Silver Shield Security Box Set

by Dee Bridgnorth

  “I’m not interested, Janey. You know that.”

  Janey’s eyes softened. “I’m sorry, Tammy. I’m just so happy and I want nothing better than to see my friends as happy as I am.”

  Tamika smiled. It was a brief one, but it reached her eyes. Janey was such a sweetheart. There was something about that woman that made you want to do anything for her. She was kindness personified.

  “Don’t feel bad, Janey. Maybe someday…” She let her voice trail off. She didn’t think she could ever open herself up to another human being to love. Not again. But who knew?

  Janey reached forward and gave her a quick hug, then stepped back. “Promise me one thing?”

  “Janey…”

  “Just promise me.”

  “Drew is right; you have become bossy.”

  Janey laughed and rolled her eyes, “Yeah yeah. I want you to promise that when the time comes, you will take a risk,” she said, holding Tamika’s gaze, her eyes serious.

  Tamika gazed at the other woman and saw nothing but concern and love for her. Taking a deep breath, she let it out in a sigh.

  “I promise I’ll take a risk,” she said, knowing that she was going to regret it.

  Janey rewarded her with a bright smile. “There. See, that wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

  Tamika shook her head, a rueful smile playing about her mouth as she watched Janey walk away.

  She shifted her gaze to where the man had been standing, staring at her, and found the space empty. She felt disappointment deep in her belly, then dismissed it. But even as she told herself that she didn’t care, she felt strangely bereft.

  “Looking for me, Chiquita?” a deep baritone whispered in her ears.

  Tamika felt her heart skip a beat. Even without turning, she knew exactly who it was.

  “You’ve been staring at me,” she said calmly.

  “Ah, you noticed.” Amusement laced his voice.

  “Why?” She could feel the flutters in her belly, and it annoyed her. She should not be reacting this way to this man, a complete stranger.

  “Walk with me,” he ordered. She was about to let him have it when she felt the cold steel pressed against her side. “It wasn’t a suggestion.”

  She scanned the restaurant, weighing her options. All she needed to do was lock gazes with any one of her friends and they would come running to her aid. But what if the man did something foolish? She did not want to ruin this for Drew and Janey, and beyond that, there were too many civilians present, if anything went wrong.

  There was only one choice to make. She nodded at the man.

  “I see you made the right choice,” he said.

  They walked out of the restaurant together. Anyone looking at them would only have seen a couple who were totally engrossed in each other.

  Tamika had no idea who he was or what he wanted with her, but she was determined to get to the bottom of this.

  Chapter One

  “What’s all this about?”

  Silence.

  “Could you at least tell me why you abducted me?”

  A furious glance, then more silence.

  “Okay, fine. So where are you taking me to?”

  Even more silence.

  Tamika was exasperated. Less than half an hour ago she’d been enjoying the company of her teammates. Granted, she’d been standing in one corner, observing everyone, but she’d been having a good time before this creature had put an end to that.

  She shot him a look beneath her lashes as they walked, their pace leisurely, but determined. To any casual observer, they looked like a couple out on a romantic walk. He had his arms around and if it wasn’t for the outline of the weapon she felt pressed to her side, she might have been tempted to relax and take in the sights.

  As it was, there was no relaxing. Especially when three bulky men materialized from the shadows and fell into step beside them.

  Although it was late, the area was well lit so she was able to get a good look at them. They were tall men with bulk, but they were not as tall as the one with his arms around her. He kept his face straight, with no indication that he’d heard or could understand what she was saying. Except for that furious glare.

  For some reason, he seemed angry at her. Yet she could have sworn that she’d never met the man before.

  As a special operator and former military special ops, she’d met a lot of people in her lifetime. Yet there was no way she could have met a man like him and not remembered. She thought about the way he’d watched her inside the restaurant, and the way her body had responded to the desire in his hot gaze, and shivered.

  This brought his attention to her. He looked down at her with a frown. Tamika glanced around, observing her surroundings.

  They had walked several steps away from where the party was happening and were now approaching the quieter parts of the docks. This was the business area and at that time of the night, most businesses were closed.

  They picked up their pace and walked briskly until they got to what seemed to be a private dock. She took in the different landmarks so she could describe them fully to her team later.

  So far, Tamika had kept her head, playing it cool. But when she saw the speedboat in the water, she faltered

  Drawing to a halt, she jerked her arm away from his and glared.

  “I don’t care if you shoot me here, but I’m not moving another step until I know what this is all about.”

  There was no way she was going to get into some boat with total strangers without knowing why the hell they were abducting her in the first place. Who knew where she could end up? At the bottom of the ocean for all she knew.

  No way was she taking another step.

  Suddenly she felt the world tilt as she lost her balance. Then she was staring at the man’s back as he lifted her and placed her across his shoulders.

  “What the hell?”

  How the hell had that happened? She hadn’t even seen it coming, which made her furious. She was a special operator, dammit! It was her job to expect the unexpected.

  Tamika remained silent as they walked. She was thinking rapidly. She thought of disarming the man, but there were three others and she didn’t know how many more were waiting on the boat. While she was sure that she had a fighting chance if she’d come up against half their number, the fact was she didn’t even have a firearm. Although she planned to remedy that as soon as possible.

  All she needed was a good opportunity and she would get herself a weapon. She cursed the fact that she’d chosen to fly commercial, which meant that she had to leave her weapon back in Chicago.

  She was unceremoniously dumped on the boat, halting the flow of her thoughts. She got to her feet and brushed of her dress.

  “You really shouldn’t have done that,” she told the man coolly. Then she moved to sit on one of the seats in the boat.

  He regarded her silently. “What? No tantrums, no screaming?” he asked in a mocking voice.

  She did not dignify that with a reply. Everyone knew that Tamika White did not scream or throw tantrums. No. she got even.

  “You do know that you’re going to pay for this, right?”

  “Hmmm, threats. That’s more like it.” A thread of amusement lined his words.

  She looked away from his disturbing gaze. Although she could not see his eyes or the expression on his face, she felt the heat from his gaze and it disturbed her.

  She shivered again as she felt the temperature drop. She cursed the fact that today of all days, she’d worn a dress and heels. Granted, they were one inch heels, but they were heels nevertheless and she didn’t do heels. Or dresses.

  Suddenly, she felt something warm draped around her shoulders and looked up in surprised to see that the man had placed a soft blanket around her. From the feel of it, it was probably cashmere.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly, surprised at the kind gesture.

  He looked at her and she sensed the speculation in his gaze.

  “What is
your angle?” he finally asked.

  Tamika frowned. What was he talking about? She was beginning to get a creak in her head from gazing at him when he sat beside her.

  “I don’t understand,” she said in reply to his question.

  “You are acting strange. No tantrums, no offering to get down on your knees and pleasure me…” He frowned and this time she was close enough to see it. “What’s your angle?”

  At his words, Tamika felt heat flush through her body and desire stir inside her at the thought of going down on her knees. Her eyes involuntarily went towards that part of his anatomy, then she looked away.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He was angry. She could feel it radiating off him like a living, breathing thing.

  “Cut the crap, Chicha.”

  Chicha?

  “What do you want from me?”

  “What you stole from me, darling.”

  Stole?

  “What the hell are you talking about?” She was getting frustrated.

  “Damn you, Chicha. Did you think I was just going to let you get away with stealing from me? Nobody steals from Nico Ortega and gets away with it. Did you think that one night of mediocre sex would dull my wits enough to let you get away with that shit? You made a damn mistake, baby, and you’re going to pay for that. After you return what you stole.”

  With that, he stood up and moved towards the bow, effectively giving her his back.

  Tamika considered his words. He’d spoken with a quiet intensity that had a ring of truth. As she watched his back, she came to two conclusions:

  One, he was either totally and completely insane. Utterly delusional. Or Two, he had mistaken her for someone else entirely.

  Chicha

  That’s what he’d called her. To the best of her knowledge, Chicha was a drink her grandmother had taken delight in. A locally made Cuban delicacy.

  She considered her options. He didn’t look like someone who was insane. Then again, she couldn’t really tell. He’d looked sane enough when he’d stood beside her in the restaurant not too long ago, however, he could have been having a lucid moment. Who knew?

  But if he was mistaking her for someone else… Her mind stirred as something unnamed and unidentifiable passed through her and she shivered. She frowned in confusion, then shook her head to clear the cobwebs. Obviously the man was delusional and she was going to need to find a way to get herself out of this jam.

  She glanced at the luminous face of her watch. It was almost ten pm. She brought out a finger to tap on the button at the side. The one that would alert her team that something was off and give them her exact coordinates. Then she paused.

  She couldn’t say why she paused. It could have been the fact that there was something about this mystery that drew her in. She wanted to know exactly what was going on. Or it could have been the intense attraction she felt towards the man.

  It was the first time she’d felt desire stir in five years and as crazy as it seemed, she needed to know that it was not just a fluke. She needed to know that she could still desire a man so she could move on from the limbo that had been her life.

  She remembered the conversation she’d had with Janey, Drew’s partner. I want you to promise that when the time comes, you will take a risk.

  When the time comes, take a risk.

  Take a risk.

  She glanced at the outline of the man’s back again, then with a sigh, dropped her arm. She would wait until she was really in danger to hit the button on her watch.

  **

  Nico stared into the darkness. He was furious. He had no idea what the hell that woman was playing at, what new game she was cooking up. But he was several steps ahead of her. Ahead of those who had sent her.

  And now she was acting like she didn’t know who he was. She’d been all over him like a damn rash and then when she’d thought he wasn’t looking; she had swiped one of the most important things to him. How dare she pretend to not know him? Was that the best she could do? Amnesia?

  Hell.

  He clenched his fists then deliberately unclenched them.

  What surprised him was how much he’d underestimated the woman. He did not usually underestimate people, but she was someone he’d met at the exclusive club he frequented. He glanced at her. The light on deck had come on so he could see her sitting very still beneath the blanket he’d draped over her. She was staring out to sea, her face calm and without expression.

  And that was another thing that he didn’t understand.

  He thought back to when he’d first seen her at the club. She was the new act that had been hired to sing. He had noticed how beautiful she was, but she’d been too aware of her beauty. She’d been coming on to him for months before he’d finally taken her back with him to his house that day.

  He hadn’t really been attracted to her, except as a beautiful woman. He thought of the way his body stirred to life when he’d seen her at the restaurant and then when he’d carried her just now and frowned.

  There was a strong pull to this woman. The memory of the way her curves felt just now ignited a slow fire in his blood. He couldn’t understand it.

  Chicha had just been a convenience. A particularly uninspiring one.

  Nico shook his head at the memory. He’d had no idea that there was any kind of intelligence lurking beneath that beautiful face. She’d been vapid and more interested in shopping and talking about celebrities. After that night he’d sworn never to have anything to do with her again.

  Now he was beginning to see how big a fool he was. The woman he’d picked up today had looked at him out of eyes that were intelligent and profound. If he wasn’t so mad about how she’d deceived him, he would have admired the skill it took to act as such a vapid, useless waste of space.

  He grimaced. That wasn’t exactly true. Chicha had been good for entertainment value. Until he’d woken up the next day and discovered that she was gone.

  No, that wasn’t right. He’d sighed with relief when he discovered she was gone. He had no problem tossing women out of his bed and his home, but he’d been spared the drama.

  It wasn’t until he got to the office that morning that he discovered that his briefcase had been neatly picked and the plan of all the work he’d done for the past couple of years was gone.

  He hadn’t suspected her at first. He hadn’t known that she had the intelligence to realize the value or the magnitude even if he’d explained it to her. It wasn’t until he’d watched the video footage from the CCTV that he’d known what had happened.

  It wasn’t just that she’d stolen his hard work, probably to give to a rival company. That was bad enough. But what grated more than anything was that she’d made a fool of him.

  That could not go unpunished. No one made a fool of Nico Ortega. She was going to pay dearly for that.

  He glanced at her again, noting the stillness about her. She could not keep that act up for too long. Chicha was a true Latina. She couldn’t keep still and expressed herself with every part of her body. Soon she would try her feminine wiles on him, and when that didn’t work, she would begin cussing him out.

  He turned away and looked back at the darkness once more. First he would retrieve what was his, then he would devise a fitting punishment for her.

  Chapter Two

  It was already getting to midnight by the time the silent boat pulled up unto the dock of the equally silent island. Nestled in the a few miles off the Atlantic shore of Marathon in the Keys was the private island that Nico Ortega called home.

  He glanced at the woman beside him. At some point, he’d returned to sit beside her. She’d held herself stiffly at first, but then she’d fallen asleep and her body had gradually relaxed, with her head resting on his shoulder. He had noticed that even though her body had relaxed in sleep, there had been a thread of tension in the way she slept, like she had not allowed herself to fall into a deep sleep.

  As the boat driver cut the engine, the
woman sat up. Nico stared at her in surprise. He hadn’t realized that she’d woken up. Her breathing hadn’t changed, neither had he felt any difference in her body to signify that she was no longer sleeping.

  He stood up and walked away from her without a word. There was something disturbing about the woman. The way she’d come awake without movement or change in her breathing spoke of more control than someone like her was supposed to have. He was going to have to watch her carefully.

  She disturbed him on a deep level. Deeper than the attraction he’d felt toward her at the restaurant several hours ago.

  “What do we do with her, sir?” one of his men, Mac, asked as Nico stepped out of the boat.

  “Put her in the Blue room. Search her,” he said and strode off without a backward glance.

  He was tired and jetlagged. He’d flown in from Melbourne that day and hadn’t had a chance to catch up on his sleep. He would deal with the Chicha problem, as he’d started calling her, later in the morning.

  He was looking forward to a hot shower and his bed. He stepped into the house and felt some of the tension drain from his body. This island was his retreat, his hideaway. He’d bought it a couple of years back and it was the one place where he did not bring any of his women or business associates. He came here when he needed to think.

  He looked around the large and spacious living room and frowned.

  “What the hell are you doing here? Thought you were in Vienna?” he asked.

  The man standing by the French windows looking out, turned to Nico and shrugged.

  “I flew in today. Needed some time to think.”

  Nico studied the man carefully. He had the same deep blue eyes that he saw each time he looked into a mirror, which wasn’t often. The face was almost the same too, with the same patrician nose. The major difference though, was in their skin tone, but it was clear to anyone looking at them that they were brothers.

  Seeing the sadness in the man’s eyes, Nico walked to the bar in the corner of the room and poured them both a drink. Whiskey, straight.

  Okay. He could share a drink with him first, then head for the shower, and then his bed.