The Ex Assignment (Rogue Protectors Book 1)

by Victoria Paige

  “It is my hope you do not give your sister a difficult time. In the end of all this, you will find how much the two of you are alike. If you successfully live together for three months, besides the money, you will be given the key to a safe deposit box. I am certain you will discover you share the same blood more than you know, and the contents of the box will put all doubts and questions to rest.”

  Goodman cleared his throat again and peered at them. “Any questions?”

  Claudette stood. She’d been unusually quiet during the reading of the will. “This was a waste of my time. I wouldn’t even try to gain guardianship of Theo anyway. See how much my son hates me?”

  “You know why, Mother.”

  “All right.” Gabby stood and extended her arm to the attorney. “Thank you for your time. I presume you have a copy of the old will?”

  Goodman nodded. “I was afraid you might ask that.”

  “I’ll talk to my captain, see if these wills need to be pursued in the investigation of my father’s death.”

  “I’m leaving,” Claudette announced as she strutted to the door and yanked it open.

  “Don’t leave town, Claudette.”

  The blonde flipped her off before her stilettos clacked away on the marble floor.

  “So, roomie.” Theo walked up to her. “Are you sure you don’t want to live the high life in Beverly Hills?”

  “So slum it for a while.”

  He raised a brow, took in her white blouse, gray slacks, before wincing at her brown loafers. “Maybe we can work on your wardrobe game.”

  Gabby scowled at him before addressing the attorney. “I’ll keep in touch. I’m not the detective on the case, but I’ll make sure they’re aware of this turn of events.”

  “This office will cooperate,” Goodman assured her. “Both of you are the main beneficiaries and as executor of this will, it is my duty to be on your side.”

  “That’d be appreciated.” Gabby turned to her brother. “Should I go with you to pack your things?”

  “Whoa. Stop right there,” her brother growled. “You may be my guardian but I’m almost eighteen.”

  “Your point?”

  “I don’t need a babysitter.” He stalked out of the office. Gabby sighed and trailed behind him.

  Levi was waiting for them, leaning against the wall beside the door.

  “Then what do you call this dude?” She thumbed at the big guy.

  Her brother’s bodyguard was instantly alert, his dark brows cinched in a frown. “What’s going on?”

  Gabby continued to walk ahead. “Theo is coming home with me.”

  “That’s not happening.”

  She stopped and faced Goliath. In her estimate, Levi stood six-four and his broad shoulders easily dwarfed Gabby twice over.

  Not that she was insignificant. At five-six, she wasn’t tiny, and she kept in shape with weights and martial arts, but she had a feeling Levi wasn’t a lumbering idiot, and she’d have to think long-term. She’d have to lure him to her side with sugar and not vinegar if she’d have hopes of managing Theo.

  She was his guardian. Somehow that still didn’t compute in her brain.

  “Look, it’s in my father’s will. Theo stays with me.”

  Levi considered this. “I’ll have to clear it with ESS. It’s our reputation on the line if anything happens to Theo.”

  “Understood. What do you need from me?”

  “Address and what levels of security you have.”

  Oh, they’re going to love my address. “You got it. Anything else?”

  The big guy exhaled a breath. “Several things, but it’s better if we discuss this somewhere else.”

  “Hate to interrupt you all.” Theo moved between them. “But I’m the one with a busy schedule and …” he checked his watch. “We can work on this sibling bonding time after the awards show tonight … unless you want to go as my date?”

  “Ugh … People’s Choice is tonight, isn’t it?”

  “Hey, there’s hope for you after all.”

  She was more amused than annoyed as she sighed in Levi’s direction. “There was nothing stated in the will that this arrangement has to take effect immediately. We’ll reconvene on Monday? I need the weekend to digest this.”

  “You make it sound like I’m some bad seafood being forced down your throat,” Theo grumbled.

  Gabby walked up to her brother. Even at seventeen, he was already over six feet. “Listen, pal. You and I will have to make the most of our situation. Peter’s death is suspicious and something in the will has triggered some red flags.”

  “What red flags?” Levi asked.

  “Let’s put it this way … Revenant Films was right in hiring you as Theo’s security.” Turning her attention back to her brother, she continued. “I’ve lived without Peter’s money for a long time and it may sound trite, but I don’t care about the money. I do care that you may be in danger.”

  “Wow, I’m touched.”

  “Don’t be an asshole.”

  Theo grinned, but for the first time that day, Gabby noticed it didn’t reach his eyes and a twinge of guilt settled on her chest. He was doing his utmost best to hide his grief, a grief she had yet to feel.

  And like the detective she was, she filed away that information for further processing and handed Levi her card. “I’ll be in touch this weekend.”

  She was already at the sliding glass doors when Theo hollered. “No group hugs?”

  Despite the belated sympathy she’d felt for him, she flipped her brother a middle finger salute and left without another word.

  3

  Hollywood.

  A city where dreams come true or your heart gets ripped to pieces. For Declan, the moment he found his wife in bed with another man killed all his dreams of having a family. Scavenging whatever was left of his heart, he forged a new path in the Army, forming a band of brothers. It was a different kind of belonging, but he never again experienced that level of unbridled happiness he’d shared with his ex-wife.

  He dragged his gaze from the famous sign and turned his attention back to the taxi that took him from LAX to this address on Stone Canyon Road. The vehicle rolled to a stop in front of a massive ranch house sprawled behind ornate black iron bars. After paying the driver, Declan exited the cab and slung his large duffel over one shoulder, heading up to the gate.

  Embossed in small print on a brass plate: Revenant Films.

  He tightened his grip on the duffel strap, as he prepared himself for the past to clash with the present. It was only a matter of time before he ran into his ex-wife. He’d come a long way from the impulsive idealistic nineteen-year old he’d been. He was in a better place, wasn’t he? He gave a brief snort. He just broke the nose of a congressman—“better place”—was relative.

  Peter Woodward had wanted him nowhere near his precious daughter, much less have him as a son-in-law. Back in the day, the producer and director made big waves with his post-apocalyptic movies, managing to inject realism into his films that touched at the core of people’s fears. Presently, his outfit dominated a niche market of the net-streaming business. The man had the Midas touch, but apparently, that didn’t save him from his own mortality.

  So far, the investigation indicated an armed robbery at his Beverly Hills mansion.

  He punched the button for the outside call box. A voice on the box told him to hold up his driver’s license. After a few beeps, the gate slid open and he was informed where to find Levi James.

  Peace of mind, Declan repeated to himself. It was all he was here for, but mentoring teen actors seemed like a steep price to pay. He winced at the thought.

  It wasn’t hard to figure out where everyone was. The driveway wrapped around the house and stopped at a clearing with a drop off to the canyon. A row of expensive cars lined the grassy area and a group of people surrounded what resembled an outdoor fitness camp.

  Declan was about fifteen minutes early and sauntered under the shade of a tree. He leaned
against its massive trunk and lowered his bag to observe the activities. He didn’t want to interrupt the session which appeared to be wrapping up anyway.

  Just like Declan, his partner on this gig, Levi, had worked for Kade’s defunct private military company. Declan had never worked with the former SEAL, but he’d heard nothing but praise. Apparently, his home life was a mess and he was separated from his wife. It seemed everyone was having a hard time adjusting to this civilian life except Kade, but he had Yara to keep him in line.

  The huddle broke up and Levi turned to wave at him before talking to a couple of girls who giggled at what he said. Declan wondered which one was Peter Woodward’s son. The dossier had a blurry picture of a bottle-blond boy with dark eyes. Declan couldn’t identify anyone with that shade of hair among the gaggle of teenagers who dispersed and headed his way. A dark-haired boy walked alongside Levi making gestures as if asking for tips on his fighting stance.

  A couple of teen girls got excited when they spotted Declan.

  Fuck, they probably thought he was that Captain America actor with the beard.

  “I’m not him,” he called out when one of them batted their lashes. He proceeded to ignore them, until they finally gave up trying to gain his attention and got into their cars and drove off.

  Jesus. That never changed.

  As Levi and the boy got closer, instincts honed by his years as an Army Ranger throttled his senses into high alert. No threats of a roadside bomb or lurking terrorists were imminent, so this feeling of getting ambushed threw him off. Lightheadedness gripped him and quick bursts of breath sawed through his lungs. A panic attack? He hadn’t had one of those in a long fucking time.

  Five feet away, he saw that the boy was clean shaven as opposed to his trim beard. He took in Theo’s face—its angles, his jawline, his nose, even the shape of his eyes. Declan finally realized why seeing the teenager gave him a strange feeling of déjà vu, why he kept comparing the boy to himself.

  It was like staring at a mirror into the past.

  In fact, Theo Cole could have been him at seventeen, and the only difference was the color of their irises. Hazel to his green.

  What the fuck is going on?

  “You must be Roarke,” Levi called out as ground-eating strides diminished the last few feet between them. Declan straightened from his slouch against the tree and held out his arm.

  “Yeah.”

  “Levi James—Levi.”

  He barely acknowledged his colleague, his eyes riveted on the teenager. “You must be Theo?”

  The boy gave him a chin lift.

  Forcing his eyes to Levi’s, he said, “He wasn’t what I was expecting. The image on the file is different.”

  “Dude! Ever heard of the internet?” Theo smirked.

  “Wasn’t me who arranged the dos— the file,” Levi said.

  Did Kade mislead him? Although, Declan suspected Garrison had a hand in it.

  “So you’re Peter Woodward’s grandson?” Declan asked. He shoved his hands into his front pockets to refrain from grabbing the boy and demanding answers.

  Levi and Theo frowned.

  “Roarke, you—” his partner started.

  “Didn’t you read the file?” Theo glanced at the other man. “Your back-up is messed up, Levi.”

  “You’re seventeen?”

  “What’s with all these stupid questions?” the teenager snapped. “Read the file. I’m not doing your job for you.”

  Peter Woodward is your father as much as he was the Pope.

  “You okay, man?” Levi asked, a sharpness entering his tone. He realized he wasn’t making a good first impression, but Declan was past giving a fuck.

  But creeping out the teenager with his staring wasn’t going to get him any answers.

  “Give me a minute.” He raised a finger and spun away from the duo.

  “I’m gonna go get cleaned up at the house,” Theo muttered to Levi. “Fix this mix-up. Because this guy …?”

  As a tornado of possibilities tumbled in his head, Declan imagined Theo miming the crazy circle gesture with his fingers.

  At that moment, Declan wasn’t sure whether he was trapped in a dream, a nightmare, or a hallucination.

  But regaining control of his equilibrium evaporated when a sedan rolled down the driveway and, before he could stop himself, he went stalking toward it to confront the driver.

  “Roarke, man, what the fuck?” Levi shouted from behind him.

  He reached the vehicle and yanked open the door, about to snarl his questions, but he wasn’t prepared for the full blast of magnificent brown eyes that still had the power to captivate him and render him speechless.

  Gabby.

  They stared at each other for an eternity.

  He gritted out a brusque. “Get. Out.” His own voice sounding foreign to him.

  “Dec?” His name a whisper. Disbelief etched on her pale face… disbelief and something else.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Levi growled, coming up beside them.

  “Stay out of this, James.”

  Gabby slowly stepped out of the vehicle as if any sudden movement of hers would incense a wild animal.

  She shot Levi a dazed look. “I got this.”

  “Not sure you do,” Levi replied which pissed off Declan more.

  “Call Spear,” Declan snapped. “Tell him no thanks for this clusterfuck he sprang on me.”

  “Roarke …”

  “Now!” he growled.

  Levi crossed his arms. “Not until you fucking calm down and I know you’re not gonna do stupid shit.”

  His lungs refused to expand with much needed oxygen, so he waited one beat, two beats, fully aware that the woman who’d haunted him for seventeen years was standing right in front of him. Seeing Theo also blindsided him, and words he had carefully rehearsed was lost in the chaos of his mind.

  When he’d regained a semblance of composure, he spoke in a controlled voice. “I’m good. Ms. Woodward and I need to talk.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Gabby assured the other man. “He gets out of line, I know kung-fu.”

  Levi chuckled at the attempted levity and backed away. “I’ll call Spear.”

  Declan shot the man a glare. “Do that and give him a ‘fuck you’ from me.”

  “Still charming, aren’t you?” Gabby said, pulling his attention back to her, his gaze critical as he studied the woman before him like he would an adversary. She was not the Gabby from his past. Her face was thinner, making those blasted eyes that seemed to see into him more arresting. Missing was the sparkle he remembered. It was replaced by world-weary flatness. Not that he cared.

  “Theo Cole is not your father’s son.”

  Her face lost all color and her body swayed and for a second, Declan thought he might have to catch her from falling. Then her face hardened, a chill taking over her eyes. “Not here.” She walked ahead of him.

  “What? Afraid the world will know the truth?”

  When they reached the tree line, she wheeled around and had the gall to look hurt and angry. “The truth?”

  He had never felt such an urge to do violence to a woman as much as he wanted to throttle her at that singular moment. All thoughts of comforting her on Peter’s death fled from his mind, overcome by a rage from the unforgivable.

  “He’s mine,” he choked.

  “You’re right,” she said without inflection. “He’s yours.”

  “Why?” he said hoarsely. “Why did you lie?”

  Her brows drew together, head rearing back. “What?”

  “Why did you keep him from me?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Feeling like a caged tiger with no outlet for his rage, he paced. “That scene at the hospital. Was that staged? Guilt me enough to get out of your life?”

  Her eyes turned from icy fury to fire.

  “You bastard,” she whispered. “That scene? Was a woman who’d just lost her baby. That scene? Was a woman whose husba
nd handed her divorce papers three days after she’d lost that baby.” The devastation on her face was awakening long-forgotten emotions in his heart. He squashed them viciously, because he couldn’t feel this and understand what she was telling him.

  He stopped his pacing. “You’re not making sense.”

  “That day I lost everything,” she said dully.

  Confused, he stated, “He’s our son.”

  “No, Declan, only yours.” Her shoulders drooped as if the weight of the world was on them. “I thought he was my brother all these years. But this …” she pointed to him. “Claudette wasn’t just messing with my mind.” Her mouth twisted in disgust. “That bitch,” she whispered as if lost in her own world. “She was telling the truth.”

  “What are you talking about?” He moved to put his hands on her shoulders, but her arms came up in a defensive gesture, eyes slitting in warning.

  “I’m done with this shit. Done with you.” Her voice was determined. “I’m glad you know. You deserve to get to know him as his father. I don’t have the answers you need,” she said in rapid speech before exhaling deeply. “Take it up with Claudette.”

  “Claudette?”

  “Yes. Are you forgetting my ex-stepmother? That day I came to you to beg you to reconsider the divorce because I found out I was pregnant and who did I find?”

  Declan’s head was spinning as the memories he’d tried to block came rushing back.

  No. No. No.

  “My stepmother with a towel wrapped around her body,” she said slowly through clenched teeth—“answered your door.”

  “That was fucked up,” he groaned.

  “Yes, it was.”

  “Gabby …” The situation still wasn’t making a lick of sense. He grabbed her arm.

  And just like that, she had it twisted behind his back, his chest pushed up against a tree trunk, drawing all his awareness to the body pressing against his.

  He didn’t fight her. He knew she was a cop, but, fuck, he was impressed. The gears in his brain spun in place trying to reconcile the Gabby he knew to this version of his ex-wife.

  “Fucking touch me again and I’m throwing your ass into jail so fast, you’ll be wishing you’d never stepped foot back into my city.”