Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
TANGLED UP IN CHRISTMAS
THE NAKED TRILOGY
THE SAVAGE TRILOGY
ALSO BY LISA RENEE JONES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the supplier and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at lisareneejones.com/contact
All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination. www.lisareneejones.com.
DIRTY RICH SECRETS
PART THREE
LISA RENEE JONES
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CHAPTER ONE
Ashley…
I suck in the smoke billowing around me, flames already encroaching on the place where Smith and I stand in the Airbnb’s living room. Smith grabs me and pulls me close. “Use your shirt to cover your face.” I’ve barely done as he says when he’s moving, pulling me around the couch.
Aaron intercepts us, snatching me from Smith’s grip. “Blake and Savage are outside covering us,” he says, eyeing Smith. “Back left window per Blake’s direction.” Smoke expands, and the flames grow closer. He leans in and whispers, “Keep your face covered, baby.”
We’re running down a hallway then, flames licking through a door to our left, but we make it to the end of the hallway to the bedroom. Even before we enter, I can feel the air rushing into the room. It’s with great relief that I spy Blake, leaning inside an open window while sirens lift in the air. The next few minutes are a whirlwind. Aaron lifts me and hands me over to Blake, and the minute I’m on the ground, I’m aware of Savage in front of me, his back to me, as he fires into the distance that I can’t see. I can’t do anything but gasp for air, and then suddenly, I’m coughing and choking, it feels like I’m going to suffocate.
Aaron lands on the ground next to me, and just that fast, he has my hand, running with me, giving me no chance to do anything but suck in good air and force myself to just breathe. I have no idea how he knows where to go to avoid danger, but Savage is there, and he’s still shooting at someone somewhere behind us. My heart thunders in my chest, adrenaline surging through me when Aaron cuts right and leads me down an alleyway where a black SUV is parked. We charge toward it, and in a matter of minutes, we’re inside the back of the vehicle with Savage on one side of me and Aaron on the other. “Where’s Smith and Blake?” I ask, as the driver, who I really can’t even see at this point, guns the engine.
“Covering our pretty little arses,” Savage says, as Aaron turns me to him, cupping my face. “Are you okay? Tell me you’re okay.”
“Yes. Yes, I’m fine. How are you even here? I thought you left. I thought you were gone.”
“I had a gut feeling. I stayed close and called in backup.”
“How did whoever did this find us?”
He eyes Savage over my shoulder. “Someone in your operation is behind this.”
“No fucking way,” Savage replies. “My men, my people, they don’t betray each other. Ever.”
“Bullshit,” Aaron says, turning back to me and kissing me. “This isn’t going to work.” He releases me. “Stop the vehicle. We’re getting out.”
“Do not stop this fucking vehicle,” Savage orders.
Aaron releases me and pulls his gun, aiming it at Savage. “If you think I won’t shoot, this ends with you dead.”
“Yeah, well, I’m the guy who doesn’t give a fuck, but you should. Someone has your number. That means they have hers. You need me. If you won’t trust my team, trust me. Come to my home. Stay with me, and we’ll figure this the fuck out.”
“Why would I trust you?”
“I get that you CIA guys have a hard-on for doing things yourself, but, my man, I’m here to tell you from experience, that shit gets difficult.”
Aaron’s jaw clenches, seconds ticking by, before he says, “Your place is the first place someone looking for us will go.”
“I also get that you CIA agents think the rest of us don’t do shit right and take precautions. But guess what, asshole, I do.”
“I’m not CIA, not after this, never again. I’m not stupid.”
“Cool, cool. We can be not stupid together. We didn’t betray you. We can, however, help you figure out who did.”
“At the very least,” Aaron says, “You asked too many damn questions. You exposed us.”
“This isn’t us fucking you,” Savage says. “And in case you don’t remember, despite living this shit, you were getting bent over without even a slather of Vaseline before you met us. And we, voluntarily, bent over with you tonight.”
“Six months,” I interject, wiping ash from his face or trying to unsuccessfully. “Six months on the run, Aaron. You need help. We need help.”
“My place is wired like Fort Knox,” Savage adds. “No one is getting in or even out, for that matter, if I don’t make it happen. At least come with me until you can figure out what comes next.”
Aaron cuts his stare, and it takes him a good minute to lean in, kiss me and then look at Savage. “On foot. Stop the vehicle. We go on foot.”
“All right,” Savage agrees. “I haven’t gotten in a good cardio kick today, so, yeah, man, we walk.” He leans forward and taps the driver’s seat. “Pull us over.”
I’m not sure if Aaron is planning on us leaving with or without Savage, but he gets what he wants. The driver responds instantly and maneuvers the vehicle to the curb. Savage opens the street-side door, and Aaron urges me to follow him, which answers my question. We’re going with Savage, and this delivers a burst of relief. We need help, and I trust Walker Security enough for both of us. Savage motions to the alleyway to our right, and we head in that direction.
“Watch where you are,” Aaron reminds me, pulling me under his arm, as the two men sandwich me between them again. I take it all in, looking for people, looking for escape routes, learning this new life, leaning into it, because that’s what it’s going to take to survive. There’s a part of me that could panic at the idea that from this point forward, I will always have to look over my shoulder. But there’s another part that is oddly comfortable in this new life. The high of running, surviving, and winning driving me forward is surprisingly exhilarating. I want to be as good as anyone chasing me. I want to train. I want to learn.
It takes a good fifteen minutes before we enter a high-security building, and Savage leads us past the elevator to the stairs. “You do know the stairs will torture my smoke-filled lungs, right?” I ask.
“That’s my thing,” Savage says, o
pening the stairwell door. “Torturing people.”
The scar down his cheek has me wondering if someone tortured him, but I don’t have much time to consider how that might have shaped the life of the man we’re trusting with ours. Aaron steps into the stairwell, scans and then catches my hand and pulls me inside with him, but off to the side to allow Savage to join us. “Elevators are small boxes where you could be trapped and killed,” he explains. “Stairwells let you go up or down or even over a railing.”
Trapped and killed.
I’m now living a life where everything is a potential place to be trapped and killed. On that thought, Savage joins us and starts up the stairs. Aaron positions me in front of him, and with him at my rear, we start what turns into a ten-floor climb.
At the door, Savage holds up a hand. “I’ll clear the way.”
Aaron nods, and Savage leaves. The minute that door seals me and Aaron inside alone, Aaron turns me to face him, his hands sliding under my hair as he presses me against the wall, his big body caging mine. “Do you have any idea how fucking scared I was of losing you?”
His voice is low, rough, punched with emotion, but I have some emotions of my own right now, namely anger. “Then here’s a little tip,” I say, cupping his hands, “stop walking out on me because, no matter what, that’s what you did. You left me six months ago, and you left tonight.”
He pulls back to look at me. “Six months ago, I left to protect you. Tonight, I left to protect you and go after Mick.”
“To hide from the truth,” I accuse.
Now he’s angry. It glints in his eyes. “I told you the damn truth.”
“And judged yourself for me. Stop doing that because, Aaron, Noah, it seems to me like you didn’t leave me behind because you thought I’d be safer without you. You left me behind because you didn’t want to face the many ways you lied to me.”
The door opens. “Okay, cupcakes,” Savage announces, “all clear.”
Aaron grimaces at him, a low growl escaping his throat. “Obviously, I interrupted,” Savage adds. “But don’t fret, you get your own room in my place. You two can play kissing games and whatever else turns you on once you’re there.”
Only kissing games isn’t what’s in the air. It’s love and war.
CHAPTER TWO
Aaron…
I catch Ashley’s waist, drag her to me, and press my lips to her ear. “I never willingly left you. Ever. Including tonight.” I don’t give her time to reply. I snag her hand and turn in Savage’s direction. “Let’s go.”
He nods, and we follow him into the hallway and then walk a short distance to his door where we wait as he uses a security panel to allow entry. So far, I’m reasonably impressed. He eyes me over his shoulder. “There are booby traps. If you open the door, and you aren’t me, you’re going to feel pain. If you walk in the door without me, you’re going to end up in a net. That’s just how I roll.”
It's excessive, even given his career choice. I arch a brow. “Enemies?”
“Probably more than you, my man. There’s a reason why I’m single.” He opens the door and motions us forward.
Ashley grimaces, but she doesn’t look at me. “Now, I’m afraid to go inside.”
Savage winks. “I have a pocket knife to cut you out of the net. Promise.”
She scowls, but moves forward into the apartment. Savage gives me a raised eyebrow of his own. “Trouble in paradise?”
“I’ll let you know when we find paradise,” I murmur under my breath, but that quest, that need to get Ashley to some version of paradise, is real. It’s the only damn reason I’m here with Savage when I prefer to work alone. She needs this to be over and now. And she’s right. It’s taking me too fucking long to get that done.
I follow her into the apartment, and she’s already facing me, waiting on me, a challenge in her eyes that I’ll damn sure answer when we’re alone. “Look around,” I murmur, reminding her that I’m safe, but her environment might not be, but then, she trusts the Walkers too much for my comfort.
A conversation we’ll have later.
For now, I grab her and turn her to face the room, my hands settling on her shoulders. “Look around,” I order again, leaning in close. “Find your escape routes, your hiding places. The places to avoid.” And I do the same. I focus on the room rather than the woman making me fucking crazy. I want to kiss her. I want to fuck her. I want to love her. I want to make her see the truth in my lies, but I may never make that happen.
We’re in the living area of an open warehouse-style apartment with gray hardwoods. The kitchen is to the right with a round stone island in the center. Directly in front of us is a stairwell that leads to an upper level. The upper level is framed in its entirety—front, left, and right—with square railings.
A security system buzzes into place behind me, and Savage steps to my side. “The railing makes for a good target platform,” he says, “but I actually have a small soundproof shooting range upstairs. If you want the lady here to learn to shoot, this is the place to make it happen.”
“I know how to shoot,” Ashley says. “But yes, I’d like to practice.” She twists away from me and faces us both, folding her arms in front of her. “Now what?”
Savage eyes me. “I suggest we get Blake over here to chat this out.”
I give a negative shake of my head. “The more people who show up at your place, the more of a target we become.”
“Adam then,” Savage counters.
My lips thin. “How is Adam better than Blake?”
“He’s invisible. A chameleon. He’ll show up dressed like a damn woman if that’s what it takes to get past the enemy.”
“No to Adam,” I say. “Blake’s the one who can get the information. He’s the hacker. Blake’s the one I trust.”
Savage wiggles a brow. “And me, too, right?”
“I’ll meet up with Blake,” I say. “Where and when is the question.”
“You’re hot tonight, a walking target,” Savage says. “I think you two should take that kiss-kiss shit up to the room on the far left and relax a while. If you want extra weaponry, if that’s the shit that gets you warmed up for her, try the shooting range. Look around. You’ll find it.” He motions to the bar off the kitchen. “Time for booze, and I’m ordering pizza. I’ll get extra.”
I’m irritated now. “No pizza. We don’t need an extra person coming up here.”
“The pizza gal is my pal,” he assures me. “If I don’t order pizza on a Friday night, it looks off.”
“If you order extra—”
“It looks like I’m getting laid by a hottie, which sadly is not the case. Relax, man. I got this. Go rest.”
I glance around the apartment again and look at Savage. “Expensive place.”
“Because I’m fucking brilliant. I’m fucking expensive, too. I’m the fucker who fucks people up for money, and thanks to the Walkers, I get paid what I deserve. We’re worth a look at if you decide to go contract. And you don’t have to live here to work for us.”
“I don’t need to work another day in my life,” I say. “I damn sure don’t need to do a job that puts Ashley in harm’s way.”
“Well then, I guess I can assume that your hashtag for relationship goals is all about retirement. Our loss.”
“Hashtag?”
“Gotta stay current, man,” he says. “Keeps you alive.”
He’s an eccentric type, but I don’t completely disagree with him. In fact, I’m impressed that he thinks of everything in terms of staying alive. “We’ll stay.”
His cellphone rings, and he reaches for it. “I didn’t know that was a question at this point.” He glances at his caller ID and says, “Blake.”
I motion for the phone. He hands it to me. “It’s Aaron,” I answer.
“Well, that was a fucking disaster,” Blake snaps. “I’m working an electronic trail to try to find out how the hell that happened. Give me an hour. I’ll call Savage’s phone. And no, it wasn’t on
e of my fucking men, so don’t go down that piece of shit rabbit hole.” He hangs up. I hand the phone back to Savage. He arches a brow, and I ignore him.
Ashley and I need to talk, which is why I catch her hand, our eyes locking in a fiery collision that confirms we’re in for a verbal brawl. Bring it on. I want this behind us, which is why I give her a tug and lead her toward the stairs. She doesn’t fight me to stay behind with Savage. Why would she? This woman is nothing if not a fireball, ready to kick my ass the way no one else could ever dream of kicking my damn ass. She has always been that one woman, hell, that one person in my life, who matches me with every note; the only person who makes me burn one minute and laugh the next. And yet, she actually believed that bullshit that she spewed in the stairwell. I’m pissed, really fucking pissed, for about ten different reasons, mostly at myself. She’s right on one point. I should have told her sooner, but damn it to hell, this is gutting me.
We can’t just go fight this out. Not yet. Safety comes first. Teaching her to survive comes first.
We cut left at the top of the stairs, and I turn her to the railing, placing her in front of me, pressing her hands to the steel bar. “Scan for every place there is to hide, every way you might escape, which means memorizing the layout. Let me know when you’re done.”
She doesn’t speak, but I can feel her studying the lower level. I, myself, focus on the stone walls first and then the ceiling where industrial pipes run. The stone is secure, but pipes can be weaponized. Ashley rotates to face me. “Kitchen behind me to the left,” she says. “The living area to my right. There’s one door. Oddly, no windows. It’s an open space. Very few places to hide. That’s good and bad. We can see who is where, which means they can’t hide, but we can’t either. Not down there.”
“Wrong,” Savage calls out. “Panel under the stone island has a secret door that leads to a lower level. The button is by the sink.”
I eye him over Ashley’s shoulder and give him a nod, impressed and satisfied that we’re safe for now. I catch Ashley’s hand again, my eyes meeting hers. “You’re learning,” I approve.
Dirty Rich Secrets Part Three Page 1