Copyright 2019 by Cynthia P. O’Neill. All rights reserved.
First Print Edition: May 2019
Formatting: Stacey Blake—Champagne Book Design
Editing:Mia Mincheff—Four Lights Editing
Cover Model:Rachel Baltes
Cover Photo of Model:Christopher John—CJC Photography
New York Skyline:Randy Potvin—RP Designs
Cover Designer:Randy Potvin—RP Designs
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Song Playlist
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Information about PTSD
Information for Suicide Prevention
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Other Books by Cynthia P. O’Neill
The songs can be found on Spotify
“Let Me Love You”—DJ Snake and Justin Bieber
“Try”—Pink
“We’ll Be A Dream”—We The Kings, Demi Lovato
“Born to Be My Baby”—Bon Jovi
“Crash and Burn”—Savage Garden
“Forgiveness and Love”—Miley Cyrus
“Since U Been Gone”—Kelly Clarkson
“Runaway Train”—Soul Asylum
“Issues”—Julia Michaels
“I Hate U, I Love U”—Gnash and Olivia O’Brien
“Demons”—Imagine Dragons
“Always”—Bon Jovi
“What About Us”—Pink
“Perfect”—Ed Sheeran
“How You Remind Me”—Nickelback
“The Way I Am”—Charlie Puth
This book is dedicated to all the women, and men too, who serve in our armed forces, who work in some form of legal protection—guarding our streets, homes, and businesses. And to those who work behind the scenes on computers with their wicked cyber skills. You are all superstars!
This week had been a slow one. The rest of the agents had all been busy with one case after another, but Titan Security still hadn’t given me anything that had my adrenaline pumping. Don’t get me wrong, I loved that I’d been hired on despite my father’s protests, but I wanted a piece of the action, to live on the edge, and not settle for second best. Hell, that’s what my parents had always instilled into my sister, Jesse, and me.
I could hear my mom’s voice now, “Jesse, Makenna, you might be women, but you come from a long line of doers who go after what they want, grasp it with both hands, and never let go until they succeed. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. Some of the greatest women in history, science, and medicine were told it was man’s work, so they shouldn’t bother. Yeah, what a load of crap. If that were the case, I wouldn’t be a doctor now, practicing alongside your father.”
My mother’s words stuck with each of us. My sister became an aeronautical engineer and worked for my dad’s brother, whom we’d believed had died, but had actually been in hiding. I ended up taking classes in corporate accounting and financial investments. I was at the top of my class, ranking higher than my boyfriend at the time.
Just saying the word boyfriend left a bad taste in my mouth. Long story short, he screwed me over by stealing the job of my dreams. I was so crushed by his deception that I ran off to the Air Force to follow in my uncle’s footsteps. I wanted to be a badass woman operative, a sniper. However my father, with the help of his friend Mr. Prescott, ran interference and got me reassigned to learn computer hacking. Why did my father always have to assume he knew what was best for me?
To my surprise, however, I found the computer classes quite enjoyable, but I also sought out the challenges of learning skills not many women had learned before me. I ranked among the top ten in the Air Force to hold a fifth-degree black belt. I trained alongside some beastly men and surpassed their marksmanship to become one of a handful of women snipers in service, hoping to earn myself a spot on the frontlines of the war. I wanted to serve a purpose in our country, do something other than look pretty, which I continually hid with my fatigues or my crappy clothes.
But for every inch I blazed forward, my father would call in favors to pull me two feet back. The tug-of-war game with my father eventually got old, and when I was in the process of decommissioning from the Air Force, I discovered Titan Security was hiring. With the help of my sister and a personal call to one of Titan’s owners, I managed to land myself this new position.
I was excited to come to work for Titan, especially when I found out how pissed my father was that I’d managed to skirt his attempts to block me from getting hired. I knew I had to put in some crap work to prove my worth and slowly work into larger cases, like all the low men on the totem pole, but I was ready for a challenge, wanting my own case. Call me impatient—hell, I’d even be the first one to admit it—but I wanted something that made me feel alive again. I’d forgotten that feeling the moment I’d left that no-good, lying, job-stealing . . . yes, I’m talking about my ex-boyfriend . . . and that’s enough of that. Just the thought of that man caused my blood to boil.
I continued to run through my nightly exercises with another hit and kick to the punching bag swinging in the corner of my apartment, when the phone rang. I glanced over at the time and noted it was nearly midnight. I let the call go to voicemail.
“Makenna, it’s Rick. I’ve got an assignment for you, one you’ve been pestering me to get, so call me back on a secure line, now.”
I stuck my tongue out at the machine. Rick was a nice guy but could sometimes get a bit too bossy. He was the new manager for the Titan Security Orlando office, but was slowly taking on more responsibilities at the other offices too.
He and his half brother, Derrick, cracked open the case of a man intent on taking over the world by bringing the military, from all nations, down to their knees and under his control with an illegal electronic device. Thankfully said piece of equipment was destroyed, along with the blueprints. The man was a real nutjob and a half. But that was the case that put Titan on the map and brought in a continual string a business ever since.
Titan did everything from employee checks for companies, background checks for anyone who wanted to dig into someone’s past, bodyguard work, to the occasional mystery that needed to be solved. I was still waiting on that last part. So far, I mainly shadowed stars or politicians visiting Orlando and dealt with some computer-hacking issues while Sophia, our main computer guru, helped both of her daughters, who were pregnant and due within weeks of one another. At least I kept busy lately.
I kicked the bag one more time before reaching for
the cell phone Titan supplied me. “Yeah, boss?”
“You’re being assigned a mission you’ve been wanting. I need you to pack your bags; include clothes from everyday to dress attire, along with all items found on a Titan operative at all times. You’ll need to swing by and pick up your laptop, because we’re loading it with some software necessary for this assignment. I need you at my office at 0400 hours for briefing.”
Inside, I jumped for joy for my first big assignment, which had me leaving the city limits. Yeah. “Copy that, 0400 hours, sir.”
I quickly ran around and grabbed everything I thought I needed, and then some other things just as a safety. I was too excited to sleep, so I sent my sister a text to let her know I would be out of town for a bit and to make excuses to our parents as to why I wasn’t going to be at Sunday supper.
I made it to Rick’s office just in the nick of time. “Have a seat,” he offered, looking dog-tired, and passed me a thick file. I opened the paperwork right as Rick said, “Our client is—”
I cut off his words, saying, “Marcus Lombardi, Jackson’s little brother. I know who the fucking client is, Rick. He’s my ex-boyfriend.” I threw the file down on the desk and picked up my things to leave. “Go find someone else to take this case, because I’m a conflict of interest.”
Rick, while bossy, never took a harsh tone with any of us, so when he took on a dominant tone and said, “Sit down, Airman. That’s an order, not a request,” I did exactly that.
He pulled the file back out. “We know you two dated; that’s what makes your job convincing. We need someone to go in as his girlfriend, but in actuality, you’ll be there to perform duties as a bodyguard and to do some computer work.”
Okay, the idea of finally getting to put my computer skills to use sounded nice. “Computer work, sir?”
Rick nodded. “Yes. Marcus was hired on with a nice hedge fund and investment company years back.” I cringed as he said that, remembering that day like it was yesterday. “He’d been one of the top rising stars of Wall Street, until last week. He somehow got mixed up in a Ponzie scheme and has been accused of pilfering several million dollars from the company’s top clients and pocketing things for himself.”
I yawned, causing Rick to try and force his back but failing miserably. “I’m sure, given your history together, that you probably feel he’s getting what’s coming to him, but we believe he’s been set up to take the fall, and we need proof. Especially since it is believed that a couple of the customers have suspected ties to terrorist groups.”
Okay, that got my attention. There’s no way Marcus would knowingly associate with anyone involved with radical ties. His uncle lost his life working in one of the twin towers when one of the planes struck during 9/11, killing him immediately.
“His brother, Jackson, and his father, Mr. Lombardi, came to me yesterday, personally asking for you to be the one assigned to the case. You know the inner workings of Marcus’s mind, the way he thinks, how he feels, so you’d be able to tell if he’s lying to us. Plus, while you’re there, we need you to look into his financial records and investment options to see if he’s telling the truth about being framed in all this.”
He paused for a moment, rubbing his temple. “It does seem odd how he went from a mere associate all the way up to junior partner in a matter of five years. I don’t know any business that promotes that quickly and with that much money unless you’re the business owner’s child or are dealing in dirty laundry.”
I tried to argue. “Can’t Ethan, Sophia, or one of the others go instead of me?”
“No, and you know why too. Ethan doesn’t do fieldwork. He works locally or handles things via a computer link. Besides, his wife, Marjorie, is due to give birth any day now. The same goes for Sophia; she doesn’t travel anymore and has two daughters, one in a high-risk pregnancy with multiples, both due within weeks of each other. There’s no way she can leave.” I knew this already, but I wasn’t going to argue.
“Okay, I get it. But why can’t Marcus come here and let me do the job from the office?” I questioned, hoping this time I finally had some wiggle room to negotiate.
I was shot down instantly. “Marcus is under house arrest by the FBI up in New York. He’s not allowed to leave his apartment unless given approval and provided an escort with their local FBI district.”
Rick reached into a drawer and drew out an envelope. “Here’s a credit card for your expenses. If you need attire other than what you’re bringing, and it’s related to business, just charge it to the company account.
“You have a car waiting for you downstairs to drive you to the airport, where a plane is standing by, ready to take you to your destination. And a package was sent out yesterday with items needed to complete this case, which should arrive shortly after you do. I know this is not what you expected, but you were personally requested, and we always aim to give the clients what they want, within reason of course.”
Rick made eye contact with me, and then handed over the envelope and the file. “Promise you’ll try to get along with him, Makenna? The way you handle this case will determine your future at the company. Good luck and stay safe.”
As soon as I was on the plane, I took a long breath in and out to clear my mind. What the hell just happened? I was told I could basically take this case and prove my worth, being forced to work with the man I swore I’d never see again, or be let go. Well that fucking blows.
The plane ride wasn’t long enough. I arrived in New York City within hours, right in time for the rush-hour traffic, but thankfully, there was a car waiting to take me to my ex’s humble abode.
My eyes did a double take when we pulled up to the decent-sized building. The neighborhood looked immaculate and for high-end clientele, with views of Central Park in the distance. What the? This couldn’t be his place, could it?
The doorman opened the car door, helping me out and offering assistance with my luggage, which was only two pieces, but what the heck, he was getting paid for it. “Who are you visiting, my dear?” the kindly gentleman asked.
“Marcus Lombardi, please.” I noted the man’s eyes widened, but then he regained his composure as he walked me through the lobby to the elevator. I almost expected him to take me the rest of the way, but he deposited my bags on the floor of the elevator.
“You’ll want the top floor, apartment 1201. Good day, madam, and enjoy your stay at the Canterbury.” Wow, that guy was a snob, but something about the way his eyes widened at the mere mention of Marcus’s name had me curious. What did Marc do to him? And if nothing, what did this guy know and why was he shocked to see me?
I strolled out of the elevator and could already tell which place was Marcus’s, because there were two very obvious Feds standing watch outside his door. I walked toward them, but they told me to turn around, so I set my bags down and let them know I was reaching for my identification. I made it a point to always let another operative know what I was going for, in hopes to avoid the feeling of a bullet in my body. All it took was one shot to keep that memory alive—one I never wanted to relive again. I ran my hand up my left arm and felt the scar reminding me of the time a stray bullet nicked me with a warning shot.
The taller g-man looked at my driver’s license, and then at my security clearance with Titan Security and nodded. “We heard you were coming, Miss Bradford.”
I didn’t like being called Miss Bradford. “Call me Makenna.”
His eyes gave my body a complete once-over before he finished his thought. “Go ahead in and get situated, Makenna. We can meet this afternoon to compare notes and catch you up.” I guess how I’d dressed to meet my ex was somewhat appealing, or at least I hoped it would have the desired effect on Marcus.
I went to pick up my bags, when I heard the guy whisper to his teammate. “She’s the only one Marcus was willing to let into the apartment with him. He had the others in tears, or they had threatened to kill him within hours.”
I just shook my head. Yep, that sou
nded like the Marcus I knew. I was the only one willing to dish his shit back at him.
The apartment was covered in floor-to-ceiling windows along the back—a definite safety hazard we needed to address. The furniture was not his style at all, but more my taste, reflecting classic elegance and clean lines. I ran my fingers over the material on the back of the sofa, when I heard, “Look what the cat dragged in.”
I turned and saw Marcus fresh from the shower, with only a towel slung low on his hips, and definitely more ripped than I’d seen him before. He was still sporting that dumbass tattoo of a bunny on his lower hip. Yeah, the same one you have on yours. You could’ve gotten rid of it, but you didn’t.
He looked hot. Actually, if I wanted to be truthful, he looked panty-melting delightful. He always did have a way in which he could make me surrender to his demands, but not this time. His presence had every nerve in my body standing at attention. I called him on his crap, saying, “I may be what the cat dragged in, but you haven’t changed a bit.” I took a piece of my long hair and twisted it between my fingers, which still got to him, making his pupils dilate and a noticeable bulge tent the towel he wore. “Whoops, sorry, I misspoke. You have changed, being under house arrest and all for embezzling.”
He grabbed the towel in his hands, as his obvious swelling caused it to slip. Marcus’s eyes softened, and his face went from smug to remorseful as he reached out a hand while walking toward me, looking like he was trying to explain. “You have to help me, Kenna.” He went right to the nickname he called me all those years ago, trying to force the connection I’d long since severed. “I’m innocent. I’ve been set up, and I can’t figure out who’s behind it. You have to believe me.”
There it was, that one word, that one thing I couldn’t do. “I did believe you, with my body, my mind, and my soul, and how did you repay me? You took what I had my heart set on and destroyed my faith in men and in humanity. I’ll do the work I have been assigned, but as far as trust goes, you don’t have mine. I’m not sure you ever will again. But I’ll do my job to ensure you get what your family’s paying for by attempting to prove you’re right. However, as far as we’re concerned”—I motioned my hand between the two of us—“that ship sailed a long time ago. I moved on with my life, focused on my career. I hope you’ve done the same.”
Makenna's Trust: Titan Security Series #3 Page 1
