by Nana Malone
“You know what it all means now?”
I shook my head. “No. I still need the frame of reference. It’s in a language I don't understand. It’s like trying to program a computer with duck calls. The computer recognizes you are making sounds but has no way to process them. I know this decodes the journal possibly, but I need to understand the source language before I’ll be able to figure it out.” I frowned. “What piece was it that broke?”
She checked the inventory list. “Lot 57834234. The one we got the call about the other day.”
My body went cold. “Since that thing broke apart in your hand, what are the chances that they were really calling looking for this scroll and not the flimsy piece of art?”
“I would agree with that.” She glanced at the door. “You think this is why you have your non-nanny guards?”
“Oh, I’m absolutely certain of it. What the fuck was Willa into?”
“It’s okay. We’ll figure it out. You’re not alone, okay?”
I tried to drag in a deep breath. "Okay, you're right. It's fine. Everything is going to be fine."
But I didn't believe that, because just like when we were kids, Willa was still managing to get me into trouble.
I held tightly onto the scroll. "Yeah, so—" The lights cut off.
I heard Bex mutter, "Son of a bitch. You think she didn’t pay the electric bill?"
I had no idea where the breaker was. And something told me that was going to become absolutely necessary.
All I heard was a voice. "Neela?"
"Yeah, back here."
Tamsin had a flashlight with her, and she located us right away.
Then she was tapping something in her ear. She whispered, "We have to go. Backdoor. Now. Zia is waiting in the car."
Something about the tone of her voice told me to shut the hell up and follow her without question. I grabbed my purse and laptop, and then we were moving. Bex, on the other hand, was whispering rapid fire at her. "Why do we have to go? We're not done."
Tamsin shot her a look that said, ‘shut the hell up,’ grabbed her arm, and pushed her toward the backdoor. She also turned off her flashlight. For someone with no light, she was excellent at navigating. By the time we managed to get to the backdoor, she tapped her ear piece one more time, held up a hand to let us know to stop, and then she counted, “Three, two, one,” and pushed the backdoor open. The shrill alarm went off, and she was dragging us behind her, running, sprinting outside into the waiting car where Zia drove up with a screech.
Tamsin practically shoved the two of us in the backseat, and she lunged into the front.
Zia didn't even wait for us to close our doors before she was peeling away. It was a good thing too. Two men ran outside the backdoor seconds after us. They were big, and one of them looked familiar.
Had I seen him before? Both of them whipped out guns. The taller of the two took aim. The booming crack shattered the calm around them.
We weren’t hit, but then it was harder to hit a moving target and Zia had wasted no time peeling out.
Hands shaking, I buckled my seatbelt and sputtered at Tamsin. "What the fuck?"
"Zia noticed a van that had been parked outside across the street. Been there since last night. We've had surveillance on the gallery, obviously. Zia ran the plates and they were stolen. As I got the call, the lights went out. So, I came for you guys, and told her to come around back."
"Holy shit. Someone is legitimately trying to hurt me."
"Was this what happened to Willa?" Bex asked.
Tamsin just shook her head. "I don't know. But we need to get Neela and Mayzie to safety quickly."
Four
Jax…
The angel and devil on my shoulders had been warring the last two days. The angel was convinced I’d brought this trouble on myself, and the devil, well, he thought I should kiss her and make up.
It didn’t help that I’d been nearly certain I heard buzzing the other night. The only thing I knew that buzzed like that was a vibrator. A big one. So lucky me, my mind had conjured up all kinds of scenarios where she’d come to me to help her sleep.
Basically, every porn fantasy come to life.
There was a reason they called it fantasy. Because she’d never come to me. And as it was, she only spoke to me regarding Mayzie’s care. As if I really was the damn manny.
I shouldn't have slept with her.
What I shouldn't have done was do every dirty thing I'd imagined doing to her from the moment I saw her. That's what I shouldn't have done.
But it was too late for that now. Because there was no going back. I hadn't been able to keep my bloody hands to myself. One look at her, and it had been over. So now she felt betrayed and pissed the hell off. As well she should.
I picked Mayzie up out of her car seat. She was fast asleep, but still I unlatched her, picked her up, and grabbed the diaper bag.
Ariel had called us all back to the house, and she wouldn't say why. When I stepped in the house, I understood why. Something had happened. My whole team was inside.
Trace nodded at me, immediately reaching for the baby, who had fallen asleep. "Let me put her down."
He nodded. "You know what's going on?"
I shook my head.
I was up the stairs and into the nursery in no time. On the way back, I ran into Neela coming out of the master bedroom. "Neela—"
"Don't talk to me."
Shit. I reached for her arm, and she snatched it back. "Don't talk to me. Don't touch me. Don't even look at me."
Fuck. "You think I wanted to lie to you?"
I knew she didn't want me touching her, but it was important that I deliver the message.
I stepped around and in front of her but kept my hands behind my back. I didn't want her to be afraid. That was the last thing I wanted. I dropped my voice. "I’ve said it, and I’ll keep saying it. I never wanted to lie to you. I came here to take a job. Bodyguard. Simple. But the man who hired me insisted I not tell you I was your bodyguard. That was the job. I did it."
She tilted her chin up. “Oh, yeah? Was fucking me part of the job too?"
I winced. "You know it wasn't."
But she was on a roll. "Because wow, what a spectacular job you did. I see you take your work seriously. Ariel should give you a raise. I didn't know she was running a bodyguard-gigolo agency."
That did it.
I took her hand, despite her not wanting any part of it, and turned her into the master bedroom. When I closed the door behind us, I regretted that decision. I was locked in with her scent now. All around us. I could feel her. Neela must have packed up all of Willa’s things, because they were gone. Now there were pictures of Neela and Mayzie, and of Mayzie and Willa. But the scent that lingered, honey and lime, that was all Neela.
I wasn't going to make it. "Listen to me. What happened, it wasn't part of the plan. I tried to stop it from happening, remember?"
"You mean when you ghosted after you kissed me?"
"I did not ghost you." I dropped my voice. "I just realized it was a terrible fucking idea. I couldn't do my job and touch you."
"Yeah, but you changed your mind, didn't you?"
"Only because I couldn't not anymore. God, you think I want this? You think I ever wanted this?"
"Tell me? Would it have been easier to control me once you slept with me? Was it getting too difficult, me running around, too hard to guard?"
"That's asinine."
She stepped around me and reached for the door. "You know what's asinine? Me believing that you or someone like you could've fallen for me. I know, my dumb mistake. I won't make it again."
She was out the door in seconds, and I was chasing after her again. But before I could call out her name, Tamsin was already up the stairs. "There you two are. Come on, we don't have much time. We need to talk about this."
I groaned and followed behind the two of them.
Trace, ever watchful, narrowed his gaze at me and then flicked his dark eyes
to Neela and back again. Then he gave me a shit-eating grin. Asshole.
Once we were all downstairs, Ariel took the floor. "Listen up guys, we don't have much time. Someone shot at Neela at the gallery."
My gaze darted to Neela. Shit. She looked fine. Was she fine? Mother fucker. I should've been with her.
Ariel was still talking. "Given what Neela's told us, this incident is very likely related to the ledger. To catch you up Jax, Neela basically found the secret decoder ring." She turned her attention to Neela. “Is that the right way to explain it?"
Neela nodded. "Yeah. This scroll apparently has the cypher code on it. The problem is I still don't know the language, but I can keep working on it."
Ariel shook her head. "You're gonna have to work on it on the road."
She frowned. "What?"
Ariel shook her head. "Look, they were waiting for you. You can't go to the gallery. And anyone who knows who your clients are will be staking them out too. Which means you can't go see any of your clients, which means you can't do your job."
Neela threw up her hands. "Then what the hell am I supposed to do?"
"Put things on hold. Your safety is paramount. Mayzie's safety is paramount."
"But I have a business to run."
I didn't even realize that Adam and Bex were in the room until Adam spoke up. "Actually, Neela, as long as you have access to your laptop and an encrypted line, you can work remotely. I can do the client meetings. No one wants to hurt me."
Zia darted a glance at him, and I could see it in her eyes. She very much wanted him. But that was another problem for another day.
"Adam I can't just ask you to—"
He shook his head. "Look. When doucheface was being, well a doucheface, you didn't ask for my help then. When he was busy stealing your clients and stealing your employees, you didn't let me say anything. At least let me do this. You know how good I am. I can manage it. As long as they find out who's doing this soon, between Bex and I, we’ve got it handled."
Bex looked up. "He's right. We got you. All you have to do is ask for some help."
She rolled her shoulders. "You guys. You don't need to do this."
But neither one of them was listening to her.
They were already chattering about how they were going to shuffle things.
Ariel nodded. "Okay, we'll put someone on you guys to make sure you’re covered while you work as if nothing's changed."
Neela held her hand up. "I'm sorry, are we making decisions without me again? I am done with that. This is my show."
Ariel sighed and stepped in front of her. "I'm sorry, Neela. But it's not. Bipps is running the show. And if you want what's best for Mayzie, it's not staying here."
Neela scowled. "That man has been interfering with my life far too long."
"Well I think he's trying to keep you safe. Well, at least keep Mayzie safe. You're her guardian, and she can't go without you. And honestly, I think they're after you and that journal. Whatever's in it is valuable, dangerous information. You need protection. And while you figure out what's in that journal, I think the safest place for you isn't here. Anyone who was watching Willa or has ever been in the house is a potential threat. I'd prefer you were somewhere safer."
Neela sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Where am I supposed to go?"
"We have a safe house on King’s Island. You'll take Jax with you."
Neela did a double take "What? Hell, no."
Ariel shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna put Trace and Jameson on Bex and Adam. Zia just got here, but I've already got her on a client. And I need Tamsin to help try and figure out who these people are."
"Give me Jameson. You take him." She darted her glare in my direction.
Ariel shrugged. "I'm sorry. I know you're mad at him, but you shouldn't be. He did it under orders. But he's the best with Mayzie. And he knows the case better than anyone else. I'd be happy to switch out if you were that uncomfortable. But he’s the best you have right now."
Neela said nothing else, but I could see her shoulders stiffening. Fantastic, she was resigned. "Whatever."
Ariel nodded brusquely. "Good. You leave tonight."
The guilt ate at me. Gnawed at me. I'd done this. I’d shattered her world, and I knew what that felt like. I knew how she felt. It was unavoidable.
That's because you couldn't keep your dick in your pants.
I'd wanted her too much, and now we were both going to pay for it.
Neela…
Why are you mad? Deep down you knew he wasn’t a manny.
Had I known?
Once the decision was made, Jax didn't say a word. Upstairs, with brisk efficiency though, he packed up Mayzie. Clothes, diapers, enough to last for several weeks.
While he did that, and apparently Tamsin and Bex went to pack me up, the rest of the Royal Elite team was picking apart my house.
Don’t you mean Willa’s house?
Right, Willa’s house.
"Did anyone else notice that these are bulletproof?" Trace asked, tapping on one of the windows.
Jax called out from the playroom as he managed to pick her four favorite toys. "Yeah, I noticed that the first day we were here."
I frowned. "Bulletproof? Why? Willa wouldn't know how to get something bulletproofed." Actually, scratch that. Knowing what I knew about Willa now, she would absolutely know.
Ariel slipped me a gaze over the top of her laptop. "Just how well did you know Willa MacKenzie?"
"Look, in the last couple years or so, we haven't been close. Ever since she got pregnant with Mayzie. She was still partying pretty hard, and maybe I was asking too many questions and judging. I don't know. We had a big fight. I told her that she was having a baby and she needed to be responsible, and she pretty much cut me out of her life after that. We hadn’t spoken since then. I was more shocked than anybody when she named me as Mayzie's guardian."
Ariel nodded and went back to typing.
I glanced around. Zia was the only one giving me a sympathetic look.
From her bouncing walker thingy, Mayzie babbled and threw a block.
Trace smiled down at her, scooted down to her eye level, and handed her block back to her. She rewarded him with one of her Mayzie grins and then threw it again.
He shook his head. "I'm basically playing catch with the baby."
Jax tucked several ice packs into one of the bags, and then he took a whole armful of the baby food from the pantry. "Well, at least she knows you're a dog."
Trace mumbled. "Hey, I resemble that remark. I'm terrible for dating, but awesome for babies."
Mayzie seemed to adore Trace. Yeah well, who could blame the girl?
"Someone needs to tell me what's happening and why it's happening please."
Everyone was silent, and all gazes turned to Ariel, except for Jax’s because he was busy packing. In the other room, Jameson was on security screen duty. On the smaller flat screen, she had on reruns of Star Trek.
Jax picked Mayzie up from the walker, and she happily slapped both her hands on his cheeks. He made a face at her, but it wasn't his usual soft-eyed one. This one was harsher. More defined steel. He was tense. Worried.
It was Ariel who spoke to me. "Okay, I'm sorry. I know that this is tough. A whole team of people are at work, and no one is telling you what the fuck is going on. I get it." She slid a glance to the baby. "Sorry."
I shrugged.
“It looks like your friend Willa was into some bad shit. She was helping criminals launder money through her art gallery."
“Bipps already gave me that information. I still don’t know why anyone would come after me or Mayzie? I had nothing to do with this."
Ariel's voice was soft. "I know." She tucked her hands into the front pockets of her pants. "But you and little miss over there inherited everything. Not to mention you’re the only one likely smart enough to decipher what the journal says."
I swallowed. "I’m working on it." I was still undecided if I was go
ing to tell them when I figured it out.
She pursed her lips. “Maybe we should put it somewhere for safe keeping. I don't want to risk it getting into the wrong hands. Can you quickly photograph the pages?”
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” I’d already made my own copies. But Ariel could have her own if she wanted.
“The point is, the two of you are sitting ducks here. You’d be better off in a safe house. We have one on King’s Island. You’ll be safe there until we can decipher the ledger and find who’s behind this. I promise, Jax will keep you two safe and the rest of us will take good care of your team. You don't have to worry."
"My whole life is in upheaval now.”
"I know. Believe, me I know. But what's more important? Your job or your life?" She inclined her head toward Mayzie. "Maybe hers?"
My heart squeezed as I watched Mayzie play in Jax's arms. His gaze met mine again, and he nodded. "Nothing is going to happen to you. Your team is in good hands and they can hold down the fort."
In the end, I had no choice. I would have to trust them.
Trust him.
Neela…
The last thing on earth I wanted was to leave my team behind. But Ariel was right. We were sitting ducks there. Mayzie especially. If no one knew where we were, she’d at least be safe.
In the safety of our office, I gave them the rundown of how things would work while I was gone. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone. But we’ll have sat phones, and I’ll be in touch every couple of days.”
Bex gave me a tight hug. “We’ll be fine. As long as that hottie Trace is the one guarding my body.”
No matter what, Bex could always put me on the brink of a smile. “At least one of us will be getting something good out of this.”
From behind his monitor, Adam fist pumped. "Tell me how much you love me."
I glowered at Adam. "I don't have time for this. The bodyguard say it's time to go."
Bex sat up. "Did they tell you where?"
"No, they won't tell me. But after what happened at the gallery, it's not exactly safe for Mayzie."