A Little Harmless Secret (8 page)

“So, he’s probably going to be horrible with you two. Just know where he is coming from.”

Alicia frowned. “What do you mean?”

Dee sighed. “He’ll do anything to keep you safe. And it means he is going to be a pain in the ass. I just wanted you to understand why.”

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “I can take care of myself and Bridget.”

Dee chuckled. “Don’t be getting your panties in a bunch. I know that, and to an extent he knows that. But he has a history, and just keep that in mind. I don’t want you to kick his ass and make him cry like a girl.”

Alicia smiled. “You think I can?”

“I’m pretty sure you can. What do you train with?”

“Some boxing.”

“Me too! Well, until I got pregnant.”

“You’re having two so close together.”

“I want to have a ton of them, but Micah wasn’t happy at first. He didn’t do so well during the last pregnancy. He declared we wouldn’t have any more children after the incident in the delivery room.”

“What incident?”

“He almost passed out. As it was, he got woozy and his stomach didn’t handle the miracle of birth that well.”

She thought back to the stoic Native American and joined in the laughter.

“Now
that
I might have paid to see.”

* * * *

Micah and Devon pulled into the Ali’s driveway and found that nothing had been disturbed. There was a bit of fog hanging around the bushes that lined the walk.

“It’s fucking eerie, man,” Micah said.

Devon nodded. There was something oddly quiet that coated the area with a thick layer of menace. It left a knot in his stomach. There was something very wrong about the house.

They both silently slipped out of the car. He watched his brother-in-law scan the area. Devon knew he was good at things like that. He’d been trained by the CIA, even if it was just preliminary training. Years of avoiding his father and brother had made him cautious. But Micah, he’d made a living at it. When he had gotten out of the business, he’d been more well-known than Dog the Bounty Hunter. Add in his rough upbringing, Micah was probably one of the most perceptive people he knew.

Micah nodded, indicating that he didn’t sense anything and Devon could go in. As they walked, Micah continued looking around them. Devon approached the front door and found it locked. He used the key Ali had given him, and then walked in carefully.

It looked exactly the same. No windows were broken, nothing was damaged. In fact, he would never have guessed someone had been there that night. They walked around carefully, checking things out. It was the oddest kind of crime scene. He knew the people who had shown up last night had been sent to at least retrieve Bridget. When Micah joined him in the kitchen, he looked at Devon.

“It’s like last night didn’t happen,” Devon said.

“Makes me think someone didn’t want anyone to notice what was going on. And, maybe they think she’s on her own. If so, that’s good. They’ll assume that she’s on her own.”

“That makes sense with the report that Ali got this morning. The cops went by last night, nothing looked out of place.”

“Let’s check out the bedrooms.”

They came to Bridget’s first. Again, nothing was disturbed. The covers were pulled up over the pillow, but other than that, it looked natural. They made their way down to the master bedroom.

They slipped in and it looked the same. Ali had been dressed, but her bed was in the same order. The quilt had been pulled up over the pillows. Micah looked in the bathroom and came out shaking his head.

Devon pulled the bed linens and found the pillow had a bullet hole in it.

“Fucking hell,” Micah muttered.

Anger pumped through Devon as he spun around and strode down the hallway to Bridget’s room again. He grabbed the sheets and yanked them down. The pillow had one small bullet hole in it. Micah stepped into the room.

“They weren’t sent here to gather information or even to capture her,” Devon said.

Micah walked around the bed, and Devon raised his gaze to meet his brother-in-law’s.

“You’re right. They were sent for one thing.”

His rage grew. “Assassination.”

CHAPTER NINE

It was amazing how fast everything came together. They had the apartment packed up, along with the things from her house, and they were heading to a private airport before three that afternoon.

Still, after witnessing how fast Dee threw their stuff together—probably learned while she was on the run from her father—Alicia worried about the danger they would face. Just being connected with her put their lives at risk. Needing to reassure herself, she approached Micah. He was the most level-headed of everyone involved and she needed his approval.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked.

“I said it was fine,” Devon said, butting in. Of course he was butting in. He’d been doing that since he showed up and her life had gone to hell.

“I didn’t ask you,” she said without looking at him. “I was asking Micah, because my presence is a danger to his wife and children. Their safety is more important than your ego.”

Devon didn’t argue with her, but she could hear him cursing beneath his breath.

Micah’s lips twitched once, then, he said, “I’m sure. We will add a little extra security to the house and to the club. I’ve already talked to Conner about it.”

“Conner Dillon?”

“Yeah. I told you we used them too.”

“I never talked to him.” she asked. “I thought he pretty much left the running of the company to his partner and his sister.”

“We have a connection that goes back a long way,” Micah said, looking at Dee. “And he lives in Hawaii now and handles the work in Hawaii. I think they do a lot of personal security in the Far East and Australia now as well.”

“Does the entire bloody world live there now?”

Dee chuckled. “We like to lure them over. Anyway, I’m sure he’d like to talk to you about things. Give you some advice.”

She snorted. “I appreciate that, but I don’t need a former FBI agent’s advice on security.”

Dee opened her mouth but Devon stopped her. “The one thing I’ve learned is to avoid those interspook arguments.”

“You actually learned that from your very short tenure with the CIA?” Alicia asked before she could stop herself.

“I left on my own.
I
decided to leave.”

She didn’t know what was making her so reckless, but she didn’t care. “I’m sure most women would fall for that, but remember, I’m MI-6.”

“Used to be.”

“Yes, well,
I
didn’t make that decision, now did I?”

He stepped so close his chest brushed her breasts. Irritation and surprisingly, arousal, sparked through her blood. “Is that the truth? I guess you call it a decision, I call it someone in your organization taking matters into his own hands.”

She opened her mouth, but Dee interrupted them. “Hey.”

“What?” they both said at the same time.

“You two need to cool it before the kids hear.”

That brought her back to earth. She couldn’t believe she’d lost her temper like that. Well, not as an adult and definitely not in front of Bridget.

“Sorry. I should have controlled myself better.”

“Sorry,” Devon mumbled. He picked up the last of the bags and followed Micah out the door.

Alicia shoved a hand through her hair. “How embarrassing.”

Dee laughed. “No. Micah and I argue a lot. It’s all that sexual chemistry.”

Alicia blinked in response. The woman said the oddest things. “There is no sexual chemistry.”

Dee gave her a look of pity. “Oh, honey, there is a lot of chemistry, sexual and otherwise. Tell me this. How do you feel right now?”

“Feel?”

Dee nodded.

“What do you mean?”

“Your body, how does it feel?”

“Well, kind of hot.”

“Hmm.”
      

She threw her hands in the air. “It was just an argument.”

“Can you tell me that there was a point you didn’t know whether you wanted to slap him or kiss him?”

That was a little too close to what she had been feeling. What the hell was going on with her? She had been losing control of everything in her life, and now she was getting hot about a man she had no business messing with—especially considering the situation.

“I plead the fifth.”

With that, Alicia turned and walked off, ignoring Dee’s laughter and praying she wasn’t right. Getting tangled up with Devon Stryker was something she’d barely survived the first time around.

* * * *

Devon was still irritated as he stepped off the elevator. The woman was always trying to dismiss him. At one time, he might have let her do it. Now, though, his daughter was involved.

That was a lie. Even if Bridget had never been born, the moment Devon saw Ali again, he would have hunted her down.

“You might as well just let it go,” Micah said. He’d been talking in that calm “I know better than you” tone since they’d left the parking garage. If he didn’t shut the hell up, there was a good chance he would punch him. Then, there was a good chance Devon would get his ass kicked—a very big chance.

“I heard you the first five times you said it.”

Devon knew he sounded like an ass. He didn’t really give a damn. The argument with Ali had left him on edge and out of sorts. It hadn’t even been that much of an argument. But one little disagreement and he’d been on the verge of yelling at her—or taking her to bed.

He opened the door and strode across the room. He said nothing to his sister as he went through the room making sure they’d gotten all their belongings.

His sister watched him from her seat in the kitchen and just like him, didn’t say a word.

“What’s the matter?” Dee said.

Micah kissed her cheek. “Nothing a little one on one time with Alicia wouldn’t fix.”

He snarled at Micah and Dee laughed.

“Where are Bridget and Ali?”

“I think it’s odd you call her by that name,” Dee said.

“Who cares?”

This made Dee laugh even more.

“They’re in your room, getting ready. Bridget has some jitters about the plane.”

He said nothing as he turned and headed in that direction. He’d had about three hours of sleep, if that, and he was…out of sorts. That was it. Just out of sorts.

And really freaking horny.

Fuck. He leaned against the wall and counted back from ten. Then, he did it again. This wasn’t the time or place. They had too much shit on their plate to deal with. Not to mention, they had an innocent little girl in danger.

That brought him back to earth. There was a little girl, and she needed both of them to protect her. As if on cue, he heard the two of them talking.

“I’ve never been on a plane before,” Bridget said, nerves leaving her voice tight with worry.

“You have but you were a little baby then, so you don’t remember.”

“Still. And this is a
little
plane.”

“We’ll be fine, poppet. These are nice people and guess what?”

“What?”

“I heard they have all kinds of little gadgets, including a shower and a bed. Isn’t that exciting?”

“I suppose.” The girl was definitely not impressed with that.

Devon moved closer so he could see in the room. Bridget was sitting on the bed and Ali dropped down to squat in front of her.

“Right now, we can’t go back to the house. I told you it might happen.”

“But I like our house. And the woods. You said maybe next year we could get a dog.”

“I know and it might still happen. We just have to deal with this problem, then maybe we can make it back.”

She sighed. “Hawaii doesn’t sound like much fun.”

It was easy to hear the pout in Bridget’s voice. It took every bit of his control not to interrupt and tell her he would take her anywhere she wanted to go.

“I have a feeling a lot of people would disagree with you.”

“Yeah?” she asked as she sniffled.

“Yeah. There are beaches we can go to each day. And, I heard a rumor that Devon has a pool.”

“It’s too cold for swimming.”

Ali shook her head and smiled. “Not in Hawaii. You can do that year round.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And Dee said there’s whales there right now. We might get to see some.”

Her hatred for Hawaii apparently forgotten, Bridget clapped. “I love whales.”

“I know you do. Now, what did I tell you about us doing things?”

“We can do it if we do it together,” Bridget said.

“That’s right,” Ali said. “Now give your mum a hug, and we need to get going.”

She nodded and did just that. He watched, as he swallowed a lump in his throat. He had missed so much of his daughter’s life and he still blamed Ali for that, but the people behind the attack and her father’s death were the most to blame for it.

When he got a hold of the bastards, he would make sure to make them pay.

* * * *

The former agent looked out the window, watching the rain as it slipped down the glass. This time of year was known for being rainy and cold. It set the perfect mood.

“And you say that they were nowhere to be found? Did you stake out the house?”

The younger man shifted his feet. “They weren’t there.”

“Are you telling me you just left?”

“It was compromised. She was gone.”

The agent sighed. All these years and good help was still hard to find. People had no real work ethic anymore. “You’ve fucked this one up.”

“I—”

“No. Go back to your post, Williams.”

He hesitated. The agent knew he wanted to argue, but he finally left.

“You want him fired?”

The agent looked at the second in command. “Fired. Yes.”

“Do you want Smythe to take care of it?”

Smythe
handled their terminations. It wasn’t something they used that often, but this definitely warranted swift and devastating action. They hadn’t been this close to Alicia Hughes in years, and he had fucked it up good. Lying in wait, because Alicia would have returned at some point, should have been the next course of action. Instead, the wanker had fled the States, running back to London with his tail between his legs. And he should pay for that.