by Lisa Hughey
For the first time in a long time, since his divorce at age twenty, he was interested in pursuing a relationship.
Shelley Stone came with a lot of strings, most specifically four. Three of whom were taller than him and outweighed him by several pounds. But he’d grown up scrapping and scrounging to defend himself and he was pretty sure he could take them in a fight. Individually.
If they ganged up on him, he was a goner.
Even so, he had the strange and overpowering urge to fight for her if they didn’t approve. He couldn’t believe he was thinking like that.
Focus on the damned problem, Enrique.
Jack had found both listening devices and cameras in Shelley’s room. Fairly high tech equipment too. Ric was meeting Jack downstairs in the security offices so they could review the camera footage from Shelley’s floor.
Once he was buzzed in to the casino’s highly secure offices, Ric beelined for the monitor in the corner where Jack sat with a uniformed security professional.
“What have you got?” Ric hoped they had something to go on.
Jack handed him a stack of photos. “Check out the pictures of her room again. When I went back and looked objectively, something kept niggling at me.”
Ric flipped through the pictures. Her clothes were strewn over the floor, looked like they’d maybe been slashed. The cosmetics in the bathroom had been opened and dumped in the sink. Her shoes had been ripped. Ric paused on a particularly pair of sexy red heels and wished they hadn’t been destroyed.
His mind arrowed back to last night. Shelley in nothing but her bra and those black patent leather pumps, her legs curled around his ass and her heels digging into him. He’d bet he had bruises on his butt. His lips tilted up.
“Ric,” Jack said sharply.
Oops. Ric wiped the smile off his face and studied the pictures again. His first thought when he’d seen the chaos on Jack’s phone had been a lot of rage but, after analyzing the larger sized pictures, he had different perspective. “It’s a little too….” he struggled for the right word. It was a mess, no question but there was something meticulously ordered about it. “Neat.”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought too.”
The security guy pulled up the video recordings from the prior night.
Jack was clearly uncomfortable. “What time did you guys, uh, meet?”
Ric flushed. “At the bar, about nine.” Thankfully, Jack didn’t ask what time they’d gotten to his room. Because the land speed record for hook ups hadn’t been broken but they’d come close. Their attraction had been that intense.
“Start at 8 p.m.” Jack requested the security guard.
They watched the video, scrolling through hours of hotel guests. Several amorous couples; a group of drunk women dressed up for a bachelorette party, the guest of honor wearing a short white veil and a Beauty Contestant banner across her chest that read, “Bride To Be”; one guy with two hookers, one on each arm; and finally at two a.m. a lone man got off the elevator. Before he got to Shelley’s room, Ric knew this guy was the one.
He was wearing a ball cap with no logo, long sleeves with a paunchy stomach, baggie Levi jeans, and generic tennis shoes. The cap was pulled far enough down that only his jaw was visible. And he’d angled his head so that no usable shots were captured by the camera.
“No identifying features, tattoos.”
Ric eyed the way the guy moved. “Stomach could be fake.”
“Yeah. Watch the way he walks. It probably is.” Jack studied the man as he paused at Shelley’s suite. He didn’t look around, no furtive glances or uneasy movements.
“Definitely not an amateur,” Ric said which didn’t make him feel any better. Then he barked out, “Hold and zoom in on his hands.”
Sure enough he was wearing thin latex or vinyl gloves.
“I don’t like this,” Jack said.
They continued to watch, keeping an eye on the time stamp. “Guy was in and out in under ten minutes.”
The man sauntered toward the elevator, no rush, no agitated movements. He displayed no signs of temper at all. At first glance and with the angry words written on her walls, the destruction was an act of rage. However, there was a more calculated intimidation going on here.
“Shift to the cameras in the casino,” Ric said. From the time stamp on the floor video, they started watching that elevator on the main floor. But the guy never came out. They knew he had gotten in the elevator going down so they checked each floor’s cameras until they found the tape. He’d gotten out on the third floor then walked toward the shops.
Ric’s uneasy feeling grew. “We need to talk.”
Jack nodded. “Yeah.”
“Can you print the best picture of him we can get?” Ric asked the security guy.
The casino ran the image through their facial recognition software but their database was full of known cheaters and grifters, not work for hire guys like this one.
“Sure.”
“Print several copies,” Ric said.
Jack interjected. “Six.”
Ric raised a brow. “Six?”
“Me, you, Con, Riley, Colin and John.”
“Who’s John?”
“I guess we haven’t caught up in a while,” Jack said ruefully. “I have another brother.”
Seriously? Ric’s mind shifted immediately to Shelley. Like she didn’t have enough stuff to deal with. “Must have been rough on Shelley.”
“Nope. She was the first one to really welcome John into the family.” Jack said proudly, “Shelley is one of the most amazing, resourceful, strong women I know.”
Ric thought about the woman he’d had sex with last night. She was more than that. She was a sensual, charming, funny, fun woman who deserved a hell of a lot better than she’d gotten lately.
What was he thinking? That he’d be the one to give her what she deserved?
Ric shuddered. It was like her pheromones had wrapped around his brain and squeezed out all his common sense.
They were a hook up, he reminded himself sternly.
A hook up he now had to protect.
“I think the cover of you and Shelley dating will work nicely.” Jack interrupted his musings again.
Ric thought of all the things they would do if they were really dating. His cock started to rise as he imagined he and Shelley exploring this white hot attraction further.
“But Ric.” Jack clapped a heavy hand on Ric’s shoulder. “One more thing.”
“What’s that?” Ric asked absently, his mind on all the ways he could ‘cover’ Shelley.
“No more touching, Shelley.” Jack laid down the law.
“What?”
“She’s vulnerable.” Jack countered. “I don’t want her hurt.”
“Shouldn’t that be her decision?” Ric asked evenly.
“Maybe. But I’m asking you, as a friend, to take care of her, not bone her.”
Ric pressed his mouth together. He would try, but he wasn’t making any promises. “I understand your position. But Shelley is a grown ass woman. She can make her own decisions. And if she decides she wants me….” Ric thought back to that three years. She’d been right there with him in his hotel room last night. Jack was thinking about Shelley as a mother not as a woman. “I’m not going to refuse.”
On the other hand, what the hell was he thinking? One day ago he would have said he wasn’t interested in getting involved with anyone, especially someone with lots of strings attached. A relationship with Shelley had strings written all over it. So, yeah, maybe Jack had the right idea.
Not to mention, getting involved with a principal was really a bad idea.
Jack said, “Let me tell you about the notes she’s been getting.”
Ric help up his palm. “What about Shelley?”
Jack raised a dark brow.
“She needs to be in on this discussion.”
“I was trying to protect her.”
“You don’t need to withhold things from her.”
Ric pulled out his phone. “Let’s all meet in my suite.”
“Fine. I’m going to call Con in.” Jack studied the picture of Shelley’s intruder. “I don’t want whoever is behind this to know where Shelley is.”
Ric knew Jack would have a better pulse on the situation. “Do you think she’s in physical danger?”
“The evidence of the pro would indicate this is more about scaring her, showing her they could get to her whenever and where ever they want.” Jack studied the pictures. “And so far the threats have all been fairly innocuous.”
A possessive, primitive need to protect her rose in Ric. “They must know enough about her to know you run a security company.”
Jack nodded.
“Yet, they still chose to make a move against her.” Ric contemplated that fact. “That indicates a level of arrogance that makes me uneasy.”
Jack replied, “Maybe they’re under the assumption that I wouldn’t care if something happened to her.”
“Are we sure the threat is really about Shelley?” Ric’s gut clenched with an unnamed emotion. Though they’d just met, he didn’t want anything to happen to her. “Could it be aimed at you?”
“It’s possible.” Jack tapped his finger on his lips. “John is investigating a lead on the missing girls. Ava’s friends.”
“I thought the asshole was awaiting trial.”
“He is, but we found a connection to a strip club here in Las Vegas.”
“So this could just be to distract you?” Ric thought out loud.
“Except, I’m staying away from John’s investigation so they don’t connect it to my family.” Jack mused. “At least not right away.”
“Then maybe the focus on Shelley is a back end way to get to Stone Consulting.”
“It isn’t like I haven’t made some enemies lately.” Jack propped his hand on his hips.
Ric snorted. “Lately?”
Seven
There was a knock on the suite door despite the ‘Do Not Disturb’ placard on the handle.
Shelley sighed and headed for the door.
“Uh, mom. You don’t answer the door until this is over.” Jess’s hand on her arm stopped her. “Let me.”
Shelley moped, and shuffled to the sofa. She dropped onto the L-shaped sectional. The sweats which before seemed soft and comfortable now chafed. She wanted her own clothes. She wanted her own life. It hadn’t been hers for all of an hour and she was already going stir crazy.
She was used to being busy.
Jess flipped the lock and opened the door. “Come on in.”
Shelley shoved into the corner of the large sectional sofa. Her knees were pressed up to her chest and she rested her chin on them as she waited to see who was here now. It felt as if the whole world was going to know that she’d had sex with Ric Santana.
“Hey, Shel.” Connor her youngest son and the hardest of all her children to figure out walked in to the living area of the suite. She loved Con. Perhaps more than the other kids. He’d been broken when she’d gone to live in the Stone mansion. Jack Stone Sr. could be a complete bastard. For some reason, he’d been most venomous toward his youngest son.
After Shelley had arrived, she’d tried to act as a buffer. To protect Con from his father’s cruel mean streak. She’d never understood why Jack Sr. had such an intensely rancorous response to Connor. He was the sweetest and so intelligent that Shelley had known that he’d surpass her smarts by the time he was a teenager.
“Con.” She pushed to her feet and headed for him.
There it was. That slight hesitation, as if he braced himself for her touch, then he wrapped his strong arms around her and she rested her head on his shoulder for just a moment. Sweet, sweet boy. Even if he did still hold himself away from Shelley’s affection.
The only person he didn’t hold back with was Ava. His girlfriend.
“Jack asked me to meet you guys here but I’m not sure—”
The hotel room swung open. Jack and Ric strode into the room and over to where Shelley, Jess, and Con stood.
Shelley noted Ric’s glare at her until he shifted his gaze to Con and it lightened. What did she do now? She’d tried to get out of his hair. He’d been the one who insisted that she stay in his room.
“Con, there’s some leftover breakfast if you want it.” She reverted to mom mode, trying to take care of everyone, feed everyone.
“Why are you eating breakfast in Jack’s former CO’s suite?” Con frowned.
Shelley flushed.
Jess whispered something in Con’s ear and his eyebrows rose.
Wonderful. Maybe Ric would like to strip naked so Con could see him in the buff.
Shelley turned her glare on Ric.
He raised his dark eyebrows and held up his palms in surrender. His face was perfectly impassive but she could tell that inside he was laughing. She wasn’t sure how but she could tell.
“Quit laughing,” she hissed at him.
Ric blinked as if surprised. It was clear that she had shocked him by recognizing what was going on behind his blank face.
“Nice to see you again Connor,” Ric said blandly.
“I’m going to head downstairs and pick up some new clothes for you.” Jess hugged her tight.
Thank Goodness. “Yes, please.”
Shelley flushed again when Con said, “You don’t have anything to wear?”
Jack diverted Connor’s attention. “Shel, we’ve got some pictures to show you.”
They all sat on the sectional sofa. Jack on one side and Con on the other. Isolation surrounded her, separating her from her family and whoever was stalking her. Then Ric sank down on the glass topped coffee table directly across from her. His thighs bracketed her legs, heat rose from his body. His worn jeans and the body hugging gray Polo shirt were casual, without any attempt to make a statement. The kind of clothing a man supremely comfortable in his own skin wore.
His subtle air of command wrapped around her, making her feel as if nothing could penetrate his shield of protection.
Her tension wound tighter than Ric’s abs as he handed her a picture.
The quality was decent, but the man had tilted his head at such an angle that she couldn’t see more than his jaw line. The baseball cap brim, a generic denim material, covered most of his face. The angle of the camera made it impossible to figure out how tall he was.
But she recognized the entrance to her suite.
“That’s the guy?” Her heart thumped.
“Yeah,” Jack said gruffly. “You recognize him?”
Shelley tried to study the man objectively, searching for some clue to his identity but too much was hidden by the way he avoided the cameras. “No.”
This man had gone into her room, cut up her clothes, dumped out her cosmetics, and violated her stuff.
It was just stuff.
But what if she’d been in that room?
Sweat bloomed on her chest as the destruction of her room came back to her. He’d sliced her clothes. If she’d been there would he have sliced her? Her heart picked up the pace as horrible possibilities flashed through her mind. Her breath shortened and her finger trembled as she traced it over the man’s face.
“I don’t even know him,” Shelley whispered. “Why would he hate me so much he’d destroy my things?”
Ric’s knees touched hers. “Hey. You weren’t there.” He rested his elbows on his knees and leaned in to smooth his palm over her forearm and linked his fingers with hers. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
His touch soothed her immediately.
Shelley lifted her gaze from the picture. His dark, brooding eyes were sincere and she fell into the bottomless promise of safety. She wanted to respond to his pledge. The solemn words felt like more.
Not just here and now. But weighty as if she could depend on him forever.
Instead of making her run, fast and far, she leaned closer until they were only inches apart. “Okay.” The air was heavy with expectation.
“We’re pretty sure that this was only meant to scare you.” Jack’s voice was gentle.
“They did a good job of scaring everyone.” Shelley’s sense of humor rose again.
“How so?” Con asked.
“There are three of you in Ric’s suite, and you’re all hovering.” Her lips quirked, and she tried to find the humor in the situation. It was either that or curl into a fetal ball and retreat from the world.
“Good point.” Jack’s lips quirked. “But the fact is that if you look at the mess he made it’s too neat, too methodical. Initially we thought rage, but after looking at the larger pictures, we think this was supposed to be intimidation.”
“So what do you think they want?”
“They want you to leave,” Ric said. The message had been sprayed over the walls. Leave or else.
Shelley’s ire rose. “No. Not happening. I am not missing your wedding,” she vowed to Jack fiercely.
“Okay.” Con popped open his laptop. “We need to go over the other threats you’ve gotten.”
“It’s just a few random emails.” Shelley dismissed the weird letters and proposals she’d been receiving. Really, there wasn’t anything in those fishing communications that was truly threatening.
“That’s my specialty.” Con smiled, the action softened the skin around his eyes. He was so much more relaxed and happy with Ava in his life. “I trace things.”
“You know, sometimes I think we should thank Fernandez,” Shelley said softly to him.
Con lifted his inquisitive gaze from the screen to her. “What?”
“He brought you and Ava together.”
Prior to his relationship with Ava he’d still had traces of that defensive teen. Con had needed someone just for him. And he’d found her in Ava. He deserved the bone deep happiness that bled from his pores and bathed him in a soft content light. Shelley brushed her fingers over the lock blond of hair that always seemed to tumble into his tawny eyes.
“True.” Con hesitated, then curled his fingers around hers and held her hand for a moment. The unconsciously affectionate gesture rolled over her like a wave of joy for his happiness, and his ability to finally settle in his own skin. “Was there a reason you brought up Fernandez? You think he has something to do with your current problem?”
