Courting Danger

by Kimberly Dean

  He patted his stomach. ‘I gave junk food up years ago. It was starting to affect my girlish figure.’

  Nina blushed. She couldn’t believe it when heat poured into her face. There was nothing girlish about his rock-hard physique. Nothing pudgy or sagging about it, either.

  She should know. She’d been watching it closely enough.

  She swiped her purse off the floor and busied herself looking for her phone. She called Rielle to get the details of what she should be looking for and where.

  ‘Nina, I’m so sorry,’ her office manager whispered, as if she was afraid the detective would hear.

  ‘I’m glad to be of help.’

  ‘Yes, but…with the detective?’

  Yes, with Josh Morgan. Nina wouldn’t admit it aloud, but that part actually eased her mind. She would have gone on her own, but she knew Hamilton’s history. He’d been unreasonable when he’d been pursuing Rielle the first time. She’d had to call in favours to help her new employee ‘disappear’. Now, the former beau seemed to be unravelling even worse. ‘He seems to think he’ll be keeping me safe.’

  ‘Let him? Please?’

  Nina bit her tongue as she looked out of the window at the passing buildings. Her true fear was how much she might let the detective do, if put to the test. ‘I’ll play nice,’ she offered. ‘Is there anything else you need while I’m there? Any clothes or toiletries?’

  ‘My mail.’ Rielle paused. ‘And actually…’

  Nina closed her eyes when she heard the request. Of course. She’d had to ask. ‘I’ll drop it by later today.’

  ‘Thank you, Nina. For everything.’

  ‘Bye, sweetie,’ she said softly. ‘You be safe.’

  The detective was quiet when she hung up. Nina didn’t care what he thought. When someone was important to her, she let them know. They just needed to make it into her inner circle first. That wasn’t easy.

  ‘So…’ Morgan cleared his throat. ‘Just how nice are we going to play?’

  Nina growled. It wasn’t ladylike or professional, but the man got under her skin. ‘Just drive.’

  Her apartment wasn’t that far away, and she guided the detective to park in her personal spot in the underground garage. Home was currently a penthouse – or at least what counted as a penthouse in DC. She had the entire tenth floor of the residential building to herself, and it suited her needs.

  One day she’d prefer to have a quaint little colonial on the Potomac. Somewhere that neighbours weren’t pressed up against her. Unfortunately, she was too busy to look, and the image didn’t fit her current lifestyle.

  Someday.

  She had the money and the connections now.

  But someday.

  Instead of waiting in the car, the detective insisted on coming up with her.

  ‘You’re not coming inside,’ she reminded him.

  ‘I’ll wait on the doorstep.’

  ‘Fine.’

  Her doorstep was the elevator lobby on the tenth floor. She sent him a warning look before entering her apartment. It felt strange to be there during the middle of the day. She’d worked nonstop for the past fifteen years, building her company, but she rarely worked from home. She promptly went to the kitchen, grabbed the key to Rielle’s apartment off a hook and returned.

  ‘Got it,’ she said.

  Morgan gave her a slow once-over and shook his head. ‘Uh uh.’

  She looked down quickly, even as her breasts swelled and her belly cinched in tight. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘You look like Nina Lockwood.’

  ‘I am Nina Lockwood.’

  ‘Where’s the hat?’

  ‘I thought you were joking about that.’

  He assumed a stance that he’d surely used in interrogation before – legs spread solidly and arms folded over his muscled chest. ‘If Hamilton has been watching Luxxor, he’s probably singled you out, too. You’re not a wallflower, you know. We need to get in and out without him noticing you.’

  Nina hooked her hair over her ear. Her patience was starting to wear thin. ‘It’s the middle of the morning. He’s probably not watching now.’

  ‘Are you willing to take that risk? Because I’m not. Not with you.’ That familiar bullheaded expression came over the detective’s face, and he bar-armed his way right into her apartment.

  Nina stood there with her lips parted in surprise – half by what he’d said, and half by the fact that he’d just intruded on her personal space.

  ‘Hey!’ she said as she stormed in after him.

  He was surveying her living room. Planting his hands on his hips, he looked at her clothes again. She crossed her arms stubbornly, hoping it hid her reaction from him.

  ‘Do you even own a pair of jeans?’ he asked.

  Her eyes narrowed. ‘If you move so much as a muscle…’

  He looked at the watch on his wrist. ‘Time’s wasting. The sooner I can get that handwriting analysed, the sooner I can ask a judge for a warrant.’

  Nina counted to ten, but then walked by him. She deliberately measured her strides until she caught his interested gaze running over her butt.

  She closed the door and hurriedly changed. It made her feel funny to have him here. She looked through her jeans, of which she had plenty, and picked her favourite pair. They were the ones that showed just how fine an ass she had. She paired them with a stretchy red top that hugged her curves and strode back out to the living room.

  She lifted her arms. ‘Does this meet with your approval?’

  He pushed away slowly from the back of the sofa where he’d been leaning. His dark eyes were like deep pools as he checked her out again. ‘Damn, Nina.’

  She reached up to toy with her earring. She’d called his bluff, but now she wasn’t so sure it was a good idea.

  His stare stuck on her feet. ‘It kills me to say it, but they have to go.’

  Her eyes narrowed. Her shoes?

  ‘Do you have any flats?’

  ‘Flats?’ He’d said the f-word. He might as well have told her to put a bag over her head.

  He shook his head. ‘Those shoes scream “Nina”.’

  She toed the heels off, and it gave him an extra four inches on her. It made her feel squishy inside, and she didn’t like it. She headed back to the bedroom. ‘Anything else? Maybe a tie-dyed T-shirt or flip-flops?’

  ‘Maybe do something with your hair.’

  The door closed behind her with a resounding bang. She jammed her feet into her favourite pair of black sandals that she never wore anywhere outside the building, and she jerkily gathered her hair up in a ponytail. When she looked in the mirror, she saw the woman she became on weekends. It was a persona that nobody else ever saw.

  She hesitated as she faced the door. It was for Rielle.

  She took a deep breath and pictured a calm meadow in a forest. Once she was centred, she returned for another inspection.

  ‘Oh, yeah.’ He looked her in the eye this time, and she saw a glint that scared her. A glint that he might be seeing more than she wanted. ‘Works for me.’

  Damn the man. Her thighs quivered, and she had to squeeze them to make them stop.

  She folded her arms over her chest. Her breasts were aching, and her nipples were hard. She felt exposed this way. Vulnerable.

  She did not do vulnerable.

  ‘What about you?’ she said.

  ‘What about me? I’m nobody to Hamilton.’

  She gave him a blatant once-over in return. ‘You look like a cop.’

  ‘Hm.’ He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘You might be right about that. We need to draw him out, not spook him into running.’

  She smirked until he took off his jacket and began working on his tie. Her toe began tapping. That man hadn’t eaten a donut in a very long time. He loosened his collar one button and then two and rolled up his sleeves. With every little change, he became hotter. More of a stud. The gun was a dead giveaway, but he took off his shoulder holster and replaced the weapon in his waistb
and at the small of his back.

  ‘I have an ankle holder down in the car.’ He planted his hands on his hips. ‘Better?’

  Nina swallowed hard. Much. She couldn’t stop staring at the base of his throat and the chest bared by the open vee of his shirt. Or the corded muscles of his forearms…

  He walked towards her slowly and trailed his fingers over the edge of the shelf on the wall at his side. ‘So, this collection of yours…’

  Her breath sucked in. The shelf that held more of her blue glass figurines. He hadn’t just been waiting for her, he’d been snooping.

  He carefully traced the long neck of a blue heron. ‘I’m assuming you keep your favourites here at home?’

  Damn him, he was looking for the blue butterfly he’d bought her. Nina knew when to take charge. Establishing her turf, she grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards the door. ‘We need to get going.’

  He looked down to where she’d captured him, but she didn’t let go. He wrapped his big hand around hers and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

  ‘All right. Wherever you’re leading, I’m definitely following.’

  Chapter Fourteen

  ‘Did you find it?’ Darien asked before he even got the door open. ‘Did you get the card?’

  ‘Darien,’ Rielle said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. Nina had just gotten to the apartment. She was dying to know the same thing, but she could at least pretend to be more patient. ‘Invite her in first.’

  Nina waved her hand, telling them both to forget the social niceties. ‘We found it.’

  Darien gave a fist pump before stepping back to allow Rielle’s boss inside. He leaned into the hallway to inspect it behind her. ‘Are you sure you weren’t followed?’

  ‘The detective didn’t see anyone when we left your place, and Mr Howard from our Security team brought me here. He was careful.’

  Rielle greeted Nina with a hug. It was early afternoon, but it seemed as if they’d been waiting for weeks.

  Nina set her purse and an additional leather bag onto the dining-room table just inside the apartment’s door. ‘The card was right where you said it would be, in the box on the overhead shelf in your bedroom closet. It took me a while to go through everything inside. I hope it’s OK that I did that?’

  ‘Of course. I’m just glad it was there.’

  Nina touched her earring. ‘The detective was determined to help, but I kept him out of your things as much as I could.’

  Rielle glanced at the leather bag. She hoped that meant Nina had kept the detective away from the other things she’d asked her to bring, too.

  ‘Thank you.’ Honestly, there wasn’t anything in that box that anyone couldn’t see. It was filled mainly with mementoes from a career she’d left behind. If she remembered correctly, there was artwork from her students, some pictures and maybe some old teacher evaluations. None of it had much meaning any more – except for the card. She’d kept it for sentimental reasons, but it had suddenly taken on much greater importance. ‘Did Detective Morgan think there was enough there for a handwriting expert to use?’

  ‘They’re going to try.’

  ‘It’s something,’ Darien said.

  It was certainly more than they had now.

  ‘Thank you for doing that, Nina.’ Rielle cast a glance at Darien. ‘I didn’t mean to put you in an awkward situation.’

  ‘It’s all right. I was happy to help.’ Nina wrapped her fingers over the back of a dining-room chair. Her nails were painted a deep red, so Rielle couldn’t tell if she’d drawn blood. There was no telling how her boss and the detective had gotten along on their little field trip.

  Those hard nails tapped against the chair back. ‘The detective made sure I didn’t accidentally do anything to draw Eddie’s attention.’

  Or to set him off.

  Nobody said it, but everyone was thinking it.

  ‘Can I get you anything?’ Rielle said, remembering her manners. ‘Coffee? Iced tea?’

  ‘Tea sounds lovely.’

  ‘I’ll get it,’ Darien offered.

  ‘Let’s sit.’ Rielle gestured to the living room. She’d been out of the office all day, but it hadn’t been a vacation. She was itching to know more about the detective’s plans and what had been happening at Luxxor.

  Nina looked around with interest. ‘My, but you can see Erin’s touch here, can’t you?’

  Erin and Sienna were old friends. They hadn’t roomed together long, but Erin’s flair could be seen in the decorating. A geometric print graced one wall, and cushions brought splashes of colour to the neutral furniture. A bright-red contemporary chair had been added to spice things up. Naturally, that was where Nina gravitated.

  She sat down and ran her hands up and down the velvet armrests. ‘It’s more comfortable than it looks.’

  She crossed her legs as she sat back. With her spiked heels, her legs looked long and sleek. Rielle took a seat on the sofa. Her boss looked extra crisp and polished, in a fitted blue suit.

  Darien stuck his head out from the kitchen. ‘Sugar?’ he asked.

  ‘Thank you, just a teaspoon,’ Nina replied.

  ‘Have you been with Morgan this whole time?’ Rielle asked.

  ‘He’s not easy to shake.’ Nina’s top foot began to bop. ‘He wouldn’t let me go back to the office before Sienna’s scheduled to arrive. We finally compromised that I could come here.’

  Compromise? Rielle took a drink of the tea Darien brought her to hide her surprise. Compromise, Nina and the detective were not a comfortable threesome.

  Darien handed Nina a tall glass filled with ice cubes. ‘Did you two find anything else while you were there?’

  Rielle frowned when Nina sent him a venomous look.

  He didn’t flinch. ‘The more she knows, the more she can be prepared.’

  Rielle scooted forward to the edge of the cushions. ‘What are you talking about? That card was the only thing from Eddie I can remember keeping.’

  Nina sighed. ‘He’s talking about your mail.’

  ‘Did the bastard send a package there, too?’ Darien pressed.

  ‘Yes.’ Nina shook her head. ‘I was going to tell you, but more gently.’

  Rielle didn’t know why her stomach sank. She’d known Eddie would be trying to find out where she lived. It was why they’d moved from the safe house to this apartment. Still, it made her feel uneasy. He was closing in.

  ‘How would you know that?’ she asked Darien.

  He crossed his arms, and his biceps bulged. ‘It fits his pattern.’

  She remembered then what he did for a living. He analysed threats – and he dealt with them. She bit her lip. She wanted Eddie to stop, but just how far would Darien go to defuse the situation?

  ‘What was it?’ he asked, his voice like a lance. ‘More pictures?’

  Nina set her tea on a coaster and folded her hands in her lap. ‘Yes, they were of Rielle walking by the Tidal Basin with the cherry blossom trees in bloom all around her. Very pretty.’ Nina’s eyes flashed fire. ‘They were inside a greeting card that said Thinking of You.’

  Rielle’s stomach rolled.

  ‘Did he sign it?’ Darien demanded. ‘Were there prints?’

  ‘I don’t know. We didn’t open it; the lab techs at the police station did. We left it with them.’ Nina rolled her foot in a slow circle. ‘And no, he didn’t sign it.’

  Darien’s nod was so brief, it was practically non-existent. Rielle watched him closely. The quieter and more contained he got, the more she felt energy gather around him. Was that training?

  Or even deadlier instinct?

  He pulled his phone out of his back pocket. ‘I’m going to call Morgan and get an update.’

  He strode soundlessly down the hallway to the bedrooms. He’d gone into stealth mode again. Here one moment, gone into thin air the next.

  Nina lifted an eyebrow. ‘That’s almost more frightening than the detective’s grumbling.’

  Rielle hugge
d one of Erin’s throw pillows to her chest. It was purple and tube-shaped. The news had unsettled her more than she wanted to admit. ‘Does the detective frighten you, Nina?’ she asked.

  Her boss scoffed, but the most interesting thing happened. Her cheeks turned pink. She glanced down the hallway where Darien had disappeared and quickly changed the subject. ‘Come over here with me.’

  She swept up her drink and returned to the dining-room table, and Rielle followed.

  Nina opened her purse and passed across an envelope. ‘This is for you.’

  At first Rielle worried it was another present Eddie had left behind, but she recognised her boss’s handwriting. She opened the flap, and her chin jerked up when she saw what was inside. ‘Nina!’

  There was a cheque in her name with way too many zeroes. ‘What’s this?’

  Nina met her gaze steadily. She was several inches shorter, but her power was indomitable. ‘Your bonus pay.’

  ‘Bonus?’ She hadn’t even made it in to the office today. ‘What for?’

  ‘Your exclusive contract. All the escorts get special duty pay, and so do you.’

  ‘But…But…’ Rielle felt the hallway looming behind her like a gaping black hole. She dropped the envelope onto the table. It caught in the air and slid until it nearly fell off the edge. ‘Did…is Darien paying?’

  Call her naïve, but her mind hadn’t gone down that road. ‘I thought it was a trade, bodyguard services for –’

  Oh, that was a road even less travelled.

  It sounded horrible, and the knot in her stomach squeezed. She sat on the dining-room chair and curled inwards.

  ‘No, no.’ Nina caught her hand so tightly that those red nails bit. ‘You’re right. There weren’t any financial transactions associated with your contract. He’s not paying anything, and I’m not paying him. This is from Luxxor to you.’

  ‘But…I don’t want it.’ Taking money for being with him? It twisted everything – although they were tangled and mired enough already. She’d just blocked it out of her thoughts and had gone with the flow.

  A flash of insight nearly blinded her.

  She’d used the contract as an excuse, just like him.

  She’d wanted to get close to him too. That agreement had put to rest all her reasons not to. It had silenced the protective voice inside her head until it was barely a whisper.