by Kat Mizera
“It’s okay,” she called out. “You can join me.”
“I don’t want to intrude,” I said slowly.
“It’s fine. Were you going to swim?”
“After I have coffee and read the paper.”
“Make yourself at home.” She motioned to the empty chairs next to her.
“Are you okay? You’ve been crying.”
“Erik and I have been fighting again, just without the raised voices.” She sighed. “It’s been a rough week.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, me too.” Casey leaned her head back. “I waited so long for him to come back to me, and now that he’s here, he’s still gone.”
I didn’t know the whole story, but the background I’d been given was that Erik had faked his death to protect her and their unborn child. Only a handful of people—like Sandor—had known he was alive and Casey wasn’t one of them. They’d reunited last summer and were now married and had another baby. I didn’t know much of anything else so it was hard to have a conversation without asking stupid questions. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but he must be under enormous pressure to rebuild Limaj, right?”
“I understand that. I asked him for two weeks. That’s all. He was in Limaj from January until he got here just before Levi was born. Six whole months with us barely together at all, letting him focus on what he had to do while I was taking care of my own thing and the kids. Two damn weeks, Lennox. Is that so much to ask?”
“No.” I shook my head. “It’s not. But maybe in his mind… I don’t know. I don’t understand men at all. That’s probably why I’m spectacularly single.”
“I’ve never truly loved anyone else,” Casey said. “Even when I thought he was dead, my heart never moved on. I’m not sure why this is so upsetting since I’ve barely seen him the last few months, but it’s become really bad the last few days, so I’m guessing it has to do with having just had a baby.”
“Postpartum depression?”
“Probably. I barely had any with Luke, but I probably wasn’t aware of it since there was a lot going on since Erik faked his death not long after Luke was born. I had a little with the twins, but it passed within a few weeks. What I’m feeling this time is intense, but I can’t let it get out that something is wrong with me. Limaj is a small, old-fashioned country and it would be a big deal. I don’t want to give Erik anything else to worry about so—”
“You should let Erik worry about what he has to worry about,” a gentle voice spoke from behind us.
We both jumped and I felt like an idiot for not realizing he’d snuck up on us.
“Eavesdropping is impolite,” Casey told her husband.
“So is hiding an illness from the man who loves you,” he countered, leaning down to kiss her forehead and squatting beside her, one hand lingering on the side of her face. “Is this something you should see a doctor for?”
“Probably.”
“Then let’s make an appointment. Babe, I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks. Mental illness, especially situational like this, isn’t anything to be ashamed of. We have to be forward-thinking so that the people of Limaj—and anywhere else—understand that it’s okay to talk about these things. I can’t let them lead me. I have to lead them.”
“I don’t want to add anything else to your plate,” she whispered.
“You are my plate,” he whispered back. “And my utensils and my everything…”
I didn’t hear the rest of what they said because I slipped back into the house, leaving them to their intimate moment. In spite of their current struggles, there was no doubt they loved each other deeply, and I wondered if anyone would ever love me that way.
11
Sandor
Casey’s official postpartum depression diagnosis seemed to snap Erik out of his work-induced coma and he put almost everything aside that week to immerse himself with her and the kids for a few days. It was becoming urgent for us to get back to Limaj, but they needed time to work out whatever had been brewing between them, and I was glad he’d finally realized his family had to come first sometimes. Not that I was one to talk, but at least I knew what I hoped I would do if I ever had a family.
I chuckled to myself, fully aware of how easy it was to be an armchair quarterback when you had no skin in the game. I had the TV on in my room, watching a documentary about World War II, and I couldn’t decide if I was ready to sleep or not. It had been quieter than usual the last two days, with Erik, Casey, Luke, Leni, and the twins watching movies and playing games like a regular family. It was nice to see, but I was a little bored. Probably more than a little envious as well. I’d never craved a family, not the way Erik did, but the older I got, the more I realized how much I was missing.
I stared up at the ceiling, trying to remember the last time I’d gotten laid. That always helped remind me I wasn’t the white picket fence kind of guy, but I hadn’t met anyone interesting in a long time.
Okay, that was a lie. There was a very interesting and sexy woman in the house right now, and the thought of sleeping with her made my dick hard instantly. But she wasn’t an option for a whole bunch of reasons. First and foremost, I was her boss and in our line of work, distractions could be deadly. Second, she didn’t seem even a little bit interested. Well, okay, maybe a little. That whole thing about my eye color had caught me off guard. I’d had no idea she’d noticed and it was a little disconcerting how astute she was because not a single woman I wasn’t related to had ever noticed. The fact that Lennox had picked up on it told me she took a somewhat deeper look than the others had. Maybe it was purely professional, but I doubted it.
Lennox. I’d never heard of anyone with that for a first name before and it rolled off my tongue like silk. Damn, I was sporting a boner so hard it was getting painful. I was going to need some relief and I slid my hand into my shorts, giving it a slow, firm stroke. I closed my eyes, picturing her pretty face, with those incredibly full lips. I’d thought about little else since she’d said sex was disappointing to her… What foolish men had been lucky enough to get her into bed and then…disappointed her?
I’d take my time if I ever got the chance to touch her, explore every inch of her body while simultaneously taking the opportunity to discover what she liked, what made her hum with desire. I loved women’s bodies, and I already knew hers was delectable. Picturing her beneath me got me so close to the edge, I nearly laughed at myself. It had definitely been too long because it usually took me forever to get off by my own hand.
I shifted on the bed, getting more comfortable, and tightened my grip just as a noise caught my attention. My hand froze as I waited. Whatever it was had been subtle, so it could’ve been anything. One of the kids coming down for a snack, someone dropping something on the floor upstairs, one of the security guys letting a door slam behind him. I’d almost convinced myself everything was okay when I heard it again and this time I realized it was coming from outside. No one should be outside this time of night other than our security guards, and they wouldn’t be making noise without giving me some kind of signal.
I shot straight up and swung my legs over the side of the bed, grabbing my gun and yanking on a T-shirt before opening my bedroom door and stepping into the hall. I hated carrying a gun in my hand in the house, but I trusted my gut and right now something was wrong. I’d taken out the earpiece that kept me in touch with everyone since I’d been in bed, but there was no help for that now.
I padded down the hall and peeked into the living room, which was empty. I slipped into the dark kitchen and switched on a light. Also empty. Then I heard another noise.
Shit. I’d left my phone behind too, but we had a lot of contingencies, so I pushed two buttons on the underside of the island, something we’d done on purpose since we had a house full of kids. There were three buttons, and pressing one by accident wouldn’t do anything. However, pressing two specific buttons at the same time sent an alert to everyone’s phones, including Joe’s and Chains’
, even when they weren’t on site. Erik would see it and protect the family upstairs since he was always armed, and the team outside would know something was up as well.
I’d let my guard down tonight because Lennox had overnight duty and I trusted her, but now I was regretting that decision. I followed the sounds coming from outside, going into the garage and then out through a side door just as someone went running past me, followed by Lennox flying through the air and taking down whomever it was. She had him pinned and restrained in the two seconds it took me to point my gun, and she looked up in annoyance, a drop of blood dripping down her lip.
“There’s at least one more of them,” Lennox said. “Went that way.”
I grabbed the man on the ground, hauling him to his feet just as Xander came running out.
“What’s going on?” he demanded.
I pushed the man she’d captured toward her, and then Xander and I both went in the direction she pointed. We separated when we got around back. I motioned for him to go around the pool while I dropped into a crouch and hugged the back wall of the house, my bare feet quiet on the floor of the patio. I heard the rustling of bushes and knew it wasn’t Xander making that much noise, so the other intruder was on the move.
I heard a howl and then Xander’s all-clear whistle. He had him handcuffed and dragged him to his feet, a grim look on his face.
“Armed,” he said. “No ID.”
“Who are you?” I barked at the man, who remained stoically silent.
I repeated the question in Limaji and though he didn’t respond, the man’s eyes shifted slightly, so that confirmed my suspicion he’d been sent by someone in my country.
“You have no protection here,” I told him. “The royal family doesn’t deal with the police, so I can make you disappear and no one will ever know.”
The man swallowed but still wasn’t talking.
Oh, this wasn’t good.
“Get him into the garage,” I told Xander. “I’ll see if there’s anyone else.”
“Looks like Chains is here,” Xander said, yanking the man by the arm and nudging him forward.
I did a scan of the perimeter before meeting everyone in the garage. We weren’t set up here for interrogations and the like, not with kids and civilians in the house, so I was going to have to count on Chains and Joe. They had space at the office they used for things like this, but it had never happened as far as I knew.
I walked into the garage and found both men bound and gagged, sitting on chairs, surrounded by Lennox, Xander, Chains and Erik, who looked furious.
“We can’t do this here,” I told him firmly. “Let me get some clothes on and we’ll move this party elsewhere.”
“Damn straight.” He glared at the men.
“We need to secure the grounds before we do anything, though,” I said. My gaze swung to Lennox. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” She had a bruise forming under her eye and her lower lip was cut, but she looked badass as hell standing there with her hands on her hips.
“Walk with me,” I told her.
She immediately followed me into the house.
“What happened?” I asked her as we went into my room and I started pulling on clothes and socks.
“I went to check on the gate guards and neither of them were there. These two knuckleheads jumped me and immediately pulled out my earpiece, so they knew what they were doing and that I’d be on my own once they did that, but as soon as they realized I wasn’t going to be easy to take down, they split up, so I chased one and then you came out.”
Pros,” I said, shaking my head as I stepped into my boots. “You sure you’re okay? Your eye is starting to swell shut.”
“I’m good. I’ll get some ice on it in a minute.”
“Sandor?” Casey’s voice made me spin around and I found her in the doorway looking scared and confused.
“Hey, what are you doing down here? Everyone okay?”
“Erik called upstairs and said we were good, so I figured I should come see what’s going on.”
“We’re not sure yet,” I told her, “but we can’t interrogate them here.”
She shuddered. “No, not with all the kids in the house.”
“Why don’t you go upstairs?” I suggested.
“The kids are hunkered down with Sasha and Sylvia. I need to know what’s what in my own house.” Sylvia was Levi’s new nanny. “I’m still a black belt in karate, you know.”
I smiled. “Yes, you are, but you just had a baby and are out of practice. Go back upstairs, okay? I’ll send Erik up as soon as we know what we’re going to do with these guys.”
“Not until I know what’s happening.” She glanced at Lennox. “Your eye is swelling shut. Get some ice on it right away.”
“I will. Thanks.” Lennox nodded.
We walked into the garage after stopping in the kitchen for an ice pack and found Joe and Chains talking in hushed tones.
“I’ve sent their pictures to Ace,” Chains told me. “He has access to a wider international database than we do.”
“Good.” I looked down at the men, trying to ascertain whether or not I’d ever seen them before. One of them, the one Lennox had tackled, looked familiar and I glanced at Erik. The look on his face told me he was having similar thoughts.
“We have to decide what we want to do,” I said carefully. “If we interrogate them on our own, we have to do something with them afterward, and I don’t think letting them go is an option. However, if we call the police, we can do a brief interrogation now, and then they’re their problem.”
Erik looked at Casey. “It’s up to you. The kids are home and if we call the cops, they’ll know something is up.”
“They already know something is up,” she said quietly. “Let’s call the cops. We don’t want to be responsible for dead bodies, and if I find out they were here to hurt my children, that’s what there’s going to be.”
“I’m on it.” Chains grabbed his phone.
As he moved out of the room, Erik dropped to his haunches and removed the gag from one of the men’s mouths. “Who put you up to this?” he asked in Limaji. “Just give me a name and we can say it was a misunderstanding.”
“Liar.” The man responded in Limaji as well. “You don’t care about me.”
“I don’t, but I’m willing to compromise to find out what I need to know.”
“Your illegitimate rule will soon be over,” the man hissed, “and a true monarch will replace you.”
“Omar?” Erik tested out the name, and the man’s eyes momentarily flickered with surprise. Then he slumped down, going quiet again. “Well, thanks for that.”
Erik turned to me. “At least now we know Omar’s not dead.”
12
Lennox
It took hours for the police to come to the house, arrest the intruders, take all of our statements, review video surveillance and make us jump through a dozen hoops. They wanted me to go down to the station for an official statement, so I didn’t get home until almost dawn. My eye had officially swollen shut and my ribs were killing me from when the two guys had jumped me. Erik had sent an attorney with me, just in case, but I hadn’t done anything wrong. Those guys had been trespassing and we’d found our two security guards drugged and stuffed in the bushes on the grounds. The whole ordeal had taken forever and I was tired.
I stopped in the kitchen to get some water and more ice, but paused to rest for a minute. I put my hands on the counter and let my head drop to my chest. Tonight had been scary. Not because those two men had gotten past our security, but because they’d gotten right up to the house and if I hadn’t been so diligent, they could have gotten inside.
I sensed his presence before he spoke, and his voice soothed me for some reason. “How bad is it?”
“Not terrible, just sore.” I glanced over my shoulder at him.
“Let me see.” He put a big, warm hand on my arm and it gave me goose bumps, which of course, I couldn’t hide from h
im.
“It’s okay,” I said in a rough voice, unsure why he impacted me this way.
“Let me see the damage,” he said, not moving.
I sighed but turned and lifted my shirt. “I haven’t seen it yet,” I said. “So you tell me.”
“Ah, yeah, that has to hurt.” He didn’t touch me, but having his eyes on my naked torso, despite the sports bra I wore, was like a caress nonetheless. The look in his eyes exuded a tenderness I’d never seen in him, and the yearning to have his hands on me intensified. Especially once I saw his eyes. They were as blue as the Mediterranean, shockingly so, and for a moment I was completely mesmerized.
He met my gaze and I couldn’t look away. His eyes were absolutely breathtaking—no wonder he’d been encouraged to hide them—and I took a few seconds to get lost in them. It wasn’t often I allowed myself to feel vulnerable, but my ribs hurt like a bitch and having Sandor this close was somehow comforting. “I, uh, a hot shower will help,” I finally managed to say.
“Soak in the tub,” he said. “I’ve got some special Epsom salts with essential oils in them. And a muscle relaxer.”
I shook my head. “No. I can’t take anything that’ll knock me out.”
“You can and you will. It’s probably not a serious injury, but you need to rest and let your body heal. We’re covered here. Joe, Xander and Chains are all here, along with Erik and me. We’re calling Logan back from Limaj as well, and one of our CIA friends, Ace Ross, is en route. We’re covered for now, so you should take advantage of this opportunity.”
I hesitated but then nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Thank you for being diligent tonight.”
“They still got the drop on me by pulling out my earbud.”
“You took one of them down and you probably would’ve taken the other one as well. It’s obvious we need a bigger security team, and we can’t use rent-a-cops anymore to patrol the front gate.”