Dangerously Involved

by Sidney Bristol

  “What the hell were you thinking?” Theodore pounded his fist on the table.

  “Excuse me?” Grant straightened and glanced between them. “We’ll be taking off in a few minutes. Our flight home is going to be a little long, but we’ll get there.”

  “Thanks. Give us a minute?” Theodore didn’t look at the other man once. His eyes were on their brother.

  Grant nodded and shut the conference room door behind him while Douglas sank into the padded leather chair at the head of the table. Yvonne grabbed a few cocktail napkins on the table and moved down to sit at Douglas’ right hand.

  “Here. You’re kind of a mess.”

  “I didn’t do it.” Douglas glanced at her then Theodore. “You’ve got to believe me. I didn’t do it.”

  “Do what? What the fuck happened?” Theodore came to stand over Douglas, arms crossed. Theodore looked a lot like their father right now.

  “I had an appointment with some guys. They wanted to see the drone in action.” Douglas pushed his hand through his hair. “I didn’t want a fucking baby sitter, so I got rid of him.”

  “By shoving in him a closet?” Theodore threw his hands up. “We have that on camera, you idiot.”

  “These guys wanted a private demo, off site. They checked out.” Douglas’ temper flared, and he sat up, glaring at their oldest brother.

  “Guys, can we just focus on the events?” She speared Theodore with a look. “Sit, please? We need to know what we’re dealing with so we can decide how to proceed. Getting angry and yelling at each other isn’t going to help us.”

  Her oldest brother looked like he wanted to say something. Reason won out, and he sat opposite of Yvonne, reclined back in his chair.

  “Is this something we should record?” she asked Douglas.

  “I don’t know.” Douglas’ face creased. He was truly afraid.

  Theodore shook his head. “No recordings. Not until we know what we’re dealing with. From the beginning.”

  “I was trying.” Douglas blew out a breath. “Like I said—these guys checked out. We loaded into a car and went to this guy’s house. That’s when I started to get a bad feeling. My contact started getting jumpy. He and another of the guys were arguing, but I didn’t know what the fuck they were saying.”

  Yvonne needed to keep Douglas on track. “Where’d they take you?”

  “Some guy’s house. I said that. Big place. Walled. There were guards. I saw guns. That’s when I realized I fucked up, but they said they had a partner who wanted in on the demo.”

  “Who were your contacts?” Yvonne pulled out her phone.

  “Two guys with Lyme.”

  “The developer Lyme?” Yvonne frowned. What would coders need with a surveillance drone?

  “Yeah. They said they were working on something new and—whatever.” Douglas shook his head. “My contact and the driver left. They just turned around and walked off. These four new guys come over, they talk to the other two Lyme guys. No one is speaking to me, which is when I tried to follow the others.”

  His knee bounced, and he picked at the stubble on his chin, his eyes wide. Whatever he was seeing, it wasn’t this room.

  Yvonne reached over and took her brother’s hand.

  “Doug? Doug, you’re safe,” she said.

  “I know.” He straightened and placed his hands in his lap.

  “What happened next? I’m guessing they didn’t let you walk out of there.” Theodore’s frustration dripped from every word.

  Yvonne understood him. Douglas had an uncanny knack for screwing things up. But he was their family. Their brother. And what he did affected them.

  “They made me do the demo in their courtyard area. That’s when I turned the GPS signal on thinking maybe you guys would realize I was gone.” Douglas’ voice broke.

  Yvonne’s throat tightened. What had the video captured?

  “That’s it?” Theodore asked.

  “No. After that they tied me up and put me in a van. The two Lyme guys and two I didn’t know drove off with me and the drone. They stopped on the side of some street and loaded the drone with real bullets. It’s not made for real bullets. They probably melted the whole magazine.” Douglas threw his hands up.

  He was focusing on little details. Whenever he was really upset about something or knew he was in bad trouble, he did this.

  Oh, Dougie, what have you done?

  “Did they use the drone to kill someone?” Theodore asked, his voice unusually even.

  “I—I think so. Yeah.” Doug wiped his hand across his mouth. His leg did a little jig, bouncing up and down.

  “Then what happened?”

  “Then we started driving. They were all yelling. A few minutes later the van hit something, then these guys open up the back door and start pulling the others out and—and...” Douglas’ mouth worked without sound, his eyes wide with fear.

  “And?” Theodore prompted.

  “They killed them.”

  “With guns?”

  “No, this guy fucking stabbed them to death.” Douglas closed his eyes and shuddered.

  “Is that it? What else?”

  “That’s when those guys—the bodyguards—got there. Oh, fuck.” He bent forward, head cradled in his hands. “I fucked up. I really fucked up.”

  “You did, buddy.” Theodore patted Douglas on the shoulder. “But we’re going to take care of this.”

  Yvonne’s mouth was dry. The knot in her stomach was tighter.

  People had died today.

  Her gut reaction was that the police needed to know.

  Except they couldn’t. Or at least Mom wouldn’t allow it and what she said was law.

  Douglas had already dug himself a hole. He was on probation for a DWI. If his parole officer found out Douglas was involved in this, her little brother could go to prison. Mom wouldn’t let her precious baby face any real consequences then. She wouldn’t now either.

  Yvonne pushed to her feet, needing to move.

  There was a right thing to do, she just didn’t know what it was yet. It would come to her, a neat way to solve all their problems the correct way.

  “Vee, where are you going?” Theodore asked.

  “I...” She paused with her hand on the door. “I need some air.”

  She stepped out into the galley that ran along the outside of the conference room and a drink prep area. A can of ginger ale caught her eye. That might help?

  Yvonne helped herself and turned toward the hatch leading out of the plane. Part of her wanted to walk out that door because deep down she knew what was going to happen.

  When they got home Dad would be furious. He’d call their lawyer and his police friends—and then Mom would get involved.

  There were defining differences between the two halves of that power couple.

  Dad was a self-made man. He’d begun his company in his spare time then built it through hard work, determination and an uncanny ability to sell anything.

  Mom, on the other hand, came from a long line of wealthy people. Old money. She had ideas about what they were entitled to because of who they were, the blood they shared. She wouldn’t allow for her precious baby boy to be smeared in any way.

  Many of Douglas’ bad habits were fostered by their mother.

  In the end Mom and Dad would come to an agreement. Something in the middle. Kind of like Douglas’ DWI slap on the wrist. It could have been worse. Much worse. But Mom’s family had influence and Dad had money.

  “You aren’t thinking about running on us, too?”

  Nolan’s voice licked up her spine, causing her to shiver. She sucked in a breath and turned to face him.

  “What? Sorry?” she said lamely.

  “Sorry.” He held up his hands. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “I-I’m not going anywhere.” She folded one arm over her chest and clutched the can.

  “I didn’t really think you would. You’re the smart one of the family.” Nolan studied her, his eyes looki
ng for something. He’d straightened his shirt, but there was no fixing the missing buttons. They gaped, showing off the under shirt. “Your brother tell you what happened?”

  “Enough.” She tapped her finger on the can. What the hell were they going to do about Douglas?

  “Okay, well, we know more about the people involved. You want me to tell you and your brothers?”

  Theodore’s raised voice could be heard through the walls. Yvonne glanced over her shoulder.

  “Just tell me for now, if you don’t mind?” She didn’t think now was the time to share more details with them.

  “That initial homicide we heard about was a Sota Ito. You know that name?”

  “No.” She frowned. “Should I?”

  “Not necessarily. We know him. They do a lot of work in this part of the world, private security, several steps up from rent a cops. Our guys have also identified the men who kidnapped your brother.”

  “And?”

  “And they didn’t work for anyone attending the conference. They’re gang members. Yakuza.”

  “I see.” She drew in a deep, steadying breath.

  It just kept getting better and better, didn’t it?

  “And here we thought we’d need your protection for something completely different.” She chuckled, but her attempt at brevity failed. “You’ll be glad to be rid of us once we get home, I bet.”

  “We aren’t off the job just because we get your family home safe.”

  “Y-you aren’t?”

  “No. If anything this is going to prolong our job. Plus, there’s still several kidnapping threats and now this? We aren’t going anywhere.”

  “I-I see.” Her brain was running out of words to use.

  He lowered his voice and his tone gentled. “Is this going to be a problem? I can see about being reassigned.”

  “I think...” She took a sip of the bubbly drink to buy her a moment.

  If she were truly pregnant, Nolan would be part of her life—and the child’s. If he wanted to be. There was always the chance he wouldn’t care. But that seemed wrong to her. Besides her connection to him she couldn’t deny that he’d been professional and attentive. The moment she’d found out about Douglas he’d gone into action. That might be the only thing that had brought her brother back alive. It wasn’t worth throwing away someone right for the job just because she was uncomfortable.

  “I think it might benefit us to...come to an understanding,” she said.

  “You want to talk?” he asked.

  “Is that allowed?”

  “Of course.” He glanced over his shoulder at the other five members of his team clustered together looking at something. “There’s a private seating area for four at the front of the plane. After take-off I’ll come find you and we can talk. How’s that sound?”

  Ominous.

  “Good. Thank you.” She half turned toward the conference room door. “I should update my brothers.”

  And yet part of her wanted to stand here with Nolan, away from the horrors, where he could shield her.

  5.

  Saturday. Private Jet.

  Nolan released the catch on his seatbelt and stretched.

  “You want to get in on a game of cards?” Vaughn had a deck out and shuffling on the four-person table already.

  Brenden unfolded his arms and placed one on the table. It was likely all he’d say, but he was in.

  “I’m in,” Riley said.

  “Your wife lets you?” Nolan said before he could think better of the question.

  “At least I’ve got a woman.” Riley grinned and braced his forearms on the table.

  Nolan’s mind brought up an image of Yvonne smiling at him. But she wasn’t his.

  “When are you two getting hitched?” Vaughn cut the deck, still shuffling.

  Riley shrugged. “We aren’t. At least, not yet.”

  “Bet that drives your mothers crazy.”

  “That’s half the fun of it.”

  Vaughn turned his head and looked at Nolan. “In or out?”

  “Out.” Nolan wasn’t keen on being part of the discussion that would no doubt happen over cards. As much as Douglas Krieger pissed him off, the kid also reminded Nolan a lot of his own brother and how he’d died.

  “Probably for the best. You don’t want me to take all your lunch money, do you?” Vaughn practically vibrated with pent up anger. He likely needed the shit talking that would happen over cards as an outlet. Sometimes Nolan took the ribbing too far.

  “Keep telling yourself that.” Nolan slid out into the aisle and stretched.

  Vaughn slid the first card toward Brenden as he dealt. “What do you want to bet that pretty kid’s off the hook by the time we have our first stop?”

  Yeah, that was Nolan’s cue. Get out now.

  The advantage he had over Vaughn was that Nolan’s brother had died—how long ago?—ten years.

  Christ.

  The anger Nolan had carried with him had died down over the years.

  On the flip side, Vaughn’s brother was still alive, still fucking things up and still causing headaches for his family. Someday this would be behind Vaughn. Either his brother would figure out he was making poor choices and change, or he’d die. Those were the odds.

  Nolan glanced at Grant and Melody. They had their heads together talking. At least they were finding their rhythm. Mel was good for the team, but Nolan would never say that to Grant’s face.

  Satisfied everyone was occupied, Nolan edged into the galley. He’d seen Yvonne leave the conference room right before takeoff and not return. He still wasn’t convinced that being reassigned wasn’t a good idea. There was no going back over the line he’d crossed with her regardless that she hadn’t been a client at the time. It blurred things for him. Nolan liked clear-cut boundaries. But he didn’t have that with Yvonne.

  Regardless of what she’d said to him or the clear vibe she gave off, he hadn’t stopped wanting her. And that was a problem.

  Nolan didn’t fuck around with clients, assets or anyone connected to work.

  That was his rule, not the company’s.

  Nolan glanced at Riley.

  Last year Riley had hooked up with an asset they’d pulled out of a shitty kidnapping situation. The couple was still together. Hell, Nolan liked Riley’s girl, but he still didn’t get how to be with a woman and do their job without being distracted. Then again, Riley hadn’t been himself during that op, so maybe the truth was they handled distraction differently.

  Nolan grabbed a bottle of water on his way through to the front, and sure enough, there was Yvonne.

  The four leather chairs were the oversized recliner type built for comfort and luxury. Yvonne had her chair pushed back, the window shade down, and her eyes shut. She’d loosened whatever held her hair up and it now lay over her shoulder and her suit jacket was spread over her legs like a blanket.

  Fuck.

  The silky top molded to her body. A body he remembered in great detail. He’d spent a lot of time studying it.

  He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath.

  She’d been so sick the last day and a half he didn’t have the heart to disturb her if she could manage to rest. The shit storm coming their way was going to be tough enough to handle, she needed to get as much sleep as she could.

  Besides, Yvonne barely tolerated him as part of her security detail. He had to remember that.

  Why was it so hard?

  Nolan wasn’t exactly the kind of man who chased difficult women. He didn’t have the time to devote to that sort of thing. That fact normally gave him an out. This time he clenched his teeth and wanted his life to be different.

  Why?

  What was it about Yvonne Krieger that got to him?

  He couldn’t put his finger on it. Sure, he got her in a way. They were both older siblings with troublemaking younger brothers, but he’d been hooked on her before this. And he didn’t know why. It was what had pushed him to hunt for her for the last
few weeks. A need to see her again.

  And she could barely stand the sight of him.

  The plane shuddered, hitting turbulence, and Nolan swayed off balance. He braced his hand on the bulkhead and staggered a step closer to Yvonne. She jolted upright, blinking around her, hands gripping the arm rests.

  “It’s okay.” Nolan took another step and turned so he wasn’t hovering in the aisle. “Just a bit of rough air.”

  “Oh.” She put a hand to her head and relaxed.

  “May I?” He gestured to the seat across from her.

  “Of course.” She adjusted her seat, smoothed her hair and clothes.

  He dropped into the chair as the plane swayed again, but his thoughts were doing the real loops.

  He’d seen past the mask Yvonne wore. He knew it. Under all this polish was another woman. One who only got to come out every now and then. He liked her and wanted to see her again. This picture Yvonne painted for the world was nice, but it had nothing on the woman he’d met.

  The speaker dinged and a male voice spoke, “Afternoon, this is your captain speaking. We have reached cruising altitude, but anticipate regular turbulence during our flight so please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened. Thank you.”

  “Well that’s great.” Her face was still pale and now it was lined with stress.

  He wanted to do something to ease her mind. Make her feel better. What that was, he couldn’t say, but the urge was there.

  Maybe he needed to stop analyzing his thoughts and just go with it. Follow his gut.

  Yvonne glanced from the window to him.

  They sat there, openly studying each other.

  Despite her prickly attitude, he still liked her. He’d gotten a front-row seat to watching how she conducted herself. She was a quiet force, maybe not content to play in the background, but she knew what she was doing. Which was a contradiction to the shy woman he’d met.

  Yvonne might have all the confidence when it came to this world and work. Between them he had the advantage.

  If he kissed her, would she kiss him back?

  “I don’t know where to start,” she said softly.

  Lips on lips sounded like a great idea, but that wasn’t what she was talking about.