She had the assistant bring up the available guards’ schedules then glanced up to see one of them passing by.
It’s your lucky day, Abigail Smythe.
She grabbed the girl by the arm and hauled her over in front of Tom.
“Abby, this is our newest addition, Tom Bates. It’s his first day, and I hoped you might have time to give him a tour, maybe show him the ropes?”
“Uh, sure. Okay.” Abby glanced from Liv to Tom then back again. “I was on my way down to IT, but I’d be happy to take him along, if you want.”
“Perfect.” Tom followed the blond-haired, petite guard, and Liv swallowed hard against her unexpected pang of regret. “Abby’s a great asset to the company. I’m sure you two will hit it off just fine. I’ll check in with you later, Tom, to make sure you get settled.”
Liv waited until they disappeared into a nearby stairwell then headed for Blake’s office, feeling like she’d just dodged a proverbial bullet. The guy unsettled her in more ways than one. Which meant she’d have to watch herself when he was around, for sure.
Her brother was waiting for her when she arrived. She took a seat in front of his desk and scrunched her nose at the way he cuddled the lizard on his shoulder. “If I’m interrupting, I can come back later.”
He gave her a dry stare, not quite his famous Hurt, but close. “I have an assignment for Tom Bates. Starts tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? He just started today. Hasn’t even been through new-employee orientation. Jeez, let the poor guy at least get his desk set up first.”
Plus, there was the tiny fact that for some odd reason she couldn’t quite put her finger on, she still didn’t quite trust the guy. There was something about him that was too… hidden. She was an excellent reader of people. Had to be in her position. And Tom Bates was definitely hiding something. Then there were his range and level of fighting abilities. Not the typical repertoire of a run-of-the-mill guard…
“He’s fine.” Blake stroked a finger down Henry’s iguana snout then made kissy noises. “After all, he held his own against you in that ring.”
“Whatever.” She tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms. “Kicking ass isn’t the only prerequisite for our guards, though. We have protocols in place, rules he needs to learn and follow. If we send him out before his training, he could do more harm than good.”
“No choice. We’re short staffed, and I need all the extra hands I can get on this case.”
Frowning, she took the file he handed her. “What is it?”
“The Mathesons have hired us to transport one of their family heirlooms from McCarran Airport to their safety-deposit box at the bank. The job requires a three-vehicle convoy—two decoys and one actual transport. Six guards total. The Mathesons haven’t disclosed what type of heirloom, but they’re willing to pay for top security, so I’m gathering it’s something pivotal from the late Harold Matheson’s will.”
“Huh. Good thing they’re one of the richest families in Nevada. That’s going to cost a small fortune.” And it would turn a nice, tidy profit for their firm, according to the file. “All right. Fine. But if you’re sending out the rookie, I’m going with him. I don’t trust newbie Tom on his own yet.”
Blake rolled his eyes and mumbled something to his pet lizard.
“What?” Liv asked, frowning. “You talk to that thing more than me these days.”
Yep. There it was now. The Hurt in full force. “Henry is not a thing.”
“Fine, sorry.” Liv chuckled. A few months together, and he and that lizard were like an old married couple. All you had to do to earn the deathly ire of her oldest brother was insult his favorite pet. “I hope you two will be very happy together.”
He shook his head and turned away. “I won’t stop you from tagging along.”
“Smart man.” She walked around his desk and kissed his cheek before heading for the door. “I’d hate to kick your ass too, dear brother.”
Tom followed his new tour guide, Abby, down to the IT department on the fourth floor and into a large open-concept space buzzing with tech equipment and busy people.
“You’ll be spending a lot of time here as a guard,” Abby said, her gruff manner in sync with her no-nonsense tone. “We have about sixty different accounts, and each guard is responsible for checking their own feeds for each of their clients.”
“Okay.” Tom observed as much of the action as he could as they entered a maze of cubicles leading toward the back of the room, doing his best to memorize the layout for future use. “Good to know.”
A guy with a mop of messy brown hair and a friendly smile stepped out of one of the cubbies and into their path. Abby stopped and made the introductions. “Hey, Brandon. This is Tom Bates. He hired on as a new guard.”
Brandon extended a hand. “Nice to meet you, Tom. Let me know if you need any help finding stuff down here. Sometimes it can be… challenging.”
“Oh, sure. Thanks.” A ton of questions already swirled through his head, but Tom didn’t want to be that guy—the one who seemed too overeager on his first day. Besides, the less attention he drew to himself, the better. He went for humor instead. “I’m sure it’s all top secret, right?”
“A lot of it is, actually, yeah.” Brandon snorted. “One thing Rockford’s big on is encryption. We deal with lots of sensitive information, so everything’s locked down tight.”
“Once you get your first assignment, you’ll get case-specific passwords for the files you’ll need to access.” Abby checked her watch. “We need to get a move on.”
“Right.” Brandon shoved his hands in his jeans pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Hey, Abby. You want to grab some lunch?”
“Can’t. Sorry.” She glanced at Tom. “Anyway, you know I don’t fraternize. Against company policy.”
“Right. Okay. Sure.” Brandon looked like someone had kicked his puppy, and Tom felt sorry for the guy. No game there. No game at all. “Great to meet you, Tom. See you around.”
Tom followed Abby farther into the labyrinth, the silence between them now awkward. He sensed a bit of history between his tour guide and the resident tech guru, but from her shuttered expression, he didn’t want to ask. “Don’t let me hold you up either. I’m sure I can find my way back on my own.”
Abby looked at him, unamused, then turned on her heel and walked away, speaking to him over her shoulder in clipped tones. “I take my career very seriously, Mr. Bates. I’d suggest you do the same if you plan to stick around here long. Letting you roam around down here without the proper clearance could get us both fired.”
Well, then. So much for making new friends.
He trailed behind her, taking note of the location of the servers and the number of employees on shift. Getting fired wasn’t part of his mission. He’d stick around until his job was done, no more and no less.
4
Liv sat back in her chair and stretched. Her afternoon had been hectic. Nothing but paperwork and problems and perpetual questions. She hadn’t even had a chance to check in on Tom or tell him about his new assignment in the morning. Too late now though. The clock on the wall showed six p.m. Tom was probably long gone, along with the rest of the staff. She yawned and stretched. She’d just have to grab his number from the HR database and call him at home later.
Tired as she was, though, her body felt tense.
Time for a workout.
Liv pushed to her feet and gathered her things, then locked up her office and headed back downstairs to the employee gym. This place was like her home away from home, and releasing some of her pent-up frustration before she went home for the night sounded like just the trick. A couple of miles on the treadmill, a few rounds with the punching bag—pure heaven.
Only problem was, instead of finding the equipment room blissfully empty—as expected—she found the space occupied by one other person.
One very handsome, very off-limits person.
Tom.
Resigned, she t
ried to stay as unobtrusive as possible in hopes he wouldn’t see her, but it was no use. He seemed to spot her the minute she entered and soon jogged over to say hello.
“Hey. I hope it’s okay I’m here late. I read in the HR manual the gym is open twenty-four, seven.”
“Yep.” Liv tossed her towel over the back of a nearby chair, unable to resist a bit of gentle teasing. “It’s fine. Thought you got enough of a workout earlier, though.”
He grinned, and her knees went warm and wobbly.
Damn.
Tom looked her up and down as he walked back to his punching bag. “Figured if I didn’t get in some exercise tonight, I wouldn’t be able to move my stiff muscles tomorrow. Seems you had the same idea.”
Never one to walk away from a challenge, Liv took a bag a few feet down from his and landed a few strikes, her skin prickling with awareness and her blood pounding. Hard as she tried to concentrate, she couldn’t help peeking down at the row at him. Man, oh man. The graceful way he moved, the way he spoke to her like one of the guys even though he looked at her with pure alpha-male swagger, the weight of his stare on her even though her back was to him…
She cleared her throat and diverted to safer territory. “You’ve got your first assignment tomorrow.”
“What?” Tom stopped and caught his bag mid-swing, frowning. “Already? I thought you said I had to go through training first.”
“Normally, you do. But Blake needs personnel, so you’re up. Consider this field training. I’ll be there too, don’t worry.” She got in a couple of fierce jabs, her punching bag creaking on its chain from the rafters above. “It’s a simple transport operation from the airport to a bank downtown. You need to be at McCarran at eight. We should be done by noon, with luck.”
“Okay.” He removed his gloves and crossed his arms. “What are we transporting?”
“Sorry. That’s on a need-to-know basis.”
“And I don’t need to know?”
“That’s what I like about you.” She twirled and pummeled the bag with a ferocious roundhouse kick. “Smart and gorgeous.”
He snorted, and she headed over to the free weights against the wall, selecting a set of twenty-pound dumbbells for bicep curls. Being on her own was good. This way she could concentrate, really work up a sweat without being self-conscious. Besides, she didn’t need the distractions or the reactions he caused in her…
“Excuse me.” His words made her jump. Tom reached around her to grab his towel off the rack and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”
Exhaling, she looked away from his too-perceptive gaze. “You shouldn’t sneak up on people, especially me. Could be dangerous.”
“Yeah?” He stood so close she could feel the heat of him through her T-shirt, smell the spicy notes of his sandalwood cologne mixed with a hint of sweat, see his soft, firm lips…
What would those lips feel like against mine?
Tom looked at her expectantly, and it took Liv a minute to realize he’d asked her something. Cheeks hot, she concentrated on counting her repetitions instead. “Sorry?”
“I asked if you wanted to have another go on the mats.” He held up a pair of padded targets, one on each hand. “We’d both get a better workout if we sparred against each other. Punching bags don’t move like people.”
Shit. He had a point.
Liv finished her sets of curls then replaced the dumbbells on the rack. A workout was what she’d come here for, and if said workout included a hunky partner, then that was even better, right? Her younger sister and best friend, Laura, would agree, she was sure. Besides, she was always pressing Liv to get out more, to let her guard down and live a little. “Okay. Fine. Let’s do it.”
“Great.” Tom followed her out to the same ring they’d used earlier then held the padded targets for her while she performed a series of kicks and punches. She did her best to focus on her technique and channel her power, but it was hard with him watching her over his raised hands. Not to mention the way his sweat-soaked shirt clung to his muscled torso in all the right places. A warm tingle started deep in her belly before she tamped it down. She finished her kata with another roundhouse kick before bowing and taking the targets from him.
“Okay, mister. Give me all you’ve got.”
“My favorite request.” He winked, and for a breathless moment, the air between them sizzled with sexual tension. His gaze dropped from her eyes to her lips then lower still before returning to her eyes. If they each leaned a tad closer, their lips would meet, and she would finally know whether he tasted as good as he looked.
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
Flustered, Liv fumbled with the padded targets. “Maybe we should call it a night. I’m pretty worn out, and we’ve both got to be up early in the morning.”
He blinked several times, looking as dazed and confused as she felt, then finally moved away. “Um, sure. Right. A good night’s sleep is the best idea.”
“Yep.” She put the pads back in their designated spot then grabbed her towel and headed for the locker room as if her life depended on getting away from him, away from temptation. “See you tomorrow, rookie.”
His mumbled goodbye chased her all the way out the door.
“Sorry, I’m late,” Liv barreled through the door to Paws and Play and tossed her purse behind the counter. “Where do you need me to start?”
The owner of the animal shelter, Shelby, peeked her head out of the doorway to the back of the facility. “Hey, Liv. You okay? You’re never late for volunteering.”
“I’m good.” She straightened her green T-shirt with a large paw print emblazoned on the front and sidled around the receptionist desk to where Shelby stood near the kennel cages. “Long day, that’s all.”
“Anything you need to talk about?”
“Not really.”
“Okay then.” Shelby smiled and handed her a sheet of duties then pointed to a row of puppies. “Tonight I need you to bathe the residents and get them ready for their online debuts later this week.”
“Cool.” She’d taken a few grooming courses at the local community college a few years back just for fun, so it would be nice to practice her skills again. Liv removed a scruffy guy from his cage and headed over to the large sink against the back wall. “How’s it going, Brutus?”
The dog looked up at her with suspicion, and she giggled.
“Don’t worry, little man, I’ll spiff you up good.”
Once she’d gotten her first pup shampooed and under the dryer, she started on the second and soon had an assembly line going. Chase, Shelby’s fiancé, came in periodically to change out the dogs he was exercising in the runs outside. Each time he’d stop to kiss Shelby or cup her cheek or whisper something in her ear that made her laugh.
They seemed so happy and in love it made Liv’s chest ache.
She wanted that too, more than she was willing to admit. But life and her job and all her responsibilities kept getting in the way. Still, if Shelby could handle running her late father’s casino and this shelter and still have time to get married, then maybe there was hope after all.
“Hey, Liv.” Chase strolled over, bringing Shelby with him, his arm around her waist. “Saw you were late tonight. What gives?”
“Since when is my schedule such a hot topic?” She winced as the dog she was washing shook himself hard, spraying water everywhere.
“Just asking, that’s all.” He grinned. “Got a hot date or something?”
“No.” She shut off the faucet and grabbed a towel from the shelf above the sink. “Not that it would be any of your business anyway.”
“How’s that new guy working out?”
Liv dried herself off then wrapped the towel around the waterlogged pooch shivering in the sink. “How’d you know about him already?”
“I have my sources. Heard you kicked his ass already too.”
“You have a new employee?” Shelby asked, her tone dripping with interest. “W
hat’s he like? Is he cute?”
Chase gave Shelby a possessive side look and frowned. Liv snorted. Another reason she didn’t need all the hassles of a relationship. Jealousy.
“Not for me, silly.” Shelby poked Chase in the chest with her index finger then kissed his cheek. “For her.”
“He’s right. I did kick his ass today. Part of my new-employee orientation.” She grinned and picked up the dog currently under the dryer to carry him over to the grooming table. “So, yeah. Doubt he’ll be knocking down my door anytime soon for a date. Men tend to not like women who beat them up. Not that I’d go anyway. Dating him would violate every single company policy we have in place.”
“How come I never got your new-employee treatment?” Chase asked.
Liv stopped, a pair of scissors in one hand, and arched a brow at him. “Blake took you under his wing before I had a chance. We can rectify the situation now, though, if you want.”
Chase backed up a step or two, laughing. “No thanks. I’m good.”
Shelby moved in beside her at the table, undeterred. “Tell me more about this new guy. What’s he like? Is he handsome?”
“Remind me again why I’m friends with you people?”
“Aw, c’mon. Humor me.” Shelby nudged Liv with her shoulder. “I never get to tease you about your love life. And if you’re desperate for companionship, I have a tabby in the back who would love to go home with you tonight.”
“Yeah?” She trimmed the dog’s ears and tummy area, smiling. Fostering animals helped ease her loneliness. It was nice to come home to another heartbeat in the house besides her own. “I’ll take him, but I won’t be able to bring him back in the morning like usual. I’ve got an assignment.”
“Really? How cool! You never go out in the field anymore.” Shelby leaned closer, her blue eyes sparkling. “Is it something dangerous and exciting?”
“Unfortunately, no. Blake is short manpower, so he needs extra hands on a transport job. He’s throwing my new guy into the mix, so I’m tagging along to supervise.”
Wicked Deception (The Rockford Security Series Book 5) Page 2