Wicked Ties (Steele Security Series)

by Justice, A. D.

  Bull stood and led her over to the couch where he gestured for her to lie down. When she complied, he pulled a blanket out and covered her with it. As he leaned over to cover her, their faces were once again very close.

  Unable to resist the urge, Chaise rose up and kissed his cheek. When he didn’t move away from her, she moved her mouth to his soft, plump lips. She softly kissed him, a chaste kiss at first, then with more fervor as her tongue lightly grazed his lips. Bull’s mouth opened, giving her entrance and returning the kiss.

  Bull’s hands went to her face and his fingers threaded through her hair. He tilted her head to the side to deepen the kiss. His response to Chaise’s kiss was unexpected, but it felt so right. Bull’s logical mind kicked in and told him to slow the freight train down before it crashed.

  Gently ending the kiss, Bull brushed his knuckles across her cheek and said, “Get some sleep, Chaise.”

  “What about you?”

  “What about me?” Bull furrowed his brow and titled his head slightly.

  “You need sleep, too,” she replied slowly, as if he were slow and didn’t understand plain English.

  Bull smiled as he remembered the missions, both in the service and in the employment of Steele Security that had kept him awake for more than thirty-six hours at a time. But she was worried about him staying up half that time. “I’ll make it,” he replied genially.

  Chaise mumbled something about stubborn, bull-headed men and snuggled under the blanket. Bull reclaimed his comfortable recliner and watched Chaise as she drifted back to sleep. He listened to her rhythmic breathing pattern, watched the softening of her face and relaxation of her entire body, and knew the exact moment she had succumbed to sleep. A fleeting thought flashed in his mind about wanting what Noah and Brianna had but he quickly pushed it away.

  Mentally reprimanding himself for the momentary lapse in discipline, Bull steeled his thoughts and relaxed in his chair. He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around the house. He knew every creak and moan and would know immediately if anything was out of the ordinary.

  Bull was more relaxed while “on duty” inside his house because Steele Security monitored his alarm system from their central location. If his system suddenly quit, as in someone cut the line or they turned his electricity off, Steele Security would call his phone and they would immediately dispatch units if he didn’t answer.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The smell of bacon frying and coffee percolating woke Bull from the best sleep he’d had in memory. Momentarily alarmed by the unfamiliar sounds and smells, it took him a moment to remember that Chaise was in the house with him. He silently rose from his chair, noting that she was missing from the couch, and he silently crept into the kitchen. He watched her from the doorway for several minutes without her ever knowing he was there.

  The thought that she was being too reckless with her safety by being unaware of her surroundings crossed his mind and he had every intention of chastising her for it. Then he realized that she’d somehow walked past him, made herself at home in his kitchen, and had their breakfast almost fully cooked before he even realized anything. He decided that the chastising should really be more of a discussion about general safety precautions.

  Besides, he really enjoyed watching her cook, in his kitchen, wearing her tight spaghetti strap tank top and cotton pajama shorts. She was making herself at home, but at the same time, she was also making sure to take care of him. No one had taken care of him, other than his brothers having his back, since he’d left home.

  “Something smells good,” Bull finally stated, making his presence known. The sudden intrusion made her jump and let out a startled shriek. Bull’s smile grew wider, reaching his eyes and making them dance with mischief.

  “Colton Lanier!” she playfully yelled while laughing, “You will stop scaring me!”

  Chaise tried to sound stern but she just couldn’t do it when Bull was smiling at her like that. She stood transfixed, rooted to the floor as she watched him move toward her with his confident gait. His massive muscles flexing and contracting, his keen eyes assessing but also holding an unusual glint of humor, and one side of his mouth curled up in a sexy half-grin. The man just woke up and he still looks sexy as hell, she thought.

  “Where’s the fun in that?” he asked as he stalked toward the plate of crispy bacon.

  “Oh, no you don’t, Mr. Lanier!”

  Bull’s grim look conveyed that he’d been appropriately chastised so Chaise turned back to the stove to finish cooking. Bull snatched a piece of bacon when she wasn’t looking and promptly chomped on it. The crackling noise made Chaise’s head spin back toward him and he immediately stopped chewing. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him but he feigned an innocent look. She turned her head back and then quickly snapped it back to him just as he started chewing again.

  She chased him out of the kitchen with a towel wound up, ready to snap him with it. They both laughed good-naturedly, genuinely enjoying the playful banter and easy-going morning lightheartedness. Chaise dared to hope that the new repartee signaled a positive shift in their relationship.

  “You’re going to make me overcook the eggs!” she playfully admonished him. Bull’s smile lit up his face again as he popped the rest of the bacon in his mouth and aggressively chewed it in front of her.

  “Here, let me help,” he said, setting the plates and forks on the table.

  Chaise looked at the plates and back to Bull, “That’s it? That’s helping?” she asked with a straight face. For a few seconds, Bull looked unsure of how to answer that trick question. Unable to hold back her smile, Chaise quickly turned around to hide her face from Bull’s all-knowing gaze. Soon, she was unable to hold in her laughter and her shoulders started bouncing up and down as she covered her mouth with one hand.

  She was suddenly hoisted in the air by strong arms that surrounded her and heard Bull’s teasing voice, “Are you making fun of me, Chaise Martin?”

  She squealed with amusement and screamed, “The eggs!”

  Bull lowered her body back down, skimming his front with her back. The electricity arcing off of their bodies should have short-circuited everything within a fifty-mile radius. When Chaise looked over her shoulder at Bull, the sultry, sweltering look he held would have melted steel.

  Bull’s hands rested on her waist, still holding her tightly to him, and he knew if he merely bent his head, their lips would touch and the damn eggs could burn to ashes. He felt his head incline slowly toward her, his eyes flitting back and forth between her plump lips and her accepting eyes. The memory of last night’s kiss was on both of their minds, fueling the fire raging between them.

  The shrill sound of his cell phone jolted him back to reality and he quickly let go of her, putting distance between them physically and mentally, before walking off to pick up his phone. Looking quickly at the screen, he noted it was Rebel before he answered, “Yeah, man.”

  Chaise listened to Bull’s clipped end of the conversation but was unable to ascertain anything of use from it. Putting the food on the table, she filled their glasses with juice and filled her plate. She considered waiting for Bull to join her before she started eating but, petulantly, decided against it. As Bull finished his phone call, Chaise was finishing her breakfast. After rinsing the breakfast dishes and putting them in the dishwasher, she wordlessly left the room to shower and dress.

  Knowing what the day held—her interrogation by the Steele Security team—she was not in a hurry to finish her morning ritual. The endless questions, the uncomfortable probing, the dubious glances, and the new issue of claustrophobia made the day downright dreadful. Now, with the mixed signals and wishy-washy temperament of Bull added, the day instantly became infinitely worse.

  An hour later, when she left her room, she heard multiple male voices coming from the kitchen. Slowly and quietly skirting down the hall, she tried to covertly listen to their conversation before they became aware of her presence. The chatter suddenly stopped
and she knew the team had detected her presence. It was their job, after all, but she’d hoped to at least get an idea of what she would be walking into.

  Rounding the corner into the kitchen, she noted Rebel and Shadow sitting at the table with Bull. Bull was fully facing her and their eyes locked. The desire was still there, simmering like lava beneath the earth’s surface, hidden by his cool exterior. She liked that he reacted that way to her, but sensed any movement in their current status would have to be initiated by her. Bull’s sense of professionalism and duty was deep and strong—he wouldn’t likely make the first move on a client.

  She’d purposely dressed in a short, light green dress that made her mint green eyes sparkle. It wasn’t overly provocative but it wasn’t boring, either. The V-neck halter tied around her neck, leaving it open to her mid-back. The loose fitting silhouette along with the gracefully flowing hemline made her lean legs go on forever. She paired it with long, elegant necklaces and light brown Grecian sandals to show off her dainty, painted toes.

  Bull had been leaning on his forearms on the table, but the sight of Chaise in that dress had him sitting up at full attention. Her beauty was mesmerizing and had his thoughts racing about being alone with her again. The attraction was undeniable, like a moth to the flame, just as hot and just as likely to be burned. If this is being burned, Bull thought, I can definitely handle the heat.

  He watched the slight blush creep up Chaise’s slender neck to her cheeks, turning them a light shade of pink. She no doubt knew the look of a man who appreciated her beauty. Knowing she was just as affected as he was, and not hiding it, made her even more attractive to Bull.

  “We were just talking about you. Perfect timing, Chaise,” Bull’s smooth voice welcomed her.

  Smiling, she responded, “Good morning, Rebel, Shadow. And just what were you guys saying about me?”

  Shadow started first, “Good morning, Chaise. I conducted a search for anything on Aura Perez but I found nothing of use. There’s no missing persons report on file for her. Do you know why that would be?”

  Chaise stopped in mid-step, shocked and unblinking before answering, “N – no. There’s no report? You’re sure? Her mom said she filed it. She was worried sick.”

  Chaise took a seat at the table, confusion and unrest imprinted in her features. She looked at each man and found only his assessing stares in return. “I don’t understand. What happened to her missing person report? No one’s been looking for her all this time?”

  Shadow’s deceptively calm voice set her nerves on edge, “There wasn’t a report filed, Chaise. I checked for electronic reports and paper reports. I’ve talked to all my contacts at the sheriff’s department.”

  “No, that’s not right! Someone told you wrong,” Chase adamantly refused to believe her ears.

  Shadow looked at Bull and Bull took over the conversation, “Chaise, I think it’s time you start from the beginning and tell us everything.”

  Chaise nodded but Bull noted the apprehension and tension settle in her face. “Okay, from the beginning. I’m an HR consultant, working under contract at Viboro Distributing. Aura was my intern. She was attending the University of Miami and was assigned to help me with all the cross-referencing data.”

  Rebel interjected, “Who assigned her to you?”

  Chaise stumbled at his question, “Um, I’m not sure what you mean. She was waiting for me at Viboro and she said she was my intern.”

  “So, you didn’t negotiate to have an intern? The managers at Viboro didn’t introduce the two of you?” Rebel pressed.

  Chaise gave it some thought before answering, “No, she was waiting outside the office I was assigned to when I got there.”

  “Okay, go on,” Bull encouraged.

  “Part of my job is to make sure all the paperwork matches—cross matching dates in the personnel files and payroll files—to make sure they’ve maintained accurate records. I started finding discrepancies in the hire and termination dates between the personnel files and the payroll files. Two different areas maintain them but they’re supposed to communicate with each other.

  “At first, I didn’t think anything about the discrepancies—there were only a couple in the first dataset. I find that in every large corporation. The paperwork gets lost, someone keys in a wrong date, and usually it’s no big deal to correct it. But then I kept finding them and started making a comprehensive list of names, addresses, and birth dates.”

  Bull repositioned himself, eager to learn more and dig further into the developing mystery. “Do you still have the list?”

  Chaise regarded him for a moment before answering, “Yes, I have it.”

  “That’s great. We can easily check that list against our databases,” Shadow answered.

  “Shouldn’t I finish telling you everything before you just jump in and take over everything?” Chaise probed irritably.

  Rebel couldn’t contain his amusement. “I like her,” he said to Bull and Shadow, “By all means, please continue, Chaise. We’re all ears.”

  “I noticed every name on the list was a Latino girl, between eighteen and twenty-two years old, and it all was just too suspicious for me to ignore. At first I thought it was a blatant issue of racial profiling, but when I searched for a couple of them online, I found the fliers saying they were missing persons. One after the other, Aura and I kept finding missing girls—all from Viboro Distributing, all Latino, and all very young.

  “I told Aura to stop investigating it and leave it to me. I had the feeling we’d already raised too many suspicions with our questions. The next day, she didn’t show up or call, so I went to her house. Her mother was absolutely distraught. She said Aura hadn’t come home or called,” Chaise finished.

  “Did you call the police?” Rebel asked.

  “No,” Chaise answered tentatively, “I asked the head of security a few questions, but that didn’t work out so well. Several strange things happened after that. That’s why I ended up at Noah’s wedding—I didn’t know what to do.”

  “Do you remember where Aura’s mother lives?” Rebel asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Let’s go talk to her mom today,” Bull answered.

  “All right,” Chaise answered before asking, “Can you take me to pick up my company car? I left it at the wedding reception yesterday.”

  “Sure,” Bull answered but Chaise didn’t miss the suspicion in his eyes.

  He still doesn’t truly believe me, she thought solemnly.

  Chaise rode with Bull, giving him directions to Aura’s house, while Rebel and Shadow took a separate vehicle. When they arrived at the small house in the Hialeah Gardens area of Miami, Bull watched Chaise take a deep breath before exiting the car. They walked together to the front door while Rebel and Shadow kept watch around the perimeter of the house.

  Bull knocked on the door, and when it opened, he was surprised to see an elderly Chinese man answer. He looked at Chaise, questioning her with his eyes, but she shook her head in confusion and had no answer for him. Bull turned back to the gentleman and gave him a warm smile.

  “Hello, we are looking for Mrs. Perez. Is she home?” Bull asked.

  “There’s no one here by that name. I live here alone,” the man answered.

  “Maybe she left a forwarding address?” Bull continued his line of questioning.

  “No, I think you must have the wrong address. I’ve lived here the last ten years,” the man stated firmly, looking back and forth between Bull and Chaise.

  “That can’t be right—I am sure it was this house. I remember these red bricks on the driveway!” Chaise argued, confused and irritated about why the Chinese man insisted Mrs. Perez didn’t live there.

  “There are many houses in Hialeah Gardens with this kind of driveway, Miss. There’s no Mrs. Perez here. Goodbye,” he smarted as he stepped back in the house and closed the door in her face.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Chaise was quiet on the drive to pick up her company car fro
m the beach area. Bull didn’t have to say anything. She could tell exactly what he was thinking from the disbelieving look on his face. He made no attempt to spare her feelings with the look that he gave her. He thought she was making everything up. Glancing out the window, she saw that Rebel and Shadow were still following them.

  “Why are they following us? We’re just going to pick up my car, right?”

  “Yes,” Bull answered briskly without any further explanation.

  “So, why are they following us?” Chaise pressed.

  “Safety precautions,” Bull answered.

  Chaise knew better than to believe that excuse. Bull was keeping tabs on her because he didn’t believe her and the Chinese man didn’t help her case at all. “Well, I guess I should be completely safe then, right?”

  “That’s right,” Bull snapped.

  “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but that’s the house I went to and that’s the house where I talked to Aura’s mom. I’m not making this up!” Chaise could no longer hold in her frustration.

  “If you say so,” Bull responded with less sarcasm than before.

  Chaise angrily huffed in response and was infinitely glad that they were arriving at her car. Placing her hand on the door, she readied herself to jump out and get away from the infuriating man beside her. It was just her luck that he burst that little bubble of hope before he came to a stop beside her car.

  “Follow me back to my house. Shadow and Rebel will be directly behind you. You need to be on extreme alert for anything suspicious between here and my house. We will all be watching you,” Bull informed her resolutely.

  Chaise knew his message held the information she needed to be kept safe, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that the same message was intended to keep her, period. They were following her and watching out for her, but they were also watching her and doubting her. Meeting Bull’s eyes, Chaise felt the familiar butterflies in her stomach—the ones she got when she felt his stare penetrating deep into her thoughts.