by Linzi Baxter
“I was thinking the same thing. We need to figure out who is after her.” The thought of someone after Jessica sent my nerves on full alert. I had been taking things slow with her since the divorce, but this changed everything.
Neal walked over to the couch and grabbed Jessica’s laptop. “I’ll pull up the video footage of her condo, and we can identify the perp.”
“You won’t find anything.” Frustration was evident in my voice.
“What do you mean I won’t find anything?” Neal glared at me. He was an arrogant hacker and thought he knew everything.
“Jessica said the cameras and the alarm haven’t worked for the last few months. She hadn’t gotten around to asking Patty to look at it.”
Neal’s face hardened. “So help me, I don’t care if I think of her as a sister, I will take her over my knee and spank that ass until she can’t sit for a week.”
The thought of Neal putting his hands on Jessica made me see red. Nobody would touch her but me. Not even realizing what I was doing, I grabbed Neal around the throat and pulled him out of the chair. “If you ever put a hand on Jessica, I will kill you.”
Neal pulled away and chuckled. I didn’t see the humor in the situation. Jessica was everything to me, and if someone was going make her ass red, it would be me. Considering her past, I had to make a decision about my life. Was Jessica more important than the lifestyle? The answer was yes. I would change my life for her.
“It’s about time you admit you want her.” Neal kept laughing.
Just as I was about to respond, a bloodcurdling scream came from the bedroom.
4
Brock
I ran to Jessica’s room. She was right where I had left her. After a quick glance around the room to make sure the place was secure, I rushed to her side. She was thrashing around on the bed, the covers were lying on the floor, and she had a sheen of sweat on her body.
I sat on her bed and pulled her into my arms. I needed to wake her from this nightmare. I gently rocked her back and forth and whispered in her ear to wake her up.
“Brock?”
I sighed in relief when those pretty gray eyes focused on me. “I’m right here. Everything will be okay.”
Jessica looked confused for a second. She was trying to remember what had happened. Neal was leaning against the doorway, watching us.
“Did I have another flashback?” she asked. The question was directed at Neal. She seemed embarrassed by her nightmare.
It took work to tamp down my jealousy. She was directing her questions to Neal, but I was the one who had my arms wrapped around her.
“Yes, sweetie. You had a flashback,” Neal replied.
She finally turned those gorgeous eyes back to me. “Did you just growl at me?”
I chose to ignore her question. Jessica had enough going on. She didn’t need to know I’d be beating the crap out of Neal later for calling her sweetie.
“You need to pack your things. You’ll be staying at my apartment for a while.” I stopped to think for a second. “On second thought, maybe we should stay at a hotel. There might be too many triggers to your past at my apartment.”
My current apartment was above Club Sanctorum and Blackwood Security. I lived next to Sam on the top floor of the building. I wasn’t sure what might happen if Jessica wandered downstairs into the club. One of the scenes could trigger a memory.
Jessica pulled away from me and crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t treat me like a baby. I had a flashback from the writing on the wall. The club won’t send me into a panic. But I agree with you that I need to find another place to stay.”
What Jessica didn’t understand was that once I got her into my apartment, I wouldn’t be letting her go. “Why don’t you pack what you need? When you have everything, we’ll go to my place. While you’re getting your stuff ready, I’ll give Sam a call.”
“No,” she retorted immediately. “Sam and Patty have enough to worry about. Let’s wait a couple days.”
Jessica didn’t understand how our relationship was going to work. I would give the orders, and she would be following. “Sam needs to know what happened in case someone goes after Patty again.” I could see the moment she understood.
“Okay.”
“Just okay?”
Jessica got up, grabbed her bag, and started packing. I pulled her into my arms. She stiffened at first and then relaxed into me. When she put her head down on my chest, I kissed it. “We’ll catch the individual causing trouble in your life. Once they are caught your life will go back to normal.”
The forced laugh that came from her was heartbreaking. “My life will never be normal. Don’t you remember who my father is?”
Jessica’s father was the king of Shialia. Her twin sister, Patty, was next in line for the crown. I didn’t know if I could handle it if Jessica were in line for the crown. I would put her in a box to protect her from the outside world.
“We will get you back to normal,” I assured her.
“Since you guys have that squared away, Brock, come out to the living room, and we can figure out a plan while Jessica packs,” Neal said from the doorway. I had forgotten he was there until he opened his mouth.
I gave Jessica a squeeze and kissed the top of her head one more time. Her hair smelled like coconut. “Pack for a couple weeks. If you need more things, we can send someone to pick them up. I don’t want you coming here without someone with you.”
She grinned for a moment. “Yes, sir.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm and made me want to put her over my knee, which, in turn, made my dick stir.
I went back out to the dining room. Neal’s fingers were flying across Jessica’s computer. I knew if there was any evidence on Jessica’s computer, he would find it. “Was there any video?”
“The camera’s recording system has been off for the past few months. Someone hacked into the video feed and is watching on the other side. The feed is current. I disconnected the camera feed to external view. It’s now set to internal only.”
The thought of someone watching Jessica when she didn’t know about it made me vibrate with anger. I wanted to catch this fucker and kill them. “Were you able to find the IP of the person watching the videos?”
“The video feed is being watched from Patty and Jessica’s guest suite at the Hotel Lebleu.” Neal pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. “I tried pulling up the video feed for the hotel suite, but the cameras are all pointed at the ceiling.”
I had sent Sam a text that I needed to meet with everyone in the war room. “We’ll set up a plan once we get to the office, and we’ll send someone to the hotel suite to take a look around and change the locks. Do you have administrative access to Patty’s entire home security system?”
“Yes.”
“Did you check the program to make sure none of the other properties have damage?”
Jessica walked out in a pair of low-cut jeans and a T-shirt that said “I Love Double Entry.” I had to read the shirt a couple times. There was no fucking way she would wear that shirt to meet with my team. “Go change your shirt before we leave.”
My demand made Neal look up from Jessica’s computer. He lost it laughing when he read her shirt.
Jessica put her hands on her hips. “You can’t tell me what to wear. What is wrong with my shirt? This is my favorite accounting shirt.”
“That shirt has nothing to do with accounting and everything to do with double penetration,” I insisted. Neal was still losing his shit at the table. Jessica looked stunned, like she had never considered her shirt to be perverted. “How often are you hit on when you wear that shirt in public?”
“Give me a second while I go change.” Jessica sprinted to her bedroom.
“That was the funniest shit I have ever seen.” Like Neal needed to say he thought her shirt was funny. His laughing and snorting made it clear.
When Jessica came back, she was in a plain black shirt, and her blond hair was up in a ponytail. “I�
��m ready to go. Have you guys called Sam and Patty yet?”
“Yes, we called Sam. He wants us to keep it from Patty for the moment,” I explained to Jessica as we walked toward the elevator. “Neal, did you reset the alarm panel and the code?”
He shook his head no, and we headed down to the garage to grab our cars. It was a short ride over to the Blackwood Security offices. On the way over, I wondered what Jessica would think of my apartment. Her penthouse was beautifully decorated, but I had only the essentials. I spent most of my time in my office or at the club and never took the time to make my apartment home. Until now, I never cared what others thought of it, but for some reason, I wanted Jessica to like it.
“You can leave me at Sam’s, and I will head to the hotel suite once they figure out what is going on,” Jessica said in a low tone.
The thought of Jessica trying to dismiss me sent my anger to a high level. I didn’t understand why she wouldn’t want me to protect her. “Let’s make one thing clear. You will stay with me.”
“Okay.”
“That’s it? Okay? I’ve been with you for the last few months as your bodyguard. What gave you the impression you wouldn’t be staying with me?”
In the seat next to me, I could see her shifting in her chair and playing with her purse strings. “You’ve seemed irritated with me since we’ve been in the car. I was thinking you might be sick of watching me, and I was giving you an out,” Jessica whispered. It sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
I grabbed Jessica’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Jessica, I’m not upset with you, nor do I want to stop protecting you. I was just deep in thought about the whole situation.”
We settled into a comfortable silence the rest of the way to the office.
The parking lot at Club Sanctorum was overflowing. It was Friday night, so most of the cars belonged to the club members. The club was downstairs, but we were going upstairs.
John was standing at the entrance to the building. We had been in the same Navy Seal unit when we were in the military. John’s nickname was “Tiny.” He was known for his specialty in demolition. He was six feet seven inches, pure muscle, and had a jagged scar down the side of his face. From looking at him, nobody would think he could deal carefully with bombs.
John’s face lit up when he saw Jessica. It made me want to delete his digital existence since there was no way I could beat him in a one-on-one fight. He reached out and dragged Jessica in for a hug. “We will find out who’s behind this. Stick with Brock. He’s one of the good guys.”
“You’re right. He is a good guy. I’ll let him take care of me.”
We walked in. Since it was after hours and the club was open, Mia was working the front desk. “Mia, can you have one of the other subs come up and watch the reception desk? I need everyone in the war room.” Mia bobbed her head and picked up the phone to ask one of the dungeon monitors to send someone up. Mia was wearing fet wear—a black PVC dress and tall stiletto heels.
Mia responded before Jessica and I made it to the stairs. “I’ll be up in ten.”
I could feel Jessica grow tense beside me as we walked up the stairs. I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into my side. “Everything will be okay.” I wasn’t quite sure if I was reassuring Jessica or myself.
She let out a sigh and leaned in closer. “Did you know that eighty-five percent of stalking victims are stalked by someone they know? Of all the people I know, none of them would terrorize me. I can’t think of a single person I know who would do this to me. I keep running every person I know through my head, trying to figure out who’s behind this. What happens if it’s the people that kidnapped me before?”
The thought of those men kidnapping Jessica again sent chills through my bones.
When we finally made it to the meeting room, I sat in the chair with access to all my computer equipment. Neal was sitting in the chair next to me. I pulled Jessica into my lap, wanting my arms around her. I reached over and facetimed Sam into the meeting. With Sam being away, I was in charge of Blackwood Security.
“Thank you all for coming. Jessica’s stalker has struck again. When we arrived at her condo, someone had written a threatening message on her walls in blood. After further investigation, we’ve discovered that more odd things have been happening over the past month.” Jessica huffed in my arms, irritated by something I said. “You want to explain?”
“Yes. Items around my house have been moving around. I’ve been working a lot of hours and figured I was putting them in the wrong place. The issue with the alarm has happened in the past. Patty does some magic with her computer, and it works again. I didn’t see any reason to pull everyone into it. The attack by the Escalade did seem like more than road rage. Today at my apartment… I admit there is something more going on. But I will not let these people control how I live. I will go to work, and I will stay with Brock until we find out who’s behind this.”
Sam was the first to speak. “Neal, did you find anything useful on the cameras?”
“The alarm was off. The camera recording was also off. Someone was viewing the feed, and I pinned down the location to Patty and Jessica’s guest hotel suite. We need to send someone over there.”
“Mia and I will head to the hotel once she changes. If we find something, we’ll give you a call,” Eric said, standing up. Mia didn’t look happy with Eric taking control. Those two had been dancing around their attraction for months.
Mia elbowed Eric when she stood. “Jessica, call me if you need anything.” Eric and Mia were heading for the door before Jessica could reply.
Sam scratched his beard and looked as if he was contemplating his next words. “Maybe it’s time Patty and I ca—”
“No. If someone is after me, they might use Patty to get to me. I need her safe.”
Jessica was thinking about the safety of others. I, on the other hand, was thinking about hers. “Sam, I need you to look into the men who kidnapped Jessica ten years ago. See if you can get any information out of them or maybe even kill them. Then we won’t need to worry anymore.”
“You can’t go around killing people!” Jessica exclaimed.
I looked at her, deadpan. “Okay.”
She glared at me, not believing I was going have those men killed.
Sam leaned back in his chair, assessing the situation before getting up. “I will talk with William in the morning. As of this moment, I haven’t told Patty what happened at your condo. I don’t want to stress her or the baby. Keep me informed of your next move. Have you called Alex to tell him yet?”
“I will explain it tomorrow when I take Jessica to work. I’ll stay with her at Ross Enterprises until we find the perp.”
“You are not—”
I put my hand over Jessica’s mouth, not caring to hear the rest of that sentence. Then I leaned in and whispered in her ear. “If you refuse my help one more time, I will take you over my knee, and your ass will be red.”
5
Jessica
The past six weeks with Brock had flown by. Every day, Brock followed me to work and did his job from the corner of my office. Yesterday, the doctor removed my arm and leg casts. Dr. Greyson said the scans looked clear and I had nothing to worry about.
For the first day in ages, Brock didn’t stay at Ross Enterprises with me. He had some big client he had to meet with. Sam was still in Shialia with my sister, and the rest of the team members were deep in the cases they were working. It took me hours to convince Brock I could stay at work by myself. Alex secured the office like Fort Knox, and Brock would be showing up later, anyway.
Living with Brock had become a new challenge. I was physically attracted to him, but I didn’t know if I wanted to get into another relationship after how badly my marriage had ended. Doug had always talked about how ugly my body was. I made sure all the clothes I wore around Brock covered the scars that marred my skin.
The ringing phone brought me back to the present. The caller ID showed it was Alex. Hopef
ully, he was in a good mood. “Good morning, Mr. Ross.”
On the other end of the line, Alex sighed. He hated when I called him Mr. Ross, which made it that much more fun. I didn’t expect to be treated any differently because our families were intertwined. “Jessica, if you don’t stop calling me Mr. Ross, I will fire your ass.”
That made me chuckle. Alex would never fire me. He was too scared of his wife, Bridget. She ran White Hat Security and was an ethical hacker. Last time he made her mad, she set his cell phone ring to a Lady Gaga song. He had come storming into my office, demanding that Brock fix it. But Bridget had been smart and added an extra layer of security that Brock couldn’t break.
“What can I do for you, Alex? I’m working on next year’s budget. You wanted the numbers by the end of the week. If I remember correctly, you said, ‘Get those numbers by Friday or you’re fired.’” I was close to being done with the budget. I just wanted to make him feel guilty for bothering me.
My assistant, Joana, brought in a cup of coffee for me while I was doing my best Alex impression. I thought she would die of laughter. Most of the employees at Ross Enterprises ran in the other direction when they saw Alex. When I first started, I did anything in my power to avoid him. Since Patty, my twin sister, started working with his wife, I have learned Alex is a softy under his hard exterior. I just had to ignore him when he fired me and continue on with my job.
His chuckle at my impression was thick and creamy. “Since I promoted you, when have you ever done anything I asked? I know you don’t take me seriously when I say I will fire you. Hell, you go around behind my back rehiring everyone I fire,” Alex muttered.
I needed to get back to the numbers, and talking to Alex was not helping. “It’s nice chatting with you, but I need to get back to work. My boss is an ass. Did you know that thirty-one percent of people waste about one hour of work time each day? This little chat could be considered wasting work time unless you have a point to your call.”
