by Anthology
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Thomas. How could you think for one minute those stubborn girls of yours wouldn’t take this to the max?”
“I wanted them to get their toes in the water, that’s all.” Thomas glanced away. “Someday all this is going to be theirs. I’d like to retire knowing Avery Security Service will go on.”
“Not unless you sell it.”
“I can’t do that, Alex. What kind of legacy would that be for my children?”
Alex leaned back in the high-backed leather chair and crossed his leg over the top of his thigh. “One is a lawyer, one a fashion model, one a detective, a damn librarian and a surfer. And you want them to run your security business.” He shook his head. “Not going to work.”
The Avery sisters were five of the weirdest women he’d ever met. They fought like crazy, competed against each other and weren’t beyond throwing a few things around. That’s why he’d always referred to them as the Twisted Sisters. Of course, not in ear shot of their parents. Still, in a bizarre way, he knew they cared for one another.
“You’ll be there to help them out.”
Alex shot his boss a hard stare. He might love the guy but he wasn’t stupid. “If you think I’m going to try to control five women as headstrong as your daughters, you’re mistaken. They’ll eat me alive.”
Thomas shook his head and propped his elbows on his oak desk. “You’re tough. You can do it.”
“Not even for all the money you’ve offered me. Not those five. God help the man that takes on that job.”
“But I need you. I’ll double your bonus.”
“No, you need a wrangling boss. You need someone who can crack the whip and command discipline.” Now it was Alex’s turn to shake his head. “I’m not that guy.”
“I swear I’ll straighten it all out with the girls. I’ll lay down the law and tell them you’re in charge.”
“Oh, yeah, like Laura would ever go for that.”
Thomas lifted his chin. “I won’t give her a choice.”
“Have you ever thought that maybe your girls don’t want your business?” He spread out his hand. “After all, they’re all successful in their own right.” He paused and glanced at Thomas. “That is, except Cynthia.”
“It’s their inheritance. Their future. I want them all financially secure.”
“What if money doesn’t matter to them?”
“It matters to everyone,” Thomas scoffed.
Alex was so disgusted he wanted to chew shoe leather. Why was Thomas so insistent on passing on his business on to five spoiled brats? They’d run it into the ground in a month.
Alex pressed his fingertips together. “Let’s imagine the girls agree. Can you see any of them being a real asset to the company? Especially the surfer girl scraping by on minimum wage.”
The frown on his boss’s face relayed that he didn’t appreciate him singling out his youngest child.
“Look, you don’t want to hear it, Thomas. But she’s dropped out of college and at twenty-four, isn’t doing anything but beachcombing.”
“Cynthia is a very intelligent woman.”
“Who does what? Surfs for a living?”
Thomas turned aside, his jaw muscles twitching. “I’ll admit her mother and I had hoped she’d find her place.” He lowered his chin. “She hasn’t yet.”
“What about Kandice? Is she going to put on a pair of stilettoes and chase after a jewel thief?”
“My daughters are smart women who can make this work. I admit they’ll need help, but in the end, they’ll succeed.”
“Seeing is believing.”
“Let’s observe how they do on the alleged shopping robbery.”
Alex’s phone rang. Seeing the face of Cory Daniels, their IT guru, he answered with trepidation because the office was closed and everyone was off for the holidays. “Yeah, what’s up?”
Cory’s voice traveled through the speaker and Alex didn’t like the undertones of concern.
“Um, Laura Avery called and wants me to meet her at the office.”
“Did she say why?” Alex asked.
“No, just that they were there waiting for me. I’m headed that way but thought you might want to know.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Alex rose and put his phone in his pocket. “They’re at the office.”
Thomas looked at him, his brows almost to his hairline. “Why?”
“Who knows?”
Chapter 4
Laura was annoyed that they’d waited almost an hour for Cory Daniels to show up when he lived less than twenty minutes away. She tamped down her anger by remembering it was the holidays and he was on vacation.
“Why did you call me in?” he asked, placing his Starbucks cup on his desk. He then slowly removed his hat, coat and gloves, wearing a bitter frown. “You know, I’m off until after New Year’s.”
“We want you to run some surveillance.”
“What?” he asked, his eyes glazed with terror. “I can’t do that without a warrant or something.”
“We know you don’t always do things according to the book. So, boot up your computer,” Cynthia said, making a horrible noise as she sucked the last of her Slurpee. “Come on, whiz kid. Show us your stuff.”
Placing the empty cup on Cory’s desk, she turned to walk away. He took a tissue, picked it up by the rim and deposited it into his empty trash can. “Don’t leave stuff in my work area. There’s sensitive equipment in here.”
“Oh,” Cynthia sarcastically said, as she covered her mouth over a soft burp. “Sorry to intrude on your space. Me and Madelyn are going to the breakroom. We’re hungry and Jacklyn wants coffee. Kandice is on her phone again.”
Laura waved her away, wanting to scream. “Go, be quiet, Cynthia, and let the man work.”
Cory scooted back his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not doing anything until your father gives me the order. I have the integrity of this company to protect, and I don’t take my work or my responsibility lightly.”
Laura pulled up a chair and eased down beside him. “We’re not asking you to spy on the Pentagon. We just want the video from a shopping mall camera.” She patted him on the shoulder and smiled. “You can do that, can’t you?”
“I’m not sure I should.”
Laura heard the outer door open and stood. “Who’s here?”
Unexpectedly, Alex Sanders filled the doorway to Cory’s office. Putting his hand on the frame, he stared at her.
Laura feared he’d be able to hear her heart pounding. “What are you doing here,” she asked in a broken voice.
He cocked a brow. “I might ask you the same question.”
Refusing to look at him and allow her body to react in a pitiful way, she turned to Cory. “He’s helping us with a project.”
The man in control of the IT department pointed to the wall between his office and Alex’s. “You might as well know, they’re all in there.”
“I suspected as much,” Alex said. “Trouble travels in packs.”
She spun around in the chair then stood, wishing she’d picked out a more flattering outfit than her yoga pants and a long sweater. “What do you mean by that?” Gritting her teeth, she took a dangerous step closer. “I though only wolves traveled in packs. Are you calling us wolves?”
He spread his legs and fisted his hands on lean hips. His big body seemed to take up the entire room. “I didn’t say that.”
“She wants me to hack the surveillance vids from a mall surveillance system. You think I should?”
“What mall?”
“The parking garage of the Galleria,” she replied. “Hanna was robbed and our Christmas presents were taken. She could’ve been hurt.”
Alex didn’t know what to do. If he gave Cory the go ahead, they’d see that Hanna hadn’t been in any danger at all and that meant Thomas would have a lot of explaining to do.
Yet, none of this was his idea and he didn’t like being involved
in family matters. His eyes roved over Laura’s body and he nearly forgot to breathe. Her soft blonde hair, blue eyes and remarkable mouth made him want to snatch her up and find a hotel room.
But, they’d never really gotten along well enough for that to happen. He couldn’t say why, it was more of an instant dislike. Not on his part, but she’d always been pretty stand-offish with him. Anytime they had been forced to be together, Laura found a reason to keep plenty of distance between them.
“Oh, for crying out loud,” she hissed. “Just do it, Cory.”
He booted up his computer and started clicking the keys. She had no idea what he was doing because nothing on the screen made any sense to her. It was roll after roll of random numbers, letter and symbols.
“What time?” Cory asked. “Was it today?”
“Today about noon.”
“Great,” he said somberly. “The busiest time.”
“I didn’t say it would be easy,” Laura added.
“Okay, I’m in. What location was she at?”
Laura bit her lip and glanced at Alex who continued to stare at her as if she were a stick of dynamite about to blow at any moment. “I don’t know.”
“There are seven zones. We need a starting point,” Cory said.
“Why don’t you just let the police take care of this?” Alex asked. “That’s their job. We’re not equipped for petty crime.”
“We went to the police. Other than getting hit on, they wouldn’t do anything. Said Hanna would have to file the official charges.”
Alex knew the secretary couldn’t do that. There was a law against filing a false police report. He didn’t want Hanna in that deep.
“Hey, here she is,” Cory said. “It doesn’t look like she’s being robbed.”
Alex entered the room and stood behind Laura. Close enough to capture her familiar scent that drove him insane and kicked his desire into overdrive.
He forcefully made himself stay far enough back to not smell her hair. That would be too much and he feared he’d grab her up and run.
His eyes watched as Hanna put the presents into an already packed trunk. Off too her left, he noticed two men. He looked closer, brushing against Laura’s shoulder. “Pull in tight on those two people.”
Cory moved the cursor and the image of two white males in their mid-twenties came into view. They weren’t watching Hanna because they were more interested in the woman carrying a large bag in one hand, her child in the other.
“Oh, my,” Laura said. “They’re going to take that woman’s shopping bag.”
The words were no sooner out her mouth than the taller of the two stepped out, punched the woman in the face, grabbed her purse, the colorful bag and ran away. The woman lay on the concrete dazed and shaken. The child appeared upset.
A Good Samaritan came by and helped her stand. She pointed in the direction the men ran then lifted her child into her arms. She managed, with the help of another other lady, to get to her car and take out her cell phone. The poor woman probably called the police.
Laura turned to him. “Did you see that? Those thugs just ruined her Christmas and terrorized the child.” She stopped and tapped Cory on the shoulder. “Go back to Hanna. She seems oblivious to anything happening nearby.”
Cory did as told and Alex’s gut tightened. As soon as she figured out her father had tricked her, all hell would break loose.
Chapter 5
Laura couldn’t believe her eyes, but her intuition screamed that her father was up to something. She didn’t know what, but she’d get to the bottom of the situation or else.
Thinking back, she thought Hanna had been overly dramatic, but they were under the impression that she’d just been robbed. It was a setup and if her guess was right, Alex knew about it and was playing the front man.
She whirled on him, pointing an accusing finger. “You,” she hissed, her eyes narrowing. “You’re in on this, aren’t you?”
Alex straightened his shoulders and stared out the large picture window. She didn’t know why, all he could see were afternoon clouds. After all, they were eighteen floors up.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“The hell you aren’t.” She pressed her lips together tightly. The sleazeball. “My father put you up to this. Admit it. At least be man enough to cough it up when you’re caught red-handed.”
He narrowed his eyes and took a serious stepped forward, forcing her to back away. “Don’t you accuse me of being involved in this.” Damn it, he now pointed the damning finger. “I haven’t done a thing but come to the office, on my day off, I might add. Whatever else is going on, I have nothing to do with.”
By now all her sisters were crammed into Cory’s small office listening intently. They were used to her and Alex arguing because they did so often, but this was different.
“But you knew,” she said.
He looked away.
“You knew, damn you. You knew from the beginning Father was up to something.”
Kandice stepped forward and placed herself between them, facing her. “What did Father do?”
“I’m not sure,” Laura said. “But Hanna wasn’t robbed.”
Cynthia moved to sit on the corner of Cory’s desk, much to the IT guy’s annoyance. “Like a scavenger hunt?”
“No,” Alex answered sharply. “Not that.”
“Then what,” Laura insisted. “You spend every day with him. What’s in his crazy mind today?”
“You shouldn’t speak about your father like that. The man’s brilliant.”
“Maybe, but not when it comes to his daughters. To us he’s eccentric, mysterious and nefarious.” She waved her hand at her sisters. “Like now. We have no idea what he’s up to. But you do.”
“I’m not getting into this.”
“Maybe Father wants us to solve a case,” Madelyn said. “We’ve always known he wants us to take over his business.”
Laura turned with little patience. “There is no case. Don’t you see? He’s more anxious to see if we’ll give up. Walk away. Admit defeat.”
“Honestly,” Jacklyn said. “Do you think he’s that devious?”
“No,” Cynthia said, with a shrug. “It’s a test.”
Kandice crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “One we obviously can’t pass. How can we solve a crime that didn’t happen? And to think, I cancelled a hair appointment for nothing.”
Laura paced the small confines, her eyes taking in everything in the room. Was her father testing them? Did he think they’d give up that easily? And what would he do if they walked through the door empty-handed?
Satisfaction settled in her chest and teased her lips into a smile as she realized they’d gone at least one step further than expected. They now knew there had been no robbery, the presents weren’t taken and Hanna was a bad actress.
Now what? Go home and confront her father, or really teach him a lesson. He’d done silly things before and they’d come to expect all kinds of surprises, but nothing like this. Today’s little gig was different. Laura had a strong desire to show her father exactly what they were made of.
Laura stopped and put her hands on her hips. “Let’s go, ladies. It’s time we give Father a taste of his own shenanigans.”
“What?” Jacklyn asked.
“I don’t care what we do, but I want to eat,” Cynthia said. When they all stared at her, she lowered her brows. “Hey, I didn’t have lunch and the vending machine only had yogurt left.”
“Okay, we’ll stop for fast food,” Laura said, motioning her sisters out of the room. “We have a real crime to solve.”
“What,” Alex said, moving closer. “Don’t be foolish. That’s a good way for someone to get hurt.”
She cocked her head and their eyes met. “You and my father should’ve thought of that earlier. A good time would’ve been before coming up with this scheme.”
“Stop it,” Alex demanded. “I had no part of this. I was against it from the onset and I exp
ressed my opinion clearly to Thomas.” He shook that damn finger at her again. “Why do you keep insisting I’d do something this insane?”
“If you’re not in on it, then you can hang with us for a while.”
He shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
“We’re going to find those two in the parking garage and bring them to justice.”
His eyes seemed to search for a safe place to land. “No, no, no.” He clutched his fists. “This is crazy. And the most foolish idea you’ve ever come up with.”
“No, for once I’m going to set my father back on his heels. He’s going to know once and for all that we’re a force to be reckoned with. We won’t back down anymore. We’re adults and he should realize that by now.”
Marching behind her, Laura’s sisters cheered as if she’d just given a moving political speech. Knowing her sisters agreed made her feel better. At least they were behind her.
Alex’s head was about to explode. What could he say to bring Laura to her senses? If they were to get hurt, he could never forgive himself and neither would his boss. He had to protect them no matter what.
“I can’t let you do this alone,” he said. “My job is to protect people. This is foolish and I can think of a hundred ways to deal with Thomas, other than putting your lives in danger.” She opened her mouth, but he held up his hand. “I understand why you’re upset with him, so you can count on me.”
Her right eye twitched. “Can I trust you to not tell my father?”
“You mean am I willing to hang my boss out to dry?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and wanted to be kissing her instead. “I am.”
“Yay,” Shouts came from the outer office.
“We’re going to get serious,” Jacklyn yelled. “New York style.”
“No, no,” Alex said raising his hands. “Not crazy or stupid.”
Jacklyn cut him a sharp glance. “You think New York is crazy and stupid?” She put her hand on her hip. “If I had my gun, I think I’d shoot you.”
