“Positive.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Dani figured she’d offer her two cents, although she doubted anyone would listen.
RT glanced at his computer. “Right now, Ms. Davidson, I don’t have many options, unfortunately.”
Dani knew she wasn’t going to win this. Not right here with all the testosterone pulsing violently in the room. She needed to get Hunter alone so she could talk him out of this. Surely if she explained that Dennis Moroso wasn’t a threat to her, he’d see things her way. Maybe then he’d tell them he was keeping an eye on her and then go about his business.
After all, she didn’t believe Moroso was a threat. Not to her. However, there was something she had to do and an extra set of eyes on her wasn’t going to make it any easier. Moroso might not be after her, but she feared someone was. Only she wasn’t in a position to tell any of them about it. Not until she figured it out herself.
“Can I have a word with you?” Conner asked Hunter.
Hunter’s eyes landed on her once more before he nodded to his brother and turned to leave the room.
Yep. Coming up with a compromise was a much better plan than to have Hunter pissed because he had to play babysitter.
Now, she just needed to get away from Max and, ultimately, away from all this nonsense.
KYE WANDERED INTO THE SNIPER 1 building with a smile on his face. “Good morning, Glue,” he greeted the pretty receptionist.
“Good morning, Kye,” she said sweetly, her strawberry-blonde curls scattering around her face when she pivoted to look at him. “I didn’t expect to see you here today.”
“Just came in to get another assignment,” he admitted.
“Well, I can tell you they need someone to take control of the newbies,” she told him. Her voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. “From what I heard, these guys and gals need some range time.”
Kye knew she was referring to the men and women they’d acquired when they had absorbed CISS, a small security firm that had been going under financially. It had taken a while to get the logistics worked out, but they had finally managed to seal the deal. It hadn’t been a huge surprise that S1S would want to expand. Considering CISS had specialized mostly in corporate security, it allowed Sniper 1 to expand its portfolio.
“How many?” he inquired, curious.
“All of them.” Her huff was cute. “If I have to listen to RT moan and groan about them one more time…”
Kye laughed. “Well, I’m sure I can handle the task.” He glanced at the door that led to the back offices. “Hunter here?”
Jayden nodded. “Yeah. He’s in a meeting with RT and Conner.”
That explained the early phone call that had woken Hunter and set him on a rampage this morning.
“You know who they’re with?”
“Max Adorite,” she whispered as though that was a bad word. “And Hunter’s ex-fiancée.”
Danielle Davidson was in the building?
Kye suddenly realized he needed to find a place to hide. As it was, Hunter had been having Kye keep tabs on her, and the last thing he needed was to blow his cover in the event Hunter wanted him to continue doing so.
“If we’re lucky, the building’ll still be standing when they’re done,” Jayden noted before turning her attention to the phone now ringing on her desk. “Good morning. Sniper 1 Security. How may I direct your call?”
While she was occupied, Kye slipped through the door and darted into the break room. Unfortunately, it wasn’t empty.
Claire Donovan, Sniper 1’s most experienced hacker, was adding sugar to her coffee. She gave him a quick glance and a smile. “Morning.”
“Mornin’,” he replied, peering out into the bullpen.
Claire turned toward him. “Hiding from someone?”
He laughed it off, hoping it didn’t sound forced. “Nope. Not me.”
“Right.” She didn’t sound convinced. “Don’t worry. I’m sure Hunter’s not going to chase you down right now.” Claire nodded toward the door. “He’s currently in a meeting with his ex. I’m sure he’ll be preoccupied for a while.”
That or on a homicidal mission. Although Kye wasn’t privy to what had gone down between Hunter and Dani, he’d put a few things together on his own. One, the couple had been in love. Two, they’d been set to get married. And three, Dani had disappeared before that could happen.
Despite the gossip that ran through this office like a raging case of the flu, there wasn’t much talk about Hunter and the woman he’d been set to marry all those years ago. Kye was a little fuzzy on the timeline. From what he gathered, Hunter met Dani eight years ago, started dating her roughly six months after that, which had led to him asking her to marry him six years ago. Roughly a year after that, she didn’t show up for their blessed nuptials, disappearing off the face of the planet. Then, fifteen months ago, she reappeared, wanting to clear her conscience, but had chickened out at the last second.
Yep. That was what Kye had figured out on his own because no one else was forthcoming with information. In fact, he got the feeling no one talked about it for fear of enduring Hunter’s wrath personally.
“You know why they’re here?” he asked, trying to make casual conversation as he headed toward the coffeepot.
“Not a clue. But Max is in there with them.”
Maximillian Adorite was Hunter’s brother-in-law, and Kye was well aware that Hunter wasn’t a member of the man’s fan club. As a matter of fact, Kye would go so far as to say that Hunter despised the man who had married his sister.
As he took a sip of his coffee, his phone rang. He yanked it from his pocket and glanced down at the screen. He smiled.
“Hey, Mom,” he greeted, moving closer to the door so he could peer out. “What’s up?”
“Just checking in,” she said sweetly. “I was thinking about you this morning.”
“Yeah?”
“How did that assignment go? The one where you were keeping tabs on the cheating husband?”
Aw, shit. He hated that he had to lie to his mother about what he did, but the last thing he wanted was to have her worried about him. She spent so much of her time worried as it was, never having gotten over the fact that Toby had died. Which was the very reason Kye played down what he did, leading his mother to believe he only handled cheesy PI cases—scorned spouses, jealous husbands, that sort of thing.
“Yep. All done. Got some pictures and the wife’s divorcing him.”
“Well, that’s good. I think.”
The sound of a door slamming shut had Kye jerking his attention toward the bullpen. That was his cue to find someplace to disappear to. No way did he want to risk being seen by the elusive Danielle Davidson. Not if he expected to be assigned to follow her again.
And the truth was, he was really, really hoping for that chance.
“Hey, Mom. I’m gonna have to call you back.”
MAXIMILLIAN ADORITE KNEW WALKING INTO this that he was going to have his hands full. Not only with his cousin Danielle, but also with the man she was in love with.
Oh, he wouldn’t make that accusation to her face, because he knew Dani. She would go into immediate denial, claiming to hate Hunter with a passion that rivaled all. But Max wasn’t an idiot. He could see it on her face. The woman was still in love with that man, even all these years later. No matter what she claimed.
Max knew that his crazy fuck of a father had enlisted Dani’s help in spying on Casper Kogan. He’d planted her in the Kogans’ world when she was still a teenager. As far as Max knew, Dani had never revealed any damaging information to Samuel, but he knew for a fact Dani had despised Max’s father for putting her in that position. Especially since she’d fallen in love with Hunter.
Max didn’t particularly like involving Sniper 1 Security in his personal business, but according to his wife, he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Well, technically he did, but not if he wanted to keep her happy. And keeping Courtney happy was of the utmost import
ance to him, so here he was, seeking assistance from his in-laws.
Even acknowledging it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
It wouldn’t have been necessary if Max had time to restructure his organization to handle Dennis Moroso, the most recent threat to his livelihood. It had actually been on Max’s agenda to do just that, but it was no longer a possibility after what had transpired last night. Specifically, the gun fight that had taken place. Since a member of Max’s security detail had been gunned down outside his own house, Max knew time was of the essence. Dennis was acting quickly, not sitting back and giving Max time to put anything in place. It was what Max would’ve done.
Since the Morosos were apt to make things personal, Max knew he had to step up his game. And quick. Which was the only reason Max was looking to his wife’s family to assist. He honestly didn’t think that Dani was in immediate danger from Dennis, considering Max had worked hard to keep her off everyone’s radar. Thanks to her father sending her to France after her mother died, and the drastic efforts to keep her separated from the Adorite name for most of her life, the majority of Max’s associates and enemies didn’t know she was his cousin. Max wanted to keep it that way. She was a hell of a lot safer on the outside.
Unfortunately, it appeared someone had been doing some digging into Max’s family as of late. He knew for a fact that Dani’s relation to him had been leaked, but he didn’t know who was responsible. Still, it meant he had to treat Dani as he would any of his brothers and sisters. He needed to know she was safe so he could come up with a plan to take down Moroso.
Max knew that with Hunter handling the situation—the guy wouldn’t have let anyone else handle this, no matter how aloof he pretended to be—Dani would be protected. He had assumed—correctly—that Hunter’s decision would not go over well with Max’s little cousin, but at this point, he didn’t really care. There was a tangible threat to him and his family and the most important thing was keeping them all safe. After the bullshit that had gone down with Marco Moroso two and a half years ago, Max wasn’t willing to take any chances.
In all fairness, Max’s goal was twofold. Not only would he know Dani was being protected but it would keep the Kogans and Trexlers looking the other way. Something that Max desperately needed at the moment.
When the two brothers stepped into the hallway, Max watched RT carefully. He’d known before he arrived that RT would agree to take the case because he was a good guy. There was a lot of tension between Max’s family and the Kogans and Trexlers, but in the end, they would do whatever necessary to protect the innocent. And Dani was an innocent, even if she had been a pawn in Samuel Adorite’s twisted game a time or two.
With a resigned sigh, RT got to his feet.
Max prepared himself to wait.
This would work out for the best if he remained patient. Not one of his strong suits, no. But he could do this.
For his wife.
THREE
“YOU SURE YOU WANT TO do this?” Conner asked after he dragged Hunter into the hall.
Hunter knew it was Conner’s obvious attempt to have a side conversation, but it wasn’t necessary. He appreciated his brother’s concern, but Hunter was over Dani. This was business and if RT wanted to take Max’s dirty money, there wasn’t much he could do about it.
Hunter took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m fine. It’s just a job.”
It was the only answer he could give for several reasons. One, he had no intention of leaving Conner alone with Dani for an indefinite amount of time. Call him stupid, but he couldn’t deny the underlying jealousy that had reared its ugly head when Conner made the offer. And two, if Dani’s life was in danger, that was his job. Protect by any means necessary. That was their company motto, and Hunter was man enough to ignore their past if it meant keeping her safe.
That’s what they were paid for.
The door opened, and RT stepped out into the hall. He looked at Hunter, then Conner, then back again. “Problem?”
“No. No problem,” Hunter assured him. “I’ll take the assignment. And I’m bringing Kye in as backup.”
That earned him a curious look from both Conner and RT. Hunter shrugged it off. It didn’t matter that Kye had been the only partner Hunter had taken on since Josh. For the past few years, Hunter had purposely avoided as many jobs as he could that would require him to work with anyone else. And he had his reasons for doing so. Mainly because he didn’t want to chance getting close to someone. And also, because he didn’t trust himself to watch someone else’s back when he didn’t even give a shit about his own.
However, this would allow Hunter the opportunity to set Kye straight and deal with his past at the same time. And when it was over in a few days, Hunter could move on with his life.
Plus, he and Kye both needed something to do, so this was a win-win.
And that much was actually true. After having spent the past few months sitting on his ass while RT attempted to convince Hunter that he needed to step up and help him take over the company, Hunter wasn’t looking forward to twiddling his thumbs while he waited for someone to assign him a job. He had absolutely no intention of becoming a desk jockey, but he was having a hard time convincing RT of that.
This was the perfect chance to get back into the swing of things here on US soil and not have to deal with the concerned looks from his family.
RT frowned, but thankfully he kept his feelings to himself. Everyone knew how Dani’s disappearance had affected Hunter, but in his defense, he was over her. Had been for years.
Or so he told himself.
Nodding toward the door, Hunter signaled for them to go back in. The sooner they got this over with, the faster he could get on with his life. Perhaps this was just what he needed. A few hours where he could get answers to the three dozen questions he wanted to ask Dani, starting with why the fuck she hadn’t told him she was a goddamn Adorite all those years ago.
“Looks like it’s settled,” RT announced when they stepped back into the conference room. “I assume you want to implement this today?”
Max nodded as he got to his feet.
“Good, then we’ll let you work out the logistics,” RT stated, nodding toward Hunter.
“If you need anything or have any questions, let me know,” Max said, his statement directed at Hunter.
“Will do.” He doubted he would need anything more than Dani’s address so he knew where he needed to be. Twenty-four-hour protection would require him to be at her house and her place of business.
It dawned on him that he didn’t know what she did for a living. You know, besides lure in prey and pretend she wanted to marry them. Back when they’d been together, Dani had been good with computers. Maybe she worked in an office.
“If at all possible, you should get her out of town,” Max noted.
“You could always take her to the beach house,” Conner stated. “It’s private and easy to keep an eye on. Plus, it’s empty right now.”
“I like that plan,” Max said, as though he had any say in what Hunter chose to do.
“No,” Dani stated adamantly. “I’m tired of running. If I have to have a babysitter, they can watch me at home.”
Max didn’t seem impressed with her argument, but the man held his tongue on the subject. “I’ll take you home,” he told Dani. “And I’ll stay with you until Hunter arrives.”
Hunter could tell Dani still wanted to argue, but she clamped her mouth shut and nodded, not making direct eye contact with anyone.
“I’ll need an address,” Hunter added. “You can leave it with RT, and I’ll get it after I go home and pack a bag.”
“Pack a bag?” Dani’s eyes widened, her gaze cutting to his quickly. “Why do you need to pack a bag?”
“If I’m gonna keep an eye on you day and night, I can’t do it from here, sweetheart.”
Her eyes narrowed, and he knew she didn’t appreciate the term of endearment, which was fine with him, since he’d meant it in a derogatory manner
.
“I don’t think it’s necessary,” she snapped.
“Oh, it’s necessary.” Rather than hash it out with her, Hunter said his goodbyes and turned for the door. When Dani called after him, he pretended not to hear.
Right now wasn’t a good time for him to have a conversation with her.
He had promised to do a job, which he would. But she wasn’t going to get any more than that. Not from him, at least.
KYE ANSWERED THE PHONE AS soon as he saw Hunter’s name come up on the screen. “What’s up?”
“We’ve got a job,” Hunter said, his tone hinting at his distaste for that fact.
“Fan-fucking-tastic.” Kye hurried toward his truck in the parking garage, wanting to be a good distance from the building before Dani or Hunter came out and found him there. “So, no paperwork for me yet, right?”
“Not yet,” Hunter confirmed.
Based on what he’d garnered from Hunter last night, Kye expected to have about a week of paper pushing before he got to head out again. Hence the reason he’d come into the office early this morning. Like most of the agents he knew, Kye didn’t care much for the paper part of it. However, it was part of the job and he made a point not to bitch and complain about it. Knowing RT, he would’ve buried Kye underneath it if he knew how much he detested it.
“Long term?” he probed as he pulled out of the parking garage and headed out of downtown. Now that he was no longer having to babysit Danielle Davidson, he’d been assigned to a few one-off jobs—mostly local—and he was looking forward to something lengthier. “Wait.” Kye just realized what Hunter had said. “You said we.”
When it came to Hunter, the man worked solo. Ninety-nine percent of the time, anyway. Since Kye had been with Sniper 1 Security, he’d rarely seen Hunter work with anyone other than him. And damn sure not without a boatload of resistance. Sure, he’d heard rumors as to why, but he’d never confronted Hunter about it. They might’ve been fucking like rabbits for the past year, but they damn sure weren’t doing much cuddling after. And certainly not sharing pillow talk.
Tomorrow's Too Late (Sniper 1 Security, 3) Page 5