A Dangerous Arrangement
Read A Dangerous Arrangement Online
Authors: Lee Christine
Lee Christine
A Dangerous Arrangement
Lee Christine
Kicking off a brand new romantic suspense series from Lee Christine: a violinist with a secret, a billionaire with a problem and a race against time set on the beautiful Amalfi Coast.
When violinist Marina Wentworth arrives in Venice en route to a cruise ship for a short working holiday, the last thing she expects is to be confronted by a handsome stranger demanding answers. After going to great lengths to keep her real reasons for the trip a secret, Marina refuses to let her immediate attraction to Dean Logan derail her plans.
Desperate to recover his latest superyacht designs, Dean doesn't want to believe the lovely violinist is involved in the devastating cyber-attack that threatens to destroy his yacht-building empire. However his growing feelings for Marina fail to extinguish the nagging suspicion that she is hiding something.
Set against the backdrop of Italy's Amalfi Coast, Dean and Marina must navigate the dangerous waters of secrecy, attraction and the fusion of two very different worlds. Will their lives remain discordant, or will they take the chance at true harmony?
As a teenager, Lee had dreams of becoming a singer/songwriter, so her first stories were in songs. When she realised she was never going to write a number one hit, she turned her attention to writing novels. But working and raising a family took up a great deal of her time. In 2009 she decided to treat her writing as a day job, and in 2012
In Safe Hands
won the Romance Writers of America Silicon Valley Gotcha Contest, The Romance Writers of America Smoky Mountains Laurie Award and the Romance Writers of America East Texas Southern Heat Contest for Romantic Suspense. It also picked up a commended in the Romance Writers of New Zealand Clendon Award as well as five âtop five' placings in other contests in Australia and America.
In late 2012
In Safe Hands
was chosen as a launch title by Escape Publishing, Harlequin Enterprises' digital first imprint in Australia.
Lee's second novel
In Safe Arms
was released in January 2014, also with Escape Publishing. A companion novel to
In Safe Hands,
it can be read as a stand-alone.
In Safe Keeping,
released in December 2014, can be read as book three in the series or as a stand-alone novel.
Lee's books are sexy, sophisticated, fast-paced and very contemporary. âI do my best to make sure my storylines are relevant to the modern day, something that could happen to any one of us.'
Lee lives on Australia's eastern seaboard, loves music with a passion, and plays the alto saxophone for fun.
A big thank you to Kate Cuthbert and all the team at Escape Publishing.
A special thanks to Peter D'Lore for his excellent knowledge of super yachts and all things nautical, and to my wonderful critique partner, Linda Hills. Your insight and support are always appreciated, as is your enthusiasm to meet over coffee or lunch.
Thank you to my talented writing group, the Hunter Romance Writers. You girls rock!
And finally, to my wonderful family. As always, your enthusiasm and encouragement for what I do knows no bounds. A special thank you to Danielle for enthusiastically reading every word I write. xx
Â
In memory of Douglas
Contents
Bestselling Titles by Escape Publishingâ¦
The Mediterranean Sea, 1 kilometre off the coast of France
A Lego figurine appeared in the centre of the computer screen. The ominous character wore glasses, a khaki shirt and a menacing expression. Clutched in his right hand was a rapid-fire assault weapon, complete with multiple-clip magazine cartridge.
Dean Logan closed down the image and tried logging in to the computer network a second time. Again the mocking image of the geek guerrilla warrior materialised on the screen.
Dean blinked in disbelief, but the figure holding centre stage on his screen continued to taunt him. Turning in the captain's chair, he looked at Hektor Rask.
âIt's a cyber attack.'
The former detective, now chief of security for Logan Luxury Craft, paced the bridge from port to starboard. Stockily built, Rask was a hard nut, perfectly suited to the job of bodyguard and bouncer. His skill set included investigation, and he'd been hankering to use his expertise for a long while now.
âWe can't be sure.' Rask shrugged off his suit coat and tossed it over a chair.
â
I'm
sure.' Dean pushed himself to his feet, widening his stance as the super yacht rose on the swell and fought against the anchor. From where he stood he could see the party taking place on the bow, the first of many in a week of celebrations for the film festival. Minutes ago he'd been among the revelry, his only concern his ability to feign interest in what the actress parked at his elbow had to say.
Dean turned to the computer screen and jabbed a finger at the Lego man wearing the I-fucked-you-over expression. âI'm no detective, but that avatar ⦠it's a calling card, I'm telling you.'
Rask shoved a wireless receiver into his left ear and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his shirtsleeve. âI've arranged a conference call with head office. I'll reserve my judgement until we know more.'
The Icelander's rare display of tension compounded the pressure building in Dean's temples. He pulled at his bow tie with impatient fingers. Only yesterday he'd accessed the system after giving Sheikh Ahmad a private tour of the yacht. Afterwards, they'd drunk Cointreau in the saloon while he'd outlined the new features of the upcoming Logan Mach V.
Dean braced a hand against the teak panelling and stared at the lights of Cannes delineating the French coastline. The Arab had been impressed, enough to schedule a second meeting despite Dean's flat refusal to haggle over price. Why should he haggle? His inclusion in Australia's âYoung Rich List' had raised his global profile to the point where high rollers were salivating over his next piece of naval architecture. If the sheikh from Doha didn't commission Logan's to build him the finest ocean-going super yacht in the world, the American hip-hop producer certainly would.
âWho phoned?' he asked.
âThe GM. They couldn't log in this morning.'
The screen flickered and the Lego man disappeared.
âRask!' Dean leaned closer to the screen, holding his breath as an unfamiliar red background appeared with the word âCryptocage' in the top left corner and a message in the middle.
â
Shit
.' Dean closed his eyes for a beat. âIt's ransomware.'
He'd known the risks involved with storing intellectual property on computers connected to the internet, but what choice did he have? He spent months away from Australia every year, separated from his design team while he commissioned the sale of his next yacht over the European summer. Files needed to be shared, and storing information on stand-alones was unworkable, not to mention bloody inconvenient.
Beside him, Rask began reading the message aloud.
âYour files are now encrypted!
To decrypt files you will need to obtain a private key. A single copy of this key is located on a secret internet server.
At the expiration of the time shown below, this server will destroy the key, after which files are unable to be restored.
To obtain the private key you need to pay $1,000.
Click âNext' to select method of payment and currency.'
In the bottom right corner, a digital countdown showed the time remaining as 119:53:44.
âA thousand bucksâthat's peanuts.' Dean yanked the black silk tie out from under his collar, undid his top button and eased the constriction around his throat. âWhy not five million?'
âThe low amount keeps them off Interpol's radar. This happens to thousands, maybe millions of people around the globe every year. The ransom's low enough for companies to just pay up to get their files back.'
âI'm not doing that. Not with five days to go.'
âI didn't think you would.'
âIt's not the money, Rask, you know that. It's the principle. Get Emerald IT to run recovery software. The last time I looked I was paying them a bomb for their remote server backup.'
Rask nodded. âWe're waiting for their office to open. It's only eight-forty in Sydney.'
The soulful notes of Alicia Keys's âEmpire State of Mind' rang out over the water. Laughter rose from the bow where things were getting a bit loose in the jacuzzi.
âI thought our procedures were best practice. How the hell did the hacker get in?'
Rask shook his head. âIt's not hard. An email slips through, looking legit. All it takes is one unfocused staff member to click on a link.'
âShit!'
Dean turned away from the screen. âGet head office to contact
every
client and let them know our system's been compromised. They'll need to take precautions, change passwords and the like.'
âRight, boss.'
Working his heart rate down, one deep breath at a time, Dean walked into the saloon and fixed two scotchesâneat.
Back on the bridge he handed a glass to Rask. âHe's a smart arse, whoever he is. Signing off with a Lego figure is the geek's equivalent of flipping me the bird. And if there's one thing I hate more than a smart-arse, Rask, it's a smart-arse who tries to steal from me.'
âThe GM's already been in touch with the cybercrime squad.' Rask paused. âYou okay with that, considering â¦'
âConsidering my distrust of the police?' Dean raised an eyebrow at the former detective. âThat was twenty years ago, Rask. I'm not fifteen anymore.'
âJust thought I'd check.'
Imagining the chaos in head office, Dean turned to stare at the guests dancing on the forward deck. The shock was beginning to ease, making way for the strengthening resolve he recognised and relied on.
âHave Alain launch the tender.' He raised the heavy-bottomed glass to his lips. âParty's over, Rask.'
***
An hour later, grateful for the stiff wind buffeting the Côte d'Azur, Dean stood on the stern and farewelled the last few disembarking partygoers. The worsening weather had worked in his favour, and no-one questioned his decision to ferry them back to shore. Now, the tender dipped and rose on the growing swell while he waited for just the right moment to transfer the British film director from the yacht to the fibreglass tender.
He resisted the temptation to rush, concentrating on the safety of his guests. For all he knew the next Beyoncé or Jay Z could be among the elite mix of sportsmen, businessmen, actors and rock stars. And if they decided to buy a yacht in the future, he wanted them to come to him.