Wicked Games: The Extended Edition (Steele Security #1)

by A. D. Justice

  With her head rested on the back of the seat, Brianna closed her eyes as the plane lifted off. Living as someone else for the past three years had exhausted her to the bone. She figured if someone had been watching her townhouse, she had a few hours before he realized she was gone. It was still daylight and the rain should’ve started by now. Nothing would appear out of place until later, when the darkness inside her home would be obvious. Hopefully she would be settled in some out of the way motel in Miami before then.

  She was returning to Miami as Leslie Solomon, but wished like hell she could just be Brianna Tate and be done with this whole fiasco. She had missed her three sisters and her parents, more than she could bear at times. She had missed so much of their lives. Questions about them taunted her mind. Were any of her sisters married yet? Was she an aunt?

  She thought of her mom and dad so often she could almost see them standing before her. She worried about their health, and the strain losing her had put on them. Most of all, she missed laughing with her family, regaling stories of each other during family dinners, and just spending time with them.

  Her dad had been such an instrumental part of her getting her first big job after college. Her parents took a chance on real estate development at the most opportune moment. After they made their first small fortune, they decided to expand into high-rise executive offices, and eventually established their own luxury hotel chain across the Eastern U.S.

  Neither of her parents was thrilled with her career choice, since they both obviously wanted her to choose a career in business and manage their hotels. But being cooped up in an office every day was never in her plans.

  Then there was Noah. She couldn’t even articulate how much she still missed him every day. She dreamed of him so often, she expected to conjure him by sheer will. She never had the chance to finish that conversation with him the last day she saw him. It tore her heart out to think that would be the last time they ever talked.

  As she drifted off to sleep with the gentle rocking of the plane, her unconscious mind took over and replayed the entire scene in her dreams of when she first met Noah. She woke from her nap full of regret and sadness. As the flight attendant gave instructions for landing, she shifted in her seat and focused on her plans and what she needed to accomplish.

  The Miami heat hit her like a brick wall when she stepped out of the airport. Three years away from the heat and humidity felt like an eternity now. She hailed a taxi and gave an address that she knew was a few blocks from Noah’s neighborhood. She checked her surroundings but didn’t see anyone who appeared to be following her. Regardless, she refused to take any chances.

  Once the taxi dropped her off, she walked for about an hour, crossed streets, doubled back, and changed her route several times. Convinced she was not being watched, she found a small, clean hotel and paid cash for her room for two nights. She also ordered the maids be kept away. She removed her pair of miniature binoculars, stowed her backpack in the closet, and started her walk through the affluent subdivision toward Noah’s house.

  Noah’s house was actually more like an estate, set behind a stone and stucco six-foot wall with a state of the art security system. The wrought-iron gate across the cobblestone driveway was automatic and opened by a keypad entry or a remote inside his vehicle. Once inside the house, the alarm had to be disabled within twenty seconds, or the alarm would sound and automatically notify the police.

  There were several trees on his property, but she could see the circular drive where it curved at the front door. She found a hiding place and waited as she watched the area. She lifted her binoculars and carefully watched as five black SUVs pulled into the drive, punched in the key code, and drove through the gate. One man after another exited the vehicles. All were dressed in tuxedos and all had the security earpieces in place.

  When Noah walked to the waiting limousine and climbed in the back, her breath seized in her chest and her heart pounded. He was dressed to the nines in his tuxedo and looked even better than she had remembered. She remained motionless in her hiding place as the vehicles exited his property.

  Once they were out of sight, she slid the binoculars in her pocket and casually strolled down the sidewalk. She approached a small café and overheard a patron seated at a sidewalk table mention the streets around the banquet hall were closed. The dining couple complained that all the visiting government officials received special attention and made it difficult for the residents to maneuver around the barricades. She immediately decided a change of plans was in order.

  * * *

  Noah and his entourage arrived at the Premiere Banquet Hall for the gala. The hall was immaculately decorated to welcome most of the foreign dignitaries and business leaders of modern civilization. Noah was dressed in his Armani tuxedo and Alexa, his date for the evening, glittered in her form-fitting white ball gown on his arm. But his main concern was always security.

  He had dozens of fully capable men stationed throughout the building. Some appeared to be guests and others were obvious security personnel. He walked through the crowd with Alexa, stopped every few feet as she attempted to introduce him to new people, and mingled with the partygoers.

  Brianna headed directly to the banquet hall when she figured out that’s where Noah would be. She knew she could have–should have–taken that time to get into his house. He’d be preoccupied with the security detail, and the police would be preoccupied with directing traffic and avoiding international incidents. She also knew Richard would be there, but her overwhelming desire to see Noah again won out over her common sense.

  She worked her way around to a back entrance, picked up a box off the delivery truck, and followed the others into the serving area. There were several complete black server outfits in various sizes hanging on a rack for the contracted servers. She grabbed a dress and shoes in her sizes and ducked into a storage room to quickly change clothes.

  When she emerged fully dressed, she picked up a tray of hors d’oeuvres and exited the kitchen into the main event. She worked her way through the multitudes of people and offered small plates of elegant finger foods. Even with her disguise in place, she was still careful to keep her face turned away from anyone who could possibly recognize her.

  Brianna’s eyes locked onto Noah and his date. She immediately hated how they looked so happy together as they mingled with the world’s elite. Alexa was flawless in this type of setting and she knew it. She had her arm draped over Noah’s arm to keep him close to her. She occasionally splayed her perfectly manicured fingers across Noah’s chest as she carried on a conversation with others.

  It tore Brianna’s heart out to see him with someone else. He looked so happy with another woman on his arm, at his side. She never expected him to live alone for the rest of his life, but it still shredded her heart to actually witness it firsthand.

  A familiar voice caught her attention and pulled her gaze away from Noah. Richard. She was careful to approach him from behind. She tried to eavesdrop on his conversations while keeping her back to him. She overheard him telling another guest where he was staying while in Miami and how he enjoyed the exclusivity of that luxury hotel.

  Then she turned and saw Noah looking directly at her and her heart stopped beating in her chest.

  “Noah, this is Ambassador Bachar of Turkey,” Alexa purred and poured on the charm. Noah had smiled, nodded, and started to introduce himself when he caught a glimpse of someone who looked vaguely familiar.

  He walked a few steps away from Alexa and heard her make excuses for him “always working.” He kept moving through the crowd as he tried to locate the woman he had just seen. She was dressed as one of the servers, but there was something about her he instinctively recognized.

  When a large group moved directly in front of her, blocking Noah’s line of sight, she turned and quickly fled to the kitchen. There were several hallways behind the kitchen used only for wait staff and deliveries. If she could make it to the hall before Noah found her in the kit
chen, she could get away. She walked as fast as she could without drawing attention to herself. She was almost to the door when she heard that familiar deep, male voice call out, “Hey, wait a second!”

  The kitchen staff was buzzing about, keeping the food and drinks flowing, and preparing the main course meal for the hundreds of people in attendance. She glanced over her shoulder to see Noah standing in the doorway at the other end of the massive industrial-sized kitchen, with two large cooks blocking his way, as they tried to exit the kitchen with the first course.

  She snapped her head back around and kept walking through the door. When she was safely in the hallway, she grabbed her stashed belongings, and ran as hard as she could in heels. Once out of the building, she slowed to a normal walking pace, hopped in a taxi waiting nearby, and went straight back to her hotel room.

  That was way too close, she thought.

  After that near heart attack, Brianna was angry with herself for almost getting caught. So stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! She silently admonished herself for giving in to her curiosity and desire to see Noah again.

  She opened her suitcase and pulled on her black yoga pants and a black tank top. She put a black, long sleeve turtleneck shirt, the black spandex gloves, and a ski mask in her purse. She couldn’t wear them just yet. Even at night, Miami in May was nowhere near cool enough to wear any of that type of clothing.

  She sat alone in her barren motel room and waited until it was late enough that most people would be tucked away in their homes. Accustomed to planning every detail, she went over the steps she’d need to take to get into Noah’s house. Watching the alarm code key through the binoculars earlier had been a stroke of luck.

  Seeing Noah with another woman on his arm was excruciating. Brianna only hoped she could get in and out of his house undetected with the proof that would tie Richard to everything. Noah had obviously moved on without her and she saw no reason to disrupt his life. She could return to Atlanta, to her family, and he’d never have to know.

  The streets quieted, traffic was sparse, and most lights were off in the surrounding houses. Brianna set out on foot to her original route to Noah’s house. Once she reached his street, she kept to the shadows until she reached Noah’s estate. She stopped behind a tree, put on the long sleeve shirt, ski mask, and gloves, and hid her purse. She crouched down and moved along the concrete and stucco fence to the backyard.

  Noah had a walk-through gate on the back of the property that would be much less conspicuous than walking up to the front gate that spanned his entire driveway. The back gate had the same keypad entry as the front one, and she crossed her fingers that she correctly read the code she’d seen used earlier.

  She stayed low to keep out of the view of the cameras positioned strategically around the property. Once she reached the gate, she waited for the camera to start its movement toward the opposite direction. Then she stepped up to the keypad and entered the set of four numbers. The red light blinked. Two more tries before the alarm was tripped. She took a deep breath and held it while she entered the numbers again. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when the green light blinked and the gate popped open.

  She closed the gate behind her and stealthily approached the back door of the house. She was on the grounds, but still needed to avoid any motion sensor lights, or nosy neighbors that watched the front of the house. She pulled the tools to pick the lock out of her bra and quickly had the door opened. The alarm beeped as she rushed to it. She keyed in the code to reset it before the alarm sounded.

  She turned to walk away and suddenly had a second thought. On the off chance that any of his men came by the house tonight, they would know someone was there if the alarm wasn’t set.

  A security firm owner with an elite military background who forgot to set his alarm before he left? Umm, no, not happening, she thought sardonically.

  She quickly reset the alarm and silently made her way to the front of the house, up the curved marble staircase to the second floor. The landing at the top of the stairs overlooked the entryway of the front door. Directly behind the landing was a long hallway with the master bedroom at the end. Brianna moved silently down the hall to one of the guest bedrooms.

  16

  Chapter Sixteen

  No way. It couldn’t have been. Noah repeated that mantra in his head for the rest of the night. She moved like Brianna. Her hair was the wrong color, but he smelled her scent. He caught it as he followed her through the crowd to the kitchen. He could trace that scent anywhere. It stayed with him and tortured his mind and senses long after Brianna died.

  He couldn’t get into the kitchen to follow her out the back door. The kitchen manager was furious with him for delaying the first course for even a couple of minutes. He decided to wait for her to come back out to help serve then he would look at her up close. But she never reappeared. His tolerance for this setting grew thin. His date made it clear she wasn’t happy with his behavior, but damned if he cared. Alexa was the last person on his mind tonight.

  He somehow managed to make it through all four courses and stood outside the building waiting for his limousine to pull up. Alexa smiled and kissed the air at everyone’s cheek that passed. She said her goodbyes and had a few “let’s do lunch next week” conversations. It took every bit of Noah’s strength to keep from just walking home and leaving her standing on the sidewalk, alone.

  Finally, he thought. The limousine arrived, and he took Alexa’s elbow and guided her into the back seat. He gave the driver Alexa’s address and rolled up the divider window. “So, I guess we’re staying at my house again tonight,” she said with a sigh of aggravation.

  Alexa assumed he would spend the night with her. She had often complained they always went to her place and never his, not even once. He couldn’t tell her that he just couldn’t share his bed with her. Not the bed he had shared with Brianna. Not the bed where her essence still slept with him every night.

  She turned to him, caressed the side of his face, and moved closer to him. He knew what was on her mind. “Not tonight, Alexa,” he stated with finality. “You’re going to your house and I’m going to mine tonight.”

  She stayed mad at him for the rest of the ride, but Noah didn’t care. He just wanted to go home, alone. His ghosts were back. After he dropped Alexa off at her house, he couldn’t get Brianna off his mind. She was never really far from his thoughts, but some days were worse than others. Today was one of those worse days.

  After her plane exploded, Noah tried to backtrack the limited information she shared, but came up with dead ends. He went through all her notes that were left behind, trying to find any scribbling that was remotely related to her trip to Turkey, but turned up with zilch.

  His current thoughts were interrupted when he felt the limousine slow down, and he realized they were pulling in his driveway. His homecoming was to a dark house. Perfect, he thought, matches my mood.

  Noah’s limo dropped him off at his front door and then drove off. He walked to the front door with his head down, looking at his feet as he walked. After he unlocked the door, he moved to the keypad to turn off the house alarm and went straight to his office. He wanted to look at the list of servers again to try to narrow down which one had disappeared. After he saw his ghost, he made it a point to memorize every woman’s nametag. The name of the one who gave him the slip had to be there.

  His home office was on the first floor and in the back corner of the house. He wanted it away from the kitchen, entry, and bedrooms to keep the distractions at a minimum, but on the main level for a quick exit strategy. His security system cameras transmitted back to a recorder in his office, and he could watch the cameras in real-time on a flat screen TV mounted on the wall.

  He sat at his desk and huffed as he went through the names on the list of servers at the banquet hall. He located the missing name, but her picture showed she was a tall, thin Hispanic woman. Definitely not the woman he saw tonight. They had a security breach on his watch, and he had no ide
a what that even meant yet.

  He picked up the remote for the TV and did a double take at what he saw on the internal security camera. Someone was in his house. On the second floor. At that very moment.

  Not that he needed backup, but with the security breach at an international gathering earlier tonight, he didn’t want to take any chances. He called Bull and relayed what he knew as he watched the dark figure walk down the hallway toward his bedroom. It then quickly turned right into a guest bedroom.

  Bull said he would call Rebel and they would be at his house within three minutes. Noah hung up, took off his tuxedo jacket, and started climbing the curved staircase.

  His Glock .40 was drawn and held down at his leg. He wouldn’t use lethal force in his house unless he was forced. He’d rather take the son of a bitch alive and make sure he paid for breaking into the wrong house. He heard a creak in the wood floor and froze on the landing at the top of the stairs.

  With his back against the wall, he waited to turn the corner of the wall to enter the hallway. Just as he started to turn, he heard a noise on the first floor. He had watched the cameras and was positive there was only one person in the house with him.

  He went down the back stairs, Noah guessed.

  He ran back down the stairs, around the corner, and into the den that was toward the back of the house. Just as he reached the den, he saw a black-cloaked figure crouched down beside his leather sofa. The intruder hadn’t seen him yet.

  He was trained to move silently in the night, but this person was apparently less adept at it. As the intruder made a move toward the back door, Noah rammed into him. He heard ”oomph” as the breath was knocked out of the other guy and he fell to the ground.

  Brianna didn’t hear Noah come in, and she certainly didn’t hear him come up behind her. Damn, that hurts, she thought as she struggled to right herself. Unable to take in a breath, she staggered to her feet, and clumsily ran toward a row of glass patio doors. The room was full of oversized furniture–the couch, loveseat, end tables, and coffee tables.