Silver Shield Security Box Set

by Dee Bridgnorth

  The housekeeper had pointed her to a closet and asked her to help herself from anything inside. When she’d hesitated, the woman had shrugged.

  “It’s for Miss Masha. She’s not going to mind,” she had said as though that was supposed to mean anything to Tamika.

  Still in her pants and bra—she’d done her pushups in them—she walked into the bathroom and sighed in delight. It had the same lavender and grey color scheme that was in the bedroom, but the white color of the bathtub and sink gave it a classy feel. Everything was so…she searched for a word and settled on enchanting. Yes. It was really enchanting.

  Quickly discarding her undies, she stepped into the bathtub and was delighted to see the state-of-the-art shower head with multiple jets and sprays. Oh, this was heaven. Tamika forgot all thoughts of rushing her shower and decided to take her time.

  She noticed the array of different bath salts and smiled when she saw her favorite Bath and Body Works. There was also a bar of soap, which was what she opted for in the end. As tempting as it was to reach for that bottle of Bath and Body Works body scrub, she decided to stick with the generic soap.

  Several minutes later, she stepped out of the bath and wrapped a towel around her chest. Picking another towel from the rows of towels neatly folded beside the bathtub, she used it to rub off the excess water as she made her way to into the bedroom.

  Just then there was a tap on her door. She frowned as she stared at it. She was not expecting anyone. She didn’t think Nico would be dumb enough to send his goons after her again, not after their talk that morning, but she couldn’t be sure. She reached for the gun she’d slipped beneath the pillow after the housekeeper left earlier, the same one she’d taken off Nico and walked to the door.

  She took off the safety. “Who is it?”

  “Hi, it’s Alex.”

  “What can I do for you?”

  “Ah, well, you could come join me at the pool. I’m going for a swim,” he said.

  Tamika relaxed slightly. “A swim.”

  “Yeah, you know, that activity where you put on a G-string bikini and jump into a swimming pool?”

  She rolled her eyes and opened the door.

  Alex’s eyes trailed over her from her feet all the way to her eyes. He met her gaze and she saw appreciation in his.

  “Damn, were you waiting for me, baby?” He took a step forward.

  “In your dreams, buster,” she said calmly, using the muzzle of the gun to keep him back.

  “Whoa…shit! What the hell?” He quickly stepped back.

  Tamika lowered the firearm with a small smile. Yeah, she was a cruel, mean bitch. But she’d really liked seeing him freak out like that.

  “Boundaries…” she said dryly.

  He nodded, “Okay, sure. So, wanna wear that bikini and come swim with me?” he asked, wiggling his brows.

  She shook her head. He really was impossible. “Sorry, I’m meeting Nico in a few minutes,” she said with a shrug. She really wouldn’t have minded swimming a few laps. It would have been a nice substitute for her run.

  Alex narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “You do, huh? How long ago was that meeting set up?”

  “Oh, he called about ten minutes ago.”

  “He did, huh? The sonofabitch.” He straightened up and gave her a cocky smile. “Alright sunshine, when you’re done with that boring brother of mine, you know where to find me.” With a wink, he was gone.

  With another shake of her head, Tamika shut the door. She walked to the bed and carefully dropped the gun, first putting back the safety. She picked her yellow dress and looked at it critically. Damn. She really didn’t want to get back into the clothes she’d worn the day before and all through the night. She glanced at the closet from which she was supposed to help herself. She did not feel comfortable going through another woman’s clothes. A woman who was probably one of Nico’s lovers, though it wasn’t any business of hers. She didn’t care if the clothes belonged to his lover, that wasn’t why she didn’t want to wear them. She just didn’t.

  She held up her dress again and shook her head. There was a black stain at the back, where the butt was. She brought it closer to her nose. It smelled like oil. With a sound of disgust, she flung the dress back on the bed and walked determinedly towards the closet.

  She pulled back the doors and was surprised to find several items in it. Reaching for them, she discovered jeans, cut off shorts, capris, tank tops and tees. Practically all the clothes in there were casual, clothes meant for lounging. She pulled a drawer and found undies. There were some with labels on them, so she took those out. She would replace them later. After picking a few items, she shut the closet and walked back to the bed.

  She dressed quickly and left her room but not before she tucked the firearm into her waistband. She was not about to let down her guard. She found Nico’s office and walked in after a quick tap. The man was sitting on his chair facing the French windows, his back to the door.

  She stood just inside the door, waiting for him to turn around. She waited a few minutes and he still hadn’t turned. What the hell was he playing at? If he thought she was just going to stand there, twiddling her thumbs, he had another think coming.

  She turned, all set to walk out and take Alex up on that offer of a swim. She didn’t have time for his shit.

  “Hey, where are you going?”

  “Away from here,” she said coolly.

  She heard him get up from his chair and he was standing in front of her, his back leaning against the door.

  “We need to talk.”

  She shot him a level stare. “Get out of my way.”

  “What is your problem?”

  “I don’t have time for your games.”

  “You kept me waiting for twenty minutes!”

  She glared at him through narrow eyes. He glared right back, refusing to budge.

  “So, this drama is because I kept you waiting?” she asked with an arched brow. When he remained silent she pointed out, “Lord, you’ve got issues.”

  With a sad shake of her head she turned away and walked to his desk. A thought struck her and with a feeling of mischief, she went right to the seat he’d just vacated and plopped down.

  “Oh no, you don’t!” he growled from where he was standing.

  “What?” she asked, wide-eyed. “You wanted to talk to me? I’m here now. Please go ahead.” She gestured to the seat on the other side of the table.

  “Get your ass out of my chair.”

  She met his gaze and maintaining eye contact, leaned back and slowly brought her feet on to his table. The look on his face was priceless. She saw the shock and disbelief mixed with anger. Then it all drained away and all that was left was a wry smile.

  “You are enjoying this, aren’t you?” he asked.

  “Well, you’re a bit easy to wind up and I have nothing else to do,” she said with a shrug.

  Nico eyed her thoughtfully, then walked over to the chair opposite hers and sat down.

  “Alright, I concede defeat for now. I wanted to see you because Alex and I decided to bring in Silver Shield to handle this.”

  Tamika listened to him, not saying anything. After a brief pause, he went on.

  “The thing is, we both have so much to do getting ready for the opening. If we leave that to chase after Chicha, it’s going to be a disaster.”

  “Yet, you need to retrieve the plans.”

  “Yet, we need to retrieve the plans,” he agreed with a sigh. “I’ve looked you up and you guys seem to know what you’re doing. As a matter of fact, you are one of the best. I only have one concern…”

  She nodded to let him know she was with him.

  “I went through the list of cases you’d handled, those that weren’t classified anyway, and I didn’t see any where you had to investigate or retrieve anything. What you do is mostly protection, am I right?”

  He was right. Emily, the person who founded Silver Shield Security, was the first to tell anyone who cared
to listen that they were not the police, neither were they private investigators. They kept their clients safe whenever there was a threat on their lives. This case was different from what they’d handled before. But she knew they could handle it easily. Rusty, the guy who handled any kind of intelligence for them, could locate the Chicha woman in no time. And they could handle the rest.

  “You are correct,” she said when she realized that he was waiting for an answer to his question. “However, if Emily agrees to take on your case, you can be sure that we will deliver.”

  He said nothing for several minutes and she remained quiet, knowing he was processing everything. His dark blue eyes seemed far away as he thought through everything. Finally, he seemed to have come to a decision.

  He stood up and walked to where she was seated. He stepped close to her, too close. And when Tamika was about to let him know in no uncertain terms that he was invading her personal space, he reached down and pulled out a drawer.

  She forgot to focus on what he was doing as his scent hit her full force. There was the faint smell of soap mixed with the scent of him. It wasn’t something she’d smelled before. It sneaked in, pervading her senses, rousing things in her that she could not explain. She took a deep breath and realized that she’d made a mistake. Without being aware of it, his scent was weaving a spell around her. She needed to get hold of herself. She closed her eyes, struggling for control when he spoke.

  “Here.”

  Her eyes popped open to find him pointing to something on his table. He had taken several steps back and was no longer crowding her space. She took a deep breath and let it out in a silent sigh. She was probably just tired, which explained why she was reacting to the man that way.

  Her eyes followed his finger and she saw her phone on the table. They had taken it off her just before she was led into the Blue Room. She grabbed it and quickly turned it on. The flurry of text messages on the firm’s app didn’t surprise her.

  There were messages from Emily, Drew and Janey…she smiled when she read Janey’s message asking her if she’d taken a risk with the hot stranger. If only she knew… She scrolled past and read the messages from Ace and Sierra. There was even one from Ryan, the goat. She frowned when she read that one. When Sierra was kidnapped the year before, Ryan had put their lives in danger by betraying them to the bad guys. But he had extenuating circumstances and he’d joined them since then. He was a damn good operator and everyone seemed to have forgiven him and moved on. But not her. Tamika White did not forgive easily, and she most certainly didn’t forgive those who betrayed their friends.

  She skipped his message and went to Rusty’s. It was straight and to the point.

  You’d better let me know that you’re alright in the next couple of hours or I’m coming after you on that island.

  She shook her head when she read his message. As she’d known, he’d figured out where she was through the transmitter on her wrist and was ready to call in the cavalry. Only, she didn’t need the cavalry. She typed out a quick response.

  Have everything under control. Having the best time ever. I’ll call real soon.

  She waited a beat and her phone beeped.

  Better make it soon. Or else…

  She rolled her eyes at that. Finally, she tapped a message to Emily.

  With a prospective client. Okay to call now? Skype?

  Her phone beeped.

  You okay? Sure, go ahead and call.

  Okay, thanks.

  She replied to a few other messages then shut the phone. She looked at Nico to find him watching her with a strange look on his face.

  “Nico, are you okay, man?”

  “Yeah, I’m good,” he said, sounding absentminded.

  “If you’re ready, we can skype Emily now,” she said.

  Nico nodded. “Let me get hold of Alex.” He picked up the receiver off the phone.

  “He was heading for the pool,” she volunteered.

  “Hmm…was he now?” He shot her a look, his eyes brimming with humor. He brought the receiver to his ear and after a moment said, “Get your ass to the office now. It’s urgent.”

  Tamika pursed her lips and gave him a stare. He looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

  “What?” he asked.

  She didn’t say anything, just kept looking at him.

  “Whatever you’re thinking, he deserved it,” he said with a rueful smile. “You have no idea what the bastard did to me.”

  At his smile, Tamika held her breath. Her stomach did a dive that was completely unexpected. Mr. Hot wasn’t just gorgeous, he was breathtaking. If she was going to walk out of this whole, she would have to be on her guard.

  Chapter Six

  Nico ignored the dark looks his brother was sending his way and focused his attention on the screen. He hid a smile at Alex’s disheveled look. He had obviously shrugged into his clothes, not even bothering to dry off his hair before hurrying to the office.

  The screen came alive and a beautiful woman with mint green eyes came on the screen. She looked tough and businesslike. Nico liked her.

  “Emily,” Tamika said with a nod.

  The woman trained her eyes on Tamika. “Tamika, we’ve been worried. Is everything okay?”

  His attention shifted to Tamika. She was focused on the screen.

  “Everything’s fine.”

  “I’m going to need you to come up on the net.”

  He noticed the slight change in Tamika. She went still and seemed to stiffen up slightly. Her gaze was trained on the screen and it seemed to him that she had forgotten they were there.

  “Do you understand what I’m saying?” Emily asked.

  Tamika nodded slowly. “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Good.”

  Nico wondered what exactly was going on between them. They seemed to be speaking in some code, which he could not decipher. He shot an inquiring glance at Alex, who shrugged in response.

  “Nikolai Ortega and Alexei Orlov. I’m Emily Silver and it’s a pleasure meeting you both.” She nodded to each of them as she called their names.

  Nico was impressed. She had done her homework.

  “The pleasure is ours, Ms. Silver,” he said, letting her know that he wasn’t lagging behind.

  She nodded once in acknowledgment.

  “About a month ago, the plans for their new resort got stolen by a woman who looks exactly like me,” Tamika said, obviously over whatever it was that had gotten to her.

  “Do you have any images of the woman who stole your plans?”

  Nico reached for his tablet on the table and with a few taps, emailed a video clip to her.

  “I’ve just sent a clip to your email.”

  “Seen it, thanks.”

  Her eyes shifted to the right, though she was still on the screen. After a few minutes she frowned.

  “I can see how you made a mistake,” she said.

  Nico wasn’t buying that. “You didn’t think it was Tamika?”

  Emily met his gaze with a direct stare. “Now that you’ve spent several hours with her, do you honestly think this person could possibly be Tamika?”

  Nico thought back to Chicha and knew that there was no way he could mistake both women. Chicha flaunted her sexuality with every step she took. She oozed sex appeal, which was in direct contrast to Tamika’s straight talking, no-nonsense ways.

  “Do you think you can help us?” Alex asked, saving Nico from replying.

  “Well, this is not exactly our area of specialization as I’m sure Tamika would have told you.”

  Tamika nodded.

  “I’ll have to bring in the others into this skype chat. If they think they can handle this, then we’ll go with it.”

  They worked as a team, he got that. And it made him even more confident that they’d made the right choice.

  “When would you like us to call back?” he asked.

  “No need for that. I’ll put them through.”

  There was a brief pause then several new f
aces appeared.

  “That’s Drew, Ace, Rusty and Ryan.” The men nodded as their names were called. Then Emily took a few minutes to bring them up to speed. “So what do you think, guys?”

  One of the men, the one named Ace, turned his attention to them. “What do you think, Tamika? Would you like us to take this?”

  Nico frowned. What the hell was wrong with these people? He was offering them a job, a really good job considering how much he was willing to pay just to recover those plans. They should be jumping at the offer, not finding out from the crazy woman if she wanted them to take the job.

  “Look, this is not her call to make.”

  They all ignored him.

  “What do you say, Tamika?” Another of the men spoke, this one was Drew.

  “What is the chance that she’s not someone that I’m related to?”

  He saw it. If he hadn’t seen it, he would have said it was impossible. But as soon as she spoke, all those hard faces softened. It was a freaking aww moment. He was beginning to think there was a reason why Tamika was one of their teammates. They were all damned crazy, that’s why.

  “Right, it’s settled then,” Emily said. She turned to Nico. “We’ll take the case.”

  “We need absolute discretion with this,” Nico said.

  “If it gets to the media it’s going to be bad,” Alex added.

  “We understand your concerns,” Emily said. “Our chief focus would be to locate the target and secure position. Rusty?”

  “Roger that,” the one called Rusty said. He focused his decidedly unfriendly gaze on Nico, but when he spoke, his tone was completely professional. “Do you have any item with her fingerprints or DNA on them?”

  “Fingerprints. They were all over the case that had the plans. I could courier them to you?”

  “We’ll be at your island in half an hour,” Emily said. “In the meantime, I’ve emailed over some documents. We would appreciate it you have them signed before we leave.”