Sensual Surrender

by Katie Reus

  Even though she wanted to stay strong, she dropped her gaze and fished out the folded piece of paper she’d tucked in the back of her skirt. It was slightly wrinkled as she handed it to him. “I’m sorry that I can’t give you two weeks’ notice and if you won’t give me a reference I completely understand. I hope that you will as I’ve enjoyed working here, but—”

  “I’m not accepting your resignation,” he said calmly, his bluntness taking her by surprise. She forced herself to meet his gaze again. “Is this about you and Jay? Are you guys having problems? Whatever this is about, we’ll work it out. Do you want a raise? Hell, you deserve one so consider it done effective tomorrow.”

  She shook her head, taken aback by the offer. “I…” For a brief moment she thought of telling him that her thieving ex-boyfriend wanted her to steal from him. If she didn’t work here anymore, the bastard couldn’t blackmail her into anything. Which meant she’d become useless to Kevin and he’d leave her alone. She knew how that rat Kevin operated. But if she stayed on as Wyatt’s assistant, she’d always be a target for Kevin. He would keep coming at her until someone in her life got hurt. Even if she paid him back all ‘his’ money—which she planned to scrounge together in the next couple days—he’d never leave her alone and she refused to steal from the people she’d come to care for. Even if it meant leaving the man she loved and starting over somewhere new, she had to do it. She couldn’t drag good people into her mess, especially not if Kevin got Carlo De Luca involved. That had absolute nightmare written all over it. “This has nothing to do with Jay. I’m leaving for personal reasons.”

  Wyatt set the resignation letter on the desk and eyed her carefully, assessing her. As if he could read her mind. “Are you in trouble? Is this about money?” Before she could answer, he rounded the desk and pulled out a leather pouch from his top right hand drawer where she knew he kept his petty cash.

  He pulled out a wad of bills and held it out. “There’s three thousand dollars here, but I can get more quickly. All I’ve gotta do is go downstairs. What’s going on?”

  She stared at the money and quickly computed what she needed to do to get the rest of the cash for her ex. Most of her money was tied up in investments and her retirement fund, but she had about thirty-five thousand in savings. She could sell her car, which should get her another five thousand—but she needed it. Selling it wouldn’t be smart. Still, she had some nice jewelry that might net her another five thousand. If she sold her car and took Wyatt’s three she’d only have two to go… But she simply couldn’t take it. No, she could borrow the last bit from an old acquaintance. The interest would be high but she wouldn’t be taking from someone like Wyatt. He was a good boss and a good man. Just…no. She couldn’t do it.

  Stepping back, she put some distance between them before the temptation grew to be too much. She’d got herself into this mess, she’d get herself out. “Thank you, but no. I really am sorry about this. I’ll get my things later.”

  “I’m not accepting this resignation.” As if to prove it, he ripped the paper into bits. “Deal with whatever you need to, but you still have a place here. Always.”

  Her throat tightened as tears choked her, making it impossible to speak. Horrified that she was about to break down and confess everything, she turned and fled the office, batting away the wetness on her cheeks. She had some belongings in her office that she’d need to get, but couldn’t do it now. She’d send for everything later. Deep down she worried about her decision, but if she told Wyatt and Jay everything she knew exactly what would happen.

  They’d attempt to protect her and she couldn’t let that happen. Because men like Kevin and De Luca fought dirty and violently. Jay and Wyatt might be trained, but they were good men who walked on the right side of the law. She couldn’t make Jay a walking target because of her. The thought of him or anyone else she cared about getting caught in the crossfire because of her stupid youthful mistakes clawed at her. She simply couldn’t have that hanging over her head. If anything happened to Jay it would destroy her. The only thing that semi eased her conscience was the fact that she would call him as soon as she’d made it safely out of town. She didn’t want him to worry, but a little worry was better than him ending up dead. And if he didn’t know where she was, he was useless to Kevin too.

  * * * * *

  As Ellie raced from his office, Wyatt immediately dialed Jay. When his friend and personal bodyguard didn’t answer, he cursed. Of course he wasn’t going to pick up. Jay was conducting interviews all morning. Whatever was going on with Ellie, Wyatt was going to get to the bottom of it. He couldn’t believe that Jay would let Ellie just walk in here and blindside him like this. The man was the head of his personal security, but they were also friends. Which meant Ellie hadn’t told Jay she was quitting either.

  Wyatt had seen the way she watched the cash he’d tried to give her. Something had her running scared and there was no way in hell he was letting her take care of it herself. He didn’t care for many people, but she was one of the few. She put up with his sometimes tyrannical attitude, as his wife Iris liked to call it, and was one of the hardest workers he’d ever had. Not to mention she’d made Jay happier than Wyatt had ever thought possible.

  And Jay was more than just a friend or employee. The man was family. By extension, so was Ellie.

  As he grabbed his jacket from behind his chair, he dialed Nicholas Brannon, another one of his personal security members who also worked at the Serafina when Wyatt was in town—which lately was more and more often. Normally he’d call Iris or Hayden, but he knew they were doing security drills with the newest employees.

  “Hey boss,” Brannon answered on the first ring.

  “Where are you?” There wasn’t time to bother with niceties.

  “By one of the east exits near the blackjack tables. Hayden saw some suspicious activities on one of the live feeds and told me—”

  “Whatever it is, someone else can take care of it. Head to the west side elevators near the marble fountain with the mermaid sculpture. Ellie should be exiting very soon. I want you to tail her. Grab one of the unused company vehicles from valet if you can’t get to yours.”

  “On my way… Is this Jay’s Ellie we’re talking about?” he asked, even as Wyatt heard him moving into action as he likely ran toward the elevators.

  “Yeah. Stay unseen, but whatever you do, do not lose her. And keep her safe.”

  Brannon snorted as if that was a given. “No problem. How often should I check in?”

  “Once you’re on the road call me and we’ll leave the line open. I’ve gotta make a couple other calls first.” He had to get hold of Jay, but he wasn’t telling Brannon that.

  “All right, I’ll make sure she’s okay.”

  “Thanks.” Wyatt was glad the other man didn’t question him. Not that he’d expected Brannon to.

  Just like Wyatt, the man was also a former Marine. He’d been Force Recon and had spent a lot of time behind enemy lines. He was good at getting into places unseen. If anyone could tail Ellie without her knowledge, it was Brannon. Because Ellie was sharp and unlike most people, she would notice someone following her. She might not be physically tough or trained like Iris, but the woman was a fighter and very aware of her surroundings at all times. Something he’d noticed about her the first day they’d met. It was one of the reasons he’d hired her. She’d been qualified, sure, but she’d also been completely untried in the real world. Still, she’d been a lot more than a pretty face and he’d recognized something in her he saw in himself. A hunger to succeed. He knew enough about her past that he understood why. He did detailed background checks on everyone who worked with him.

  Once he reached one of his private elevators, he put in his master key card and headed to one of the employee parking lots where he could choose from a multitude of company vehicles. He wasn’t driving his own SUV right now in case Ellie noticed him.

  Brannon called him ten minutes later and gave him a general location.
“She just turned on Tropicana. If she hits 515, I might lose her.”

  Wyatt gritted his teeth and took a sharp turn at the next intersection. He’d been trying Jay, but the man still wasn’t answering. Probably because he’d turned his phone to silent. “If you want to keep your job, you won’t lose her.” He knew he was being irrational because the truth was if Ellie got on the so-called Spaghetti Bowl, the aptly named Las Vegas freeway, it would be damn hard to stay with her.

  “Damn, boss,” Brannon muttered.

  Wyatt ignored the other man as he tried to push down the concern rising inside him. “Where are you now?”

  “Hold on…she’s turning.” When Brannon rattled off a familiar street, Wyatt frowned.

  There was nothing down there but pawn stores, gun shops and strip clubs. Before he could ask what she was doing, Brannon said, “She’s pulling into the parking lot of Ultimate Pawn. I’m going to stop next door at The Gold Mine Pawn.”

  “All right, see you in a couple minutes.” After they disconnected he made the decision and called Iris. The more he thought about Ellie’s behavior, the more he realized something was truly off and he was going to use all his resources to help her.

  His wife, who was also the head of security at the Serafina answered on the second ring. “Hey, babe.” He could hear the steady thrum of voices in the background, telling him she was in the security room.

  “Hey, have you or Hayden heard from Jay this morning?”

  “I talked to him a couple hours ago before he started all those interviews.” Her tone went from relaxed to battle-mode in a second. “He was in here about twenty minutes ago telling me he was taking a break in between interviewees. He had to run home for something. What’s wrong?”

  “Ellie just quit and now she’s pulling into a pawn shop.”

  “What… hold on.” Seconds later, the background noise was eliminated so he knew Iris was in her office out of hearing range of anyone else. He could see his tall, slender, and incredibly fierce wife leaning against the custom made desk she rarely used, frowning. “Jay was going to propose tonight. Hayden told me this morning because he couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. Jay didn’t seem upset when he stopped by, but do you think that’s why she quit?”

  “No.” His answer was instant. “I think she’s scared of something. Or needs money for something.”

  “Did you offer her help or…never mind, of course you did. What do you need from me?”

  “Get V to work his magic and track her phone. She’s at a pawn shop right now but I don’t know where she’s going next.”

  V was short for Vadim, a man they’d both served with during their time in the Marines. Oddly enough, not at the same time. Though Wyatt and Iris had both been in the Marines at the same time—though she’d been in longer than him—they’d never done any missions together or been stationed anywhere together that he knew of. Somehow they both knew Vadim and when Wyatt had invited his old friend over for dinner two months ago—in an attempt to hire him—it had been a surprise to V, Iris and Wyatt that they were all acquainted. Thankfully his old friend had taken the job because the man was a genius when it came to computers. Now Wyatt desperately needed that expertise to help someone they all considered family.

  And he still needed to get in touch with Jay. But he wasn’t leaving Brannon to follow Ellie on his own.

  Chapter 3

  I’m ready to move on. Please don’t search for me. Please just let me go.

  Jay tried to wrap his mind around the insane letter from Ellie he’d just finished reading. It went on to say that she’d had fun with him but was done with their relationship and her time in Vegas and she’d get the rest of her stuff later. What. The. Hell.

  Slamming it down onto his kitchen table, he forced himself to take a deep breath and tried to think rationally. Whatever had brought on this note, it wasn’t because she didn’t love him. He knew Ellie. She might have kept a part of herself separate from him and the rest of the world, but he knew her better than anyone.

  And there was no way in hell he’d let her go.

  He pulled his cell from his pants pocket and cursed when he realized he hadn’t turned the ringer back on. He’d had a space of time in between interviewees and needed to run home before he met Ellie for lunch. With half a dozen missed calls from Wyatt, a lead ball congealed in his stomach. If she was truly done with her time in Vegas… He hadn’t even been thinking about her job. As Jay raced up the stairs, he dialed his boss.

  “Where are you?” Wyatt asked, his tone tense.

  “Home.” He paused as he took in the bedroom he shared with Ellie. Her soft touches were everywhere, from the four poster bed with the gauzy canopy draped over it that she’d declared wasn’t too girly because of its simplistic style. Whatever that meant. It was frilly and if any of his buddies from the Teams could see what he slept in they’d give him so much grief—and he didn’t care because it made Ellie happy. He’d made love to her there too many times to count. The thought of crawling into it without her made him feel hollow inside.

  “Ellie quit. You know anything about that?” His boss spoke cautiously, as if he didn’t want to anger a rabid bear.

  Which is what Jay felt like at the moment. His throat tightened as Wyatt’s words registered. As the reality of what was actually happening settled into his bones, slicing at him with no reprieve. “She left a note. Ending things. I just found it.” He barely rasped the words out as he went straight for their closet. Most of her stuff was there, but one of her bags was gone and he could tell certain clothes and shoes were missing.

  “What the hell’s going on?”

  “I don’t know.” But he had to find her. Now. “Things have been great between us. This morning we…” He trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence. He’d planned to propose to her tonight, and she’d taken off. Deep down he wondered if maybe she’d somehow found out and that was why she’d left. Racing back downstairs, he said, “We’ve gotta find her. Ask V to—”

  “Already on it. He’s tracking her phone as we speak. Brannon and I followed her to a pawn shop. I went in after she left and Brannon is tailing her now. She sold some nice jewelry, Jay. Including earrings I know were a gift from her grandmother.”

  Hearing that was like a punch straight to the face, swift and sharp. Ellie would never sell those diamonds. Not unless something was seriously wrong. Heart pounding fast as he headed to the garage, he found his voice. “We’ve got to find her. Whatever’s going on is bad. She wouldn’t just leave like this unless she was scared.” And Jay was going to figure out what the hell had scared the woman he loved enough to bolt like this. Because this had come out of nowhere. If something had been bothering her, he’d have known, so whatever this was about, something had very recently scared her.

  “I know. I bought the earrings back.”

  Relief slid through him even though that was the least of his worries. “What’s your location?”

  After Wyatt rattled off a familiar street that would take Jay a solid twenty minutes to get to if he took a shortcut, he said, “Brannon’s calling. I’ll call or text with our next stop.”

  “Don’t lose her,” Jay ordered, not caring that Wyatt was his boss.

  “We won’t.”

  As they disconnected, Jay slid into his truck and gunned the engine. He called Ellie twice, but each time it went straight to voicemail. Not exactly a surprise considering that note and the fact that she’d quit her job. Emotions battled inside him. He was scared for Ellie, but he couldn’t shove back the anger that she’d just up and left like this. Before he’d made it to the end of his street his phone pinged with an incoming text. He read the message from Wyatt and froze.

  Ellie had just parked at one of the sleaziest strip clubs in Vegas. And had gone inside using one of the side doors. Alone. Of her own free will. Fighting panic and a big dose of anger that she hadn’t trusted him with whatever the hell was going on, Jay took a sharp left and broke too many traffic laws to
think about as he made his way to a shady part of town Ellie had no business being in. He was going to get his damn answers and help her whether she wanted it or not.

  * * * * *

  This was the last place on earth Ellie wanted to be, but the owner of Teaser’s, a low rent strip club in a seedy part of town, might lend her the money she needed. She’d realized she couldn’t sell her car and would need a bigger chunk of cash since her jewelry hadn’t sold for as much as she’d thought either. Considering it was practically rolling off her in waves, the owner of the pawn shop had likely sensed her desperation. It sliced deep that she’d had to sell her grandmother’s earrings, but if she could get Kevin out of her life forever, it was a price she was willing to pay.

  She couldn’t even think about what Jay’s reaction would be when he found her note—or if Wyatt got to him first. Because she wasn’t stupid enough to think Wyatt wouldn’t tell Jay. Tears burned her eyes at the thought of Jay’s pain, but she brushed them away and ruthlessly shoved down her guilt and agony.

  Instead of using the main entrance, she headed around the side of the building toward the back. She’d been here years ago with Kevin when he’d done a couple shady deals and had used the club as a distraction/cover for said deals. She still couldn’t believe what an idiot seventeen year old she’d been and how she’d ever thought he was anything special. Now she realized how lucky she’d been to come out of that relationship unscathed.

  It had been a dark time in her life, especially after her sister’s death, but it still disgusted her that she’d ever thought Kevin was boyfriend material. He was barely human being material.

  She glanced up at the video camera in the upper hand corner above the door. Kevin had confided to her that the thing was fake and it still looked as if it was the same one. Which was probably why there was a peephole in the door. Bracing herself for the no doubt uncomfortable conversation she was about to face, she rapped her knuckles against the door.