Libby did as he said and fifteen minutes later they were in his truck, heading toward the mysterious BDI building. It was a surprise when Jared drove into an underground parking garage attached to an unremarkable building on a typical city street. She’d been expecting a military compound or something, but though there was security, it was all very subtle. A perimeter fence with a gate at the entrance to the parking lot, and a guard shack. After passing through the gate, Jared drove down the ramp and under the building.
“This is it?” she asked.
“What were you expecting? The CIA?”
Libby grumbled. “Maybe. This looks like an office building with minimal security.”
“Trust me, it’s not minimal. It’s also not obvious because we don’t like to draw attention. Besides, BDI is an international security firm.” He grinned as if to say Nothing to see here. Move along.
They got out of the truck and headed toward the stairwell door. She noticed there was an elevator, but they bypassed that. Jared didn’t knock or anything. He stood in front of the door and announced himself. A moment later, the door swung open. A tall man with dark hair and dark eyes grinned at them.
“Aloha, friends.”
Jared turned to her and put a hand on her back. “Libby, this is Ian Black. He’s the boss.”
“Hi, Libby,” Ian said, shaking her hand. “This guy been treating you right? Or has he been boring you with books?”
Libby laughed in surprise. “Um, he’s treated me just fine. But there were some books,” she added in a conspiratorial whisper.
Ian’s bark of laughter was immediate. “I bet there were. Tomes of unusually large size, I imagine.”
“Fuck off, boss,” Jared said. He didn’t sound upset though.
Ian looped an arm through Libby’s and tugged her down a narrow hallway. She liked this guy. He was fun, and hot too. Not as hot as Jared, but still hot. Closer to forty than thirty, though maybe he was a little over forty. She was never sure of ages.
“Welcome to the Cove, Libby,” he said, walking her through a door and into what could only be termed a bar. The lights were low, with pendants over a pool table, and mirrors along the back wall. There were tables, a long bar, and an arcade machine on one wall. A neon sign blinked over the bar. It said Pirate’s Cove. To complete the picture, there was a pirate in one corner. He was tall, with a feathered hat and a patch over one eye. There was a parrot on his shoulder.
Libby blinked, but he didn’t go away. The darn thing was so lifelike it took her a second to realize it was a statue. “I thought you said we were going to your office,” she threw over her shoulder to Jared.
He shrugged. “This is part of the office. It’s a big building.”
“This might be the best part of all,” Ian said, leading her over to the bar on one side of the room. “What will you have?”
“Um…”
“Whatever you want. We can do it.”
“It’s a little early for alcohol, isn’t it?”
“It’s five o’clock somewhere.” Ian smiled.
“You can get a virgin drink,” Jared said from behind her. “Or stick with the easy stuff like water.”
The man behind the bar handed Ian a bottle of beer.
“So you got stuck tending, huh, Jace?” Jared said.
Jace grinned. “I was wrong about, er, something Ian and I were discussing. This is how he makes me pay up.”
Ian leaned against the bar. “It could be you the next time, Jared. You never know.”
“Not him,” another man said from a table in the center of the room. “He reads too much to let you stump him.”
“Hey, Colt. How’s it going?” Jared replied.
“It’s going.”
“Libby?” Ian prompted. “Anything?”
She said the first thing that popped into her head. “How about a banana daiquiri? Virgin.”
“Good one,” Ian said. “You got that, Jace?”
“Yeah, I got it.” The way he said it made Libby wonder if she should have picked something simpler. Too late now. Besides, Ian was grinning like she’d made his entire day. “Beer, Jared?” Jace asked.
“Sure.”
“I’ll bring the daiquiri,” Jace said as he handed Jared a beer.
They headed for the table where Colt sat. Jace delivered the drink like he’d promised and Libby took a sip. It was delicious. She’d felt a little guilty asking for it, but now she was happy she had.
The door opened and three more men entered. Jace got them drinks and they all came over to the table.
“Libby, this is Tyler, Dax, and Brett,” Jared said.
“Hi,” Libby replied, wondering for a crazy second if she was still asleep and dreaming. These men could be Chippendale’s strippers if they wanted to be, though she thought they weren’t quite as polished looking as the actual strippers. Which meant they didn’t appear as if their good looks came from tanning beds and high-priced salons.
They each shook her hand. She appreciated that they did it firmly, but not so hard they made her hand ache. She had an impression of past handshakes where it felt as if the man were crushing the bones of her hand together.
Jared scooted his chair closer to hers as the other three pulled up a chair to join them. She could feel his body heat, smell his scent, and she found it comforting. Not that these men made her uncomfortable, but she didn’t know them.
Not to mention she was nervous about what they were going to say. What she was going to learn about herself and how much trouble she was in.
Because there was little doubt she was in trouble. The question was how much—and if she was one of the bad guys.
“We’re all here,” Ian said. “Let’s get started.”
Chapter Thirteen
Libby was uncharacteristically quiet. After BDI, Jared had taken her over to Riverstone where Dr. Puckett had thoroughly checked her out. Physically, she was fine. She had bruises and muscle pain, but those were on the mend. Jared still hadn’t told her the things Robert had said about what Joe had done to her, or how she’d escaped, but he’d told the doctor before she examined Libby.
He wasn’t keeping it from her because he didn’t think she needed to know. He kept it from her because it wasn’t pleasant, and because she’d already dealt with enough information about herself today. She might remember it on her own, or it might be the specific trauma her mind was blocking. Either way, she’d remember when the time was right for her.
Still, she was processing a lot of information right now. They’d kept the meeting at BDI friendly, but Jared knew there was some serious shit going down in the background. Ian had been careful about what he revealed, but he’d given Libby the facts about herself.
Liberty Grace King, twenty-five, from Ohio.
Two older sisters—Glory and Charity—and an older brother named Lincoln. Definitely a theme there.
Parents were Carl and Abby, a farmer and a housewife, both deceased. They’d had Libby late in life after their other kids were grown. Abby had caught pneumonia and died when Libby was seventeen, and Carl had died last year from a heart attack.
Jared had reached for Libby’s hand beneath the table when Ian delivered the news. She’d squeezed his hand gratefully. He’d ached for her. Though she’d lost her parents and processed their deaths in real time, hearing it when she didn’t remember anything had to be like losing them all over again.
Libby lived alone in a one-bedroom apartment in Arlington. She’d worked at Ninja Solutions for eight months, and she was supposed to be taking a week’s vacation at the moment. Dax Freed had called the company to ask if he could speak with her, and that’s when he’d been told she was off for the next week.
Jared had looked at his teammates when Dax said that. He could see it in their eyes that none of them thought it was a coincidence. Whoever had taken her to the mountain had known she wasn’t due back at work. Plenty of time to get what they wanted from her and dispose of her before she was officially missing
.
Nobody said it, but they all believed someone at Ninja Solutions was involved in what had happened to Libby. Unfortunately, information was scarce on that count. If she had information about the exoskeleton project, known as Renaissance Iron Man, or RIM, in the company, it was probably in the form of something physical since the men who’d abducted her said she’d stolen something. Something they clearly hadn’t retrieved.
Jace and Colt had breached her apartment to search for evidence, but someone had been there before they had, which only confirmed that whatever she had—or someone thought she had—was physical. A memory card, papers, photos. Something.
“Her apartment is trashed,” Colt had whispered to Jared a little while later when they’d gone over to the bar to grab some fresh drinks. “They sliced into her mattress and cushions, punched holes in the walls, and upended every drawer in the place. They were searching for something all right. But what?”
That was the question they couldn’t answer. Fortunately, everyone agreed that Libby couldn’t go home yet and needed to stay with Jared for now. She’d protested feebly but accepted it in the end. When she’d asked if she could have a cell phone, Ian had told her it was better if she didn’t for now. She hadn’t argued because she was smart, but Jared knew she didn’t like it.
The one thing they had procured for her, though, was a pair of glasses. Colt had found a pair in her bedroom and brought them with him. Ian fudged the part about where they’d gotten the glasses, telling Libby they’d had a pair made from her prescription on file with her doctor. It was the kind of thing Ian could do if he’d had to, but he hadn’t needed to this time.
“You okay?” he asked her after they’d ridden in silence for twenty minutes.
Libby jerked as if she’d forgotten he was there. “Um, yes. Fine. Thanks.” She looked cute in glasses. They were pink, of course. A dark translucent pink that complemented her skin and hair.
“You’re awfully quiet.”
She dropped her chin to her chest and studied her lap. “It’s a lot to think about.”
“I know, honey. I’m sorry.”
“I know who I am, but I don’t know who I am. My parents are dead. My siblings are at least twenty years older than I am. I live alone and don’t have a pet. But those facts are all so basic. It makes me sound sad and lonely, but that doesn’t feel right to me.”
“Then it probably isn’t.”
She was vivacious and talkative. Someone like her would have friends. They hadn’t told her about Kristin Martin, the woman who’d helped her get the job, but Jared expected she had more friends than Kristin. She was that kind of person. Hell, she’d charmed his teammates in the short time they’d been together. Even Ian, who was as chill as they came.
None had reported her missing, though, which was a little odd since he thought she was probably someone who texted her friends a lot. On the other hand, if she’d had a vacation scheduled, maybe no one expected to hear from her yet.
“Dr. Puckett said I’ll remember when I’m ready. I’m ready now. Why won’t my brain do what I want it to do?”
Frustration bordered on panic in her voice. Jared reached for her hand. It was cold. He lifted it to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of it. He didn’t miss the little gasp she made, or the way her fingers just sort of melted into his.
“You can’t force it, Libby. Trying will only upset you. Think of it like an orgasm. The harder you try, the more elusive it is.”
He let her go and she put her hand in her lap, studying it. He could see the slight flush of pink staining her cheeks and it made him want to pull over and drag her into his arms. He wanted to kiss her again. And more.
He’d lain awake in bed last night, knowing she was in the next room, and wanting to go in there and slip between the sheets with her. He couldn’t say why that was—except that he’d been thinking about it since he’d kissed her at the cabin. He’d wanted more. He still wanted more. The longer he was around Libby King and her chatty little tongue, the more he wanted to taste her. Own her mouth. Shut it up with his own for a while.
“That’s all well and good, but I don’t exactly recall who my last orgasm was with or how difficult it was to achieve.”
His dick was hard in an instant. Shit. Focus. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.”
“I’m not offended, Jared.”
“But you blushed. You always blush whenever there’s any innuendo, which is why I should probably be more careful about what I say.”
She regarded him curiously. “You know when I blush?”
“It’s hard to miss. Your lips and cheeks are rosy. You drop your head and study your lap.”
“It’s true you make me blush,” she said softly. “I don’t know why. Maybe I’m a serious prude or something. Or I could be a virgin who’s never seen a naked man, much less slept with one. Or maybe it’s just you and the fact I find you unbearably attractive. The possibilities are endless.”
Jared swore. Then he whipped the truck into the nearest parking lot and shoved it into park before turning to face her across the seat. She blinked at him with big eyes. Eyes that held secrets even she couldn’t unlock. She was lost and alone, and he wanted to comfort her.
That’s what he told himself when he leaned across the center console and wrapped a hand around the back of her neck. When he tugged her forward and slanted his mouth over hers. Her lips parted and he dipped his tongue inside, groaning at the heat and electricity flooding his system.
She was still for only a moment—and then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with a ferocity that made the blood beat in his temples. He slid a hand over her jaw, down her throat, and over her breast, cupping it in his palm. He could feel the bud of her nipple beneath the fabric and he wanted to shove her shirt up and release her from the bra so he could lick and suck while she clutched him and gasped his name.
He broke the kiss and trailed his mouth down her neck, intending to do just that, when someone rapped on the window. Jared reached for his weapon out of instinct, trying to shield Libby as he did so. He was a heartbeat away from drawing when he realized this wasn’t an attack but a woman standing outside his door with a frown and crossed arms.
Libby had squeaked and turned her head away when the knock came, which left Jared to deal with the woman. He hit the button to roll the window partway down.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“Yes. You can stop doing whatever it is you’re doing and get the hell out of my parking lot before I call the cops.”
The lady had one of those blonde hairdos that was all porcupine on the rear and smooth bangs on the front. He’d heard that referred to as ‘I want to speak to the manager’ hair. And this lady looked like, if there were a manager in this situation, she’d be asking for him—or her—so she could complain about Jared.
“We’re going,” he said, because it was no use to argue.
The lady huffed. “You should really do that stuff in the privacy of your own home. Do you want children to see you?”
Jared frowned. He thought about telling her to fuck off, but he could hear his mother in the back of his head telling him to be polite. And, truth be told, he was the one in the wrong for pulling into this parking lot—an insurance agency, it turned out—and kissing the living daylights out of Libby in public when what he really wanted to do was kiss her in private. All of her.
“No ma’am,” he said dutifully. “We’re leaving.”
“See that you do.”
Libby was making a sound over in her corner of the truck, but he didn’t know if she was crying or cursing him. He pressed the button to roll up the window and put the truck in reverse. When the lady was firmly in the rearview, he glanced over at Libby. Her shoulders were shaking. Alarm flared.
“I’m sorry,” he said, “I shouldn’t have embarrassed you like that.”
She turned toward him—and burst out laughing. “Oh my god, the way she dressed you down!” Libby said bet
ween giggles. “What will the children think?”
Jared laughed as relief rolled through him. He didn’t know what had come over him when he’d kissed Libby like that, and he’d been worried he’d fucked the whole thing up by doing it. She was still vulnerable, and he wasn’t the kind of guy to take advantage of that. Sure, he knew a lot about her, but those were only facts. He didn’t know what kind of past she had. If she’d been in love, if she’d had a bad breakup, if she was guarding her heart—or protecting her virtue because it was a personal choice that reflected her values.
In short, he didn’t know enough about her—and she didn’t know enough about herself—to act on the attraction simmering between them.
But the fact she was laughing about it made him feel better. She wasn’t offended or embarrassed, and that was a good thing. He wouldn’t want to do that to her.
“She had a point, I guess. Not that we were sitting in a school parking lot or anything.”
Libby was still giggling. “Oh, the horrors. To kiss in broad daylight like that.”
“Probably a good thing Ms. Moral Police arrived when she did. I was well on my way to forgetting where we were.”
“Why did you kiss me, Jared?”
She sounded as if she couldn’t quite figure out why he would want to. Which was crazy. “Why wouldn’t I?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just that I’ve caused you a lot of trouble since you met me. Without me, you’d still be enjoying your solitude and your books.”
It was true, and yet he couldn’t imagine that solitude now. He didn’t want to be in the mountains alone. He wanted to be here. With her.
He didn’t think that meant anything, not really. He was essentially still who he was. A loner. A maverick. A man with too much baggage and too much danger in his life to ever drag someone like Libby into it. But that didn’t mean he didn’t get lonely, or that he didn’t like companionship. And right now, he liked her companionship. Didn’t change anything permanently. Just for now.
He could deal with that.
“If I hadn’t driven up to the cabin when I did, you’d have frozen to death that night. So no, I wouldn’t change anything about this week—other than to change the fact you were in trouble.”
Black Knight (A Black's Bandits Novel): HOT Heroes for Hire: Mercenaries Page 10
