Great.
Tom turned back to his own computer and sighed.
Liv Rockford posed quite the daunting challenge. One he wouldn’t mind accepting if he’d been on his own time. Which he wasn’t. Best to leave things as they were, then, no matter how tempting the alternatives might be.
9
Most days, Blake’s open, airy office felt like an oasis in the middle of the Rockford Security chaos. Not today though. Liv shifted in her seat and checked her watch for the billionth time. Today, on this early Tuesday afternoon, it felt like a maximum-security prison.
“Why can’t I reassign Tom?” She clasped her hands in her lap and did her best not to fidget. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Tom. Just the opposite, truthfully. And that was a problem. Not that she’d tell her brother that. She went with her standard excuse instead. “He isn’t ready for an assignment yet. Hell, he’s only half trained.”
“I thought he did well during the robbery. Kept his head, didn’t panic, followed your orders.” Blake fed Henry a grape and glanced at her. “Was there something about him that struck you as incapable?”
Damn. In reality, Tom had been all of those things and more during the ambush. His hand-to-hand combat skills were almost as good as hers. If only he didn’t make her catch her breath, make her insides get all molten and tingly, make her imagine all kinds of wicked things happening between them whenever he was around. Her reactions were inappropriate and ridiculous. She didn’t date coworkers, especially her own employees. Period. The end. Thanks so much for playing. Still, she respected the guy enough not to slight his reputation. “No. He was fine during the conflict, it’s just—”
“Look.” Blake sat forward, allowing Henry to jump from his shoulder to the back of his black leather desk chair. “Tom’s already familiar with the case. It would take way longer to bring someone else in at this point. Let him help you.”
“What about Jace? He’s a fast study.”
“Jace is working on something else for me.” Blake folded his hands atop the desk and narrowed his icy blue gaze on her. “Why are you really so opposed to partnering with Tom?”
Nope. Not happening.
Her brother’s matchmaking shenanigans were the stuff of legend. If he even got the tiniest whiff of her attraction to their newest hire, he’d be all over that like grease on French fries. She sat back in her chair and fiddled with the hem of her tailored shirt. “I told you he’s just not ready yet. I’d think protecting your beloved younger sister is way more important than whatever assignment you’ve got Jace working.”
“Your safety is always a top priority, as is the security of all of my personnel.” His expression was unreadable. “As such, someone leaked our routes to those thieves, and I intend to find the culprit.”
She could tell from the tense set of Blake’s shoulders and the fine lines around his eyes and mouth that the breach of trust bothered him far more than the loss of some stupid, priceless necklace. Such was the Rockford way. Family came first, always, whether that family was forged by blood or friendship. “Jace is investigating the leak, isn’t he?”
“I need someone who isn’t a company insider, someone with a fresh perspective and no biases. So I’m letting him do what he does best.”
“Remind me again exactly what that is.” Liv snorted. “Last time I checked, Jace’s biggest accomplishments in life were winning BMX racing titles and hooking up with X-games groupies.”
“He’ll do fine on this. Trust me.”
“Guess I have to.” She shrugged. “What’s up with all his other special assignments, anyway?”
Blake ignored her question and rifled through the stacks of files on his desk instead. “Don’t you have a meeting with Jessica Matheson and her lawyer soon?”
“Yep. In an hour.” She pushed to her feet. “If I have to take Tom along, I’m taking one of our other guards too, for backup.”
“Fine, but you need to get comfortable working one on one with him. You two will be spending a lot of time together during this investigation, and I can’t afford to pull someone off of another assignment just to play your bodyguard.”
Liv walked out of his office and headed back to her own, only to find Tom waiting outside her door. Heat bubbled inside her gut at the sight of him despite her wishes to the contrary. She swallowed hard and walked past him, doing her best to maintain a cool attitude. “Did you study the information Brandon found on Matheson?”
“I did.” He closed the door behind him, and her office seemed to shrink in his presence. “How about you?”
She wasn’t used to having people question her work habits. “Of course.”
“We should’ve gone over it together. Would’ve made more sense.” He settled into one of the chairs in front of her desk, and Liv did her best not to notice his long legs or the grace of his movements. For such a tall, muscular guy, he moved like a well-oiled machine.
Well-oiled…
The words conjured all sorts of naughty images—him naked and sprawled on her bed, a bottle of massage oil nearby, her straddling his slim hips…
Kneading, stroking, gliding…
She damn near choked on her own spit. Coughing, she turned away to grab a tissue and dabbed her now watering eyes.
“You okay?” He sat forward, his expression concerned.
“I’m fine.” She held up a hand. “I went over the information at home last night.”
Of course, he was right, dammit. It would’ve been more efficient for them to go over the information together, but after that kiss in the elevator, she’d taken the safe route versus the easy choice—going over the stuff at home. Alone. Where she wasn’t tempted to jump his bones every ten seconds.
“You know, if we’re going to be friends—”
“We’re not friends.”
“We’re partners.”
“I’m still your boss.”
“So you keep reminding me.” He squinted at her. “Is that for your benefit or mine?”
“We need to go.” She stood and grabbed her purse, unwilling to get into this with him now. Or ever, really. She’d work with him on this case because that was what Blake wanted. Afterward, he’d go back to regular assignments or perhaps move on to greener pastures altogether. Either way, she’d still be COO and left behind. A place she’d been one too many times to want to return.
They rode the elevators down to IT, where she got off.
Tom hovered behind, his expression confused. “I thought we were headed to the attorney’s office.”
“We are, but I need to grab another guard to go with us as backup. Hold the elevator. I’ll be right back.”
The weight of his stare burned a hole through her back as she went inside the department and walked to the small break area in the back, where she found Abby eating her lunch.
“You busy?”
“I’m on break,” Abby said, finishing her last bite. “Do you have something for me?”
“Are you available this afternoon?”
“Always.” She shoved her Tupperware back into her tote and followed Liv out of the room. “Where are we going?”
“To a meeting across town regarding the Matheson affair.”
“Sounds exciting.” Abby stepped aboard the elevator beside Liv.
“I’m sure it won’t be.” Liv ignored the heat of Tom, who now stood behind her, and pressed the lobby button. “We’ve been summoned to a meeting with Jessica and her lawyer.”
The trio strode through the lobby and out into the bright Vegas sunshine. At the curb waited Liv’s old company SUV, freshly repaired postrobbery and sparkling clean. Twenty minutes later, they pulled up in front of a nondescript brick building with a bronze plaque on one corner proclaiming Samson and Sims, Attorneys at Law.
“Keep a lookout for anything suspicious.” They rode up to the top floor of the building, where a snooty receptionist forced them to wait in the lobby. Liv aimed for a corner chair but ended up seated between Abby and Tom. His forearm
brushed hers, and his knee bumped against her leg as she shifted in her seat. Both thrilling and annoying as hell. She did her best not to fidget and failed miserably.
“You nervous or something?” he asked, a hint of amusement in his tone.
“No.” She gave him a sharp look. “I don’t like to wait.”
“Have you ever investigated a client before?”
Liv picked a nonexistent piece of lint from her immaculate black pantsuit and focused straight ahead. “No. Blake usually does a full background check prior to accepting a job.”
“Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything then.” He reached for a magazine on the table in front of them, and his long, tapered fingers brushed her calf. An involuntary shiver ran through her. “Try to relax. If you’re on edge, Jessica Matheson will sense it, and she won’t talk.”
She drew her arms in closer, away from the delicious, maddening heat of him “Have you done these types of investigations before in your other jobs?”
“Yep.” He tossed the magazine aside and ran a hand through his thick hair. She’d never wanted to be a set of fingers more in her life. “We had a leak once in what was supposed to be a secure operation. There was a robbery that time too, but not as violent. Still a mess to clean up, though.”
“Aren’t they all, right?” She glanced sideways at him and gave a small smile. He returned the gesture, and the room seemed to brighten.
“Ah, Ms. Rockford.” Richard Wilks stepped out through a set of double doors across the room. Well, shit. Blake hadn’t mentioned the insurance investigator was meeting with their client right beforehand. Or maybe he didn’t know. She made a mental note to text Blake as soon as they were finished. “I believe they’re ready for you now.”
The receptionist escorted them into a conference room bedecked with rich wood paneling and dark brown leather. It looked like something out of an old-boys-club wet dream. Jessica and the attorney, Mr. Simms, shook hands. Each of them then took seats on one side of the table while Liv and Tom took seats opposite them.
Abby remained standing against the wall behind them like a stone sentry. A stone sentry who for some reason kept breaking her usual professional façade by glancing between Liv and Tom like she was analyzing their behavior.
What was with people today? Liv made a mental note to ask her about it later. Right now, she had more important things to deal with. Like figuring out why their supposedly simple transport job had gone so wrong.
Another guy entered the room—blond, young, probably midtwenties. Their client’s boyfriend, maybe, given his clean-cut, preppie appearance and the way he seemed to respond to Jessica’s every whim.
“This is Cody Brooks,” Jessica said. She didn’t elaborate on his position.
Okay then. Time to get started.
“Ms. Matheson, per our company protocol, we’re conducting our own investigation into the events surrounding the robbery, and we appreciate you allowing us to ask you some questions today.”
Jessica nodded but remained silent.
“Okay. First, did you mention the route we were taking that morning to anyone?”
“Even a trusted assistant?” Tom added.
Liv dug her fingers into the padded arms of her chair. This was her interview; he was here only as an observer.
“No. I didn’t say a word to anyone.” Jessica blinked back tears. “That necklace was irreplaceable. A family heirloom. I’m so heartbroken, I can’t even…”
Cody whispered something in her ear that seemed to calm her then turned his attention to Liv and Tom. “Sorry. She’s been through a lot in the past few weeks.”
“Ms. Rockford,” the attorney said. “If you’re insinuating that my client was aiding and abetting these thieves, you need to leave. It was your company’s negligence that bungled this job. The fault rests solely with Rockford Security.”
“I’m not insinuating anything,” Liv said. “Ms. Matheson may have mentioned it innocently. I’m just trying to piece together how someone found out the route ahead of time.”
The glaring attorney gave a slight nod, and Liv attempted to ask a few more questions about the necklace and what events had occurred with Jessica prior to the robbery, but the atmosphere in the room had shifted from apprehensive to adversarial, and they got nowhere fast.
Frustrated, they left half an hour later with no more information than when they’d arrived. Liv sighed once they were back at the SUV. “Well, that was a waste of time.”
“I don’t know.” Tom climbed into the passenger side. “Did you see the way Matheson turned to Cody Brooks before she answered every question? Like she needed his permission or something?”
“I noticed that,” Abby piped in from the backseat. “But I think she just didn’t want to look bad in front of Surfer Boy. I doubt it has anything to do with the case.”
Liv started the engine and glanced back at Abby. Yeah, she was definitely acting weird today. Normally, Abby was all business, all the time. Never made idle observations or gossiped. Then again, Cody Brooks had been cute, so maybe Abby was infatuated.
Speaking of infatuated…
Tom stretched out his legs, and once more, his knee brushed hers. Liv jerked away as if burned, her skin hypersensitive to his brief touch. Tom glanced at her, and one side of his firm lips quirked upward. “Sorry.”
“No problem.” She steered them out into the late-afternoon traffic and headed back toward Rockford Security. “She never identified exactly what Mr. Brooks does for her either.”
“I think that’s pretty obvious.” Tom grinned.
Abby snorted at the innuendo, and Liv frowned. They stopped at a light, and Liv turned to face the younger woman in the backseat. “Everything all right today, Abby?”
“Yes.” Abby looked startled. “Of course, boss. Why?”
’Cause you’re acting like an idiot, that’s why.
The light turned green, and Liv let the matter drop. Fine. Whatever. Apparently love or lust or something was in the air and affecting them all lately.
Once they pulled into the Rockford parking lot a few minutes later, Liv pulled out her phone to text Blake about the Richard Wilks appearance. Abby rushed back inside, while Tom waited for Liv near the front of the SUV. They walked back inside together.
“Anyway, I think we should look into him, Cody Brooks, I mean,” Liv said. Tom held the door for her then followed her into the lobby. “Besides, we’ve got nothing else to go on at this point. Meet me in IT in ten minutes?”
“You got it, boss.” Tom winked as he walked away, and her heart flipped.
Stupid heart.
Yep, there was definitely something in the air these days.
“It’s a little crowded in here.” Brandon looked over his shoulder at the small crowd now gathered in his tiny IT cubicle. Tom felt a bit sorry for the guy. Not sorry enough to leave, but still. Especially given the fact Liv was currently plastered alongside him, and he could feel all her delicious curves through her staid black pantsuit and smell the flowery spice of her perfume. Yeah, crowded right now seemed like a super good thing in his book.
“Abby,” Liv said, an undercurrent of tension in her voice. “You can go.”
“Oh, okay.” Abby glanced at Brandon then muttered a goodbye as she left.
With a bit more space available, Liv stepped aside to increase the distance between her and Tom. He missed the heat of her almost immediately, which only made him more resolute to leave well enough alone—or Olivia Rockford, in this case.
“I need all the intel you can dig up on a Cody Brooks. He’s an associate of Jessica Matheson.” Liv straightened and hugged her suit jacket tighter around herself despite the warmth in the office. “I’ll be in my office. Call me when it’s ready.”
She started out of the cubby, only to run smack into Tom.
The gentlemanly thing to do would be to step aside and let her pass. Too bad he wasn’t feeling all that gentlemanly when she was around these days. The woman upset his nat
ural order, made him want things he had no business wanting, tempted him beyond reason. So yeah. He wanted to ruffle her perfect feathers a bit in return.
“Excuse me.” She kept her eyes focused on the middle of his chest and stepped to the side. He followed. Repeat again. And again. Finally, her green eyes ablaze with annoyance, she stared up at him with a raised brow. “Mind if I leave?”
“Not at all.” He smiled and moved aside. “See you around, boss.”
She didn’t answer, didn’t turn around, didn’t acknowledge him in any way.
Still, there was no denying the scorching chemistry between them.
No way at all.
“This is going to take awhile,” Brandon said, interrupting Tom’s thoughts. “You can go too if you want.”
“Nah.” Tom shook off his testosterone buzz and squinted at the IT guru’s screen. “Can’t you just hack into a database or something?”
“Sure, if I didn’t mind going to federal prison.”
Tom crossed his arms and shook his head. “There’s something off about that Cody guy. Can you run his picture through the federal system to see if he’s got a criminal record?”
“Nope. Legally, all I can do is an Internet search against the photo and see what pops up. We can also have the LVPD red flag him and ask them to share any information they might uncover, if we can make a valid case he’s a suspect, that is.” Brandon’s tone turned wary. “Figured an experienced security guy would know what’s acceptable.”
Fuck.
Tom took a seat in the only vacant chair in the cubicle and tried to cover his tracks. “Oh, I did. Just making sure we were on the same page. Guess I’ll settle in for the long haul then.”
“Yeah.”
Brandon swiveled toward his computer once more, while Tom crossed his legs and leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be as boring as before, but given the long, drawn-out plan Brandon had just proposed, things didn’t look too promising.
Wicked Deception (The Rockford Security Series Book 5) Page 6