Treacherous Seduction (The Rockford Security Series Book 3)

by Jones, Lee Anne

  Cursing, Chase scrubbed his hands over his face. “Look, man. I’m sorry, okay? I know I disappointed you and I made Rockford Security look really bad, but what the hell was I supposed to do?”

  “Rockford Security?” Blake did look at him then and Chase wished to hell he hadn’t, given his sour expression and the fact The Hurt was in full force. “You were not on a job for me tonight. I made that perfectly clear to the judge. So the only person you made look bad was yourself, buddy.”

  Got that right. Chase sighed and stared out the window again, silent.

  They stopped at a red light and Blake exhaled loud then rolled his neck, his tone emerging a tad less arctic. “What did she say to provoke you?”

  Chase shrugged, still staring at the neon glow of the Strip beyond. “What does it matter?”

  Not like he’d spill any information about his new, deeper relationship with Shelby to Blake anyway. That would only make the guy think he’d been right all along and there weren’t enough animals in the world to adopt as revenge for the kind of supreme I-told-you-so that would most certainly follow.

  The light turned green and Blake accelerated. “In case you weren’t aware, I have lip readers on staff. If you don’t tell me, I’ll find out easy enough anyway.”

  Well, fuck.

  Chase smoothed his hands down the legs of his dark jeans and tried to make his response as innocuous as possible. “She threatened Shelby, okay?”

  “Huh.” A slow, knowing grin spread over Blake’s face.

  Chase battled the urge to punch his boss’s smug smile clean off. “Don’t go there, man.”

  “Go where?” Blake gave him some serious side-eye as they screeched around yet another corner. “Like I care about your love life.”

  “Just don’t, all right? I can’t take anymore shit tonight.” Chase sighed.

  “Right.” Blake chuckled. “You do seem a bit stressed.”

  “Really? Because being accused of murder, arrested for assault, having your girlfriend’s life threatened and her dreams destroyed if I can’t solve this goddamned mess isn’t enough to put a guy a little on edge about.”

  Girlfriend? That was the second time he’d thought of Shelby as his that night. Funny, but the idea of a life, a future, with her didn’t scare him the way commitments always had in the past.

  Chase shifted in his seat. In fact, sharing a life with Shelby sounded pretty damned heavenly. Of course, they hadn’t really discussed those things at all. And wouldn’t either. Not until this whole black cloud of uncertainty was lifted. Then, maybe, they might have a chance at something real.

  Something lasting. Something forever.

  Forever with Shelby sounded like a dream come true.

  “You need proof that bad, huh?” Blake asked, breaking him out of his reverie.

  “I’m willing to risk going back to prison. What do you think?”

  They headed out of Las Vegas proper and into the desert night toward Summerlin as Blake’s stiff posture relaxed a tad. “I have a few people between assignments. I’ll have them go over the footage and see if we can’t find something, anything. We’ve already got a team studying the hard drive from Warren’s office computer for the surveillance footage from those office cameras. They haven’t uncovered anything yet, though, so I’m assuming he has it stored on an encrypted private server somewhere. It’s a long shot, but if we can locate that server and the footage, there’s an excellent chance we’ll know who killed Warren Bryant. Owen’s promised to keep an eye out for anything suspicious too.”

  Chase clenched his jaw as warmth welled in his chest. It had been so long, too long, since anyone treated him with respect, with dignity, with kindness. The fact Shelby and Blake and his family did so on a daily basis touched him more than he could say. “Thanks, man. I really do appreciate the help.”

  "Hey, I owe you my life. It's the least I can do."

  Chase opened his mouth to argue. What he'd done that day on that security job long ago he would have done no matter what. He sure hadn't done it to get favors for life and wanted to assure Blake that he didn't owe him anything, but Blake held his hand up stopping him before he could get any words out. "And I hate to see someone like Katherine Bryant think she can get away with framing someone for murder."

  Seventeen

  Late the following afternoon Chase stood once more outside the employee entrance at the Lucky Ace. No cloak and dagger this time, thank God. This time he was here legitimately, because of a phone call from Owen he’d received shortly before leaving Rockford Security for the day.

  Jittery with adrenaline, he shuffled from foot to foot to keep himself from going nuts. What seemed like a millennium later, but probably had only been a few seconds, the door opened and Owen leaned out.

  “You found something?” Chase struggled to keep the excitement from his tone.

  Owen waved him inside then led him to his office. “Not just something, my man. I found what you need.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.” Owen took a seat behind the bank of flat screen monitors and clicked a few keys on the computer in front of him. “Take a look at this. Already backed up to Rockford’s servers too.”

  Chase leaned in over Owen’s shoulder and squinted at the black and white footage. “Where’s this at? I don’t recognize the background.”

  “The VIP bar. Warren didn’t have cameras in there, but the cops ordered me to install one after your first encounter with Katherine. Guess they figured it might come in handy.”

  Onscreen, a man stood with his back to the camera. His hair was dark and his jacket had some kind of logo on the front breast pocket. Chase squinted. He’d seen that logo somewhere before, but for the life of him, couldn’t place it at the moment. His mind was racing too bad.

  “So what exactly am I looking at?”

  Owen grinned. “Wait for it.”

  In the next frame, Katherine charged into the shot and argued with the man. He stormed off, his back still toward the camera. Katherine’s expression looked furious and desperate as she stalked off too.

  Chase rubbed his eyes. “Sorry, but I don’t see how her fighting with some strange guy is going to help me.”

  “It’s not done yet.” Owen pointed at the monitor again. “Watch.”

  The footage switched to Katherine’s condo. She stalked in, apparently still pissed from her encounter with the mystery man, and paced for a moment before heading into the bedroom. Even with the shitty camera angle, Chase could see the corner of an open safe in the background. The door of the safe blocked whatever it was that Katherine removed, but she stuffed the object beneath one arm, closed the safe, then walked back out into the living room.

  Antsy now, Chase grew impatient. “Still not seeing the benefit here, Owen.”

  “Patience, grasshopper.” Owen clicked several more keys, then sat back and clasped his hands behind his head. “Jeez, are you always like this? You’re like a frigging roadrunner on crack, man. Settle the fuck down already.”

  Chase gave him a dirty look. “Excuse me for having my life on the line here.”

  “Chill, okay? And have a look at these.” Owen pulled out a digital camera and scrolled through several pictures taken somewhere outside. “There’s Katherine walking up the stairs to—”

  “Shit! Is that Shelby’s apartment?”

  “Yep. And I’m not even going to ask how you know that, my man.”

  Chase gave him a disgruntled look. “Just keep showing the pictures.”

  Owen snickered. “Fine, dude. Don’t get your panties in a wad. Here’s one where you can see what she took from that safe. Left it on Shelby’s doorstep too.”

  “What is it?”

  “Some kind a pin or brooch.” He set the camera aside and pulled a tissue wrapped bundle from his pocket. Inside was the object in question. A stork with its wings spread, loaded with diamonds and gems and tacky yellow gold. “Ugly as hell, if you ask me. But whatever. Katherine’s upstairs with the po
lice right now reporting it missing.”

  “Shit.” Chase backed away, panic setting in. “And you think it’s a good idea for us to have it?”

  “Relax.” Owen rewrapped the thing and shoved it back in his pocket. “The minute she and the cops are gone, I’ll return it to her condo. That’ll make her look stupid when I send one of the guards to make sure she’s okay.” He winked and clasped his hands over his flat stomach. “I’ve been doing that, you know—interrupting her about once an hour—since she put you back in jail. By the way, you didn’t squeeze her hard enough.”

  “Right. Throttling her would make me look totally innocent.”

  “I’m just saying you would’ve done the world a favor.”

  Chase paced the floor of the tiny room to burn off some excess energy. “Still don’t see how this will help. At most, all that missing brooch proves is she’s trying to commit insurance fraud.”

  Owen gave him an impassive stare. “Were you always such an idiot or did prison rot your brain? This pin proves she’s setting Shelby up. Coupled with the circumstantial video footage we have backed up that Katherine thinks she erased? It’s enough to cast doubt on her accusations against you, man.”

  Chase froze. Maybe Owen was right. Maybe it would be enough for a jury’s reasonable doubt. And maybe, if all that was true, then maybe, just maybe he had a chance of a future with Shelby.

  * * *

  Later, Chase retuned to Shelby’s apartment. He’d made up some excuse to Blake about spending time in the Rockford IT archives looking for more clues all night or something. Didn’t really matter what he said. From the knowing look on Blake’s face, he saw straight through Chase’s crappy excuse anyway.

  He knocked on the door and laughed when Snickerdoodle bounded out to tackle him against the railing again. This was fast becoming a tradition between them and one he wouldn’t mind continuing for a good long time. He held out yet another bag of homemade treats he’d picked up on the way over and Shelby took it, then scrunched her nose.

  “What kind are these?”

  “Not sure,” Chase said, between doggy kisses. “Liver, I think is what the guy said.”

  “Huh.” She sniffed them once more then held them at arm’s length. “They smell like dirty feet.”

  “Nice.” He pushed the slobbering, excited mutt off and walked inside, closing the door behind him. “Well, I guess it could be worse. I guess they could smell like—”

  “And on that note.” Shelby cut him off by kissing him long and deep. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you too, baby.” He squeezed her tight and smiled. “How was your day?”

  “Okay. I got a few new residents in at the shelter.” She pointed at a couple of new kitties joining the two already convalescing in her apartment. “They both have some anxiety issues, so I didn’t want to leave them alone all night.”

  “Good move, crazy cat lady.” Chase laughed and Shelby swatted him hard on the arm. Things felt so good when he was with her, natural and fun and not forced at all. Not like with other people. With others, he always felt like he had to be on his best behavior, like he was under constant scrutiny and constant pressure to surpass other people’s expectations of how an ex-con should act, to prove himself worthy again. With Shelby, he could just be himself.

  He took off his jean jacket and plopped down on the sofa. “I had an interesting meeting earlier with Owen Rockford.”

  “Yeah?” She sat next to him and snuggled into his side as he put his arm around her shoulders. “Anything useful about my step-monster?”

  “Actually, yeah.”

  “Really?”

  “Owen found some video footage of Katherine fighting with some guy down in the VIP bar, then going upstairs to pull something out of the safe. Turned out to be a brooch that she…” He hesitated. Part of him didn’t want to hurt Shelby any more than she already had been, but the other part—the lawyer part—knew full disclosure was best. “Well, she tried to plant it here, outside your place, then report it stolen to the cops.”

  Shelby stiffened beside him, but didn’t say a word.

  He rubbed lazy circles on the soft skin of her shoulder where the neckline of her oversized T-shirt had slipped down. “Anyway, Owen saw what was going on and retrieved it before she ever called the cops. He said once the police finished interviewing her, he’d stow it back in her condo and make her look like a lying ass in front of the cops.” Chase snorted. “There goes her credibility.”

  “Just like that, huh?” Shelby’s voice wobbled a little, and Chase tucked her in tighter. “Wow.”

  “Yeah, just like that.” He tipped her chin up with his finger. “You okay?”

  Tears filled her pretty blue eyes. “I’m good. It’s just a lot, you know?” She sniffled and lowered her head. “First my dad’s death, then all this craziness. I never thought it would get this bad.”

  “Did something else happen today?” Concerned, he threaded his fingers through her silky blonde curls and savored the weight of her head on his chest. “You can tell me anything, baby.”

  “I just… I don’t know. You’ll think I’m stupid.”

  “No, I won’t.” She raised her head and squinted at him. He gave her the time-honored Boy Scout sign. “Swear.”

  She sighed and leaned against him once more. “When my dad first started dating Katherine, I thought maybe things would finally work out for all of us. She seemed to genuinely love him and he was so happy when he was with her. I hadn’t seen him that happy since my mom was alive.” She rubbed her hand under her nose and gave a sad little chuckle. “I guess maybe I didn’t want to see the signs. Signs that Katherine didn’t really care as much about him as she did his fortune. It’s all so heartbreaking, when you think about it.” Her shoulders shook and Chase cupped her cheek, pulling her tighter into his chest. “M-my daddy’s gone. I l-loved him so much and now h-he’s gone and I’m all alone a-and…”

  Shelby’s sobs ripped his heart to pieces. He kissed the top of her head, inhaling the scent of her floral shampoo and warm, clean woman, and closed his eyes. He’d stay here forever if he could, or as long as she’d have him. “No, baby. You’re not alone. Not anymore.”

  She sniffled and looked up at him. “I’m not?”

  “Nah.” He grinned. “You can’t scare me away that easy.”

  “Oh.” She placed her palm against his chest and sat up, the heat of her touch burning all the way through to his soul. Even with flushed cheeks and a red nose from crying, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Shelby wiped her eyes. “I’m sure I look like a complete mess. Sorry. I didn’t mean to get so emotional about everything. And I’m overjoyed to hear about the footage on Katherine.”

  “Good to know. Next time I see you bawl I’ll know they’re happy tears.” His effort to lighten the somber mood between them earned him a punch to the arm. “What?”

  “I don’t make a habit of crying on men’s shoulders.”

  “Also good to know.”

  “I just…” She shrugged. “I just feel really comfortable around you, I guess.”

  Chase smiled slowly and took her hand. “You do, huh?”

  “Yeah. I do.” She tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “Which is good, after all the stuff that happened with us.”

  “Hmm.” He laced their fingers together. “Hey, um, speaking of that, I wondered if maybe…if, uh…” Chase frowned and turned away. “Dammit, my words are getting all tangled.”

  This time, Shelby laughed. “Really? I’ll alert the press. Talkative Chase Evans is tongue tied.”

  “No, seriously. You get me all flustered.”

  “I do?” The pretty pink color in her cheeks heightened, and he couldn’t resist stroking his finger over the smooth flesh.

  “Yeah, you do.” Chase looked deep into her sparkling blue eyes, putting all his emotions on the line. “What I wanted to ask was after all this is over, do you think that maybe, possibly…”

  “Spit it out.”<
br />
  “Would you consider being my girlfriend?” There. He’d said it. Ball in her court now.

  Her brows rose. “Girlfriend? Like dates and dinners and sharing stuff?”

  “Uh, yeah. Even the crazy Sunday get-togethers with the Rockfords, if you’re game.”

  “Wow.” She frowned and for a pulse-stopping second he feared he was in for the big rejection. Then she gave him her sweetest smile, the one that electrified his whole body and made his battered heart rejoice. She ran her fingers through his short hair and he couldn’t stop the shudder that ran through him. “I think maybe we could work that out.”

  He inched closer, his heartbeat pounding. “So, that’s a yes?”

  She met him halfway, her lips mere millimeters from his. “A most definite maybe.”

  “I’ll take it.” He captured her mouth with his before she could say another word, swallowing her giggle as he stroked her tongue with his and tasted the wonderful sweet flavor of her. She intoxicated him, head to toe, and tonight he planned to express the depth of his gratitude and emotion in the only way he could at present. Shelby had brought him back to life and there weren’t enough words in the world to convey that level of thanks.

  Chase kissed her deeply and picked her up, carrying her over to the bed and laying her down before stretching out beside her. Tonight was all about her. His pleasure would come from her pleasure.

  After removing her clothes and his, he traced his fingers down her front, from neck to knees and admired the curves and valleys that made her such a treasure. Color drifted up from her chest and neck into her face and she covered her eyes. “God, don’t stare at me like that. It’s embarrassing.”

  “Embarrassing?” Perplexed, he kissed each of her soft breasts then slowly worked his way toward one pert nipple. “Baby, you’re the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. I can’t believe how lucky I am you belong to me.”

  She peeked at him through her fingers, her expression uncertain. “Really?”

  He drew one turgid nipple into the wet heat of his mouth and bit down gently before releasing it. “Really. Now lower those pretty hands to the mattress and hang on. I’m gonna make you feel so fucking good.”