by Tawny Weber
“I’ll get us something to drink,” she said as soon as she came into the room. Not giving him a chance to say he wasn’t thirsty, she swept right past him to the kitchen. Spence couldn’t begrudge her taking however much time she needed before they talked.
“I see your roommate is gone,” he said when she came back in. He figured he’d take his cue from her and work his way around all the externals before they got down to the point.
“Thank God.” Grimacing at the empty room, Mia nodded as she set the tray if iced tea and cookies on the table. She handed him one of the glasses before taking her own seat next to him. “A moving crew showed up Tuesday to haul everything away. I doubt they were delivering it to her in jail, but I didn’t ask.”
“I was given some of the details,” Spence said with a nod. “Jessica Alexander and Roberto Alcosta were arrested on multiple charges, not the least of which were aggravated assault and conspiracy to murder, right?”
“I think the prosecutor is trying to add a political angle in there since their target was a US senator. And even then, it won’t be enough,” Mia added, her eyes dark with anger. “They shot you. They could have killed you.”
“Hence the aggravated assault.” Seeing her expression, Spence added, “Their punishment will last a lot longer than the damage inflicted, I promise.”
“Seeing as you’re already out of the hospital and wandering the streets, I don’t think that’s nearly long enough.”
“I meant damage in the bigger picture. To you, to the charity, even to Alcosta.”
“Oh, he’ll be too busy to worry about damage,” Mia said with a half laugh. “I guess you didn’t hear that news?”
“Was he a part of the conspiracy?” Spence was surprised Adrian hadn’t told him.
“Oh, no. He had no idea Jessica was even dating his nephew, let alone that they were planning to murder. Probably because he was so busy embezzling from the charity.”
“Whoa.”
“You said all along that he was dirty. You were right. I received a phone call during the golf tournament, one of those verification-of-funds things that concerned me enough to poke around.”
“How much had he finagled?”
“Three million,” she said, outraged. “Can you believe it? He was trying to steal money from sick children.”
Actually, yeah. He could believe it. Alcosta was just that kind of guy.
But Spence had more important things on his mind than sleazy pseudotycoons.
“Your business? Your father mentioned that there was some concern about the impact this situation would have on everything.”
“To be honest, I was concerned that it would destroy me.” Before Spence could do more than wince at the guilt of that, she shrugged and went on. “But between you saving my uncle’s life and me fingering Señor Alcosta for embezzlement, I’m in even bigger demand. I’m getting calls daily from people who figure I’m so smart and so well staffed that I run the best fund-raisers ever.”
“And the people who donated to this one?”
“Alcosta was stopped before he could spend most of the money, so I was able to pay the venders and bills incurred.”
“And your fees?”
“I was warned about Alcosta by so many people and I ignored those warnings. That makes me responsible for giving him and his horrible nephew the opportunity they wanted.” Before Spence could protest, before he could point out that she’d been a victim, too, Mia shook her head. “I didn’t have to pay anything out of my own pocket, so I didn’t take a loss on the job. But I don’t feel right making a profit, either. Once all of the expenses were paid, I was able to negotiate an agreement for the rest of the donation to still go to the hospital fund.”
“That’s still going forward?”
“My uncle offered to handle the details of getting the hospital built.” Her smile lit the room. “So little children are still going to get great medical help. Probably better than it would have been if Alcosta handled it, since my uncle’s standards are a lot higher.”
Relieved that she hadn’t been hurt by it all, Spence laughed.
Returning his smile in a way that warmed his heart, Mia shrugged. “All things considered, I probably should have taken a bigger hit.”
“No. You didn’t do anything to deserve having your work or reputation damaged.”
“Not even ignoring your warning?”
“Given the circumstances and the definite transparency issues, you can’t be blamed for that, either.”
“Can’t I? Do you really believe that if I’d listened, you’d have been shot?”
“If I’d done the job I was assigned, do you really believe that woman would have pulled a gun on you?” he shot back, irritated that she was blaming herself for anything that’d happened.
“Apparently she’d been wanting to pull a gun on me since high school,” Mia said with a horrified laugh. “Everything about her was a lie. She deliberately sought me out, pretending to need a place to live so she could use me to get to my uncle.”
“She intended to kill you,” he said quietly. “Penz might have been Roberto’s goal, but you were her target all along.”
Mia pressed her lips together, emotions swimming in those velvety eyes. Fear, regret and pain mixed, making him desperate to hold her. But he’d lost that privilege. Still, he didn’t want those tears to fall, so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“What about Forever Families? That Lorraine lady was pretty hot to get you working for her. So hot that her assistant was trying to sabotage you.”
Mia’s laugh was on the watery side, but her eyes cleared so he called it a victory.
“I had no idea so many women hated me,” she said, shaking her head in dismay. “Between Jessica and Clair, I’m starting to get a complex.”
“Don’t. You’re an amazing woman. Strong and gorgeous, ambitious and kind. Don’t ever feel bad for being so fabulous that idiots get jealous.”
“Thank you,” she breathed with a shaky smile, laying her hand over his for a brief second.
Even that small a touch sent a thrill straight through him. This time he had to force himself not to reach out and grab her. Thankfully she distracted him by continuing her explanation.
“Lorraine did make the offer to hire me as her full-time coordinator and I seriously considered it. Less stress, less responsibility and less chance of a repeat of this last mess.” Before he could protest, she shook her head. “But in the end, I couldn’t do it. I love working for myself. I like being able to help a wide variety of charities, depending on what appeals to me, and to hold a lot of different types of events. After my father reminded me that I’ve never been the type to choose the safe route, I made Lorraine a counter offer.”
Enjoying the hell out of how comfortable she looked in her own power, Spence relaxed enough to take a bite of a cookie.
“Instead of working for her full-time, I’ll be her consultant. I’ll plan her fund-raising strategy and design her events, but for all but the biggest ones, her own staff will handle them. That leaves me free to focus on helping more clients.”
“That sounds perfect. It’s a great use of your talents.”
“Thanks.” Mia’s smile was just a little shy, confusing him a little since he knew she didn’t have a shy bone in her body. She wet her lips, gave him another look from under her lashes, then, biting her lip, asked, “And you? You’re going to work for Aegis Security?”
That wasn’t what she’d been going to say. Still, it was a good question. And really, the core of the reason he was here.
“Maybe. I’m considering it.”
Seriously considering it, since it was a dream career. But he’d had a lot of time lying in that hospital bed to consider his priorities.
“You’ll do well there. From what I hear, Aegis is the best in the country. As
it should be, being staffed with the best of the best in Special Ops,” she said with a hint of a smile. “And Lucas is a great guy. I’m sure he’d be a really good boss.”
“You know Adrian well enough to call him Lucas?” Spence had never experienced it personally before, but he was pretty sure the gnawing jab in his gut was jealousy.
“We spent a lot of time together while you were recovering from surgery.”
“Is that so?” Somehow, Adrian had neglected to mention all that time together. “What’d you do in that time you spent together?”
“Actually, I spent most of that time asking him a lot of questions.”
“What kind of questions?”
“Questions like what sort of jobs Aegis handles and what their security policies was. Since they’re stationed in California but work all over the world, I wondered if you were working for them, if could you live in San Francisco. I was curious about things like traveling or long-term positions, and whether or not you’d ever be able to bring your significant other.” She gave a delicate shrug. “That sort of thing.”
All Spence heard was “significant other.”
“You’re going to give me a chance?”
“I’d be giving us a chance,” she corrected. “But doing that depends.”
“On what? Are you still hung up on my having been in the military?” God, he hoped not. He might be able to adjust his future to make her happy but there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about his past.
“No. I finally realize that it’s the man that matters, not the job.” Her lips quirked in a teasing smile. “Besides, I’ve seen firsthand how just how handy all that training is.”
“Then what? The idea of me working in a field where I might get shot at again? I’m not promising it won’t happen, but I can promise that the odds are slim.”
His frustration only mounted when Mia shook her head.
“Not at all. I think you’ll be great with Aegis and I’d be proud if you worked there.”
“Then what?”
“Us being together would only depend on one thing,” she said quietly, sliding her hands into his. “I love you. And I’d do anything to know you love me back.”
He knew there was relief in there somewhere, but Spence was so overwhelmed by other emotions that he barely recognized it.
“You love me?” When she nodded, he rested his forehead against hers and sighed. “I love you, too. Crazy love. Intense love. Forever love.”
“Forever?”
“Yeah. Forever,” he breathed against her lips. “I want to build a life with you. To embrace all of our tomorrows together.”
Mia’s breath trembled over his lips, a soft brush of the same excitement he could see in her eyes.
“I should warn you, my family will always interfere,” she admitted. “They’ll advise, they’ll meddle, they’ll pry.”
“Their interference brought us together,” he reminded her. “For that, I’ll always be grateful.”
He slid his mouth over hers in a soft promise before meeting her gaze again.
“I do love you,” she breathed.
“Forever,” he vowed. Just before he took her mouth in a deeper kiss, he challenged, “Let’s get started.”
* * *
Don’t miss Navy SEAL to the Rescue,
the thrilling first volume in
the Aegis Security miniseries from
New York Times bestselling author
Tawny Weber, available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Undercover Refuge by Melinda Di Lorenzo.
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Undercover Refuge
by Melinda Di Lorenzo
Chapter 1
Detective Rush Atkinson was sure of two things. One. Someone was following him. And two. They were going to be sorry.
Gritting his teeth, he stepped a little harder on the gas. The Lada protested immediately. The lumbering old vehicle—built in 1972 and seemingly held together by sheer willpower alone—had a strong preference for moving at a slow and steady pace. It was good on the back roads and got the job done, and it usually suited Rush just fine. Of course, he wasn’t usually being stalked up a mountain road. If he’d thought that was even the vaguest possibility, he would’ve grabbed his second-favorite vehicle. A monster of a motorcycle that he’d pieced together with his own two hands. A source of pride.
“A source of speed, too,” he muttered as he took another quick glance in the rearview mirror.
He knew his look wouldn’t yield anything. Not on the straight patch of road. So far, he’d only caught glimpses of the car on the wider bends. It was a silver hatchback. One of those hybrid electric vehicles, Rush thought.
Strange choice for a stalker.
He didn’t really have time to muse on it. Or the desire to, as a matter of fact. He was supposed to be meeting with his “boss,” Jesse Garibaldi—aka the man he was trying his damnedest to put behind bars—in just under five minutes. He should’ve been early. Would have been early, if some fool wasn’t tailing him. No way was he going to make it on time now. He’d been trying to give the silver hatchback the slip since the second he realized it was following him.
“For your own good,” he grumbled at the unseen driver.
Really, he was doing them a favor. Garibaldi wasn’t the kind of man who welcomed uninvited guests. Not on this side of things, anyway. Inside the small town of Whispering Woods, he might be thought of as a businessman and philanthropist and an enthusiastic lover of tourists, but Rush knew better. The man was a murderer.
Fifteen years earlier, when they were both barely more than kids, the other man had killed Rush’s father and Rush’s friends’ fathers. Garibaldi had set off a pipe bomb at the Freemont City police station in order to destroy some kind of evidence. He’d been successful, and the three men who died were nothing more than collateral damage to him. A good lawyer had seen to it that he got off. Now, a decade and a half later, Garibaldi was entrenched in the small tourist-driven economy of the mountainside town. A pillar. But all of the goodwill and investment were a front for something more sinister. Using the truly good people of Whispering Woods, Garibaldi had set himself up with a tidy little drug empire. In came the heroin. Out went a series of doctored paintings, laced with the deadly mixture of opiates and paint, and no one was the wiser.
Except us, Rush thought grimly as he swung the wheel and veered off the concrete road and headed onto a small dirt-packed one.
Just a couple of months earlier, he
and his partners had discovered Garibaldi’s out-in-the-open hiding place. They’d pieced together his method. Now, with two of his three partners holed up in Mexico, and the third on hiatus in Europe, it was Rush’s job to put the final nail in the coffin. Something he was eager to do. It was going to happen any day now, too. Garibaldi was organizing something big. A meeting with a buyer, Rush believed.
It was the perfect moment to make the bust. All he had to do was to get his pseudo-boss to trust him enough to disclose the details and include him in the exchange. He was well on the way there. In the short time since Rush had used his connections to secure a position on Garibaldi’s crew, he’d already risen from grunt man to enforcer to errand-runner.
Gonna be hard to get any higher than that if you’ve got a stalker tagging along.
He guided the Lada around a corner and took yet another look in the rearview. He wasn’t surprised to see the flash of silver through the trees. He still dropped a curse as he slowed down. Being wrong wouldn’t have been so terrible in this case.
Just up ahead, the road ended in a wide circle. It was a popular spot for seasoned hikers to the head up into the mountain. At the moment, Rush just wanted to use it as a U-turn. He’d circle back around, catch sight of whoever was at the wheel of the hatchback, memorize the details of their face, then head back into town so he could place a call to Garibaldi. His boss would be unimpressed that he hadn’t shown up, but it was better than the alternative, and Rush would come up with a good excuse. He was a smooth liar. A natural by-product of spending his entire career in undercover roles.
He tapped his finger on the steering wheel as he reached the wide crescent-shaped end of the road and used it to turn the Lada around. He pushed his foot to the gas again—more gently this time—and got the vehicle up to cruising speed. His hands tightened a little on the wheel, but other than that, he kept his body perfectly relaxed, betraying no hint of apprehension at the encounter that he knew was coming any second.
“C’mon, you little silver weasel,” he said under his breath. “Give me a good, five-second look.”