by Roxie Rivera
"How many floors?" Dimitri asked.
"Eight," I answered.
"There is no one else in the building but you?"
"Just me," I confirmed. "I had planned to look over the construction bids to get the renovations started but I think I should postpone for a while."
Kelly's hand landed on my shoulder. "You can't let this stalker prevent you from living, Bee. That's what he wants. You'll have to modify your life so we can keep you safe but don't stop your long-term plans."
I caught Lev's interested gaze at Kelly's hand touching my shoulder. Something about the twitch in his cheek told me that he didn't approve of the idea of Kelly mixing business and friendship.
When we reached my floor, I led them to the still ajar front door. Kelly carefully stepped in front of me, putting his body between mine and the door. Dimitri shielded me from the side closest to the fire exit I had used to rush out of the building. Lev entered my apartment first and spent a few moments inside.
"All clear."
Kelly reached back and found my hand, dragging me along with him. We stopped in the middle of the living area. Lev picked up my bike—apparently it had fallen over when I'd run out of the building—and leaned it against the wall. "You left in a hurry," he rightly deduced.
"You could say that," I murmured, unable to look away from the menacing pink box.
A buzz startled me. Kelly's soothing hand rubbed my back and I managed to get my racing heart under control. Pivoting back toward the door, I glanced at the screen mounted on the wall and then at Dimitri who confirmed the man was friendly. I pressed the intercom button. "Yes?"
"It's Spike Carson with Lone Star Group."
"Come on up." I hit the button to let him inside and punched in the code to unlock the elevator for him.
"We'll need to pull your security camera feeds," Dimitri said. "Hopefully they caught something."
"Hopefully," I agreed and stepped away from the door. Not long after, the technician appeared on my doorstep. He immediately came to the box that had been left for me and started talking with Lev about the safety of it. After digging in one of the bags he'd brought up with him, he carefully swabbed the box. Glancing at Kelly, I asked, "Is he swabbing for explosives?"
"Yes. We can't be too careful."
Thankfully the box tested negative for explosives and chemical residues. Kelly stepped forward when Carson was done and snatched a latex glove from the opened kit. He pulled it on and jerked on the big, white bow. He lifted the lid on the box and peered inside. Instantly, his jaw locked as the harshest expression I had ever seen crossed his face.
As if fighting to control his temper, he asked, "Bee, do you do your own laundry?"
His question confused me. "Yes. Why?"
"You do it here?"
"Yes."
Kelly lobbed a look Dimitri's way. The ruggedly handsome Russian crossed the distance between them and peered into the box. His reaction mirrored Kelly's. In fact, he looked pissed. "Miss Langston, have you noticed any missing laundry?"
"Missing laundry? I…" My voice trailed off as a better picture started to form. "Last week I thought I was missing some clothes but I just decided they must have gotten lost in the move or left them behind at my old place." Suddenly, a terrible thought struck me. "Wait. Are my panties in that box?"
Kelly jammed the lid back on the box. "Yes."
My stomach churned. "Just my panties?"
Kelly looked like he wanted to lie but he didn't. "Not exactly."
"What does that mean?"
His jaw worked back and forth. "It means we're going to need to have the contents DNA tested."
Sickened by the realization that some creep had used my stolen undies to masturbate, I dropped into the nearest chair. I felt so incredibly violated. Then another, even more terrifying thought hit me. "My underwear didn't go missing until after I had moved in here. That means this freak was here, what, ten days ago?" I tried to remember exactly when I'd noticed them gone. "Oh my God! How many times has he been here?"
Kelly glanced around the apartment with a critical eye. "You can't stay here anymore."
"No, she absolutely cannot," Lev agreed. "We'll need to find a safer, more secure place for her."
"I have an idea. Let me make a call." Dimitri dug his phone out of his pocket and moved to the far side of the room. A few moments later, he started speaking in Russian.
Lev sat down across from me. "We need to begin your threat assessment."
"My what?"
"It's a way of cataloguing the threats that may exist against you," Lev explained. "So, obviously, something like that," he gestured to the box, "suggests a boyfriend or lover. Let's talk about your dating history?"
"Um…okay."
"Have you recently had a breakup?"
"No."
"Were any of your past breakups violent or messy or awkward?"
"No."
"Were any of your boyfriends possessive or jealous? Did anyone try to abuse you? Verbally or physically," he added.
"No." I could feel Kelly's intent gaze on me. Could this be any weirder?
"And, if you'll excuse me," Lev offered an apologetic smile, "have you ever had a lover who behaved inappropriately in bed?"
"Inappropriately?" Did he mean, like, rough sex? Spanking? Bondage? Deciding it didn't really matter what he meant, I hurriedly answered, "No."
Lev smiled kindly. "It's all right, Miss Langston. You don't have to be embarrassed."
Face on fire, I avoided Kelly's curious stare. "Nothing inappropriate has ever occurred in my bed. I sleep alone. Always."
"Oh. I see." Lev seemed a little surprised. Perhaps he didn't come across many members of the V-Club my age. "Well. Then we'll skip those questions. What about admirers?"
Still refusing to look at Kelly, I said, "Well…I mean…I get the occasional weird messages on my blog or via email but never anything that was strange enough for me to seek police protection. This whole mess came out of left field, you know?"
"Let's talk business." Lev directed the interview in a different direction. "What do you do?"
"The press calls me an internet entrepreneur but I'm a web developer and programmer at heart. I've designed software and various applications in social media. Some have done extremely well and some flopped right out of the gate."
"You designed a secure chat software for the military?"
"I did."
"Some people can be touchy about military applications, even the ones with the most innocent uses. Have you ever received any hate mail or threats about working for the US government?"
"First, I don't work for the government. I designed HomeFront independently and licensed the rights to it the DOD. Secondly, yes, of course, I've received some nasty-grams from unhinged jerks but that was years ago. They were all cranks. I haven't heard a peep out of them since then."
"Do you make a lot of money doing this?"
"I'm starting to, yes."
"How much?"
"That's a complicated question."
"Ten million? Fifty million?"'
"More than the first but currently much less than the latter," I answered a bit cryptically. "If you're talking liquid assets I could get my hands on in a week or less, I mean. If you're talking the current valuation of LookIt and the amount I personally stand to bank if I sell the platform to Insight, then you could easily quadruple that top figure."
The expression on Kelly's face changed to one I couldn't read. Before I could contemplate what he might be thinking now that the numbers were on the table, Lev continued with his barrage of questions.
"Insight is that internet search engine, right?"
"They started as a search engine but they now own pieces of various social media platforms, news organizations and digital media companies."
"And what is LookIt?"
"It's a blogging platform."
He shot me a bemused smile. "And why is called LookIt? Is this an American expression I'm unfamiliar wit
h?"
"It's something my brother used to say," I explained. "Whenever he got annoyed with me or thought I needed a lecture, he'd say, 'Look it, Bee…'"
"I see." Lev scribbled on his pad. "And your company is called?"
"JBJ TechWorks."
"Your company currently has how many employees?"
"We have twenty-one, including me, in the Houston office here, but we also outsource on a contract basis with various providers for tech support for the users of the blogging platform."
Lev made more notes. "And of the twenty people in your office, how many of them are against the possibility of selling to Insight?"
"None."
Lev's eyebrows arched. "None?"
"They stand to make a lot of money if the sale goes through," I explained. "They've all been incredibly encouraging. Most of them have been with me since I put out a call for help during a hackathon I held over Spring Break a few years back. They want this as badly as I do."
Lev frowned. "A what-athon?"
"Hackathon," I supplied. "It's when a group of coders get together to tackle a project."
"I see." His pen scribbled some more. "You compensate your employees well?"
"Sure. We don’t have the outrageous perks some of the startups in Silicon Valley offer but it's still very nice."
"What about ex-employees?"
Two names came to mind. "I'm currently being sued by Richard Hawkins. He was hired to be the COO of JBJ TechWorks but he didn't work out so well. The guy had all the right qualifications to push a startup into the stratosphere—but he was extremely difficult. It wasn't a good fit so I let him go after seven or eight months."
"Why is he suing you?"
"He started a new company and poached some of my employees. One of them is a guy named Trevor Cohen who stole a project from me and used it as the basis for one of their products. When we rolled out the original product in beta, Richard sued us so I countersued. Now he's brought a second suit against me for more compensation based on the employment contract between us." I waved my hand. "It's a whole complicated thing."
"When was the last time you spoke to either of them?"
"It's been awhile since I've spoken to Trevor or Richard. We communicate through lawyers."
"And is this Richard Hawkins actually owed further compensation?"
"Absolutely not," I said forcefully. "He feels that his connections at Insight are what brought interest to LookIt—but that's not true. The deal they offered wasn't even thrown onto the table until nine months after he left. He received a generous severance package. Believe me. He made out just fine on that deal."
"Regardless of what did or didn't happen, he may feel wronged. People do stupid things when they're feeling vengeful."
I considered the gross gift box. "I don't think Richard is that sort of guy. I mean—okay—maybe I could believe that he had Trevor spoof my site but breaking into my home to steal my undies to…you know?" I shook my head. "That's not him."
"You would be surprised at what some men will do." Lev tucked his notebook back into his pocket. "We'll need some time to come up with a proper protection plan but I would strongly suggest you take on full-time guards. You need a minimum of two men working around the clock to secure and protect your person. We may need to add a third or fourth body when you're traveling or going out in the evenings."
I glanced at Kelly for some guidance. He nodded in agreement. "All right. Let's do that."
"I'll assign two of my men to start today. If you don't like them, we'll go through the roster until we find men who fit with your personality."
"You only need to find one other man," I interjected. "Kelly can be one of them and then you can pick someone else."
Lev cast a quick look Kelly's way. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why not?"
"He's personally involved with you. I don't allow the guards to cross that line. It's not safe for the clients."
I didn't insult Lev by denying what he could see so clearly and bit my tongue at the thought of correcting his assumptions as to just how close we were. When I dared to meet Kelly's gaze, I was surprised by the calm expression. He hadn't spoken since Lev began his interrogation but now he seemed ready to say something.
"Dimitri?" he addressed his boss.
"Yeah?" The Russian pocketed his phone.
"I'm formally requesting a leave of absence."
Dimitri's face registered surprise. "Excuse me?"
"I'm not leaving Bee alone until this creep is in jail. I fully understood the rules when I joined the private security side of the firm. I won't ask you to bend them for me." Kelly slid his hand out in front of him. "I have some personal issues that have crept up in the last twenty-four hours. It's better if I take some time."
Dimitri crossed his bulky arms and sighed. "I can't stop you from taking time. I wish you'd reconsider. I could use you on the active roster, especially with Benny due any day."
Kelly's hard stance softened. "Of course, I'll do whatever I can to help when your baby comes, but right now, I need to worry about my own family." His gaze landed on me. "All of it."
Butterflies swarmed in my chest at the way he'd included me as part of his family. After that comment last night, I had seriously doubted where I fit into Kelly's life. Had he said that to keep those mobsters from thinking they could squeeze me for cash? As protective as Kelly was of me, it made sense. I liked that possibility more.
Lev stood up. "Rather than taking complete leave, why don't we let you run the detail? I thought I'd put Sully and Winn on this one. You draw up the rotation and comb through her schedule. You can act as the contact point between the police department and Lone Star."
Kelly didn't mull over the offer. He accepted immediately. "Works for me."
The counter-terrorism expert lifted a warning finger. "The first report from Sully or Winn that you're making work difficult and I'll pull my support for this arrangement."
"Understood."
"Now that's settled," Dimitri said, "I spoke with Yuri. He's incredibly concerned for Bee and has offered up his penthouse suite downtown. He and Lena never use it so it's completely vacant. It's ideally located because Bee's company is only a few floors down. It's also a fortress." He turned to me. "Would you be willing to stay there for a while?"
"Sure." Even though I was certain money and the success of the Insight deal had entered his mind, I knew Yuri's kindness had motivated his desire to help me. "I'm lucky to have such good friends."
"That's Yuri for you," Dimitri replied. "All right. Get her to the penthouse, Kelly. We'll send Sully and Winn that way. I'll drop by later this afternoon with a contract."
I had no doubt this was going to be one pricey little venture but my safety was worth it. "I'll need to have my lawyer look at it."
"Perfectly fine with me," Dimitri assured me. "I want you to be comfortable with anything you sign."
"We'll need to see everything you've received from this stalker," Lev said. "Texts, emails, photos—give it to Spike."
"What about the police?"
"I'll handle that," Kelly assured me. "It's not uncommon for us to act as a go-between for clients." He gestured toward the back of my apartment. "Let's get you packed and get the hell out of here."
As I hurried to gather the things I would need for my stay at the penthouse, I experienced the strongest wave of revulsion. I actually shivered and Kelly reached out to caress my arm. "Are you okay?"
Hugging an armful of clothes to my chest, I said, "I can't stop thinking about what this creep has done in my house. If he did that to my undies, what has he done in my bed? Ugh. What if he's, like, touched my toothbrush?"
Kelly got a strange look on his face. "Don't take anything that can't be washed. Leave anything that can be replaced. Make me a list and after Winn and Sully have you squared away at the penthouse, I'll go out and personally pick up the things you want."
With Kelly's help, I packed my suitcases and gathered up all o
f my tech equipment. Dimitri helped him carry it out to the truck while I talked to the police officer who had arrived. Spike turned over the box of soiled panties to the police but I had a feeling he'd already taken the samples he needed to run his tests.
Leaving my apartment, I wondered when or if I would ever come back. It would be hard to ever feel comfortable in my private space again after knowing that someone had broken in multiple times without me even realizing it.
"Do you think he was watching me?" I asked as he drove away from my building. "What if he put in cameras or something? He could have been watching me shower or get dressed."
"If there are hidden cameras, Spike and Lev will find them." Kelly's grip tightened on the wheel. "When we find this guy—"
"You'll let the authorities deal with it," I interjected calmly. "The last thing you need is to be thrown in jail for beating up some loser."
"I won't get caught."
"No, you probably wouldn't," I agreed softly. "But I would prefer it if you leave it to the police."
"And if they won't do anything?"
I didn't even want to think about that. "Tell me about Sully and Winn."
"They're good guys. Sully was Delta and Winn is British Special Forces."
"Wow. Are all of the guards that caliber of soldier?"
"Yes." He reached over to tap my thigh. "You'll be in good hands, Bee."
I clasped his big paw and relished the feel of his warm fingers interlaced with mine. "I already am."
Chapter Five
Later that afternoon, Kelly studied the schedule Bee had written down while she negotiated her contract in another room of the penthouse with Dimitri, Yuri and her lawyer. Yuri had been waiting for them when they arrived and had worked his billionaire magic to ensure the kitchen was stocked and the rooms in perfect order. Kelly could read the genuine concern on Yuri's face. This wasn't simply about protecting an investment. It was about protecting a friend.
"Does this girl ever sleep?" Sully scratched his head as he glanced at the schedule in front of them. "Most of these days are eighteen hours long, Kelly."
"I can read," he replied testily. Truthfully, he had been a bit shocked to see how packed her days were. He'd known that most successful tech startups required a shit-ton of work but he feared Bee was pushing herself too hard. No wonder she had mentioned dropping out of college. Even those two part-time semesters must have been incredibly difficult for her to complete.