A Game Of Kill: Rockford Security Mystery Series

by Dobbs, L. A.

  Except she didn’t head home.

  Instead, she drifted northward, past the 1020 Café and the Mob Museum and the 18b Galleries, all the way to the Turnberry. Damn. She’d not intended to go see Mike, but somehow that’s where she ended up.

  The same bulky guard that had been stationed at the gate that first day was there again. He gave Laura a little wave as she passed, the fan she’d bought him whirring on the small desk in front of him. This time, though, there was no need for bribery. She’d never gotten around to returning the keycard the concierge had given her that first day, so all she had to do was flash it, and he let her pass without question.

  Once inside the lobby, she walked to the elevators, then hesitated. What was she doing here? Mike wasn’t expecting her, and she needed to have at least the hint of a credible reason for her unexpected arrival. Something more than not being able to think of anything but him for the past week or the fact she’d walked in a constant haze since their kiss. She supposed she could use the documentary angle again, but she didn’t have the camera with her this time. Maybe her phone might make a plausible substitute, given the circumstances.

  Satisfied with her story, she pressed the buzzer.

  No answer.

  Well, crap.

  Her shoulders hunched, and disappointment pinched her heart. All because a guy who had no idea she was coming over to begin with wasn’t home. Man, she had it bad. This was a stupid idea, anyway. Embarrassingly stupid to be chasing after a guy who she knew nothing about. Except that he was a good kisser.

  It was good he wasn't home. To be sure, she pressed the button once more, resolved that if there was no answer this time, she was so out of there.

  “Yes?” Mike’s gruff voice sent a flurry of involuntary shivers down her spine.

  She resisted her urge to fidget and instead gave a tiny wave and smile into the camera. “Hey, it’s your favorite pest of a filmmaker again. I wondered if you might have a minute for a few final questions.”

  Silence.

  Finally, he sighed. “Okay, but I can only give you twenty minutes.”

  “Great.” She hadn’t realized how tightly her hands were clenched until her fingers went numb from lack of blood supply. Laura waited for the doors to ding open then stepped into the elevator. As she rode skyward, she closed her eyes and took several breaths. She could do this. She could get through twenty minutes with Mike McQuade and keep her hands to herself.

  She could. She should. She would.

  So what if the guy was now most certainly innocent and most certainly interested and available. They were both adults. Adults didn’t tackle other adults to the floor and kiss them senseless.

  The car jostled to a halt, and the doors opened to reveal Mike, looking hotter than any man had a right to in his body-hugging faded jeans and tight black T-shirt.

  Her pulse thudded loud in her ears, and she licked her lips.

  “Uh, we can talk in the living room again,” he said, turning away. But not before she’d seen the way his gaze narrowed on her mouth or how his dilated pupils made his eyes darker and sexier than usual. She did her best not to stare as he led her into the other room. “You said you had more questions for me?”

  “What?” She forced herself to meet his gaze. “Oh, um, yeah. More questions.”

  “No camera today?”

  “No.” She took a seat on the sofa and pulled out her phone. “I walked here from my place and didn’t want to lug all that equipment around. I’ll just take some footage on my phone, if that’s okay, then transfer it over in edits.”

  “Right. Whatever. Sure.” He sat down beside her this time instead of across from her, and the soft skin of his bicep brushed against her shoulder. A swarm of excited butterflies took flight inside her. His knee bumped hers, and he mumbled an apology, but he didn’t pull away. “So, what else could you possibly have to ask me, Laura?”

  She gripped her phone tighter in one hand and flashed him a hesitant smile. “They just took Felicia in for questioning on the second murder.”

  “Really?” He rested his arm on the back of the sofa behind her, and she did her best not to snuggle into his side. Funny, but she’d expected more of a reaction from him over the news. Relief, maybe, or at the very least agreement with law enforcement’s decision to take her into custody for questioning. The gal had stalked him, after all. He had the restraining order to prove it. The fact he seemed to have little to no reaction at all bothered her a little, but she reasoned it away. Mike was a private guy. He didn’t let his emotions show. For all she knew, he could have a major buzz over the news.

  Mike shook his head, his firm lips quirking into a half smile. “Huh. Wow. Felicia’s always been nuts, but I never thought she’d commit murder.”

  Laura relaxed back into the overstuffed cushions, enjoying his nearness, the sense of intimacy their close proximity created. “Well, you must’ve had some concerns since you took out a restraining order on her, right? Judges don’t issue those without proof of a threat.”

  “Yeah. I suppose.” He ran his free hand through his already messy hair, and she inched just a bit closer to him, drawn by some invisible cord she couldn’t explain.

  If he noticed how rapt she was, Mike didn’t show it. Just kept rambling on about Felicia. “I mean, she used to hang around my offices, acting all crazy and throwing herself at my programmers.”

  She wanted to ask if Felicia had thrown herself at him too but didn’t.

  Instead, she shrugged, which caused his fingers behind her back to brush against her shoulder. He maintained the contact, rubbing small, absent circles over her sensitive skin. She glanced over at him, but he continued to stare at the toes of his black boots, frowning, seemingly lost in thought. Feminine resolve bubbled within her. She wanted him to be as aware of her as she was of him. Emboldened, she reached out and laid her hand near his knee, lowering her voice a smidge so he had to lean closer to hear. “Crazed fans will do anything to get close to their obsession. I’ve seen it happen.”

  “Really?” He looked at her then, his grin slow and sexy and seductive as hell. “Make a lot of documentaries about obsessed people, huh?”

  Laura swallowed hard. He closed a bit more space between them, watching her with his intent brown gaze. A girl could drown in that warm chocolate depth and die a happy woman. Maybe he wasn’t as unaffected by their nearness as she’d thought. She tossed her phone aside, all pretense of an interview gone. “I meet all kinds of interesting people in my work.”

  “I bet you do.”

  She tipped her face up to his, and he captured her lips once more. A tiny niggle of warning dinged in the back of her mind. Mike was so closed off, offering her very little opportunity to get to know him. What if this was all a ploy to get her to stop asking questions? But then his arm slipped around her waist, pulling her closer.

  Screw caution.

  Felicia had been taken in for questioning by the police. Until they released or arrested her, Laura would have no further fodder for her burgeoning article. This moment was entirely hers and she surrendered to it.

  An annoying buzz started to her right. At first she ignored it, lost in the feel of Mike’s kiss. So good. So damned good she never wanted to leave this space, this man, this moment.

  Buzz, buzz, buzz.

  Mike chuckled and lifted his head, a brow raised. “Want to get that?”

  “No.” She sighed and fumbled beside her for her stupid phone. Onscreen flashed an urgent reminder:

  ROCKFORD SECURITY

  STAKEHOLDER MEETING

  15 MINUTES

  “Shit.” She tottered to her feet despite the weakness in her knees. “Sorry. Got to go. Work meeting.”

  “Right.” He stood too, not meeting her gaze as he tidied the hem of his T-shirt. “No problem.”

  With a sigh, she ran a hand through her hair. Considering that she’d now kissed him a second time — and wanted to do it again — now seemed as good a time as any for a dose of truth. Was
n’t like she needed to keep her cover now anyway. “I’m, uh, not really a documentary filmmaker. I’m actually a reporter for the Chronicle.”

  “Yeah, I know.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Thanks for telling me, though.”

  Confused, she picked up her messenger bag and swung it over her shoulder. “What do you mean you know?”

  “You don’t think a man in my position would let just anyone up here for an interview, do you?” He stepped closer and kissed the tip of her nose before walking back out to the foyer. “I knew who you were before we did our first interview.”

  “Really?” Her passionate haze diminished slightly. “And you just let me go on pretending?”

  “Sure.” He winked and pressed the elevator button. “After all, you were so cute setting up your camera and all.”

  “Cute?” Laura wrinkled her nose. “I am not cute.”

  “How about beautiful, then? Gorgeous? Irresistible?” He punctuated each word with a kiss as she boarded the elevator once more.

  “Better.” She leaned out for one more kiss then slung her bag over her body and crossed her arms. “Talk to you later.”

  “Oh, yeah.” He grinned, an arm resting on each side of the elevator doors, the position highlighting his physique. As the doors slid closed, he blew her one last kiss. “Bank on it, baby.”

  The whole ride down to the lobby and the walk back to her apartment passed by in a blur. She’d just made out with Mike McQuade. Laura climbed into the Impala and took stock of her appearance in the rearview mirror.

  Pink cheeks, swollen lips, glittering eyes. Yep, she looked like a woman who’d just been thoroughly kissed and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

  She started the car then pulled out of her spot and headed toward the Rockford Security offices. She needed to get rid of that look and quick. If her family sensed even the slightest hint of romance, they’d pounce on her like mice on Gouda. So at the next red light, she smoothed her mussed hair back into a slick ponytail, made sure all her buttons were done up properly, and dabbed on a fresh coat of lip gloss.

  There wasn’t much she could do about the flushed cheeks or sparkling eyes, but at least she looked more sedate and normal than before. Blake and Liv were the two she needed to watch out for. With luck, she could just avoid them altogether. She was a bit late arriving, so she’d just stand near the back and escape as soon as the meeting was done.

  Easy.

  As she pulled into the lot of Rockford Security and climbed out of the Impala, she took a deep breath. Except she’d forgotten one important thing. Where her family was concerned, nothing was ever easy.

  * * *

  Mike stood at the elevator for a long while after Laura left. The last person he should be involved with was Laura Rockford. She’d lied her way into his life and his home, and that alone should have exterminated his trust. Add in the fact she made him feel things he’d thought well out of range for a man like him, and that should have been the final kicker. But try as he might, he couldn’t get her out of his system.

  He’d thought the first kiss would do it. Then the second. Now this.

  Shit. Just shit.

  He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. What a fucking mess.

  Slowly, he walked back into the living room and slumped down onto the sofa, the same spot where moments before he’d held Laura in his arms. Hell, if he put his hand on her cushion, he still felt her heat there. He let his head fall back into the cushions, and the fragrance of her floral perfume wafted around him.

  At least she’d finally told him the truth of who she was.

  That counted for something, right?

  His brain was so scrambled that he didn’t know which end was up anymore.

  Mike glanced over at his own phone, plugged into its charger on the nearby end table, and spotted an alert on the small screen. He grabbed it and squinted at the message from Ted.

  GOT A NEW PROTOTYPE.

  THINK YOU'LL DIG IT.

  Shaking his head, he clicked off the device and tossed it back onto the table. Ted seemed to have really gotten his shit together lately.

  Good.

  That made exactly one of them.

  12

  Laura shifted in her seat at the conference table and did her best to concentrate on Blake droning on and on about facts and figures and every other boring thing under the sun. She loved her oldest brother, loved all her family, but sometimes she’d kill to be an only child. Or at least exiled, like Jace. The guy didn’t know how lucky he had it right about now.

  She grabbed some veggies from the tray in the middle of the table and did her best to crunch her carrots quietly while Liv—who had somehow ended up in the chair right beside hers despite her efforts to the contrary—continued to pester her about Mike.

  “I heard on the radio that they’ve brought in another person for questioning in that murder case,” Liv whispered, glancing at Laura over her shoulder. “Didn’t you talk to that artist too?”

  “Yeah. Felicia Gomez.” She kept her voice low to avoid Blake’s detection. “And I was there when the cops took her in earlier.”

  “Really? Was your cute cop friend there too?”

  “The operative word being ‘friend.’” Laura gave her sister an exasperated look. “And yeah, Troy was there.”

  “So no arrest yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “But this girl is off her nut, right? Sounds pretty guilty to me.”

  “Guess it’s a good thing you’re not in charge then, huh? What happened to innocent until proven otherwise?”

  “Oh, come on.” Liv reached back and smacked her on the arm. “You can’t tell me you aren’t jumping for joy.”

  “Why would I care?” She did her best to keep her tone neutral and not let her immense relief show.

  “Because it’s not him.”

  “Who?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me, Sis.” Liv gave her a disparaging stare. “Mike. Now you two can get down and dirty and keep your conscience clear.”

  “Something you’d like to share with the rest of us, ladies?” Blake said, his voice stern.

  Shit.

  Laura felt like she was back in kindergarten getting caught painting some other kid’s hair blue because he’d had the gall to say hateful things about her favorite cookie-hoarding monster. “No.”

  Garrett, her younger brother, snorted. “All I heard was Laura was getting down and dirty with somebody.”

  “Shut up.”

  “Bet I know who it is.” This from Logan, another brother—older by two years and too nosy for his own good, in Laura’s opinion anyway. He grinned at her, his usual arrogant self. “Does his name start with a T?”

  “Nope.”

  Liv chuckled. “His name’s Mike McQuade.”

  “I said, shut up!” She kicked Liv in the shin for good measure. Her love life was none of their business. “I’m not getting down or dirty. With anyone. Drop it.”

  All eyes remained on her. She wanted to smack the smug looks right off all their faces. Livid, her words to her eldest brother emerged as little more than a growl. “What?”

  Blake gave Laura a funny look. “Nothing. If we could get off your love life and get back on track with this meeting, that would be great.”

  In response, she picked up one of her carrots and hurled it at his head.

  He easily ducked out of the way, his mulish expression more appropriate for a spinster schoolmarm than a dashing CEO. “Very mature. Do I need to put you in the corner too?”

  “Do it!” Garrett laughed. “I’d pay money to see that.”

  Laura glared over at him.

  “And stop wasting food, Sis.” Logan snagged a carrot of his own and swirled it through the bowl of dip in the middle of the tray before shoving it into his mouth. “Mom would be appalled.”

  She gave him the fakest smile ever and flipped him off for good measure.

  “Can we ever have a nice, civilized, normal meeting in
this family?” Blake looked ready to string them all up by their toenails. He sighed heavily and picked up his papers again. “Fine. Whatever. Now, for the reason I called this meeting.”

  Finally. Laura wisely kept that comment to herself.

  “I’m sure you all remember Chase Evans.” Blake met each person’s gaze. When he came to Laura, she nodded. Chase Evans had worked with Blake in a security firm years ago, before Blake founded Rockford Security. Chase had saved Blake’s life during an armed robbery attempt, though he’d refused to take any credit for it. None of the Rockfords would ever forget Chase Evans, even though he’d later been convicted on drug-dealing charges. Laura had thought that odd for a guy who worked security and was studying to be a lawyer, but she’d seen odder things. There were extenuating circumstances, if she remembered correctly, not to mention his tough life. Blake continued. “Well, he’s about to get out of prison, and I’d like to offer him a job.”

  Laura shrugged. “Hire him then. You’re CEO. You don’t need us for that.”

  “According to our employment guidelines, he’s not eligible without board approval,” Blake said, “due to his criminal record.”

  “His ‘criminal record.’” Logan added air quotes for emphasis. “Right.”

  “We all know he took the rap for his brother,” Laura said.

  “Yeah. Chase is fine.” Liv straightened. “Now, if you wanted to hire his brother, I’d have a problem.”

  “Good.” Blake’s tense posture relaxed. “Thanks, guys.”

  “And gals.” Laura gestured between her and Liv. “Don’t forget us.”

  Blake picked up the lint-covered carrot and held it between two fingers like it was toxic sludge. “How could we?” He tossed it into a nearby trash can. “Things will be tough enough for Chase when he gets out without worrying about finding work. I appreciate you all being so open-minded.”

  Garrett scoffed, pushing to his feet and stretching his arms overhead. “Nothing to be open minded about where he’s concerned.”