by Raine Miller
He couldn’t resist the light swat on her butt before he left or the pleasure he got from the harder one she delivered in retaliation. He caught her before she got away, though she didn’t try all that hard, and kissed her until they were both gasping.
Then he left before they wound up back in bed and never got to the office.
The trip was quiet but not uncomfortable. And when they got to the agency, he couldn’t resist another kiss before he pointed her in the direction of her office at the front of the building.
“Leave the door locked and use the surveillance system to screen everyone who comes to the door today. If it’s someone you don’t recognize, I’ll get it.”
Annie rolled her eyes but nodded in agreement. “Don’t worry, Nic. I’m not about to open the door unless you give me the okay. Now shoo.” She waved her hands at him. “Your parents pay me to do a job.”
Dressed in a tailored, pale-green skirt and jacket, hair twisted into a knot, Annie looked every bit the ice queen she had on Friday. But when he looked in her eyes, he saw warmth.
Amazing how much could change in the course of a few days.
“I’ve got calls to make. Don’t answer that door.”
Her disgusted huff echoed in his ears as he turned and walked away.
As much as he loved the new, sexual side of their relationship, he had to admit he loved to rile her. For years, they’d circled each other like bitter enemies and he’d actually learned to enjoy it. Old habits die hard.
Back in his office, he spent the next hour on the phone, following the trail of Tiffany Jones’s ex-husband. Then he checked in with Casimir Nabozny, Jimmy’s best friend and an undercover city vice cop. He was hoping Caz would have some more suggestions on where to look for his missing teen. He wanted to check them out as soon as Jimmy got here. No way would he leave Annie here alone.
The front door bell rang and he slid a glance at the surveillance program on his monitor. Jimmy stood at the door, staring straight into the hidden camera, an impatient look on his face.
He heard Annie buzz him in, heard Jimmy flirt with Annie. Heard her flirt back. Damn it, he refused to be jealous of his brother.
When he felt he couldn’t stand waiting any longer, he heard Jimmy moving down the hall.
“Hey.” Jimmy didn’t smile and that was highly unusual. “You want to tell me what happened or do I have to beat it out of you?”
Nic just shook his head. “You’re the one who said she isn’t a teenager anymore.”
Jimmy sighed. “I know what I said. But this is Annie. You know I’ll come after you if you hurt her, right?”
And Jimmy would do it, even though Nic had a good thirty pounds on him and more than ten years combat training. His brother wouldn’t care. He’d find a way to make Nic pay. Nic would do the same to anyone who tried to hurt his family.
“You know I love her, right?” he countered.
Now Jimmy’s lips kicked into a smile Nic had learned to dread growing up. “I really hope you’re not just figuring that out now. Come on, Nic, all that big-brother idolatry couldn’t have been completely misplaced. Of course you love her. Who wouldn’t? She’s smart and beautiful and she thinks you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. I haven’t figured out why but—”
“Hey, Pain-in-the-ass.” Nic leaned back in his chair, eyeing his brother. “Do you have anything helpful to say this morning?”
Jimmy flopped into the chair across from him. “Happy to help. And yeah, I think I got a lead on your caller.”
Nic restrained himself from reaching across the desk and shaking his brother by the neck. “Jimmy. I swear to God I’m gonna—”
His brother threw the envelope in his hand on the desk. “Someone left a message on the company answering machine this morning. Just dumb luck I happened to be here and picked it up. I was expecting another call and… Anyway, I saved it onto my hard drive before I erased it off the system. I suggest you don’t listen to it. But knowing you, you will anyway.
“So what’s in here?” Nic stared at the envelope with an ache in the pit of his stomach.
“It’s a list of names and cell phone numbers that may have made the call.”
Jimmy went on to explain how he’d been able to come up with the list but Nic wasn’t listening.
Christ, there were at least ten pages, probably more, single-spaced and tiny enough to invoke a headache.
“You’re not listening to a word I say, are you?”
Nic shook his head at his brother’s question. “No.”
Jimmy sighed. “At least you’re honest about it. Look, I’ve got to get downstairs for a conference call with the DOD in a few minutes. I know you’re going to listen to that recording so just do it now.”
“Thanks, Jimmy. I appreciate it.”
“Sure. Just shut this guy down soon. He’s making you more grumpy than normal. And you should be smiling considering what you two were doing all night.”
“And you would now that how?”
Jimmy’s brows lifted. “By the smile on Annie’s face. Don’t fuck it up.”
Nic shook his head and called up the voice message.
“I will hurt her. No matter how much time you spend with her, it won’t be enough. I’ll get to her. I’ll take her and you won’t be able to stop me. Are you worried? You should be. You’ll pay. She’ll pay. And I will rejoice.”
The digitally altered recording ended and Nic forced himself to sit there, quietly, and think. Not smash his computer to pieces in a rage.
Because whoever this was, they wanted him to get good and pissed off. Do something stupid.
But this was the fourth call and the guy hadn’t made a move, had done nothing to make good on his threats. So either he wasn’t going to or he hadn’t found an opening yet.
With the thought of Annie in the front room, he managed to keep the temper that had dogged him in his younger years under control and forced himself to think through the angles.
And tried really hard not to let the asshole get to him.
But this guy was getting to him. And he knew exactly how to do it.
Which meant Nic had to know him personally.
He closed his eyes and counted to ten. Then twenty. When he opened his eyes, Jimmy stared at him with raised brows.
“So?”
“So, I don’t have a clue.” He rubbed at one throbbing temple, trying to weigh all the options. “God damn, Jimmy. I could really use Mom on this. But I’m not dragging her into this. She’s got too much on her mind already with Dad.”
“Your ass is grass when Mom finds out you kept this from her.”
Nic grimaced. “Yeah, well, what she doesn’t know won’t get me an ass-chewing. I need to go through this list, see if anything pops. I need you to keep on this until we have something.”
“Do you think you should get Annie away, somewhere safe until this is over?”
Trust Jimmy to hit on the one question Nic didn’t want to answer. “If she was a client, you know damn well I’d have her out of here and in a safe house somewhere until I found this guy.” His temple throbbed and he raised one hand to rub it. “Annie would fight me tooth and nail. She’s got this dance competition coming up and she won’t miss it.” And if he sent Annie away, he wouldn’t be there to protect her.
“And you won’t let her out of your sight now, anyway.” Jimmy shook his head. “Go through the numbers. If you recognize any of them, let me know and I’ll get some more info.”
Nic nodded, going over this schedule in his head. Tiffany Jones needed him to find her deadbeat ex. He had two security installations scheduled for later this week. The other crap, the paperwork… Well, he didn’t give a flying fuck about that.
“Nic.” Annie’s voice drew his gaze to the doorway, where she stood looking from him to the papers in his hands. “You got another call, didn’t you?”
He wanted to stuff the papers in his desk drawer, not let it infect her more than it already had.
&nbs
p; “Yeah.” He laid it on his desk. “But–”
“What did he say this time?”
He shook his head automatically. “You don’t want to know.”
He knew the second the words were out of his mouth he’d screwed up.
Her eyes narrowed, but he saw the hurt there before she submerged it under anger. She drew in a breath, ready to blast him, before he cut her off.
“Sorry. Annie, I’m sorry. But it’s bad. I just didn’t want…” The hell with it. “No. You’re right. Come here.”
He motioned for her to come around the desk.
She didn’t move right away. She stared at him for a second, looking into his eyes, then she came to stand by his side as Nic punched up the recording.
He watched her flush then go pale as she looked between the brothers.
“Well, that was…creepy.” She took a deep breath and visibly stiffened her spine. “So, what does this tell us about this guy?”
If he hadn’t already been in love with her, he would’ve fallen hard right then. She was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman—strong, smart, beautiful and brave. He’d make damn sure nothing happened her.
He stood, put his hands on her cheeks and drew her up on her toes. He didn’t say anything. Just looked into her eyes, watched hers dilate and darken. Then he kissed her with every bit of emotion he had, leaving her limp and breathless. Okay, leaving them both breathless.
When he drew back, it was only far enough to look into her eyes. Only Jimmy’s low whistle brought Nic back to reality.
“Is it me or did the temperature in here just go through the roof?”
Annie blushed pale pink but shot Jimmy a haughty glance that made both brothers laugh.
“Well, I’m glad you two are amused. But since we all have work to do, maybe we should get back to it. Let me know if you come up with anything.”
She headed for the door then turned at the last moment to give Nic a smile before disappearing.
Jimmy let out a low whistle. “Oh, you are in so much trouble, brother. You’re not gonna know which way is up.”
Nic grinned. “Yeah, but it’s gonna be a hell of a ride.”
***
Nic spent the rest of the morning going through the list Jimmy had generated then spent lunch with Annie, a surprisingly low-key hour that helped ground him.
After lunch, he wound up in Jimmy’s lab. None of the names or numbers kicked off any warning bells but there were at least fifty numbers that had no names attached or were obvious aliases.
Those he separated onto another list to examine more closely.
“God damn, this sucks, Jimmy. And it’s getting me nowhere.”
Nic pushed his chair away from the table and got up to pace. He thought better on his feet and, as big as the lab was, it was still an enclosed space. Below street-level, it had no windows, the walls were five feet thick, lead-lined concrete and there was only one way out.
It was huge compared to the elevator he’d been trapped in during the earthquake in Mexico City, but with an irrationality that infuriated him, it didn’t matter to his brain. His brain wanted to panic, wanted him to run for the steps, to get upstairs and out on the street, out in the open.
And since Nic refused to let that happen, he forced himself into the basement every once in a while to prove he still controlled his own response.
“He’s smart enough to disguise his voice but he hasn’t come at me or Annie at all.”
“Maybe you need to start questioning some of your top suspects. See if anything jumps out at you.”
“If I do that, I give the guy a heads up that I’m on to him. And I could interview twenty guys and still not know who it is. I don’t have Mom or Janey’s knack for reading people. I’m a soldier. Point me in the direction of the bad guy and I can take him down. But this…”
Damn it. He didn’t have time for his insecurities to get in the way. Jimmy and Janey had gotten most of the brains. He was the brawn. He’d made peace with that years ago. He was good at what he did but he needed to be better for Annie’s sake.
“You’ve always been the bravest person I’ve ever known, Dominic. You never falter. You never give up. And I’ve never known you to fail.”
Bullshit. He’d failed Nino.
And obviously Jimmy had mind-reading abilities, as well. “And don’t give me that crap about failing Nino.”
He looked into his brother’s eyes. Such an odd color, as if genetics had tried to blend their mother’s green eyes with their father’s blue and ended up with a swirled mix. Those eyes had always been able to read Nic’s every mood.
“You’ll find this guy, Nic. I know you will. You won’t give up until you do.”
He’d never admit it, but Jimmy’s confidence made him feel a hell of a lot better.
Still … “Since when do you get to give out pep talks?”
Jimmy smirked. “Since you went and lost your head over a girl. At least I’m smart enough not to do that.”
Right again. “I’ll give you that one.” Nic sighed. “Alright, smart ass, let’s get back to work.”
CHAPTER 15
By Friday, there’d been no more calls. It was almost as if whoever had been threatening Nic had decided to take the week off.
Even so, Annie knew Nic didn’t let down his guard. He was never more than a floor away from her.
And for the past five nights, she’d been more content than she’d been since she was a kid. Every night, she made love to the man she adored and woke to find him curled around her.
When they weren’t at the office, Annie trained for the competition that started tonight in the ballroom at the Airport Sheraton. Nic’s parents were on their way home from a trip to Washington, D.C., as was Janey, who’d gone from Pittsburgh, where she’d wrapped a case of corporate espionage, to New York for a consultation with a computer firm.
Annie knew the second Janey looked at her, her friend would know exactly what had happened since she’d been gone. And Annie didn’t know what she was going to say about it.
Yes, she and Nic were sleeping together, but it wasn’t like he’d asked her to marry him. He hadn’t even told her he loved her.
Leaning against the doorjamb to the bathroom, she watched him shave.
“Your parents and Janey come home today. Are you worried?”
Turning away from the mirror, Nic shot Annie a look, his gaze wandering down her body, stopping to take in her pink lace underwear and matching bra.
“Are you?” he countered.
She shrugged and let her gaze trail down his gorgeous body, feeling the slight tug of fear that got her every time she saw the scar on his back. He’d nearly died in Afghanistan. She knew that, but she didn’t like looking at such a vivid reminder. “Not really. Janey’s always known I wanted you. Even when I said I didn’t. Your parents, well …” She smiled. “They’re a different story. It will be a little strange. But I won’t be embarrassed. I’d never be embarrassed to be with you.”
He didn’t say anything, just continued to stare.
“Anyway,” she continued, “we probably won’t see them until tonight at the competition. If you still insist on following me everywhere, I have a hair appointment this afternoon and then nails and I have to be at the hotel by four to get ready.”
She got a kick out of his automatic grimace. Nic could handle people shooting at him, but a hair salon made him cringe.
Innocently, she added, “I could ask Tracy to squeeze you in for a trim and a manicure while you’re waiting for me.”
Horror flared in his eyes before he realized she was needling him. Then he resumed shaving.
“If you want me to cut my hair, I’ve got my own barber.”
“Which I know you won’t do because you don’t want to go every month to get it cut.” Besides, she’d murder the person who cut Nic’s hair. Of course, what would he think when she walked out of the hair salon this afternoon? She’d been planning her own little transformation for mon
ths. She wasn’t going to back out now.
She hated the little voice inside her head that kept repeating, But what will Nic say?
“So, what time is this appointment?”
“Noon. You don’t have to stay—”
“Don’t even say it.” That blue gaze flashed her way again. “I know there hasn’t been another call all week but that just means he’s waiting for me to get sloppy. And until I know he’s out of commission, you don’t go anywhere without me.”
She knew the look on his face well enough not to argue. “So we’ll go into the office for a few hours and then,” she took a deep breath, “then I hope to get through the day without hyperventilating.”
“Are you worried about tonight?”
She shrugged.
Splashing away excess shaving cream, Nic grabbed a towel and turned toward her, drying his face. “I’ve never seen anyone dance as beautifully as you do. But if you’re doing this to prove to someone other than yourself that you can, then don’t bother. You can only do it for yourself.
She knew that, but… “What am I supposed to tell your parents and Janey when they ask what’s going on with us?”
His expression showed nothing. “What do you want to tell them?”
She wanted to tell everyone she loved him. She wanted to know if he loved her in return. She still had so many unanswered questions but never found the right time to ask him for fear she wouldn’t get the answer she wanted.
She wanted to know what happened after Nic caught the guy stalking them. Would they continue their current relationship or would they actually go back to dating? Would he take it further and—
Shaking her head, she dropped his gaze. “I don’t want to lie.”
“Me either. If you don’t mind telling them we’re in a relationship, then that’s what we’ll tell them.” He paused and waited until she returned his gaze. “And when this is all over, we’ll figure out what that means exactly. Come on, Annie. Better get ready. Sounds like we’ve got a lot to do today.”
***
Nic stood inside the front door of the hotel, checking out the formally attired crowd.
“Are Aunt Grace and Uncle Frank gonna be here soon?” Toni stood on his right, looking much older than her twelve years in small heels, a tiny bit of makeup and a midnight blue gown that bared her shoulders and covered her legs.