Naked Vengeance

by Sophia Rae

  She’d broken her own rule earlier—never let your defenses down. Boy, had she ever. The second she’d tumbled into his lap, the walls had come crashing down. Goosebumps popped up along her skin as she recalled the way his fingertips had glided over her. She’d never been touched in such a delicate, sensual way. Fortunately, Nick had come to his senses and pushed her away…even though her body had felt neglected.

  Eve refused to let herself dwell on Nick and why he’d entered her life. So he knew her name, so what. Obviously he didn’t know much else or he would’ve been more aggressive. Maybe she’d let him stick around. For all she knew he could be working for the other side. This whole “mutual friend” crap could be a strategy to see how much information she knew. If that was the case, she needed to keep her eye on him. That shouldn’t be too difficult, just as long as he kept his hands off her.

  Eve smiled into the darkness. It would be a shame, she thought. A dangerously sexy man like that working for the enemy… Well, if he did, she’d have to kill him.

  Chapter Two

  Allison Myers knew she would be sold. She also knew, if she couldn’t escape, she wouldn’t be the first to be sold under this monster’s practiced hands—or the last.

  In only two weeks a new girl would be locked into this exact suite, wearing these exact clothes, and this impressive room would more than likely be exciting to the new girl at first. Adorned with exotic house plants, lush white carpet, a rich mahogany king-sized bed draped with gold sheers, and a Jacuzzi tub tucked into the far corner, it was a room any woman would love to call home.

  For two months Allison had been treated as a high-class whore. She’d been kept longer than any other girl before her, but only because she gave Roman everything he wanted. Everything. As long as he remained happy, Allison remained close to home.

  So what the hell had happened?

  By the end of next week she’d be sold to the highest bidder, unless she could somehow get out of this living hell. To be shot to death during her escape attempt would be better than sticking around being used and sold to the man with the most cash as a sex slave.

  Allison rubbed her bare arms as a chill ran over her. She laid her forehead against the cool glass of the French doors and looked out onto the estate.

  Crystal-clear water filled the oversized swimming pool, stone walkways led from the main house to small white guest cottages, flowers of all kinds sprinkled over the grounds in a vast array of colors: orange, pink, yellow, red, purple. On the outside, the immaculate landscaping looked like a fairy tale, but like the owner, looks were definitely deceiving.

  More than once she’d tried the French doors and windows in her room only to find them sealed tight. In two months she hadn’t smelled fresh air, felt sunshine on her face, swatted at bumbling bees or caressed the silky petal of a rose. She focused her sights on the rose garden nestled in by the pool, trailing her fingertips over the glass as if she could actually feel the velvety flower.

  Allison lived in a state of numbness. She had to, in order to have survived this long without breaking.

  The guards outside her door began talking again, Allison stilled her breathing when she heard her name. They were discussing her “rack”.

  Could she possibly use one of them to help her? Roman’s employees were loyal, but Allison wondered how that loyalty would hold up against seduction. The guards were young and hopefully easily distracted. If she had to use her body to gain freedom, she would.

  ***

  Eve nearly jumped out of her skin when she opened her front door for her morning jog.

  There, in the hallway of her apartment building, Nick Shaffer proceeded to do push-ups—with no shirt. God, did those muscles have to look so…muscular?

  “Mornin’,” he said as he continued pumping his body up and down.

  Eve tried to form a sentence, but she could only stare at the way his back and arms flexed then relaxed, a sheen of sweat covering the upper half of his tanned body. When he came to his feet and stood before her, Eve made herself lock her eyes on his face. But damn it, that’s where the cocky smile lived. That flirty, arrogant smile had filled her dreams and kept her restless for most of the night. Did the man have to be so appealing? Worse, did he have to know it?

  “Do I have to call the police to get you to leave me alone?” Eve demanded as she placed her hands on her hips. Her sneakered foot tapped impatiently without sound on the carpet.

  Nick popped his neck and crossed his arms over his massive chest. “Do what you want, but they won’t make me leave once I explain to them I’m a hired bodyguard. Besides, you don’t own the building, so this isn’t your property.”

  Eve let out a very unladylike growl as she brushed past him on her way to the elevator. She had no doubt he’d follow her, but that didn’t mean she had to acknowledge him. Nor did she have to acknowledge the way her body reacted to seeing him again.

  When she stepped onto the elevator, she punched the L. Shoving his gun into the waistband of his jeans, Nick settled in beside her as the doors closed. Just as soon as they started going down, he reached over and hit the Emergency button. A shrill alarm sounded for only a second before silence enveloped them.

  The car jerked to a halt, causing Eve to fall back into the corner and grip the rail. “What are you doing?”

  Nick put an arm on either side of her, caging her against the wall. “We need to talk.”

  Eve tried not to inhale his masculine scent. She really, really tried. Even though he’d slept in a hallway all night and done who knew how many push-ups, the man still smelled of sin. His coal-like eyes seemed to look straight into her mind as they roamed over her face. She wasn’t tempted. She wasn’t. Not at all.

  Okay, maybe a little. But if he’d put a damn shirt on she’d be fine. Maybe.

  God, she couldn’t even lie to herself anymore.

  “Then you can talk while I jog. If you can keep up,” she added with a smile.

  She hadn’t known it possible, but he leaned in closer. He moistened his lips as a grin split across his face to reveal perfect white teeth. Eve swallowed. Why did she let him get to her?

  “You just don’t get it, do you? I’m here to protect you. I’m not really sure from what yet, but my source has never led me on a wild-goose chase, so I have to believe he’s right this time.”

  Eve rolled her eyes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Who would want to harm me? I’m just a dancer who lives in an apartment alone. I have no family, no friends. So you can go back and tell…whoever that I’m safe and sound.”

  His eyes roamed over her face, pausing on her lips. “You do have one friend.”

  “You?”

  He shook his head as his eyes glistened with something she couldn’t describe, didn’t want to. His gaze finally settled on her lips. “I don’t want to be your friend.”

  “Then wh-who?” she croaked out. Why did her voice pick now to betray her? She couldn’t sound strong if she spoke like an adolescent schoolgirl. She was an FBI agent for crying out loud, and even though she was suspended, it was damn well time she remembered that fact.

  “The man who hired me. He said you two were very close.”

  Eve took her hands, rested them on Nick’s bare chest and pushed him back. “Then he’s lying. I don’t get close to people, it’s a waste of time.”

  Nick cocked his head. “Why is that?”

  With a shrug, she hit the button to resume the elevator. “They all leave eventually, so what’s the point?”

  Before he could comment further, the elevator doors slid open and Eve stepped out. She bounded down the steps of her building and began her stretches on the sidewalk. As she leaned down to touch her toes, a pair of bare feet came into her line of vision.

  “You’re going to have a hard time running without shoes.” The back of her hamstring burned from the stretch.

  She ordered herself to stay focused. The elevator incident still had her shaky and a bit confused. Two emotions she could
n’t afford to have.

  “I’m not running and neither are you,” he said.

  Now she did come up to look at him. “Excuse me? Who do you think you are? You don’t rule my life. I run every day and today will be no exception. Now get out of my way.”

  He put a hand on her bare arm. “Why don’t you come back upstairs with me so we can talk?”

  “We had a talk in the elevator, now get your hands off me.”

  Nick tightened his grip. “I want to know everything about you so I can see what I’m up against.”

  “This song and dance is getting a bit old, don’t you think? I’m letting you out of this ‘favor’. You’re off the hook. So go back and tell this friend that I fired you.”

  Eve turned to start her morning workout, but got caught off guard when a strong arm snaked around her waist. Eve’s back fell against a rock-hard male chest as he lifted her off the sidewalk.

  “Put me down, you Neanderthal,” she screamed, her feet and legs flying about. “I swear you’ll be sorry.”

  Damn, she couldn’t even get in a good elbow to his side or a foot to the groin. He had her, literally and figuratively. Now what? If only she had her gun.

  Nick hauled her back up the stairs to her building, threatened her if she didn’t get out her keys and unlock the door, then proceeded to take her back to her apartment. He didn’t let her down until they were back inside her apartment. He grabbed his boots, socks, shirt and empty shoulder holster from the hallway before stepping inside to block the door.

  “Damn woman made me forget my stuff,” he mumbled.

  “It’s not my fault if you’re incompetent.”

  “I’m not incompetent,” he insisted. “I was preoccupied with chasing your ass downstairs.”

  Eve said nothing as she went over to the antique trunk in front of her couch, picked up the cordless phone and dialed.

  “Yes, 911, I have a burglar.”

  Nick dropped his stuff, took two strides, grabbed the phone from her hand and held the receiver up to his ear. With his palm on her forehead, all she could do was swat at the air while he spoke with the dispatcher.

  “Hello, I’m sorry. My wife is upset with me for not taking out the garbage. I’m so sorry this won’t happen again… Yes, I know it is illegal to place a call to 911 when there’s no emergency… You have my word this is the one and only time she will do this Yes, I’m taking out the trash now… Thank you.”

  Nick disconnected the call and slid the portable phone into the back pocket of his jeans. “Are you done with your tantrum? Now we have to leave unless you want a cop showing up at your door to make sure I’m really not an intruder.”

  “Kiss my ass.”

  Nick quirked a brow. “I’ve thought about it.”

  Eve gave up and threw herself down on her cushy leather sofa. The man was impossible, not to mention infuriating. Had she mentioned sexy? If he didn’t put a shirt on soon, Eve feared she’d start salivating.

  “What? No snappy comeback?”

  Eve eyed him as he took a seat beside her. “What do you want me to say? It’s your problem if you like my ass so much.”

  Nick laughed, but the ring tones of her cell cut off anything he may have said. She pulled the phone from the pocket of her nylon shorts and rolled her eyes when Nick leaned down to read the screen.

  “Private name and number.”

  “Thanks for screening my calls. I hope your friend is paying you well.” Eve kept her eye on him as she answered.

  “Hello.”

  “I saw you dance last night.”

  Eve’s heart rate picked up. “Who is this?”

  She felt Nick move to her side, but she concentrated on the caller. A man. He tried to disguise his voice, and if Eve were just an average civilian, she wouldn’t have picked up on it.

  “I wonder if you’ll do it for me privately before the end.”

  The caller hung up, and Eve sank back into her sofa. The end. What did he mean by that? Obviously he thought he could threaten her now.

  “Eve.”

  With the phone still up to her ear, she barely heard Nick calling her name.

  “Eve. Who is it?”

  “He…he hung up.”

  Nick pried the phone from her grasp and snapped it shut. “What did he say?” he asked impatiently.

  Eve took a deep breath and turned. “Wrong number.”

  “I can’t help you if you won’t tell me the truth.”

  Sitting up straighter, she cocked her head toward him. “I didn’t ask for your help, remember?”

  “Well too bad, sweetheart, you’ve got it. So don’t try telling me that was the wrong number. Someone on the other end knew what buttons to push because you lost some of the color in your face.”

  Too restless to be still, Eve stood up and paced back and forth. When she stopped at the window overlooking the street below, she concentrated on a small, red Honda as it tried to parallel-park in a tiny space. She didn’t have time to fill Rambo in on her suspicions. She had to think of her next move because obviously she was making someone nervous.

  But the silence in the apartment deafened her. Nothing good would come from being alone with her thoughts and for the first time in a long time, she had no idea what to do next. And there was only one person to blame for that, and he stood breathing heavily behind her.

  Did she call Grady and confess to what she’d been up to and ask for help? Even though she was an FBI agent, albeit suspended, she wasn’t naïve enough to think she could do this without backup. At some point, she’d need help.

  First and foremost, she had to get rid of Nick. She’d been sailing along nicely before he showed up. She was getting closer than she’d been in a year to catching a killer and a bodyguard would only spoil her plan. She found it a little odd she hadn’t had a phone call like this one before Nick showed up.

  Just a little trickle of fear rested in her; not for herself, though. She feared she’d never catch this person who’d murdered and gotten away with it. Rage filled her as she tried to focus on the caller. It could have been the killer, or it could have been one of his men. She didn’t care; they would all pay in the end, and she had a feeling the end would be coming soon.

  When a set of strong hands came to settle on her shoulders, Eve tensed. She stayed that way, afraid if she loosened up she’d like the feel of a man’s touch too much. Or maybe it would just be this man’s touch.

  “Look, Nick,” she said as she continued to watch the street below. “I don’t have the energy to fight you right now. I have to get to the club. And if a cop is really on the way to check on things, you need to go.”

  Nick’s large, rough hands slid from her shoulders down her bare arms before he let go. “I’m not leaving until we settle this. And I don’t want to fight with you, either. I’m only here to help. Can we start with the phone call?”

  Eve turned to find Nick merely inches away. God she needed space. Between his dangerous looks and the sincerity in his voice, she came close to caving in. If only she could trust him. If only she knew what side he worked on, maybe she could…

  What was she saying? Trust no one. Isn’t that what her father had always said?

  If only he’d taken his own advice, perhaps he’d still be alive.

  Nick’s close proximity had her breathing and heart rate a little unsteady. For all she knew, he could be the man who shot her father. She had to get away before hormones overrode her common sense. Nothing could take precedence over avenging her father’s death.

  “Stop it!” Eve yelled as she shrugged him off.

  Nick stepped back with his palms up. “What?”

  “You’re trying to be nice to get me to open up. It won’t work. I have to leave now, which means you have to leave. I don’t want you to follow me or to be at the club when I work tonight. Got it? I’m done with this conversation and I’m done with you.”

  Nick’s eyes hardened as he nodded. “Fine, I wasn’t too thrilled about taking this job
anyway. You want to get into trouble, by all means go right ahead. Maybe before it’s too late you’ll realize you need someone to protect you. I hope your friend is still interested in saving you.”

  Nick turned, grabbed up his belongings and walked out the door without looking back. If she didn’t want him, there was nothing he could do about it. One death on his hands would be more than enough to last his lifetime.

  Nick waited until he sat in his car before he pulled out his cell. He dialed the familiar number and waited for an answer.

  “Grady Prescott, please.”

  Grady wouldn’t be happy. Well, Nick had done the legwork and found Eve; hopefully Grady could take it from here. Although it hadn’t taken much time or effort to find her once Grady gave him an idea of where to look.

  “Prescott.”

  “Grady, it’s Nick.”

  “Did you find her?”

  Leave it to Grady to cut right to the point.

  Nick started the car and cranked the air up full blast. “Oh, I found her,” he said as he adjusted the vents. “She’s worse than you described.”

  Grady let out a low chuckle. “I was afraid you’d turn me down if you knew what a pistol she was.”

  Now it was Nick’s turn to laugh at the understatement. “You know me better than that. I’d never turn you down, but I’d like to know how it is you know a stripper in South Carolina so well.”

  “She’s stripping? God have mercy. She just doesn’t know when to use her head.” Grady let out a frustrated sigh. “If she’s taking her clothes off, she must think she’s onto something. Damn it, I should’ve guessed she’d do something like this. You can’t let her out of your sight. I need your word, Nick.”

  Grady sounded almost desperate at keeping this vixen under guard. Looked like he’d be sticking around after all. Dammit.

  Nick sighed. “Fine, but I need to know exactly what is going on.”

  “What did she tell you?”

  A quick glance in his rearview mirror showed nothing suspicious. “She didn’t say anything. She’s definitely hiding something. I just don’t know what a stripper could have to hide that could be so life-threatening. Just from our short conversations, I know she’s only been in this area a few months and she’s worked at the club since then. The miniscule file you gave me didn’t tell me a thing. I don’t like working a job without all the facts and key players.”