Mr. Dangerously Sexy

by Stefanie London

  “I wanted to talk to you about something.” Mrs. Hollings patted her coiffed silver hair while openly admiring Logan, who looked irritated by the whole thing.

  “Go on.”

  “There was a man asking after you a few days ago. I thought he might have been a suitor calling on you.”

  Addison frowned. “What was he doing?”

  “He was knocking on your door.” Mrs. Hollings smiled. “Only he was knocking on the wrong door. He thought you were in the Lims’ apartment. But I set him straight.”

  She looked so proud that Addison didn’t have the heart to burst her bubble. “Did he happen to leave a message or a name?”

  “No, dear. I asked him if he wanted to because I figured you would be interested. He was very attractive.” She tittered.

  “What did he look like?” Logan asked, his voice sharp as a gunshot in the quiet hall.

  Mrs. Hollings blinked, taken aback by Logan’s dark expression. “Oh, well, it was a few days ago...umm. He was tall, dark hair. Very uhhh...” Her hands fluttered at her chest. “Strong-looking.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Hollings. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for him.” She touched the older woman’s shoulder and smiled warmly, trying to ease the worried expression on her face. “I appreciate you looking out for me.”

  “Oh, of course. Of course.” She shuffled back down to her apartment with a wave.

  “I hope she realizes she’s put you in danger by divulging your address,” Logan fumed. “Who does that?”

  “She didn’t know any better, Logan. Calm down.” Addison shoved her key into the lock and opened her front door. “She thought it was a ‘suitor’ coming to sweep me off my feet.”

  Logan muttered something under his breath as he shut the door behind them. The apartment was clean and organized, exactly as she’d left it. But she wasn’t greeted by the same sense of relief that she usually was upon returning home. Instead, anxious butterflies flittered around in her stomach.

  “Is it possible that someone from work came by to drop something off?” she asked without holding much hope. “A tall guy with dark hair could be anyone.”

  Logan shook his head. “It’s not anyone.”

  “Do you think it’s him?” Her heart hammered in her rib cage. When she shut her eyes, she could see him. Well, not him exactly, but the shadowed face that had peered through the window of her car. His voice echoed in her head.

  Let me in, you fucking bitch.

  Logan’s arms were around her and he tucked her head under his chin. “If it is...we can’t take any chances. He knows your address.”

  “I honestly don’t understand why this guy is after me.”

  She’d lived a fairly quiet life, and her role in Cobalt & Dane was strictly on the business side of things. Accounts, payroll, HR. Nothing to anger a dangerous person, at least not that she knew of.

  “I don’t know, either.” His hand brushed the hair from her face. “Why don’t you stay at my place tonight?”

  “That’s not a long-term solution.”

  “True, but it’s late. You’re tired. I sure as hell won’t sleep if you’re here by yourself.”

  Her cheek rested against the soft cotton of his shirt, the warmth from his skin seeping into her. She pressed a hand to his chest. “What about tomorrow?”

  “We’ll check the place out more thoroughly then. I’ll talk to the building manager and we’ll have a look at the security footage. I’ll also call the officer who took your statement a few days ago. Hopefully he’ll give me access to the gas station footage.” He paused. “You’ll need to stay with me for a few days, until we have a better handle on this situation.”

  “Is that a good idea?”

  “It’s a better idea than you staying here.”

  Neither of them mentioned the third option of a hotel room. They were in the biggest city in the country; accommodation would not be hard to come by. But the truth was Addison had been well and truly shaken up—as much as she tried not to let it show. If anyone could take care of her security, it was Logan.

  So long as you don’t mistake his concern over your safety for his caring about you intimately. You are not changing your plans.

  “I can set you up in my spare room. There’s space in the closet for you to hang your things and you’ll have free rein of the place.”

  Addison wasn’t sure if Logan was being gentlemanly by assuming she wouldn’t want to be in his bed, or if he was drawing a line in the sand. And she wasn’t sure which scenario she preferred.

  “Sure.” She nodded. “I’ll go and pack my things.”

  At least if they camped out at his apartment she’d have a better chance of keeping her business plans a secret.

  * * *

  THE FOLLOWING DAY Logan sat in his office at the Cobalt & Dane headquarters, wondering what the hell the universe was trying to do to him. He’d spent the night tossing and turning. He’d swung from opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. Battling a desperate desire to sneak into Addison’s room and reenact their sexy night together. To beating himself up for thinking about such things when he should be occupied with solving the mystery behind her stalker.

  Luckily, he had something to keep his mind busy today. The building manager for Addison’s apartment complex was an old friend of her father’s. When Addison had moved into the place four years ago, Daniel had made it his business to ensure his little girl was well protected in her new home. Therefore, upon hearing the news that someone was targeting her, the manager had granted Logan immediate access to the security footage for her floor.

  Unfortunately, the recording hadn’t given him much to work with. A guy in a dark coat and a baseball cap had entered the building by tailgating another resident. Since the concierge appeared to be on patrol at the time of the incident, the man had made it straight up to Addison’s floor without anyone vetting him. Logan made a mental note to talk to the building manager about that flaw. The man on the camera had then stopped at the door next to Addison’s apartment, though it was difficult to tell what he was doing. Trying to pick the lock, perhaps? The footage also showed Addison’s neighbor talking to the man and pointing toward Addison’s door.

  Logan gritted his teeth. The crazy old bat had no idea what she’d done. What kind of danger she had put Addison in. But as always, Addison had seen the good in a person whereas he’d seen the bad.

  A knock interrupted his thoughts. Rhys stood in the doorway of his office. “We got another email.”

  Logan waved him in. “Close the door behind you. We don’t need anyone else to hear about this.”

  The door shut with a soft snick and Rhys took a seat on the other side of the desk. His shoulders were bunched beneath a neat white shirt, and a groove appeared between his eyes. “Shouldn’t we involve Addison in these conversations?”

  “Just give me the update.”

  Rhys looked as though he was about to argue but instead he sighed. “The email is from the same address as last time,” he said. “It contains more threats, but there was also an attachment. Apparently it’s supposed to contain some ‘scandalous’ pictures of Addison.”

  Logan’s fingers bit into the edge of the desk chair. “Say what?”

  “The email sender claims to have nude photos of her. But the attachment looks to be an .exe file, which tells me it’s probably a Trojan virus. More than likely, there are no pictures. He’s saying whatever he thinks will get her to open the file.”

  “Why would he want her to open a virus?”

  “These types of viruses are designed to grant unauthorized access to a device—in this case, Addison’s computer. From there he’d be able to see her emails, watch her browse the internet. He could also skim information like credit card numbers and banking passwords. If she’s using the office phone he might even be a
ble to listen to her calls because of the VoIP connection.”

  Logan’s blood ran cold. So this guy wasn’t a garden-variety stalker...he was a hacker as well. “But he hasn’t gotten access yet?”

  “No, I don’t believe so.” Rhys shook his head. “My team ran an additional scan just in case, and there doesn’t appear to be spyware or viruses on her computer or on the network.”

  “At least one thing has gone right,” Logan muttered. “What can you tell me about this guy so far?”

  “Not a lot. He’s using a generic email address from an online provider. They keep their user information locked up tighter than Fort Knox, so unless we get law enforcement involved we don’t have much chance of finding out who this guy is via the email information alone.”

  “And the chances of the police caring about some faceless person sending a virus is pretty damn slim unless we can connect it to the guy who ran Addison off the road.”

  Rhys’s brows shot up. “Someone ran her off the road? I thought the story about her car breaking down seemed odd.”

  Shit. So much for keeping Addison’s secret. “Don’t you dare breathe a word of it to anyone. Anyway, all I care about now is what we’re going to do next.”

  “We’ll set up a dummy device that’s configured to look like Addison’s computer. I have an old laptop that will do the trick. Then we open the file in this email and give the hacker access.”

  “So we can monitor him?”

  “Exactly. I can set the dummy up to have access to the internet, but keep it separate from our corporate files. He’ll be behind the company firewall, but we’ll control his access. We can put the laptop in the DMZ—”

  “I don’t need the tech talk, Rhys. Just tell me what happens when we give him access.”

  “We watch him. See what information he’s looking for, then do a trace route and follow the bread crumbs. That way we should be able to locate his IP address and use that to find his computer.” Rhys flattened his lips into a harsh line. “Then we hunt him down.”

  “Do it.” Logan ran a hand through his hair and tried to stop his mind from racing. “And keep it quiet.”

  “What about Addison?” Rhys asked, his eyes wary.

  “Don’t you worry about her. I’ll handle it.”

  The last thing he wanted was for Addison to be any more upset than she was already. He’d bring up the email once Rhys’s plan was in place. At least that way she’d know they were doing something to catch this guy.

  In the meantime, he wasn’t letting her out of his sight.

  7

  ADDISON JUMPED WHEN her phone rang unexpectedly and shocked her out of her groggy state. Trying to sleep in Logan’s spare bed had proved futile last night. Clearly, he didn’t believe in investing in a good mattress. The thing had been about as comfortable as a concrete slab. Plus, Logan had padded around his apartment until all hours of the night, his footsteps trampling on any chance she had of slumber.

  Part of her had hoped he’d sneak into her room like he had at the cottage. But the other part of her—the part that had gotten a gold star for solidarity—had willed him away. Her life was suddenly far more complicated than she wanted it to be, and the last thing she needed was Logan freaking Dane shaking up her plans.

  The more she thought about starting her own company, the more she was certain it was the right move. When her father had convinced her to study business, he’d promised her a seat at the head of the company. A voice. Influence.

  But what she’d been too naive to realize at the time was that someone without security expertise would always be a step behind. That her work would only be talked about if something went wrong. Really, it was a behind-the-scenes job—and she wasn’t a behind-the-scenes kind of person.

  Running her own consulting company would give her the best of both words—a way to use the skills she’d honed working for her father and an opportunity to sit at the head of the boardroom table. To be taken seriously.

  Her phone continued to ring, but Addison couldn’t muster up the energy to answer it. Eventually the call diverted to her assistant’s phone, and she could hear Renee’s perky greeting through the closed door.

  Addison checked her email again, as she had done every five minutes for the previous eight hours. It was stupid to think she’d get a nasty message in her inbox, considering the last one had gotten caught in the filter. And Rhys hadn’t come to her with any updates. But still, something wasn’t right. She could feel it down in her bones.

  “Addi?” Renee’s voice came through the intercom on her desk phone. “I know you’re busy but I’ve got a gentleman calling from a real estate company. I’m not sure what it’s about, exactly.”

  She snatched the phone from the cradle. “That’s okay, put him through.” A second later the phone clicked. “Hello?”

  “Is this Addison Cobalt?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “I’m Richard James from Comrade Real Estate. We’ve been in contact regarding a potential office space in Park Slope?”

  She bit down on her lip. The consultant must have gotten her work phone number from her email signature when she’d sent a query. How could she have forgotten to delete it? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  “Yes, Richard. Thanks for your call. I am so sorry to cut you short but I can’t speak right now. Would it be okay if I called you back later?”

  “Of course, not a problem at all.” He read out his number and Addison jotted it straight into the notes section of her phone. After a promise to call him back after she’d left the office, she ended the call.

  Crap. All the calls in the office were recorded. Given the nature of their work, they often needed to revisit phone calls between consultants and clients. She had to hope that her move would be all sewn up by the time anyone looked at the call log. The last thing she needed was Logan finding out her plans.

  And what will you do if you leave Cobalt & Dane and the stalker comes after you again? How will you defend yourself?

  She’d have to cross that bridge when and if she came to it. No one would get in the way of her plans, and she wasn’t going to live her life being afraid of every shadow. Her father wouldn’t have let some wack job kill his dreams, and neither would she.

  Deep down she knew her father would have been proud of her decision to start her own business, even if he’d hated the thought of her being alone in the big bad world.

  Addison glanced at the photo on her desk. It was an old one with three smiling faces—father, mother and daughter—taken a few short months before her twelfth birthday. A few short months before heart failure claimed her mother and turned Addison’s life upside down. Her father had quit his job as a sergeant major in the army and started Cobalt & Dane with a few ex-military friends. Except it had been only Cobalt Security back then.

  Before Logan had come along and taken her place as heir to the company, planting his name alongside her father’s on all their letterhead and business cards. All because she’d let her father convince her to take the “safe” route.

  Well, she couldn’t change the past. But she could change the course of her future. Could and would.

  As if by some form of magic, Logan appeared in her doorway. “Time to go.”

  “Go where?” She looked at her phone and realized it was almost seven. How long had she been sitting here staring at the photo?

  “Home. Dinner. Wherever.”

  He was rakishly handsome today, much to her despair. A pair of black jeans and black boots made his legs look strong and lean, while a gray sweater with a short V-neck hugged the muscles in his chest and shoulders. His light brown hair curled around his ears, too long and yet totally perfect. It was the right length to hold on to, to thread between her fingers and pull. Hard.

  “Who said I was ready to leave?” She turned back to h
er computer, needing to look away from him before she forgot that she was supposed to be putting distance between them right now.

  “I did. We’re going home.”

  Oh right, home. Also known as Logan’s place and her temporary prison. “Do you have to be so damn bossy all the time?”

  “It’s part of my charm.” He grinned and she had to bite back a laugh.

  “You’re totally shameless.” She clicked out of her email and stood, realizing that she was not going to be shaking her sexy shadow anytime soon. And after the week she’d had so far, he was probably the lesser of two evils. “Well, I’m going to need food.”

  “I’ve got us a reservation at Maria and Bruno’s, that Italian place you said looked nice last week.” Renee poked her head into the office and grinned. Her assistant was determined to set Logan and Addison up. If only she knew what they’d done over the weekend. “Logan said you might want to eat out, so I took the liberty.”

  “That’s very...proactive of you.”

  Renee shrugged, mischief dancing all over her expression. “It’s what I do.”

  Addison stood and smoothed her hands down the front of her black-and-gray shift dress, aware that Logan’s eyes were following her every move. Last night, when she’d thrown a few days’ worth of clothes into her suitcase, she’d picked this one because she knew how much he liked it.

  Two black panels hugged her sides, curving over her hips and legs, making her look tall and slender. The neckline skimmed the boundaries of appropriateness for the office—showing a little cleavage, but not too much. Walking the line between professionalism and sexiness with elegant ease. But the things that made her feel best were the black silk panties she wore underneath. They’d cost more than the dress and were twice as heavenly.

  You’re a goddamn glutton for punishment, Addison Marie Cobalt. You must love playing with fire.

  Perhaps. But her job required her to be confident and in control. And when everything was going to hell she could always rely on her clothes to make her feel powerful. Every little bit helped.