Shark’s Rise: Shark’s Edge: Book Three

by ANGEL PAYNE

Dr. Landon gave the travel approval, saying the two days’ worth of IV fluids had been the perfect boost for Abbi’s hydration and energy levels. She asked Abbi to ensure her chosen provider contact her office for her clinical notes, and I watched Dori tap out a note on her own smart pad. When I pulled the young woman off to the side later to ask her what she was keeping on the pad, she told me she was just making a list of things that needed to be handled when we got to LA.

  “You know, just to make sure she doesn’t forget anything. I think she’s more tired than she’s letting on, and a lot of information is being passed back and forth right now.” She bit her lip then, sneaking a furtive glance up at me. “I’m…umm…not overstepping, am I? I was just trying to help, Mr. Shark. Honest.”

  I wrapped a reassuring hand around one of her shoulders. “I know, Dori. And I’m not upset.”

  Beneath my hand, her tension finally released. “Are you sure?”

  “Quite the opposite,” I assured her. “Actually, I’m impressed with your initiative.” And then, I even smiled—and meant it. “I think you’re going to be a great assistant for Ms. Gibson.”

  “Good. Thank you so much, Mr. Shark.” Her reply was taking a bath in pure relief. With the same happy gusto, she stowed her smart pad in her backpack.

  “Let’s hit the road.” The exhortation belonged to Abbi this time. She tugged me eagerly toward the car—after hugging Joel like he was a beloved cousin she hadn’t seen for ten years. “It was nice knowing you, Twentynine Palms, but I’ll be happy if I never see you again.” She swung up a hand, already playing the diplomatic disclaimer. “No offense to the fine folks who call this place home. It’s just not mine.”

  But her sardonicism disappeared as soon as the villa staff gathered to see us off. Abbigail joined Elijah in issuing personal farewells to each and every one of them on the front drive. My tenderhearted woman was tear-streaked and exhausted by the time I got her settled in the back of the car.

  Abbi slept in my arms for the majority of the ride home. Traffic was light until we got back into our own city. By the time we wound up the hill into our neighborhood, we had been in the car over four hours, making only one stop for gas and snacks.

  “Home sweet home,” I whispered to my sleeping beauty, and her emerald eyes popped open immediately.

  “Hmmm? We’re here already?” she asked sleepily.

  I chuckled into her hair, and then kissed the top of her head. I was certain everyone else in the car commiserated with my impression: that we’d been counting the minutes to get out of the damn vehicle for good.

  But as soon as we got out, Dori froze in place again. “This is your house?” She openly gasped. “It’s…so beautiful!” She gawked while absorbing the sight of my home, from its wide sienna clay tile roofline to the dramatic, arched front portico.

  “Well, the place in the desert wasn’t too shabby either,” Abbigail returned while linking arms with the girl. “Come on. I’ll show you around inside.” At once, she’d shifted into her happy zone of welcoming hostess. “After that, maybe we’ll rustle up a snack for everyone in the kitchen, and then we can get you settled in the pool house out back.”

  “Abbigail…” I focused on making it more a friendly nudge than an ominous order. She literally hadn’t even stepped inside yet.

  “Hmmm?” She smiled at me over her shoulder. “Did I forget something in the car?”

  “No. But Dr. Landon specifically said you have to rest. And it’s been a long drive—”

  “That I slept through?” she rebutted.

  “Doesn’t matter.” I moved in, wrapped my hand around hers, and tugged her close. So it was more like jerking her back and forcing her to slow down, but civility be damned. I’d given in big-time about this; it was time for reciprocation. “Why don’t you go to lie down, and I’ll have Craig show Dori where she’ll be staying?”

  She clenched her jaw. “Oh, for Christ’s sake, Bas.”

  “He’s not here.” I flashed an I’m-not-kidding smile. “There’s only me to please right now, and I’d rather you rest.”

  “But I just slept for”—she looked at her watch—“four damn hours. I won’t overdo it, I promise.” She held up her fingers in a Scout’s oath. “It will feel good to stretch my legs and get some sun on my face without the scorching heat. Plus, I’ve missed this place so much.”

  I grunted hard. She batted those big greens harder. And I was gone.

  “All right, Dori; you’re in charge.” I sighed in concession. “First sign of dizziness or nausea, and she’s back in the house. Understood?”

  “Of course, Mr. Shark.”

  Elijah and I headed straight to my office, where we were going to address the security team. As we walked, I mumbled, “Why do I already get the sense this was a bad idea?”

  “Because you’re paranoid.” My friend shoulder-bumped me. “It’s going to be fine. She’s going to be fine.” When I didn’t ease up, Banks reached over and gave me a full-on reassuring clamp. People rarely touched me, but Elijah and Grant had freedoms others didn’t.

  “How can you be so confident?” I growled.

  He shrugged. I wanted to both deck him and hug him for it. “I don’t know. Call it intuition, man.”

  One by one, Elijah’s men filled my study. Their oversize bodies quickly made the room seem small. Fifteen men would patrol the house and grounds around the clock, seven days a week. The other ten, comprised mostly of men from my existing LA security detail, would patrol the neighborhood and help relieve the house team when necessary. The neighborhood’s security force agreed to allow me to add an extra guard of my own at the entrance gate of the community itself, as well as an extra man at the lesser-used back gate. The association board had been understanding of the request upon my explanation for the heightened security, a necessity considering recent publicity surrounding the Edge and publicized deaths of women I was associated with. Of course, my sizable donation to the neighborhood’s private park initiative went a long way toward opening their minds—and cooperation levels.

  “Thank you all for taking this matter seriously,” I said to wrap up the security briefing. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to catch up on some things I missed while we drove home. Elijah, can you email me the team’s schedule each week? That way if someone doesn’t show up for a shift, I’ll know who to fire.” I made sure every man in the room heard what I said to my friend.

  “Uh, yeah,” Elijah assured me at once. “Of course, Bas. But these men were hand-selected for this assignment. No one in this room will let you down.”

  “I’m counting on that.”

  The men filed out, some shaking my hand and thanking me for the opportunity, while others just pushed past and set off toward their duty stations.

  Back in front of my computer, I pulled up my email and scrolled through the incoming messages I hadn’t yet caught via my phone. I needed an update on the commandeered freight vessel and had been trying to avoid mainstream news channels for that information.

  Only a handful of new emails had come in during the security meeting, and I got busy scrolling to those but was interrupted by an incoming text.

  At once, I smiled and murmured, “Well, that didn’t take long.” It could be no one else but Abbi, ensuring me she’d already settled Dori in and wouldn’t require me hog-tying her down for a nap.

  Within the next second, my disposition became a storm cloud.

  Not Abbigail.

  The message was from Terryn.

  Terryn, who’d been instructed to contact me today only if the damn office was burning down.

  Terryn, who preceded her little missive with a red car, a jumping shark, and a smiley face wearing sunglasses.

  Going to the Edge building site to take some

  pics for social media. Want any shots in particular?

  I answered with furious speed.

  PR firm is handling that. Stay at office.

  Do your own work. Job site is dangerous.

  D
on’t be silly! But I’m touched

  you care, Sebastian.

  What did I tell you about calling

  me that? Don’t go to the job site.

  Don’t be such a nervous Nelly, boss.

  She concluded with another string of emojis, but I didn’t give them a glance. I didn’t have the time or the energy to care about this infuriating person—not when the woman I did care about was likely in need of some avid oversight. Abbigail had assured me she wouldn’t overdo it, but I wasn’t sure she knew the definition of personal pacing. On most days, her drive was what I loved and identified with the most. On days like this, the concept alone gave me an ulcer.

  Before I got too frustrated with Terryn, I deleted every one of her text messages from my phone screen. After that annoying box was checked, I stood, tucked the device into my pocket, and left my office in search of Abbi.

  The first place I looked—and should’ve found her—was our bed. It was empty. There were no signs she’d even sat on it yet either. She also wasn’t in the bathroom taking a shower, nor down in the kitchen fixing the snack that she’d mentioned.

  I rounded the counter into the breakfast nook, already jamming my hands to my hips. As the sun dipped over the nature reserve beyond the backyard, my agitation climbed. No way could she still be out back, giving Dori the grand tour of the pool house. The place was all of eight hundred square feet.

  Nevertheless, I stomped out the sliding glass door, across the patio, and down the pool deck before coming to a halt at the entrance of the little casita. After giving the door three harsh raps, I heard quiet shuffling on the other side.

  Dori appeared in the portal, at once lifting a helpful smile my way. “Mr. Shark. Hello.”

  “Hi.” I wanted to feel crappy for the terse snap but didn’t. “Listen, is Abbi still here with you? She was supposed to be lying down by now.”

  “She is right here, and she is fine.” The interjection came from the mother of my baby, who now stepped in to stand beside the other woman. “Look. See? I’m fine. You need to calm down, Mr. Shark.”

  She patted the center of my chest with her delicate hand. I scooped it up in mine and kissed her fingers. “Come on,” I said. “It’s time to go.”

  Just as swiftly, she wrenched off from my grasp. “Sebastian, stop. You don’t have to tow me around like a child.”

  She ended it with a scowl. I refrained from doing the same, though hated how I likely looked more like her reprimanding father than her concerned boyfriend. But my patience was wearing thin. I didn’t like treating her like a child but didn’t want to feel like I had to. She’d heard the doctor’s instructions as clearly as I had.

  “Why are you being so defiant?” I muttered, impaling her gaze with mine. “Dr. Landon gave you specific, essential instructions for taking care of yourself today, yet you’re parading around like everything is normal.”

  She exposed her locked teeth. “I. Feel. Fine.”

  “But you aren’t! Do you want to end up in the hospital? Jesus, Abbi. You haven’t eaten a thing all day.”

  “That’s not true,” she argued. “I had…” But then she trailed off, not able to name a single thing that had entered her mouth today. Because nothing had.

  “Bed. Now.” I ordered it with a full glower. “Then some food. No options, no detours.”

  She abandoned her feral fury for a bottom-lipped pout, tempting me to bite her, spank her, and kiss her at once. I didn’t give myself a chance to succumb, pulling her back through the dining room and den, toward the front staircase.

  “Oh, God, it’s so good to be home,” she said as we walked.

  I squeezed her hand. “And it feels good to have you home, baby.”

  She wrapped an arm around my waist. “Thank you for this,” she murmured. “For bringing me back where I belong. It feels so right to be here. To really call this place home.”

  “Oh, don’t try to butter me up now, young lady.” Though my tone was teasing, the statement was more truth than I let on. My body, heart, and soul were wrapped around this woman like rubber bands on a glue stick. Not that I needed to tell her that. Not right now, when I was maintaining the upper hand by mere fingernails.

  It was seriously time to change the subject. Or maybe just segue it.

  “Does that mean you want to raise our family here?” I asked as we headed up the stairs. “Or would you prefer finding a new place together?”

  “I love this house. I can’t see a point to moving. And there’s certainly enough space here. We could have ten children and still have room,” she said while we reached the top of the stairs, giving her a perfect chance to spin in a giddy circle—which resulted in her dizzy little stumble and my not-so-little panic attack.

  “Fuck!” I seized her waist and pulled her against my body. At once I had a hand braced to the side of her head, compelling her stare right up into mine. “All right, into bed with you. Before you bring my early death.”

  I took no pains to turn that one into a joke, but Abbi snickered anyway. “Maybe I can talk you into joining me?” She waggled her eyebrows while grabbing her bottom lip under her teeth. Christ. The little minx really was going to put me six feet under before our kid saw the light of day.

  “Convincing will not be necessary,” I husked back. “I can definitely assure you.”

  She let out another laugh. Her eyes twinkled like lusty fireflies. “Ohhh, really?”

  “But later,” I emphasized.

  “You’re no fun.”

  “Because that’s not resting.”

  She tried a new pout, but I gamely ignored it while getting her settled into a nest of pillows. During her ordeal with the IV treatment in the desert, I’d fast learned how she liked the security of the extra cushions. I’d seen a full-body pillow in one of those airline catalogs always filled with extravagant products for silly people, but I fully admitted I was now one of those dorks. I needed to learn where to get a few of those things. Sounded like a good job for my sister. Pia always knew about this sort of thing.

  By the time I closed the shutters and then turned back to the bed, Abbigail was asleep. “Somebody’s ‘just fine,’ hmmm?” I whispered before kissing her temple and then pulling the quilt up and over her.

  After leaving the bedroom, I jogged downstairs again. On the way back to my office, my cell phone rang in my hand. It was a local Los Angeles number but one I didn’t recognize.

  “Hello? Sebastian Shark?”

  “Speaking,” I stated. “Who is this?”

  “Name’s Bob McKenzie. I’m—”

  “Right. I know who you are, Mr. McKenzie. We met briefly at the groundbreaking for the Edge.”

  “For all of ten seconds. Damn, you have a good memory.”

  “Essential for my business, Mr. McKenzie. You’re one of the shift foremen, correct?”

  “That’s right,” McKenzie confirmed. “I’m the primary night foreman at the site.”

  I filled a brief pause with my respectful hum. The man deserved it. What McKenzie did for a living was just as intricate a job as mine, with different moving parts. “What can I do for you this evening, Mr. McKenzie?”

  “Yeah, umm, look…I just came on shift here, and the security guys were up in my trailer right away, freaking out…” He cleared his throat.

  “Why were they freaking out?”

  “Well…” Another gruff grunt from the man on the other end. “They told me they found a body.”

  I lowered my ass to the surface of my desk. Shook my head, hoping to clear it of the word I thought he’d just uttered. “A what?”

  “Down in the pit,” he continued. “Where—uh—down where they’re prepping to pour the foundation.”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. McKenzie. Maybe we have a bad connection.” But we didn’t. The line was crystal clear. “I thought you just said a body.” I forced out a laugh—while painfully pinching the bridge of my nose. Jesus fuck. Had he really just said—

  “You heard me right. Mr. Shar
k. A body. It looks like a young woman. Either she fell, or slipped—or shit, I don’t know—guess she could’ve been pushed or jumped—”

  “Pushed?” My incredulity finally surfaced as ire as I lurched back to my feet.

  “Sorry I can’t be more specific.” McKenzie’s sincerity was discernible. “But we don’t have cameras up in that area yet. Not much going on over there but a big hole in the ground and some forming. Well, they started the rebar and tying at the beginning of the week. We’re right on schedule for you, Mr. Shark.”

  “Yeah, okay. That’s great, Bob.” I pushed my hand up, spreading my fingers to massage my whole forehead. “Can we get back to the body?”

  And would the universe ever cut me a fucking break? Ever?

  “Well, we haven’t touched a thing,” the guy informed me. “I just thought I should call you first, you know—before we notify LAPD. I mean, we have to notify them; there’s no way around that.”

  “And I wouldn’t want you to do it any other way,” I ensured him.

  “But they’ll be swarming in here right away, and I know the press will be right behind them. We have your personal number here in the trailer in case of emergencies, and I’m sorry if I’m interrupting your personal time, but—”

  “Nah, man. It’s fine.” Now that we were bonding, I felt okay about the casual turn. “You definitely did the right thing.”

  “Appreciate that, buddy,” he said warmly. “But yeah, well, I just thought maybe you’d want to handle this…initially? Or have your people handle it. Or whatever?”

  “Thanks, Bob.” While stating that, I moved around to face my laptop. I opened the messaging app to Elijah’s name and tapped out three exclamation points, our way of stating the obvious. That he needed to drop everything and get his ass in here. “Can you do me a favor and keep the rest of the crew away from the…incident site…until I get there? Or until a man named Elijah Banks gets there? Do not let anyone else near the area beside the two of us.” I mean, now that we were buddies and all.