The Enforcer

by HelenKay Dimon

  She wasn’t arguing. She didn’t have the strength anymore. “Is that the bodyguard in you talking or something else?”

  “I’m not sure yet.” He picked up the mug but didn’t take a sip. “That kind of depends on you.”

  “I’m still angry with you.” She was but it decreased the more she sat there with him.

  “Then I’ll wait until later to ask.”

  She did love his tenacity . . . and his timing. “You think I’m just going to cool down and forget why you’re really in town?”

  “I get the sense you remember everything.” And he didn’t sound too happy about that.

  “Very true.”

  “Then I’ll just hope you remember how good that kiss was.”

  She almost lifted her hand to touch a finger to her lips. Tightening her muscles, she stopped herself just in time. “Don’t you think a lot of yourself?”

  “I was actually giving you all the credit.”

  Charmer. “You’re trouble.”

  “Probably true.”

  And she was just about out of self-control. “Eat your pie.”

  Chapter 15

  Three hours ticked by before they could throw the closed sign. Gerald slipped out, mumbling something about needing to have a say in the hiring of even volunteer staff from now on. Matthias didn’t take it personally. He continued to unload the dishwasher, knowing the faster he did that, the faster he could get her out of there.

  He felt her gaze on him but tried to ignore it. If he gave in, even an inch, he’d be all over her. His control had all but snapped. He blamed the combination of that sexy little uniform and her fierce personality.

  She dropped a dishcloth on the counter and turned to stare at him. “So . . .”

  Much more of this and he’d be on the floor with his mouth trailing up her thigh. “That’s a hell of a conversation starter.”

  “Let me finish.”

  “Of course.” He put the last of the glasses on the counter and shut the drawer. “Go ahead.”

  “Since you stayed here all day I’m beginning to think you take this unwanted bodyguard position seriously.”

  That’s what she wanted to talk about? “Very.”

  The radio played in the background. Hard rock. Not exactly the most romantic of tunes wailed through the room, but it’s not as if he heard the words anyway. He was too busy watching her legs, one crossed over the other. Seeing the way the buttons on the top of her uniform pulled across her chest as she moved.

  He needed to rein it in. There would be no touching unless she asked for it.

  “It’s hard to believe that you normally spend most of your days just walking around outside,” she said.

  He feared the casual chitchat might make his brain explode. He pretended to go along with it even as the need to touch her screamed through him. “Usually I sit in an office and order people around.”

  “I can totally see you doing that.”

  “I’m good at it.” This, whatever this was? Yeah, he wasn’t so good at this.

  “Because you’re bossy.”

  “That’s not wrong.” His hand knocked against the glasses and the clanking drowned out the loud music for a second. Not his smoothest moment. None of this was.

  “You had to be bored.” She reached over and turned off the radio. The move had her stretching across the counter and her uniform slipping up higher on her thighs.

  Now she was just playing with him. That had to be it. Unless he’d totally lost it and was in this moment alone, she had to feel the pinging sensation and know every word and every move upped the tension. It thrummed off the walls and smacked into him.

  “Since I spent most of the time today watching you, no.” That wasn’t a lie. He’d thought about fucking her all damn day. The job was to keep her safe, but that’s not where his mind wandered.

  “Ah, I see. Was that in your capacity as bodyguard or something else?”

  “Mostly the former, but I did take a few peeks on behalf of the latter.” Few meaning constant.

  “And now you’ve unloaded the dishwasher again.” She looked down at his hands where they rested on the edge of the counter. Slipped one of hers over one of his.

  Oh, she definitely felt the pinging. He’d wager his entire net worth on that. But he kept his voice steady . . . somehow. “As far as skills go, it’s not a bad one to have.”

  “Matthias.” She sighed at him. “Any chance I could get you to kiss me again?”

  Hot damn. “Is this for scientific purposes or—”

  “It’s for me. Because I want you to.” She held his gaze. Sounded sure.

  He turned to face her head-on but didn’t touch her. Not yet. He wanted to draw this out and make every minute count. “I love a woman who knows her mind.”

  “Not too forward for you?”

  It was as if she hadn’t been paying attention. “You could strip naked and wrap your legs around me and I wouldn’t find you too forward.”

  She winked at him. “Baby steps.”

  That’s all it took. One shift in weight and he was on her. Had his hands around her waist and his mouth on hers. Not sweet and not charming. He dove in, branding her. He wanted her to remember this kiss. To feel it whenever she thought about him.

  She didn’t pull back. Didn’t hesitate. She met him move for move. Toured her hands over him as her mouth pressed against his. She was so damn hot and responsive.

  His brain said to ease on the brake but his body shouted something very different. His hands slid down her sides and kept going. When she widened her stance, opening her legs even further, he slipped his fingers past the bottom edge of her skirt. Skimmed over her soft skin until she trembled and even then didn’t stop.

  When he hit the edge of her underwear a warning signal blared in his head. He might have stopped if she hadn’t moaned. The sound ran through him and his fingers moved higher. He touched her through her underwear. Rubbed back and forth until her hips pushed forward, matching his rhythm.

  The click barely registered. It hit the back of his brain and sat there. Then his body jackknifed into action. He pulled back, just enough to reach for his gun. “What was that?”

  Garrett walked in with his hands up in the air. “It’s just me . . . well, now.”

  His gaze went to them, to Matthias’s hand, which was still touching her.

  Kayla punched Matthias’s shoulder. “You didn’t lock the door?”

  “He’s like fucking germs. He’s everywhere.” Matthias growled the response, assuming Garrett would get the hint and go.

  But no, he just stood there. Smiling.

  “That’s heartwarming.” Garrett’s gaze went to Matthias’s arm. “Maybe if you could take your hand out of her dress, we can talk for two seconds.” His smile widened. “Unless you already told her your brilliant new plan.”

  Kayla groaned and not the good kind. “Is this going to tick me off?”

  “Doesn’t everything?” But Matthias backed up, gave her a bit of space.

  Garrett pretended to cough into his hand. “Asks the guy who’s currently feeling her up.”

  That made Matthias move faster. He slipped his hand out of the warmth between her legs and smoothed her skirt down. He aimed for chivalrous, but he had no idea if he hit the mark. “No one asked you for a play-by-play.”

  “My life was much quieter before you two came to town.” Red still stained her cheeks but she sounded back in control as she turned and leaned against the counter.

  “And more boring,” Garrett said.

  “Don’t be so sure.” She shooed them toward the dining room. “In the other room. We may as well find a table because I sense I’ll need to be sitting down for this.”

  Matthias tried to ignore Garrett and his smirk as he walked past him. He continued into the dining room and stopped when he got to the first table. Someone stood at the front door and kept knocking.

  “Who’s that?” But he was pretty sure he knew. While following Kayla, he dis
covered her friend. He’d checked into her. She was a hometown girl, completely invested in the community long before Kayla moved in. There was nothing in the woman’s past that raised an alarm with regard to Kayla.

  “My friend Lauren,” Kayla said to Matthias. “I told you I had one.”

  After delivering the comment, she tried to zoom past Matthias. He caught her arm just in time. Looked like they needed to have a conversation about the intelligence of running to open the door when a stalker was on the loose. But he’d wanted to meet this friend, so that meant getting her inside. He nodded to Garrett. “Let her in.”

  Kayla glanced at Matthias. Bit down on her lip. “She doesn’t know.”

  The sentence was cryptic but he got the point. Kayla’s need for secrecy extended to everyone. He knew about her past because he came to town armed with the information. That didn’t mean Kayla had filled Lauren in. “If she’s your friend, she might be in danger.”

  “Enough.” Kayla held up her hand. “You made your point.”

  He let go of her arm then, but he really didn’t want to. “Excellent.”

  Garrett unlocked the door and motioned for Lauren to step inside. “Hello.”

  She eyed him up as she slid past him and came inside. When she saw Matthias she came to a stop. “And you are?”

  Kayla piped up before he could answer. “Lauren, this is Matthias. He’s the investigator I told you about.”

  “When did that happen?” He’d been with her or watching her personally for all but a few minutes when he visited the dive shop and the place below Kayla’s apartment. None of his men told him she’d had a visitor.

  “He’s actually more of a self-appointed bodyguard. This is his assistant . . . or something.” Kayla waved a hand in Garrett’s direction. “I’m not clear on their work relationship.”

  “Neither is Matthias. I’m Garrett.” He shook Lauren’s hand and then they all stood around a four-top.

  “What’s going on?” Lauren asked as her gaze moved around the table.

  Matthias knew Kayla trusted Lauren. As someone connected to the area, Lauren might prove helpful in gathering information on the break-in, so Matthias was fine with providing intel . . . up to a point.

  He nodded at Garrett. “Go ahead.”

  “The quick and dirty version?” Garrett asked. “Someone broke into Kayla’s place, trashed it and wrote a threatening message on the wall.”

  Lauren put her palms on the back of the chair in front of her. “Wait . . .”

  Garrett looked at Matthias. “Do you want to take it from here?”

  He wanted to take this a bit slower so he could assess Lauren and her reactions and give Kayla a second to breathe. It was her life they were in the process of unraveling. “Everyone sit down.”

  Lauren slid out a chair and dropped into it.

  The rest of them obeyed, too. Matthias figured he got lucky with that because it wasn’t like Kayla to blindly agree to anything he said. Even something as simple as this.

  “The big secret is . . .” Kayla’s voice trailed off as she looked at him.

  He slipped a hand over her knee under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “If you’re ready.”

  But she didn’t just bluster forward. Sometimes she talked fast and rushed out her words. Not here. Not this time. A full two minutes ticked by. More than once Lauren started to talk but stopped again when Matthias shook his head.

  At minute three, Kayla inhaled a deep breath and began. Her words came out low and sounded pained. “There was a murder while I was in college. A massacre, actually. My housemates. All of them. I’m the only one who survived.”

  “Apparently her continued living pisses someone off,” Garrett added.

  Kayla frowned at him. “I wasn’t going to say it that way, but yeah.”

  Lauren blinked a few times. She shook her head, as if she were trying to force the words to make sense. “Murders?”

  “Seven years ago and nowhere near here.” Kayla rubbed her hands together over and over until the skin turned red. “We’d just started our junior year. Had moved into this fantastic old house about six blocks from campus.”

  Just saying the sentences seemed to make her body cave in on itself. It was as if the weight of the words leaving her body deflated her. Matthias had no idea how to help her or make it better. For a man who spent his entire life saving so he could make up for the one time he’d failed to do so, watching the pain play across Kayla’s face and haunt her eyes made him feel useless.

  “So, the stalker you have now is related to the murders?” Lauren stopped there, but her meaning wasn’t a mystery.

  Matthias didn’t know how much Kayla had told her friend, but obviously something. Clearly the stalker part wasn’t news. It made him wonder what other intel Lauren might know.

  But now wasn’t the time to dig into that or ask about her clients and her business. Later.

  Kayla slipped a hand under the table. Her fingers touched his thigh and he immediately reached out. Their fingers entwined and he tried with all his might to send strength to her through the simple touch.

  “For the first few years right after, while the investigation was ongoing, there were all these questions and reporters.” Her voice cut off. “After the police cleared my name the threats started. I’ve been followed around ever since. Every time I change my name and try to make a new life, someone tracks me down.”

  Lauren frowned. “Do you know who?”

  That question could only lead to trouble, so Matthias jumped in. “We’re going to skip over that question for now.”

  “Convenient,” Garrett muttered under his breath.

  Matthias didn’t feel one ounce of regret for talking right over Garrett. “The point is, we’re here to look into this and see if we can solve this once and for all.”

  Lauren’s frown hadn’t eased. “Solve what though?”

  Matthias answered. “The murders.”

  “The identity of my stalker,” Kayla said at the same time.

  “Well, that was interesting.” Garrett hummed. “Seems we have another communication issue.”

  “I think I’m a little lost, but I’ll catch up.” Lauren glanced around the table one more time before her gaze landed on Kayla. It hesitated there before moving on to Matthias. “Tell me what you’re doing now. What exactly is the plan?”

  There was only one thing that could happen, in his view. “I’m going to move into Kayla’s apartment and pretend to be her boyfriend. That will—”

  “What?” Kayla’s head shot up and she dropped his hand. “Hold on.”

  “Impressive how you slipped that in there,” Garrett said.

  Matthias shrugged. “I tried.”

  Lauren leaned across the table toward Kayla. Reached an arm out toward her as she looked at Matthias. “Who are you again?”

  The protective gesture eased some of the tightening in his gut. Lauren looked ready to throw her body in front of Kayla’s. Matthias would never let that happen, of course, but the show of loyalty almost made him smile. “Her bodyguard.”

  “Hired by?”

  She was almost as tenacious as Kayla. “Not relevant.”

  “There’s an interesting answer.”

  Yeah, he definitely understood why the women got along. Neither of them ceded ground during a discussion. “The point is that I don’t want her alone. I also need her to continue on with her daily life, not act like she’s on edge or in danger.”

  “But she is,” Lauren said.

  Since Kayla looked a bit too stunned by his bombshell to take over, Matthias kept talking. Besides that, he had no intention of having his plan change, arguments or not. “To date, this stalker has thrived on ruining Kayla. Running her out of town, making her change her life around and hide. If she stands her ground this time, we can flush him out.”

  Kayla shifted in her seat next to him to face him. “That’s really the plan?”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Lauren said. “Sh
e’ll be a target.”

  “But I’ll be there.” An obvious point and one he thought they’d get without him highlighting it.

  “Are you immune to bullets?”

  Kayla would pick this moment to snap back into the conversation. Lucky him. “Not really.”

  “Kayla.” Lauren put her hand over Kayla’s on top of the table. “Come live with me. We’ll call the police or the FBI or . . .” Her gaze moved to Matthias’s face and stayed there. “What’s with that expression?”

  “The you’re-not-going-to-win thing?” Garrett scoffed. “He’s really good at it.”

  “If she goes with you then you’ll be in the way and I’ll have to guard two of you instead of one.”

  Kayla pinched his thigh. “Matthias.”

  Apparently that wasn’t delicate enough. Fine, he got the hint and tried again. “And Kayla doesn’t want you in danger.”

  “Better,” Garrett said.

  Kayla put her second hand over the one already holding Lauren’s. “Matthias is absolutely right about one thing. This has to end. I really can’t take much more.”

  “I get that and I agree, but you’ve gone from this lone wolf to having a stalker and now these two and . . .” Lauren shook her head. “God, how did you survive?”

  Matthias had the same question. He knew what it was like to be alone and feel abandoned. He understood guilt and pain. He got through because he had a group of men, like Wren, who forced him to redirect his frustration and not just wallow. Somehow, Kayla managed all of that on her own. He respected that and he didn’t respect that many people.

  “The killings? I was in the shower.” A sharp whack of silence hit the room. The chairs didn’t move. No one shifted around in a seat. “You can all stare at me, but it’s the truth. I heard a noise, turned off the water and went downstairs to find . . .”

  When her voice broke, Matthias took over again. “Okay, that’s enough of that for now.”

  “Are you sure you can keep her safe?” Lauren had asked other questions but this time her eyes were filled with concern.

  “Yes.” Matthias didn’t sugarcoat the extent of his protection. “Her and by extension you. Now that I know Kayla cares about you, I’ll have someone from my team stationed outside of your house and with you round the clock.”