He noticed me watching him, but I never called security. We struck up a friendship, and he taught me how to find a mark and pick a pocket. I’m ashamed to say I did it a few times at the mall before I realized it just wasn’t for me. I always felt this incredible guilt afterward, but doing it was so much fun. Anyway, I decided I would travel the world. I had no reason to stay where I was. I ended up bouncing around a while, Central America, Europe, that type of thing.
“One day, I found myself out of money and hungry. I could usually find a job or I’d meet other travelers, and we’d all share what we had, but I was on a dry streak. I ended up in Florence at an outdoor market.
I cased it out and then made my way through. I managed to pilfer some fruit, bread, and I was going for the cheese when someone called me out. He didn’t turn me in, but rather told me what I’d done was wrong and how I’d caught his eye. Then he took me over to the cafe in the square and fed me. We struck up a fast friendship, and he became my handler. We’ve been together ever since. I’d be lost without him.”
“This handler then taught you how to steal?”
“Yup. He taught me how to plan jobs, what to look for, how to know if someone’s conning you. And then there was self-defense training, some martial arts, and disguises. They were lots of fun. I had to learn how to develop different personalities, sort of like acting. Each character had a past and a personality. I had to memorize them all and keep them separate. It was a blast buying clothing that suited all of them. Each one has different taste. And then there were languages and cultural norms I had to learn. It was enjoyable to be sure. Still is.”
“I’m a natural, so it didn’t take a long time. My fatal flaw is that I can’t get over the guilt of stealing things from people who don’t deserve it.” She paused, and a cloud passed over her face.
“Anyway, after a couple of things happened, I understood that what most people need is closure. They need to get through things, get over things, and just move on. So I became an Asset Repossession Agent Extraordinaire.” She held up a finger. “Don’t say it!” He laughed, and she smiled then, too.
“My handler liked the idea, and he helped me develop the business. It’s been great. I’ve done a lot of good work. Made a lot of people feel better about things. It’s made me happy. Until now.” Her face clouded over again.
“Now, I think it’s time to retire. My handler has been after me for a while now to give it up and settle down. I think, after all of this, he might be right. It’s time to get out while I still can.”
“What will you do if you’re not an”—he couldn’t help himself, he had to say it—“an ARSE?” He started to laugh. Alex stood up, reached across the island, and whacked him on the arm. She tried to glare at him, but her lips tilted up at the corners. Soon she was laughing right along with him. Once he calmed down, he asked her again what her plans were now that she was retiring.
“Not sure. Never gave it much thought. I guess I’ll go back to traveling the world. I always enjoyed it before. Now I can do it in style I want.”
He wanted to ask her about her handler, if he would be going with her, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer. He was saved by the bell, literally. The elevator dinged, letting them know that someone had come onto the floor. A lot of someones. Dex rounded the corner carrying a bunch of bags, and Logan appeared behind him carrying more. Then Gage arrived with Lacy in tow.
“Shall we eat in the dining room?” Logan asked.
“You guys have a dining room?” Alex’s tone said she was surprised.
“It’s across the hall.” Mitch pointed to the other side of the kitchen where there was a doorway.
“Oh, I just assumed that was the bathroom,” Alex said as she grabbed her beer and walked in that direction.
“There is a bathroom down here, three actually, along with four bedrooms. I’ll take you on a tour later if you like,” Mitch offered, and she nodded.
They walked into the dining room, and Alex stopped dead. Lacy, who was behind her, walked into her back. “Hey, why did you—?” She stopped speaking as well.
Mitch glanced over their heads to see what the holdup was.
Dragan was setting things up on the sideboard. As often happened when people saw him, they became startled like a deer in the headlights. Dragan must have sensed there was a problem because he turned around to look. Alex and Lacy were speechless.
“Alex, Lacy, this is Dragan. He’s one of our specialists,” Logan stated and then tried to usher the girls into the dining room. Dragan gave them a slow smile. Mitch saw Alex blink, and he tried hard not to sigh out loud. Women all found Dragan mind-blowing. It was somewhat beyond Mitch as to why, but Sloan had explained to him that Dragan was sex on a stick as far as women were concerned. Mitch didn’t see it and said as much. Sloan shook her head and detailed it out for him.
Dragan, according to Sloan, was six-feet-five inches worth of hard-bodied hotness. With his slow smile, long dark hair, and ice blue eyes, he was the equivalent of catnip. And the way his voice sort of rumbled out of his chest, pure unadulterated sexiness. Add to that he’s an ex-Navy SEAL and every woman dreamed of sex as soon as they saw him. At least that’s what Sloan had said. Mitch found himself wanting to punch Dragan. Instead he pushed past Alex and Lacy, grabbed a plate, and began helping himself to dinner.
“Ignore our rude brother over there, ladies. Please grab a plate and get some dinner,” Logan said. “Lacy, would you like something to drink?”
“I’d love a glass of white wine if you have any.”
“I’ll get it.” Dragan moved toward the kitchen. “Do you have a preference for type of grape?”
“Uh”—Lacy blinked—“what do you have?”
“Why don’t you come see? I think we might even have champagne if you’re interested.”
“Oh, count me in,” Alex said, plopping her plate down on the table and following Dragan and Lacy into the kitchen. Mitch cursed under his breath and took a long swallow of beer. This was going to be a long night. He sighed. Suddenly, he wasn’t hungry at all.
“You okay?” Gage asked.
“Yeah. Fine.” He looked down at his plate. “Remind me later to get Jake to check the Ford for a transponder. We need to see if we’re right.”
“Already done,” Gage said. “And you were bang on. There was a transponder on the back of the GT.”
Logan sat down. “One mystery solved, but another one just came up.”
“What happened?” Mitch asked.
“Dan’s gone. The police chief went to the hospital to talk to Dan himself, but Dan was nowhere to be found.” Logan looked down at his food and then pushed his plate away as well.
Gage looked at his brothers. “Do we think he left under his own steam or do we think he was helped along?”
Mitch frowned, but Logan spoke first. “You’re thinking the only person who can actually link Tolliver to this is Dan.”
Gage nodded. “What if Tolliver is cleaning up loose ends?”
“You’re right. It makes no sense that Dan would run. His amnesia story would hold up, at least for a while. The doctor would back him up, saying it’s possible. Why run now when he’s still hurt and in pain?”
In the silence, Mitch could hear the girls chatting with Dragan in the kitchen. “They’re going to come after her again. And the prototype. The sooner we get that back, the safer she’ll be. We need to tighten security here tonight. Lock the place down. Those guys were amateurs today, but even amateurs get lucky. We can’t afford to let that happen.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Dinner went by quickly. Alex noticed that all the Callahan brothers seemed distracted. She and Lacy chattered away with Dex, Zane, and Dragan. Various people came in, got food, and left again. There were too many to remember all their names. Callahan Security was much bigger than she had first thought. No wonder Mitch was worried about blowing this job. They needed to keep their reputation if they were going to make money to pay all these peo
ple.
“I’m gonna go down and get things rolling for tonight,” Gage said as he stood from the table. “Logan, can you drop by when you’re done here? We need to discuss a couple of things about the Gregson and Ferguson security jobs,”
“Sure. I’ll be down shortly.”
Lacy had begged off to do some work. Mitch went with her and Dragan back downstairs. Dex and Zane followed suit.
When Gage left with the others, Logan got up from the table and started cleaning up.
“I’ll help.” There was a lingering feeling of guilt in Alex’s stomach. She didn’t know why really. It wasn’t like she asked them to protect her, but they were going out of their way to do it. And it would cost.
She wasn’t interested in speaking with Mitch about it. Her feelings about him were still too new, too raw. Logan, on the other hand, struck her as more business-minded and pragmatic. Funny how a couple of hours ago she was pissed that she was stuck here. Now, gratitude was her top feeling. She’d never had to worry about people trying to kill her before. To her, doing her thing was just fun and harmless. It gave her clients a chance to get a little bit of dignity back, a bit of closure. Maybe it could be construed as dangerous, but to her it was more of an adventure. Tolliver had changed all that.
Alex finished clearing plates and carrying them to the kitchen. She started loading the dishwasher. Logan began putting away the leftovers.
“Um, I ah, appreciate all that you guys are doing. I know I gave you a hard time in the beginning but, um, no one’s ever tried to kill me before.” Alex kept her head down as she loaded glasses into the dishwasher.
“It’s what we do,” Logan responded as he scraped some noodles into a Tupperware container.
“But, well, you’re not getting paid for this. I mean, keeping these people here tonight and everything.”
Logan sighed quietly. “No, we’re not, but we have an obligation to keep you safe so that we can get the prototype back.”
Alex looked up at him sharply.
He cursed under his breath. “That’s not how I meant it.” He smiled slightly. “I’m just tired. Forgive me.”
“I get it. It must have cost a fortune to put this place together. Taking a hit for what happened at Drake’s doesn’t help your reputation any.”
“No, it doesn’t. Gage and I have been putting out fires all afternoon.”
Alex finished loading the dishes. “That’s my fault.” The guilt that had been hovering landed squarely on her shoulders.
Logan leaned against the counter after he put away the last of the food. “Yes and no. You broke in so that gave Tolliver the chance, but we’re pretty sure he’s the one behind the bomb. I’m sure he would’ve figured out another way to go after the prototype. It just might have been a little less...flashy.”
“I get it. His revenge plan to get me made your reputation take a bigger hit. I don’t feel so good about this.”
Logan reached up into the cupboard above his head and pulled down two mugs. “You want a cup of coffee?”
“Tea?” she offered instead.
He nodded. He pulled out a case and let her pick out the tea she wanted. Organic Earl Gray. Her favorite.
Logan picked out a green tea and then took the mugs over and poured boiling water in them from the hot water spout in the built-in coffee maker. Then he walked across the room to the seating area. He crashed down on the couch, and Alex sat down beside him.
“Look,” he said, “it is what it is. Neither of us can change it now. Tomorrow we’ll get the prototype back and give it to Drake. Hopefully, Drake will do right by us, and we won’t lose any more clients.”
“You lost clients over this?” The guilt just ballooned into a thousand-pound weight. This would be killing Mitch. She knew how important this was to him. She didn’t want to think about why that mattered to her.
Logan hesitated. “Only two.”
“But it’s going to hit your bottom line,” Alex confirmed.
Logan nodded. He took a sip of his tea. “I have no idea why I’m telling you all this.”
“I bet you’re the one who worries about the details.”
Logan looked at her questioningly.
“My handler and I have a similar setup. He worries about finances and setting up the jobs. I worry about making the jobs happen. We both discuss planning, but even with that, it’s my butt on the line so I get final say. I worry about it more than he does. You run the day-to-day around here so it’s your job to be all about the bottom line.”
“That obvious, huh?” He smiled briefly. “Anyway, it’s not your problem.”
“No, but it’s kind of my fault. I want to pay your fees for today, tonight, whatever.”
Logan shook his head. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.” Maybe it would ease the guilt that was crushing her. She kept seeing the worry written on Mitch’s face when they discussed it last week. God, was it only last week? It seemed like a lifetime ago.
“I appreciate the thought, but it’s not necessary.”
“Would it be a conflict of interest with Drake?” Alex asked as she took her first sip of tea.
Logan titled his head. “Hmm...I don’t think so. To put it bluntly, we’re keeping you alive so that we can recover Drake’s missing prototype. More like it would be double dipping. It was our job to keep you from getting it in the first place. We’re making good on the contract we signed with Drake. It’s costing us more because of our mistakes.”
“But Drake didn’t tell you about putting the prototype in the car, so he should have to cover your expenses.”
Logan laughed. “Drake doesn’t see it that way.”
“Well then, let me cover your expenses. Guarantee our safety until I retrieve the prototype tomorrow. I’ll pay you for it.” She put her hand on his arm. “Logan, please.”
“Let me think about it.” He frowned. “The bill would be substantial. I’m not sure you understand how much this type of protection costs.”
She smiled. She knew for sure now he didn’t know her full name. Her identity was still safe. “Try me.” He named a figure, but she didn’t even blink. Her family was worth billions. More importantly, she had made lots of money being an asset repossession specialist, and she had invested wisely. She hadn’t touched her family money since she left home.
“Make you a deal. I’ll pay you double that if, at the conclusion of this, you can guarantee that Tolliver won’t try and have me killed again.”
Logan blinked. “The asset repossession business must be far more lucrative than I had imagined.”
She just smiled and held out her hand. “Deal?”
Logan put his hand in hers. “Deal.”
“Now, if you can show me where Lacy is working, I can transfer you a retainer. Will fifty percent work?”
Logan got up and offered a hand up to Alex. They moved toward the elevator. “Fifty percent will do nicely.”
A couple of hours later, Alex found herself at loose ends. She’d transferred the money and then chatted with Lacy for a while. Logan had come to say he received the funds. They’d closed the building down. All the windows and doors were covered. She couldn’t see out. It made her claustrophobic.
She chatted with Dex and Dragan for a bit and played some video games with them on the big screen to distract herself, but she was too restless to stay put. She’d gotten a text from Leo, in code of course, but it said he was safe and back home with his nonna. She was eternally grateful for that.
She went back down to the second floor. The place had cleared out. A skeleton crew was left in place to manage the security of the building. Gage and Logan were in the boardroom going over something that they immediately stopped talking about when she walked in. She just said “hello” and left again. She hated being cooped up like this.
She wandered down a dark hallway, going by empty offices, until she came to one with a light on. Mitch was looking at something on his desktop. There was only a small d
esk light on and the light from his screen. She stopped outside his doorway and then turned around. She didn’t know what to say to him. She wanted to deny what she was feeling. Being with Mitch was never going to happen. It was better if she just stayed away from him.
“Alex,” he called softly.
She turned back around. “Uh, hi. Sorry to disturb you. I was just walking around. You know, bored. I’m not so good at being cooped up.” She was babbling, and she knew it, but Mitch made her nervous.
Before it had been a game of cat and mouse. She had been in control.
The afternoon on the yacht came to mind. She’d thought she been in control, at least. Now, she was under no illusions as to who was in control. She was up shit creek, and he was her lifeboat. She didn’t like that, not one bit. She hated the fact that she was responsible for damaging his company’s reputation as well. Normally, she wouldn’t care, but this time, it was different.
“Come in, sit down.” Mitch’s hair was standing up a bit, a sure sign he had been running his hands through it in frustration.
“I don’t want to disturb you.”
“I could use a break.” He got up from his desk and gestured toward the couch. He picked up a remote from the coffee table in front of the couch and hit a button. She grimaced, thinking he was turning on a TV. She didn’t see the gas fireplace until she was in the room.
“Oh, nice. I love fireplaces.”
“Me, too,” he said, “but don’t tell my brothers. I almost have them convinced I picked this office because it’s smaller than theirs. Would you like some water?”
“Sure,” she said as she sat down on the opposite end of the couch and watched the flames dance on the hearth. Mitch went behind the sofa to his desk and then came back with two bottles of water. “They’re room temperature. I hope that’s okay.”
Alex nodded. “I’ve been thinking,” she said, giving Mitch a quick glance, “it was Tolliver that day on the yacht, arguing with Drake, wasn’t it?”
“You were watching, huh?” The corners of Mitch’s mouth turned up slightly. “Yes, it was Tolliver. He was trying to buy the prototype. Drake was pissed that Tolliver even knew about it. He started grilling Tolliver about where the information came from, but Tolliver wouldn’t talk.”
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