This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Published By:

Blue Hedgehog Press

http://millytaiden.com

http://mina-carter.com

Edited by Dee Carell

Cover by Mina Carter

All Rights Are Reserved
. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Property of Milly Taiden and Mina Carter April 2015

Chapter One

“Tom.” Amanda Rey sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose to stop herself from snapping at her security head. “I understand you’re concerned for me. I do, and I love you for it. You know you’re like a brother to me.” She smiled to take the bite from what was coming. “But I don’t need a bodyguard. I don’t need extra security, and I certainly don’t need more people following me around.”

“Amanda, if you would only listen to me. I have a bad feeling. Too many high-profile CEOs are being abducted for ransom.” His dark brows drew down in a deep frown.

Amanda stood in a rush, her large executive chair hitting the glass wall at her back and bouncing forward. “I am not an idiot. I don’t go sky diving in South Korea or swimming with sharks in Mexico.” She couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes. “Richard and Scott of Benevar Financial did just that. I’m not going into territory that isn’t safe. Period. We aren’t living in a war-torn country.” She pulled the chair back and sat down, took a deep breath, and glanced down at the file on her desk. “I am not going to discuss this any more.”

Tom placed his fists on her desk and leaned forward. “Your family isn’t very trustworthy. Come on, Amy,” he said, using his pet name for her. “Be realistic for a second. If you disappear, one of the leeches takes over the company. You’re not married. You don’t have a husband or children. It would be one of them.”

She ran restless fingers into her perfect twist, messing it up in the process. Who cared at this point? It was way past business hours, and her staff had left for the day.

“Don’t you think I know that?” She snapped, losing the control she was known for. But Tom had seen her at her worst when her parents died, and she’d had to take over.

She’d been so young and unsure of what she was doing. Even with masters degrees in business and economics, she’d been scared of messing up her family’s business. Her cousin had been more than willing to take over for her. But she wouldn’t let her father down. She wasn’t a quitter. So far, AmRey had slowly risen above a bad economy and the poor decisions her uncle had made the few months he’d been in charge while she caught up with the business. No way in hell she’d make that mistake again.

Tom’s brow smoothed. “Just meet my contact. This guy...he’s amazing. He’s ex-British Special Ops. Top of the line.”

Again with the same thing. “No. I already said I’m fine. This is the United States of America for crying out loud. You have done a great job with our security.” She rifled through documents, looking for the papers on the upcoming sale of one of her overseas divisions. It would get AmRey an enormous boost in profit and help ensure a great end to the quarter.

“We lost quite a few of our people to your uncle’s new company.” Tom dropped in the chrome and black leather chair across from her desk with a heavy sigh.

She slapped the file closed and smacked her hands over the manila folder. “I will not have a private guard following me around like I’m some stuck-up celebrity looking for attention.”

“Celebrities are not the only ones with bodyguards.” He grinned. “Normal high-profile people have them too.”

“I’m not high profile. I don’t even date!”

Tom chuckled.

Bastard. He knew she had issues making time for men.

“You’re a billionaire CEO from a fortune 100 company,” he said, “and you don’t have time for idiots.”

“Damn straight!”

“So you need protection against anyone who might decide you’re worth more to them dead than alive.”

Her phone started ringing. A quick glance showed it was her cousin, Mercedes. She opted to let call go to voicemail. She tried to keep in touch with her only female cousin because they were about the same age, but this wasn’t the time. “My family isn’t that terrible.”

“It doesn’t have to be all of them that want you dead. All you need is one person willing to put your life on the line so they can move forward.”

The phone rang again. Picking it up, she tried to rein in her irritation. “Hello, Mercedes.”

“Amy! How are you, prima?”

She rolled her eyes at her cousin’s over-the-top greeting. Mercedes loved to speak and laugh just a little too loud for Amy. “I’m okay. Trying not to let Tom get to me with his continuing request for us to increase security.”

“Oh? Are you going to go with more people?”

“No. I hate to look ostentatious with a bunch of men all over the place trying to protect me. Like I’m a damn prized diamond or something.”

“Maybe you should listen to Tom. He is the expert, no?”

“Yes, he is. But on this I’m pretty set. I don’t feel the need for extra security. Anyway, what can I do for you?”

“Oh, yes! I wanted to ask if you’d be attending the charity ball next week for the Wildlife Conservation Society?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll have to see how much work I have by then. Why? Aren’t you going? You always go to their events.”

“Well, I would like to know who of the family and friends are going so I’ll have something to look forward to. I hate to be at those things alone. I feel all kinds of shy.”

It took a lot of Amy to suck back the snort that almost came out. Mercedes didn’t have a shy bone in her body. She loved being the center of attention.

“I’m sorry. I really don’t know yet. Listen, give me a call in a few days. I have a lot going on right now.”

“Alright. You go take care of your empire, prima.” She laughed and hung up before Amy got a chance to say goodbye.

Amy knew that things had never been simple in her family. Mercedes had been the one person she’d continued to chat with on a regular basis. Mercedes was her friend and one of the people she refused to believe wanted her out of the way. “Cut it out, Tom. You make it sound like I’m in their way.”

“If they want their hands on your money, you are in their way.”

“Keep it up, and I swear to god I’ll cancel your vacation next week,” she warned, pointing a silver pen towards him. “I’m fine. We already have more guards in the building than the freaking president, why do we need more?”

Tom’s face was unreadable. “Not
quite
as many. You’ll only let me put in the bare minimum.”

“And I’m always tripping over them!” she shot back, then shook her head. “So someone to follow me and be my shadow? Hell no. There’s no negotiation happening here. Besides, I have that budget earmarked for a youth center downtown. In the central district,” she said, naming one of the worst areas of the city. “It’s time I gave something back to this city, and I can’t think of a better way to do it than getting those kids off the street and giving them a chance.”

“It’s a good idea, but you can’t help anyone if you’re dead.” He stared her down. “You hired me to do whatever I needed to do to ensure your safety.”

“Yes, I did. So go off and do it, and stop annoying me with talks of men being my shadow. I’m not some airhead who looks for trouble. Heck, my schedule never changes. You know where I am at all times.” She blew on her bangs. Her life was too boring even for a guard. He’d end up twiddling his thumbs. Nothing special ever happened.

“Okay. I’ll go off and do my job.”

Something about the way he said that didn’t sit right with her. “And don’t even think about hiring a bunch of personal bodyguards for me. I don’t need them, and I don’t want them.”

Tom smiled an evil smile that scared her a little. “I won’t. I won’t hire a bunch of guys to be your bodyguards. I promise.”

Good. That’s all she needed. “Thank you, Tom. Now go home.”

***

“What do you think, Dav…? Can you do it?”

Drew Davidson, Dav to the few he called friend, pursed his lips as he looked through the binoculars. On a roof directly opposite the AmRey building, he had a clear line of sight into the boardroom. If he’d had a rifle instead of something so innocuous as the binoculars, he could have taken out the occupants of the room with ease.

“Can I? Yes,” he said, his voice picked up by the earpiece looped over his right ear. “Will I? That depends.”

He didn’t let his attention wander from his prospective mark. A woman at the head of the table spoke to the rest of the room, her hands moving animatedly. He allowed the hint of a smile to curve his lips. She spoke with her hands. That was cute. Would she still be able to talk if he tied her hands up? Heat surged at the idea, but he beat it back down. Now was not the time or the place.

“Depends on what?” Tom growled on the other end of the line, his frustration evident. “Look Dav, I can’t tell you how much I need you on this mate. She’s wide open. So many security holes that someone, somewhere is going to try for her. Sooner rather than later if you ask me. And, lets be honest, she’d come out the loser in a match against a wet fucking kitten.”

Drew nodded, assessing her through the glass. Petite and curvy, she had victim written all over her. Not that he thought every woman out there was a victim. Some of the women he’d worked with had been lethal. Cast-iron bitches with balls of steel. He’d have been hard-pressed to take them down himself.

But this one, Amanda Rey, didn’t move with the sort of awareness that even a decent self-defense course would give her. She certainly didn’t move like a predator, the way the women he usually worked with did. He sighed and scanned the rest of the room.

The floor was open plan, two guards at the door, clear line of sight to the lift. No one on the lift doors. He’d scoped the lobby out earlier, so he knew there was just one guard station to the right of the reception desk. Couple of rounds would deal with that, and then it was a walk in the park.

“Seriously mate, she doesn’t see the danger,” Tom carried on. “You know what she said when I said there were fuckers out there that would take her just for the challenge?”

“Nope.” He didn’t bother to soften his tone. He and Tom had spent enough time out in the arse-end of beyond in places that being caught meant no cavalry. No rescue. They were, and always had been, deniable assets. Tom was used to his clipped attitude. “Enlighten me.”

Tom was silent for a moment, the pause so long that Drew reached up to tap his earpiece in case he’d lost connection. Then Tom blew out a sigh, the sound of pure frustration filling Drew’s ear.

“She said no one would dare make a move on her.” Tom’s voice dropped quieter, his tone so close to defeat that Drew winced to hear it.

“Honestly, mate. I wish I could do this, but since...” He coughed. He didn’t need to finish, they both remembered the attack and vicious firefight that had left Tom with more holes in his skin than a colander. It had ended his career and nearly his life.

“Yeah. I’m good, but I’m not A1 anymore, and for this I need someone at the top of their game. And I don’t trust anyone else, Drew, not with her. I need you.”

Fuck. The emotional appeal. Drew closed his eyes for a second. He was going to say yes. He didn’t have a choice if Tom was desperate enough to pull the pity card.

‘‘You need me, huh? Well okay, but this doesn’t mean we’re gonna hold hands and take long walks in the park, okay? And I do this
my
way. Understand?”

“Thank you.” The relief was evident into Tom’s voice. “You just saved my life. Hers for sure, so whatever you need.”

Drew chuckled, folding his field binoculars and sliding them away into his inside pocket. “Don’t thank me just yet, mate, because you might be out of a job in twenty-four hours.”

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