Snatched (Coronado Series Book 2)

by Hart, Lea

  Rory turned around and saw the angry look on Max’s face. “Don’t give him a hard time. I saw what he was up to and played a long. Now that we have that out of the way, we can move forward.” She sat down and crossed her legs. “It happens a lot - men see a woman with big hair, big boobs and a big butt, and they go dumb for a moment. I think it’s best to deal with it straight off and then move on.” She had a crazy man after her, but she could still be in charge of how men interacted with her. It was small, but it was something. Once I get a gun then I can really be in charge.

  Max still looked pissed off as he studied them both. “I’m not sure what the hell just happened, but I hope it doesn’t happen again. We are a very professional organization here despite what you just saw. You’ll never have to worry about unwanted attention from any of my employees.”

  Rory smiled back at him, “What about wanted attention? I saw a lot of good looking men walking around here and I want to know if I have to keep my hands off?” She heard Frank snicker next to her and she chose to ignore him. “I’m just kidding Max. I was trying to bring down the tension in here. I’m a big girl and can take care of myself. I’ve had this body since I was fourteen and I’ve learned how to divert attention. Birdie is always telling me to behave and I try to - just not always successfully. Sometimes I just want to make the person understand what it feels like.”

  Frank stood up, “Rory, let’s get your schedule and we can arrange for your security detail.”

  Max gave him a list, “This is what we need to get started on today. Let me know if you can think of anything else.” Frank started reading it, looked at Max and nodded.

  “Rory, let me have your computer and phone, and I’ll have Derick get started. Also give me your car keys and we’ll have Jack take your car over to the warehouse and sweep it. We’ll have someone bring it over to your house later on.” He turned towards his office, “I’ll check back and let you know what we come up with.” He smiled at Rory and walked back into his office.

  “Sorry about Frank. I hope his behavior didn’t make you feel uncomfortable.”

  “It was actually a welcome distraction. I’m used to dealing with it and I know how. The crazy stalker who is after me - not so much.”

  “Do you have a gut feeling about who this person might be? We discover people often have a sense of where the threat is coming from.” He opened his laptop and started a file on Rory and typed a couple of notes. “I want you to feel confident that we will find the person who is making your life a little more interesting than you would like. Tell me about work and what’s going on there and any ex-boyfriends.”

  He watched her let out a sigh, “Well there are no ex-boyfriends lurking around. I haven’t had one of those in years.” He kept a straight face as he felt a wave of relief pass through him. He was glad that he wasn’t going to have to get rid of anyone. He didn’t want another man hanging around - he wanted to be the only one. He knew it was crazy to be so attracted to her, but it was a crazy and he was willing to live with.

  “OK, no ex-boyfriends. Tell me about work.”

  “I went to work for Bob after I graduated from college. It was tough to get a job at the time and he offered me one for as long as I wanted it. I planned to spend only a year with the hotels and gain some experience. My one - year plan turned into six years. It’s definitely time to make a change.”

  “Don’t let this person scare you away from a job you like. This will be taken care of and you can go back to your life.”

  She realized she didn’t want to go back to her life - she wanted a new one. “I’m good at my job, but I don’t really enjoy it. Quite frankly, I’m tired of dealing with Bob’s son, and this stalker is the icing on the cake. I’m taking this as a sign to move on and find something that I am better suited for.”

  “Tell me about your step brother. Has he always given you a hard time?”

  “He is not my step brother, he is Bob’s son. When your mother gets remarried when you’re in college, you do not acquire siblings. I think Jackson is a jerk and his narcissistic behavior is becoming more erratic by the week. I knew he resented me when his father gave me an opportunity after college. I had the impression that he was afraid of me taking something away from him, which is ridiculous. I took the job because it was a tough job market. I never considered staying there for a career.”

  “We will definitely take a look at him. Do you want to stay at your job or do you want to make a change right away?”

  “What do you think? I’m ready to give my notice, but I would also like to catch the creep. Is it worth staying for another month?”

  “You should stay for at least a couple of weeks. Give your notice to Bob and ask him to keep it quiet. We’ll gather enough information that we can move on in that time frame. If we don’t then staying at your job won’t make a difference.”

  She started to smile, “I’m actually starting to feel relieved. Is that crazy? I’m going to upend my life and create something new. If you can get me a gun and show me how to use it, I would feel even better.” She looked at him and thought, If I could just let this stalker problem tip into his broad, very capable - looking hands and let it go. What a relief that would be.

  “You really want a gun. How long have you had this desire?”

  Rory swallowed and stared at him as her gaze dropped to his mouth. When she heard the word desire, her mind went somewhere else. She could feel the heat and excitement ping to life. That hasn’t happened in a long time. Why now? Why him? “I just decided today that I want one. I want to be able to take care of myself. I have felt scared for two months, and I’m tired of it. How long does it take to get one? Maybe I could go today.”

  “Would you be willing to wait a couple of days? Let us get some Intel, and then we can get you what you need.” He got up again and sat next to Rory and studied her for a moment. “I’m going to take care of you.” He put his big hand over hers and felt like she belonged to him…. just like that.

  The phone buzzed, and Frank’s voice came across the intercom, they both sat up instantly. “I’d better get that.” He stood up and went around his desk to pick up the phone, as he listened to Frank he frowned and made notes. Rory watched him for a moment and decided to take a break. She went in search of the ladies room, and as she walked down the hall she noticed a large office with computers running different programs. She watched several men work the keyboards and it reminded her of the wizard in the old movie.

  After Max was done with the phone call, he went looking for Rory and headed in the direction of the back offices. He walked around the corner and caught sight of her. He felt a swirl of anticipation deep in his gut as he got closer. It was sexual energy combined with something else….something deeper and more complicated. He felt his pulse quicken as he walked up to her and took her hand. “I came to find you - lunch is going to be delivered to the conference room in a few moments.”

  They stood in the middle of the hallway and he felt the noise of the office fall away as she looked up. All he could feel was her soft skin against his and he felt lucky that he was the man she chose to protect her. They stared at each other for a long moment and didn’t say a thing - they simply stared into each other’s eyes. Finally, he broke their gaze and put his hand on the small of her back and led her in the direction of the conference room. “I hope you like what we ordered for lunch.”

  Rory followed him into the conference room and brushed against him as she passed in front of him. There was something about him that had her hormones doing a happy dance. She knew this was not something that she could pay attention to right now, as much as she might have liked.

  She noticed how much food was on the table. “Are you feeding an army? That’s a lot of food!”

  “Not an army, just a bunch of retired SEALs. We like to eat a lot and I’ve found it’s a good idea to keep the Team happy.” He pulled out a chair and tucked her in, “What would you like to drink?”

  “Water would be great
, thank you.”

  He brought her a bottle of water and sat down next to her. “We are getting a handle on the situation and have a preliminary TAC plan in place.”

  “What is a TAC plan?”

  “That is short for tactical plan - the way we are going to approach solving this issue for you.” He opened a bottle of ice tea, took a big slug and looked at her. He found she was staring at him and waited to see if she was going to say anything.

  “Is everyone who works here a former Navy SEAL?”

  “Once a SEAL, always a SEAL. We are either active or retired. Most of the guys are from the Teams, but the support staff are civilians. The key operators are all retired SEALs. We’ve all worked with one another at some point in our career.” He sat back and his big body filled the chair, and he noticed that she continued to stare at him. “Is there something you want to ask me? You seem to have something else on your mind.”

  “No, I’m just trying to take it all in and understand the process.” The door opened and five large men entered and started to introduce themselves to her. She shook each man’s hand and tried to remember names. “I hope you’re not here for me -I hope you came for the food.” They all laughed, sat down and started to fill their plates.

  Max laughed, “We always operated as a team when we were in the service. We continue to operate the same way. Each man here has a specialty, and we try and get as much input as we can before we put a plan together.”

  She heard the door open again and watched Frank walk in. He came over and sat next to her. “We have some good leads from your computer. I’m going to have Derick fill everyone in after we eat lunch.” He noticed she picked at her food. “You’re in good hands, Rory. Max will never let anything happen to you. When he and I were on a squad together, everyone said he was the best team leader - because no matter what, he would yield to no one. No matter what went down, he would stand by his word.” He started to fill his plate. “The same can be said for all of the men in this room. We yield to no one.”

  Rory realized she knew very little about the type of men who became SEALs, and she might need a crash course. I am going to talk to Birdie and have her fill me in. Everyone ate and talked about their ongoing cases. She quietly observed the men and was fascinated by what they were talking about. Maybe this was the type of business she should think about working for. Not here of course, but something like it.

  As everyone finished, Max curved his shoulders inward as he turned to her. She realized he was creating a little wall of privacy for them. He held her hand and the other was against her back and he started rubbing lightly with his huge hand. “Can I get you something else? You didn’t eat anything.”

  She turned her head. He was so close - close enough to see the gold flecks in his green eyes. “I’m not hungry. Thank you, though.” He dipped his head, looked her in the eye and all she could see was his face and she liked what she saw.

  “We got this, Rory.” They both looked down at their entwined hands. Max knew in his gut that this was the beginning of something. He could feel the beat of her heart against his. Somehow their hands defined what he wanted in his life. He couldn’t quite put it into words yet, but seeing their hands together gave him an idea of where he wanted to start. He wanted to protect this woman from the person who was stalking her. He wanted to be the person that stood between her and the world.

  Everyone finished their lunch and started to clean up. She felt herself surface, everyone in the room had slipped away while she’d been speaking with Max. He was a powerful man - she could feel his coiled strength and intense focus when she was close to him. She heard Frank say something, and turned to face the men at the table. Frank stood, “Let me give you what we have so far, and then we can get everyone’s input.”

  He filled everyone in and then Derick gave his report on the info he pulled off of her computer. “Someone has installed a worm on Rory’s computer and they have full access to it and can see everything that’s on there. It also appears the person has access to the camera as well. So the son of a bitch is smart and creepy.” He turned to Rory, “The asshole has also accessed your cell phone by cloning your password.”

  Rory felt a sudden hot flash and her face paled. Max took her hand and didn’t let go. Derrick continued, “I have installed the appropriate counter measures and I’m close to getting an IP address - I should have some info by the end of the day. The guy has developed an obsession with Rory and is dead set on trying to control her behavior. Hijacking the camera suggests it’s personal and not financially motivated. But I need to do more research before I rule that out completely.”

  Frank looked up from his phone, “It looks like you had a tracker on your car. It wasn’t a very sophisticated device - which is good news. We probably have someone with advanced computer skills and little else. The guys took out the tracker and added one of our GPS devices. We sent a team out to your house and they’ve started on your system.”

  Some of the men gave input and they finalized the initial plan for protecting Rory. She tried to listen, but couldn’t focus. The idea that someone looked at her through the camera on her computer completely pissed her off. She at least would like someone to buy her a drink before they saw her in her panties.

  Max got up and thanked everyone. He led her into his office and closed the door. “Someone saw me naked - I always leave my laptop open when I’m traveling. I’m really mad now. I definitely need some kind of arsenal - give me something.” She was dead serious. “I don’t like this feeling at all… I want to be in charge of my life.”

  “I’m a little concerned about providing you with the arsenal you want. I see the blood thirsty look in your eyes. Let’s come up with something else.” He put his arm around her shoulder and looked into her eyes. “How about if I am your arsenal? After all, I know what I’m doing. Would that make you feel better?”

  “No, I want to be able to defend myself. You are not going to be with me every day. I want to be able to take care of myself.” She looked at his big shoulders, reached out and touched his bicep and sighed. “Maybe, but I still want a small gun, just in case.”

  He pulled her in, “Let the team and I take care of this. We are going to protect you. I will protect you.”

  He knew he was about to make a big mistake, but there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop himself. He lowered his head, looked her in the eye and let his mouth fall against hers. It was just a gentle kiss, nothing more than his lips pressed against hers. It was almost innocent. He lifted his head and looked at her, “I have been wanting to do that since I met you at the party yesterday. It was better than I imagined.”

  She could object of course, but it would be a lie. She completely enjoyed the kiss. It was like coming into fleeting contact with something powerful. Something that could burn if the contact was too close. “Is this your way of distracting me from my problems or showing me how you’re going to take care of me?”

  He leaned in again, “Yes, this is my strategy.” He wrapped his big arms around her and dropped his mouth against hers again.

  She could almost hear the hum of power coming from him. The side door opened and Frank walked in and started laughing. They pulled apart and her face turned a bright shade of red.

  “I thought you guys would at least wait until tomorrow before you started smooching. This is a place of business.” He laughed as he walked back into his office and closed the door.

  Max looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. “I bet he won’t come back in here. We can keep kissing.”

  She straightened her dress and shook her head. “Are you nuts? We can’t keep kissing. I am so embarrassed.”

  “Why should you be embarrassed? I’m the boss and I’m kissing a client.” He wrapped her up and gave her a hug. “It was unavoidable.”

  He didn’t look smug. He looked serious, as if wild sexual attraction was the most dangerous thing on earth. It was a loaded grenade, in fact, and he was smart enough to realize it.

&nb
sp; She looked up at him, “Do you kiss all of your distressed female clients?”

  “No, you’re the first client that I’ve kissed. Let’s do it again.” He took her hand and tugged her down on the couch with him. He was about to kiss her again, but her hand on his chest stopped him. He leaned forward and she leaned back, “I will leave you alone for now, but we’re not done.”

  “Oh, I think we’re done for now.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and tried to look stern. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Why did she feel like it was only a temporary reprieve? She liked to be in control and had a feeling that he did too.

  “Would you like me to take you to your office for a couple of hours?”

  “I guess. I can’t imagine getting any work done. It would probably be good to show my face, I can take a cab though. I’m sure you’re very busy.”

  “My priorities just got shifted around and I am at your service.”

  She gave him a searching look, “Thank you. It might be good if you saw my office and met Jackson, but I don’t want everyone to know what’s going on. How are we going to manage that?”

  “Don’t worry, they will just think I’m your new boyfriend. Nothing to worry about.”

  “Why would they think that?”

  “They’re going to see us together and recognize the arc of attraction between us. Then they’ll notice how close I stand to you and when I kiss you, there won’t be any confusion.”

  “I don’t have boyfriends - no one is going to believe that.”

  “Why don’t you have boyfriends?”

  “Because, I don’t.”

  “As clear of an answer as that is - I need some clarification.”

  “I don’t think you need to know about my love life. That’s not why I have acquired a stalker.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Well of course I’m not sure. How would I know what caused this?”