Dressed to Kill (COBRA Securities Book 22)

by Velvet Vaughn

  “What the hell?” Gage leaned over her shoulder.

  “I don’t know,” she whispered. “How could this have happened?”

  Gage left the room and returned with Ron.

  “The packages arrived and were brought here,” Ron said, radioing Travis on his walkie-talkie. “No one had access that I know of.”

  Travis arrived, and together he and Rob checked out the building. They returned and reported that none of the entrances showed signs of tampering.

  “It had to have happened when they were at the office,” Brooklyn said before a thought occurred. “The twins.” They were on the island and could’ve easily found a way inside.

  She’d need to replace the suits immediately since they were part of the first shoot, but that seemed too overwhelming on top of everything that had happened.

  #

  Gage couldn’t stand the defeated look on Brooklyn’s face. Stepping away, he made a call. As expected, his request was instantly granted. He found Brooklyn staring at the box of scraps like it held the secrets to the universe.

  “I can replace the swimwear if you’re interested.”

  She dug a hand inside and lifted the pieces, letting them flutter from her grip. “What, you secretly own a swimwear company?”

  “No, but I know someone who does, and she’s agreed to provide suits. She offered to put a rush on them to get them here tomorrow.

  She gaped at him. “You’re kidding me right now.”

  “No.”

  “What’s the name of the company?”

  “Streamline.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Isn’t that Peyton Durant’s business?” At his nod, she asked, “You know her?”

  “Yeah.”

  She shook her head. “You constantly amaze me. She agreed to this?”

  “She did. Her company has focused on competition apparel, but they’ve recently branched out and launched a beachwear line. I think she might be more excited than you. Do you want to talk to her?”

  She perked up. “Absolutely.”

  He speed-dialed Peyton’s number, and after she answered, he handed Brooklyn the phone. They talked for thirty minutes, going over specifics. Brooklyn invited Peyton to the island to watch the photo shoot and then serve as a guest judge that evening, to which she eagerly agreed.

  Her frown turned to a smile by the time she finished the call. “She’s awesome.”

  “She is.”

  “I need to call Stella and let her know to add Streamline to the advertising. I purchased the suits from Sun and Surf Swimwear, but Peyton offered them for free, so I want to make sure she gets credit for a sponsorship. I also need to have Stella bring me clothes and a new phone when she arrives tomorrow.”

  Gage spoke to Travis and Rob while she made the calls. “Did Austin and Abilene Fontana have access to this room?”

  “No.”

  “Yes,” Rob said at the same time and then winced. “They asked to see inside. I thought they freaking owned the place, so I let them in,” he defended.

  “Did you stay with them the entire time?”

  Rob rubbed the back of his neck. “I got a call to assist with an issue at the dock. I told them to lock up when they left.”

  They could’ve easily vandalized the supplies while alone inside the building. If one box was destroyed, there might be others.

  Brooklyn ended her call, and they searched through the rest of the containers but didn’t find any other damage, so they moved to the makeup room. Finding nothing, they entered the room that looked like a hair salon. Gage sliced through the tape on a box, peeled open the sides, and jerked back. “Gah.”

  Brooklyn swung her gaze to him. “What is it? More destruction?”

  “It’s a box of decapitated heads.” He lifted one of the plastic displays covered with flowing black locks.

  Her shoulders relaxed, and she laughed. “They’re wigs, silly.”

  He knew that, but it’d been jarring to see all the hair inside. Besides, he got the reaction he hoped for—a smile on her face. She’d looked so despondent after they found the ruined swimsuits. He hated to see her unhappy. Maybe he’d give Kai Costa a call and ask for some of his material. The kid couldn’t stand for anyone to be sad, so he memorized jokes to cheer people up. It always worked, mainly because Kai was so adorable.

  They didn’t find any other vandalism, but Brooklyn couldn’t account for all the boxes. They’d have to wait until the personnel arrived to unpack and inventory.

  They toured the rest of the island. Security-wise, it was a nightmare. Kaiya and Ryan had been correct in that there were little more than basic precautions. At the least, he’d hoped for cameras all over instead of a few scattered here and there. Most of the island was left uncovered.

  She showed him the house where the contestants would stay. It had been outfitted with trendy accessories and more photos of Brooklyn. It even included a lighted runway they could use to practice their walks, according to Brooklyn. He wanted to linger and study her photos that graced the walls, but that seemed obsessive.

  The end of the tour had been the row of incredible thatched-roof bungalows tucked into palm trees on the other side of the island, away from the main buildings. They looked like quintessential beach cottages. She parked in front of the end unit and turned off the engine.

  Gage grabbed the bags from the boutique and his laptop and followed her inside. The décor was tropical and high-end. The entry opened to a kitchen and seating area. Directly ahead were double doors that led to a veranda and white sand steps away from the ocean. The bedroom featured a California King, a luxurious bath, and more doors that opened to the beach. The thought of sharing the enormous bed with Brooklyn had his body tightening in anticipation. Then he reminded himself that he’d be bunking on the couch.

  When he turned, Brooklyn threw her arms around him. The move startled him, but he recovered and held her in place.

  “Thank you.”

  “What for?”

  “For stepping in to help when I needed it, every single time. I don’t know where I’d be without you.” She pulled back and looked into his eyes. Mistake. All he could focus on were light-blue eyes in a face with the smoothest skin. Before he realized his intent, he leaned down and kissed her. He couldn’t stop himself. She drew him to her, and he was powerless to resist.

  He’d tasted nothing sweeter than her lips. He could feast on them all day. She quickly became an eager participant, and before he knew it, he’d backed her to the bed and followed her down.

  He groaned when their bodies aligned perfectly. When his hand skimmed to cup her breast, she made a mewling sound, and he was a goner. He forgot his vow to keep his distance. He forgot the mission. Hell, he forgot his name. All he could focus on was the pleasure of their breaths mingling, their lips tasting. Bells rang in his head at the rightness of the moment. Wait—not bells, but his cell phone.

  With a groan, he ended the kiss. His thumb traced over her lip. He wanted to savor her again, but sanity returned, and he checked the display. “It’s your mom.”

  #

  Brooklyn had died and gone to Heaven. That was the only explanation for the sensations bombarding her system. Gage was a phenomenal kisser. It was all she could do to keep up. She could spend the rest of her days attached to his lips and be perfectly content.

  After the scene with the twins, she almost forgot that they’d been shot at and nearly drowned. She’d been on the verge of a breakdown when she discovered the destroyed merchandise. Once again, Gage proved to be her lifesaver, coming to her rescue. She’d wanted to thank him, so the hug had been an impulse. Maybe she secretly wanted to kiss him. She’d rejoiced when he took charge and captured her lips.

  “It’s your mom.”

  It took a minute for the words to penetrate the lust fog in her brain. She hadn’t even heard the phone ring with her heart pounding in her ears.

  Forcing herself to move, she sat up while he punched the speaker. Before she could talk, Ginn
y said, “I’m texting you a link. Watch the video. I have a meeting, but I’ll call as soon as I’m out.”

  “Okay. Love you.”

  Gage clicked on the link and held the phone so they could both see the screen. Austin and Abilene’s faces appeared.

  “This is Jack Yates, and I’m here with Abilene and Austin Fontana, the younger half-siblings of supermodel and philanthropist Brooklyn Fontana.” The camera panned out. “Abilene, Austin, can you tell us what happened?”

  “We flew all the way from Texas to spend time with our older sister Brooklyn and get to know her. Instead, she cruelly and viciously tossed us out as if we didn’t matter,” Abilene claimed. The camera zoomed in on her face, and she eked out tears.

  “Brooklyn kicked us out of our family property and had us arrested,” Austin announced. “Her own siblings.”

  “Why would she do that?” the reporter asked. “She has a reputation for being one of the nicest celebrities, and she donates millions every year to several charities.”

  “It’s an act,” Austin insisted. “She pretends to be nice to others, but look how she treats flesh and blood. Would a good person have their siblings arrested for simply wanting to spend time with them?”

  “I wouldn’t think so,” Jack agreed. “Well, you’re out now, so you must have made bail.”

  Austin and Abilene looked at each other before Abilene spoke. “We were able to talk the nice security guards out of taking us to the police station.”

  “So, you weren’t arrested?” Jack clarified.

  “Well, no, but she wanted us to be, so that counts.”

  “What will you do now that you’ve been banished from your family property?” Jack asked.

  “We don’t know,” Abilene cried. “We just wanted to get to know our family, but we’ve been turned away at every attempt.”

  “Our beloved father passed away a few months ago, and since then, we’ve tried to have a relationship with our older sisters Brooklyn, Cheyenne, and Ginny, but they’ve been cold and vindictive and just plain mean to us. It hurts,” Austin asserted, his bottom lip quivering.

  The camera panned out again. “You heard it here first, folks. This is Jack Yates.”

  Brooklyn stared at the screen after the video ended. She couldn’t even speak.

  “Unbelievable,” Gage raged.

  “The network won’t be happy if this gets out,” she muttered. “I’ll have to do damage control.”

  “I know public relations gurus who can spin this if you’re interested.”

  “Of course, you do.” Really, was there nothing this man couldn’t handle? She worked with a prestigious PR firm, and the network had an entire division. Still, she trusted whomever Gage recommended. “Okay.”

  “Their names are Kendall Demarchis, Olivia Mylonas, and Taylor Costa.”

  “Let me guess. They’re married to coworkers?”

  “Yep. Kendall and Olivia were both television anchors in New York.”

  “Wait, do you mean Kendall Buckley and Olivia Larrson?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Oh, I’ve interviewed with both of them before. They were fantastic.”

  “They are,” he agreed. “Their other partner, Taylor Costa, is a lawyer and author, writing as T.A. Hudson.”

  “I read her books. Wow. Okay, call them. I’m going to take a quick shower.”

  Brooklyn retreated to the bathroom with the bag of clothing she’d picked up at the boutique and almost shrieked when she looked in the mirror. After the dunking in the ocean, she hadn’t given her appearance a thought. She’d been walking around looking like a drowned rat.

  She didn’t need to worry about toiletries since the bungalows were stocked with the necessities. Turning on the taps, she waited for the water to heat before stepping under the spray. The tiled shower was big enough for two, and she regretted not inviting Gage to join her.

  #

  While Brooklyn showered, Gage called TKO Productions. Taylor recently had a baby, and Kendall and Olivia had announced that they were expecting. It didn’t slow them down at all.

  They eagerly agreed to take on the project. Kendall and Olivia both bragged about how lovely Brooklyn had been when they met her. They had interviewed her at different times throughout their careers.

  Their first step was to contact Jack Yates, the man who interviewed Austin and Abilene. Apparently, he was some internet gossip blogger with a massive following. They would explain that the two snuck onto the island by lying to the staff. Then they wanted to interview Ginny, Cheyenne, and Brooklyn to get their sides of the sibling story. He’d have to get the numbers from Brooklyn when she came out of the bathroom. She’d probably want to give a heads up to the women to let them know what was going on.

  After he disconnected, he called Kaiya. He wanted her and Ryan to question the twins and follow them. Since they were on call in case he needed them, they were still in Miami. They promised to contact him after they tracked down Austin and Abilene.

  Next, he phoned the doctor at the hospital where Jessie Park passed away. He wasn’t able to talk to the man himself, but one of the nurses promised to check on his request. She called back fifteen minutes later with apologies. The doctor had been called in for a Code Blue immediately after Gage spoke with him, and he never put in the request for the tox panel. Gage ground his molars together. Now they would never know if Jessie died of natural causes or if she’d been murdered.

  #

  After Gage’s call, Kaiya Quillen and Ryan Marx set about tracking down Austin and Abilene Fontana. The security guards had released them once they docked at the marina, per Brooklyn’s request. They weren’t too hard to find, having checked into one of the most luxurious hotels in South Beach. It wasn’t far from the hotel BeBe Davis booked for Kaiya and Ryan. They wanted to be close in case Gage needed them.

  Gage gave them a rundown on what happened on the island and sent them the link to the infamous video. They watched it before they left. The twins were nauseating.

  On a hunch, Kaiya suggested they check out the pool area first. It was a stone’s throw from the beach, lined with chairs and tables with umbrellas. Bingo.

  Kaiya walked up behind Austin and Abilene as they were huddled together over a phone.

  “Hey.”

  They both shrieked, and the phone flew from Austin’s hands to land on the concrete. Kaiya winced with fake sympathy at the cracked screen. “Should’ve used a protective case,” she admonished. Austin looked like he wanted to cry when he picked it up.

  “Who the hell do you think you are?” Abilene barked. “You scared us. Leave us alone.”

  Ryan pulled out a chair across from them, and their heads shot around. “Who are you people?”

  Kaiya took a seat next to her coworker. “I could say something glib, like your worst nightmare, but that’s so cliché, don’t you think?”

  “Eh,” Ryan said. “Not when it’s true.”

  “Are you cops or something?”

  She and Ryan looked at each other and laughed. “They think we’re police,” she chuckled. She turned back to them. “We’re better than cops. We don’t have those pesky restrictions to follow like laws and regulations and such.”

  Austin leaped to his feet. “If you’re not the police, I’m leaving.”

  “Sit your ass down,” Ryan growled.

  Austin immediately complied. Hell, Kaiya would’ve too, at the tone in his voice.

  “Why did you steal the schedule for Supermodel Search from Brandy Holmes’s apartment?” she asked.

  Clearly stunned, Austin recoiled. “What? Did she say I took it? Because if she did, she’s lying—”

  “It was found among the possessions you left on Fontana Island.”

  “Hey, you had no right to go through our personal items,” Abilene claimed.

  Ryan scrolled to a picture on his phone and turned it for them to see. “You left it in plain sight.”

  Abilene crossed her arms belligerently. “So?”


  “Ever heard of corporate espionage?” Kaiya wasn’t sure if stealing the schedule constituted the charge, but, hey, it sounded good.

  Abilene paled. “Is that like spying? We didn’t do anything with it.”

  “Then why did you take it?”

  Austin shrugged.

  “Why did you call Mindy Robbins and cancel her appearance?”

  Both Austin and Abilene looked confused.

  “You mean the actress? We don’t know her. Why would we call her?” Abilene demanded.

  “You know why.”

  Abilene and Austin exchanged a glance. “No, we don’t.”

  “Do you remember calling Vito Wolski or Maris Condon?”

  “Who? And no. We didn’t call any of those people.”

  Kaiya didn’t think either twin was that good of an actor. Still, she made a mental note to have Tyler Redmond and his staff track down Austin and Abilene’s cell phone records. “I’ll ask again. Why did you take it?”

  “Because we wanted to know what was going on,” Abilene revealed with a pout. “We were being kept in the dark.”

  “Why would you think you should know anything?” Ryan asked. “You aren’t part of the production.”

  “It’s our company and our name on the line,” Abilene contended. “We are involved. We wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly.”

  These two were unbelievable. “Why did you open the boxes?”

  “What are you talking about?” Austin demanded. “I think you have the wrong people.”

  Sadly, they didn’t. “Your fingerprints were found in the room where supplies were stored.” It was another lie, but they didn’t know that.

  “Well, yeah, our prints would be there. We looked over the entire property since we own it.”

  Kaiya felt like pulling her hair out by the roots, and she wasn’t even related to the delusional duo. They were trying her patience something fierce. She felt sorry for Brooklyn having to deal with them.

  Her eyes narrowed when she noticed what Abilene was wearing. “Is that a Sun and Surf swimsuit?” She remembered seeing the purple bikini in one of their ads.

  As if forgetting what she was wearing, Abilene glanced down and then tried to cover herself. “So, what if it is?”