men
in the foyer at the front of the house, but for the actual meeting itself, just
she and Jay would be inside.
They were ten minutes early and she wanted to wait until her main
suspect arrived before she let Wyatt out of the vehicle. She kept an eye on
the extended cab SUV next to them. The driver’s door opened and a man
with a simple black suit and tie exited. He opened the back door and two
men and a woman slid out. She recognized the two men from one of the
files she’d recently obtained on Wyatt’s competitors. Zac Thorton of
Thorton Enterprises, and his new business partner, Mark Keibler. Thorton
was tall with blond hair and a blinding white smile she got to witness when
he said something to the petite woman on Keibler’s arm.
Keibler had a similar all-American look about him. She guessed he was
six feet tall, his dark hair was cut close to his head, he had an easy smile for
the woman next to him and the security people he was talking to. He
glanced at the darkly tinted SUV Iris was in, but didn’t seem to realize it
was occupied. He wiped off an imaginary piece of lint from his doublebreasted suit jacket and Iris was under the impression he just wanted to look
at his reflection.
“Who’s the woman?” Iris asked as she scanned the female with clearly
Asian ancestry next. The woman wasn’t in the file she’d read and Iris knew
a lot of security people from the other companies around Miami. It was a
niche industry. Naturally she didn’t know everyone, but the two men in
suits that had rounded the vehicle to join the trio were employees from a
company she’d worked with before.
“Don’t know. Date, maybe,” Wyatt said from the backseat, but there was
a note of hesitation in his voice.
“Hmm.” The woman’s glossy black hair was pulled back against her
neck in a sharp twist and secured with two hair sticks. She wore a clingy
red and silver formal dress that dipped low enough to show cleavage
without being obscene. It was held up with spaghetti straps and clung to
every inch of her lean body before flaring out slightly near her knees to fall
in a graceful wave to her feet. She could have a weapon strapped to one of
her calves or even those hair sticks could be deadly. “Has Keibler ever
brought a date to one of these things?”
“No. And I don’t like those hair…things,” Wyatt said.
Iris inwardly smiled, liking that they were on the same wavelength.
Vincent and Kell murmured in agreement. Some days Iris wondered what it
would be like if she didn’t see every person as a possible threat or
seemingly innocuous things as potential weapons, but knew she’d never
want to live life like that. She liked being aware and would rather be
paranoid than dead. “We wait until they’re inside, then we follow. Everyone
clear?” she asked for the benefit of the men in the SUV behind them. She
quickly received affirmatives and luckily Keibler, Thorton, and the others
headed across the stone walk to the mansion moments later.
As they started to exit the vehicle, Wyatt received a phone call so they all
remained silent until he was finished. The conversation had been mainly
one word responses so Iris couldn’t even guess what it had been about.
However, his voice was smug when he said, “The other buyers backed
out. It’s just going to be us and Thorton Enterprises.”
Iris knew the basics of the deal, but didn’t like anyone backing out at the
last minute. The other potential buyers hadn’t had any red flags show up,
but that didn’t mean they weren’t out to get Wyatt. Tearing her gaze from
surveying the quiet surroundings, she turned in her seat. “Why?”
“Because they know I’m going to win the bid.” He not only sounded
smug, he looked it. Those piercing blue eyes watched her carefully.
She raised an eyebrow. “You’re very sure of yourself.”
“When I want something, I go for it and I don’t let anything stand in my
way.” He was silent for a moment as they stared at each other. She knew he
was talking about more than the deal and damn her traitorous body, her
nipples tightened at the thought of being on the receiving end of his
pursuing nature. She was still kicking herself for agreeing so easily to give
their marriage a shot, but waking up in his arms this morning had been
heaven. While Iris didn’t like to get accustomed to anything—or attached to
anyone—because she knew things and people could be taken away in an
instant…getting used to Wyatt’s strength was something she could easily
do. Too easily.
Tearing her gaze away, she looked at Vincent who was watching her with
a heavy dose of curiosity in his eyes. She knew he’d never say anything
though. Not publicly. He’d wait until they were hanging out in a casual
setting then pounce and grill her. The man was nosy. So far she’d managed
to deflect his questions about how she’d ended up married, but she knew
her time was coming. “I don’t care what this Forest guy says. With these
last minute changes, all of us are going in. The other team can wait in the
foyer, but you and Kell are coming with me and Jay.” She glanced at Wyatt,
expecting an argument, but he just nodded, his demeanor surprisingly
acquiescent.
Good. She hated arguing with clients and Wyatt was so much more than
a client. Still, she wasn’t fooled into thinking he was simply okay with her
decision. She was ready to walk if Forest refused to let her team guard
Wyatt, but she wasn’t so sure Wyatt was. That was a problem she’d have to
deal with if it arose.
Chapter 8
Wyatt was conscious of everyone and everything as they entered the
grand foyer to Forest’s home. Iris held onto his arm, as if she were his date
for the evening. Other than her security team and his most trusted people,
no one actually knew they were married. Looking back he wondered if he
should have courted her longer, given her a huge wedding that she
deserved. Of course she’d no doubt hate something like that. Truth was, he
would too. He didn’t need something overdone and garish to show the
world how much he loved her. He’d just needed to lock her down.
Not that it mattered. She’d run from him. At least she was with him now,
even if it was on a temporary basis. Wearing a formfitting black dress
covered with small silver bursts that reminded him of fireworks, she moved
with a liquid grace that had him wanting to shove her dress up and take her
against the nearest flat surface.
But she wasn’t remotely thinking about sex. Though her expression was
casual, he could feel the tension humming through her as she spotted
Keibler and the rest of his crew standing at the foot of one of the curving
staircases that descended into the foyer. Two men wearing dark suits
watched them carefully from the high balcony above where the stairs
joined. They were no doubt armed. Forest’s security. Wyatt had seen them
on multiple occasions with the man when he’d actually ventured out in
public.
Wyatt murmured that to Iris who only nodded. “They’re in my files.” Her
lips barely moved as she spoke.
Yeah, Wyatt didn’t doubt that Red Stone Security had extensive files on
anyone and everyone he might come in contact with over the next week.
He’d given them all the information he could think of, but they had a lot of
resources. Which was one of the reasons he’d hired them.
Keibler’s expression narrowed on Wyatt when he finally spotted him. He
flicked a glance at Iris, then paused and practically undressed her with his
eyes as he scanned her from head to heeled feet. Wyatt wanted to pummel
the guy for even looking at her that way, even though he couldn’t blame
him. She looked beautiful.
“Breathe,” Iris murmured and he realized his jaw was clenched tight, his
body completely tense. When he met her gaze, she gave him a half-smile.
“He’s just looking at me to piss you off. Don’t let him get under your skin.”
Nothing ever got to him. Until Iris. He’d never cared if anyone looked at
his dates. Iris was different. And she was wrong about why Keibler was
looking at her, but she was right that he needed to breathe. While Wyatt had
more to offer Forest in this deal, Forest was also eccentric as hell. He could
decide to sell the company to Thorton Enterprises because he liked the
color of Thorton’s tie. Wyatt forced himself to relax.
Iris leaned close until her mouth was close to his ear, her warm breath
making everything around them funnel out for a second. He could drown in
her scent, in the pure essence that was all her. “I think the woman is part of
his security. Females in this business are rare so I’m surprised I don’t know
who she is, but she moves like a pro. Maybe she’s new. Either way, steer
clear of her.”
“You know you’re the only woman for me.” His words were as low as
hers.
She quickly averted her gaze and swallowed hard. “Stay close to us,
we’re using the opposite staircase,” she said quietly to her team.
He belatedly remembered about her earpiece and that everyone had just
heard what he said. While her team might know they were married, this was
still her job. It rankled him that she had to keep that cool façade up at all
times, but he understood it. He’d pulled himself up from nothing so on that
level, he got why she was always professional. Didn’t mean he had to like
that he couldn’t pull his wife into his arms the way he wanted.
As they headed for the west side staircase, Wyatt gave a brisk nod to the
other group. He knew Keibler would take offense and imagine it was
somehow a slight, but Wyatt was used to the other man’s paranoia.
At the top of the stairs they were immediately stopped by the two guards
he’d spotted when they arrived. And two more men in suits appeared from
the shadows, heading toward the east staircase to stop the other group.
After they were patted down and turned over their weapons—which
could be retrieved when they left—Iris, Wyatt and the others were led down
a long hallway with intricately carved crowned molding gilded with gold.
There were also priceless paintings hanging every few feet. Wyatt
recognized more than a handful of them, two as original Picasso’s—an
artist he’d never learned to appreciate. In his opinion, art should be
appealing, not a visual nightmare. Their group was silent, but farther down
the hall behind them he could hear Keibler’s obnoxious voice and follow up
laughter from the female. God, he hated these in-person meetings when this
bullshit could all be taken care of over a conference call. Or a more neutral
location.
He might have hired Iris but now that they were actually out in public
and the threat was looming over him, he couldn’t shake the feeling that
anything could happen to her. And he knew deep down he wouldn’t let her
protect him from a bullet or anything else. He’d die trying to protect her.
There were two more men in suits waiting at the last door on the right.
The dark-haired one on the left looked over the security team in an
assessing manner, barely looked at Iris, then he focused on Wyatt. “You can
bring in one person.”
“The deal was two.”
Iris tensed beside him, but he gently squeezed her arm.
The guard shrugged. “It’s one now.”
Wyatt gave him a shrug of his own. “Fine.” He turned to leave, Iris and
the others following, but the guard stopped him.
“Wait.”
Wyatt turned back to find the guy murmuring to someone clearly not the
other guard. He probably had a similar earpiece to the one Iris was currently
using. He tilted his chin at the closed door. “You can bring two.”
Iris still didn’t like it. Her posture and expression were tense, her back
bowstring tight.
“Maybe you should stay out here and I’ll bring in another of the team
with me and Jay.” He couldn’t stand the thought of her coming in there with
him. Considering how paranoid Forest was and from the security he’d seen
tonight, Wyatt knew it was unlikely that anything would happen, but he still
didn’t want to bring Iris into possible harm’s way. At his house he’d
broached the subject of her not coming and they’d fought. Even though it
wasn’t in him to ever back down, he had.
For her.
It was his own damn fault for insisting on hiring her. He wanted to kick
his own ass for his shortsightedness. Yeah, she was with him 24/7, but she
was also putting herself in harm’s way.
As if she read his mind, Iris’s dark eyes spit fire at him, her jaw
clenching tight before she pasted on a bright smile that didn’t fool him. Her
fingers dug into his arm for a fraction of a moment before she looked at Jay.
“Let’s go.”
Vincent, Kell and the others in the Red Stone group stayed behind as he,
Iris and Jay entered. In each corner of the room stood men wearing dark
suits; silent and armed like the rest of the security. A long conference table
sat in the middle with Forest at one end, sitting there like he was a king.
There was a buffet of food and drinks behind him, which told Wyatt he
expected negotiations to go on for a while.
Forest stood and greeted Wyatt with a real smile. With salt and pepper
hair, wire-rimmed glasses and a lean frame, the seventy-four year old was
in good shape for his age.
“Who is this lovely woman?” he asked, his voice permanently raspy
from the attack he’d suffered a year ago. Forest strode toward them, his
movements steady.
Wyatt nodded between them. “Henry Forest, this is Iris Tarango.” He
didn’t offer up anything else because it wasn’t the man’s business. As they
stood and made small talk, Wyatt felt Iris tense as she subtly shifted and
eyed Thorton’s group enter the room. He watched them out of the corner of
his eye, careful of their movements. They might have been frisked before
entering, but he was pretty sure Iris had managed to smuggle a knife in so it
was highly possible any of that group was carrying a weapon.
Even though he was focused on the upcoming negotiations, it was
difficult to ignore the feel of Iris’s lush body pressed up against his. Her
light scent that always reminded him of springtime wrapped around him,
driving him crazy. It wasn’t perfume either, it was something that was pure
Iris.
Right now clothing separated them, but soon enough, he’d have her
under him, begging for a release he’d gladly give. As he felt himself start to
harden, he shoved those thoughts away and scanned the group of Forest’s
men, then Thorton’s group again.
He needed to stay focused because once this job was over, it would be a
hell of a lot easier to pinpoint any threats. Though he hated to think Keibler
would stoop so low as to hire an assassin, he had to assume the other man
was behind the attempt on his life. Wyatt didn’t have any other big deals in
the works at the moment. This was the only one that would draw the kind of
attention of a hit.
Internally sighing, he nodded and politely smiled at something Forest
said to him and Iris. Yeah, long and boring night ahead.
*****
For two hours Wyatt, Forest, Thorton and Keibler talked, shouted, and
went back and forth over numbers and some other stuff Iris didn’t
completely understand. The one thing she did realize, however, was that
Thorton reeked of desperation. Both he and Keibler did. They needed the
company and the hack proof software in a way Wyatt didn’t seem to. Or
maybe Wyatt was just cooler under pressure. Despite their relationship, he
was hard to read sometimes—okay, all the time.
That didn’t concern her right now. The woman Keibler had brought to
the meeting did. She’d been introduced as Fae and had been perfectly polite
and polished. She was sitting next to Keibler, her expression blank, as if she
was bored, but something about her was off. First, why would they have
brought this woman into the meeting unless she was security? Maybe she
was, but she hadn’t interacted with any of the other security Thorton had
arrived with and it would have been easy to tell. Even when Iris and her
team weren’t vocally communicating, they all worked as one cohesive
group. It was subtle, but they were all teammates and acted as such.
The woman with the dark hair sitting across the table from Iris didn’t
know any of the security team who worked for Thorton and Keibler. Or she
hadn’t before tonight. Iris was almost sure of it. Iris didn’t watch her
directly, but she was always aware of the woman. Something else about her
set Iris on edge and she hated that she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
As the men were talking Fae stood, causing the conversation to taper off.
She grimaced self-consciously and pointed to her champagne glass. “I’m
just getting a refill, I hope that’s all right. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Her
voice was soft, understated in the room that had just been booming with
frustrated male voices.
Forest smiled and stood. “Of course, I think we should all take a break.
And don’t trouble yourself,” he said to the woman before looking at one of
his guards.
Without a word, the guard cleared the table while another started pouring
drinks for everyone. He had a good memory, because with the exception of
Fae and Iris, everyone at the table had something different. Iris hadn’t
touched her champagne, but she’d originally asked for something to be
polite.
Iris stood and stretched her legs as Fae did the same. Wyatt turned to
Forest and as the two began talking in low tones, Thorton and Keibler stood
and talked in even quieter voices as they moved toward the other end of the
table. If Keibler looked angry, Thorton’s expression was positively nuclear.
“What are you thinking?” Jay asked. He’d been extremely quiet tonight,
standing a few feet behind her and Wyatt the whole time. Normally Iris
didn’t like anyone at her back, but she trusted Jay. He viewed Wyatt as not
only a boss, but a friend. Loyalty was rare, but she’d heard enough stories
from Wyatt to know the man was.
“Just observing.” Iris scanned the room, watching for any sudden moves.
As she casually scrutinized everyone, her breath caught as she watched the
dark-haired woman take her champagne glass from the man in the suit.
She’d done more than just take her glass.
The movement was so damn smooth Iris would have missed it if the
woman hadn’t already been on her radar. Somehow Iris forced herself to
remain lax, to keep her gaze off the woman who was carelessly sipping
champagne. Instead Iris pretended like she was curious about the quietly
heated conversation between Thorton and Keibler.
But as the second guard set Wyatt’s coffee mug in front of him—the man
and his damn coffee—she snagged it and handed it to Jay. Keeping her gaze
laser-focused on Fae, or whatever her name really was, she murmured, “I
don’t care how you do it, secure his drink. There’s poison in it.” And they
would need it as evidence.
Fae’s gaze narrowed on her as she pushed her chair back a few inches.
The movement was slight, but she was ready to bolt. Iris could see it in
every taut line of the woman’s body.
Jay took it and she heard him moving around behind her, but she didn’t
avert her gaze. At Iris’s words, the rest of the room went deathly silent.
Next to her Wyatt stood and actually tried to stand in front of her, but she
refused to let him. “Call the police, Wyatt.”
He paused for a moment, but didn’t question her as he slid his cell phone
out and dialed.
“What the hell is going on?” Keibler boomed as he and Thorton returned
to the table.
Next to her Wyatt was talking quietly on the phone, but Iris could make
out the gist of the conversation. Fae hadn’t made any further moves and Iris
hadn’t taken her eyes off her. The woman was almost preternaturally still.
That was when Iris realized what had been bugging her about the female.
She hadn’t fidgeted the entire meeting. Hadn’t acted bored or uninterested.
She’d just been waiting for the moment to strike. Like a pro.
“Your date or employee just poisoned my client.” Iris put her left foot
slightly in front of the other as she turned her body, ready for a fight she
could feel coming.
At her words, the woman jumped up, her expression dark. “I don’t have
to put up with that kind of accusation.” She turned, glaring at Keibler, as if
expecting him to defend her.
“But you do have to wait for the police to arrive,” Iris said quietly.
She swiveled back around. “You can’t keep me prisoner.”
“I can and I will.” Without drawing attention to herself, Iris slowly
slipped off her heels. If she had to move fast, she was going to take every
advantage. Luckily she knew her team had heard everything through their
earpieces.
“What the fuck is going on, Christiansen? I’m not going to let one of
your whores talk to my date like that.” Keibler’s angry voice sliced through
the sudden silence.
Before she could blink, Wyatt stopped talking to the police midconversation and launched himself at Keibler.
It all happened so fast Iris had barely computed he’d moved when Fae
jumped over the table. Lightning fast, she used the table as a springboard
and launched herself toward the door.
She might be fast, but Iris was faster. “Don’t let the woman leave the
premises!” she shouted into her earpiece, knowing that even if she couldn’t
stop her, her team outside would.
Using the tension that had been building inside her from the moment
they’d arrived, Iris threw herself at the woman. In her peripheral she could
see Wyatt and Keibler fighting and Jay restraining Thorton, but she kept
herself focused on the immediate threat.
The woman had dared to try to hurt Wyatt. Iris wasn’t sure what Fae had
slipped into his drink, but she doubted it was a date-rape drug.
A punch of adrenaline surged through Iris as she tackled the woman to
the ground. The force of the landing almost knocked the breath out of her,
but she was so pumped up now, not much could slow her down.
Faster than she’d anticipated, Fae turned underneath her, swiveling with
her elbow as she tried to strike Iris in the temple. Jerking back out of pure
instinct, Iris barely missed the blow. Iris used the opening to head-butt the
woman in the nose. The crunching sound of bone breaking rent the air.
The move was dirty and almost always unexpected. Especially from a
female. As the woman cried out in pain, blood gushed from her nose and
down her face. Iris had no clue how well trained the woman was and wasn’t
going to give her another opening. She slammed her fist across the woman’s
jaw before twisting her onto her stomach. She leveled her knee into her
back, digging in hard as she held her wrists tight together. Before she even
had to ask, Jay was crouched next to her with flex-cuffs in his hands. He
bound the woman’s feet as Iris secured her hands behind her back.
Iris looked up to find Forest’s guards all with their weapons drawn, but
cautiously giving them a wide berth and thankfully, none of them were
pointing their weapons at anyone.
Wyatt was rumpled with a bruise forming on his cheek while Keibler
looked ten times worse. They stood on opposite sides of the table, but Wyatt
looked ready to murder Keibler at any second.
“What the hell is going on?” Forest finally sputtered.
She ignored him and focused on Wyatt. “The cops on their way?”
“Yeah. You okay?” He looked as if he wanted to say more and he even
made a move toward her, but then he looked at Keibler and remained still,
watching the other man as if he’d kill him if Keibler made one wrong move.
Before she could say anything, the door opened and her guys along with
the rest of Forest’s men spilled into the room. Of course Forest’s security
had their weapons drawn. This was one giant clusterfuck and while she
hated involving the cops, it was definitely necessary. Everyone started
talking at once, but she tuned everyone out and turned to Jay, who hadn’t
moved either. “Did you secure that drink?”
“Yep.” His expression grim, he shot the woman on the ground an angry
glare.
Fae wasn’t knocked out, but she also wasn’t struggling. Probably
because she was in a shitload of pain and realized she’d never escape now.
Still, Iris didn’t move from her position on top of the murderous bitch.
The police could sort everything out but until then, Iris was staying put.
Chapter 9
Wyatt wrapped his arm around Iris and pulled her close. She didn’t think
of resisting that strong embrace. They were sitting on a bench seat in a quiet
office at the police station. Outside noise filtered through the door, but they
didn’t have to deal with the full brunt of ringing phones and criminals
shouting at the police as they were hauled in to be booked. After spending
the last few hours answering questions and filling out reports, her
adrenaline surge had long since faded and she was coming down in a bad
way. She’d already told Vincent he was temporarily in charge of the team
and as of right now, she was simply Wyatt’s wife.
Wife.
God, the word scared the hell out of her. What the hell did she know
about being a wife? Especially to a man like Wyatt. He had so much money
she could barely comprehend it. The mansion in Miami was enough to
make her break out in a cold sweat, but he also had one in Vegas—even if
he lived at one of his hotels. That was another thing she could barely get a
handle on. The man owned hotels. As in plural. One was crazy enough, but
he was so diversified in his businesses, she was sure he owned more
property and companies than she could imagine. If they did this marriage
thing for real, would she be expected to fit a certain role? No doubt. And
she wasn’t sure she could live up to whatever expectations he had in mind.
She closed her eyes and laid her head against his shoulder, trying to
banish those insecure thoughts. She was more than tired and freaked out
beyond belief that someone had gotten close enough to Wyatt to hurt him.
The thought that she might have lost him had shredded up her insides and
left her barely hanging on to her control.
Wyatt turned slightly and set his chin on her head. His warm breath
teased her hair. “Have you heard anything?” he murmured.
“No.” She still had her earpiece in and while the team was standing
outside the office, just she and Wyatt were inside waiting to be told they
could go.
Luckily her boss had enough pull here at the station that they’d been
afforded a little privacy. Hence the quiet waiting room of some sergeant’s
office.
“I’m hoping they get a hit on that woman’s fingerprints,” she continued.
Wyatt grunted. “Me too. I can’t believe Keibler’s denying involvement.
Stupid fucker. He’s going down for this.”
Hell yeah, he was. Even if Iris had to do it herself. “I guess the good
news is that Forest is selling to you.” Before they’d left with the police, the
older man had pulled Wyatt aside and told him he’d have his lawyers draw
up the paperwork. He just wanted to unload the software, the company, and
be done with his games apparently. After tonight—well, last night—Iris
understood why.
“Yeah, real great silver lining.” There was a touch of sarcasm in his
voice.
Iris pushed back from him so she could see his face, though he didn’t
loosen his grip on her shoulders. “I thought you’d be happy.”
His blue eyes darkened. “Seeing you fight that woman…” He shook his
head as he trailed off. “I know you’re well trained and can take care of
yourself, but nothing is worth you getting hurt. I’d sell everything I owned
if you never had to go through that again.”
Her eyebrows rose at his words. She knew how much being successful
mattered to him. She sometimes worried he was too consumed with the
need to make money, but his drive in life was sexy as hell. “Wyatt—”
“I know it’s just words and doesn’t prove anything, but it’s how I feel.
I…” Wyatt trailed off, not wanting to have this conversation now. He knew
actions spoke louder than words. It was one of the reasons he’d come to
Miami. To prove to Iris how much she mattered to him. He’d follow her to
the ends of the earth if that’s what it took. But just saying pretty words
wouldn’t mean shit to her.
Her brow furrowed when he didn’t continue. “What?”
“Why’d you marry me?” he asked abruptly, needing the answer more
than his next breath.
Her gaze flicked to the side for a second, discomfort creeping into her
posture. “Why’d you ask me?”
Not an answer. Damn it. He’d asked because he fucking loved her, but he
couldn’t find the words. He’d never told them to anyone before. Even
thinking them felt foreign. If he told her and she didn’t return his feelings,
or worse, tried to let him down gently…yeah, he couldn’t deal with that shit
right now. Or ever. Luckily he didn’t have to because the door opened and
Harrison Caldwell strode in.
Wearing a dark, custom-made suit, Iris’s boss looked as if he’d been at
work for hours when in reality he’d probably just rolled out of bed not too
long ago since it was three in the morning. Iris stood, smoothing down her
wrinkled, ripped dress as she did. Wyatt kept his arm around her as he
followed suit. Harrison knew they were married and Wyatt didn’t give a shit
what anyone thought anyway. Right now he needed to touch his wife. To
reassure himself she was unharmed.
“How are you two holding up?” Harrison asked.
Iris looked at Wyatt, eyebrows raised, and he could see the silent
question in her eyes. She wanted to take over the conversation and right
now he didn’t give a shit as long as they got answers. And as long as she
didn’t pull away from him.
“We’re good. Pissed, but unharmed. Just waiting to hear what’s going on
with the female and with Keibler and Thorton,” she said.
Harrison’s expression darkened for a moment as he shoved his hands in
his pants pockets. “The woman isn’t talking, but they got a hit on her prints.
Her real name is Sato Tora. She’s wanted by Interpol in connection with a
hit from three years ago—two people died. Maybe she was sloppier back
then, but either way, they’re picking her up this afternoon.”
“Miami PD is letting her go?” Wyatt’s blood pressure rose at the news.
The woman had attempted to kill him. Twice. He knew she was just doing a
job she’d been paid to do and that it was business for her, but he took his
life very personally.
Iris let out an annoyed curse, which made him smile despite the situation.
“They’re not letting her go. She’s going to be in prison for life, but yes,
they’re giving her up to Interpol because they don’t want to deal with
jurisdictional bullshit and because Interpol has a better chance of charging
her with two murders than we do on attempted murder. There’s not much
proof of who poisoned your drink other than Iris’s eyewitness account.
Even though we know it’s true, a good defense attorney could get her off at
a pre-trial.”
Unfortunately Wyatt knew that Harrison was right. She was just the hired
gun anyway. He wanted to bring down the one who’d hired her.
“What about the other two?” Iris asked, her body tense.
“Still in with their lawyers. No charges have been made.” Harrison
looked angry, but Wyatt wasn’t surprised.
Keibler might have brought the woman as a date or security or whatever
excuse he’d given by now, but there was no proof he’d paid her to do
anything. And if she was being transported out of the country, it would kill
any future prosecution. Or at least make it difficult to prosecute.
“The State’s Attorney won’t take this to trial.” Iris spoke the words he
was thinking. This case might not go to trial but things between him and
Keibler and possibly Thorton were far from over.
“Are we free to go?” They’d been waiting for an official release and
Wyatt was sick of sitting around here when he already knew the outcome of
tonight’s events.
“Yeah, but I’d like to talk to Iris in private if you don’t mind waiting
outside.” Harrison wasn’t so much asking as he was ordering.
Wyatt did mind, but he was edgy and feeling irrational where Iris was
concerned. He knew she’d be safe while alone with her boss, but he
instinctively wanted to argue and stay close to her. Instead he looked at Iris
and dropped a chaste kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be right outside.”
She gave him a grateful smile that was like a punch to his heart. The past
few days her smiles had been so rare that seeing one now jolted him straight
to his bones. If he had his way, he planned to make sure she was smiling a
lot more from now on.
*****
Sato sat in her lone holding cell, staring at the metal bars as she
contemplated her next move. Her broken nose throbbed, but that was the
least of her worries. She knew Interpol was coming for her when one of the
detectives who’d questioned her earlier called her by her real name. When
she’d flat out asked him about Interpol, he’d just smiled at her, like he
couldn’t wait to be rid of her.
Time was ticking down for her and she had only a few moves left if she
wanted to get out of here alive. Because once Interpol got her, it would be
only a matter of time before she ended up dead.
Back when she’d just started out in this business she’d made a few
mistakes. Left DNA and partial prints at a particularly messy hit. She’d
killed the son of someone very important in China and the father would
never let her go. She’d managed to avoid detection for almost three years
but her reprieve had run out. Since that first hit she’d learned to be a ghost,
to cover her tracks so that she was virtually invisible.
Well she had been smart until tonight. She snorted at her own stupidity. It
was her own fault for taking the job without having done enough recon.
That tall bitch with Christiansen had been fast and definitely not just arm
candy. No one had been paying attention to Sato—or so she’d thought.
While she’d hated putting herself in a position of having a limited escape
route, it had been necessary. Her client had insisted the poisoning happen
before or at this meeting.
With those rigid guidelines, she should have backed out of the job.
Except she never did that. If she had, word could have spread and she
would have missed out on contracts. Something she hadn’t been willing to
lose. And she still wasn’t. It was time for Plan B.
She moved away from the bed screwed into the solid stone wall and
crouched so that she was looking at the underside of the simple sink. There
would be no escaping from this place. Not in a typical sense anyway.
What she planned would be a risk, but it was one she had to take.
Because if the Chinese got a hold of her…no, she’d kill herself before she
let that happen.
She wrapped her fingers around a long, flat piece of metal that held part
of the plumbing up and wrenched it out of place with a hard yank. Water
dribbled onto the floor, but that didn’t concern her. Holding her new
weapon in a tight grip, she strode to the front of the cell where she’d be
seen by video cameras and one of the female guards at the end of the hall.
“Hey!” she shouted, drawing attention to herself.
“Keep it down,” the guard shouted back.
Instead of responding, Sato held up the metal piece and waved it at her.
Drawing her weapon, the guard cursed and started stomping toward her. As
the woman came closer Sato rose it high into the air and slammed it down
into her thigh.
She screamed in agony at the pain that shot through her, but this was
necessary for a trip to the hospital. She would definitely be under guard and
secured, likely with handcuffs, but escaping from a hospital was doable.
Getting out of this locked cell was damn near impossible by comparison.
Fire licked up her leg as blood pooled around her. Sato fought to stay
conscious, but began to fade as she heard the guard talking into her radio,
requesting backup.
Soon enough she’d be at the local hospital and…
Before she could finish that thought, blackness engulfed her.
Chapter 10
At the rich scent of coffee Iris’s eyes flew open. Disoriented, she looked
around the room—Wyatt’s room. Blue sheets were tangled around her feet
and Wyatt was closing the door with his foot because he was holding a tray
of…something. “What’s that…and what time is it?” She looked over her
shoulder, surprised to see that it was eight o’clock. She also couldn’t
believe she hadn’t heard him get out of bed.
But she’d been tired and sore. Still was. They’d only gotten back to
Wyatt’s place a little over four hours ago. She’d changed into one of his Tshirts and crashed without even taking a shower. Vincent was officially in
charge of the team now. Harrison had wanted to remove her as lead last
night—it was why he’d wanted to talk to her in private—and she had
agreed. She’d actually taken herself completely off the team. She’d thought
she could be objective while leading Wyatt’s protective detail, but last night
had proved her wrong. She still planned to stay here with Wyatt, but only as
his wife.
Gah, she couldn’t be thinking that word without coffee. “Are you
bringing me coffee in bed?” That now-familiar warmth bloomed inside her
chest at the sweet gesture.
“Breakfast, not just coffee.” He sat on the edge of the bed and placed a
wooden tray across her lap. There was a silver dome covering the food
underneath, but whatever it was smelled delicious. Or maybe that was just
the coffee that had her mouth watering.
Wyatt’s eyes glinted with lust as his gaze strayed to her chest. She was
wearing a shirt, but no bra and it was like the man had a radar for that. He
just zeroed in on her hardening nipples as a smug smile teased his lips. She
wondered if he was even aware of the way he was watching her, as if he
was undressing her in his mind. Probably not.
She picked up the full mug of coffee. While she loved his intent focus on
her, now wasn’t the time. “Don’t even think about it,” she murmured.
“About what?” His gaze snapped up to meet hers and he looked
genuinely confused. Yeah, he wasn’t aware of it.
She motioned to her breasts with her free hand. “Whatever you’re
thinking, just lock it up. I’m tired, need a shower and can’t even think
about…stuff.”
His eyebrows quirked up and she could tell he was fighting a smile.
“Stuff?”
“Sex.”
“That’s presumptuous. I’ve got meetings all morning but I wanted to
bring you breakfast before I got sucked in and won’t be able to break
away.” Yeah, he was definitely fighting a smile.
“Oh.” What was wrong with her? She was barely sitting up and had just
said she didn’t want sex. But she wanted him to want it because even if they
weren’t having it, she still wanted him. With a vengeance. God, she needed
her head examined.
His eyes glinted wickedly. “Unless of course you’re ready to go right
now. We could do it fast and dirty. I could bend you over the bed and—”
“Enough!” Her face heated up as she took a sip of the heavenly coffee.
What was up with him this morning? She couldn’t get a handle on his
mood. He seemed almost playful. Clearing her throat she said, “So, just
meetings here, right? You’re not leaving?” The schedule she’d received for
him days ago had him staying put today, but she wanted to make sure. She
might not be head of his team now, but she couldn’t help but worry about
him.
“I’m not leaving you.” Okay, that wasn’t what she’d been asking, but the
answer warmed her. Before she could respond, he continued. “I’ve come to
a decision.”
Iris set her mug down at the seriousness of his tone. God, had he decided
he didn’t want to try things out with her after all? “Okay.”
“While I’m courting you, sex is off the table. You’ll still be sleeping in
our bed, but no sex.”
“Courting?” The word was so old fashioned it sounded weird coming
from him.
He actually looked sheepish for a moment, the normally hard lines of his
face turning soft, almost boyish. “I don’t know what else to call it and that’s
what I’m doing. So no sex.”
She blinked, feeling a very real disappointment punch through her at his
last three words. Ever since she’d left Vegas a month ago she’d been
dreaming non-stop about his talented hands and mouth all over her body.
Sex was the one thing that definitely worked between them. “So…what
exactly do you mean, courting me?”
He shrugged and slid a few inches closer so that his knee was touching
her outstretched thigh. Reaching out, he cupped her cheek before sliding his
hand back into her hair. He gently held the back of her head. None of the
dominating forcefulness she was used to from him was in that grip. Just
sweetness. Of course the look in his eyes wasn’t exactly sweet, it was full of
hunger. “I should have taken things slower with us. I…shouldn’t have
demanded that you marry me.”
She snorted softly. “You didn’t demand anything. And I said yes.”
“Yes, you did.” His expression darkened a fraction, but she couldn’t get a
read on him.
Silence hung in the air, so loud her ears buzzed with all the things they
weren’t saying to each other. She wanted to lean forward and kiss him.
Well, kiss him, strip him naked and let him sink deep inside her. She wanted
to hear him gasping out her name. Of course she wanted it now even more
that he’d taken sex off the table. Yeah, she was pretty sure she needed her
head examined. “So no sex?”
He withdrew his hand but didn’t move from the bed, a smug grin
forming on his face. “You sound disappointed.”
She shrugged, not denying it, even though it was probably the one thing
guaranteed to keep her sane. If they weren’t sleeping together, maybe they
could figure out if they were compatible in other ways. Which was clearly
his intention. “Thanks for bringing me breakfast in bed. Did you or Ellie
pick out the flower?” There was a single purple iris in a tiny white vase in
the corner.
He actually scowled, as if surprised by the question, but it was the first
time he’d done anything like this so she didn’t know what to think. “I did,
and you’re welcome…And before you ask, Thorton and Keibler were
released a couple hours ago. The cops didn’t have enough to hold them on.
Harrison’s got someone digging a lot deeper into their financials this time.
They’re going to rip apart any and all information available on Thorton
Enterprises and anyone close to those two.”
Iris has a feeling that no matter what, Wyatt planned to dismantle
Thorton Enterprises or maybe something worse. She wasn’t going to ask
right now. “What about the assassin?” Iris forced herself to breathe
normally as she thought of the woman who’d tried to kill Wyatt.
Wyatt’s expression darkened a fraction. “In the hospital. She stabbed
herself.”
Now that was surprising. “Suicide attempt?”
He shook his head. “They don’t think so. It’s likely she was attempting to
injure herself so she could try to make an escape, but they’ve got guards
posted outside her room and inside. She’s not going anywhere.”
“And she still won’t talk about who hired her?”
“Nope. And she has no reason to. She’ll talk for Interpol though.”
Iris hoped so. “Until we know who hired her, you’re going to need to
keep your extra security and take every precaution possible. I know I’m not
on your security team anymore but…” She trailed off, unsure where she’d
been going with that train of thought. Wyatt was smart, but she just needed
to know that he’d be careful even if she wasn’t around. She felt crazy overprotective of him in a way she’d never thought possible.
“I won’t live in fear but I plan to be smart. Especially if you’re going to
be living here with me?” She wasn’t sure if he meant it, but the last part
came out as a question.
She hadn’t told him everything she and Harrison had talked about last
night so she nodded. “I will be staying here. I’m taking a few days off, but
I’ll likely be taking a new job in a couple weeks if something opens up. I
won’t take anything out of town though.”
“Good.” Wyatt let out a small sigh of relief and leaned forward, brushing
his lips over hers. At first the kiss was light, almost teasing as he stroked his
tongue along the seam of her lips.
Just as he slid his hand into the curtain of her hair again and started to tug
her close, he abruptly stopped and pulled back, his breathing ragged. He
looked down at the tray still propped in her lap and took the silver cover off
her plate. “Eat…please.”
She managed to get her own breathing under control as she looked at the
stack of chocolate chip pancakes topped with whipped cream. There was
also a fruit cup, three slices of bacon and two eggs over easy. All her
favorite things. She wouldn’t be able to finish it all, but she couldn’t believe
he’d remembered the chocolate chip pancakes. She hadn’t had those since
she was a teenager. Her heart squeezed in a way that told her to run. To run
far and fast before she got sucked too deep into life with Wyatt that it would
slay her if they ended. But she couldn’t and more importantly, wouldn’t. Not
anymore. Even if she lost him, she was taking this chance. “This looks
amazing, thank you.”
Grunting a non-response he just leaned back on one elbow, stretching out
on the bed alongside her so that they were facing each other. His head was
next to her feet and vice versa. He was dressed casually today, wearing
pressed slacks and a button down shirt that probably cost more than she
made in a week. But no tie and no jacket.
“Are you just going to watch me eat?”
That wicked glint was back as his gaze strayed to her mouth. “I like
watching you eat.”
Her cheeks heated, but she tried to ignore the reaction building inside
her. Just being close to him got her hot. As her fork cut through the stack of
pancakes she said, “If you’re courting me, you have to tell me something
about yourself that no one else knows.”
He was silent for a moment. “I’d rather jerk-off to thoughts of you than
be with anyone else.”
She choked on her food, coughing until he moved up the bed and patted
her on the back. Iris took a sip of coffee, trying to clear her throat. “That’s
not what I meant,” she rasped out, still lightly coughing.
“Okay then…I’ve been masturbating to thoughts of you for longer than
you probably want to know about.” He didn’t move back to his original
position, but stayed where he was, sitting directly next to her, crowding
right into her personal space.
He wasn’t touching her though. It was like there was an invisible line he
was forcing himself not to cross. Because if he did, he’d throw his no-sex
idea right out the window. Iris knew if she pushed him she could get him to
do just that. They could be naked in seconds. But the more she thought
about it, the more she liked the idea of getting to know each other more.
Sex was easy for them. The rest of their relationship was complicated. They
might already know a lot about each other, but marriage was a whole
different ballgame. One she had no clue how to navigate. Maybe he was on
to something with his idea.
“Now it’s your turn,” he said quietly.
There was no way in hell she was admitting that she also thought of him
while touching herself. It would make him too smug. “Okay. I don’t think I
ever told you, but the reason I joined the Marines is because when I was
nine, I had a sort of crush on one of my mom’s boyfriends.” Iris snorted at
the memories. “He was the only decent man she ever dated and she ended
things with him because, and I quote ‘he’s too nice’.” Iris hadn’t understood
her mother then and now that the woman was deceased, she still didn’t. It
was like her mother had intentionally gone for the assholes. As if she liked
being treated like dirt. Iris finally realized that she’d had no self-esteem, but
it didn’t make sense to her. “Anyway, this guy was a little older than my
mom by about a decade. He’d been in the service for twenty years and he
bought me a kitten.”
Wyatt frowned at her last statement. “I don’t remember you ever having
a pet.”
“It’s because my mom made me get rid of him. She actually made Hank
take Mr. Buttons when they broke up.” That was when Iris realized that
getting attached to people or things was a waste of time. Well, Wyatt had
been an exception. When they’d become friends at ten years old, she had to
make the exception. He’d just pushed his way into her life, trying to look
out for her even though he was just a kid himself trying to avoid beatings
from his old man. Her mom might have been a terrible role model, but her
home had at least been a safe haven for Wyatt.
Wyatt didn’t say anything, just watched her thoughtfully so she
continued. She stabbed a bite of pancake and stared at it as she spoke. “At
the time he was the only decent man I’d ever met. So I just knew that being
a Marine was a big deal, something important. And I was determined to
become one myself. My mom always said that was stupid, that I should
marry one and let him take care of me.” Iris shrugged again, but the action
was jerky, not casual as she’d intended. Her mom’s stupid ideas of letting a
man take care of her had only made Iris even more determined to become a
Marine, to be able to take care of herself and defend herself from anyone.
Everything she’d learned in the service, no one could ever take that away
from her. Her skills were now a part of her and she treasured them.
Wyatt was silent for a few minutes, just watching. She could feel the heat
of his gaze on her, but she couldn’t meet it. Finally he spoke. “If you don’t
eat that pancake I’m calling dibs.”
His words dispelled the melancholy she always felt when she thought of
her mom. They also inspired another thought. Without thinking, she
brought the fork to his lips. He looked surprised, but took the bite.
Her eyes strayed to his mouth, watching the way he chewed, the way his
throat worked as he swallowed. Heat bloomed between her legs as she
imagined his mouth and tongue working her. “I like watching you eat too,”
she whispered.
Wyatt pushed out a rough breath. “You’re going to make this no-sex
thing impossible, aren’t you?”
She grinned and snagged another bite for herself. “Not any more than
you’re going to make it for me.”
*****
His shoes were silent along the hospital corridor. Not that it mattered. He
didn’t look out of place wearing his stolen doctor’s scrubs. Still, he resisted
the urge to look at his watch. He had three minutes max to get in and get
out.
The lone nurse talking frantically on the phone behind her desk didn’t
glance his way as he slipped into Sato’s room. It was past visiting hours, but
the ICU had a few holes in their security—and he’d created one very big
one in the ward next door by creating a distraction.
Hospitals didn’t take bomb threats lightly, especially not in the NICU. It
had been risky, but all available personnel had been called away including
the guards to Sato Tora in the neighboring ICU. Or he really hoped they had
been. He’d waited to make sure her room cleared out then doubled back,
but it was still possible that someone remained in there.
A couple smoke bombs placed very strategically and the entire ward had
panicked. Most people wouldn’t have had the balls to do what he was
doing, but he wasn’t most people.
Something Wyatt Christiansen would soon find out. He’d been putting
up with the other man’s bullshit for long enough. He never should have
hired someone to take care of what he could do himself. It had just seemed
cleaner at the time.
Now he had to kill Sato. She hadn’t talked to the cops or he’d be in jail
right now, but he couldn’t take the chance that she eventually would.
The steady beep of the heart monitor was the only sound in the quiet
room. Luckily the lights were off and the curtain was drawn around Sato’s
bed, giving him enough privacy. If he was really lucky, Sato wouldn’t even
wake up.
Things would be very tidy that way.
Clenching his gloved hands, he prepared himself for what he had to do as
he opened the closet door and pulled out an extra pillow. He’d killed before.
But he’d never taken the life of a woman. It wasn’t like he had a choice
though. And she was just a paid assassin anyway. God only knew how
many people she’d murdered for money. He was doing the world a favor.
As he neared the edge of the curtain, he could see Sato patting the sheet,
no doubt looking for the call button. Even though he’d been quiet, she’d
still heard him. Her hands were chained to each bedrail though, making
movement difficult. The clanging sound of metal on metal seemed over
pronounced in the room.
Sorry, sweetheart, he thought, but remained silent.
“Who’s there?” Sato’s voice was slurred. They clearly had her drugged
up. He hadn’t been surprised when he’d heard she’d wounded herself while
in holding. She might have wanted it to look like a suicide attempt, but he
knew better. She’d be trying to escape as soon as the drugs wore off.
When he stepped from the shadows, Sato blinked a few times, as if she
couldn’t make him out. That was fine with him.
“How’d you get in here?” she asked hoarsely.
Before he could change his mind, he shoved the pillow over her face.
With surprising strength, she managed to grab his forearm and dig her
fingernails in. She couldn’t move much because of the chains. She held on
tight, clawing into him like daggers piercing his skin, but the cutting pain
was nothing compared to what would happen to him if she talked. For all he
knew she’d try to cut a deal with Interpol. That was unacceptable. He
leaned his weight into his hands and pressed down as hard as he could over
her nose and mouth.
Sato thrashed around, her legs flailing as she struggled to fight the
inevitable, but in the end she lost. Sweat broke out across his body from the
strain of holding the pillow in place. After what seemed like an eternity, her
lean body completely stilled against the starchy sheets. As he lifted the
pillow, he made himself look at her face. Blank, dark eyes stared into
nothingness. Just to be certain he tested her pulse, but he knew a dead body
when he saw one. Moving quickly, he put the pillow back in the closet and
slipped out of the room as quietly as he’d entered. Time was ticking down.
As he reached the elevators and door to the stairs he still didn’t breathe
easy. Glancing at his watch he saw that three minutes had passed. He had
maybe two minutes before…nope. Time was up. Two men in police
uniforms hurried down the hall in his direction. Keeping his head down and
his stance as casual as possible considering the circumstances, his insides
tensed until they passed. He wouldn’t have much longer until they
discovered the body.
The elevators were on lockdown because of the bomb threat so he
pushed open the door to the stairwell and sprinted down the steps. When his
hand hit the emergency exit door, an ear-piercing alarm went off. He
quickly stripped off his doctor’s scrubs to reveal the casual jogging shorts
and T-shirt he’d worn underneath. After stripping off his gloves, he
retrieved his mp3 player from his pocket, shoved his gloves back in place of
them, then put the earbuds in even though he didn’t turn it on. He needed an
excuse to be running so as he fled out into the bright sunlight, he just
looked like a man out for a run.
One down, one to go. And his next kill would be much harder.
Unfortunately he knew there would be some collateral damage. He’d
wanted to avoid that, but he couldn’t get to Wyatt directly so he’d have to
find another way. Other people were definitely going to die. A small price
to pay for his revenge.
Chapter 11
He traced the serrated edge of the knife down Mario Vélaz’s ribs and
side, careful not to break the skin. Sometimes the threat of pain was worse
than the pain itself. So many people didn’t understand that. Especially the
thuggish mobsters he owed money to. Torture definitely had a purpose but
if done wrong, the information gained was often unreliable. Beneath the
blade, his victim shuddered and tried to pull away, but had nowhere to go.
Tied down on the concrete floor of an abandoned warehouse that had
gone into foreclosure as so many other buildings in Miami, Mario was
trapped and at his mercy.
“You’ve had weeks to give me something of value and because of your
incompetence I lost the company I want.” He would also lose a lot more
than that if he didn’t come up with the money he owed his financial
backers. And he’d been counting on that deal too. If it hadn’t been for
Christiansen that hack-proof software would be his and he’d be able to give
that instead of money to those fucking mobsters. God, what had he been
thinking, borrowing money from them? But he’d been desperate and the
banks had refused him.
“What the hell did you expect of me!” Mario shouted, sweat rolling off
his face.
He’d expected results. He hadn’t just hired Sato to kill Christiansen.
He’d managed to blackmail one of the groundskeepers from the home
Christiansen had bought in Miami. Mario had come with the house and
wasn’t part of Christiansen’s long term staff. Those people were
untouchable and he didn’t have much money to bribe anyone with anyway.
Not after he’d paid Sato. All he’d had to do was threaten the safety of
Mario’s wife and young daughter and the guy had crumbled, agreeing to
spy for him.
“I don’t know nothing, man! I never even see the guy. Their security is
tight. I’m searched every time I arrive at work and so is my car.” The darkhaired Cuban tugged against the bindings, but the fishing line cut into his
wrists.
“Tell me what you know, and I let you live.” He wouldn’t, but Mario
might not realize that yet.
“Liar,” he spat.
Yes, he was. Sighing, he pressed the blade into Mario’s side until he
nicked the skin. A small rivulet of blood trailed down his ribs, splashing
softly against the concrete. “One more chance to be honest.”
The man turned his head away in defiance. He gritted his teeth, hating
how tedious this business was. With the flick of his wrist, he sliced through
Mario’s Chino’s, completely exposing him.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Mario’s dark eyes widened when he
pressed the back of the knife to his ball sac.
“I don’t have time to play games. People talk, even security personnel.
You must have heard something.”
Mario’s eyes widened in terror but his body was completely still as he
tried to control his breathing. “I don’t…the woman, the security woman!”
The words poured from him in desperation.
He pressed the back of the weapon harder against Mario’s skin, causing
him to violently jerk. “What about her?”
“What are you doing? I’m telling you!”
“Get to the point faster.”
“She’s the rich man’s wife.”
He blinked at the statement, not sure if Mario was relaying the correct
information.
“The tall, dark-haired woman is Wyatt Christiansen’s wife? The woman
on his security team?” The bitch who’d seen Sato poisoning him.
“Yes! I heard two of the guards patrolling the grounds talking about how
they couldn’t believe she’d married the rich man. How they couldn’t
believe she’d married anybody.” Mario’s breathing was erratic now, his
eyes wild as he looked down at the knife.
“When did you hear this?”
“Yesterday.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes! Now move that fucking knife away from my nuts. Please!” Mario
struggled violently against the restraints. “I swear on my mother’s life, I
don’t know any more than that! I didn’t remember ’til just now!”
He stilled his hand and nodded once. “This is good.” Then he cut one of
the wires from around Mario’s ankles, freeing his left leg.
“You’re letting me go?” Mario’s words were high pitched and uneven.
“I told you I would. Next time I come to ask you questions, don’t run.”
There wouldn’t be a next time, but Mario didn’t know that.
“I won’t. I swear it!” The relief rolling off Mario was so palpable it made
him smile inside.
He cut through the next foot restraint, but instead of freeing Mario’s
wrists, he slammed his knife into the middle of the man’s chest. He never
gave him the chance to struggle or fight. The surprise and horror on Mario’s
face made something dark inside of him smile. He didn’t like the messiness
of killing, but sometimes he took a little pleasure in ending a man’s life. He
liked to make someone feel secure, relieved—then to snatch it from them in
one final blow. Watching the awareness fade from Mario’s eyes, he could
barely contain his joy at learning Wyatt Christiansen was fucking married.
Married.
It seemed too good to be true, but now he had the perfect way to get his
revenge.
*****
Iris stared at Wyatt’s walk-in closet and realized that if she was going to
commit, she needed to do this full on. He’d left half the giant closet empty.
For her stuff.
She hadn’t even realized what he’d done until she’d brought her few
belongings from the guest room into his room—their room. That was
another thing she’d have to get used to. The truth was, she’d probably never
get used to living in such lavish surroundings and there was no way she’d
actually ever fill up this closet that was the size of her master bathroom at
home. But, she could bring over some of her things. To put in the effort to
actually move in with Wyatt.
It might be weird considering her coworkers were guarding him, but she
wouldn’t let it get that way. In a week or so she’d go back to work and
things would be normal. She wouldn’t be here during the day. Until then,
she was moving in and helping Red Stone’s team research Keibler and
Thorton Enterprises. She might not be guarding Wyatt directly anymore,
but after what Harrison had told her about Red Stone tearing apart
Thorton’s financials, she planned to read and research every scrap of
information they came up with.
She’d been worried that Harrison wouldn’t let her, but he’d been
surprisingly acquiescent when she’d broached the subject. Probably because
he knew she’d go insane if she wasn’t being proactive. Even the thought of
sitting around and doing nothing was enough to stress her out. Her phone
buzzed in her pocket. Iris’s heart jumped to see a text from Lizzy Caldwell,
a computer genius who worked for Red Stone.
Just sent you two emails full of data. Should take all day to read. Call if
you find anything relevant. I’ll do the same.
Lizzy had texted Iris earlier to let her know that she was portioning out
pieces of information to five other individuals within the company so Lizzy
and Iris made a total of seven researchers. Hopefully with this many people
they’d be able to find a lead. If anything, they’d be knocking out a week’s
worth of research in a day or two with this many people on it. It was a start.
Though she wanted to whip out her laptop right then, she had one thing
to do first. Wyatt had moved to freaking Miami for her. Yeah, he had the
money, but she also knew it wasn’t just for show. If she asked him to, he’d
move here permanently, but she wasn’t sure she wanted that. She knew how
much he enjoyed living out west and she didn’t want to take that away from
him. That was a decision for another day, but right now she could at least
show him she was serious too. He’d been right earlier; actions spoke louder
than words.
Iris shot off a quick text to Lizzy telling her that she’d start reading
everything within an hour, then she headed out of the room. Her boots were
silent along the marble stairs. The house was tomblike quiet today, probably
because Wyatt was taking meetings in the back west side of the house. He’d
been on conference calls all morning. As she reached the bottom, she turned
ready to go in search of Jay when she found him in the nook where the
staircase looped around. The Baby Grand piano gleamed beautifully under
the sparkling chandelier.
Iris blinked at the sight of Jay pressing Ellie up against the wall in a very
sexual manner. Both his arms caged the petite blonde woman in against the
wall, his tattoos flexing as his muscles tensed. Ellie had her hand pressed
against his chest and was murmuring something Iris couldn’t hear. Didn’t
want to hear. They were almost perfectly hidden and clearly wanted
privacy. Feeling bad about almost disturbing them, she started to back up
but her shoe made a soft squeaking sound. The second it did, Jay turned and
immediately blocked Ellie’s body.
When he saw Iris, however, he relaxed. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah…I just, never mind.” Iris decided to grab someone else to come
with her.
“I’m on break right now.” Ellie slid out from Jay’s embrace and put some
distance between them as she hurried toward Iris, her four-inch Dior’s
clicking loudly. “This isn’t what it looks like. We were just talking and it’s
Jay’s day off anyway.” Pink-faced, the woman spoke in a hurried rush.
Iris frowned. “O…kay.” She didn’t give a crap what they did in their
spare time. She already knew Jay was off. It was why she’d been searching
him out.
“Iris doesn’t give a shit what we’re doing, Ellie,” Jay muttered as he
came up to stand behind her.
He reached out to touch her shoulder but Ellie just danced away from
him and skirted past Iris, heading toward one of the west wing hallways.
“My lunch break’s about over so I’ll speak to you later about that…issue,
Mr. Wentworth.” Then she was gone, her heels making a huge racket as she
practically sprinted down the closest hallway. Four-inch heels or not, the
woman could move.
Iris couldn’t contain her laughter. “Mr. Wentworth?”
Jay rubbed a hand over his face. “You’re Wyatt’s wife so I think she’s
worried you’d think she was slacking off on the job or something…fuck, I
don’t know what’s going on in Ellie’s head. I never do. She’s driving me
insane, Iris. I don’t know what to do with her.” He said the last part as if he
thought Iris had some magical answer.
She snorted softly. “If you’re looking for relationship advice, I’m
definitely the wrong person to come to.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Hey!” It might be true but she hadn’t expected him to agree.
Jay smiled then, his grin so boyish that it transformed his face. “I’m just
messing with you. What’s up? Were you looking for me?”
“Actually, yes. I knew it was your day off so I thought I’d maybe beg for
a little moving help.”
His eyebrows raised a fraction. “Moving?”
“Well, just bringing my clothes over here. As in my whole closet. And a
few other necessities.” She could do it all by herself but it would be a hassle
and she wasn’t above asking for help if she could get it all done in one trip.
“I need to do a lot of research this afternoon so I wanted to get everything
in one trip if possible. We could load up two SUVs and—”
He held up a hand. “If it gets you living permanently under the same roof
as Wyatt, I’ll do any damn thing you want.”
Surprised by his statement, she just said, “Thanks. I’m ready now if you
are.” She tilted her head toward the front door and he nodded. There should
be two guards standing directly outside. If they weren’t stationed there,
there would be hell to pay. She breathed a sigh of relief as they stepped
outside to find two men she’d worked with on multiple occasions standing
guard. They nodded at her, but neither moved from their post.
Jay handed her a set of keys as he palmed another key ring in his hand.
“It’s about damn time you moved in here. Wyatt’s been a bear to work for
this past month.”
Ah, that’s why he was willing to help. “You didn’t even want me
marrying him.” Well, she didn’t know it for certain, but he’d definitely been
wary after they’d gotten married so quickly.
He shrugged, completely unapologetic as they strode toward the line of
six SUVs currently being guarded by another Red Stone employee. No one
was going to plant bombs on their watch. “I knew how tight you two were
but I wasn’t sure what your end game was. After what happened a year ago
when he couldn’t get in touch with you I knew things were serious for him,
but—”
“Wait, what? What happened a year ago?” She had no clue what he was
talking about.
Jay looked at her then, his green eyes suddenly going blank. He pressed
the keyfob, unlocking the closest vehicle. “I’ll follow you, but I know
where you live so if we get separated I’ll just meet you there.”
She pressed the keyfob he’d given her. “Are you serious? You’re just
going to ignore my question?”
He shrugged and headed toward his SUV. By the set line of his jaw she
knew he wouldn’t be talking right now, but she planned to get it out of him
later. Nothing had happened between her and Wyatt a year ago. Sure, they’d
been friends and their communication had turned more frequent right
around then, but she’d never been out of contact. Maybe he was mistaken?
No…he was referring to something very specific and she would find out
what it was.
As she started to slide into the driver’s seat, the sound of screeching tires
had her jumping back out of the vehicle and drawing her weapon from her
ankle holster.
Jay was out and by her side in seconds, his own custom-made SIG
drawn. “Shit,” he muttered.
“What?” A dark blue extended cab truck was pulling down the drive.
“That’s Keibler. Wyatt said to let him in the gates. I just heard it on the
radio.” He tapped his earpiece.
Clearly Jay was still staying on top of things even if it was his day off.
“Wyatt is letting him on the premises?” she asked dumbly, knowing Jay
wasn’t mistaken. “What the fuck is he thinking?” It wasn’t a question so
much as an accusation. What was he thinking? “Did the guys at the gate at
least check him for weapons? Check his vehicle?” All the hairs on the back
of her neck stood up. She knew she couldn’t stay objective on the protective
team, but she hated having to stand back and be completely out of the loop.
As soon as possible she was getting her earpiece back and at least staying
informed.
“Yes to all of the above.” Jay looked just as pissed as her, which made
her feel better. This was a stupid move on Wyatt’s part. He didn’t need to be
anywhere near Keibler until they figured things out.
“Where’s Wyatt?” She asked.
“Still on a phone conference call. He wants Keibler to wait out here.”
Jay’s voice was tight.
She kept her weapon out as Keibler parked a few feet away from them.
The guards from the front door were moving toward the vehicle, spreading
out as they walked. One of the guards from the front gate was headed their
way too, flanking the vehicle. Everyone had weapons drawn too. She had to
rein in her anger as she spoke to Jay because it wasn’t directed at him. “Will
you keep him here while I go have a word with Wyatt?” Okay, she was
barely checking her annoyance through her gritted teeth. She wasn’t part of
the team anymore so she hoped he didn’t take her question the wrong way.
He nodded. “Yeah. Keep his ass inside.”
Relief punched through her that Jay was as angry as her. What the hell
could Wyatt possibly be thinking? Sheathing her gun once she reached the
front door, she barely refrained from slamming it as she hurried across the
marble entryway. They hadn’t done enough research on him yet to know
how far Keibler’s reach was. Or what his end game was other than to kill
Wyatt. Keibler might not be guilty as far as the law was concerned, but he
had to be involved in the attempts on Wyatt’s life. The man’s date had tried
to poison Wyatt.
As Iris turned at the end of the first hall, a new rush of annoyance popped
inside her when she saw Wyatt striding toward her. “Why are letting that
man on your property?” she practically shouted, her voice echoing.
Still wearing the same pants and shirt from earlier, he looked darkly
handsome as he approached. The man would look good in anything. He
looked tense as he stopped in front of her, but his expression was soft. “Iris,
he’s here because—”
They both froze as something that sounded like glass shattering and a
sonic boom or… “Oh my God.” Heart pounding out of control, she sprinted
back the way she’d come with Wyatt right next to her. She’d heard her fair
share of gunfire and bombs before, but there was no way that was what
she’d just heard.
Or she really prayed it wasn’t.
It felt as if an eternity passed by the time they reached the front door, but
in reality only seconds had passed. Before she opened the front door she
withdrew her SIG and she was thankful to see Wyatt had his own weapon in
hand.
Bypassing her then blocking her, he opened the door and peeked out,
weapon held tight. She wanted to go first, but knew now wasn’t the time for
that kind of bullshit. If he wanted to take lead, she had to let him. The sound
of multiple car alarms wailing outside already told her she wasn’t going to
like what she saw, but Wyatt’s sucked in breath confirmed it. “Jay’s down,”
he growled before racing outside.
Shit. She wanted to stop him, to tackle him to the ground in case there
were more threats waiting outside, but she knew it wouldn’t help.
Following after him, her stomach dropped as she saw the carnage. Blood
and body parts were strewn across the driveway, the glass in Keibler’s truck
and two of the SUVs were blown out and there was a black crater where
she’d last seen Keibler standing. Two men were on the ground either
unconscious or dead and one guard was racing up from the guardhouse on
his radio, shouting something. Behind her she could hear more security
spilling out of the house as she sprinted toward Jay.
He was lying near the grass behind an open door of one of the SUVs.
The glass hadn’t blown out of that one though, so that was a good sign.
Still, she had no clue how big the bomb that had gone off was so she didn’t
know if he’d been in the blast zone or not. He had a bloody gash on his
right temple. A dozen questions raced through her mind, but they’d figure
out what the hell had happened after they got everyone to the hospital.
Wyatt was crouched down next to Jay, checking his pulse, but Iris could see
the rise and fall of his chest. He was breathing. She just prayed he didn’t
have brain damage.
Iris pulled out her cell and dialed the police. As the call connected she
heard Ellie screaming as she ran toward them. “Don’t let her see Jay like
this,” Iris ordered. She had no clue if Wyatt knew about their relationship
and it didn’t matter. No way could they let Ellie see him unconscious with
God only knew what kind of injuries.
As he hurried to stop Ellie, Iris cringed as the blonde woman clawed and
fought him. Wyatt managed to haul her back inside as the operator came on
the line. “911, what is the nature of your emergency?”
“I’m reporting a bombing,” Iris said grimly. And whoever the hell had
done this would pay.
Chapter 12
Wyatt handed cups of coffee to Ellie and Iris who sat next to each other
in the waiting room of Mercy Hospital. Even though he’d had to take two
security personnel with him, he’d needed to stretch his legs and get out of
this damn room where they weren’t receiving any answers. He wanted to
pace, but forced himself to sit down next to Iris and be patient. After
spending hours at the police station, they’d been doing nothing but waiting
for news on Jay’s condition for the last six hours. Two men from Red Stone
Security had died in the blast so there was no idle talking in the room. A
grim blanket had settled over everyone as they waited for word. Wyatt
could feel the desperation in the air for that news to be positive. Damn it,
what was taking the doctors so long?
Wyatt scrubbed a hand over his face and closed his eyes as he leaned
back against the wall. It was his fault that two good men were dead and that
Jay was in the hospital. One of his oldest, best friends might die because
he’d been stupid enough to believe Mark Keibler’s plea to talk to him in
person. The man had sounded desperate and…scared. Normally Wyatt was
so good at reading people, but because of his stupidity—he opened his eyes
at the feel of Iris’s hand grasping his thigh. She lightly squeezed, her
expression searching.
She tilted her head toward the two doors of the waiting room. “Take a
short walk with me?”
“Yeah.” As they stood to leave, so did two of Red Stone’s team but Iris
waved them off.
She might not be team leader anymore, but they clearly listened to her
because the men sat back down.
“We’re not going far,” she murmured to the men before sliding her arm
through his.
Men and women wearing different colored scrubs strode through the
hallway he and Iris entered. There was a steady hum of voices and other
typical hospital sounds. But it was the antiseptic, sterile smell that always
got to him. Iris pulled him to a stop only a few feet past the doorway.
Against a bare wall, they were out of the way of foot traffic, though they
had no privacy. She hadn’t been kidding about not taking him far.
Her expression tender, she pulled him into a gentle hug, resting her head
against his chest as she linked her fingers together behind his back. “What
happened isn’t your fault,” she said softly.
He tightened his embrace around her, soaking up the feel of her. She was
such a solid presence in his life he wondered how the hell he’d ever lived
without her. While he appreciated her words, she was wrong. Nothing she
said would change that. “Yes, it was.”
Sighing, she looked up at him. “So you could have predicted Keibler
would bring an untraceable explosive device and accidentally blow himself
up instead of you?”
That was what the cops had told them happened. The Red Stone team
had checked Keibler and his vehicle for every possible weapon, including
explosives, but whatever he’d had on him hadn’t been detected. And
innocent men had paid the price. “I shouldn’t have agreed to speak to him.
Not at home. I should have insisted he tell me what was going on over the
phone.” Guilt lanced through him as he replayed the last part of their phone
conversation over and over in his head.
“We’ve got to talk, Christiansen. Not later, but right fucking now. I’ll be
at your place in a few minutes. I don’t give a shit about our past, you’re
going to listen to what I have to say.” Then Keibler had hung up.
Wyatt shouldn’t have let him through the gates. He should have just
come to Keibler.
“You tried and he hung up on you.” Iris’s voice cut through his thoughts.
That was true, but it didn’t matter now. He wouldn’t try to pacify himself
with anything when he’d been arrogant enough to allow the man onto his
property. Wyatt had felt safe, secure in the fact that he was an expert at
reading people. But Mark Keibler had been mentally unstable, much more
so than he’d imagined.
“You’re not perfect, Wyatt. You don’t own some magic fucking crystal
ball and you can’t control everything,” she snapped, her grip on him
tightening. “I’m not going to let you blame yourself. That monster is dead
and you can’t play the what-if game in your head—and I know that’s
exactly what you’re doing now. That guilt will eat you up alive if you let it.
The men who died were good men. Honorable men. When they signed up
to work for Red Stone they knew the risks. Their families are going to be
taken care of and they’re going to be mourned by everyone at Red Stone. I
just…I hate that look in your eyes.” Her own eyes filled with tears and
Wyatt felt even worse.
He knew she hadn’t known the men on a personal level, but they were
Red Stone employees and he’d seen firsthand that they viewed everyone as
family. He pulled her back into another tight embrace and buried his face
against her hair.
Closing his eyes, he inhaled her sweet scent. He loved this woman so
damn much and if she hadn’t come to find him because she’d been so
angry, she could be lying in a hospital room right now. Or worse. His throat
clenched tight, making it difficult to drag air into his lungs. He hadn’t even
allowed that thought to fully develop until now and he wanted it torn from
his brain. Not only was he suffering from guilt over the deaths of innocent
men, he felt such deep shame because he’d been relieved that Iris hadn’t
been one of the victims. People were dead and he’d felt goddamn relief that
his wife was alive.
He wasn’t sure how much time passed but Iris finally pulled away,
though she kept her arms loosely wrapped around him. “When you were
getting coffee Harrison called…Sato Tora’s dead.”
Shock slammed into him. The assassin hired to kill him was dead?
“How? When?”
“Suffocated early this morning at the hospital. Interpol is pissed, but
there was a bomb threat—along with simple smoke bombs, though the cops
didn’t know that at the time—at the hospital in the NICU. They don’t know
who killed her, but they’re running all security footage trying to find
anything they can.”
“The police really dropped the ball,” he muttered.
Iris’s lips pulled into a thin line. “Oh yeah. Heads are going to roll.”
The woman hadn’t been at the hospital they were at now, but one in
Coral Gables. “Why are we just finding out about it now?” He wasn’t sorry
she was dead, but Wyatt had been hoping she’d give up the name of
whoever had hired her.
Iris’s expression darkened. “Don’t get me started.”
Wyatt frowned as he digested the news. “So Sato and Keibler are both
dead.”
“Yeah.” There was a note of unease in Iris’s voice.
It matched the disquiet humming through him. The police had found
incriminating evidence at Keibler’s condo. Nothing overwhelming, but
enough to push the police to close the case. Keibler’s laptop had been left
on with access to an email that showed conversations outlining the plan to
kill Wyatt. Sato had originally wanted to poison Wyatt, which they already
knew. When that hadn’t worked out she’d had him invite her to the meeting
at Forest’s mansion. And there was also a burner phone at his place that had
multiple calls to the phone Sato had on her when she was arrested. “It’s all
too neat.”
Iris’s jaw twitched once. “Yeah. Harrison thinks so too. But…all the
emails are traced back to an IP address at Keibler’s office at Thorton
Enterprises. The forensic analysts were pretty damn certain.”
“I just can’t see Keibler being that sloppy.” The man had supposedly
gone to the trouble of hiring an assassin, then he’d accidentally blown
himself up? And left the evidence of his involvement with a killer on his
laptop for anyone to find…Wyatt couldn’t buy it.
“Which is why Red Stone is still ripping apart his background, Thorton’s
background and anyone else you’ve done business with in the last year.
They’re going to find something.”
He started to respond when he spotted Jay’s doctor hurrying down the
hallway. “Let’s go,” he murmured, motioning with his chin toward the man.
They headed back into the waiting room with the doctor moments behind
them. Everyone stood, the tension in the small room impossibly thick.
Dr. Warren cleared his throat, a habit the man seemed to have, as he
looked at all of them. “Mr. Wentworth is going to be okay. He has a
concussion, a few stitches on his head and some broken ribs but he’s going
to pull through. He’s awake now and asking to see Ellie. Normally I
wouldn’t allow visitors—”
His blonde assistant practically shoved Wyatt back as she hurried to
stand directly in front of the doctor. “I’m Ellie.”
Dr. Warren fingered his stethoscope for a moment, then sighed. “He’s not
very coherent and—”
“I don’t care. If he’s awake enough to ask for me I want to see him.” The
note of desperation in her voice punched even harder at Wyatt’s guilt.
He’d had an idea that Jay was interested in Ellie, but hadn’t realized they
were obviously involved.
As soon as they were gone, Iris turned to face him, her expression lighter.
“I’m not sure if you’ll get to see him, but if they let you in, give Jay my
best. I’ll be back by to see him in the morning if they’ll allow visitors.”
Wyatt frowned as her words registered. “Where are you going?”
She glanced at her watch, but he knew it was well past midnight. “I need
to pick some stuff up at my place and by the time I grab it all and get back
to your house—our house—you’ll be back. Before you argue, I’m going to
take someone with me.”
“Just wait so I can help.” He wasn’t sure what she was getting but she’d
said ‘our house’. That was all he cared about.
She shook her head. “I know you want to see Jay and who knows how
long Ellie will be in there. By the time we get out of here it’ll be a whole
production of your security team having to shadow you to my place. It
makes more sense for you to go straight home.”
“No. I’ll send someone to get your stuff in a few hours.” He’d
compromise on a lot of things, but this wasn’t one of them. After almost
losing her, he couldn’t let her out of his sight. Not now. On the most primal
level he had to be near her, to protect her.
“Wyatt…” Though she started to argue, she must have seen something in
his expression because she stopped. “Fine. You can send someone.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’re being very agreeable.”
“After today…I don’t want to argue. I can deal with a little over
protectiveness.”
Good because he couldn’t even pretend to be okay with letting her go.
Not now.
Twenty minutes later, Ellie returned to the waiting room. With all her
makeup gone from crying so much, her eyes puffy, she looked exhausted
but also relieved. Definitely a good sign.
“He wants to see you,” Ellie said softly before giving Wyatt a bear hug.
He was surprised by the sudden show of affection, but returned it before
heading to see his friend. As he left, he looked over his shoulder at Iris who
was still sitting. “You better be here when I get back.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she promised, her expression serious.
Something niggled at his gut, but he nodded and left. She’d said she
wouldn’t leave and he had to trust her. They couldn’t spend their marriage
second-guessing each other.
Chapter 13
Wyatt walked into the waiting room feeling a hundred times lighter. Jay
was going to be all right and he didn’t hate him. Wyatt had been fearful that
because of his mistake Jay wouldn’t want anything to do with him. The
thought of losing his friend shredded him.
He didn’t make friends easily because half the time he wondered what
angle someone was working. Wyatt wished he wasn’t so cynical, but life
had taught him to be. And since he’d become successful, he’d had to be
even more careful who he trusted. Jay was different though. They’d worked
missions together when the other man had been a SEAL and Wyatt had
been Force Recon in the Marines. Being in firefights alongside someone
else wasn’t something easily forgotten. Especially since Jay had saved his
ass more than once. Not only was he paying his medical bills, but Wyatt
was going to send him on a long paid vacation once he was fully healed.
The man definitely deserved it.
The second he stepped inside the waiting room everything around him
funneled out. Iris wasn’t there. Vincent was on the phone with someone, his
expression dark and when those pale blue eyes met Wyatt’s, he knew
something had happened to her.
Ignoring everyone else he covered the distance between him and Vincent.
“Where the fuck is she?”
“Hold on,” Vincent murmured into the phone before holding it away
from his ear. “We don’t know but we’re going to find her.” There was a
deadly promise in his words.
Find her? Had she been taken? His entire world tilted on its axis as he
tried to digest Vincent’s words. Before he could ask the question, Vincent
continued. “She went to grab us food from the cafeteria and never came
back. I went to find her and the fucking place was closed. I’m…hold on.”
He held the phone up to his ear again, his gaze on Wyatt as he spoke. “All
right. I’m on my way.”
Vincent slid the phone into his pocket and nodded his head toward the
exit. “One of the guys will take Ellie back to your place. You’re coming
with us.”
Wyatt didn’t give a shit where they were going. He’d walk into hell to
find Iris. Even though a dozen questions burned against his brain, he held
himself in check, waiting to see where Vincent and the two other security
men took him. Even so, he couldn’t fight the panic humming through him.
Iris wouldn’t have just left without telling him. No way in hell. That meant
she hadn’t left on her own. His throat tightened as emotions bubbled up
inside him, but he shoved everything back. It wouldn’t help him now. They
rode an elevator three floors down, one floor above where the morgue was.
He’d never been on this floor before, wasn’t even sure what it was.
When the doors whooshed open, a beautiful petite black woman wearing
green scrubs greeted them. She eyed all of them then looked at Vincent, her
dark eyes assessing. “You owe me for this, Vincent. I had to agree to go on
a date with someone for this and if I wind up losing my job for what you’re
about to do, you’re explaining to mom why.”
Mom? Holy shit. This was Vincent’s sister.
Without another word, the woman spun on her heel and led them down
three quiet, deserted hallways. Eventually they stopped in front of a plain
metal door. She knocked once and it immediately flew open. In addition to
the man holding the door open, two men wearing security uniforms sat
behind desks filled with live-streaming video feeds.
Wyatt’s heart lodged in his throat when he realized why they were there.
They might have footage of Iris.
“Just you, Vincent.” The woman nodded at her brother.
“Please, my wife is missing. I need…” Wyatt was unable to finish the
thought or hide the desperation in his voice. Right now he was barely
keeping it together.
Her eyes softened and she nodded. Then she grabbed the hand of the man
holding the door. “You can stand guard out here with me and the others,”
she said bossily.
“Whatever you say, Zoe,” the man murmured as she dragged him from
the room.
One of the men at the desk spoke to Vincent. “On these computers I’ve
got the feeds for the timeframe your sister told us your friend went missing.
I’ve reviewed them and none of us have left our posts. Sorry man, I haven’t
found anything.”
That didn’t mean shit, Wyatt thought.
Vincent apparently agreed because he just grunted. “You mind?” He
motioned to the seat and though the security guard hesitated, he sighed and
stood.
“Only because you’re Dr. Hansen’s brother and she’s scary as shit,” he
muttered.
Vincent sat down and Wyatt watched in awe as his fingers flew over the
keyboard. He typed in commands, fast-forwarding, then rewinding, then
repeating it a few more times before letting one of the videos stream.
Wyatt barely managed to keep his shit together as he watched the color
feed of Iris getting into an elevator. Then she exited on another floor and
disappeared from sight. He wanted to reach out and touch the screen but
stayed rooted to the spot. The feed picked her up again in front of the gated
off cafeteria. She looked frustrated as she eyed the giant metal gate
blocking the place. Glancing around, she paused before turning to her left
then heading toward an opening into…somewhere.
“What’s in there?” he asked.
The man still sitting answered. “It’s just a small nook with a soda and
vending machine. There aren’t any doors or exits there. She’ll come back
out in a second.”
As they watched, a man with gray hair in a wheelchair rolled himself into
the opening too. What was taking her so long? Blood rushed in his ears as
he watched the clock in the right hand corner of the screen tick away the
seconds. Thirty seconds later the man with the gray hair came out of the
blocked off area pushing the wheelchair. A woman was in the seat, a shawl
wrapped around her head which was tilted to the side as if she was asleep.
Iris.
Wyatt’s hands balled into fists. Raw rage hummed through him, shooting
out to all his nerve endings like battering rams. He wanted to punch
something, to tear apart the man who’d dared take his wife. Though his
insides raged out of control he kept his gaze on the man, trying to get a
clear shot of the guy’s face.
“Holy shit,” Vincent muttered. “He had to have drugged her.”
Yeah, Iris wouldn’t have gone down without a fight. Not his wife. “Can
you get a better angle of his face?”
Vincent muttered to himself as he zoomed in on the man, but it was as if
the guy was purposefully avoiding the cameras. Which meant he’d been
here before. Had likely learned the layout of everything.
As he continued to watch the video feed, his cell phone buzzed in his
pocket. It was a text from Iris.
“Vincent,” he managed to rasp out as he opened the message.
Sending you a live video of your wife. Bring five million in cash to the
following address. You have two hours. She’s alive for now. Come alone or
she’s dead. Don’t bother trying to trace this phone, I’m trashing it after I hit
send.
His heart beat an erratic tattoo as he read the message again. She’d been
taken, but she was alive. He focused on that one thought.
Iris was still alive.
He wasn’t familiar with most of Miami except the well-known hotspots.
“You recognize the address?”
“Yeah,” Vincent muttered. “Abandoned neighborhood twenty minutes
from here. Some so-called urban explorers did a documentary on it a while
ago…” He trailed off as the video feed popped up.
Wyatt’s gut twisted as he watched. Iris’s arms and legs were cuffed to a
chair and though she still wore her jeans, her only other clothing was a lacy
black bra. Her head lolled to the side but he could see the rise and fall of her
chest.
She was breathing and that was the only thing that gave him hope. Fury
popped inside him at the sight of her half-dressed but he shoved his anger
back down. That emotion wouldn’t do him any good. He had to stay
focused.
Getting the money wouldn’t be a problem. He could get it and be at the
address in two hours. Something the man who’d sent the video had to
realize. He’d timed this perfectly.
“You know you’re not going alone, right?” Vincent asked quietly.
Throat tight, all Wyatt could do was nod and stride from the room and
away from the prying ears of strangers. Vincent stayed close as they
brushed past the others and hurried back toward the elevators. “No police,”
Wyatt murmured. That wasn’t even a question for him, but he wanted to
make sure Vincent knew where he stood clearly.
Next to him Vincent snorted. “No shit. I’m bringing Harrison in on this
though. We’re bringing our girl home alive, man.”
Iris was his, but he’d never been so thankful for her job and the people
she worked with. If anyone could help him, it was the people from Red
Stone. Time wasn’t on their side and he wouldn’t waste one precious
second. He wasn’t stupid enough to go alone, but he knew he had to be
careful if he wanted to see Iris alive again.
And he would save her. When he did, whoever had taken her would wish
they’d never been born.
Chapter 14
Iris tried to force her eyes open, struggling to force off the sandbags
weighing them down. She was disoriented and…fuzzy. Where the hell was
she? At Wyatt’s? A memory danced at the edges of her brain, but she
couldn’t grasp it. She’d been in the cafeteria trying to scrounge up food for
her and the guys while waiting for Wyatt. But it had been empty so she’d
found a vending machine. There had been an old man asking for help. He’d
needed change or something. Then… she couldn’t remember anything after
that. Why was everything a giant blank?
Inhaling, she scented mustiness in the air. It was tinged with salt so
maybe she was near the ocean. And that dripping sound seemed overpronounced, as if it was echoing. Like water falling on concrete. She
managed to force her eyes open to slits and that’s when it registered that her
feet were cold. In fact, she was completely chilled to the bone. Struggling to
blink away the sluggishness that had overtaken her, she saw that her shirt
had been removed—but she still wore a bra. An iciness that had nothing to
do with the temperature settled over her as she instinctively went to cover
up.
That’s when she saw the flex-cuffs securing her wrists tightly to an
uncomfortable metal chair. She couldn’t see her legs, but as she attempted
to move them, there was no give. Adrenaline punched through her like a
bolt of lightning but the bindings were unforgiving. As more of her
surroundings came into focus she glanced around the matchbox-sized room,
trying to find a weakness. A tiny, barred window in the far corner showed a
peek at a midnight sky, but the walls were thick slab. No plaster or
fiberboard, which would have given her an out if her hands and feet weren’t
bound.
At the sound of keys jangling and the lock twisting, her gut clenched.
Her hands balled into fists as she prepared for the worst. There was no
reason to take a woman’s clothes other than the horrible scenarios that
played over and over in her mind like a bad horror movie. The only thing
she could do was try to send her mind somewhere else if she couldn’t fight
back. In SERE school she’d been taught a hell of a lot, including ways to
maim or kill someone trying to attack her from this position. Yeah, whoever
had taken her might assault her, but if they got close enough she’d rip out
their jugular with her teeth if she could manage. Hands and feet weren’t the
only weapon.
Fuck that, no matter what happened she would survive. She could
survive anything if it brought her back to Wyatt.
Oh God, where was Wyatt? She prayed he hadn’t been hurt too. If she
could just remember what had happened to her.
A masked man walked in carrying her long-sleeved T-shirt. He reached
into his pocket and she instinctively flinched, but didn’t turn away. Maybe
he was just going to kill her.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” the man muttered. “But if you try to escape,
I’ll put a bullet in your head and I won’t lose any sleep.”
Iris recognized that voice. She tried to figure out from where, but her
thoughts were so muddled.
“Where…am I?” Though it was difficult to force words out, she slurred
them worse than she felt, hoping to play up the effect of whatever drugs this
guy had given her.
“Doesn’t matter.”
He moved around behind her, his feet shuffling against the floor. When
she felt his hand on her left arm, her head snapped around. Under normal
circumstances she would have sensed him about to touch her, but she could
barely keep her eyes open. Before she could guess what he intended, he
quickly and expertly cut the restraints on her wrists and ankles.
“You can put this back on.” He dropped her shirt into her lap and crossed
his arms over his chest.
With the mask, it was difficult to tell much about him, but she knew he
was Caucasian, had familiar blue eyes, and likely had dark hair, if his
eyebrows were any indication. And that damn voice…God, why wouldn’t
her brain work?
“Get dressed,” he ground out when she didn’t move.
Her fingers fumbled as she tugged the long-sleeved T-shirt over her head,
the cold and the drugs making her clumsy. “Are you planning to rape me?”
The question was automatic and while he could lie to her, she was pretty
sure she could read his expression. Monsters like that got a gleeful look in
their eyes when excited.
His blue eyes widened in disgust before he cleared his throat. “No. None
of this is about you.”
Then why had she been restrained only God knew where and why had
someone taken her shirt? And where was Wyatt? “What is it about then?”
As she spoke, she felt a bit more normal, if tired. Her words weren’t as
slurred and her surroundings seemed clearer.
“Money.”
In her experience, nothing was ever that simple, but she kept her mouth
shut. Mainly because she didn’t trust her voice. Just talking had taken
enough effort.
He grabbed her elbow in an unforgiving grip and yanked her to her feet.
“Come on.”
Despite what he’d said, panic settled deep in her core as different
scenarios ran through her head. He’d said he wasn’t going to rape her, but
what if there were others with him? She still had no clue what was going on
or why she’d been taken. Though she could guess it had something to do
with Wyatt. Maybe the guy was serious about money being a motivation.
But then why try to kill Wyatt multiple times? No…there had to be more.
“Where…are you taking…me?” She intentionally stumbled over her words.
“Somewhere more comfortable.” His voice was monotone, but she got a
flash of some seriously white teeth. Like the guy was on a toothpaste
commercial. Maybe he had veneers or… It was Zac Thorton. She
recognized those freakishly white teeth from the night they’d had Sato
arrested.
Iris’s heart pounded out of control, but she couldn’t afford to let him
know that she knew who he was. He was wearing a mask after all, which
might mean he didn’t intend to kill her.
Even though all her instincts told her to lash out and attack, it was hard
enough to walk. And she knew he had at least two weapons on him. He still
held the knife and she could see the outline of a gun under his shirt. It was
tucked into his pants. He hadn’t been bluffing about shooting her.
She’d end up shot or stabbed if she tried to fight now. No, better to wait
and strike when the time was right. She was silent as they entered a drab,
concrete hallway. She tried to get a feel for where they might be, but there
were no windows.
The concrete floor beneath her bare feet was dirty, making her cringe as
they walked. After turning down another hallway, Thorton abruptly stopped
in front of the first door. “In here.”
When he opened the door, she stared in surprise. The room was almost
bare, with a simple mattress in the corner, but it wasn’t the dungeon-like
conditions she’d expected. Not that it eased her anxiety much. She still had
no idea what to expect from him and she hated that she didn’t know where
Wyatt was—or how she’d ended up here.
“I told you I’m not hurting you. Once your husband pays, you’ll be free
to go.”
Husband? So Thorton knew that she and Wyatt were married. It wasn’t
exactly a secret, but still…he would definitely use this against Wyatt. She
didn’t respond and he continued.
“Someone will be standing guard at all times. If you need to use the
restroom, there’s one right through there.” He pointed to a door on the
opposite side of the small room.
He shut the door before she could respond, but she didn’t buy that
‘someone’ would be guarding her other than Thorton himself. Why hadn’t
she seen anyone else so far? If he had a strong force of men backing him,
he’d be showing it off to her for the pure fear factor.
Trying not to be too obvious, she drank in her surroundings, searching
for a camera. Considering there was only a mattress in the room, any
electronic devices would have stood out. The tiny, dingy bathroom with no
mirror was more of the same. God, what the hell was this place? Probably
an abandoned…something. Warehouse or apartment building? She couldn’t
figure it out.
Her mind began working overtime. She turned the faucet handle of the
small white sink and splashed cold water on her face. The sensation was
wonderful, the iciness a slap to her face. Just what she needed right now. Oh
so slowly, a plan began to form. It wasn’t a great plan, but if this asshole
wasn’t going to bind her hands, she was going to take advantage.
But first, she had to lie down. Nausea swept through her, making her
dizzy. After what Iris guessed was half an hour resting on the mattress—
though for all she knew hours could have passed—she was feeling much
more like herself. If only that bastard hadn’t taken her watch she’d have a
better timeframe. As it was, she felt as if she was working blind.
Her reflexes were definitely slower than normal, but not like when she’d
woken up in that chair. She’d tried the main door but it was locked. She
hadn’t heard anything from outside though, even when she knocked. Which
made her wonder if anyone was even out there.
Not that she was going to attempt to escape that way. That would be too
obvious.
Instead, she hurried into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.
With trembling hands she hoisted herself up onto the ceramic sink. It was
cold against her feet and luckily held under her weight. Slowly, she
stretched up, waiting for Thorton to burst in at any moment because he had
a hidden camera she hadn’t found.
When nothing happened she slid one of the cheap ceiling tiles to the side.
They were yellowed with age and the one she touched crumbled around the
edges. Ignoring the dust that scattered over her face and clothes, she
reached up and clutched onto one of the support beams. She held her breath
as she tested its strength. Letting her body go lax, she became a deadweight
and dangled from the beam.
Adrenaline and the need to survive raged through her as it held.
Using the wall as leverage, she pulled herself through and into a sub
ceiling. The staleness of what was likely decades of cobwebs and dust
immediately assailed her. As she started to crawl across the sub ceiling, she
forced herself to ignore the creepy crawlies she saw scuttling about. Not
much bothered her, but spiders…a shudder snaked through her as she
swiped another cobweb out of the way. Oh yeah, she was getting the hell
out of here.
She continued crawling until the ceiling space grew too small for her to
go any further. Her heart pounded wildly against her ribcage as she made
her next move. For all she knew, she’d be dropping right into Thorton’s
path.
Now or never. Reaching down from the sub ceiling, she shoved another
dusty ceiling tile away. Beneath her she could see carpet and an industrial
sized metal desk. The room was dark, but it had to have some source of
light—maybe through an open window.
Holding onto the support beam, she lowered herself into the room. It was
empty except for the desk she’d seen from above. Letting herself drop onto
it, she inwardly cursed as dust scattered all around her from above.
Fighting a cough, she hurried to the window opening and looked outside.
There was a string of what looked like abandoned buildings across the
street. Maybe they’d been apartment buildings at one point but now they
were spray painted with graffiti and the windows were either boarded up or
missing. Considering the space she was peering out of had only shards of
glass along the side edges of the panes, she guessed the entire neighborhood
looked like this. It was eerily silent.
Where the hell were they? Had he taken her out of Miami?
At this point it didn’t matter. She had to escape and find a way to contact
Wyatt. She’d figure everything else out later.
From what she could tell, she was up only one story. Not great but also
not too bad. After another inspection of the single pane window, she
realized she wouldn’t have to push any shards out of the way to climb
through. She had enough room. Iris threw a leg over and propelled herself
over the side. She held onto the edge, preparing herself for the fall. It was
too dark to see everything below her clearly but she could make out a
sidewalk. Letting go, she dropped toward the cement below. Something
sharp pierced one of her feet when she hit the ground but she bit back a cry.
As she rolled onto the ground, another pain shot through her ankle, but she
forced herself to ignore it.
Using a Dumpster as cover, she crouched behind it and took in her
surroundings. The row of buildings down the quiet street had definitely
been apartments at one time. Now they were clearly abandoned and while
there wasn’t much light from the direct area, she could see street lights a
block down.
Wincing, she pulled a small screw from the bottom of her bare foot. It
hadn’t punctured very deep, but it still hurt like hell. Pushing up, she
sprinted along the sidewalk past a row of buildings. Each time her foot hit
the pavement, slivers of pain shot up her leg, but she bit back against the
insistent throbbing. She was leaving a bloody trail behind her but there was
nothing to do about that until she’d put more distance between herself and
her captor.
Thorton might know she was missing by now so no matter how much
she hurt, she had no choice but to run. Each time her feet hit the pavement,
pain ripped through her sole and ankle.
“Hey! Stop!” A male voice sounded behind her, but she didn’t listen.
Didn’t dare slow down or even look back. Every second counted.
Her legs and lungs burned as she sprinted toward another street and with
every strike of her right foot on the pavement it felt like she was stomping
on glass. A few homeless people loitered by a rusty shopping cart but when
they saw her, they looked the other way.
Nice.
When she reached the new street, it was empty in both directions. Taking
a gamble, she headed south, then took the first left she came to. Risking a
glance behind her, she felt a short burst of relief that no one was behind her.
But that didn’t mean Thorton wasn’t lurking in the shadows nearby.
Breathing was difficult, but adrenaline had taken over.
She’d have maybe thirty seconds to find a place to hide. Or more likely
fifteen. In light of the abandoned buildings and empty parking lots full of
trash surrounding her, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to hide in any of the
dark entrances she spotted. There were probably worse monsters inside
some of them. And she was leaving a trail of blood for her pursuer to
follow.
When she rounded another corner, Iris stopped dead in her tracks. Barely
ten feet in front of her two males who couldn’t be more than nineteen
lounged against a bright gold convertible with expensive looking rims.
They stopped talking and stared at her.
As her gaze fell lower she realized they both had guns tucked into the
front of their jeans. And neither of them looked happy to see her.
If she got close enough she could disarm one of them, but she wasn’t
sure she could disarm two. Not when she wasn’t at her complete best.
Had she just escaped one monster only to be faced with another
nightmare?
Chapter 15
Zac Thorton hurried to the edge of the last abandoned building on the
street. He peered around the corner, but Iris was gone. The woman had
moved fast too. He still couldn’t believe she’d escaped. He’d checked on
her a few times and she’d been passed out on the mattress. She should still
be asleep. He hadn’t wanted to dose her too heavy and risk killing her
before he got his money, but he should have. Hell, he should have just left
her tied up in the chair, but had wanted to show her a little kindness before
she died.
Glancing at his watch, his heart rate tripled. Wyatt would be here in less
than ten minutes and he had no hostage. Ideas ran through his head as he
tried to get a handle on the situation. He hated being out of control.
He could leave and pretend he’d never been involved in any of this.
There was no way Iris had recognized him. He’d been careful of that. And
he’d made sure Mark Keibler took the fall for hiring Sato. Killing his
partner had been a difficult choice, but a publicly unknown branch of
Thorton Enterprises had just developed new technology; a type of small,
untraceable explosive. It had worked well, too. He’d put the chip right into
Keibler’s cell phone. So even if Keibler was dead, he now had data on the
extent of damage one chip could do.
When Zac had taken over the company from his deceased father, he’d
learned all about his father’s less-than-reputable dealings. And he’d also
taken over his fucking father’s debt. He should have just let the company
crumble, but he’d needed to prove to himself and the world that he could
turn Thorton Enterprises around even when his father hadn’t been able to.
Unfortunately Wyatt Christiansen had kept stealing deals from him. Buying
and breaking apart companies he should have gotten. Zac wasn’t sure how
he did it, time after time; maybe the man was paying people off, but no one
was that lucky.
With Christiansen and Keibler’s history, pinning everything on Keibler
had been easy enough. Hell, he’d even managed to set up a blind date
between Keibler and Sato without personally becoming involved. If only
Christiansen’s wife hadn’t fucked things up.
What the hell was he going to do now?
He turned at a creaking sound behind him. A homeless man pushing a
shopping cart was muttering to himself as he strolled down the cracked
sidewalk.
They were in one of the worst areas of town, something that would work
to his advantage. He doubted Iris would be able to find anyone to help her.
It wasn’t like she had a cell phone. And forget about payphones. There
weren’t any working ones in the vicinity. He knew because he owned ten
square blocks in this abandoned shithole. Well, he’d inherited it. He just
hadn’t gotten around to selling the properties. Not in this buyer’s market.
He looked at his watch again. Five minutes to go. Decision made, Zac
sprinted back the way he’d come, sticking to the shadows. Once he reached
the building he’d kept Christiansen’s wife captive in, he slipped inside
through an open window space. Then he texted Christiansen the correct
address for the meeting place using a throw-away phone he’d purchased an
hour ago. He’d originally given Christiansen the wrong address, but had
made sure it was in the same vicinity. Zac hadn’t wanted him trying to
assemble a team of his security to infiltrate where he was keeping Iris. Now
all he had to do was wait for Christiansen to show up.
Once Zac got the money he deserved, he was the only one leaving the
meeting alive.
*****
Wyatt read off the text with the changed address for Vincent and
Harrison Caldwell, who were hiding in the back of his SUV. They’d all
known the original address he’d been given wasn’t the meeting place. Iris’s
kidnapper wouldn’t have given them two hours to get there. Still, Harrison
had sent someone to scout it out and sure enough, the abandoned building
had been empty of all life.
At first Wyatt had been surprised that Caldwell had decided to come on
this job personally, but he’d have done the same thing in Harrison’s
position. Iris was one of his people.
Right now she was the only thing that mattered to Wyatt.
“I’m letting the other team know to stay back and move in when we give
the go-ahead.” Vincent’s voice was muffled from where he and Harrison lay
covered two seats behind him.
Wyatt knew this was a trap. It had to be. That was why he wasn’t going
in alone and why Harrison had insisted on another security team to back
them up. Four other men were in an SUV a few blocks behind them. They
would remain at a static location until Harrison gave them the signal to
move in.
Since they hadn’t been able to get any good video feed with Iris’s
kidnapper’s face at the hospital, they still weren’t sure who they were after.
And her captor hadn’t been lying. He’d disposed of her phone immediately,
making it impossible to trace him without knowing who he was first. Zac
Thorton was their biggest suspect so one of Red Stone’s analysts had
tracked his phone, but it had been traced to his penthouse suite in
downtown Miami. That didn’t mean he wasn’t behind this, but at this point,
it could be anyone. Wyatt didn’t give a shit who it was, he just wanted Iris
safe and in his arms.
As he steered down the street with no street lights and abandoned
apartment buildings, it was like pulling onto the set of a horror movie.
Everything was spray painted and windows were either missing or boarded
up. This wasn’t like the Miami he’d seen so far. Even in the daylight he
imagined this place was a desolate hole. “I’m pulling down the street. If the
GPS is right, we’ve got exactly half a mile to go.”
“Slow down,” Harrison ordered.
He was only going ten miles an hour, but he slowed to just under five.
There was a soft clicking sound as the back hatch opened, but it closed so
quickly he couldn’t believe they’d both managed to exit. “Guys?”
No answer.
Okay, then, it was just him now. Depending on others for backup was
hard to do when Iris’s life was on the line. But he had no choice. Now…
fuck, he just had to pray Harrison and Vincent managed to infiltrate the
building and take out Iris’s captor before the guy killed him or Iris.
As Wyatt pulled up to the address he’d been given, his phone buzzed
again. Another text. Get out, open all the doors to your SUV then walk
through the front door. Bring the money. Leave phone behind, no electronics
on you or the bitch is dead.
Then Wyatt received another text with a picture of Iris laying on a
mattress, clothed and sleeping. The picture didn’t mean anything though, it
could have been taken earlier. He wanted to demand proof of life and if he
didn’t have Red Stone backing him, he would have. As it was, he just
wanted to get this guy into the open so someone could take him out and he
could save his wife.
Grabbing his briefcase, he dropped the phone into the center console,
then did as the text ordered. He opened all the doors—to show he was alone
—then headed up the cracked stone steps leading to the derelict structure.
The man holding Iris could decide to just put a bullet through his head,
but Wyatt doubted he’d do that outright. It was a calculated risk, but one he
was willing to take for his wife. The man had asked for a ransom for a
reason. He wanted this money and he wouldn’t take the chance that Wyatt
showed up empty-handed.
“I’m going in,” he murmured, barely moving his lips. The guy might
have told him to leave his cell phone behind, but he wore an earpiece
provided to him by Red Stone.
As he reached what had once been a glass door, but was now just an open
space with jagged glass edges around the frame, Vincent’s words stopped
him cold. “Get out, Iris isn’t in there.”
Relief slammed into him, but he couldn’t believe it. “Repeat,” he
murmured.
“The team just picked her up a couple blocks over. She escaped and a
fucking drug dealer actually let her use his phone to call for help. She’s
unharmed and says Zac Thorton took her. Harrison and I are moving in
from the back. Get out of here now, we’ll take this guy down.”
Iris was safe. That was all he needed to know. Now he could face off
with that coward Thorton with nothing hanging over his head. The man had
come after his wife, his only family, and made this very personal. With his
Force Recon and weapons training, he knew he could take Thorton on. The
guy was clearly smart, but he was just a fucking suit and he’d messed with
the wrong guy. There was no way Wyatt was willing to risk this vendetta or
whatever it was dragging on longer than tonight. He had to protect Iris. It
was his right and he wouldn’t let anything stand in his way. “Negative. I’m
going in.” But he wasn’t going in the front door.
Vincent and Harrison both cursed, but Wyatt ignored them and dodged to
the side of the doorway. It was too damn dark to see if anyone was waiting
directly inside, but he wasn’t walking in now and making himself a target.
Inching along the exterior wall, he crouched down as he half-crawled halfwalked. Three windows over, he pulled out his pocket-sized flashlight and
peered inside. Graffiti covered every wall and there were brownish stains on
crumbling ceiling tiles, but it was otherwise empty.
After dropping the briefcase inside, he hoisted himself over then pulled
out his Colt .45. Unlike Iris’s favorite gun, his weapon wasn’t custommade, but he went to the shooting range monthly and the Marines had
taught him how to do many things well—including hit any target.
His shoes were silent against the industrial carpet as he moved. Setting
the case against a wall, Wyatt called on his former military training and
swept out into the hall, weapon raised.
Empty.
It was as if he’d never left the Marines as he cleared the next three rooms
down the long hallway.
“Back four rooms, west side are clear,” Vincent said, his voice barely a
whisper.
“Back four, east side also clear.” This time it was Harrison.
Wyatt quietly gave his status update but paused when he heard a slight
shuffling sound somewhere in front of him. It came from one of the last
three rooms he had to clear along this hallway.
Ducking back into one of the rooms he’d just cleared, he grabbed a flat
soccer ball with peeling green paint he’d seen, then cautiously stepped back
into the hall. As he neared the next door he paused then hauled back and
tossed the ball into the first room like a grenade.
Shots went off, exploding into the quiet with brutal intensity as his decoy
worked. Harrison was asking for a status update in his earpiece, but Wyatt
ignored him. “The place is surrounded and I know you don’t have Iris
anymore! Give yourself up, Thorton.”
“Fuck you!” Another three rounds slammed through the plaster of the
wall. As far as Wyatt knew, Thorton didn’t have any training, but that didn’t
mean he couldn’t get off a lucky shot.
Wyatt rolled to the ground and shot back through the wall in the direction
the bullets had come from. Thorton cried out and Wyatt heard a thump, but
he couldn’t be sure if he’d hit him. “Thorton? You have no leverage
anymore and I don’t think you want to die. Come out and we’ll work this
out.” Wyatt didn’t give a shit about working things out, but he wanted
Thorton brought to justice. More importantly, he wanted to know if he had
any partners, if Wyatt needed to be worried about anyone else coming after
him or Iris.
“Fuck you.” This time he sounded slurred, unsteady.
“Why are you doing all this, Thorton? I knew your father and he was a
good man.” Definitely not true, but Wyatt wanted to get his guard down.
“Did Keibler drag you into this mess because of our history? Is that what’s
going on?”
Harrison informed Wyatt that he and Vincent were on their way, but
Wyatt remained in position outside the door.
At first he thought Thorton wouldn’t respond then he started laughing,
the maniacal sound sending a shiver down Wyatt’s spine. “You’re so…
fucking arrogant.” He coughed, the sound wet and gurgled, as if he was
choking on his own blood. “Keibler knew…nothing. This was all me, you
fucking thief. Think you can steal deals that belong…to me…” He trailed
off into a hacking cough.
Once he was silent Wyatt tried again. “You don’t sound so good. Why
don’t you come out here and we’ll work things out?” And get the hell out of
this place.
Thorton started half-laughing, half-coughing. “Neither of us…are getting
out of here.” The way he said it, so sure of himself made all the hair on the
back of Wyatt’s neck stand up.
Shit. “Vincent, Harrison, get the fuck out of here now. The place is
rigged.” The two men uttered curses, but gave him an affirmative that they
were moving out.
He couldn’t be sure, but after the way Keibler had died, his gut told him
to run. For all Wyatt knew this was a scare tactic, but he wouldn’t bet his
life on it and more importantly, he wouldn’t bet anyone else’s on it either.
He sprinted toward the nearest open door and dove through one of the
windows. Pain pierced his upper arm as a piece of serrated glass caught
him, but he ignored it as he rolled onto the hard ground. Shoving up, he ran
toward the street, his legs and lungs straining as he pushed himself to haul
ass.
Once he’d cleared the street and was almost to the other building parallel
to the one Thorton was in, he finally slowed and turned. “You guys clear?”
“Yeah, you sure—”
A fireball of orange and red ripped through the night air, lighting up the
bleak surroundings like fireworks. For one moment everything was
illuminated before debris rained down across the street. Thankfully Wyatt
was far enough away out of the blast range. Something slammed into the
windshield of his SUV, setting the car alarm off, but he didn’t care as long
as Thorton was dead. He didn’t even give a shit about his money that had
just been incinerated in the explosion—it was insured anyway. He tucked
his weapon into the back of his pants as he let a thread of relief slide
through him.
“Wyatt?” Harrison asked.
“Yeah, I’m good. How about you guys?” he asked, looking around for
them.
“We’re good, look to your left.”
When he did, he spotted both men crouched behind a dead tree stump
one building over. As he started to head toward them, an SUV turned the
corner, tires squealing as it raced down the street. It jerked to a sudden stop
and before he could move, Iris jumped out and ran toward him.
Wyatt didn’t remember moving, but seconds later Iris launched herself at
him, wrapping her legs and arms around him in a tight embrace. His throat
was so tight he couldn’t squeeze any words out. All he could do was hold
her. Iris buried her face against his neck, her tears soaking him as shudders
wracked her body. He hated that anything could make his strong, beautiful
wife cry. “I love you,” he finally rasped out into her shoulder. “I should
have told you sooner, but I do. More than anything.” If she didn’t return his
feelings, he’d deal with it, but there was no way in hell he was going
another second without telling her.
She pulled back, her eyes red-rimmed and wet as a smile spread across
her face. “I love you too.”
A weight he hadn’t realized he’d been carrying—probably for his whole
damn life—lifted at those words. No matter what the future held, he was
going to spend the rest of his life showing Iris how much she meant to him.
No holding back anymore.
Chapter 16
Two weeks later
Already in a dark mood, Wyatt glared at the buttons of the elevator. As if
that would make the thing go faster. He’d already put his master key in and
was heading to the tenth floor of the fifty floor hotel, where his office at this
particular hotel was. He’d been called down to the security room for
bullshit reasons and now all he wanted to do was wrap up the rest of his
paperwork and head back to Miami. After spending the last two weeks there
he’d managed to do everything long-distance, but had been forced to come
to Vegas yesterday because he’d needed to do some things in person.
Like meet with the head of the construction team about to break ground
on another hotel/casino. The Serafina was going to have six pools, elaborate
gardens, imported Russian sculptures, and one of the most exclusive spas
on the west coast. It had been one of his favorite projects for the past six
months, but today he didn’t care about any of that. He simply wanted to get
back to Iris.
She’d been fine with him leaving last night. Too fine, in fact. After all
that shit with Thorton had been figured out by the police—and his dead
body forensically identified from the scene of the blast—the last two weeks
he’d spent wrapped up with Iris. Mostly naked when he hadn’t been
working. It had been pure heaven. She’d taken some time off work too, but
she had a job coming up and hadn’t been able to come to Vegas with him
while she prepared for it.
Wyatt understood, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He wanted Iris
near him always. After what felt like an eternity, the cylindrical shaped
elevator dinged and opened onto the correct floor that was exclusively
employee offices. Ellie was waiting there as he stepped out.
“It’s after seven, go home,” he practically barked, even though it was
clear she was doing just that.
She shook her head as she stepped into the waiting car, her heels clicking
against the shiny tile. “One day without her and you’re a monster. It’s
pathetic, boss.”
Wyatt grunted a non-response as he headed through her anterior office to
his own. She was right. He was pathetic. And he didn’t care. Deep down, he
knew he wouldn’t be able to travel back and forth long-term. Which meant
he’d definitely be selling some of his casinos. Probably the Serafina once it
was finished. Unless of course Iris accepted the job he had to offer her—but
he hadn’t figured out a way to broach the subject yet. She was more than
qualified for it, but he wasn’t sure what her reaction would be. He didn’t
want her to feel like he was pushing her into something.
As he stepped into his office, he froze. Iris sat at his desk, the city
illuminated behind her through his ceiling to floor windows. Even with the
lights off, he could see her perfectly. Leaning back in his chair, she had her
legs propped up on his desk and crossed at the ankles. And she was wearing
four-inch fuck me heels and a skintight red dress that might as well have
been painted on.
Like Pavlov’s dog, his mouth watered at the sight of her. Yeah, he was
pathetic. “How’d you get in here?” he blurted.
She raised a dark eyebrow, but didn’t move from her spot where she was
clearly comfortable all stretched out. All he could think about was taking
her on his desk. “How do you think? Ellie. She managed to get me a last
minute flight out here on your jet. I’m pretty sure she threatened the pilot
with bodily harm if he informed you I was coming.”
He leaned against the doorframe, enjoying the view of Iris looking
relaxed and so very fuckable. “That woman deserves a raise,” he muttered.
“I know.” Iris let her feet drop, then stood and walked around his desk
only to lean against it, stretching those sexy, lean legs in front of her.
For a moment, he forgot to breathe as he drank in the sight of her, all
long limbs and…pure sex. That’s what he thought of every time he saw her.
Not that he was complaining that she was here, but… “I thought you had a
job.”
Her lips quirked up slightly. “I might have lied.”
He pushed up from his leaning position and quickly closed the distance
between them. She spread her legs so that he stood in between them as he
grasped her hips. Her exotic scent wrapped around him, grounding him in
the way only she could. “Why would you do that?”
“I had some stuff to take care of without your interference. I…arrived
this morning.”
His fingers tightened on her hips. “You’ve been here all day?” he rasped
out. He’d been missing her all day and she’d been in the same city?
“Mm hmm. I officially put in my notice to Harrison and I’ve had half a
dozen job offers out here. I’ve been interviewing all day.”
“You quit your job?” He couldn’t hide his disbelief.
“Yeah, but not to become Martha Stewart.”
“I don’t want that.” He never had. And the idea of Iris as a domestic diva
made him laugh. Yeah, he wanted her safe, but he knew there was no way
he could protect her 24/7. That was impossible and to attempt otherwise
would be insanity. Besides, Iris was pretty damn good at looking after
herself. He frowned as another thought occurred to him. “Who’d you
interview with?”
As she listed off six names—two who were his biggest competitors—he
growled. Which just made her laugh. “I haven’t taken any of them, but there
are a lot of opportunities out here for me. More than in Miami.”
“Hold that thought,” he murmured before stepping away from her and
around his desk. He pulled out the file he’d been holding on to and handed
it to her.
“What’s this?” Her pretty lips pulled into a thin line.
“Read it.”
She was silent as she flipped open the manila folder and began turning
the pages. After a few minutes of complete silence, she looked up, her eyes
gleaming. “Head of security?”
He nodded, unable to think of a single person he’d rather have for the
job. It was custom made for her. “The job is yours if you want it. The
Serafina won’t be completed for at least eight months—probably closer to a
year for the grand opening. I didn’t want to push you too hard and I never
expected you to quit your job. I hadn’t even decided if I was going to show
you this or not.”
“Are you kidding me? This is an amazing opportunity.” Her dark eyes lit
up as she set the file back on his desk. “I want it as long as you don’t try to
micromanage and we keep our personal life separate.”
“I won’t be working directly out of the Serafina. Yeah, I’ll have some
hands-on dealings with the opening, but security will be all you. I know I
said it but I didn’t expect you to quit Red Stone… Unless you take a
temporary job out here until the grand opening, I’d like for you to work for
the next eight months with the head of security here. Learn how casinos
work. The transition will be easier when—”
“Done. I can start in two weeks—once I’ve moved all my stuff out here
and handle all sorts of tedious things I need to take care of.”
Wyatt scrubbed a hand over his face, unable to believe this was
happening. Still, guilt tugged at him. “You love Miami.”
Iris gave him an incredulous look. “No, I love you. I moved to Miami
because of my job, nothing more. Not to sound totally cheesy, but my home
is wherever you are and I’m not spending a year or however long flying
back and forth seeing each other. Don’t get me wrong, I know we could do
it, but I don’t want to. I’ve spent too damn long running from any kind of
real attachment and you’re mine Wyatt Christiansen. I want to wake up and
see your face every fucking morning.”
Wyatt grinned at her words, his cock growing even harder. “I love it
when you talk like that.” When he went to kiss her, she pulled her head
back and put a hand on his chest.
“The past two weeks have been amazing but something’s been bugging
me and Jay has been in too much pain to bug so…”
“So…what?” He’d told her he loved her and hadn’t stopped showing her
just how much since then. He couldn’t imagine anything bothering her. Not
where their relationship was concerned.
She let out a sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. For a second, he
saw insecurity in her dark gaze before she said, “It’s not a big deal but
before the explosion—the first one—Jay said something happened a year
ago between us but…I think maybe he got me confused with…”
It took a moment before Wyatt realized what she was trying to say.
Annoyance surged through him. “What, you think he got you confused with
someone else? I haven’t even slept with anyone in almost two years.” He
hadn’t wanted to. Not once she’d walked back into his life. But he had spent
a lot of quality time with his fist.
Her eyes widened in disbelief, but he continued. He knew exactly what
Jay had been referring to and if his friend wasn’t laid up healing, he’d kick
his ass for even mentioning it to Iris. “A year ago I couldn’t get in touch
with you for two weeks—you probably don’t remember, because you were
just on an assignment—and I fucking lost it.” He’d barely recognized
himself then, consumed with the need he had to make sure she was okay. “I
should have known before then considering I couldn’t even look at another
woman, but it’s when I realized I loved you. I’d give up anything for you
Iris and it scared me.”
“And now?” There was a note of hesitation in her voice.
He swallowed hard, his throat tight. “The only thing that scares me is the
thought of losing you.”
At his words she smiled, that soft seductive one that drove him insane.
They weren’t making it out of this office anytime soon and they both knew
it. She reached around her back and he heard the soft snick of her zipper
right before her formfitting dress loosened and dropped to her waist,
revealing that she wasn’t wearing a bra.
His brain short-circuited for a second. His hands actually shook as he
reached out and tugged on her dress until it pooled around her feet. That’s
when he realized she was completely bare under the dress.
With a wicked grin, she kicked the material away but kept her heels on.
The sight was straight out of one of his fantasies. Though he told himself to
go slow, to exert control, he was barely hanging on.
One night away from her had been too damn long. He felt as if he was
starving for her touch.
Her taste.
Without giving her any warning, he fell to his knees. God, he could
already smell how turned on she was. Her entire body was humming with
raw energy. “Sit on the edge,” he ordered.
She did as he said, but kept her legs together. When he looked up, he
found that mischievous expression on her face he adored. “You didn’t say
spread them.” Her voice was all innocence as he growled under his breath.
Before he could order her to do that too, her thighs fell open, revealing
what he wanted. The bright lights from the nearby hotels and casinos gave
his office the perfect illumination to clearly see the soft thatch of her dark
hair glistening with a wetness that was just for him. “Have you been
thinking about this?”
“All day.” Her whispered words turned into a moan as he covered her clit
with his mouth. He should have eased her into it, but the need to taste her
was all consuming and he knew Iris loved it when he took charge like this.
It was the one area they never had any problems.
Flicking his tongue over the swollen bud, he savored each breathless
sound she made. It wasn’t enough though, nothing seemed to ever be
enough with her. It was as if he couldn’t sate himself. Not where Iris was
concerned.
As he stroked lower, sliding his tongue along her wet slit, she lifted one
leg over his back, giving him deeper access. Her sweet taste and scent
rolled over him, practically drugging him with everything that was Iris.
Papers on his desk scattered as she blindly reached out to grab on to
something. When her heel dug into his back, he shuddered, loving the feel
of her starting to lose control. He hadn’t even penetrated her with his finger,
but she was already trembling. She was so reactive it still stunned him.
He shifted back to her clit, teasing the tight bud, increasing his pressure
with each stroke. Each time he did, she rolled her hips against his face and
let out incomprehensible little sounds that had his cock aching for release.
When she slid her fingers through his hair and gripped him tight, he
pulled back.
Wyatt’s breath was warm against Iris’s mound. She stared down at him
with wide eyes. “What are you doing?” He wouldn’t stop now. He just
couldn’t.
In answer, he stood, but cupped her possessively as he did. The feel of
his calloused palm against her most sensitive area drove her more than a
little crazy. Watching her with those devastating blue eyes, he wordlessly
circled the heel of his palm against her. The friction wasn’t as intense as his
tongue had been and she realized what he was doing.
Slowing things down, but keeping her on edge. He certainly loved to
tease. She leaned back a fraction on the desk and tried to relax, to let him
work her up even more. The payoff would definitely be worth it, but
patience was hard when all she wanted to do was force his hand, to demand
he take her hard, the way she craved. But she knew making demands would
just make him draw it out even longer. Oh yes, her husband was a giant
tease.
The last couple weeks she’d been working like a madwoman trying to
get everything in order so she could move out to Vegas and surprise him. It
had been hard to keep everything under wraps considering they’d spent
almost every second together. But she’d managed to do it and now that she
was here, she knew it was right where she belonged.
Unable to stop herself, she squirmed against his hand, trying to force him
into action. If only the frustrating man would make her come. He just
chuckled darkly, his gaze on her intent and knowing. Well, two could play
that game.
While he teased her, she reached between their bodies and made quick
work of his belt, then zipper. He tried to pull back out of her reach but she
refused to let him.
The time for teasing was over. She couldn’t stand it tonight. Not when it
felt as if she’d been waiting an eternity for him to claim her. The past two
weeks had been amazing, but there had been a cloud hanging over them.
Not exactly a dark one, but she hadn’t been able to tell him about her plans
to move here because she’d wanted it to be a surprise and she knew it had
been eating away at him.
Her inner walls clenched, desperate to be filled by him. Wrapping her
fingers around his thick length, she met his gaze and stroked him once. His
hips jerked erratically as he sucked in a jagged breath. He watched her with
a heavy-lidded gaze, his palm still teasing her, his breathing unsteady.
She could barely hear anything except the blood rushing in her ears. Iris
had never felt more connected to anyone than she did now, as they watched
each other while bringing the other to release. She loved seeing his eyes go
all dark and needy as he fought letting himself go in her hand.
God, she was so close. Her clit pulsed, the need building higher and
higher. Even without him filling her, it wouldn’t take long now… Wyatt
removed his hand, making her cry out in protest before she realized what he
was doing.
“Wrap your legs around me.” There he went again with that tone. The
one that said ‘do what I say and I’ll make sure you have the orgasm of a
lifetime’. It always melted her.
She did what he said and practically tore his shirt from him, ripping a
few buttons in her haste to get it off. Now it was skin on skin, what she’d
been craving. Her breasts rubbed against the short hairs of his muscular
chest as his mouth crushed over hers. The feel of him against her made her
sensitized nipples pebble even tighter.
His fingers dug into her hips as he lifted her from the desk. She lost one
of her heels, but didn’t care as he completely dominated her mouth, stroking
and teasing her tongue in a way that felt like fucking.
Iris held on tight. She was aware of them moving, but didn’t realize what
he intended until the cool glass of his ceiling to floor windows hit her back.
They were bullet resistant and more than secure and she didn’t care if
anyone saw them. All she could focus on was the feel of his thick cock
sliding into her, consuming her. Though his shirt was off, he still had his
pants half on as he thrust into her. The window slightly shook under them,
but she had no doubt it would hold. The feel of his cock inside her without a
condom was amazing. She’d gone on the Pill the day after they’d gotten
married and had been on it more than long enough to take effect. She felt
even more connected to him this way, with no barriers.
Her remaining heeled shoe dug into his ass as she wrapped her legs
tighter around him. She’d barely caught her breath before he slammed into
her again. She tore her mouth from his as he continued thrusting with no
restraint. Her back arched into his chest and when he caught one of her
nipples between his teeth, she pushed over the edge.
Whatever pretense of control she’d been trying to hang onto, shredded as
he tweaked her nipple. It was like the man had a direct line into her head,
like he knew exactly what to do to drive her totally crazy. She was addicted
to him and not afraid to admit it anymore.
As her climax surged through her, powerful and overwhelming, Wyatt let
go and buried his face in her neck as he came. He growled
incomprehensible words against her skin as he continued his delicious
assault on her senses until finally, he stilled and drew his head back.
His eyes seemed darker as he stared at her, his breathing not quite back
to normal. “I love you, Iris. So fucking much.”
A smile teased her lips as she leaned forward. Her mouth barely grazed
his as she said, “I love you, too. More than anything.” Saying the words still
felt foreign, but there was no way in hell she’d ever hold back from him.
Never again.
Not when they had the rest of their lives stretched out in front of them.
She’d never dreamed to imagine she could have everything she wanted, a
job she loved, a husband she loved and maybe kids. Even without the last
one, as long as she got to make a life with the man she loved, she didn’t
need anything else.
*****
Thank you for reading Breaking Her Rules. I really hope you enjoyed
it. If you did, please consider leaving a review at one of your favorite online
retailers. It’s a great way to help other readers discover new books!
Breaking Her Rules is the sixth story in my Red Stone Security series.
If you liked this one and would like to read more, turn the page for a sneak
peek of No One to Trust and His to Protect.
No One to Trust
Red Stone Security Series, Book 1
Copyright © 2012 Katie Reus
Secrets are what keep a family strong. United. Elizabeth Martinez could
still hear her father’s words echoing in the recesses of her memories. Over a
decade had passed and not a day went by that she didn’t wish she could
rewrite history. Some secrets had a way of eating a person alive. From the
inside out, one giant bite at a time. Gnawing until she couldn’t stand it. If
her father hadn’t forced them all to keep the family’s dirty little secret,
maybe she’d be at home enjoying a nice glass of wine and a bubble bath.
She wouldn’t be picking up her brother from a drug dealer’s house on a
chilly Tuesday evening.
Lizzy put her BMW into park and slid from the vehicle. This particular
mansion in Keystone Island was the last place in the world she wanted to
be. Unfortunately her brother had called begging for help. Again.
Everyone else in the family had turned their back on Benny but she
simply couldn’t say no when he needed her. Not when he’d always been
there for her.
While she wasn’t sure what Benny was doing at the recently deceased
Alberto Salas’s home, she knew it couldn’t be good. Salas had been
infamous for running drugs up and down the entire East Coast. She’d heard
his son, Orlando, had taken over his operation. She’d briefly interacted with
Orlando at a few charity functions around Miami and he’d always been
perfectly polite, but the man gave her the creeps. There were some things an
Armani suit simply couldn’t hide.
Self-consciously, Lizzy tugged at her dress as if she could somehow
make it grow a couple inches longer. The bright turquoise halter-style dress
and black cardigan sweater she wore were completely respectable, but as
she walked down the stone driveway toward the front door, she could feel
several sets of eyes on her. Considering Orlando Salas was rumored to be in
the same business his father had been, she guessed that even though she
couldn’t see them, he had plenty of scary looking security guys milling
around. They were nothing more than thugs in suits and ties. She worked
for one of the best security firms in the nation and the guys she worked with
—they sure weren’t thugs. No, they were highly trained, mostly ex-military,
and didn’t deal with scum like Salas. They protected uber wealthy clients
and government dignitaries and everyone they worked for got a detailed
military level background check—courtesy of her computer skills—and if it
appeared they were into anything like drugs, Red Stone Security didn’t take
them on. With how much money their company made, they could afford to
be picky.
Before she could knock on the bright red door, it swung open and a man
carrying an assault rifle looked her up and down.
A cold chill slithered through her, mainly because of the look on his face,
rather than the gun. She’d known the guards here would be armed, but yuck,
this guy made her feel like she was naked. Clutching her purse tighter
against her side—as if that could somehow save her—she started to tell him
why she was there, but he beat her to it.
With a lecherous grin on his face, he stepped back and allowed her to
enter. “Your brother’s out back.” He pointed down the tile hallway. “Just
follow until you reach the French doors.”
Fighting back the growing panic humming through her, she nodded and
did just as he said. Yeah, maybe she should have called her boss and told
him what she was doing but she didn’t want to drag anyone she knew into
Benny’s problems. Then everyone would know how messed up her family
really was. It was too embarrassing. She’d take care of it just like she
always had. Chin up, she ordered herself.
As she neared the doors she could see her brother stretched out on an
Adirondack chair. She yanked the door open and hurried to his still form.
“Benny!”
When he didn’t stir, an icy fist clasped around her heart. He looked like a
corpse. His normally bronze face was a grayish color. She touched his wrist
and a sharp burst of relief popped inside her. At least his pulse was strong.
But his face…tears blurred her vision for a moment. A garish purple bruise
covered his left cheek and one of his eyes was swollen almost all the way
shut. A light trail of blood had trickled from his nostril and dried on his
upper lip. Had they broke his nose? Her throat tightened with raw grief.
He’d sounded bad on the phone but she hadn’t expected this. She wanted to
touch him, comfort him somehow, but was afraid she’d only hurt him more.
Her hand hovered over his pale face for a moment before she settled on
brushing a lock of his dark hair away from his forehead. “What have you
gotten yourself into,” she whispered.
“He’s going to be out for a little while.” She swiveled around at a
familiar male voice and let her hand drop.
Monster. The word echoed inside her but she bit it back. “Mr. Salas.” She
tried to keep the disdain out of her voice as she faced the man who’d likely
beaten her brother. Or at least watched while one of his men had. Somehow
she managed to blink back the tears threatening to spill over.
“Please call me Orlando. You’re a very good sister to pick your brother
up so quickly.” Standing about ten feet away from her, he leaned against the
mini-bar with a glass tumbler in hand.
She narrowed her gaze. Anger battled with the fear blossoming inside her
but she was still level-headed enough not to cower in front of him. A man
like this probably craved the fear of others. “Did you do this to him?”
His shoulders lifted in a slight shrug. “Not personally. Benito owes me
quite a bit of money and I intend to collect.”
“How much?”
“A hundred thousand.”
Lizzy swallowed but tried to school her shock. Benny had had problems
with drugs in the past but he’d been clean for a while. Unfortunately, he’d
found a new drug of choice. Gambling. If she had to guess, he owed
Orlando the money because of bad bets. Or maybe he was back into drugs.
She just didn’t know. And she hated what her brother did to himself. He had
such a good heart but he couldn’t seem to keep it together.
Her parents had the money. She definitely didn’t. And it was unlikely her
parents would fork over that kind of cash for the black sheep of the family.
Unless she could convince them it was for her. Despite the terror splintering
through her, she stood her ground. “So you tried to beat the money out of
him?”
His dark gaze seemed to penetrate right through to her innermost
thoughts. “He’s lucky he’s not dead. Out of respect for your family, I’m
giving him one week to pay me back.”
“And if he doesn’t?” She hated that the question came out shaky, but she
couldn’t help it. She was scared, even if she tried to hide it.
“I sincerely hope he has a life insurance policy.” He placed his glass on
the bar and covered the short distance between them in seconds. Before she
could react, he’d pressed her against one of the columns lining the outer
edges of the lanai. His breath was hot on her cheek and his expensive
cologne nearly smothered her as fear clawed at her insides. “I might be
willing to bargain, however, Ms. Martinez. You are a beautiful woman. Six
months as mine, and I’ll let your brother off.” His hips jerked forward and
she pushed back the bile in her throat when she felt his erection against her
hip.
Instinct overtook her fear as she shoved at his chest. “You’re disgusting.”
He was immovable. Grabbing her wrist, he pinned it above her head.
When she swung out at him with her other hand, he snapped it up with the
same precision. She tried to tug against him, but the man’s grip was like an
iron shackle. Cold sweat blossomed across her forehead and spread the
length of her body. She hadn’t told anyone where she was going, and
Orlando Salas was total scum. If he raped her, he wouldn’t let her live to tell
anyone. No, he’d likely dump her in the ocean. She racked her brain, trying
to think of a way out of her situation when a loud shout and glass breaking
inside caused him to let her go. But not before he backhanded her across the
face and growled, “Stay here.”
The abrupt action surprised her more than it hurt. A dull throb spread
across her cheek, but it was nothing compared to what would happen to her
if she didn’t get out of there. As he started to reach for a gun tucked in the
back of his pants, the double doors flew open and the last person she
expected to see stormed through, with a SIG in hand.
And it was pointed directly at Orlando.
“Are you okay, Elizabeth?” Porter Caldwell, her unlikely savior, asked in
his typical clipped tone.
“I’m fine.” At the moment, all that mattered was getting out of there
alive. She wasn’t exactly sure what Porter was doing there or even how
he’d gotten past Orlando’s guards. She wasn’t going to balk at a chance to
escape, even if her rescuer was her sort-of-ex/almost-lover. Even though
they’d dated for a month and gotten pretty physical, they’d never actually
had sex so she didn’t think that qualified him as an old lover.
“Do you know who I am?” Orlando spat, but Lizzy noticed he didn’t
continue reaching for his gun. He wasn’t that stupid.
Porter’s pale blue gaze narrowed with deadly precision. “More
importantly, do you know who I am?” Without waiting for a response, he
strode toward Orlando and slammed the gun across his head with a vicious
blow.
With a short-lived cry of surprise, Orlando crumpled onto the mosaic tile.
Lizzy had expected more of a response from the man but maybe without his
security to back him up he wasn’t so tough after all.
Porter grabbed Lizzy’s wrist and started tugging her toward the open
doors. “We have maybe sixty seconds to get out of here before the rest of
his guards realize what’s going on. I don’t know what the hell you’re doing
here, but—”
She yanked hard against his grasp. “My brother!”
He paused to stare at her, his gaze unreadable. “What?”
She nodded at Benny. “We need to get him out of here too.”
His head cocked slightly to the side as if seeing the crumpled heap that
was her brother for the first time. Mr. Tall, dark and annoyed muttered
something under his breath before tucking his gun away. Then he lifted her
brother onto his shoulder as if he weighed nothing. Benny was almost six
feet tall but Porter was taller and much broader. And all muscle. “Follow
me,” he grunted.
Clutching her purse to her side, she hurried after Porter. “What are you
doing here?” she whispered.
“Saving your pretty little butt. Ask your questions later. We need to get
the hell out of here.” His shoes were silent against the tile while her heels
clacked noisily. If she didn’t think it would slow her down she’d take them
off and run in her bare feet. When they reached the open foyer, she spotted
two guards unconscious and face down on the tile. Broken shards of what
had once been a vase littered around one of the men.
Fear skittered along her exposed skin. “I don’t understand—”
“Your car. Now,” he barked as he jerked the front door open. He didn’t
even glance behind him as he strode outside.
Not bothering to pull the front door shut behind her, she started to slide
into the passenger side of her car while Porter dumped Benny in the back.
Before she’d even shut her door, Porter kicked the car into drive and sped
off.
“What…what are you doing here?” She hated that her voice shook but
she couldn’t control it. She was grateful he’d shown up but she hated that
he’d seen her and her brother in this kind of situation. Keeping her family
life private was too important. And Porter had already made it clear what he
thought of her brother. She didn’t like giving him more ammunition against
Benny.
“Don’t you know what kind of man Orlando Salas is?” he ground out. It
wasn’t so much a question as a statement of disgust.
As he sped down the stone driveway, she glanced behind them to see two
men running out the front door, guns in hand. At least they didn’t open fire
on them. Thankfully the iron gate was still open as Porter tore through the
opening. “How’d you get past his security? And where’s your car? And
why are you even here?”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask that first question,” he muttered and
chose to ignore her other two questions completely.
She bit back a retort and tried to take a few steadying breaths. Porter
might drive her crazy with his bossy attitude, but Lizzy worked for Red
Stone Security, which was owned by his father. And his brother Harrison
was her boss. Not that she had any fear Harrison would fire her if she got
into it with Porter, but still, she liked to pick her battles wisely. As the
peacemaker of her family she was used to stopping fights, not starting them.
She glanced over her shoulder again and was relieved to see that no one
was following them. Turning to Porter, she said, “Explain how you knew I
was at Orlando Salas’s house.” She figured she probably should have asked
nicely, not demanded an answer, but right now she felt as if her insides were
actually shaking.
He shot her a sharp glance that put her on edge, but at the same time
made something annoyingly feminine inside her flare to life. Without even
trying the man exuded a raw sexuality that made her abdomen clench with
need each time she saw him. Or thought about him. Lately that was too
often.
“I put a GPS tracker in your car a couple weeks ago,” he said quietly.
It took a moment for his words to register. She shook her head, sure
she’d misheard. “What?”
He shrugged and made another left turn. “It was the only way I knew to
keep you safe.”
“Safe? What… Do you realize how crazy this sounds? You put a tracker
in my car!” The tiny voice in the back of her head told her to shut up and be
grateful he had considering what had just happened.
His sharp features never changed as he pulled up behind an SUV parked
by the curb. He fished out a set of keys and handed them to her. “I want you
to drive my vehicle and I’ll follow you back to your place.”
She sputtered and stared at his outstretched hand.
“Lizzy, please. I’ll answer all your questions once we get out of here.”
His use of her nickname took her off guard. He rarely called her Lizzy.
The first time had been right before he’d pushed her up against a wall and
kissed her until she was breathless and panting for more. They’d dated for
roughly a month after that kiss and since their very brief relationship ended,
she’d been nothing but ‘Elizabeth’ to him.
She mentally shook herself. Now wasn’t the time to argue with him. The
part of her that wanted to get as far away from Orlando Salas’s house as
possible knew that. She snatched the keys from his hand and hurried to his
SUV. She might have a lot of questions for Porter, but more than anything
she was simply grateful for his presence. If not for him, she’d probably be
dead right now. Or worse. After what had just happened, energy hummed
through her and she could actually feel her adrenaline high starting to crash.
If he hadn’t shown up when he had…Lizzy shivered and a cold sweat
blossomed across her forehead. She couldn’t think about that right now.
His to Protect
Red Stone Security Series, Book 5
Copyright © 2013 Katie Reus
“That is one hell of an ass,” Vincent murmured to Kell.
Following the other man’s gaze, Kell grunted the expected agreement,
then froze. That was a nice ass. The best he’d ever seen. He’d also held
onto it as the woman it belonged to wrapped her legs around him while he
pumped into her for hours.
Though Charlotte’s back was to him, the formfitting red dress clung to
her sleek—and a little curvier than he remembered—body like a second
skin. In an opulent room where most of the men and women were wearing
black or other dark formalwear, she stood out like a beacon. It wasn’t
intentional, either. Even if she’d been wearing simple black, she’d have
shined as brightly. The woman just seemed to glow. With dark hair, smooth
pale skin, lush lips and an elegant bearing, she was the kind of woman men
wrote fucking poems about. Well, not men like him, but she certainly
inspired that kind of shit.
Right now her dark hair was piled on her head in some sort of
complicated twist, revealing just how deep the V of that dress went. She
wasn’t showing too much skin exactly, but he didn’t like the thought of
other men seeing her. He nearly snorted. It wasn’t like he had a claim on
her. Hell, he hadn’t even seen her in a year. Still…his gaze trailed over all
that smooth skin and all he could picture was how she’d looked bent over
her bed as he’d trailed kisses along her spine and backside.
He straightened, placing the still-full champagne flute he’d never
intended to drink in the first place on the tray of a passing server. As part of
their security cover tonight, he, Vincent and another dozen men and women
were posing as guests at the extravagant party. The couple having the party
didn’t want overt security. Didn’t want to offend their wealthy guests’
sensibilities, apparently. “When did she get here?”
“Who, red dress? Couple minutes ago…and she’s talking to Lizzy. That
woman has the hottest friends. Hell yeah, I think I might ask for an
introduction later.”
“Stay the fuck away from her,” Kell growled before stalking in their
direction.
He loved Vincent like a brother. They’d been in the Teams together and
the other man had saved his ass more than once. After the Navy when Kell
had joined the FBI, Vincent had started working for Red Stone Security.
Now years later, Kell was with the same company, but he’d kick Vincent’s
ass if he ever made a move on Charlotte.
Coming to Miami had been a damn good career move, but right now the
only thing he could focus on was the woman who’d stomped on his heart a
year ago.
Not that he blamed her for how she’d reacted to what they’d done—fuck,
he couldn’t even go there right now. Couldn’t even think about their history
and how he’d messed things up so damn badly. All in one night, too. He’d
completely screwed up a chance at even being friends with her when he’d
made that stupid admission to her.
As he made his way through the room, circling around her, she must
have felt his intense scrutiny. Though she was with Lizzy and two other
women, she glanced over her shoulder, a relaxed expression on her pretty
face—until she spotted him.
Though she was fair skinned, she paled even more as their gazes
connected. Her dark brown eyes widened and she blinked twice, as if to
make sure she’d actually seen him.
Oh yeah, sweetheart. It’s me.
Taking him completely by surprise, she turned away from him,
murmured something to one of the women, then practically sprinted into the
crowd.
Away from him.
Even though he was hyper vigilant about the guests and his surroundings,
Kell’s gaze narrowed as he watched that fine ass run away. She’d never
been a coward before so it shocked him that she was acting like one now.
There was a lot of shit they needed to say to each other and while now
clearly wasn’t the place, he couldn’t believe she’d actually tucked tail and
run.
Not this time.
Rolling his shoulders once, he let her go. For now. He was working and
wouldn’t let anything get in the way of his job. But he’d damn sure find her
before the night was over. Glancing around the expansive room, he
surveyed some of the wealthiest people in Miami. Glittering jewels, pricey
dresses and some of the most expensive art anywhere in the world was on
display.
The Garcias wanted to show off their collection while throwing a thirtyfive-year anniversary party. Anyone who was anyone in Miami was there.
Kell had met Corinne Garcia and the sixty-year-old woman was eccentric
and adorable. Standing a little under five feet tall, she’d married a man
twice her size who looked fierce where she was soft and sweet. Somehow
they fit. Together they’d accumulated a mass of wealth. Kell’s job was to
make sure there weren’t any surprises tonight. There hadn’t been any
credible threats beforehand, but with all the art and jewels around, they
weren’t taking any chances with their safety or that of their guests.
Something Kell respected. Some wealthy people became blind to the
everyday threats facing them, but not the Garcia couple.
“You see something wrong?” Porter Caldwell, Lizzy’s husband and one
of his bosses, slid up next to him like a ghost.
Kell hated when he did that. But the former Marine moved like stealth
personified. “No.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“You know the woman in the red dress Lizzy was talking to earlier?”
Porter shrugged and grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing server.
Unlike Kell, Porter wasn’t working tonight. He might run Red Stone
Security with his two brothers and father, but the man’s wife came from
serious wealth and they’d been invited as guests, not security. Still, Kell
knew him well enough that Porter was definitely carrying a weapon and
was watching the crowd. “Lizzy’s parents know her parents. She’s visiting
from Virginia. Or maybe living here,” he said distractedly, his gaze
narrowing on the man walking up to Lizzy.
“You know why?” Kell asked, still scanning the room for any possible
threats, but was thankful everything was calm and uneventful.
“Something to do with her kid. I don’t know, I wasn’t paying attention.”
Porter let out an annoyed sound, but Kell ignored it as he tried to digest
what his friend had just said.
Kid? What the hell? Charlotte didn’t have any children. Turning back to
his boss, he gritted his teeth when he realized Porter had already melted into
the crowd and was heading straight for his wife. The man in the expensive
suit who’d been heading her way earlier was currently talking to her—and
apparently Porter didn’t like that. Ever since Lizzy had gotten pregnant
Porter had been acting even more paranoid than normal. Not that he blamed
the guy.
Sighing, Kell turned and slowly started making his way around the west
side of the room. Porter must have been mistaken. Maybe he was talking
about one of the other women Lizzy had been talking to—though there
hadn’t been any other women in red dresses he could have been referring to.
Work came first and right now he needed to keep a sharp eye out for any
possible threat. They weren’t expecting any trouble, but he wouldn’t let his
guard down. Trying to shake that nagging feeling that something was off
with Charlotte, Kell had reached the open French doors at the back of the
house when someone spoke into his earpiece.
“Got a man secured by the back wall, but he’s working with a partner.
Male, five ten, dark hair, wearing a tux, heading toward the pool house,”
Travis, one of the other security guys, said, his words clipped.
“I’m on it. Those on perimeter stay put unless you see the suspect. Don’t
leave your posts.” There were men and women placed all around the giant
estate, and just in case this was a ploy to weaken their defense, he was
taking this guy down himself. “Who’s the closest to the pool house?” he
asked as he hurried across the yard, disappearing in between a cluster of
thick oak trees.
“I am.” Iris Tarango’s quiet voice came over the line. The tall, reed thin
woman with clear Native American roots was deadly with a blade. He knew
she’d been in the Marines and there were whispers that she’d been part of a
secret intel-gathering group before coming to work for Red Stone, but that
could all be bullshit. What he did know was that she was damn capable.
“I’ll take the west side of the pool house, you take the east. If he’s trying
to scale the wall, he’ll use the building as cover.” Kell drew his weapon
from his concealed shoulder holster, holding his SIG at the ready if he
needed to use it.
There weren’t supposed to be any guests this far back on the grounds so
he wasn’t worried about anyone seeing his weapon. Even if someone did he
didn’t care. He had a job to do. As he neared the pool area he slowed and
ducked behind a tree, only peering out to scan the other trees and the pool
house for threats. He wasn’t actually worried about someone dropping
down from the trees to assault him, but in his experience it was better to be
prepared than end up ambushed.
He could hear a low, grunting and clanging sound so he eased out of his
hiding place and hurried around the dimly lit pool to the one-story building.
Slowly he crept along the wall and once he reached the end, he carefully
looked around the corner.
For a moment he blinked at what he saw. A man in a tuxedo had a green
hose with a nozzle on the end of it in his hands and was trying to throw it
over the privacy wall like it had a grappling hook attached to it or
something. Clearly these thieves hadn’t thought anything through. Probably
thought they’d do a quick grab and run.
Idiots.
Sheathing his weapon, Kell crept up on the man and tapped on his
shoulder as he reached him. The man yelped and jumped as he turned. From
his right Kell heard Iris snicker, but she didn’t make her presence otherwise
known.
“What are you doing?” he asked the other man calmly.
“Uh…” He looked around frantically and dropped the hose. As he moved
a diamond bracelet fell out from somewhere under his jacket—he’d
probably lifted it from a guest. The man stank of booze and even though he
swayed once, he tried to take a swing at Kell.
Easily dodging the wide punch, Kell grabbed his arm, twisted him
around and slammed his face against the wall as he pinned his arm behind
his back. As the man struggled and cried out about ‘suing his ass’, Kell
spoke into his communicator. “Got the other guy. Tell the police we’ll be
bringing them around the side of the house. They can pick them up near the
main gate.” He didn’t want the guests seeing any of this.
Kell felt more than heard Iris as she approached. Wearing a sleek black
dress that split to mid-thigh he knew she had to have a weapon on her
somewhere. The woman rarely smiled but right now she was grinning. “I
thought I was gonna die when you just tapped him on the shoulder like that.
You should’ve just punched him.”
His eyes widened slightly at her comment. “Didn’t know you were so
bloodthirsty.”
She simply shrugged and the man he’d just flex-cuffed moaned about
police brutality. “We’re not the police, you dick,” Iris muttered as she
grabbed one of his upper arms.
Kell took the other and they began leading him back toward the house.
Oh yeah, tonight was off to a great start.
Complete Booklist
Red Stone Security Series (romantic suspense)
No One to Trust
Danger Next Door
Fatal Deception
Miami, Mistletoe & Murder
His to Protect
Breaking Her Rules
Romantic Suspense Books
Running From the Past
Everything to Lose
Dangerous Deception
Dangerous Secrets
Killer Secrets
Deadly Obsession
Danger in Paradise
His Secret Past
Paranormal Romance
Destined Mate
Protector’s Mate
A Jaguar’s Kiss
Tempting the Jaguar
Enemy Mine
Moon Shifter Series (paranormal romance)
Alpha Instinct
Lover’s Instinct
Primal Possession
Mating Instinct
Acknowledgments
Thank you so much to my readers for your amazing support of this series! I
also owe a huge debt of gratitude to Carolyn Crane, Kari Walker and Laura
Wright. You ladies are wonderful and I’m grateful to have you as friends.
About the Author
Katie Reus fell in love with romance at a young age thanks to books she
pilfered from her mom’s stash. Years later she loves reading romance
almost as much as she loves writing it. However, she didn’t always know
she wanted to be a writer. After changing majors many times, she finally
graduated with a degree in psychology. Not long after that she discovered a
new love. Writing. She now spends her days writing dark paranormal
romance and sexy romantic suspense. For more information on Katie please
visit her website. Or find her on twitter or visit her facebook fanpage.