Wicked Deception (The Rockford Security Series Book 5)

by Lee Anne Jones

  “You doing okay?” Abby stopped at his cubicle for the umpteenth time. Judging by her overeager attitude, his pseudosupervisor was dying to get out of the rank and file and up to the executive level as quickly as possible. Even if she did take more coffee breaks than Juan Valdez.

  “I’m good, thanks.”

  “Good.” She slid another stack of files onto his desk and gave him a bland smile. “When you finish those manuals, these are last year’s training synopses. This will catch you up with everyone else on the topics covered. Based on the incident, I would suggest you spend some extra time on the section titled Evasive Maneuvers.”

  He scowled as she walked away. Seriously. If one more person referred to last week as “the Incident”—complete with air quotes—he was going to lose his shit.

  Instead of voicing his opinion, however, Tom simply got back to his never-ending stack of reading. After all, that’s what he was here for—to fly under the radar and reach his objectives. Pissing off his coworkers would only make that job harder.

  Half an hour passed, and sure enough, Abby got up and headed for the break room again. Tom waited a few seconds then stood himself, planning to use his brief time alone to check out the logistics of the space, namely where the top-secret files were stored.

  If he wasn’t mistaken, they were right…

  He turned the corner and ran smack into Brandon.

  “Oh! Hey, Tom. How’s it going? You feeling better?”

  “Uh, yeah.” He exhaled. “I was just stretching my legs a bit, looking for the john.”

  “Wrong way.” Brandon hiked a thumb at the black door behind them. “Only thing in there are the secure servers. Bathrooms are the opposite way. Don’t worry, it’s easy to get turned around in here.”

  “Thanks.” Tom backed away and headed toward the restrooms instead. Well, damn. So much for that surveillance run, but at least he’d confirmed the location of Rockford’s intel. That would definitely come in handy later.

  After he’d taken care of business and washed his hands, he walked back out into the department, only to find Abby waiting for him once more, her expression prim as a nun’s.

  “Did you finish all that reading already?”

  He thought about lying but went with the truth in the end. “Not all of it, but my eyes were going crossed so I needed a break.”

  “Right.” Abby looked him up and down. “Come with me. I’ll find you something else to do for awhile.”

  They walked out into the hall and rode the elevator up to the fifth floor. He spotted Liv across the reception area, talking with someone he didn’t recognize, a new client perhaps. Their eyes met, and damn if that same electric jolt didn’t riot through his system again. Something about her made her hard to resist, regardless of the risk. He gave her a small grin and a wave, which she didn’t return, then trailed after Abby into the maze of inner offices.

  Abby disappeared for a minute then came back with a garbage bag in hand. “Here.”

  “What’s this?” Tom frowned.

  “Your new assignment.”

  “Trash guy?”

  “Nope.” She pointed to a doorway down the hall. “Cleaning out the break-room fridge. It’s a disgusting job, but somebody’s got to do it. Pitch everything unless it’s marked with a name. Have fun.”

  Tom stared after her for a long moment, shoulders slumped and mood sullen.

  He’d signed on for surveillance, not sanitation.

  At the other end of the hall, Liv walked by and glanced up, the look in her pretty green eyes guarded as she spotted him. Once more he wished he could see behind her armored façade to glimpse what he suspected was a passionate woman lurking below.

  She continued on her way with her guest by her side, and he trudged into the break room.

  At the rate things were currently going, he’d never get the chance to discover more about Liv or anything else important around here.

  8

  The next Monday morning, Liv felt more alert and energized than she had in a good, long time. Since before the ambush, anyway. Good thing too, considering the metric crapload of work sitting on her desk when she arrived back at the office. By ten, though, she’d plowed through more than half of the stacks and was just about to start on another when a rare knock sounded on her door.

  She walked over and pulled it open, surprised to find Blake standing there. A smart-ass remark caught in her throat as she noticed another, unfamiliar man standing behind him—shorter, dark hair and eyes, somber expression. She forced a chipper attitude she didn’t quite feel and laid the politeness on thick, shooting her brother a curious glance. “Good morning. How may I help you?”

  “Liv, this is Richard Wilks. He works for Etherington Insurance. He’s here to investigate the Matheson robbery.” Blake stepped aside and gestured the other man forward. “Mr. Wilks, this is my sister, Olivia Rockford. She’s COO for Rockford Security.”

  “Oh.” A niggle of dread bored into her gut. She’d hoped to have more time to look into the matter herself and find a credible reason for the debacle, but it didn’t look like she’d have that luxury now. She extended her hand to the man. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Wilks.”

  “Yes.” He gave her hand a limp-noodle shake then stepped away. “I’ll need to ask you some questions about what happened during the incident.”

  “Um, right. Sure. Okay.” She glanced at Blake with a deer-in-the-headlights look then back to the investigator. “Come in.”

  “Actually, we’ll need to go to the conference room,” Blake said.

  “Conference room? Why?”

  “I prefer to do my initial interview in a group setting.” Mr. Wilks looked around the facilities like they were something gross stuck to the bottom of his shoe. “Considering the number of personnel who were involved in this assignment, we’ll need the extra space.”

  “Of course.” Heat prickled her cheeks as she stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her. Nothing like having your failures rubbed in your face. Blake stayed near her side as they traversed the hallway and headed toward the executive conference room on the second level of the two-tiered space. She leaned closer to her brother and whispered, “Are we in deep shit? That necklace must’ve been worth a fortune.”

  “Apparently,” Blake mumbled back then rushed forward to open the conference room door. “Please, sir. Have a seat. I’ll get the rest of the bunch assembled, then we can get started.”

  Minutes passed as more of her employees hobbled in, some with crutches or casts and one still in a wheelchair after taking a bullet to the calf during the robbery. Finally, Tom trailed in with Blake, and her brother closed the door behind them.

  “Okay, everyone,” Blake said, standing at the head of the table. “Mr. Wilks is from Etherington Insurance, and he’s here to investigate the theft. Please cooperate fully with his questions. I know some of you still have some short-term memory issues related to what happened, but do the best you can, and we’ll get this wrapped up as soon as possible. Mr. Wilks, if you’d like to get started.”

  “Thank you.” The insurance investigator looked at Liv. “I’d like to start with you, Ms. Rockford, since you were in charge of this operation. Can you tell me exactly what happened that day, from the beginning, please?”

  “Yes, of course.” She took a deep breath and started on her story. At times, she had to close her eyes or stop for a moment to remember a specific detail or conversation, but for the most part, she was proud of herself for remembering so much despite the drugs in that stupid dart. What few things she had left out the others seemed to include in their retellings, and by the time they were done, Mr. Wilks had a pretty clear picture of the events, in her opinion.

  “All right. Do you need my employees for anything else?” Blake stood and straightened his black pinstripe suit jacket.

  “I believe that’s all for now.”

  “Great. You’re all free to go.”

  One by one, they all shuffled from the room
, with Liv and Tom being the last to leave. They’d just about made it to freedom when Blake’s voice stopped them. “Liv, Tom, a moment, please.”

  Mr. Wilks packed up his briefcase and left, then they rejoined Blake at the table.

  From her brother’s dark scowl, he was more than a tad concerned, which only made Liv’s unease grow by the second. It took a lot to rattle Blake. “Something’s amiss with this robbery. I want you two to find out what.”

  “Isn’t that a job for the police?” Tom frowned.

  “I used to be on the force. They’re stretched thin enough as it is. They won’t have the time or the resources to deal with this properly. I’ll keep them in the loop though, promise.”

  Before Liv could voice her own concerns, the door opened again, and a familiar voice called, “You rang, your highness?”

  Jace.

  “Yeah.” Blake waved him over. “I have a new assignment for you.”

  “And here I thought you just wanted me to pretty up the place.”

  Liv snorted, and Tom narrowed his gaze on her younger brother. Okay, yeah. Her youngest sibling was a bit of a black sheep, a renegade, with all his tattoos and piercings and wild party days stretching behind him like a crazy parade. But he’d changed in recent years. Grew up, became an adult. She loved him no matter what, even if he was dressed like a Sinatra-rapper hybrid.

  “Um.” Liv stood and pulled Blake aside. “Can we talk about this? Alone?”

  “Later. You and Tom need to get on this ASAP.”

  She crossed her arms and gave him a look.

  “Just do this for me, okay?”

  He looked so uncharacteristically defeated that she couldn’t refuse. After all, it was partly her fault they were in this mess, and as a family business, they all had a stake in the outcome. “I don’t see why I have to take the rookie along for the ride.”

  Blake didn’t answer, just raised a brow, his impatient stare not quite the Hurt, but a close cousin.

  “Whatever. Fine. We’re going.” She grabbed Tom and tugged him out the door behind her. “But I want it on record I’m not happy about this.”

  They made it as far as the elevators before he dug in his heels and shook off her grasp. She jammed the Down button harder than was necessary.

  He gave her a side glance and shook his head. “Don’t break the building just because you’re frustrated.”

  “I have a job to do, Mr. Bates.” She waited for the doors to open then stepped on board, not waiting for him before she smacked the button for the lobby. “An important one. Don’t get in my way.”

  “I have a career too. One that used to be important until I got stuck in cubicle hell.” He stepped closer, and she crowded back into the corner. Fast as lightning, he reached over and yanked the Stop lever and the elevator jerked to a halt. “Mind telling me exactly what the hell I ever did to piss you off, boss?”

  Confronting the guy in a secluded elevator wasn’t ideal, but she could always kick his ass if needed. Still, with his heat penetrating her clothes and the spicy scent of his cologne tickling her nose, she couldn’t seem to muster up the will to push him away. “This is not the protocol for handling things, Mr. Bates.”

  Her words emerged huskier than she intended, and his blue-gray gaze narrowed, the angry heat in his eyes transforming into something darker, richer, sexier. She couldn’t look away as he inched closer, his chest brushing hers, his gaze flickering to her mouth. “Yeah? How’s this?”

  Before she could answer, his lips captured hers, all softness and strength and pure desire. Without thinking, Liv tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer, arching against him, needing to feel him closer, closer…

  He pulled away and cursed. “Damn. I knew better. You’re nothing but trouble.”

  His words hit her like a bucket of ice water. She shoved Tom away and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Never touch me again, understand? I’m your supervisor, for fuck’s sake.”

  “So if I quit, we can do this again?”

  Flustered, she ran her fingers through her hair then started the elevator again. “Just stay away from me during this assignment. We’re coworkers, nothing more.”

  “So you keep saying.” His posture tensed. “The thing is, your boss asked us both to work on this together, so it looks like neither one of us has a choice.”

  “Exactly.” They arrived in the lobby a moment later, and she stepped out into the midmorning sunshine. “This is an assignment. That’s all. Just follow my lead. Don’t contradict me. Don’t go off on your own. And just… do what I tell you to do.”

  She took off for the exit, needing some fresh air and space to clear her head. It wasn’t until she reached the plaza outside that she realized Tom had followed right behind her. She cursed and headed for a nearby tree, leaning against the trunk. He did the same, too close for comfort, and his presence caused her already overtaxed senses to riot.

  “Listen, I don’t want to cause problems. I’ll do anything you tell me to, boss.”

  She turned and looked at him, only to find his lips mere millimeters from hers again. Her mouth still tingled from his kiss, and if she leaned up just a tad, she could canoodle with him all over again. Her knees quaked, and the world seemed to shift on its axis.

  “I’m going to lunch.” Tom gave her a wicked little grin then took off across the plaza, leaving her breathless and bewildered in his wake.

  Holy shit.

  Liv slumped down on a nearby bench and sighed.

  Thanks to the new insurance investigator and Mr. McHotLips there, it seemed her already tangled life had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.

  An hour later, Tom returned to Rockford Security and headed straight for the fifth floor. Liv might conjure all sorts of forbidden fantasies in his mind, but damn if he’d get stuck down in IT purgatory for another day. Besides, if he was smart, he should be able to work his inconvenient attraction to the boss to his advantage. Maybe annoy her into letting him do his own thing. Sounded like a perfect plan.

  He passed by the empty receptionist desk and made a beeline for Liv’s office, entering without knocking and plopping down into one of the chairs before her desk. “Ready for my first task.”

  From her irritated expression and the tension sizzling through the air, he was surprised he didn’t spontaneously combust. “You didn’t knock.”

  “Was I supposed to? I figured since we’re partners now and all…”

  Her jaw tensed, and instead of hardening her gorgeous face, it only emphasized her full lips and… Shit. Now he couldn’t seem to stop staring at her mouth, no matter how hard he tried.

  Brilliant idea, dumbass.

  “First thing we need to do is call our resources and gather as much intel as possible.” She stood and walked out of the office.

  He followed, his sexual frustration bashing around inside him like a caged wolf. “Sure you’re not afraid to be alone with me again? After all, the last time we were by ourselves, you accosted me.”

  Liv waited until they were in a deserted stairwell to swivel around and back him right up against the nearest wall. “Listen to me good, buddy. Forget what happened on that elevator, because it won’t be happening again. Got it?”

  “Got it.” He took in her flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes and damn near kissed her again. She’d kill him, no doubt, but what a way to go. “Whatever you say, boss.”

  Mumbling to herself, she stalked down the stairs then yanked the door open on the floor below. He rushed to keep up with her as they walked back into IT and headed straight for Brandon’s desk.

  “I need everything on Jessica Matheson and the property that was stolen.”

  “Sure thing, Ms. Rockford.” Brandon waved to Tom then took off for the server room.

  “You need some help?” Tom called to him, thinking maybe this might finally be his chance to get inside. Except Liv turned on her heel and headed out of the department again.

  Damn.

  “Hey,
wait,” Tom said, dogging her heels. “What about our information? Aren’t we going to help him or at least wait until he’s done?”

  “Stay if you want. I’ve got other work to do.”

  She took off for the elevators, and he lingered behind.

  He walked back into IT and pulled up a chair to Brandon’s desk.

  A few minutes later, the IT guru returned with several thumb drives and a folder. “Don’t suppose you know anything about mining information?”

  “Nope. Sorry.” Tom laughed. “I barely know how to use my cell phone these days.”

  “It’s not hard. Just time consuming. The programs do most of the work, sifting through Internet pages and social media for anything relevant. But because of the Mathesons’ fame and fortune, there’s going to be a lot more data. Which means it will take a while to get through it all and find anything useful.”

  “Two people will make it go faster though, right?”

  “Yeah, it should.”

  Brandon set Tom up at another computer across from his, then taught him briefly how to run the programs and interpret the results. Hardly exciting, but at least it kept him busy.

  The hours dragged by, and there wasn’t enough caffeine on the planet to keep him from yawning or to keep his thoughts from turning to his extremely hot partner upstairs.

  “So, what do you know about Ms. Rockford?”

  Brandon gave him an odd look. “Other than the fact she’s my boss and pretty terrifying, you mean?”

  Tom chuckled. “Yeah. She ever been married?”

  “Not that I know of. Unless you count this place. With the hours she pulls, I can’t imagine she has any sort of life outside of this place.” Brandon tapped a few keys on his computer then sat back, eyeing Tom with suspicion. “Why? I hope you’re not thinking about tapping that.”

  Hearing such a nerdy guy use slang made Tom laugh. “What if I am?”

  “Then you’re a braver man than most. She’s got four behemoth, overprotective brothers who guard her like gold. If you so much as make her look at you funny, they’ll kick your ass into next year. You need to seriously ask yourself if she’s worth dealing with all that before you enter her territory, my friend.”