“Shut up,” Shea said. “On my God, I could have simply stopped and none of this would have gotten out. Aaron would have been the only one and he’d never have told. Crap on a stick!”
“It’s only us,” Izzy soothed. “And none of us is going to blab it around.”
“Even if we did,” Elspeth said, “Shea could still deny it. Our word against hers.”
“Your word would be believed.”
“Sure. But there would still be people who believed because of how well Shea done it. She wouldn’t be the first person fingered as a fake that still went on to make a living from it.”
“Good grief.” Shea face-palmed.
“Never mind.” Izzy rubbed her back. “You did what was right, okay? That’s all that matters. It’s over, you’re starting anew. No harm, no foul.”
“Yeah.” Mikki controlled her laughter. “Stop stressing. Move on.”
There really was no other way, was there?
Cripes, Cole was going to love this.
Not going to tell him. Ever.
Chapter 13
“I do not believe this!”
Not usually working on a Sunday but needing to check the last details in a security plan for a high-profile visitor going to Egypt, Aaron didn’t look up from the computer. He knew exactly what was happening.
“Who put this up?”
Aaron smiled faintly. The ‘this’ Raymond was referring to was pretty funny. That meant it was as far from funny as straight-laced Raymond would consider it.
“Aaron!”
“Yes?”
“Did you see this?”
Kind of hard not to when Raymond shoved the photo under his nose. Aaron glanced at it. “Yes.” He just couldn’t resist adding, “Kind of cute.”
“Cute? Cute?” Raymond was practically breathing fire. “How did she get it, huh? It’s Marietta, I know it! That woman is beyond vile!”
Pausing, Aaron interlinked his fingers and rested his hands on the desk, watching as Raymond walked around the office ranting while smacking the backs of his fingers on the photo. It was of a bare-arsed baby. Unfortunately, the head had been photo-shopped so that Raymond’s head was on the top. Underneath was written ‘Is his Arse as Cute Now as it was Then? Phone 9654 8729 to find out!’
“This is inexcusable!” Raymond shook the photo in the air. “I’m telling you, Aaron, you need to send that female on a mission on the other side of the country! No!” He thumped the photo down on the desk. “The world! The jungle somewhere!”
Letting his receptionist burn off some steam, Aaron waited patiently.
“I wondered what the heck was going on when I started getting phone calls in the middle of the night asking me about my arse,” Raymond fumed. “Emails asking me for a photo. I’m the laughing stock of the company.”
“I’ll talk to Marietta.”
“I’ll fix her.” Lifting up his ever-present iPad, Raymond started typing furiously.
Uh-oh. “Raymond-”
“Tit-for-tat, Missy, tit-for-tat!” Raymond crowed.
Ryan slid in the door, looked from Raymond still typing to Aaron.
“Marietta,” Aaron said.
“Figured,” Ryan replied.
“Talk to her.”
Ryan nodded.
“There!” Raymond grinned triumphantly. “Let’s see you top that, you evil woman!” He walked out.
The email inbox pinged and resignedly, Aaron opened it to check out Raymond’s revenge. Oh boy.
Ryan looked over his shoulder. “Huh.”
The photo was of Marietta, taken a couple of years ago when she’d applied to the security company. Raymond paid her back all right. He’d photo shopped snaggled teeth, a big wart on her chin, a lazy eye, a moustache on her top lip and hooked nose. Underneath was typed ‘Are my Boobs as Natural as my Face? Phone 9652 3257 to find out!’
A snort of laughter floated down from Control Centre on the first floor.
“She is going to kill him.” Kennedy passed Aaron’s door on the way to the front office. “He’s printed it out and stuck it up at reception.”
Not worried about the result because it provided some amusement for the team in a serious and often dangerous occupation, Aaron started discussing the last of the details of the mission with Ryan, ironing out any little glitches.
They were at it for an hour before Marietta’s voice sounded as she entered the front of the building. Even from where they sat in the back office, they could hear when she saw the photo.
“Huh? Who is this poor cow?”
Aaron waited.
“Hang on - what the hell? What the hell?”
Ryan watched the door.
“That bloody Raymond, I’ll - bloody phone! Hello? Richie? My boobs? Up yours! Now where’s that little weasel? I’m going to reach down his throat and pull him inside out!”
Aaron looked at Ryan.
“I’ll talk to them both after they’ve blown off a little steam.”
“Thanks.” As soon as Ryan walked out the door, Aaron shook his head in amusement and turned back to the computer.
As usual, the sound of Raymond and Marietta insulting each other drifted through the building, much to the entertainment of those present, before Ryan put a stop to it.
Caught up in the work, time passed. When a knock sounded on his door, he didn’t look up. “Hmmm?”
“Aaron?”
At Cole’s voice he glanced up, his attention immediately caught by the worried frown on the teenager’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“Um…well…”
“Come in.” Aaron gestured to the chair in front of the desk. “Take a seat.”
Doing as bidden, Cole dropped into the chair and scratched the back of his head. “If Shea knows I’ve been over here, she’ll kill me.”
“You’ve been here before. Why is it a problem now?”
“Because…” Cole fidgeted, shifted in the chair.
Aaron regarded him steadily.
Cole sighed. “You know we had that crank caller awhile ago.”
“The one who didn’t leave messages?”
Cole nodded.
“He stopped.”
“After he had a go at Shea and she threatened him with the police, yeah.”
Aaron stilled. “Had a go at her?” Shea hadn’t mentioned that.
“Don’t know what he said but she looked a little shaken. Anyway, we didn’t have anymore phone calls after that.”
“What, exactly, did he say to her?”
“Shea wouldn’t say.”
Every cell in his body snapping to attention, Aaron’s expression remained stoic. “Is he over there now?”
Cole shook his head.
“When did he start calling again?”
“Yesterday a call, then today. Today was the only time I heard him because he left a message on the answering machine.” Cole chewed his bottom lip. “Said he was coming to see Shea real soon.”
“Is your sister home?”
“No. She’s having lunch with Mrs Arkwell.”
Aaron got to his feet. “We’re tapping your phone.”
“Shea might not like it.”
“Shea doesn’t have a say in this.”
“Okay, now she really won’t like it.”
“I’ll handle your sister. Anything else I should know?”
“Just that when I mentioned this morning that we maybe should tell you, she didn’t want to bother you, said the security cameras in the shop were enough.”
“Is that so?”
Cole gave him a cautious look.
“You did the right thing. I’ll handle this.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Tap the phone, track the caller, bring him down.”
“What if you can’t track him?”
“We’ve got the inside of the shop and the outside of the house on camera surveillance. I’ll up the surveillance.”
“I knew it!” Cole grinned widely. “I knew those coupl
e of extra cameras that suddenly appeared on the sides of your building ages ago were monitoring us and not your driveway.”
Aaron looked at him blandly.
“Cool. That is so cool.” Cole got to his feet. “Thanks, man.”
“No worries. What are you doing this afternoon?”
“Debbie and me are catching a movie. Starts at two, finishes at four, then we’re going to the local café to hang out for awhile. Shea wants me home by eight o’clock.” Cole rolled his eyes.
Aaron kept looking at him.
“Fine. Debbie’s parents insist she’s home by seven thirty so Shea’s given me that extra half hour to see her home and get home myself.” Cole snorted. “I’m not a kid.”
“No. You’re a responsible person she trusts to keep the time you agreed upon.”
“Of course I’ll keep my promise. Geez.”
“Wait here for me, okay? I’ll just be a few minutes.”
“Sure.”
Going out into the office set aside for the security team, Aaron looked around for Ryan.
“Upstairs.” Marietta pointed at the ceiling. “By the way, do I really have to read the policy on harassment again?”
“Ryan tell you to do that?”
“Yeah.”
“Do it.”
In Control Centre upstairs, Ryan was checking the camera surveillance on the spy base. Aaron waited while he finished and recorded the time before filling him in with the information supplied by Cole.
“So far nothing in the surveillance of the shop or house has given any indication that this stalker has been near the area,” Ryan said.
“I want a guard on both of them whenever they’re out,” Aaron stated.
“Are they going to know about the guards?”
“Not yet. Get her phones tapped right now, I want tracers on the calls.”
“I’m onto it.” Ryan left the room.
And when Shea got home, Aaron would be onto her. Crossing to the big window, he gazed down at the closed shop next door. First thing, he wanted an explanation as to why the hell she hadn’t confided in him.
“Ben.”
“Yes?”
“As soon as Shea comes home, I want to know.”
“Got it.”
When he returned to the office, Cole said, “Ryan took my house keys.”
“He’s got work to do.”
“Tapping the phones? Oh boy, Shea will not like this.”
“Leave Shea to me.”
~*~
Getting out of the car, Shea locked the door of the garage and checked her bag as she walked up the little path to the back of the house. Satisfied that she had everything, she looked up, her heart picked up pace in pleasure, then she took a second look and her step faltered.
Aaron was standing in front of the back door, legs spread slightly apart, black boots planted firmly on the veranda floor. His hands in the pockets of his jeans caused the sides of his customary black suit jacket to be pushed back behind his wrists. The white shirt contrasted with his tanned skin, the few buttons at the neck undone as usual.
As Luke had said several times, business-on-the-top, kick-your-arse on the bottom. Shea had thought the description quite apt, the reality definitely sexy. Now it looked a little…dangerous. Aaron’s expression right now told her nothing, but his eyes sure as heck did. They were locked onto her, and not in a good way.
“Don’t slow down,” he said smoothly. “Keep right on coming.”
Oh cripes. The way he said it. Alarm bells started ringing in her head. “What did I do wrong?”
“You’ll find out.”
She drew to a stop at the bottom of the steps. “Do I need protection?”
“Who from?”
“Maybe you?”
His expression didn’t change.
“Because right now I’m getting some pretty angry vibes coming from you.”
His eyes bored into her.
“You going to tell me why you’re in such a snit?”
“I’m not in a snit.”
Yeah, right.
Hovering warily at the foot of her own veranda steps was ridiculous. With a snort, she went up, brushing past him to fit the key in the lock.
Sudden warmth at her back, the press of a tall, broad-shouldered, muscular body against her, one long arm reaching past her, his hand brushing hers aside to turn the key in the lock.
Shea made to step back only to find his other hand settling on her hip, easing her back as he swung the security screen open. Normally she enjoyed his hands on her - heck, she loved it, the man had incredibly skilled hands - but right now those big hands felt more like a set of invisible manacles as he nudged her forward.
Entering, she crossed quickly to the kitchen counter to lay the bag down before turning to face him, only to find his chest right in her sight. Aaron leaned over her, bracing those big hands each side of her on the counter, looking down at her with icy fury burning in his eyes.
Cripes, he was right. He wasn’t in a snit. He was furious.
“Okay.” Folding her arms, refusing to show her jittering nerves, she pursed her lips. “You’re mad about something. What are you mad about? What did I apparently do?”
“Apparently?” His nostrils actually flared a little as he repeated it. “Apparently?”
“Well, yeah, apparently. Because I have no idea what I’ve supposedly done.”
“Let me enlighten you, then.”
“Oh, please do.”
His eyes narrowed.
She really had to learn to control her tongue, but man, she had to admit there was something fascinating about him right now. That cold, controlled fury, the intensity that was different to the intensity he showed when they made love, when he was driving her to erotic heights that had her screaming his name as she shattered.
Danger practically pulsed through him, his anger almost rolling off his skin. “How long have we been going together, Shea?”
“Since we first met, you mean?”
“Fine. How long have you known me?”
“Um…ah…” She started doing a mental calculation in her head. Time had flown. She’d come early summer and it was now-
“Damn it, Shea.” Frustration and suppressed fury grated in his tone. “You’ve known me damned-well long enough to trust me.”
“What?” She blinked. “I do trust you.”
“Really? So why did you lie?”
“About what?”
“The phone calls.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he meant. “I can’t believe he told you!”
“Cole told me because he’s worried about you. He has more commonsense than you when it comes to this.” Tension was in every line of his body, his gaze continuing to bore into hers. “Every time we asked you about the phone calls you said they’d stopped.”
“That was in the early days,” she replied defensively. “I didn’t know you that well.”
“Do you realise we could have nipped this harassment in the bud back then?”
“Oh for - you thought I should go running to you back then? You were kind of friendly with me but not enough for me to go asking for help.”
His nostrils flared again. Whoa, he didn’t like that.
She tried again. “If I were to go running for help every time a crank caller phoned, you’d have thought I was a neurotic idiot.”
“No.”
“Bullshit.” Annoyed, she poked him in the chest with a forefinger. “I was in a business that attracts cranks. Someone was just trying to put the wind up me. The best way to handle that is to ignore them. Reacting just encourages them to keep calling.”
“What did he say that upset you?”
“Huh?”
“The caller said something that made you threaten him with the police.”
Looked like Cole had spilled his guts about everything. “Nothing.”
Aaron looked at her.
“Really. Nothing. I was just tired of him calling.”<
br />
His gaze didn’t waver.
Shea attempted to shove him back with no success. “Would you please move?”
“What did he say?”
He wasn’t going to let this go, wasn’t going to move until she answered.
Exasperated, she threw her hands up. “Fine! From memory something about I was still here, he was coming to see me which he kept saying anyway, and something more about I’d know who he was when I saw him. That’s all.”
Aaron waited.
“Okay, okay. He didn’t take kindly to me hanging up on him, called me a bitch, I threatened him with the police and he hung up, didn’t call back for awhile.”
“You’ve had two calls since. What did he say?”
“Yesterday, nothing. Today he said he’d see me real soon.”
“This continued phoning is harassment, Shea.” A muscle jumped in his jaw. “Were you going to tell me this?”
Dangerous ground. If those eyes had anymore cold fire, she’d go up in icy flames.
Boy, was he in for a surprise. “Actually, yes, I was planning to tell you if the calls continued.”
Abruptly he shoved away, turning to stride across the room where he stopped with hands on hips.
Tension radiated out of him, fury, and she watched nervously as he stood there in utter silence. Damn, Cole had dropped her into it big time. She’d never seen Aaron so angry, angry enough to actually have to compose himself.
This was bad. Very bad.
“Aaron?” she asked tentatively.
“Give me a minute,” he growled.
Oh geez, he actually growled it. He’d growled before, but that was in the heat of passion when he was making her head spin and her sexual heat rocket out of control. His growl then was all delicious, raw heat.
His growl now was like a bear getting ready to rip someone’s head off.
Her head?
Combined worry and nerves had her fingers twisting together. Was he mad enough to storm out? Mad enough to dump her? Mad enough to end their relationship?
Even while those thoughts zipped through her head, her heart knew Aaron wasn’t the kind of man to walk away no matter how angry he was. What he might do, however, was anyone’s guess.
Chewing her bottom lip, she waited.
The Wells Brothers: Aaron Page 32
