Targeted Risk (R.I.S.C. Book 7)

by Anna Blakely

  “What’s going on?” She spun on her heels, crossing her arms at her chest and waiting for his answer.

  His chocolate eyes stared into hers. “I told you. It’s work.”

  “I thought you said you worked for a security company.”

  “I do.”

  “It’s Sunday, Jay,” she pointed out. “What business could you possibly have to do on a Sunday?”

  Swallowing, his gaze didn’t waiver from hers. “Never said it was a Monday through Friday gig, Jules. Plus, I’ve been off the last several days, or haven’t you noticed?”

  Oh, she’d noticed, all right. And she’d enjoyed every single minute with him. But that wasn’t the point.

  “I thought you brought me here so you could protect me. You said I’d be safer here than in Houston.”

  “I did. And you are.” Jay covered the distance between them in three long strides. “This wasn’t planned, and I’m not thrilled about having to leave you here, but it’s something I have to do.”

  Mulling over the unexpected situation in her head, Juliet remained quiet. Picking up on her obvious apprehension, Jay rested his hands on her shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze.

  “Derek’s not just a co-worker, Juliet.” He shared a bit more about the other man. “He’s my friend, and I trust him with my life.” Jay cupped one side of her face. His thumb caressing the skin there as his eyes locked with hers. “More importantly, I trust him with your life.”

  She bit her bottom lip nervously. “Promise you’ll be back tonight?”

  Jay leaned inward, his kiss releasing the delicate skin that had been caught between her teeth. “I promise,” he whispered solemnly.

  “Okay.” Juliet nodded in agreement. Not that she really had much choice in the matter.

  One corner of his perfect mouth rose. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Trusting me.” His deep voice seemed to fill her soul.

  Lifting onto the balls of her feet, Juliet pressed her lips to his. “I do trust you, Jay. I know it doesn’t seem like it since I lied to you before about Schreiber talking to me. I still feel like an ass for not telling you sooner.”

  “Why didn’t you?” There was no bitterness in his question, only genuine curiosity.

  She shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know. Knee-jerk reaction from not knowing who I can trust, maybe?” And now that you’re back, and we’re...us again...I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. I saw what that sort of thing did to my parents, and I don’t want us to have that kind of relationship.”

  The truth was, he was the only person she’d ever really trusted. Which was crazy, since she’d only known him a relatively short while before everything went to hell.

  Still, from that first moment when her brother had introduced them, Juliet somehow knew. It was as if she’d been waiting for him her entire life...and then, she’d lost him.

  He’s here, now, Jules.

  Something strange flashed behind Jay’s eyes, and he looked as if he wanted to say something. She didn’t give him the chance.

  Instead, Juliet wrapped her arms around his neck and went in for another kiss. This one was deeper. More meaningful, somehow.

  Because you love him.

  The tiny voice was right. She may not be ready to say the words, yet, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t still show him. Make him feel just how much he meant to her.

  Much too soon, however, Jay began to pull away. When she groaned in protest, his chest vibrated against hers with his soft laughter.

  “As much as I hate leaving you...”

  “Then, don’t,” she blurted desperately, then mentally chastised herself. Juliet did a lot of things, but desperation was not typically one of them.

  “I have to.”

  “Fine.” She pretended to pout. “At least promise me you’ll be careful.”

  A corner of Jay’s mouth lifted into a sexy half-smile. “I promise.”

  Relieved, she drew in a breath and gave him a playful push. “Then, go on. The faster you leave, the faster you’ll be back.”

  “I like the way you think.” His mouth curved into a sexy grin. “Want me to wake you up when I get home.”

  Her insides tingled. “You’d better.”

  A tiny squeal escaped the back of Juliet’s throat when he snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. She was about to ask what he was doing when his mouth slammed against hers. When Jay pulled away, Juliet was fighting to catch her breath.

  Kissing the tip of her nose and then rested his forehead against hers. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

  “Be careful, Jay.”

  “Always.”

  After another quick peck, he turned toward the door. He started to open it but stopped to look over his shoulder. “Derek’s a good guy, Jules. Don’t be too hard on him, okay?”

  Giving her a wink and a smirk, he opened the door and walked out of the room. From her spot in the bedroom, Juliet heard the front door open and close, and she knew he was gone.

  With Jay’s parting words running through her head, she went in search of her babysitter. Almost as if he was waiting for her, Derek was standing in the small area between the living room and kitchen.

  “So.” Juliet slid her hands into her jean’s pockets. “What did you do to draw the short straw?”

  One of the man’s brows arched high with his unspoken question.

  “I’m sure you’d rather be home with your wife than being stuck here with me,” she explained, her eyes dropping to the ring on his left hand.

  Derek’s lips twitched. “Something tells me you don’t miss much.”

  Something told her he didn’t, either.

  “A product of my upbringing, I suppose,” Juliet shrugged.

  “I suppose you’re right.

  There was a stretch of silence before Juliet asked, “Do you guys do this sort of thing a lot? Play bodyguard, I mean.”

  He nodded. “More often than you’d think. And for the record, my wife understands and supports the job, and I don’t consider the task of keeping you safe drawing the short straw. You’re important to my friend. That makes you important to me.”

  Something about the way he spoke made her believe him.

  Deciding to make the best of the awkward situation, Juliet passed by him to go into the kitchen. “Are you hungry? I could make us some breakfast.”

  Smiling wide, Derek patted his flat abs and said, “I can always eat.”

  Chapter 9

  “Thanks for doing this.” From the passenger seat, Mike glanced over at his brother-in-law. “In case I forgot to say it.”

  Sitting behind the wheel of the car he’d arranged for them to drive while in Las Vegas—one with no risk of someone tracing back to them—Jake snorted. “You already said it. Twice.”

  “Still. Between covering my ass with that Houston detective and now this, I just...appreciate it. That’s all.”

  “Well, like I said the other two times, you’re welcome. Besides.” Jake grinned. “Your sister would have my ass if I let you come here by yourself.”

  Mike’s brows shot up. “You told Olivia about Volkov? What the fuck?”

  “Hell yes, I told her,” Jake popped back. “She also knows about Juliet.”

  Mike fell back against the leather seat. “Great. Now she’s going to be worried sick and pissed off at me.”

  He already felt like total dog shit after Juliet’s comment about them not having any secrets between them. Now he had to worry about facing an irritated sibling at some point, too.

  “Better you than me, brother.”

  “Fuck off,” Mike muttered low. There was no heat in his words.

  “Hey, I told you the day I married her that I was done keeping secrets from your sister.”

  “Um...our jobs kind of depend on secrecy, dumbass. Ever hear of a thing called classified intel? Or maybe client confidentiality?”

  “What we’re doing isn’t clas
sified, and you’re not a client...dumbass. Besides, I damn near lost Liv for good because of the last secret of yours that I kept from her. We both did, remember?”

  I’ll never forget.

  Mike’s gut tightened from the thought of what his sister had gone through a few years ago. Though he’d finally started to let some of it go, the guilt he harbored over that whole situation still ate at him most days.

  Part of the deep-cover agreement Mike had signed over a decade ago required him to give up the only life he’d ever known. The government had helped him fake his death in order to solidify the legitimacy of his new identity, which meant the criminals he was after couldn’t tie him to anyone but the person he’d claimed to be.

  It also meant Mike’s sister and father—God rest his soul—had been left thinking they’d lost him forever.

  Jake, however, had discovered the ruse when, in a total fluke, his Delta team happened to be working an op that intercepted the same undercover job Mike had been assigned.

  His friend had been pissed, to say the least, but eventually agreed to keep Mike’s secret for the sole purpose of keeping Olivia safe. Because if anyone had ever figured out who he really was, Mike had no doubt his enemies would have used his sister for revenge.

  As it turned out, she had her own enemy to worry about.

  While under Jake’s protection, Olivia stumbled upon their fucked-up secret. When she realized her brother was, in fact, alive, she’d left the safety of Jake’s cabin, and the man who’d been hunting her made his move.

  “That was different,” Mike scowled. “That was for her protection.”

  Jake looked away from the road to give him a raised brow. “Yeah? And how’d that work out for her? Or any of us, for that matter.”

  It hadn’t fucking worked out, and Jake damn well knew it.

  Mike still had nightmares about Liv being attacked in her own home by that Venezuelan fucker who’d become obsessed with her. He could still see his sister lying in that hospital bed, broken and battered after having been tortured and damn near killed.

  The only solace Mike had from that whole situation was knowing Jake had killed the son of a bitch responsible. That and the fact that his and Olivia’s relationship had since mended, and now they were closer than ever.

  “So, what did my sister say?”

  “About Jules?” Jake smirked. ‘That you’re a dumbass, and you should’ve told her the truth about who you are the night you went to her house.”

  Mike shot back with a loud, “I’d planned to. But then I got there and heard the gunshots. All hell broke loose, and at that point, I figured it could wait.”

  “I suppose you haven’t found the time while she’s been at your place the last few days?”

  He started to tell his friend to fuck off again but stopped himself short. Jake was right. He should’ve said something before now. The thing was...

  “If I tell her now, she’ll take off. That happens, she’ll be on her own to defend herself from whoever’s coming after her. I know I need to come clean, and I will, but...I saw what you went through with my sister, Jake. If anything like that ever happened to Jules, I...”

  Unable to finish the horrifying thought, Mike swallowed down the lump that had suddenly formed deep inside his throat. God, he couldn’t even think about Jules being hurt. Or worse.

  His friend slid him an assessing glance before returning his focus to the road. “So it’s like that with this woman, huh?”

  “Yeah.” Mike nodded. “It’s like that.”

  “And you’re sure she wasn’t involved in all that shit with her father?”

  “Juliet’s a good person, Jake. The woman doesn’t even jay walk, for fuck’s sake. She’d never condone the selling of women to the sex slave trade, let alone participate in it.”

  “But she knew about it. Isn’t that what your CIA handler said? She was going to testify, so she had to know something. And if that’s true, then she kept that shit from the authorities all that time.”

  “Lopez says she knows more than what she told me, but I’m not convinced.”

  Jake shrugged a shoulder. “Might be too close to see it. Obviously, someone must think she knows something. Otherwise they wouldn’t have tried to blow her brains out the other night.”

  “Juliet’s not the criminal here, Jake,” Mike bit out harshly. “Her father is.”

  “Does she know he’s out on bail?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I haven’t told her, yet.”

  “Why not?”

  “She’s got enough to worry about, don’t you think?”

  Jake rubbed his jaw and thought for a moment. “You got out of the deep cover life for a reason, Mike.”

  “And there was only one reason I’d ever go back.”

  A few seconds of silence passed before Jake finally nodded. “Okay.”

  Suspicion ran through Mike’s veins. “Okay?”

  His brother-in-law gave him a single, serious nod. “If this woman means that much to you, I’ll do whatever I can to help. The whole team will.”

  Another knot filled Mike’s throat, this one for different reasons. “Thanks, man.”

  “No thanks needed.” Jake turned onto another road and pulled the car next to the curb. Pointing at the large gate in front of them, he said, “There it is.”

  He followed the man’s line of site, his gut tightening with what he was about to do. Not that he was afraid to confront Alexandar. On the contrary, Mike was looking forward to it.

  It was the thought of facing that sick fuck Volkov again.

  Knowing all the shit the bastard had been involved in before getting locked up was bad enough. Knowing Volkov had hired someone to take out Juliet?

  He’ll be lucky if I don’t rip his heart out of his fucking chest.

  “You sure about this?” Jake’s question tore Mike from his homicidal thoughts.

  His voice turned low as he met his friend’s eyes. “The man put a hit out on his own daughter, Jake.”

  “And you’re certain Volkov’s behind the attempt on Juliet’s life?”

  “The prick I shot told Juliet he was there because her father had paid him to be. So yeah, I’m sure.”

  Between that and what Lopez said about Volkov getting a new trial, it was a no-brainer.

  “How you want to play this?” Jake studied the gate closely. “Looks like a standard system. We could wait until dark and then make our move. I had D send me the blueprints of Volkov’s place, and I found a couple of places that should make for an easy entrance.”

  “We could do that.” Mike turned to his friend and grinned. “Or we could just knock on the front door.”

  Blinking, Jake gave an appreciated nod. “All right, then. Let’s do this.”

  With a quick facetime call to Derek, Jake was able to unlock the gate and gain entrance into the neighborhood. After that, it was a matter of following the GPS through the spaced-out mansions sporadically located within the expensive-as-shit area.

  Mike would never understand why someone would spend that much money on a house that was seventeen times bigger than what they actually needed. To him, a modest home on a large piece of private land was much more valuable than anything he was looking at now.

  To each his own.

  “There’s Volkov’s place.” Jake pointed up ahead.

  Of course, the bastard would live on the largest lot at the far end of the neighborhood.

  Mike took in the monstrosity as Jake parked the car against the curb in front of Volkov’s house. “I don’t see any guards.”

  “Probably goes against the Homeowner’s Association rules,” Jake quipped.

  “Doesn’t mean he doesn’t have people watching from inside the house, though. We’ll need to stay alert.”

  “You get my ass shot, Liv will be pissed at us both.”

  With a chuckle, Mike opened his door and got out. “Just remember to call me Jay,” he told his friend. “Otherwise, your wife will be the least of
our concerns.”

  “Not my first rodeo, brother. From now until we leave this place, you’re Jay Reynolds to me.”

  Nodding, the two men started up the paved driveway toward the elaborate front door. They’d only made it halfway up before two men came out to greet them.

  Both overly muscular, one man had blond hair and light blue eyes, while the other had light brown hair and brown eyes. Dressed in identical black suits, the two men looked like your stereotypical mob boss strong-arms.

  “This is private property,” the blond informed them. His expression was hard and his Russian accent thick.

  “We’re here to see Volkov,” Mike responded.

  The two men shared a glance before the brown-haired man spoke up. “Like my friend said, this is private property.” There wasn’t even a hint of an accent in his voice. “You need to leave.”

  “Tell Alexandar that Jay Reynolds is here to see him. Trust me, fellas. He’s gonna want to talk to me.”

  If there was a leak as Lopez suspected, then chances were good Volkov knew all about the shooting at Juliet’s place in Houston.

  After sharing another sideways glance, the blond tipped his chin to the other man, motioning for him to go get their boss.

  “Good choice,” Mike threw out for good measure. Both he and Jake waited patiently, their stances remaining casual, yet guarded.

  Men like the one standing between them and the front door were like wolves. If they smelled even a sliver of fear or trepidation, the twisted game was over before it even began.

  It wasn’t long before the front door opened and out walked Alexandar Volkov, himself. It had only been two years since Mike had seen him last, but from the way the man had aged, during that time, it may as well have been ten.

  The man’s dark hair had more salt than pepper now, and the lines that had once made him appear distinguished and wise made Mike see him for what he really was. A sad, old man whose best years were well behind him.

  “Jay.” Volkov’s stride was unhurried as he made his way down the curved sidewalk toward the paved drive. “It’s been a long time.”

  “Too long.” Mike nodded, keeping his undercover persona in place.