by Katie Reus
Blue wasn’t sure how to read her tone. “If I walked away and something happened to you I’d never forgive myself.” He’d lost too many friends and even though he hadn’t known Mina long, he wasn’t walking away from this situation. From her. Even if she kicked him out, he was still watching out for her until this threat was eliminated.
Her expression softened immediately. “Sorry, I’m just so used to questioning motives of people. I know you’re not like that. After a night of sleep I know I can’t just sit and wait around anymore. I think I was just hoping I’d wake up and yesterday would be a bad dream.”
Blue started to respond but she continued, surprising him. “Um, if I hire Red Stone can I request you as my personal security?” Her cheeks tinged pink as she asked.
Unsure what the protocol was and not particularly caring because he would be the one protecting her, he nodded. “I’m pretty sure you can request anything you want and get it.” Red Stone’s top priority was the safety and security of their clients and unless a client’s request put them in danger, they went out of their way to keep people happy. Considering his attraction to Mina he should probably step back if she did hire Red Stone though.
But he was only human and that wasn’t happening.
“You don’t have to make a decision now. Eat, drink and finish waking up,” he said softly.
She nodded and that dark green gaze tracked over his chest again, dipping low until she full-on blushed. Seeming to realize what she was doing, she glanced away and turned toward one of the cabinets. “Everything smells good. I don’t even know what I have in my fridge so I can’t imagine what you made.”
Blue watched her lift up on her toes, grabbing plates. Her shirt pulled up, revealing a few inches of bare, tan skin and her skin-tight yoga-style pants molded to her perfect ass and long legs. His mouth watered at the sight. What he wouldn’t give to taste every single inch of her delectable body. Feeling like a teenager with a crush, he turned around and started pulling the tortillas out of the plastic wrapping. “It’s simple, but you had enough eggs and sausage for breakfast wraps.”
She made an adorable snorting sound. “Usually I just go for coffee, but I could get used to this.”
Something foreign and long-buried stirred deep inside him. Yeah, he could enjoy this on a regular basis too. He wasn’t used to company in the morning—or ever. But he liked being around her, liked taking care of her… But that wasn’t something he could dwell on. As he started cutting up the sausage, he said, “In addition to Harrison, I also contacted a couple friends of mine who live here. Carter and Chris Foley. They run a dive shop. Both former military.” Carter had been in the Marines like Blue and Chris had been Delta. “If you’re okay with it, Carter is going to sit on your place today and I’d like to get you away from here for a few hours.” He looked over his shoulder to see her reaction.
Two plates in hand, she nodded. “I’d planned to paint all day, but I can take some time off. What do you have in mind?”
“Carter’s going to let us use one of his boats. We can spend some time on the water away from any threat. He said there’s a shallow reef near where he lives we can explore if you want. If we work it right, no one will even know we’ve left your place.” Which would work best for their plan to keep an eye on her condo during the day. He didn’t even want to bring Mina back here, but he didn’t think she’d agree to up and leaving, however temporarily.
When she nodded, a mix of relief and hunger warred inside him. He wanted her away from here, but the thought of seeing her in a bathing suit was wreaking havoc on his senses. Right now he was walking a fine line. She hadn’t officially hired Red Stone but if she did he couldn’t be involved with her during any operations. Or…he shouldn’t be.
* * *
Lewis sipped his iced latte as he slowly strode down the Hollingsworth woman’s street. He had earbuds in his ears but his mp3 player was turned off. He just wanted to give the appearance that he wasn’t paying attention to anything. The straw hat he wore was pulled low on his forehead. Combined with his sunglasses, it was enough to cover most of his face on the off chance the woman saw him. His attire was typical for tourists and locals so he wasn’t worried about standing out from anyone else.
He and two other members from his crew were alternating shifts today watching her place. After losing her yesterday and the new two-day time frame in which to grab her, they had to sit on her condo in case she moved.
Unfortunately he wasn’t certain they were the only ones watching her. Stopping on the sidewalk, he reached out and held onto a street meter, holding it for support while he bent down and pretended to pull a rock out of his sandal. Scanning the street, he saw the same truck he’d spotted earlier still parked in Mina’s designated curbside spot. With these expensive condo complexes they had two parking spots; one in the interior parking garage and one right out in the open parking area in front of the building. There were only six spots in the small space in front of the building and hers was never in use since she used the interior garage only.
Now her exterior spot was filled and he could clearly see the familiar green tag given to residents hanging from the rearview mirror of the truck. Which meant she’d given her spot to that big guy from last night, or someone else. Someone who was likely staying with her. Security maybe. She was certainly rich enough to afford it.
That truck hadn’t been there even two hours ago so this was a new development. Which just posed more questions. After covertly taking a picture of the license plate with his cell phone, he kept his stride casual as he headed in the opposite direction he’d come. He made his way into a quiet neighborhood and without glancing around, slid into the passenger seat of the waiting non-descript four-door car.
“You see anything?” Harry asked. He was the first man Lewis had brought in for this job. He was good with cracking safes and driving getaway cars. For this job, the latter was his primary function.
“Possibly. There’s a truck sitting in her spot.”
“Belong to the guy she’s with?” Harry turned left on the next street, moving seamlessly into the flow of traffic.
“No clue. If it is, it means he left her to get it.”
“Or he’s brought in backup.” His partner flicked a glance in the rearview mirror.
The plate had been local, not only to Florida but to Key West. Which meant the owner lived here. Lewis frowned as he went over the possibilities, then shook his head. The “what if” scenarios didn’t matter. He pulled out one of his burner phones and texted another member of their crew to run the license plate using one of his contacts at the DMV. They’d find out soon enough who the vehicle belonged to.
Then they could take appropriate action against the owner if necessary.
Chapter 7
Blue stood behind Mina on the dock as Carter held out a hand for her, helping her into the sleek, forty-foot Hatteras. This was Carter and Chris’s personal boat, not one they used at their shop. It meant a lot that they were letting him and Mina use it. But their kindness did nothing to quench the surge of possessiveness he felt at seeing Carter grip Mina’s hand.
The contact lingered a little too long as he helped her step onto the flat back of the boat. More likely that was Blue’s imagination but ever since Carter had picked them up from her private garage, Blue had been feeling oddly possessive. He knew it was total fucking caveman stuff, but he wanted Mina all to himself.
Carter had that all-American, Hollywood handsome thing going on that even Blue could appreciate. The blond-haired blue-eyed man was also easy going and never wanting for female company. Something Blue was reminded of now as Mina smiled sweetly at something Carter said.
Stepping onto the boat behind her, Blue automatically scanned the open water for possible danger, but they were at the Foley brothers’ house and he was ninety-nine percent sure no one had followed them. They’d been careful, getting into the backseat of Carter’s SUV when he picked them up, and laying on the floorboards as they
’d left. Having Mina stretched out on top of him like that, all those long, lithe curves pressed to his body had been heaven and hell.
Blue tried to shove the thought away so he wouldn’t get another hard-on. Now was not the time to think about the short summer dress she was wearing. Or the visible thin straps of the black bikini tied around the back of her neck. All he’d been able to think about was what she would look like wearing just that two-piece suit. Hiding his erection from her had been impossible. She’d pretended not to notice but her face had flushed before she’d laid her head on his chest.
“Your place is beautiful, I didn’t even realize this neighborhood existed,” Mina said to Carter as she glanced over at their neighbors’ docks. Six stretched out next to them, all sporting similar sized boats.
“Yeah, it’s our little slice of paradise,” Carter said, clearly proud and Blue didn’t blame him. He knew what real estate went for in Miami and could only guess what this place was worth. Which told him that the Foley brothers were doing well for themselves.
“Will I get to meet your brother?” Mina asked, much more at ease than she had been when they’d made their covert escape from her condo.
“If you two join us for dinner tonight you will.” Carter looked at Blue, eyebrows raised.
Blue hadn’t discussed anything with Mina past this water excursion. She hadn’t said one way or another whether she wanted to hire Red Stone and he hadn’t pushed. Carter had stopped by Blue’s place to grab a bag of clothes for him before picking them up. Then they’d come straight here. Blue didn’t want Mina going back to her place at all, at least for the time being, but he wasn’t sure how to bring it up. He was still getting to know her and he wanted to tread carefully with this situation so it didn’t seem like he was taking over everything.
Before Blue could answer, Carter continued. “Y’all should just stay here anyway, at least for the night. With the threat right now, going back there isn’t safe.”
Swiveling from his friend, Mina pushed her sunglasses back on her head and eyed Blue questioningly. “Is that what you think we should do?”
Okay, she wasn’t completely shooting the idea down. That was good. “It doesn’t have to be here, but until you hire full time security and until we get a handle on who wants to kidnap you, it would be smart to put some distance between you and your place. I know it’s secure but if they get desperate enough they might attempt to breach your condo anyway.” Even if they failed in taking her, there was always a chance she’d get hurt.
She bit her bottom lip and nodded slowly. “I was hoping I’d have heard back from my dad by now, but…” She sighed. “Yeah, okay, I’ll need more of my stuff, but that’s definitely smarter. I just hate that someone is driving me from my home.”
Carter clapped Blue on the shoulder as he stepped toward the back of the boat. “Just have Blue text us what you need and my brother will pack you a bag. If you want to stay here you’re more than welcome. We’ve got two extra rooms.”
Mina looked uncomfortable at that, probably because she didn’t want anyone going through her belongings, or maybe because she didn’t want to give her security code out, but she nodded. “Okay.”
“I know you’re armed, but there’s extra hardware down below. Check under the pop up bench in the stateroom,” Carter murmured only loud enough for Blue to hear before jumping onto the dock and beginning the process of untying the boat for them.
Blue had come more than prepared but was relieved to hear he had backup weapons if necessary. Not surprising considering the Foley brothers’ military record.
As soon as Carter was out of earshot, Blue looked at Mina. “We don’t have to stay here.”
“No, you guys are right. And…I officially want to hire Red Stone. I keep expecting my dad to call, but this is on me. I’ve got to take charge of this. I just don’t know how to go about hiring them. Should I call directly or…” She looked so lost as she stared at him and all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms.
“If you want to hire Red Stone then you can go back to your place tonight. We can still have dinner with Carter and Chris, but we’ll meet the team this evening. Nothing has to change for your work schedule.” Which he knew was important to her. “I’ll talk to Harrison and set it up. I think you should start with a team of six. What do you think?” When she blinked at him, looking like a deer caught in headlights, he shook his head. “We’ll start with six, but they should get a bead on these guys soon.” He had absolute faith in the computer specialists and it wasn’t like the men who had attempted to kidnap her were stalkers. A stalker was an entirely different beast whereas paid kidnappers usually wouldn’t risk their lives if a job went south. They would just pull out.
“Okay.” She stood there for a brief moment, watching him with an expression he couldn’t begin to read. Taking him completely by surprise she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. “Thank you for all you’re doing. I’m embarrassed that I don’t know how to handle all this stuff.”
Savoring the feel of her lean body against his once again, he wrapped his arms tight around her. If Carter wasn’t so close Blue would be tempted to take this into more than a hug—even though he knew he shouldn’t. He inhaled her sweet tropical scent before reminding himself that he had to be more professional now. If she was hiring Red Stone, she was a job. Okay, she was a hell of a lot more than a job, but if he was going to be lead on her team, he had to act like it. And that meant not crossing any lines.
* * *
Mina sat on the bucket seat behind the wheel while the twin engine boat idled quietly in the water. Alex, who was currently inside the cabin, had been an impressive driver, clearly understanding the GPS system and everything else on the dashboard as he navigated them out to open water. She could steer a boat and that was about it. She also knew this particular vessel wasn’t cheap so it was impressive the brothers had just let her and Alex take it out.
While she waited, Mina played with the hem of her dress as she fought her stupid internal battle. She hadn’t been naked with a man in longer than she cared to admit and while she didn’t plan to get naked now, her bathing suit was skimpier than her normal underclothes. Finally she just locked her insecurities up and slipped her dress over her head. She was going to have to take it off once they got to the reef so she might as well do it now.
She plucked the sunscreen from the cup holder next to Alex’s bottle of water. He’d told her they were almost at their destination and even though it was weird to not be working during the day, it was a relief to get out of her condo. With the stress of kidnappers out there she wouldn’t have wanted to be cooped up inside all day anyway.
Popping open the top of the bottle, she started smoothing sunscreen on her arms and legs, but kept scanning the area for any newcomers. She knew Alex was keeping watch too through the interior windows, probably more diligently than her, but she couldn’t just not pay attention when she knew a threat was out there. Even if the threat had no clue where she was.
“Everything’s all set.” Alex’s deep voice made her swivel toward the open cabin doors a few feet away from her. He stood there wearing plain blue swim trunks and nothing else. A rush of heat zipped up her spine as she drank in the sight of him. There couldn’t be any fat on him. He was all sharp, cut lines and striations of perfection. The rise and fall of his chest was unsteady as he watched her. He wasn’t looking below her neck, but it didn’t matter. She might as well be naked for the hunger the man was emanating for her.
Instinctively she wrapped her arms around herself, feeling self-conscious. Maybe she shouldn’t have taken her dress off. Now she was suddenly aware of how little clothing both of them had on—and how little restraint she had left when it came to Alex. She wished she could find the courage to make a move, but couldn’t squash old insecurities.
Dispelling any ideas she might have to do just that, Alex looked away, his jaw tight. He rubbed a hand over his short hair. “We’re almost to that re
ef if you want to grab some fins and a mask down below. I already laid mine out, but I wasn’t sure what size your feet were.” Without waiting for a response, he went to the wheel and gently moved the boat from neutral to drive, giving it a little gas as he steered them forward.
And that was that.
Feeling out of sorts, she stepped into the luxurious cabin and saw his fins and mask on the shiny wood tabletop of the dining area. Next to it was a small opening and stairs, likely leading to the stateroom. On that wall was a half-open door. She could see lifejackets and a mesh bag full of diving and snorkeling equipment. Good quality stuff, too.
After finding what she needed, she gathered both Alex’s stuff and hers and headed back up top. As she stepped outside, he was slowing down. “Looks like we’re not alone today.”
Following his line of sight she saw there were five other boats, most were smaller than theirs, anchored in shallow looking water. “Is this the reef?”
“Yeah, Carter said mostly locals come here. We’ve got five known boats right now. If anyone else arrives and we don’t like the way they look, we’ll head out.”
“That sounds good to me,” she said as she set their masks and fins on the deck. “Would you mind putting sunscreen on my back?” She felt nervous asking, but she wasn’t going to risk burning because of nerves.
Nodding, he cleared his throat as he retrieved the bottle. Turning, anticipation hummed through her as she waited to feel his big hands on her bare skin. She gathered her long hair together and pulled it to her front so it was out of his way. As the boat quietly idled, water lapped against the side of it, the salty scent permeating the air as she practically held her breath.
Lap, lap, lap.
It seemed an eternity passed before one of his hands smoothed lotion over the top of her back. She couldn’t help it, she let out a little shudder at the feel of his callused fingers tracing over her. It didn’t matter that there was nothing sexual about it, she liked him touching her. Heat flooded between her legs as he rubbed over her skin. Moving quickly, too quickly it seemed, he spread the sunscreen over her back, underneath the back tie of her top and over her shoulders. And was that her imagination or had his breathing increased too?