Playing His Dangerous Game

by Tina Duncan

  He hadn’t even told Travis and Jackson, his two closest friends, what had happened with Fiona. The last thing he wanted was anyone feeling sorry for him. The important thing was that even though he’d been hurt at the time the experience had provided an invaluable life lesson.

  Getting involved warped your viewpoint.

  Emotions fuzzed your objectivity and made you vulnerable.

  He’d acted like a stupid fool with Fiona, but—as he’d just told Shara—he’d learnt his lesson and had no intention of repeating the same mistake twice.

  Something in his expression must have warned Shara not to pursue the subject, because after taking a sip of her herbal tea she said, ‘You mentioned that having a strong sense of right and wrong led you into starting your business?’

  Royce grasped the change of subject with both hands. ‘Kind of. To be honest, I had a whole other career mapped out. I was going to be the world’s next Bill Gates. The security business picked me rather than the other way around.’

  She raised an eyebrow. ‘And how did it manage to do that?’

  Royce rubbed the side of his jaw with his fingers. ‘I’ve always had a thing about supporting the underdog. I guess it came from being bullied as a child.’

  ‘You were bullied? I find that hard to believe,’ she said, making no attempt to hide her incredulity.

  ‘Why?’

  Shara blinked, then waved a hand towards him. ‘You just don’t look the type.’

  ‘Because I’m big?’

  She nodded.

  ‘Big doesn’t necessarily mean aggressive, you know.’

  ‘I suppose not.’

  ‘Strange as it may seem, my size was one of the reasons I was picked on in the first place. I was taller than everyone in my class. A couple of the other kids assumed that because I was big I was also tough. They decided to see just how tough I was.’

  ‘You mean …?’

  He nodded. ‘They decided to fight me whether I wanted to fight or not. I hated it.’

  ‘I can imagine,’ she said.

  ‘After I’d been beaten up a few times my dad decided we’d better do something about it.’ His smile was rueful. ‘He enrolled me in a local karate class. I never looked back.’

  ‘So instead of getting beat up you did the beating instead? Why do men always have to be so macho? Surely there was a better way of dealing with the bullies than meeting violence with violence?’

  Royce shook his head. ‘You have it wrong. Martial arts training gave me confidence. I wasn’t scared any more. And because I knew what I was doing I could dissuade most of the bullies without hurting them. Strange as it may seem to you, I actually abhor violence.’

  ‘You sure picked a strange profession, then.’

  He grinned. ‘Not really. My business is mostly about prevention. I can’t stop other people from behaving aggressively, but I can protect others from being hurt. Which is exactly what happened at school.’

  Shara frowned. ‘I’m not following you.’

  Royce picked up his cup to prevent himself from reaching across and smoothing the small furrows on her brow with his fingertips. ‘If I saw another kid being picked on I stepped in before the situation went too far. I made it clear to the bullies that they’d have to deal with me if they did anything.’

  ‘And did they heed the warning?’

  ‘Some did. Some didn’t,’ Royce replied, taking a sip of coffee.

  Shara raised an eyebrow. ‘And the ones who didn’t?’

  ‘Let’s just say that they didn’t need a third warning,’ he said simply, his gaze steady on hers.

  Shara drew away from him, looking horrified. ‘What did you do to them?’

  He frowned at her reaction and leaned across the table. ‘I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick. If you’re imagining bloody noses and broken bones then you couldn’t be more wrong. I don’t operate that way. The only thing that got injured was their pride.’

  ‘I see.’

  ‘I hope you do. Because the last thing I want is for you to think that I’m some kind of thug.’

  Not only was his professional reputation important to him, so was his personal one. A man should protect his character as solidly as he protected himself.

  Shara shook her head, sending her hair swirling around her shoulders. ‘How could I think that after what you did this morning?’

  Royce frowned. ‘You’ve lost me. What did I do this morning?’

  ‘When you got angry you reminded me so much of Steve that you frightened me. As soon as you realised what was happening you immediately backed down.’

  Royce still didn’t get the point. ‘I did. So?’

  She smiled an odd kind of smile. ‘Steve would never have done that. He seemed to enjoy scaring me.’

  The admission made him grit his teeth as a wave of fury rode up his spine. It nauseated him to think about what Shara had had to endure.

  Royce took a deep breath, surprised by the depth and intensity of his reaction. He’d dealt with numerous sleaze-buckets over the years—had witnessed more sordid and downright awful situations than he cared to think about. But he accepted them as part of the job.

  It was a fact of life that those things existed.

  There was no point getting emotional about it. Doing so was just a waste of time and energy and achieved nothing.

  Instead, he dealt with ugly situations the same way he dealt with everything.

  With discipline and self control. And with calm, cool logic.

  So why the hell was he sitting here wanting to smash something at the thought of what Shara had had to endure?

  Royce wasn’t sure, but his reaction set alarm bells ringing.

  ‘Unfortunately I’m not surprised. These guys get their rocks off pushing other people around.’ He curled his lip. ‘But you don’t have to worry about that. Be assured that Brady won’t touch you while I’m around.’

  Shara stared at him with big wide eyes, ‘I think I’m beginning to believe you.’

  Shara could hardly believe those words had come out of her mouth, but they had.

  Royce’s confidence was reassuring. So too was the strong sense of justice he’d just been talking about.

  But talk was cheap. Actions always spoke louder than words—and the way Royce had come to her rescue this morning, paired with the way he’d backed down when he realised he was frightening her, were ample evidence that he meant what he said.

  She could, she was beginning to realise, trust Royce—at least to some extent.

  She pushed her empty mug away. ‘It’s still a big leap from dealing with a couple of schoolyard bullies to operating your own business.’

  He flashed her another of those bone-melting smiles that made her heart turn over. ‘I know. In fact it’s a bigger leap than you can even imagine.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘My career transformation started when I was hauled up to the headmaster’s office one day and accused of hacking into the computer network to change the grades of some of the students.’

  ‘But you didn’t,’ she said without hesitation.

  Royce raised an eyebrow in her direction. ‘You sound very sure.’

  ‘A man with a strong sense of justice wouldn’t cheat like that.’

  ‘Well, your instincts are right. I had nothing to do with it.’

  ‘So what made them accuse you?’ Shara asked, resting her chin on her cupped hands.

  It was only human nature to be curious about someone you were going to be sharing a house with for the foreseeable future, Shara assured herself. It wasn’t as if she was interested in him or anything like that.

  ‘They had no proof, if that’s what you’re asking. Their excuse was flimsy, to say the least.’ She gave him an enquiring look. ‘They thought I was the only student capable of hacking into the system.’

  ‘Obviously you weren’t, since it was someone else.’

  He nodded. ‘Exactly. I can understand why they thought it was me, thoug
h. I have a knack for computing. Since it was one of my subjects they knew that. Still, I was furious at being unjustly accused with so little evidence.’

  ‘I can imagine.’

  It was the kind of injustice that Shara could understand. When Steve had first turned on her shortly after their wedding she’d been bewildered. But quickly on the heels of her confusion had come the question: What have I done to deserve this?

  ‘So guess what I did?’ Royce asked.

  The question dragged Shara back to the present. ‘I wouldn’t have a clue.’

  ‘I offered to find out who the hacker was,’ he said, with the same panache as someone pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

  Shara sat back in her chair. It was an idea that hadn’t even occurred to her. ‘That’s a unique solution—but how on earth could you do that?’

  ‘Actually, it was quite easy. The hacker was an amateur compared to me, so tracing him wasn’t difficult.’ Royce pushed his chair back from the table and crossed an ankle over a knee. ‘But it gave me the idea that maybe it would be challenging, not to mention more interesting, doing that kind of thing for a living instead of straight computer work. So I decided to find out. I approached a well-known security company to see if they’d give me a part-time job.’

  It was a logical step, although Shara very much doubted it would have occurred to her. ‘And did they?’

  ‘No, they laughed in my face. They thought it was hysterical that a schoolkid thought he had something to offer them. But that was a mistake.’ Another of those heart-melting smiles flashed across his face. ‘What they didn’t realise was that, one, I don’t like being laughed at, and, two, defeat is not a word in my vocabulary.’

  Shara was beginning to realise that—which meant that he was a good man to have on her side. ‘So what did you do?’

  He leaned conspiratorially closer and beckoned her to do the same with a crooked finger. He waited until she’d pushed her cup aside and leant across the table before saying softly, ‘I hacked into their computer system.’

  Shara almost choked on her own tongue. ‘You didn’t!’

  Royce nodded. ‘I most certainly did. I left a message in the inbox of every employee of the company telling them that if they didn’t hire me they’d regret it.’

  Shara stared at Royce open-mouthed, then threw her head back and laughed. Not a delicate little giggle but a full-on belly laugh. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed like that.

  Finally she sobered. ‘I shouldn’t be laughing. That really was very naughty of you.’

  ‘I know. But do you blame me?’

  Shara thought about that. ‘I suppose not. Although with your sense of right and wrong I’m surprised you didn’t think you were crossing the line.’

  ‘Considering there was no malicious intent involved and that I signed my name to the e-mail, I figured I wasn’t doing any harm other than proving that I was determined.’

  ‘Oh, I think you managed to prove that,’ she said dryly.

  ‘The company obviously thought so too.’

  Shara frowned. ‘Don’t tell me they threatened you with the police?’

  Royce shook his head. ‘No. In fact just the opposite. They were on the phone the next day with all kinds of offers.’

  Again it was an answer she hadn’t been expecting. ‘Are you sure you’re not making this up?’

  ‘Scouts’ honour,’ Royce said, giving her the three-fingered salute that usually accompanied the saying. ‘It takes quite some skill to bypass the security of a security company, you know.’

  ‘I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I suppose it does.’ Not only was he determined, he was clever right along with it. ‘Did you accept?’

  ‘Of course. I worked with them through the rest of high school, learning the ropes and the various aspects of the business. Then, while I was at university, I started my own business.’

  ‘And now you’re the largest and most well-known security firm on the globe?’

  ‘The biggest and the best,’ Royce said proudly.

  Shara frowned. ‘I was less than gracious the last time we discussed this. I apologise. Obviously your success is well deserved.’

  ‘Thanks, but your apology isn’t necessary.’ He pushed his mug away. ‘Now, enough about me. Let’s discuss our strategy moving forward.’

  ‘Do we have to?’ Shara demanded. ‘I’m sick to the back teeth of talking about Steve. I don’t even want to think about him.’

  ‘I’m sure you don’t. But we need to go over a couple of things. After that we won’t mention Brady again unless we absolutely have to. Deal?’

  ‘All right,’ she agreed reluctantly.

  Royce stared at her for a long moment. There was something about the lack of expression on his face that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

  ‘I want you to take out an Apprehended Violence Order against Brady,’ he said quietly.

  Shara frowned. ‘I’ve heard of them, but I’m not sure how they work.’

  ‘An AVO is used to protect a person against both acts of violence and the threat of violence. It covers everything from physical assault to non-physical abuse, such as harassment or intimidation. The order itself doesn’t give a person a criminal record, but the clincher for us is that a breach of the order is a criminal offence.’ He leaned forward. ‘If Brady crosses the line once the AVO is in place we can have him arrested.’

  Shara shook her head even before he’d finished speaking, her hands clenched tightly together in her lap. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea.’

  Royce frowned. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because it’s too confrontational, that’s why.’

  Royce stared at her—hard. ‘I thought we’d already had this conversation. Don’t tell me you’re back-pedalling already?’

  Shara bit down on her lower lip. ‘I’m not back pedalling. I’m just …’

  He raised a brow. ‘Just what?’

  ‘Exercising caution.’

  Royce sighed and leaned across the table. ‘Well, I hate to tell you this, Shara, but caution just isn’t going to cut it.’

  She read the determination written on his face. It was unsettling. ‘You’re serious about this?’

  He nodded. ‘I am. Very serious.’

  Shara gripped the edge of the table. ‘What you’re suggesting is suicide.’

  ‘No, it’s not. Brady can’t touch you without going through me first.’

  Shara eyed the rock hard muscles of his shoulders and arms.

  Of all of the things Royce had said to her—the promises and assurances—what he’d just said was the most reassuring.

  If Steve came up against Royce it would be like pitting a domestic cat against a lion or a tiger.

  Royce was a professional.

  He’d proved that more than once.

  Maybe it was time she started listening to his advice.

  She nodded before her courage deserted her. ‘OK. I’ll do it.’

  ‘Good. I’ll get Jackson on to it right away.’

  ‘Jackson?’

  ‘Jackson Black. He’s a friend of mine and a very good lawyer,’ Royce explained. He paused for a moment, then asked, ‘Can I take it that you’ll co-operate from now on? There’ll be no more incidents like the one this morning?’

  Shara nodded.

  ‘Good. We have a much better chance of success with us both working together.’

  Shara grimaced, not so sure she wanted to work together with Royce.

  After that near-miss kiss earlier, working together could prove altogether too dangerous.

  ‘What is it?’ Royce demanded when he saw her grimace.

  ‘Nothing. I’m just being stupid.’

  ‘I’ll be the judge of that.’

  She shrugged. ‘When I left Steve I promised myself that I’d stand on my own two feet.’

  ‘You are.’

  She shrugged again, drawing his attention to her breasts. ‘It doesn’t feel like it. N
ot when I’m relying on you to protect me.’

  ‘Give yourself a break, Shara,’ Royce said, speaking in no uncertain terms. ‘No one is completely self-sufficient. If you have a leak you call a plumber. If you have car trouble you take it to a garage. If you’re sick you go to a doctor. There’s nothing different about this situation. You’re being threatened and I’m an expert at protection. End of story.’

  ‘I suppose so.’ She paused. Looked away then back again. ‘How long do you think this is going to take, anyway?’

  She rested her elbows on the edge of the table. The action squeezed her breasts together, deepening her cleavage in the low neckline of the white T-shirt she was wearing. Royce found it difficult not to stare. In fact he found it impossible not to.

  She had a fantasy-filled bra. He was a man who liked curvy women. Maybe it was because he was such a big man himself. Skinny women did nothing for him. Somehow he knew Shara’s breasts would fill his hands perfectly, and his fingers itched to pull off her T-shirt and bra and discover the truth for themselves.

  As he watched her nipples tightened to beads under the thin fabric. She’d noticed him staring and her body was reacting.

  Suddenly the air around them was filled with electric tension.

  His eyes shot to her face. She was staring at him, twin stripes of colour flagging her cheeks.

  The realisation that she was being turned on by his look sent a surge of hormones racing through his body. His erection was hard and fierce and instantaneous beneath the zippered seam of his trousers.

  Shifting on his seat, he willed his body under control.

  He didn’t want to be attracted to Shara. Not only was she the principal, but she was cut from the same mould as Fiona.

  Both came from rich families and both had been raised by doting fathers who had spoiled them rotten at every turn. The result, of course, was that they were selfish and self-centred. They took more than they gave.

  Royce preferred women who’d forged their own path in life the same way he had. They could be models or lawyers.

  It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they appreciated what they had because they’d earned it, and that they respected others because that was how it was meant to be.