Silver Shield Security Box Set

by Dee Bridgnorth

  “Thanks,” the man said, taking the drink from Nico.

  “Sit.” Nico ordered, pointing to one of the plush white leather chairs in the room. “Tell me.”

  The other man sighed and sat down. He stared at a spot between his feet in silence. “I met a woman,” he said at last.

  Nico raised an eyebrow in surprise. His brother met lots of women. Hell, he seemed to have a new one on his arm each week.

  “What was so different about this one, Alex?” he asked in a resigned voice. There was no way he was getting the much desired sleep now. At this rate, he didn’t even mind skipping the hot shower.

  “She is beautiful,” Alex said, raising dreamy eyes to Nico.

  Nico stared at him, not saying a word. Alex’s women were always beautiful. Supermodels, A-List actresses. When a man was as rich and good looking as Alex, he had the world’s beauty at his feet.

  “She is an exotic beauty, with hair that is rich and shining. She has the most expressive golden eyes I’ve ever seen and her skin…” he paused to sigh. “Her skin glows like the setting sun.”

  Nico had heard enough. He held out his hand in disgust. “Just stop there. Since when did you start waxing lyrical about a woman?”

  Alex shrugged. “She’s wonderful, Nico. If you met her, you’d understand,” he said with a wry grin.

  Nico didn’t understand what he was talking about. He never intended to fall for any woman. They just looked for ways to take advantage and manipulate. Still, he really hoped for his sake, that Alex had met a good woman.

  “So why aren’t you with her?”

  Alex sighed. “It’s complicated.” He drank from his glass. “Anyway, it’s over. I left her in Vienna.”

  “It’s over already?”

  “Yeah.”

  Nico felt bad for him. He looked so sad, but he knew he would get over it.

  “You need to be sure she didn’t steal anything from you,” he said bitterly, remembering Chicha.

  Alex regarded him over the rim of his glass.

  “You’re still angry,” he observed. “It was several weeks ago. Any trace of the woman?”

  Alex was not just Nico’s brother, he was also his business partner and it grated that he’d let him down. What Chicha had stolen was going to affect their business and if it got to the media, their shares were sure to nosedive. They could not afford that. Not now.

  “I found her,” he said shortly.

  Alex raised an eyebrow. “And…”

  Nico shook his head before draining his drink.

  “That’s not good.” Alex got up and began to pace. “If it gets into the wrong hands…damn!”

  They both knew what it could mean for them if it got into the wrong hands. They had both worked so hard and they knew that sabotage was inevitable in their business. So they worked twice as hard to avoid that.

  Nico watched his brother pace. He was tired and he really needed to sleep. The damn woman was here now. He would deal with her in the morning.

  He rose to his feet, stifling a yawn, “See you in the morning,” he said, heading for the master bedroom.

  “Sure,” Alex replied absently. “Don’t forget to call Mom. It’s her birthday.”

  Nico paused at the door and let out a string of swear words. How had he forgotten her birthday? He glanced at his watch, it was already one in the morning. Oh well, might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb, he decided. He would call her in the morning.

  Right now, he needed his bed more than anything. He was barely functioning. He smiled wryly as the thought hit him. When he and Alex started up their company, they’d gone days without sleep and it hadn’t affected them. Much. That was eight years ago. At thirty-five, he was beginning to think that maybe sleep was not as overrated as he’d thought.

  Nico stripped down. Everything went, even his boxers. He yawned and stretched his arms. The shower would have to wait. With a weary sigh, he slipped beneath the covers, enjoying the feel of pure silk on his skin, and fell asleep.

  **

  The next morning, Nico woke up with a sense that something wasn’t right. He lay on his bed, his eyes slowly opening as he adjusted to his new environment. He still felt a bit groggy, but his body was already conditioned to accept no more than five hours sleep a night.

  He tried to stretch and couldn’t. That was when he felt something tight around his legs. He frowned and moved his hands but discovered that he couldn’t. Someone had tied him to the bed.

  He was still trying to process that when he felt movement. He turned his head slightly and saw her standing there with an automatic weapon pointed at his head.

  “I see you’re up,” she said, her voice as smooth as honey.

  And that was something else he noticed. Her voice was different from when he’d met her at the bar. This was huskier, sexier somehow. And even though he was furious, he felt desire stir.

  “What the hell is this about?”

  She gave a half smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “You are not in any position to be demanding stuff.”

  He considered her for some moments. Her hand was steady and she looked pretty much at ease. She held and carried herself like a pro.

  “Okay. What do you want?” he asked in an even voice.

  “Answers. You owe me some damn answers.”

  He rolled his eyes. He couldn’t help himself. “You need to see a shrink for that multiple personality disorder of yours.”

  Her eyes went cooler. “Baby, I can shoot your ass and be off this piece of driftwood you call an island before anyone knows what’s going on. So you better spare me the sass and start with the answers.”

  It was the most he’d heard her say since he picked her up the night before and he was surprised by the slight accent. He recognized it from his old neighborhood and frowned. What was she doing sporting an accent from the Bronx? What happened to her Hispanic accent?

  He arranged his facial expression so that none of his confused thoughts showed on his face. The woman was as multifaceted as she was dubious, and right now, she was holding a gun to his head, literally. He wondered what happened to the men he had guarding her.

  He tugged at the binding, what was it? Shifting his head slightly, he saw that she’d used his ties to bind his limbs. Sonofabitch!

  The rage was swift and hot. He wanted nothing better than to strangle her at that moment. He tugged again and swore when he couldn’t get loose. He stopped, going still when he heard the sharp click of a gun being cocked.

  He raised his eyes to her and the coldness he saw in their depths sent a chill to his marrow.

  “Are you ready to talk now?”

  He glared at her, “Fine. I’ll answer your damn questions, but you’d better make sure I don’t get up from this bed because once I do, you’re going to wish you’d never been born.” He infused as much menace as he could into his voice.

  She smiled that half smile again, then sat on the office chair he usually kept beside the work table in his bedroom. He had an office here, but there were times he could not sleep and inspiration struck. Seeing her sitting down, looking so relaxed made him madder.

  “You talk a good game, mister,” she said. “First I want to know exactly what was stolen from you.”

  He stared at her in disbelief. What game was she playing now? Since she was the one with the firearm, he decided to play nice and answer her question.

  “The plans for our new resort.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “So you all own resorts?” she said it like it was an indictment of sorts.

  Nico bristled. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “You’re obviously rich, so you think the rules don’t apply to you.”

  His eyes cooled. “I don’t get your meaning.”

  She leveled a stare at him. “I think you do. But maybe I can refresh your memory? Taking people against their will is kidnapping. That’s a crime in this country.”

  God, he hated her. Hated that smug look on her face and wanted not
hing better than to wipe it off. Who the hell did she think she was?

  He decided to remain silent.

  After a few moments, she waved the gun at him. “Why the hell are you bent on getting the plans back?”

  “Because if it gets into the hands of the wrong people, it could ruin our business. Our shares will tank.”

  She considered him silently. “Okay. Now, who is this Chicha you keep talking about?”

  He opened his mouth to reply then shut it. This was insane. The woman was insane! Why the hell did she think she could play with him like this? He should have taken her straight to a sanatorium instead of bringing her here.

  When Nico got his anger and frustration under control, he answered.

  “What the hell is this about? Have you suddenly forgotten who you are?”

  “So I take it that you think this Chicha woman is me?”

  “Goddamn! You know very well who you are!” he roared his frustration.

  She shook her head. “You have quite a temper, Mister Ortega,” she said quietly. Then she went silent. He saw a confused look flash briefly over her features and then it was gone. She nodded, like she’d come to a conclusion.

  “My name is Army Sergeant Tamika White, retired. You are still alive because I believe that this is honestly a case of mistaken identity. Now, we can either sort out this shit or I call for backup. What’s it gonna be, mister?”

  Chapter Three

  Tamika did her best to ignore the scowling man as she sat down to breakfast that morning. It was a little harder to ignore the other man on the table though. She made a cup of coffee and put some mangoes in a side dish.

  “Seriously, you tied up Nico to the bed? Damn, how did I miss that? Did he struggle or scream?”

  She was tempted to laugh at the glee in his eyes. The man who had introduced himself as Alex was really getting a kick out of the whole thing. From the corner of her eyes, she caught Nico shooting him a dark look.

  “Hold on, you hog tied him while he was naked? Did you take pictures?”

  “I was not hog tied, dammit! What’s wrong with you?” Nico said in a half growl.

  Alex was laughing uncontrollably now. “Oh Jesus! I would give my right hand…hell, both hands to have seen that. The great Nico Ortega…This is too much!” He held his stomach and laughed so hard that tears were running down his face.

  Tamika felt her lips twitch in amusement. She speared a piece of mango with her fork and took a bite. It was sweet and a little tart. She chewed slowly, savoring the burst of flavors on her tongue.

  “How was I supposed to know she was an army sergeant?” Nico grumbled, though she caught the flash of amusement in his eyes.

  “Retired,” she felt the need to state.

  Nico shrugged, “The point is, I thought you were Chicha. I still wouldn’t believe you aren’t Chicha, but after the stuff your friend sent…”

  After she’d untied him, he’d sat on his laptop and had run a security check on her. As she’d expected, it had come up blank. Unless you were top army brass, her records were sealed. So she’d asked Rusty to pull up her records for him.

  “I can see how you made the mistake though,” Alex said, sobering up. “The resemblance is uncanny.”

  Nico nodded.

  “But one only has to spend a few minutes with her to know that there’s no way in hell she’s Chicha. And I’m not just talking about the hair,” Alex concluded.

  “What’s wrong with my hair?” She tugged at her dreadlocks.

  “Nothing. Just that Chicha has this really dark, curly hair. Very Latina,” Alex said with a shrug that was a replica of the same gesture Nico had used a few seconds ago.

  “And you’re sure it wasn’t a weave?”

  “Hundred percent positive,” Alex said.

  Nico shot him a look. “How would you know?”

  Alex’s smile was knowing. “Let’s just say there are ways to tell.”

  Tamika wondered how he knew. As far as she could tell, there was really only one position where a man would have to bury his hands deep inside a woman’s hair, right to the scalp. She shifted her gaze to Nico and she saw exactly when it clicked.

  “Sonofabitch! You and Chicha…?”

  “Yeah, it was a one-time thing.”

  Tamika moved her gaze between both men. It was clear to anyone looking at them that they were brothers. They both had the same penetrating dark blue eyes, though Nico’s eyes seemed a little bluer than his brother’s. They had the same patrician nose and stubborn jaw. They were both of similar build, except that Nico seemed leaner, while Alex was broader.

  If there was any difference at all between the brothers’ looks, it was their skin tone. Alex was the fairer of the two, while Nico was deeply tanned, his Latino origin plain to see.

  She could tell that there was a story there, but she wasn’t planning on being around long enough to hear it.

  “So you two brothers were doing the same woman?” She could not keep the disgust from her tone.

  Two sets of eyes met hers and skidded away. She could see the color stain Alex’s face, even as she could see that he was struggling to swallow his laughter.

  Eventually he met her gaze, his brimming with laughter. “What can I say? She was pretty insistent,” he said with a half shrug. “Besides, I didn’t have sex with her, she did the doing.”

  “Spare me the details, please,” Tamika said as she took a sip from her coffee. “Do you have a picture of this Chicha woman?”

  Nico nodded thoughtfully. “We caught her on video.”

  Tamika felt her tummy flutter.

  “You really could pass for her twin,” Alex said slowly. Then he shook his head. “Guess everyone has a doppelganger. Mine would be sexy and damn good looking, of course,” he said with a smirk.

  “Of course,” Tamika murmured, her lips twitching again. She drained her coffee and stood up. “If you don’t mind, I would like to see the video feed.”

  Nico met her gaze and once again, her tummy fluttered. He nodded and stood up. “Come this way.”

  “I’ll tag along,” Alex said, getting to his feet as well.

  Nico raised an eyebrow. “You don’t need to tag along.”

  “I really think I do,” Alex said with a grin.

  Nico sighed. “Fine. This way, Miss White.”

  “Mrs. White.”

  Nico froze. A frown appeared on his face. “You’re married?”

  Tamika froze. She could feel the familiar breathlessness as her chest tightened. Why the hell had she felt the need to bring that up. She hadn’t spoken about her marriage in so many years. Why now? And why here? She was such an idiot.

  She took a minute to steady her heartbeat and replied, “Widowed.”

  Their eyes met and something flared in his eyes. Something hot. Her stomach fluttered again, for a different reason. He blinked and it was gone.

  He nodded once. “This way,” he said briskly.

  She followed after him. She glanced back to see Alex walking behind them, a thoughtful look on his face. She turned back and increased her pace.

  Her breathing had gone back to normal and the tight band around her chest had eased up. Somehow, saying she was a widow had not traumatized her as much as it usually did. She mentally poked around inside her, trying to locate the searing pain that usually accompanied thoughts of her marriage. What she found was a scab. An emotional scab.

  Hmm. That was interesting. She needed to examine that later. Right now, it was focus time.

  They had entered an office. It had a huge table in the center and a set of chairs arranged in one corner. On three walls of the office, there were three large screens. She watched as Nico walked briskly to the computer sitting on a smaller table on the other side of the room.

  The screens came to life. It was time to see the woman who had caused so much trouble.

  Tamika thought she could handle anything. Heck, they had drilled that into her in the army. Always be prepared. She had encounter
ed so many dangerous situations and risked her life too many times to count. There was nothing she could not handle.

  But nothing on the face of the earth had prepared her for the image she saw on the screen. Everything went still as she stared at herself on the screen. Only, it was her as she’d never seen herself.

  The woman was dressed in a tight bandage dress that left nothing to the imagination. Her generous cleavage was almost spilling out of the dress. She had her feet encased in heels that Tamika knew she would not be caught dead wearing. Hell, she would end up dead or with a broken neck if she tried to walk in those heels, but they made the woman’s legs look amazing.

  Her eyes trailed up from the shoes to the face of the woman caught on camera. She was vibrant in a way that Tamika had never been. Her shiny black hair fell around her shoulders in ringlets. Her lips were painted blood red and her eyes sparkled with good humor and daring.

  She was walking into a building and the way she swayed sensuously as she moved spoke of a woman confident in her sensuality. She was sexy and she knew it and was not averse to drawing attention to her fabulous body.

  Theoretically, Tamika knew she had the same body. Hell, hers was much fitter and toned. But she could never wear a dress as sexy as that. She did not even know how to move like that. Sort of sashaying, with that secret smile flirting about her lips.

  Nico paused the feed.

  She knew that there was a striking resemblance, but there was no way in hell anyone could mistake them for the same people.

  “How the hell could you think that I was her?” she asked without shifting her gaze from the screen.

  She felt more than saw Nico as he moved to stand behind her. Even though he was not touching any part of her body, she could feel the heat emanating from him.

  “You can’t deny that you look very much alike,” he said.

  Tamika shook her head. “It’s only superficial. That woman is sexy.”

  There was silence.

  Tamika caught what she’d said and bit her lip. She was an idiot. By saying that out loud, she was as good as admitting that she didn’t think she was sexy. Which she didn’t, but seriously, why the hell would she want to admit that to two hot guys? This not speaking thing had worked for her for so long. This was so not the time to begin running her mouth.