For His Eyes Only

by Lexi Blake

  Of course, Ezra had something else to deal with now. That damn video they’d found once they’d figured out where Des had hidden it. Ezra was dealing with a shitstorm, but one day he was sure the man would come back and they would have business to conclude.

  Nick looked forward to the day.

  “Well, I had a good time,” Kay said. “I got to snipe like ten dudes. It was awesome. I probably should pay Damon for the pleasure.”

  Damon held up a hand, his lips curling in a smile. “I’ll forego repayment. Sniping is just a happy benefit of your job. So tell me how you figured out where to find the tape. I got the debrief file, but I’d like to hear it from you, Nick.”

  He settled in and warmed as he felt Hayley’s hand slide over his as she sat beside him. She was never far away now. He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips, promising her everything that would come once he was cleared to perform. Oh, he would be a very good boy. He would take care of himself because he had a higher purpose—taking care of her. He kept her hand in his as he turned back to his boss. “Hayley figured it out. After Ezra got her back to the hotel, she spent her time trying to decipher what Helena had told her.”

  Charlotte piped up. “I did the file on Helena. Fascinating woman. She was a low-level prostitute when Des came in contact with her. Her background was very lower class, but she managed to work her way up. She was the one who reached out to Paul Dalton and kept things going, though he was the one who added the rolling casino.”

  Hayley’s hand squeezed his. She’d struggled with her father’s death, but had also found some peace in knowing the man had loved her.

  “How did that help you figure out where the video was being stored?” Damon asked.

  “Helena told me that Desiree was sentimental,” Hayley said. She held his hand close, seeming to gain strength from their connection. “We knew the coordinates hidden in the necklace pointed us to one place, one specific place. The problem was what lay there wasn’t a storage shed. It was a warehouse.”

  “But three years before, it had been a storage shop,” Nick continued. “They’d moved. We found them again, but Desiree hadn’t rented a place from them.”

  “Sentiment,” Hayley said quietly. “That was where I found it. I read the letter she’d left to me and the one she’d left to Nicky. She wouldn’t have rented the place in her own name. The storage closet was in Hayley Markovic’s name. It was where she saw the future heading.” Hayley frowned. “Though she could have left us a better wedding present than a twelve-hour video of a gangster bragging about all his ties to politicians and businessmen to a hooker.”

  Nick saw nothing wrong with it. It had been a long video, spliced together over the course of what seemed to be a year and a half, with the head of the largest mob family in the States. The man was known in the media as Johnny “Teflon” Bianchi for his never-ending ability to get out of legal trouble. Unfortunately, the guy liked to get coked up, and he spilled his guts to his favorite “girl.” Who happened to be Helena. “It got you your life back, dushka. I’ll take it.”

  Hayley was still shaking her head, having none of his arguments. “It was horrible. The sounds he made.”

  “Hey, Desiree knew what she was talking about when she said she’d landed a whale,” Brody agreed. “Not only could she blackmail Bianchi, she could go after everyone he mentioned on that bloody tape. It was half the politicians in the Western world and some really rich blokes. No wonder he wanted the thing gone.”

  “So Desiree took Helena’s tape?” Penny asked.

  He’d sorted through all of this from his hospital bed. “Desiree paid Helena for information. Helena was one of a large network of women Desiree and Dalton sent power players to. From what I can tell, Desiree would set up and pay for the rooms. I don’t think Helena knew she was being taped. She thought she controlled the information. Naturally, Des never left anything to chance. She had a safe created for the tape and it required the necklace to be in place when the code was punched in for it to open.”

  “Helena had been looking for that tape for years,” Hayley explained. “I did some research on her and she’d made several trips around the globe to places where Des had lived. Somehow she’d managed to miss the Tokyo apartment, but she had a man watching the law firm. When she was informed where the contents were going, she called Bianchi and let him know what could be coming their way. Dad got to my place first, but Bianchi had someone planted in the Seattle PD. Helena also figured out that Rio was the most likely place for the secondary site. She knew where the tape was stored, but she didn’t have the necklace. I was worried that we’d lost the necklace when we ran, but when I got back to the hotel, I found out that my man here is a sneaky one. He’d traded the real necklace for a fake. I didn’t even know it.”

  “Well, I wasn’t going to truly give up our best bargaining chip,” he admitted. “The necklace is still available in several chain stores. I found one easily, though it wouldn’t have worked. It needed the microchip installed for it to work. Walt put it back together at my request after we downloaded the intel. I should have told you, but I wanted your reaction to be real. It was the microdot and not the necklace that opened the safe.”

  She wrinkled her nose his way before continuing. “So I found the necklace with the microdot in Nicky’s luggage. I figured out where the tape was being stored, and Ezra and I went down and opened it. I got the code in one try. Nicky’s birthday. Des really was quite sentimental.”

  “Johnny Teflon is going down because of a college history professor,” Ian said with a grin. “It’s a good day.”

  Hayley had managed to make some connections between Bianchi and the Seattle police. He’d bought off a bad cop, and now that man was going to see justice, too. The federal prosecutors assigned to the case had a lot of work to do.

  But all that mattered to him was that Hayley was safe and she loved him. They would work everything else out.

  Including their future. For now they were staying at The Garden. Hayley was going to try her hand at something more than an academic paper. She’d decided it was time to write a history about the men and women who worked in the shadows. She was going to write about spies.

  He was going to be her loving husband.

  “Well, I for one am happy to put this behind us.” Taggart closed his file. “I’m heading home tomorrow. It looks like we’ve got a new client. The king of Loa Mali is getting hitched, if you can believe that. We’re handling security. I always thought he would marry the doctor who clears up all his STDs. I’m still in shock. Nick, if you need anything at all, please call me. And, dude, don’t forget what I said about protection.”

  Charlotte stood up with her husband. “Protection is overrated. Be happy, you two. And don’t forget to invite us to the wedding.”

  The meeting began to break up, with everyone shaking Nick’s hand and welcoming him home. Hayley hugged everyone, spending long moments with Charlotte planning a trip to Dallas and asking for advice on wedding planning. They were having a real white wedding and they would take their time and get it right.

  It didn’t matter. In his heart he was already her husband.

  Brody held out a hand. “Good to have you back, mate.”

  He felt for his friend. Now that he had Hayley at his side, he wanted the same for Brody. The big Aussie was wrong to think he wasn’t good enough for the woman he so obviously had feelings for.

  Nick shook his hand. “Good to be back. Even though I will miss my spleen. And a portion of my liver. I suspect I’m going to drink less now.”

  “Suspect so,” Brody said, a sad smile on his face. “I guess I’ll have Owen to keep me company. And the lads. They get quite funny when they’re drinking.”

  “Call her,” Nick urged. “Just to talk. Ask her how she’s doing.”

  Brody shook his head. “Hurts too much. But I’m happy for you, mate. I’ll see you around.”

  Brody strode away.

  It was a problem he would need to w
ork on. He was turning into a nosy busybody. It felt good.

  Hayley was suddenly in front of him, holding out her hand to help him up. “We’re going to the kitchen. Teresa set out a big buffet to welcome you home.”

  Of course she had. She was part of their happy family. Nick groaned a little as he stood. He might keep that up. He loved how Hayley fussed over him. “Let’s go then. I find myself very hungry.”

  He let her lead him out. He was hungry again and for more than food. Hungry for her. For the life they would have. For the love they would share.

  Life was good again.

  * * * *

  Dallas, TX

  Three Months Later

  Stephanie Gibson stood looking at the beautiful wrought iron and wood door. The house she was standing in front of was a stunning Mediterranean, proof that the family who lived here had it all together. They were living the American dream.

  Stephanie found herself in the middle of a nightmare.

  She could still hear the sound of guns, feel the press of steel against her throat. She’d felt so vulnerable, so small and weak.

  I’ll kill you myself if he don’t live. Do you understand that, bitch? I’ll make sure you don’t spend another day on this earth if you can’t save him, Doc.

  She could still see all the blood. Her hands had been shaking and all she’d wanted was to have that man beside her, her big Aussie with kind eyes and a gentle heart. She’d longed for him in that moment in a way she’d never wanted anything before.

  He wasn’t hers. He’d made that very plain.

  What was she doing?

  Panic threatened to overtake her. Maybe not merely panic. There was plenty of guilt in there, too. She had no right to be here. Avery and Liam O’Donnell owed her nothing. Nothing. She was the one who owed everything to Avery and here she was standing on the woman’s doorstep, perhaps bringing danger into their lives.

  She couldn’t do it. There had to be another way.

  If only Brody would have answered her damn calls.

  Tears pierced her eyes. She wanted to feel his arms around her again. When he’d held her, she’d felt safe for once in her damn life. When he’d made love to her, she’d felt clean and pure. How odd was it that sex could make her feel innocent, could wash away her sins.

  It was over now. He’d made that clear with his months and months of silence. He was done with her. She’d been nothing but a job to him, and that last night had merely been a way for him to pass the time. He couldn’t have felt what she’d felt. If he had, he wouldn’t have been able to turn her away time and time again.

  That night had been everything to her and he’d left her a voice mail asking her to never call him again. Because she was making a fool of herself.

  God, he’d been the one to make a fool of her.

  Maybe she should ring the doorbell and run. Everything that was important to her was right here on this porch, and she could trust Avery. Avery would take care of things.

  Stephanie could run and face her fate and bring no one else into it. Maybe it was just the way it was supposed to end. There would be an odd sort of justice to it. Leaving Avery a child…

  Before she could make a decision, the light came on and the door opened.

  A big man stood in the doorway wearing nothing but a pair of pajama bottoms. Well, unless one considered the gun in his hand a form of clothing. Liam O’Donnell was likely never without one. “Stephanie? I thought that was you. The damn light’s not bright enough on the security camera.”

  She wished she could shrink into the shadows, wished she’d never come up with this stupid plan, but after what had happened, she’d gotten on the plane to the second place she’d wanted to be. Her first instinct had been to go to London, to show up at Brody’s office and plead for him to love her, to protect her.

  To protect their son.

  She’d promised herself after he’d told her never to call again that she wouldn’t allow her baby to be raised by a man who would resent him. She’d promised she could do it alone.

  She couldn’t. She was going to get her son killed, and she couldn’t allow it. “I have no right to be here, no right to ask you what I’m about to ask.”

  Liam’s eyes went from surprised to concerned. She watched the moment he changed from interested friend to the head of his family. Thank god by some miracle of the universe this man considered her family.

  It was only one of the acts of grace and love she’d received from his wife.

  “Come inside.” Liam flicked the safety to the gun in his hand on and eased it into the pocket of his pants. “I need to know everything. Were you followed?”

  She reached down to pick up the car seat. So heavy.

  “I’ll get it.” Liam reached for the handle and then the blanket covering her son fell away. Liam’s eyes widened as he looked down at the baby. Her son had woken up and he was grinning that toothless baby smile that made her heart melt. Liam shook his head as he looked back to her. “Bloody hell. I’ll kill him. I’ll kill that big bastard meself. He thinks he’s met dangerous animals down under. He ain’t met the real me, yet. It’s time to introduce meself.”

  Suddenly Avery was in the doorway, wrapping a robe around her body. She was soft and round and roughly seven months pregnant. “Steph? It’s the middle of the night. What are you doing here? Is everything okay? Whoa.”

  Liam nodded. “Yes, love. Whoa. Get that Aussie bastard on the phone. Better yet, get me on a plane to London and I’ll drag his arse all the way back here. I sent him to protect you, not to get you pregnant.”

  She’d forgotten how old-fashioned Liam could be. Besides, they didn’t know the whole truth. “Please, Liam. I need help. Not because of the baby. Someone’s trying to kill me.”

  Liam’s shoulders straightened and he opened the door wider. “Get inside. Avery, love, I think we’re going to need some tea. It’s going to be a long night.”

  Avery reached out to hold Stephanie’s hand. “Come inside. We’ll work it out. You’re safe now.”

  Stephanie looked down at her son, who grinned up at her. Nathan Avery Gibson was about to meet the godparents he hadn’t known he had. Not that they knew she’d put them in her will. She had a lot to talk to them about. Her boy kicked his fat baby legs and reminded her that no matter how bad it got, she couldn’t give up. Not ever.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Avery said, tugging on her hand as Liam hauled the car seat up.

  “How old is this kid?” Li complained. “He feels like a toddler.”

  “Two months,” she replied. “He weighs fifteen pounds already.”

  “Bloody Aussie,” Liam said, but he was already smiling down at her son. “Hey, boy, I’m your Uncle Li and I’m going to kick yer daddy’s arse.”

  Liam walked inside and Avery closed the door behind them.

  “Please,” Stephanie pleaded. “Brody can’t know. He doesn’t want to know. He doesn’t…he doesn’t want me. I chose to have Nate. Nate’s mine and no one else’s.”

  Avery laughed at the thought. “Oh, dear, I’m afraid that boy belongs to all of us now. He’s family, as you are. Come on. Let’s figure this out. I’ll make sure Li doesn’t get on a plane tomorrow. Now, what kind of trouble are we in?”

  We.

  For the first time in weeks, Stephanie took a deep breath.

  She was home. It was all she needed for now. Tomorrow would be another fresh hell.

  Brody, Stephanie, and the whole McKay-Taggart family will return in Love Another Day… Click here to pre-order.

  Author’s Note

  I’m often asked by generous readers how they can help get the word out about a book they enjoyed. There are so many ways to help an author you like. Leave a review. If your e-reader allows you to lend a book to a friend, please share it. Go to Goodreads and connect with others. Recommend the books you love because stories are meant to be shared. Thank you so much for reading this book and for supporting all the authors you love!

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  Love Another Day

  Masters and Mercenaries 14

  By Lexi Blake

  Coming August 22, 2017

  Click here to pre-order

  A man born to protect

  After a major loss, Brody Carter found a home with the London office of McKay-Taggart. A former soldier, he believes his job is to take the bullets and follow orders. He’s happy to take on the job of protecting Dr. Stephanie Gibson while the team uses her clinic in Sierra Leone to bring down an international criminal. What he never expected was that the young doctor would prove to be the woman of his dreams. She’s beautiful, smart, and reckless. Over and over he watches her risk her life to save others. One night of pure passion leads him to realize that he can’t risk his heart again. When the mission ends, Brody walks away, unwilling to lose another person he loves.

  A woman driven to heal

  Stephanie’s tragic past taught her to live for today. Everything she’s done in the last fifteen years has been to make up for her mistakes. Offering medical care in war-torn regions gives her the purpose she needs to carry on. When she meets her gorgeous Aussie protector, she knows she’s in too deep, but nothing can stop her from falling head over heels in love. But after one amazing night together, Brody walks away and never looks back. Stephanie is left behind…but not alone.

  A secret that will change both their lives