by Lisa Weaver
The feed from his surveillance camera revealed an innocuous-appearing young man holding a pizza box. Collecting the food, he paid the delivery boy and added a generous tip.
“It smells heavenly,” Stephanie enthused when he set the pizza between them on the coffee table.
“Dig in,” he invited.
Her groan of appreciation as she sampled her first bite had his gut clenching in reaction. Her sexy vocalizations had his thoughts shifting quite inappropriately to satin sheets and intertwined body parts.
He shook his head, disgusted with where his mind had trespassed.
This is Steph, for crying out loud. She’s a friend, not a potential lover.
He really needed to dial back the sudden flood of excess testosterone that had him reacting so uncharacteristically to her.
“My taste buds are swooning,” she enthused, interrupting his reproving thoughts. Setting her pizza down, she met his gaze. “I missed you,” she told him with heart-wrenching candor. “I worried about you every single day while you were gone. When you stopped e-mailing …” she trailed off, her voice breaking.
His breath hitched in his chest at the emotion pooled in the depths of her gorgeous amaretto eyes. “I was deep undercover. I would have kept in touch if I could have, but it wasn’t possible.”
“The rational part of my brain recognized that, but it didn’t stop me from imagining every possible worst-case scenario. I was so afraid something awful had happened to you.”
He shrugged, seeking to hide his inner struggle as he fought to keep the door to the dark place that housed the memories of that time firmly barricaded. “I had to follow CIA protocol. That’s all behind me now, though.”
The truth was, he’d been to hell and back while he was incommunicado. But he wasn’t about to drop those demons on her doorstep.
He and his partner had been burrowed deep undercover within a network of embezzlers when they’d been abducted and taken to an abandoned warehouse where they’d been grilled for hours for information. Information they didn’t have.
When they’d failed to supply the answers their captors were looking for, the man in charge of their interrogation had shot Pamela in an effort to get him to talk.
But he couldn’t reveal what he didn’t know.
As he’d watched the man who’d murdered his partner in cold blood drag her lifeless body away, a part of him had died with her.
His captors had subjected him to another ruthlessly brutal round of torture, and he’d been certain he was going to meet the same fate as Pamela. He would have, had the police not arrived on the scene.
His assailants had beaten him senseless, leaving him to burn in the blaze they’d set as they’d fled. He’d been fortunate the first responders had found him in time and dragged him from the inferno. He’d spent the next week in the hospital recovering from his injuries. He would have been there longer had he not insisted on being discharged so he could attend the funeral.
The ordeal had left scars—scars that were a constant reminder of his vow to track down the men who’d taken Pamela’s life and bring them to justice. Convincing Stephanie to let him accompany her to Damon Landers’s island would bring him one step closer to fulfilling that vow.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” she asked, breaking him out of his ruminations.
“Yeah,” he replied, grabbing a piece of pizza. “So before we were interrupted you were telling me that work is keeping you busy …”
“Yes, but it’s a good kind of busy, you know? Challenging. And as much as I enjoyed my work as a research assistant for Sentinels, I love being on the front lines so much more.”
“I wasn’t at all surprised when you became a librarian. You were always a bookworm. But I have to admit I was thrown for a loop when I came back to find you’re now also a covert bodyguard.”
He was still trying to wrap his head around her metamorphosis from mild-mannered librarian to kick-ass bodyguard. It was second nature for him to don his protector cape around her, so her transformation would take some getting used to.
“I wanted to make a bigger contribution.”
“And so you opted for field work?”
“I enjoyed working as a research assistant for Sentinels, but the siren call of adventure was too compelling to ignore. I wanted to do more than sit behind a desk and pull data. I love that I’m part of the action now, in a hands-on kind of way.”
“I can tell. Your career choice may have shocked the hell out of me, but I have to admit the work suits you, Steph. You make a great covert agent. Your skills and your cool-headedness under fire are the reason I’m still here today.”
She dipped her head, averting her gaze. “I didn’t do anything special.”
“I beg to differ.”
There was no doubt in his mind that she was the reason he was alive today. The ambush they’d been caught up in could have easily claimed his life.
He and Stephanie had come under fire while guarding a Greek billionaire, Rafe Dimitiou. Rafe’s father, Philip Dimitriou, had gotten mixed up with the criminal element and become a target. Lawrence Mendacci, a reputed mobster, was using Philip’s daughter, Brianna, and his son, Rafe, as bargaining chips to get to him. Mendacci had promised that if Philip complied with his wishes, his children would come to no harm. If he didn’t cooperate, Rafe and Brianna would pay the price.
To emphasize his message, Dimitriou had orchestrated an attack on Rafe’s new wife, Lauren—who fortunately was a covert Sentinels agent. Lauren had protected Rafe, but Frank and Stephanie had gotten caught up in the middle of that attack.
Currently Philip Dimitriou and his children were being protected by two of the agency’s best operatives, Lauren and her brother Luke. The entire Sentinels team was committed to doing what other law enforcement agencies had thus far failed to do—build an airtight case against Lawrence Mendacci and bring him to justice for the crimes he’d committed.
He needed to counter Stephanie’s assertion that she hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary the night of the ambush; he wanted to tell her how much her heroic actions had meant to him. But how could he even begin to give voice to the depth of that gratitude?
No matter how pathetic his attempt at putting his indebtedness into words might be, he decided to try. “When we were ambushed and I caught that bullet, I would have bled to death if you hadn’t reacted so quickly,” he told her solemnly. “I owe you my life.”
“You owe me nothing,” she refuted passionately. “I’m the one who’s indebted to you, for what you did to help my father. You stepped in and saved him when he was in over his head, beholden to the mob. If it hadn’t been for you I would have been collateral damage.”
He covered her hand with his, entwining his fingers with hers in compassion for the ugliness she was undoubtedly remembering. She’d only been sixteen when her widowed father’s gambling addiction had spiraled out of control and she’d been unwittingly caught up in the consequences of her father’s actions.
He hadn’t known how bad her circumstances were until he’d come across a disturbing scene leaving school one afternoon. One of his classmates—a spoiled brat whose obnoxious sense of entitlement grated on him like fingernails scratching down a chalkboard—had Stephanie pinned in a remote corner of the high school’s parking garage.
He’d approached the pair, unnoticed, his vision blurring in fury as he heard the slimy punk trying to coerce Stephanie into having sex with him in exchange for forgiveness for the debt her father owed his.
Without hesitation, he’d charged in and knocked the leering grin off the creep’s face. He would have pummeled him into the ground if Stephanie hadn’t interceded.
She’d been terrified the attack on the son of her father’s loan shark would only make matters worse for her dad, so in deference to her he’d tamped down his fury and reigned in his fists. After writing her tormentor a check to cover Aaron Knight’s debt, he’d sent him off with a warning never to bother her again.
&n
bsp; It was the only time he’d ever gotten satisfaction from being the son of a billionaire. He wasn’t interested in his family’s fortune, but the fact that it had afforded him the opportunity to help secure a fresh start for Stephanie and her father was priceless.
“Your dad was in a bad place, but he was a good man at heart, Steph. I was happy to help.”
He’d been young, just three years older than Stephanie, but he’d been mature enough to recognize that her father’s addiction had been born out of desperation. Aaron Knight had gotten in over his head financially trying to give her mother the luxurious lifestyle she craved.
When tragedy had struck and Aaron had lost his beloved wife in a tragic train accident, he’d spiraled into a deep depression. Widowed and up to his eyeballs in debt, he was unable to work to pay for the bills he’d amassed.
Aaron Knight’s only sin was caring about his wife and daughter. That was something Frank’s own father could never be accused of.
After the incident in the parking garage, he’d taken Stephanie home to her father and confronted the man, telling him in no uncertain terms what he thought of him for having placed his daughter in such a tenuous predicament. Then he’d offered to pay off all the man’s remaining financial obligations in exchange for just one thing: that he never gamble again.
“What you did for my father … it was all for nothing, Frank. He didn’t keep the promise he made you. After you left for college, he did okay for a while. But then he started coming home at odd hours, and he’d skirt my questions whenever I’d ask him where he’d been. I knew something was wrong, but I never dreamed he’d reverted to his former ways. And to rob a gas station to bankroll his gambling habit? That’s not the father I knew.”
It wasn’t the man he’d known, either.
“I refuse to believe your father deliberately set out to do what he did that night. He never would have pulled a gun on another person unless he had a very good reason.”
Yet that was exactly what the police claimed had happened when Aaron and an accomplice had robbed a gas station. Aaron’s body had been found in a nearby alley after the robbery, and the police had drawn the conclusion that he’d been shot by his partner because the other man hadn’t wanted to split the take.
Since the accomplice had never been captured to either prove or disprove that theory, Frank had never been sure he bought the official explanation.
Stephanie’s lips parted in a tremulous smile. “I’m so glad you always saw the good in Dad. Your faith in him means a lot to me. But enough of the depressing stuff. So … you said you didn’t turn up at the benefit just to run interference for me. Care to enlighten me as to why else you were there?”
Earlier, he’d planned to share with her the real reason he’d attended the charity benefit, butting in on her assignment. That was before he’d learned he’d already attracted his enemy’s attention.
The breakin changed everything.
Now that he had confirmation that his digging had overturned the right stones, he had no intention of drawing her into his mess. The less she knew, the better off she would be. It was time to do some serious backpedaling.
“I went to the charity benefit so I could try to intercept you before you talked to Damon. I needed to be certain your story and mine would mesh,” he improvised.
I’m not really lying to her, he rationalized. Just withholding some of the details.
“When I reached out to Landers’s PA, I mentioned I was dating a woman who was a librarian, an expert at cataloging private collections. I told Vanessa I was planning a surprise getaway for you, and that sifting through Damon’s extensive collection would be your idea of paradise. I offered to pay whatever price Damon set if he’d allow us to vacation on his island, and to pay your salary if he agreed to hire you to set up the library at his new estate.”
“You used your money and your influence to buy my way in, rather than trust me to get the job done on my own?”
“I didn’t buy your way in. I bought our way in. Plural. Not singular.”
“I can handle this assignment without your help, thank you very much. I may not have a lot of time on the front lines under my belt, but I’ve gleaned a lot of valuable experience from my time as a research assistant and I’ve honed the skills I need to succeed as a field agent. I don’t need a babysitter.”
She was on a roll now, angry sparks flying from her gorgeous hazel eyes. “It was bad enough you told Damon I was your date, but vacationing together? Seriously? I can’t believe you took the liberty of upgrading the charade to the ‘committed couple’ level. What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking about you. I have complete confidence in your ability to handle this assignment, but there’s something about Landers that makes me nervous. When I was working undercover for the CIA, I crossed paths with him several times. I was certain he was somehow involved in a money-laundering racket my partner and I were investigating, but I came up with nada. He was squeaky clean. Too clean.”
She breathed a frustrated huff, rolling her eyes at him.
He ignored her, plowing forward to plead his case for why he should accompany her. “Even if Landers’s business reputation is as perfect as it appears to be, his personal reputation isn’t. He’s anything but a choir boy. He’s sure to make a play for you while you’re his guest. If I’m there, he’ll think twice before trying anything.”
She tossed her head, sending her auburn waves bouncing. “I don’t care what excuse you make up, but you’d better come up with a reason why you have to bail on the trip. I’m not going along with your plan.”
“You need to rethink that stand, Steph. You’re special, a rare find. Your window dressing says you’re all grown up, but you’re still wrapped in innocence. Trust me, Landers hasn’t missed that.”
She pinned him with a disbelieving glare. “You make it sound like I run around with a neon sign on my forehead flashing ‘Virgin.’ I made the decision to wait for marriage before being intimate with a man, rather than jump from relationship to relationship like my mother did, but that doesn’t mean I’m not attuned to the games guys like Damon like to play. I’m not that naive.”
“He’s dangerous,” he insisted, unwilling to surrender the fight when so much was riding on it. “If he senses even the tiniest chink in your armor he’ll move in for the kill.”
“I assessed him tonight. He’s not a danger to me—either personally or professionally.”
“The very assignment Liz gave you—to investigate whether Landers has information that can lead Sentinels to Lawrence Mendacci—should tell you differently. You know how viperous Mendacci is, so why is it so hard for you to believe a man who could very well be associated with him wouldn’t pose just as much of a threat? All I’m asking is that you give my proposition some thought before you make your final decision.”
“Okay. But don’t expect me to change my mind. It’s not going to happen.” Checking the time, she sighed. “I didn’t realize it was so late. I’d better call it a night. I have to get an early start tomorrow.”
“I’ll drive you home. Before you give me your final answer, you should know I plan on making a sizeable donation to your library’s renovation project. If you agree to let me partner with you on this assignment, not only will I pay the full cost of the current renovations, I’ll also make the board’s goal of adding a computer resource wing to help get inner-city kids off the streets a reality. Let me go with you to Landers’s island, and I’ll fund the entire project.”
Chapter Five
Prodded awake by brilliant rays of sunshine shimmying their way in through the blinds, Stephanie groaned and grabbed a pillow to shield her eyes from the too-bright beams.
How it could it possibly be time to rise and shine when she’d only just fallen asleep? She needed coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.
After Frank had dropped her off at her apartment the night before, she’d gone straight to bed. Sleep hadn’t come easily, though. Thoughts of his propositi
on had bounced around her brain, keeping her awake until almost dawn.
Something about his offer didn’t add up. She had a feeling there was more to his interest in her assignment than he was letting on.
Frank had been her champion when no one else cared about her. He’d been her friend when she’d needed one the most. And he’d rushed to her rescue when her father’s gambling addiction had made her a target. Knowing he’d stepped in to take care of her father’s debt for her had made her feel special. Cherished. And if she hadn’t already been head over heels in love with him, she would have fallen at his feet in that moment.
What he’d proposed last night was almost as huge. His offer to bankroll the library’s renovation and the board’s dream project of a computer wing made it much more difficult to refuse his request to accompany her to Damon’s island—as he’d been well aware it would when he’d plunked the offer down in front of her.
She hadn’t expected him to pull such a tempting rabbit out of his hat. The more she contemplated his proposal, in fact, the more she became convinced that his motivation for putting the deal on the table went way beyond his desire to protect her from Damon.
Deciding she needed to run last night’s developments by Liz, she penciled in a meeting with her boss on her mental to-do list for the day.
Leaving the cozy cocoon of her bed, she showered and dressed. She was scheduled to open the library that morning.
When she’d transitioned to a field operative role with the agency, Liz had determined it would be beneficial for her to maintain her cover career at the library. She hadn’t argued the point. Not only was her position there the ideal smokescreen for her work with Sentinels, it was also perfectly suited to her personality. There was nothing she loved more than being surrounded by books.
Stopping by the coffee shop on her way to work, she opted for a large coffee instead of her usual medium in hopes the extra caffeine coursing through her veins would push back the cobwebs enshrouding her sleep-deprived brain.