Tame Me (Alpha Four, Book 2)

by Mia Dymond

  “I thought you said Chaos took her to his house.”

  “He did. They don’t live far apart.”

  “Is he on the beach, as well?”

  “No.” He stopped at a stop sign and then continued to follow the winding road. “Have you noticed anyone different around the spa?”

  She shook her head. “Kat closes completely when we’re there. Even the employees don’t hang around. In fact, the only oddball I’ve ever seen there is Steven.”

  “Who?”

  “Steven Hawthorne. He drops in occasionally to drop off paperwork for the charity.”

  “And that’s odd?”

  “Well, he doesn’t strike me as the spa type. He’s never scheduled an appointment as far as I know and he’s usually in a hurry to leave.”

  “Do you think he holds a grudge?”

  “Against Kat? I don’t know why he would. They seem to get along fine.”

  “Is he jealous of her position on the board?”

  “You’d have to ask Kat. She knows him better than I do, but it doesn’t appear like that to me.”

  He finally slowed, steered into a driveway, and parked. “We’ll figure out who’s behind this, I promise. Sit tight until I come around.”

  He left the truck, walked around, and then opened her door. She took his offered hand and then stepped down, comforted that he and the other men of Alpha Four stood united to protect Kat.

  “Thanks, Ace,” she said as they walked to the front door. “I just hope you find him soon.”

  As soon as her friend entered the living room, Kat took one look at Carley and grinned. Look who finally decided to take a leap of faith. She left the sofa and met her friend with a hug.

  “Thanks for coming, Carley.” She gave the other woman a quick squeeze and then stepped back. “Hi, Ace. Chaos is in the kitchen.”

  Ace nodded and left the room.

  “I wouldn’t leave you to face this alone,” Carley told her. “How are you?”

  Kat locked elbows with her friend and led her back to the sitting area where Sophie and Liv were already seated. “Shaken, but okay. My house is a disaster.”

  “James is taking care of it,” Sophie said from the far end of the sofa.

  “Good. Your house is the least of your worries.” Carley raised an eyebrow. “What’s Chaos doing in the kitchen?”

  “Corking the wine,” Liv drawled.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes.” Kat grinned. “And he made a platter of cheese and crackers.”

  “What a man!” Carley sat on the sofa next to Sophie.

  “He is,” Kat agreed. “He most certainly is.”

  Liv raised an eyebrow, opened her mouth to speak, and then abruptly closed it. Kat turned to look in the direction of her friend’s gaze and then immediately understood.

  “We’re heading out.” Chaos smirked. “I’m leaving the house in your care.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of it.”

  He stepped to the back of the sofa, lifted her hand to his lips, and placed a soft kiss to her knuckles. “The wine frig is stocked. Have fun.”

  She sat mesmerized by his tenderness as he placed her hand back on the pillows and then left the house with Ace behind him. She turned back to the group to see all three women just as hypnotized as she.

  Sophie finally broke the spell as she stood and headed toward the kitchen. “I’ll get the wine and cheese.”

  “It’s so clean,” Carley mumbled.

  Liv giggled. “I know, huh? I feel like this house is cut out of a magazine.”

  “It gets better.” Kat smirked. “He doesn’t have a housekeeper.”

  “Here we go, girls.” Sophie entered with four wine glasses and a bottle of wine and set them on the table in front of the sofa. “I’ll have to go back for the other tray. It’s huge.”

  “Thanks, Soph.” Kat poured wine in each glass and then set each on a coaster just as Sophie returned with the cheese tray and set it in the middle of the table.

  “Now that we’re alone, I want details.” As usual, Carley didn’t waste time with pleasant conversation as she took a glass and tipped it against her lips.

  Kat paused for several seconds, just to add dramatic effect to what she was about to say.

  “I love him.”

  Sophie’s eye widened. Carley coughed and quickly returned her glass to the table. Liv simply smiled and whacked Carley on the back.

  “About time you confessed,” Liv told her as she handed Carley a napkin.

  “Yeah well, it’s complicated.”

  “Does he know?” Carley croaked.

  “That’s the complicated part.” She sighed. “I know he has feelings for me, but he’s fighting some sort of deep, dark demon to express them.”

  “Uh, Kat.” Sophie ran her finger around the rim of her glass. “The look in that man’s eyes before he left you today was pure love.”

  Liv nodded. “I agree. He very obviously did not want to leave you.”

  “I see it,” she agreed, “but something holds him back.”

  “Have you asked him about his feelings?”

  “Sort of. We had an argument and his only explanation was that we couldn’t have a relationship because he’s protecting me.”

  Carley snorted. “I don’t buy it.”

  “Me either, but he’s extremely tight–lipped.” She released a hard sigh. “Maybe he’s right.”

  Sophie frowned. “Huh?”

  “Maybe I have a bad case of bodyguard fever,” she mumbled.

  Carley burst out laughing. “No way, Kat. The fact that you love that man is written all over your face. He just needs time to come to the same conclusion.”

  “You think?”

  “Of course.” Her friend shrugged. “And if not, he’s got two extremely hot, single friends.”

  “Two?”

  “Yeah, two, one of which questioned me on the way over about Steven Hawthorne.”

  “Really?” Kat frowned. “Why?”

  “He seems to think he might be jealous of your position on the charity board.”

  “I don’t think so. In fact, he showed up at the house last night.”

  Liv sat forward. “Why?”

  “He said he saw the flashing lights and came to make sure I was okay.”

  “How did he see the lights?”

  “His office isn’t far. The police cars and fire trucks would’ve driven by there to get to my house.”

  Sophie shrugged. “Maybe he was concerned.”

  “He’s harmless.” Kat sat back against the sofa pillows. “Besides, he’s had ample time to get to me before Chaos came along.”

  Silence creeped through the conversation as if no one wanted to pursue the topic of murder. She, for one, did not. Thankfully, one of them redirected the subject.

  Carley gently sloshed her wine against the sides of her glass. “Mr. Perfect really doesn’t have a housekeeper?”

  “No.” Kat grinned again, which was quickly becoming a habit when she thought of him. “And, he’s an amazing cook.”

  Sophie smiled with a twinkle in her eye. “Question is, does he cook without wearing his shirt?”

  “If he does, I haven’t had the chance to see him.”

  “Too bad,” Liv mumbled against the rim of her glass.

  Sophie lifted her glass, swallowed, and then set the empty vessel on the table. “Give it time. Once you’re safe and sound there will be no reason not to explore your feelings.”

  “You are exactly right, Soph.” Kat grinned. “And I intend to take every possible opportunity to do so.”

  ***

  Seated at a long oak table, Chaos glanced around the Alpha Four conference room, decked out with state–of–the–art electronics that allowed them to remain ahead of the bad guys.

  Most of the time.

  Rebel was an expert tracker, both on foot and behind the computer, which usually gave them the upper hand on a mission. The current perp
, however, appeared to be a little more tech savvy than their usual target.

  For at least the third time since he and Ace left his house, he second–guessed his decision to leave Kat. It wasn’t that he left her unprotected, he knew for a fact they were safe – the place was a fortress and if any one of them made a move to leave, he would know. He missed her and as badly as he hated to give in to that feeling, he had no choice. The fight just wasn’t in him anymore.

  He loved her.

  He loved her and he’d almost lost her last night without ever telling her. Damn the past, damn his reservations, and damn the consequences.

  “What do we know about the bomb?”

  Thunder’s question pulled his attention away from his emotions and reluctantly, he tabled them for the moment.

  “Pretty simple device,” he answered. “Small, but intended to cause collateral damage to the person holding it or standing close by. Instructions for building this type are all over the Internet.”

  “Any way we can track the components?”

  Chaos shook his head. “Available at any hardware store. Common parts that most people use every day. Unfortunately, he was smart to use something so easy.”

  “Did we get anything on film?”

  “This time we did.” Rebel reached for a remote in the middle of the table and pressed a button.

  In less than a minute, a large screen lowered in front of the wall at the head of the table and Kat’s front porch appeared on the surface. Rebel pressed a second button and a panel opened in the middle of the table. A keyboard rose from inside and Rebel reached to pull it toward him.

  Chaos sat forward and braced his elbows on the table while anxiety knotted the muscles in his neck. He was finally going to see the prick responsible for almost blowing them to Kingdom Come and when he did, the sonuvabitch better ask for his last rites.

  “What time is this?”

  “Seventeen thirty,” Rebel answered. “Are we ready?”

  Chaos nodded and his teammate pressed a key to cue the recording.

  Five thirty p.m. Any second now their guy would enter the frame. Acid churned his gut as he watched his prediction take shape on the screen. There, dressed in black slacks, a black dress shirt, and black sunglasses, a short, stocky man approached the porch with a box.

  “There’s our perp,” Ace said from beside him. “Anyone recognize him?”

  Rebel gave information they already knew. “He fits the neighbor’s description the night of the alarm breach.”

  “Freeze it,” Thunder demanded. “Can we get a facial scan?”

  “On it, Captain.” Rebel pressed several keys on the keyboard until a solid green line moved from the man’s head downward to his shoulders and then upward again. In several more seconds, the screen split into two sections – the picture on the left, data on the right.

  “Gentlemen, meet Mr. Robert Greene.”

  Chaos thought for a minute. The name didn’t trigger any recognition in his brain which told him one of two things: the guy was new on the scene or he was incidental. Unfortunately, the major players left an impression hard to forget.

  “According to my research,” Rebel continued, “he’s got a rap sheet a mile long, but nothing related to explosives.”

  Chaos leaned forward in his chair. “A hired gun.”

  “Most likely.” Thunder nodded. “Question is, who hired him?”

  “No reference to who he’s known to associate with?”

  Rebel shook his head. “Nothing’s noted. No gangs or crime families mentioned.”

  “I’ll notify Everglade Springs PD. They’ll pick him up for questioning, if nothing else. Make several copies of the disc. Kat and the judge may have some information once they view it.”

  Ace folded his arms over his chest. “What do we know about Steven Hawthorne?”

  Chaos tilted his head to one side. “Not much, why?”

  “His appearance last night surprised me. Kat confessed to not knowing him well.”

  “Surprised me too.”

  “Carley told me this morning he stops by the spa occasionally but only to deliver paperwork to Kat.”

  “I’ve only seen him there once. What do you have on his background?”

  “Not much. He’s originally from California. Licensed CPA, private practice here in Everglade Springs for the last three years. Several traffic violations but nothing else. No associations with the criminal element.”

  “Can you hack Liv’s database?”

  Thunder frowned. “What’s your angle, Chaos?”

  “Kat mentioned he attends charity functions with a variety of women. I’m wondering who they are and why.”

  “No, I can’t.” Rebel grinned and shook his head. “But not for lack of trying. She’s got a helluva firewall. Law enforcement issue if I’m not mistaken.”

  “You don’t usually have any problems with law enforcement computers.”

  “This one is FBI standard. I can’t get through.”

  “What the hell kind of database does she have?” Thunder still appeared perplexed. “And why?”

  “You can ask her later, Captain.” Chaos squeezed the bridge of his nose. “What about the charity board members?”

  “Nothing.”

  “I’ll make the call to the PD.” Thunder stood. “Maybe we can get some insight.”

  Rebel ejected a disc and slid it across the table to him. “Tell them to check the bus station. He bought a ticket this morning.”

  Chaos smirked as he stood. “Low–paying job, apparently.”

  “That, or he didn’t want to get trapped in the air.” Rebel shrugged. “Either way, they won’t have a problem hauling him in.”

  “I’ll make the call,” Thunder said as he headed out of the room. “I’ll let you know when they have him in custody.”

  “I’m going to do some more digging.” Rebel glanced at Ace. “Do you mind playing taxi?”

  “No. Where should I leave Sophie?”

  “Here.” Rebel began typing. “I’ll wrap it up when you bring her back.”

  By the time he and Ace arrived back at his house and parked in the driveway, Chaos knew what he had to do. Suddenly he felt like he was headed into combat.

  “You okay?”

  He glanced at Ace, not surprised by his friend’s shit–eating grin.

  “Yeah. Spilling your bloody guts is usually messy.”

  “True, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to save your sanity.”

  He frowned. “Since when did you become so philosophical?”

  “I’m all for self–preservation.” Ace shrugged. “Especially when a female is involved.”

  He shook his head and left the truck. Poor sap didn’t even realize he wasn’t far behind and far be it from him to tell him.

  Once on the front porch, he pressed his index finger to the keypad and then waited for the signal to enter the code. Within seconds, he and Ace entered and he had never been so relieved in his life to see all four women relaxed in his living room and his house still in one piece. Hell, the wine glasses even sat on coasters.

  He cleared this throat, hoping to disguise his surprise. “Ladies.”

  Kat’s gaze was the first to meet his and suddenly he struggled for oxygen. Not only did she knock him on his ass with her do–me grin, the reality of exposing his secret immediately set in. Combat didn’t sound quite so bad after all.

  “Did you find out anything new?”

  Damn, he hated to tell her but the repercussions of keeping it to himself may cost her life. He gave a slow nod.

  “As soon as you finish the wine, we’ll discuss it.”

  “We’re finished.” He moved his gaze to Carley who lifted a wine bottle. “I’d tip it to prove it but your floor is so clean.”

  “Thank you.” He grinned and returned his gaze to Kat. “We got a picture of the guy who left the package.”

  “Really? Did you recognize him?”

  “No, and we don’t think he’s b
ehind the threats. We believe he’s doing the dirty work for someone else.”

  Her gaze darkened and her eyes narrowed, an action he knew from experience meant anger built inside her. He was relieved not to be on the receiving end this time.

  “Did you identify him?” she persisted.

  “Yes. Does the name Robert Greene sound familiar?”

  “No.”

  He moved his gaze onto the other three women. “Any of you?”

  All shook their heads in the negative.

  “Really, Liv?” he continued. “You’re not covering for a client, right?”

  “He isn’t one of my clients, Chaos,” Liv said without hesitation. “Unless he uses an alias.”

  He hesitated for a moment, reluctant to mention the disc, but Liv had a point. They needed to see a face.

  “I have a picture.”

  Kat tilted her head to one side. “Can we see it?”

  He walked to the big–screen television hanging on the wall and slid the disc into the built–in player. He then pushed the power button and in seconds, the whole sordid scene played out again.

  As soon as the perp appeared on the screen, one of them gasped.

  “I’ve never seen him,” Liv said softly.

  He moved his gaze onto Kat who now sat incredibly still with her eyes glued to the television. Carley reached to squeeze her hand.

  “Me either,” Carley mumbled.

  Sophie released a heavy sigh. “Same here.”

  “Kat?” he prompted.

  “No, I don’t recognize him but if I ever see him again, I’ll make him wish he never set foot on my porch.”

  That’s my girl. He fought the urge to grin, relieved to see she hadn’t lost her fight.

  “Thunder called Everglade Springs PD. They should have him in custody soon.” He reached to turn off the television.

  “Geez, Chaos, you sure now how to crash a party.” Carley stood and collected wine glasses before she walked to the kitchen.

  Liv giggled. “We’ve had enough wine for now anyway. Are you the chauffeur, Ace?”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” Ace braced one hip against the sofa.

  Both Kat and Liv stood and exchanged a hug.

  “I’ll be at the office,” Liv told her, “but I’m only a phone call away.”

  Sophie stood and repeated the gesture. “Me too, but I’m relieved you’re in very good hands.”