by Madelon Smid
She thought she saw a moment of regret before his features tightened. “There’s one thing more, Siree, before you lock in your decision. I will be putting private security on you. I’d have done the same for Priestly. I’ll have Gribbs find a woman around your age that can go everywhere you go without raising questions. We’ll give her a cover working in the same section. I hope you can see this as a necessary precaution, but, regardless, we’re going up against some ruthless people with a lot to lose. I’d be irresponsible if I didn’t protect you in every way I can. It’s a deal breaker for me.” He searched her face.
She could see he wouldn’t bend, and admired his determination to take care of his people. “I’ll agree to that if you agree I get my privacy outside working hours.”
“No one would ever call you easy.” His slow smile weighted the words. “A compromise then. For now, no security outside work, unless your digging exposes you, or something in my situation heats up. You’ll agree to round the clock security if Gribbs deems it necessary.”
No wonder Jake headed a huge conglomerate. He’d caught her neatly by appealing to her sense of reason, and keeping any hint of a personal concern out of it. “It’s a deal.” She held out her hand. He rose to shake it.
“I understand what you’re putting on the line to do this work for me. Thank you.” His thumb stroked across the pale pink of her unvarnished nails, then turned her hands over and inspected her fingers. He caught her other hand and lifted it. “All better,” he said, his voice husky, as his fingertips trailed across hers. “This is a beautiful ring.” He touched the large oval opal she wore on her ring finger. “New?”
Siree took a strangled breath and pulled at her hands. “No, I wear it all the time, except when I’m climbing. I guess that’s why you haven’t seen it before. It’s the last gift my father gave me, before …” Her voice broke. “Except for my life.” She lifted her face and warmed him with a brilliant smile. “He gave me my life.”
He studied her eyes for a few seconds, flummoxed by his response to her. Not professional, old man. No touching from now on. He dropped her hands. “The paperwork is probably ready by now.” He crossed to the desk and pressed the button on the speakerphone.
“Let the play begin,” she whispered.
Chapter Four
Siree settled into her mother’s condo, and into her tiny office at JDI headquarters downtown. She settled for Janice, shadowing her through the day, and settled into the role of undercover investigator. But each time she received a message from Jake, sent by Gribbs through her mother’s landline, she felt as unsettled as a climber in an avalanche, swept away by a greater force than she could resist. The assignment alone put tremendous pressure on her. The time crunch before JDI’s financial situation became common knowledge meant she had to put her head down and work harder and longer than ever before.
Though she’d had a wonderful catch-up day with her mother when she first arrived, she’d barely seen her since. For the first time in their lives Sharon McConnell had all the time in the world for her daughter and a hunger to be with her while Siree couldn’t spare the time from work to meet her mother’s need. Stuffing papers into her attaché, she now understood how emotionally torn her mother must have felt when she had to choose work over her daughter.
Just then her mother came down the stairs into the vestibule of her two-story condo. Overlooking Coal Harbor and Stanley Park, its huge windows offered prime views of the city. Sharon glanced at her watch. Her brows pulled together.
“It’s barely six thirty a.m. Are you leaving already, darling?” Sharon pressed a kiss to her daughter’s cheek and tucked a spill of golden hair back behind Siree’s ear. “I hoped we could eat breakfast together.”
“Would you settle for a quick café au lait?” Siree remembered too well the many times she’d wanted breakfast with her mother, and some embassy duty had kept Sharon from joining her. “I should have time before Janice arrives.”
“Lovely, darling.” Sharon led the way into the kitchen and put milk into the microwave to heat while she turned on the espresso machine to make it European style. “I can’t help but conclude you’re working too hard, Siree. You’ve lost weight and have shadows under your eyes. Is it possible to cut back a little?” Concern rather than censure colored her voice. “I’ve seen enough bodyguards in my day not to recognize that Janice is one. It seems Tyrus and Jake placed you into a dangerous situation.”
Sharon had met Jake, inviting him to a dinner party at her home, at Siree’s request. The large group gave them an opportunity to hide in the open, while she reported her first findings, slim pickings indeed. He had taken the initiative to approach Sharon about acting as go between for Gribbs to reach Siree. When her mother understood the convoluted process kept the press from discovering Siree she replied with a no-nonsense, “Of course.”
“The threat is minimal, Mom. Jake just wants to cover all the bases. I’m sorry I’m causing you concern and can’t spend more time with you, but I’m in a real time crunch and needed results yesterday.” She jabbed the loose strand of hair back behind her ear.
Jake had let Sharon know Siree’s new position as software designer for JDI hid a greater responsibility and Sharon, a shrewd player on the world stage and fully informed on what her daughter’s work entailed, had probably guessed a lot more than she let on. She gave her daughter just what she needed, a change of subject.
“By the way, honey, Ty phoned to say he’s flying in tomorrow. I asked him to stay with us. I hope that won’t cause you any problems?”
“Uncle Ty. Wonderful.” She took her first deep breath in days. Just running things past Ty had helped her see the patterns in the past. Something about this job kept her so tense she seemed to have lost her gift.
“Can you use his visit to get Jake over?” she asked her mother.
She found the constant need to report to him highly stressful, never certain if Gribb’s plan would work, or she’d find herself surrounded by the paparazzi. So far she’d stepped into the back seat of a nondescript town car and been whizzed around the block while she told him she’d found nothing. She’d met up with him at the information counter of the Vancouver airport, stopped to speak to him, as instructed, at an industry luncheon, and actually had one ordinary meeting in his office at headquarters. Each occasion had three things in common: the media hovered on the periphery, his security team hovered a little closer, and she had no leads to report. The role of Mata Hari lacked glamor, she’d concluded. Not finding the answer he needed caused her even more stress. Thus reminded, she took a last sip of her coffee and pushed back from the counter. Her mobile pinged. She read the text. “I’ve got to run, Mom, Janice is on her way up. I’ll plan to be in for dinner tomorrow when Ty arrives.”
“Lovely, darling, and I’ll check his plans and arrange a dinner party for some time this week. Do remember to eat something.” Sharon enfolded her in loving arms. For a few seconds Siree allowed herself to lean on her mother and absorb some of her strength.
Fifteen hours later any energy she’d soaked up from her mom, and all of her own, had diminished to the weakness of a twenty-watt bulb. She finally had a scent, and, nose to the ground, followed the trail for hours, her bloodhound instincts quivering with anticipation. When she hit a dead end, the adrenaline of the chase drained away, leaving her exhausted. She would have to backtrack and try a different approach.
At ten o’clock Janice stuck her head in the door. At five feet ten inches the black American had the grace of a model and the ability to kill a man a dozen different ways. She had the computer skills to make her cover as a software writer legit. Over all too brief coffee breaks, Siree had learned Janice had been on an all-female marine team in Afghanistan, and left the military after her second tour of duty to work in private security. Gribbs called her in on special contracts. Siree had total confidence in Janice to protect her if the need arose. They’d come to admire each other’s skills, and only Janice’s insistence on professiona
l protocols kept them from becoming closer. “Ben’s arrived to relieve me. He’s stationed outside in the hall. I’m standing down till 08:00 tomorrow.”
Siree wriggled her fingers. She stretched her arms above her head, feeling the ache of the knot in her right shoulder. She rotated her arm, smiling at Janice. “I’m aiming for seven”—she dropped her arms—“so I’ll see you here rather than at the house. Goodnight.”
She barely registered the soft tapping of Janice’s shoes traversing the long hallway or Ben’s muffled voice calling goodnight before the numbers captured her attention. Her fingers flew over the keyboard.
Two hours later, she closed down her laptop with a sense of accomplishment. Finally she had something to report. A piece of the whole had shown itself. With a soft moan, she rotated her right shoulder and kneaded the muscles from shoulder to neck, trying to ease the knots, but couldn’t reach the source deep under her shoulder blade.
“Here, let me.”
She yelped, grabbed her mouse and threw it with all her might in the direction of the voice.
Jake fielded the mouse before it hit his chest and set it back on the desk. “The last time I offered to rub a woman’s neck I got a much better response.”
“You scared the heck out of me.” She glared at him. “Don’t you know not to sneak up on a woman working alone in an empty high-rise at…” She lifted her hand to check the time on her watch, but black spots danced before her eyes, and she seemed to lose the ability to stand upright for a second.
“Just short of midnight,” he offered, stepping in to catch her swaying body and seal it to his own.
She registered his strength and warmth and for a second of weakness sank against him. “I stood up too fast,” she said. “Head rush. I’ll be fine in a second.”
“Just possibly you’ll be fine after some food and eight hours of sleep.” His caring tone stroked her nerve endings, setting even more of her aquiver.
“I decided to go home just before your Houdini act.” She pulled herself free, stepped back and tried to get her body under control. It whimpered silently, wanting to go back into his arms. “What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you’d gone to New York for a few days.”
Jake had limited his travel while Siree went after corporate criminals on his behest, but remaining in the Vancouver offices for any length of time would arouse suspicion amongst the staff and raise questions in the press.
“Got back this afternoon and came in to clear my desk. Security told me you were still in the building and I came to read you the riot act.” His eyes lasered her. “More to the point, what are you doing here at this ridiculous hour?”
She went on the defensive. “Working for you,” she snapped.
“I’ve never asked anyone to work this hard for me.”
“You didn’t have to ask,” she said, her bottom lip sticking out just enough to draw his attention. His eyes gleamed with secret thoughts before he banked the glow.
Siree watched, fascinated by his control. Like water over flame, he dowsed the gold flecks firing his eyes, cooling them to an azure blue. He spoke with a firm authority tinged with affection.
“While I appreciate your devotion to the cause, you need to put a little balance in your life. You haven’t taken a moment of personal time since you got here, and you’re stretching your hours at work way past any of my expectations. I’m sure Tyrus wouldn’t be happy to know I have you slaving away in the wee hours.” While he had her distracted by the words, he gently turned her and massaged the cord along the side of her neck.
Her knees went soft. She bowed her shoulders and stood acquiescent while his warm hands pressed in all the right places to bring relief. She moaned. His hands stilled then dropped away.
“Better?” He moved to the door. “Grab your stuff. I’m taking you with me.” He pulled a two-way radio off a clip on his belt and spoke. “Gribbs, we’re coming down. Is it clear?”
“It’s about as clear as fog,” Gribbs snarled, “but come down anyway. Ben’s guarding your rear. What’s the use of me assigning Siree security if she orders them to take a break in the lunchroom?” he growled. “You better talk to her.”
“Gee, thanks, over and out.” Jake glared at the radio before thrusting it back on his belt. “Sometimes I wonder who works for whom,” he muttered as he turned to her. He took in her ramrod posture and blazing eyes and forestalled her refusal to accompany him. “Time to report, lady. It’s been a long day so don’t give me any grief. That job belongs to Gribbs and Finchley.”
Her lips twitched. “They sound like a law firm. Okay, boss, and what broom closet in what corner of Vancouver do I report in this time?”
His eyes brightened, sharing the joke. His smile could have supplied the energy to light the building. “Now don’t freak out when I tell you it’s my place. I don’t think even the most committed journalist will be lurking about at this time of night. And, regardless, I have all sorts of ploys in place to protect you.”
Too light-headed to battle against the part of her that wanted to be with him, she walked beside him in silence. He offered up an effervescent flow of silliness to amuse her.
“So, my paparazzi anathema, the security guards have been sent to other parts of the building, the security cameras on the route we’re taking are being jammed, and you have the privilege of going to the parking garage in my personal elevator. No one knows you are here and no one knows we’re moving. The same precautions will be taken at my building until you are safe inside my lair.” He gave her a good evil villain impression then lost it when his leer turned to a conspiratorial smile. “Don’t you think I’m clever to figure all these precautions out?”
She laughed despite herself. “You poor man, do you really need a pat on the back that badly? Here then.” She reached up to pat him several times between the shoulder blades. He rubbed against her hand like a sinuous panther. She became too aware of the rippling muscle beneath her fingers, of the heat coming through his suit jacket, of the stillness that took both of them from playful to sexually aware. She patted him one more time, just so he wouldn’t think she ran scared.
“I knew it was just a matter of time before you came to appreciate me.” He kept his tone light, yet a husky note underplayed the words. “Ah, here is the stalwart Gribbs.” He ushered her from the elevator into the echoing depths of the underground garage.
A dark limo with tinted windows idled a few feet away. Gribbs escorted them too it, then settled into the front seat beside another muscular driver.
“Home, James,” Jake ordered, then smiled with satisfaction when Gribbs scowled. “He’s so easy,” he whispered to her in tones loud enough for Gribbs to hear. He settled himself in a seat across from her and pressed the button that raised the glass partition.
Siree’s exhalation sighed out in harmony with the swish of the rising shield. She slanted her ankles to the side, pressed her knees together and laid her hands lightly in her lap. Mom would be so proud of me. She groaned inwardly at her prissy attitude.
He seemed to delight in it. His wicked gaze swept from her slender ankles up to the place on her thighs where her short skirt left a tiny gap. She moved her hands to take weight off the skirt and discovered it only made it worse. Under pressure, the gap rose higher, hinting at the skin of her inner thighs. Horrified, she looked over to see if Jake had seen, only to find his eyes brimming with a wicked appreciation of her unwitting show.
“Oh, give it a rest,” she snapped.
His eyes widened, his breath caught in his windpipe and he laughed and coughed himself hoarse. “Only you”—he shook his head at her when he could finally speak again—“only you.”
She never had a chance to ask, “Only me what?” because the limo drove into the underground garage beneath Jake’s condo. He marched her into another elevator and up to his penthouse apartment on the sixty-second floor of the Saigon Princess, one of the tallest buildings in Vancouver. Her study of JDI’s financials showed JDI owned a big p
iece of the building.
Jake peeled off his suit jacket and pulled off his tie just inside the door. Throwing them onto the back of a curving sofa, he hit a series of buttons on a panel that triggered security and lowered power-driven privacy screens across the huge windows on three sides of the room. “Make yourself at home,” he suggested. “There’s a powder room at the end of that hall, where you can wash up.”
“I just want to tell you where I am in the search and go home to bed.” She sank onto the contoured sofa with a weary exhalation.
“Oh, no.” He strode across to her, closed his hand around her wrist and lifted her to her feet again. “I leave you here while I make you something to eat and you’ll be asleep when I get back. You need some food, and I need my update.” He pulled her to her feet and herded her into a huge kitchen. She sank onto a chrome and leather swivel chair at the counter, pulled her mobile from her blazer pocket and texted her mother. I’m with the boss.
“Don’t want Mom to worry about me,” she responded to his raised brows.
Jake leaned over a wine cooler, his long fingers tapping across bottles before seizing one by the neck. He cursed himself for setting up the meeting without checking Siree’s condition. Now he had to ram it through despite her exhaustion. But at least he could look after her for a little while before Gribbs saw her home. Caring for her felt strangely satisfying.
“This should give you enough of a buzz to get you through the next hour.” He turned in time to watch her hair tumble loose and fall in gleaming strands halfway to the floor.
She dropped a handful of pins on the counter.
Jesus. Talk about letting down your hair. And she doesn’t even know what she’s doing to me. That’s some level of trust. Hell, how am I supposed to hold myself back?
Unaware of his rapt attention, she threaded her fingers into her hair at the temples and fluffed it out. She arched to get it to fall over the back of the chair. Her breasts rose as she lightly massaged her scalp.