Beside him, Liv looked his way and gave him a small smile.
The thought of stopping these guys from ever hurting her again was all the justice he needed. Before he could reconsider his actions, Dom stood and charged into the basement. “What the hell, Blake? I thought this was my case?”
“Our case,” Liv said, following him down the stairs.
Jace stepped forward. If he was surprised to see them there, he didn’t show it. “Relax. We’re just asking him a few questions about his associates.”
Dom shook his head. You could take a man out of the Bureau but not the Bureau out of the man. “You guys know you’re violating the law, right? Detaining a man against his will without a warrant is a federal offense.”
Blake stepped forward, Henry’s tail swishing against his shoulder like a blade. “This is one of the guys who sent our people to the hospital. Do you think he deserves to be questioned by the police?”
“What I think is irrelevant.” Dom knew all too well what a pain in the ass bureaucracy could be, but he’d still sworn an oath to protect the Constitution.
Liv turned to him, her expression hard. “Let them handle this, Tom.”
Dom exhaled loudly then gave a curt nod.
“Who are you working with?” Jace slapped the guy again, the sound reverberating off the cement. “Tell us, Rodriguez, or it will only get worse from here.”
Dom clenched his fists. Apparently Blake hadn’t seen Felix’s file yet, or else he’d know. Daniel O’Connor was a cold-blooded killer and a man who needed to be stopped at all costs. The thought of him finding Liv, hurting her again, spurred him into action. For all their bravado, the Rockfords were lightweights when it came to this shit. He had experience, more than any one man should, on both sides. Specialized training. He should take over, handle this. He would too, if it wasn’t for Liv standing there like a statue, watching the proceedings. This would get bloody, and she didn’t need to see that, no matter how brave she was.
As if reading his thoughts, Blake walked over and took his sister by the arm. “Can you drive me back to the office? I need to go over some important things on my desk.”
Liv wrenched free. “You think I can’t handle this? I’m not some idiot who faints at the sight of blood.”
“I know, but I really do need to get back.”
Liv looked at Dom then Rodriguez then Dom again. “Are you staying?”
“Jace will give me a ride back later.” He met Blake’s gaze, and a silent understanding passed between them. “Don’t worry.”
“C’mon.” Blake took Liv’s arm again and led her toward the stairs. “He’ll be fine.”
Once they were gone, Dom turned his attention to Jace. “Why’d you take him?”
“These cretins hurt my sister.” He picked up a hammer and swung it precariously close to Rodriguez’s head. The guy flinched away. “No one fucks with my family. Why are you staying?”
“Same reason.” Dom tugged off his shirt. These things had a tendency to get messy. “Do me a favor. This stays between us, okay?”
Jace narrowed his gaze. “You really like Liv, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do.” More than like. Way more. Dom pointed toward a wicked-looking tool on a worktable beside Jace. “Now hand me that, and let’s get this party started.”
19
Liv emerged from the shower at the employee gym. A punishing workout was just what she’d needed to blow off steam. A week had passed since that afternoon in Blake’s basement, yet she still couldn’t seem to purge the image of that guy tied to the chair or the deadly cold look in Tom’s eyes.
Growing up around alpha brothers had made her used to dealing with dominant males, but Tom was a whole new experience. They’d worked together, slept together, and she thought she knew him. But that day, he’d morphed into a different man right before her eyes—ruthless, hard, slightly sinister. The memory still made her shiver, and not in a good way.
Then there was the fact he hadn’t called her since that day in the basement either.
Not once.
Hell, the only time she’d seen Tom had been brief flashes when he’d come into the office and headed directly to Blake’s office then back out again. Much as she hated to admit it, she feared she’d been nothing more than a convenient booty call for Tom Bates.
She toweled off then tugged on a fresh pair of jeans and a T-shirt before pulling her damp hair back into a messy ponytail. She was beginning to think she hadn’t really known Tom at all. The thought was unsettling to say the least. How could she continue to share her body, her heart, with a man she knew so little about?
Memories of his meeting in the coffee shop that day surfaced. Tom seemed to be on their side, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling he’d been hiding something. Did Blake know what it was? Should she tell Blake about the coffee-shop handoff she thought she’d witnessed? She’d already told Jace, and apparently Jace trusted Tom enough to let him be included in the inner workings of this case. Maybe she should just let it go. It was probably just her suspicious imagination, and she still felt deep down that Tom was a good guy… except for the fact that he apparently was the love ’em and leave ’em type. Then again, he’d never promised a commitment.
She shoved her things into her duffle bag then headed out to the elevators. Most of the staff had left a long time ago, and she looked forward to picking something up for dinner on the way home and spending a nice quiet night vegged out in front of the TV for a change.
Blake, unfortunately, seemed to have other plans. He caught her as the door to the elevator opened. “Hey, sis. Have a minute?”
“Not really, no.” She weaved around him and headed for the stairwell instead.
He followed along beside her, undeterred. “What’s going on with you and Tom Bates?”
“Nothing.” She raced down the steps and through the lobby then pushed out into the early-evening twilight. “Nothing I want to discuss with you, anyway. Unless you’d like to explain why he gets to go out in the field while I’m stuck inside doing all the paperwork.”
That seemed to shut her brother up for once.
She continued to her SUV, and he trailed, standing off to the side as she tossed her bag onto the backseat.
“Owen’s waiting for you in your office,” he said at last.
“Why?” She faced Blake, keys in hand and patience at an end. “He doesn’t work at this location.”
Blake didn’t answer, just shrugged and headed back inside.
Fine. She’d had it with her nosy family and all their damned excuses. Buzzing with irritation, she stalked back inside and rode the elevator back up to the fifth floor. Would’ve been nice if Blake would’ve mentioned her visitor while she’d still been in the damned building too. Saved her an extra trip. But no. Why would he do that? It was only Liv. She had no life, nothing going on. Why be considerate of her time?
Owen was waiting in her office when she arrived. “Hey, cuz.”
He’d always been her favorite cousin, and the sight of him helped dispel some of her inner anger, and regardless of the change in plans, it was good to see him. They hugged.
She pulled back and grinned. “How’s Alison?”
“Great.” Owen stepped back and grinned, his warm brown eyes sparkling with happiness. “Caught up in some algorithm she’s designing for the Lucky Ace to help them predict when someone’s cheating.”
“Wow.” Math was a necessary evil in Liv’s world but not something she enjoyed. “Is that even possible?”
“Don’t ask me, ask Alison.” He made a face. “All that stuff sounds like hell to me.”
“Me too.” She grabbed a water from her mini fridge and offered him one too. He declined. Liv took a seat behind her desk and cracked her bottle open. “So, what brings you here?”
“Do you remember when you used to break into my apartment and decorate it?”
Liv frowned. “It’s not breaking and entering if I have a spare key.”
“Wel
l, consider this payback.”
Before she could react, he’d walked out and locked the door from the outside. She didn’t keep an extra key inside because the receptionist was always available during business hours. Too bad it was after hours now.
“Hey!” She yelled and pounded on the door, to no avail. Dammit. This was not funny. Not funny at all. “Somebody let me out!” Owen had better run far and fast, because once she was free again, she was going to kick his ass into next month.
Something stirred in the small closet in the corner, and her pulse stuttered.
She wasn’t alone.
Fuck.
After grabbing a paperweight off her desk, she inched forward and yanked it open. Out tumbled something big and heavy and trussed up like a turkey. Scrambling back, Liv jammed the dimmer switch on the light higher and stared down at the squirming mass at her feet.
Tom. What the…
She ripped the piece of duct tape off his mouth then noticed a bow taped to his chest. “What is this?”
“Embarrassing. That’s what.” He bucked against his restraints then scowled up at her. “Would you mind helping me out here?”
“Oh, yeah.” She put the paperweight down then grabbed a pair of scissors to cut the zip ties binding his extremities. “Who did this to you?”
Once free, he sat up and rubbed his wrists and ankles. “In a minute.”
“What do you mean in a minute? If those thieves—”
Her words were cut off by him cupping her cheeks and kissing her thoroughly.
Moments later, Tom pulled back and smiled. “I missed you, Princess.”
The sincerity in his gaze made her blush. She stared down at the floor. So maybe she wasn’t just a booty call after all. The rush of warmth in her chest made her knees weak. “I missed you too.”
“Good. Now, would you hate me forever if I throttled your brother?”
“Which one?”
“Blake.” Tom let her go and sat back. “He told me he wanted to test these new zip ties he ordered for the guards to see if they were a better way to restrain captives. Then he left me here.”
“Oh.” Now their earlier conversation made sense. She sat back too, her feet still tangled with his. “I think Blake’s matchmaking again.”
“Matchmaking? You mean he’s done this before?”
“Well, let’s see. So far there’s been Dino and Jan, Laura and Mike, Shelby and Chase, and most recently, Owen and Alison.”
“Wow.” Tom scratched his jaw. “That’s quite a list.”
“He denies everything, of course.”
“Of course. Sounds like the secret’s out though.” He looked down and wrinkled his nose. “Guess that explains the bow on my chest too, huh?”
Liv laughed. “Am I supposed to unwrap you?”
The air between them charged with playful tension, and Tom gave her a sexy little grin. “I wouldn’t object.”
Neither would she if they were anywhere but here. She sighed and pushed to her feet. “Not at work.”
He took her extended hand and stood. “Work’s over, and your brother isn’t coming back anytime soon. From all this hoopla, I’d say we definitely have his permission to… reconnect.” The way he said the word made her insides tingle in anticipation. “If we’re lucky, he’ll let us out before morning.”
Tempting. Oh so very tempting.
She reluctantly stepped away and walked around her desk to pull out the gun she kept stashed in her bottom drawer for emergencies. “Or we can shoot the lock off.”
Tom looked adorably disappointed. “Save your ammo. I’ll pick the lock.”
He pulled a small black leather pouch from the pocket of his khakis, and she smiled. “And here I thought you assumed lock picking was a Rockford specialty.”
“I’m a man of many talents, and I’m happy to show you each and every one.” He walked over to the door and crouched, sending her a saucy wink over his shoulder. “My only question before I get started is, your place or mine?”
Forty-eight hours later, Liv was in the same spot again, behind her desk. Only difference was she wasn’t locked in, and Tom was nowhere to be seen. They’d spent two blissful nights together, had dinners, walked in the park, talked until the wee hours, and it finally felt like maybe they had a shot at a real relationship when all this was over.
At present, though, he was still her employee, so she insisted they keep things under wraps. After this assignment, however, she’d see about getting him transferred to another section within Rockford Security so they could go public.
Speaking of going public…
Liv checked her watch. She was supposed to meet Tom at their favorite little Mexican place in about half an hour.
After a quick stop in the bathroom to check her hair and makeup, she headed out and drove the short distance to the restaurant. Not exactly a Michelin five-star establishment, but the food was authentic, and the margaritas were cold and strong, and she’d be with the man she loved, so it was all good.
The man I love…
Yeah, she’d finally admitted her true feelings to herself. She loved Tom, and if all his looks and caresses and kind gestures were any indication, he felt the same way.
Now she understood that goofy look Laura had gotten on her face every time they’d talked about Mike.
Life was good. Life was very, very good.
She pulled into a spot near the curb and climbed out then locked her car before heading over to where Tom waited near the entrance.
“Hey. How was your day?”
“Better now that I’m here with you.” She kissed him quickly then slid her arm around his waist. “I’m starving.”
“Me too.”
They’d just opened the door to head inside when something whizzed past her head.
Frowning, Liv glanced at Tom, only to have the brick wall nearby shatter as more bullets sped past.
“Get down!” He put his hand on the back of her neck and forced her to the ground while shielding her with his body.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know, but we’re too exposed.” He tugged her into an alley on the side of the building and hunched with her in the shadows. “Someone wants us dead, it seems.”
“Or they’re just trying to scare us away.”
“Whatever’s going on, I don’t like it.”
“Me neither.”
A muffled thud sounded. Before she could react, someone grabbed Tom and punched him across the face. He turned and caught his attacker with a sharp right hook. As the fight intensified, Liv pushed away from the wall and searched for something, anything, she could use as a weapon.
Someone grabbed her arm and whirled her around. A sharp poke into the side of her neck was followed by a burning in her veins. “What are you doing? Let me go.”
She struggled against her captor, managed to catch a glimpse of the man fighting with Tom—a gaunt, hard face, piercing dark eyes, cruel smile…
She’d seen that face before, in the file Blake had shown her earlier that day.
Dylan. No. Daniel. Daniel O’Connor.
Her mind went fuzzy, her vision tunneling to black…
Liv landed near the feet of a woman—tall, dark. Another one of the crooks, the same woman from the alley fight. Mina. Such a docile name for such a heinous bitch.
Her world teetered and slipped away into nothingness.
20
Dom managed to scramble to his hands and knees in time to see a man pick up Liv and carry her away. He squinted in the dim light, but the shadows prevented him from seeing the guy’s face. A woman trailed them.
Fuck.
Stiff and sore, he struggled to his feet and ran after them, managing to grab the woman from behind in a chokehold. She fought against him, her fingernails biting into his forearm, but he’d be goddamned if he’d let her get away and take his only chance of finding Liv.
Her accomplice kept going, not even turning around to see if his partner in crime wa
s all right.
Guess that old saying about honor and thieves was true.
With her oxygen supply compromised, the woman eventually sagged against him, helpless. It would’ve been so easy to twist his arm ever so slightly, to snap her neck and sever her spinal cord, take revenge for all the pain and suffering they’d caused him and Liv. But Felix wanted the criminals alive, and he was going to do at least one thing right in this fucked-up job if it killed him.
He laid the now unconscious woman on the ground and pulled his Glock, running to the end of the alley in time to see the crooks’ car pull away, a hail of bullets hemming him in and keeping him from following. He got off a couple of rounds but did no damage.
Shit. Just shit.
Sirens wailed nearby as he stalked back to the woman and picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes. She was the only lead he had, and he couldn’t afford to lose her to the cops.
Dom ducked around the end of the building and took the long way around to where Liv had parked her SUV the next block over then hotwired it and took off. Little Miss Thief here could be the next guest in Blake’s basement and sing for her life.
Getting through the maze of squad cars and roadblocks was tricky, but half an hour later, he pulled into Blake’s driveway in Summerlin and cut the engine. The woman in the back moaned low but still remained out cold. He may or may not have given her a little extra incentive by way of smacking her head against the side of the car when he’d loaded her in, but dammit. She’d hurt Liv.
My Liv.
No one hurt his loved ones. Not on his watch.
Blake’s navy Impala was parked behind Jace’s company sedan, and he unloaded his captive fast. Wouldn’t do to have the neighbors see him toting a body around and report them.
The front door opened after one knock.
Blake looked none too happy. “What the hell happened?”
“We got ambushed at dinner.” Dom pushed past him and into the house. “I managed to bag this one, but the other one—a guy. He got Liv.”
Wicked Deception (The Rockford Security Series Book 5) Page 16