by Skye Jordan
A laugh raspberried past her lips. “Right. Good luck with that. Bella’s got at least a dozen pairs of supersoldier eyes on her right now. Even the president makes public appearances.” She glanced at Roman, searching for some common sense. “Seriously, don’t you think Grandma’s blowing the situation out of proportion?” Then she looked at Gianna. “Maybe in an effort to rally support?”
“I know this situation has a lot of gray areas,” Gianna told her, “but the bottom line is still law.”
Everly tilted her head. “You are a curious woman.”
“How’s that?”
“Your previous profession isn’t one known for telling the truth or following the rules.”
“Key word there,” Gianna said. “Previous.”
This was disheartening, but Everly did her best to appear detached. “What’s your plan?”
“I want to get close to him,” Gianna said, “assess him myself.”
Everly stood and crossed her arms. “I get it now. The assessment you can make in ten minutes beats the assessment I’ve made after living night and day with both of them for a week and a half? If you thought you could do this with a casual meeting, why the hell did I come at all?”
“Everly—” Roman started with a warning.
“Everly.” Gianna spoke over Roman, but her voice was soft, and she reached out and touched her forearm. She held Everly’s gaze directly, openly, sincerely. “I’m not going to make any decision based on one source, and any tactical decision will ultimately be made by Roman. I’m only here because of my relationship with the Seavers and the promise I made to them that I’d look into it. I’m aware of your skills, and I don’t doubt anything you’ve learned about the man. All I want to do is offer him some new bait to see how he reacts. It’s a side of him you aren’t able to assess. And it could give us access to information we haven’t been able to find yet.”
Everly’s anger drained. The woman was everything all in one package—gorgeous, intelligent, ruthless, and skilled. She was also warm, sincere, generous, and loyal, all traits that made it impossible to hate her.
“Everly.” Hix’s call signaled another introduction. She knew her place, knew what was expected of her, but this damn nanny role was wearing on her.
“Let’s get to it, then,” she told Gianna, then crouched in front of Bella. “Who’s ready for sour gummies?”
She popped to her feet and grinned at Everly. “Me!”
Everly took her hand and reminded her, “One for every introduction. I’ll keep count.”
“Okay.”
She ran ahead, straight to Austin, her shoes clip-clip-clipping on the stone and glimmering in the low light.
“You’re good with her,” Gianna said as they followed Everly.
“She’s a great kid. And that has everything to do with Hix.” She just prayed he lived up to her assessment. In that moment, Everly realized that if he did anything to prove her wrong, her professional reputation and the trust her team laid at her feet would be compromised.
Alarm burned through her belly. This mission had become a tightrope walk over crocodile-infested waters.
She second-guessed herself right up to the point when Bella ran straight into Austin, bumping his legs before wrapping her arms around him until he almost fell over. His conversation was interrupted, and he flailed a little before he caught his balance. Everly cringed internally.
But Austin looked down at his daughter, chuckling. He put a hand on her head. “You almost knocked me down.”
“Sorry,” she said, the words muffled against his pant leg.
He bent, picked her up, and settled her on one forearm. He was still smiling when he scanned Roman and Gianna, then moved his gaze to Everly. And there was a little “who’s this” question in his gaze.
“Sorry about that,” Everly said.
He shook his head and gave her a smile. “Not a problem.”
She gestured toward Roman and Gianna with a smile. “I couldn’t make any intelligent conversation with this lovely couple about your company, so I knew I had to bring them to the source.”
Roman offered his hand on cue, so Everly wasn’t stuck improvising her way through an introduction. “Steve Coleman,” he said, smiling as he shook Austin’s hand.
“Good to meet you. I’m Austin.”
“I’m Bella.” Bella put her hand out, surprising Roman.
Austin looked down at his daughter with fucking stars in his eyes. “What beautiful manners, baby.” Then he looked at Everly. “Miss Everly must have gummies hiding somewhere.”
Everly smirked and opened her hand, exposing five gummies. “A good nanny always has a trick or two up her sleeve.” She stepped closer and stretched out her arms. “I can take Bella while you talk.”
But Bella had her head on Austin’s shoulder. “That’s okay. I’ve got her. Take a break. Get some food. A glass of wine.”
She lifted her brows. “You sure? I don’t mind—”
“I’m sure. Thank you.”
“Okay, then.” She offered the gummies to Bella. “You earned these, sweetie.”
“Fank you,” she said, taking them from Everly’s hand.
Everly offered a polite “Nice meeting you both” to Roman and Gianna and went in search of that waiter wandering around with filled champagne glasses, thinking, Well done, Mr. Hix. Well done.
She picked up her drink but took only one sip. The tart, bubbly liquid enticed Everly to indulge, but she couldn’t. Not when the stakes were so high. She wandered nearby but stayed at Hix’s back. As Roman described the unique “situation” he “found himself in” and laid out a generous offer for Austin’s company, Hix stood there, silent, giving Roman his attention while swaying gently side to side the way most mothers did, an unconscious rhythm developed over long nights spent soothing a child.
When Roman finished his pitch, Austin said, “So, let me see if I’ve got this right. You work for Titus now?”
“I’m on the board of directors, yes,” Roman said.
“Does Mr. Connelly know you plan to leave the company?”
“No, no,” Roman said, his voice low. “I hope we can keep that confidential.”
“I see. So you’re leaving the company, forming one of your own, and want to procure my company’s equipment and training services?”
“And our company will be three times the size of Titus, so you’ll be making three times the money.” Roman gave Austin one of those old-boy, gotcha smiles. “Don’t forget that part.”
“Right. That’s important, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir. I knew a smart businessman like you would see that.”
“Uh-huh.” Pause.
Everly bit the inside of her lip. Don’t let me down, Hix. She wasn’t sure if she meant personally or professionally. Right now, it felt like both.
“You’re here at the behest of your current company to evaluate our services,” Austin said, “yet you’re really evaluating them for your own company. One that will be large enough to create near exclusivity.”
“I know how important it is to snap up quality services.”
“Seems you’ve pushed your way to the front of the line. And you’ve done it on your company’s dime. The company you’re leaving.”
“I won’t apologize for my methods,” Roman said. “Our business is war, after all.”
“Daddy,” Bella said. “I need go potty. And my hands sticky.”
“Okay, baby,” Austin said with his trademark patience. “Hold on for just a minute.” Then to Roman, Austin said, “Your business might be war, but my business is training. And I only do business with companies or governments I respect.”
“Well, you haven’t had a chance to get to know our company yet,” Roman said. “Let’s play a round of golf tomorrow and take our ladies out for dinner afterward. I can tell you everything you need to know.”
“I already know all I need to know, Mr. Coleman, and my answer is no thank you.” Austin glanced around. “Now,
I need to find a bathroom, don’t I, princess?”
“Mr. Hix,” Roman put a hand on Austin’s arm. “Wait just a minute. Give me a chance to—”
Austin met Roman’s gaze again and directly, forcefully said, “My business is an extension of my values. I live with integrity. And I don’t do business with any entity that doesn’t share those values. You, sir, have already demonstrated you don’t share them. Now, my most important mission at the moment is finding a bathroom for my daughter so I don’t walk around the rest of the night with pee on my shirt.”
“Daddy!” Bella said with mock seriousness.
He laughed and started past Roman and Gianna toward the main building and the restroom. “Enjoy your stay.”
Everly held her breath as Austin walked away, and Roman and Gianna looked at each other, then at Everly. She could tell by their expressions that they were surprised but not convinced.
“I want Everyee take me, Daddy.” The sound of Bella’s whine pushed Everly into action. She set her glass on a table nearby and started toward them.
She came up behind Austin and said, “I heard my name.”
“Oh, hey,” Austin said, easing Bella to her feet. “I’m sorry, she has to—”
“No worries,” she said, taking Bella’s hand. “I’ve got her.”
“Thanks.” He was annoyed. Everly could see it in the firm press of his mouth and the anger in his eyes. Someone called his name from the crowd. Austin caught the attention of one of the security guards and waved him over. “Stay with them until they’re back out on the patio, please.”
The man named Ramon nodded. “Yes, sir.”
While Austin returned to the guests, Everly led Bella into the resort’s main building and down a hallway toward the women’s bathroom. “Did you see how impressed Daddy was with your manners?”
Bella smiled up at her. “Uh-huh. More gummies?”
Everly laughed. “I’ll have to look in the bag when we get back outside.” She opened the door to the restroom, and when Bella slipped inside, Everly turned to thank Ramon.
His fist came out of nowhere, connecting with her jaw and snapping her head sideways. Shocked, she fell off balance and hit the opposite wall with her shoulder. Her reflexes kicked in immediately, but her ankle gave on the unstable heel, and Ramon—if that was his real name—shoved Everly into the bathroom.
Bella was twenty feet away, skipping along the long aisle between individual rooms for each toilet and a row of sinks. As soon as she saw Everly, she stopped, and fear widened her eyes. “Everyee?”
Everly put her hand up to Bella, signaling the girl to keep her distance while Ramon spoke into his earpiece. “I’ve got them in the bathroom.”
“Stay away, Bella,” she said with force. “Get into a stall and lock it. Now.”
Her yell echoed off the tile walls and scared Bella into a stall with a whimper. Everly kicked one foot back and pulled at the bow on her ankle, then the other. Then kicked the shoes beneath the sinks to clear her path.
“Won’t matter.” Ramon approached with a cocky smile and an arrogant air. “We’ll just go in and get—”
Everly took a step and put her whole body into a forceful snap-kick—a direct hit to his groin. Ramon grunted, grabbed his balls with both hands, and bent in half. Everly swiped a decorative ceramic pot off the counter beside the sink and smashed it over his head. She was back in her fighting stance as he slid to the floor, dazed.
But this was far from over.
With her heart hammering, she ran to the end of the bathroom, noting the frosted glass panels on one wall. She pushed at Bella’s stall door and wasn’t surprised when it swung open. Bella was backed into a corner behind the toilet, both hands fisted at her mouth, eyes terrified and glistening with fear. “Everyee!”
Her name came out part terror, part hysteria, and twisted a knife in Everly’s gut. She crouched and reached for Bella with one hand and pulled the toilet seat down with the other. She settled Bella there. “Cross your legs, sweetie.”
Bella obeyed.
“Now be really, really quiet. Pretend we’re playing hide and seek and don’t make a sound.”
Everly was breathing hard. Adrenaline surged through her body, making her fingers shake as she pulled her phone from the elastic band on her thigh. She touched the face to bring it to life.
But then all Everly could do was stare at it for two excruciating heartbeats while Bella whimpered.
Did she call Austin or Roman?
Did she listen to her heart or protect her soul?
Fuck.
“I want to go home.” It was the first full sentence Everly had ever heard come out of Bella’s mouth unassisted. And her little voice wavered with fear. “I want Daddy.”
That was all the direction she needed. Everly tapped the number programmed with Austin’s speed dial just as the main bathroom door slammed open with so much force, the stalls shook.
“What the fuck?” a guy bellowed. “Ramon, you piece of shit. You let a girl beat you?”
Everly huffed one dry, silent laugh. Hold on to your balls, fucker.
She pushed the phone into Bella’s hands. “It’s your daddy. Tell him where you are in a whisper, then stay quiet.”
“Ramon’s down,” Eric said, conveying the news to the enemy team, she was sure. Then: “I know you’re in here, bitch.”
Everly pushed to her feet and turned toward the door. She pulled the knife from the band on her other thigh and pressed the button that opened the blade. Every inch of her body hummed with ferocity.
Bring it on.
She put her hand on the knob and pulled in a slow breath, forcing her mind into hyperfocus. Everly drew the door open, stepped out, and closed it behind her, keeping the knife hidden in the folds of her skirt. Eric caught sight of movement and jumped back from looking into another stall. He held a Glock nine in his hand.
“Hey, Eric,” she said conversationally.
His eyes went wide. He took a step back, then pointed the gun at her and stood his ground. “Don’t move, bitch. Where’s the kid?”
She tipped her head. “What kid?”
As soon as Eric’s eyes darted around the room, Everly lunged. She grabbed his gun and twisted his wrist, flipping the weapon toward him, then she sank the knife into his arm.
He screamed and released the gun, letting it slip right into Everly’s hand. But before she could get her hand around the grip, he wrenched away from the knife and knocked the gun from her grasp.
Instead of fighting her head-on, the coward lunged for the gun. Everly fisted his blazer and hauled him back and into the knife in her other hand. Eric grunted, swallowing a sound of pain as he pulled away. Everly slipped her middle finger into the circle on her blade, turning the knife into an extension of her fist. And when Eric swung toward her again, Everly nailed him, knife first, in two quick, sharp jabs to his flank.
Eric howled and dropped to his knees. He grabbed his side as blood leaked through his fingers. He fell forward, his hands leaving bloody prints and smears on the light tile as his gaze frantically searched for the weapon.
“Don’t do it,” she told him. “You still have one good kidney. But if you move, you’re dead.”
He dropped to the floor, curling on his side. Everly hurried past him, picked up the gun, then returned to the stall. She heard Bella sobbing behind the door, and her gut turned over. She grabbed the doorknob and found her own hand covered in blood, the knife still open.
She flipped it closed and opened the door, then immediately crouched to look at Bella. The poor thing was terrified, clutching the phone to her chest. A sense of urgency pushed Everly. She didn’t know how much time she had before the other two came in search of Ramon and Eric.
“It’s okay, baby. Did you talk to your daddy?”
“No.” Her voice rose, and her teary gaze focused in on the blood covering Everly’s hand. “You owie?”
A little stress and all the language practice went to hell. “No, Be
lla, I’m fine.”
She pulled the girl into her lap, hating the way the blood marred Bella’s gorgeous dress. Details. In these high-pressure, hyperfocused situations, details always stood out in sharp relief.
“Look at me.” When Bella looked her in the eye, she said, “I want you to squeeze your eyes tight and put your head on my shoulder. Don’t open them until I tell you, okay?”
Her head went down, and a muffled “Okay” sounded against Everly’s shoulder.
She pulled open the stall door and turned toward the exit. Someone in the hall called for the men. Someone she didn’t know. “Ramon. Eric.”
Fuck. Everly fisted the knife, pivoted, and hurried to the other end of the bathroom.
“Plug your ears, baby.”
Bella put her free hand against one ear. Everly turned her back to the frosted glass panel, angled her body to shield Bella, and thumped the glass with the butt of the knife, which was equipped with a center punch.
The panel shattered. Bella muffled a squeal against Everly’s shoulder.
She did her best to avoid the glass as she curled her body over Bella’s and stepped outside. As soon as she started to run, pain stabbed the bottom of one foot.
“Shit.” She limped five feet from the opening and set Bella down. Then she knelt in front of her and aimed the weapon at the opening.
While she waited, she used her breath to slow her heart. Used Bella as her focus point. Her purpose.
“Everything’s okay, baby,” she murmured. “This will be over soon.”
“What in the fuck?” a voice yelled from the bathroom. Not Austin. Not Decker.
Everly’s stomach jittered. Her hand shook.
Shit. Her hand never shook. But the little bundle of heat curled up behind her, holding the back of Everly’s dress in her fist, whimpering, jacked this situation’s intensity.
“Come on out, boys,” she murmured under her breath. “Mama needs some target practice.”
One shot and everyone would flood this direction. Maybe she ought to burn a round.
Only, the flood would bring more than just Austin and his men. It would bring Roman. And Gianna. And, hell, Everly didn’t want them to see this situation. If they got here first, they might just take this opportunity to run with Bella. Manhunters were skilled at working on the fly. Sometimes Everly thought they did their best work that way.