by Lori Foster
Brand had a hard time wrapping his brain around the implications. “You’re saying Sahara’s kidnapper has info, so he might get a free pass?”
Scott looked at Sahara. “Ross managed to record quite a bit of Chelsea’s activity. He found correspondence talking about the event, what they do, how many women to expect as playthings. Even where and how they got the women.” With a note of admiration, Scott added, “He’s really pretty good at what he does.”
Sahara gave it quick thought. “If he can bury Chelsea—”
Leese, Justice and Miles all issued protests at the same time.
Sahara turned to Brand, saying softly, “He really didn’t hurt me, you know.”
“It’s not happening.”
Anxious now, she insisted, “Taking down Chelsea is far more important than seeing Ross pay.”
“Hell, no.”
Scott cleared his throat. “There’s more to consider. As it happens, Douglas Grant also hired Ross to kill a man. Giving Ross immunity, or at least a plea deal of some sort, means we get a two-for-one.”
“We can destroy both Chelsea and Douglas?” Sahara asked with excitement.
“I think so.”
“Then it’s a done deal,” she said with finality.
“Excuse us.” Utilizing every ounce of control he had, Brand stood, gently took Sahara’s arm and headed toward the door of the conference room.
Sahara didn’t resist him, but on their way, she said over her shoulder, “We’ll be right back. Don’t talk about anything important without me!”
* * *
SAHARA UNDERSTOOD THAT Brand was upset, and she decided it wouldn’t hurt to calm him before they proceeded. By seeking privacy from the others, he’d given her the perfect opportunity to see to it.
Enoch looked up as they emerged from the conference room, his smile freezing in place when he got a look at Brand’s face.
“Ahem.” Enoch stood. “I think I’ll see if we need more coffee.” As he passed Sahara, he murmured, “Think long-term, please.”
Sahara smiled at him. “That’s my plan.” As soon as Enoch disappeared into the room, she gave her attention to Brand.
Fury shone from his dark eyes, but she knew it wasn’t directed at her. No, he was just that worried about her safety, and his concern warmed her.
Putting a hand to his jaw, she asked softly, “Are you ever going to shave?”
The question surprised him. “Maybe every couple of weeks.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “So you’ll be semibearded, then clean-shaven, only to become semibearded again?”
He covered her hand on his jaw. “I’m not into a lot of grooming.”
“Since you look sexy all scruffy, I guess that’s okay.”
“I’ll never be a fancy dresser either.”
“Fancy dressing isn’t required.” She leaned in and kissed him, then whispered against his firm mouth, “Ross won’t hurt me.”
Closing his hands over her upper arms, he stepped her back so she couldn’t miss his heated glare. “You can’t know that.”
“If I was relying on Ross’s honor, I’d agree. But I know Scott, and I know you.” She searched his gaze. “Neither of you would let him near me.”
“Damn right—although I can’t speak for your brother since he’s the one wanting to let the bastard skate.”
His grumbling tone worried her. “Scott has deliberately tried to annoy you.” She lowered her voice to a serious whisper. “That’s how he chased off other boyfriends.”
Brand tipped up her chin. “I’ll deal with your brother, don’t worry about that. The rest of this, though—”
“It’s important to me, Brand.” She moved closer, staring up at him, willing him to see it from her perspective. “I want Chelsea to pay. She’s an awful person, a cruel, manipulative sadist. As if that wasn’t enough already, she tried to take my brother from me.” Sahara brushed her mouth over his. “And to see Douglas lose his authority... God, I’d love that so much.”
Stubbornly, Brand insisted, “There has to be another way.”
“If there was, don’t you think I’d have found it by now? Powerful people don’t go down easy. It takes a lot.” She wound her arms around his neck. “This might be the only chance we have.”
In ill humor, Brand grumbled, “Damn it, Sahara.”
“You know I’m right,” she insisted. “You know this is important.” Imploring him, she added, “Especially to me.”
He groaned.
Knowing he gave in, her heart lifted. Softly, she whispered, “Thank you for understanding.”
The office entry door opened and Ross Moran started in. When he saw Sahara and Brand, he drew up short.
“Sahara.” He actually started to smile.
She hastily stepped in front of Brand. “You have new bruises,” she pointed out. “Did Scott do that?”
Ross touched his cheek. “Some of it.” His gaze went over her head to Brand. “I already had most of them.”
“And yet,” Brand said, “here you are.”
He looked at Sahara. “I wasn’t aware my men were acting without me. You have to believe that.”
“I do,” she said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t make much difference to me.”
“We should talk—”
“Seriously?” Brand laughed without humor. “Apparently you’re a slow learner...but I can help you with that.”
Warily, Ross eyed Brand. “Scott is expecting me.”
Finding a new direction for his anger, Brand set Sahara aside. “That’s Scott’s problem.”
Sahara grabbed Brand when he started forward. “Brand, no.”
“Afraid so.”
Panicked, she saw the resignation on Ross’s face, Brand’s determined stride and she knew she couldn’t stop this. “Damn you two, don’t you dare damage my building!”
Ross opened the door for Brand with a grand gesture. Without slowing his stride, Brand grabbed him and shoved him out first, then followed and quietly closed the door behind him.
Frozen in place, Sahara stared at the closed door. A second later, she heard a loud thump, one more followed by a groan, then the wall shook as if a body had hit it.
The sounds of combat unglued her feet. She turned and ran into the conference room, her gaze sweeping over everyone. “Ross is here and Brand just took him out to the hall!”
Scott looked up, startled.
Enoch grinned.
Leese took Sahara’s arm. “Have a seat, okay? Brand won’t be long.”
Damn it! “What if Ross is armed?”
Miles said, “It won’t help him any.”
“Might just make Brand madder,” Justice said with relish.
“Oh my God, you’re all insane.” She started to stand, but the guys surrounded her.
Justice even patted her shoulder. “Give them five minutes, okay? You can be patient that long.”
She looked across the table and locked eyes with her brother. He’d lifted his eyebrows high in disbelief. And why not? Not only were these men unlike any they’d encountered before, but they were employees who cosseted her like a helpless female.
Grim, she shoved to her feet and said to the walls of muscle surrounding her, “Move.”
Reluctantly, they each stepped aside.
Enoch rushed forward to fill the void. “Now, Sahara—”
“I won’t wait here like the proverbial little woman while Brand destroys a key witness that we need to get this all settled.”
“He won’t kill him,” Leese said. “That’s not what this is about.”
“He’s only going to point out the error of his ways,” Miles said.
Justice added, “He needs to make it clear that you’re off-limits, that’s all.”
Being off-limits would mean that
she and Brand had a commitment, and so far, they didn’t. What they had was an agreement.
In any case, Brand didn’t need to clear up anything with Ross because she had zero interest in any other man, but most especially a man who had kidnapped her and threatened her. Damn it, he should have trusted her to have enough sense to—
The conference door opened and Brand strolled back in, interrupting her silent rant. His shoulders were bunched, the muscles in his arms bulging, but he looked calm, calmer than he had all day.
He was even smiling.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
SAHARA STARED AT HIM, loving him so much that her heart wanted to burst and her stomach churned with an unfamiliar anxiety only partly due to the situation with Chelsea and Douglas.
To Enoch, Brand said, “You have a mess in the hall.”
“Oh dear Lord,” Enoch muttered and rushed out.
Sahara couldn’t think of a thing to say. She saw no marks on Brand, but then, after having witnessed his fighting skills, she hadn’t expected to.
Laughing, Leese said, “We’ll lend Enoch a hand,” and he started out, too, followed by Miles and Justice.
“Thanks.” Brand walked up to her, his dark eyes looking deep into hers.
Sahara managed to gather her wits. “What did you do?”
“We had a discussion.” He smoothed back her hair, brushed his thumb over her cheek, and said, “As long as he stays the hell away from you, I’ve decided he can live.”
That outrageous statement said a lot, some of it serious despite the absurdity of his wording. Relief washed over her. Realizing that Brand did understand gave her an enormous smile. “Thank you.”
Blustering, Scott stormed up to them. “You’re thanking him?”
Still calm personified, Brand glanced at Scott. “You’re next.”
Sahara’s heart had just started to settle into a normal rhythm, and now it leaped into overtime again. “No, Brand.”
Antagonistic, Scott said, “Fine by me.”
Facing her brother, Sahara growled, “I just got you back, you have a bullet wound on your arm and a knock on your head.”
Scott’s jaw flexed. “I can handle myself.”
“That’s what Ross said, and now he’s a mess out in the hallway!”
Trying to provoke Brand, he shrugged. “Ross probably held back for fear of losing his immunity deal. I won’t be hampered the same way.”
Brand grinned in anticipation.
She’d never realized how foolish her brother could be. She’d always idolized him, thought him the most brilliant man alive, but now she had to reevaluate.
If he thought he could go toe-to-toe with Brand, he was worse than foolish.
Hoping to placate him, she said, “Usually, I’m sure you’re more than capable, but not this time. This time,” she emphasized, “you’re up against a professional MMA fighter.”
His eyes narrowed—and he withdrew a gun. “Then maybe I should even the odds.”
“Scott!”
“I won’t let any man take advantage of you, hon.”
She gasped in outrage. “Who says he is?”
Growing more pugnacious, Scott rationalized his assumptions, saying, “He knows you’re wealthy and influential—”
Scoffing, Brand said, “I know, but it doesn’t matter to me.”
“It matters to every man.”
“You’re a fool. Sahara could be dead broke and it wouldn’t change how I feel.”
Scott lifted the gun higher. “I’m not convinced.”
“And I don’t give a shit what you think.” Still with Sahara in front of him, Brand kicked out—and the gun went flying. It landed on the polished surface of the table, skittered along the length of it and fell to the floor with a thud.
He’d moved so fast, it took Sahara a second to realize what had happened.
Cursing, Scott shook his hand, then clutched his fingers, his face a grimace of pain.
He cursed again when Sahara punched him in the stomach. “Ow, damn! What was that for?”
Incredulous that he would do such a thing, she hissed, “A gun, Scott? You would have shot him? Have you lost your mind?”
Scott studied her. “For you, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do.” Then curiously, he asked, “Would you mind so much?”
“Of course I would mind!” Her shrill voice embarrassed her so she struggled to regain some control. Tone lower now, bordering on demonic, she said, “I would never forgive you if you dared to shoot him.”
“He couldn’t,” Brand said with confidence.
She jerked around to face him. “That’s enough from you.”
Brand only smiled.
Scott scowled at Brand, then at Sahara. “You sound like a woman in love.”
Maybe if the past twenty-four hours hadn’t been so insanely chaotic, she would have thought before speaking, but never in her life had she been so frazzled, and she snapped, “Of course I love him.” She waved a hand at Brand. “You’ve met him. You see how incredible he is. How could I not love him?”
After an arrested moment of silence, Brand and Scott both laughed.
* * *
ALL IN ALL, Brand thought, he felt pretty good.
Now that they had a way to lock up the threats, Sahara was finally safe.
He’d made his point with Ross. The man had finally held up both hands, saying, “Enough! No woman is worth all this.”
“There’s where you’re wrong,” Brand had told him, then he’d hit him again. He’d left Ross nearly unconscious, swearing off all women—Sahara included.
Good thing, because Sahara was his.
She loved him.
She’d shouted as much at her brother.
Brand wanted to hear it again once they were alone. They had a lot to discuss, a future to plan, but he could be patient while she and her brother settled their own conflicts.
After Sahara glared Scott into silence, he cleared his throat. “Seriously, though. He’s not right for you, hon.”
Knowing how she felt about her brother’s opinion, Brand stiffened. Now that he knew Sahara loved him, he wouldn’t let Scott or anyone else get in his way.
He took a step toward her brother. “You don’t want to go there.”
Scott ignored him. “I’m right, though, aren’t I? He knew you were wealthy before he ever pursued you.”
“Actually,” she said, “I pursued him. And I don’t mind admitting that he wasn’t easy to catch.”
Brand felt compelled to say, “That’s not true. I just didn’t want to work for you.”
“Why work for her, when you have an easier path to get what you want?”
God, her brother was as misguided as a man could be. It was almost funny.
“You heard him,” Sahara said. “My bank account doesn’t matter to him.”
Gently, Scott said, “I wish I could believe that.”
“I love you, Scott. You’ve been more than a brother to me. You’ve been...everything. I’m so glad you’re home where you belong.” Sahara folded her arms. “I’d take on the devil himself to keep you here, but what I won’t do is let you run my life. I’m smart and capable and I have my own inheritance. That’s enough.”
Damn, she was amazing, Brand thought as he gave her a slow grin. “I love you, too, Sahara.”
She pivoted fast to face him, her startled expression shifting to one of utter joy. “I thought you did, but I wasn’t sure.”
“Why the hell hasn’t he already told you?” Scott demanded.
“He’s been busy rescuing me,” Sahara snapped. “And that’s in part because you kept me in the dark about things.”
Scott had the sense to flush.
The way her shifting moods took her from one extreme to the other was almost humorous.
Ignoring her rigid annoyance with her brother, Brand pulled her close, his hands rubbing her shoulders. She was as feminine as a woman could be, with a unique strength and deep conviction. He loved her more than he knew was possible. “Before we get ahead of ourselves, we need to come to an understanding.”
“Here it comes,” Scott predicted.
Brand’s smile never slipped. He knew what her brother expected, but once a man had met her, how could he care more about money than Sahara?
Maybe because Scott saw her only as a younger sister, he didn’t realize how incredible she was. Brand would never make that mistake.
He framed her face in his hands. “I love you.”
After shooting a look of triumph at her brother, she smiled up at Brand and asked, “Will you marry me?”
Emotion swelled, bringing happiness and peace, even humor. He grinned. “That’s a first.”
She rushed on, not giving him a chance to answer. “We love each other, so it only makes sense, right? After all this time together, I wouldn’t want to sleep alone, and I don’t think you would either. We make a good team, too. Now that my brother is back, I won’t harangue you anymore about working as a bodyguard. Going forward, hiring will be up to Scott.” She managed a quick breath. “Your friends are now my friends, and your family likes me, even Becky. Before you say it, I know, I shouldn’t have overstepped there. I can try to—”
Overwhelmed by her rapid-fire reasoning, Brand pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her. He waited, and when she remained quiet, he said calmly, “I want a life with you, but we need to agree on a few things.”
Her brows rose in inquiry. Unlike her brother, there was no suspicion in her gaze.
“First, your inheritance is yours. I won’t ever touch it. Not a single dime of it. If you’re with me, we’ll live in a house I buy.”
Scott snorted. “I’ve seen what you provide your parents.”
Brand paused. “My parents?” Irritation gathered, but he was determined to get through the rest of this without another explosion. “You’ve checked into my background?”
“As soon as I realized my sister was involved with you.”
“Too bad you weren’t that diligent with Ross Moran.” He let that barb hit, then replied, “I’ll be generous and assume you’re trying to look out for Sahara—even though she doesn’t need you to—but you’re off base with my folks. They would never take money from me, regardless of how I’ve tried. They provide for themselves, and they’re happy where they are.”
