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- Herausgeber: BluEyed Press
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
Ryker Hamilton doesn’t have grand plans. He’s always been second best. Second thought, second in command, second place in everything. He’s comfortable there. He’s gotten used to his role. He doesn’t need anything to change. He doesn’t want anything to change.
Taylor Wright is used to being in charge. As the oldest in her family, she was the one responsible when her father left them alone, and as the CEO of the company she created from the ground up, she’s responsible for everything. Which is why whoever is after her company is after her.
Taylor resists her brother’s suggestion to hire independent security, but when someone breaks into her house, she accepts that she needs help. Accepting help from Ryker might mean surrendering more than just her schedule to someone else’s control. It might mean surrendering her heart, too. But that’s one piece of her that is not up for negotiation.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
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FUTURE
F-BOMB: SEALS LOVE CURVES, BOOK 8
MARY E THOMPSON
Future
F-BOMB: SEALs Love Curves, book 8
Copyright © 2021 Mary E Thompson
Cover Copyright © 2021 Mary E Thompson
Cover Photo from depositphotos, Copyright © membio
Background from depositphotos, Copyright © yupiramos
Flag from Pixabay, CC0
Published by BluEyed Press, All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, businesses, locations, and events are either products of the author’s creative imagination or are used in a fictitious sense. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-953879-05-9
Print ISBN: 978-1-953879-06-6
Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-953879-07-3
Created with Vellum
F-BOMB: SEALS LOVE CURVES
Welcome to the world of F-BOMB where a group of former SEALs have come together to protect the curvy women they love and the country they call home from the dangers of the world. They have the training and the knowledge, and they have the ability to kick some ass when needed. And it’ll be needed.
F-BOMB: SEALs LOVE CURVES
Freedom
Fiancée (subscriber exclusive)
Forgotten
First
Failure
Friends
Family
Forbidden
Future
Finally
SUBSCRIBE NOW AT MARYETHOMPSON.COM
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
About the Author
For my kids…
that they may always know their own minds and never forget how much they are loved.
1
Taylor Wright caressed the multicolored bow on the box with a satisfied smile. She’d been getting gifts from supporters and investors for weeks, each more lavish and thoughtful than the last.
After years of killing herself to make it to the top, she’d finally arrived. She was doing exactly what she wanted to do, and she was doing it exactly how she wanted to do it.
She had her enemies, but they were people she’d left behind her. People she wasn’t interested in involving in her success. She’d built her company from the ground up and she was going to open up to customers in two weeks. Initial reviews were overwhelmingly positive, proving she was doing things right.
Taylor lifted the lid with a curious smile on her face. She peered inside and screamed, “Gah!” She dropped the lid and backed away from it. Cement filled her gut and ice flooded her veins.
“Are you okay? What happened?” her assistant Jessica’s near-permanent grin faded to confusion when she saw the panicked look in Taylor’s eyes.
The only thing Taylor could do was point to the box. Jessica turned to it, then back to Taylor with narrowed eyes and a tilt of her head that assumed Taylor was being dramatic and crazy.
Jessica had worked for Taylor for almost a year. She was the closest thing Taylor had to a friend, even though they really weren’t friends, but Taylor thought her assistant had a little more trust in her than to think she was nuts.
“What—? Oh, my God. Is that what I think it is?”
“If you think it’s a dead bird nestled in decaying roses with a note that reads you’re next, then yes, it’s what you think it is.”
“Who the hell would send you something like that?”
“Someone who wants us to fail.”
“Okay, but who?”
Taylor shook her head. “I have no idea.”
* * *
“I’ll send you the list, officer,” Taylor said for the third time in thirty minutes. “I want to be thorough.”
“Does the bird have any significance?” the young cop asked.
Taylor fought the urge to roll her eyes. She was exhausted. It had been a long day before she walked into her office and found a dead bird in a box. She glanced around at the walls, covered in birds. “Yeah, the bird is significant.”
Taylor called her company Birds of a Feather because she wanted the women she targeted to know they weren’t alone. It was important to her since Taylor herself never felt like she connected with the women she knew, but she hoped to create a world where other women didn’t feel the same.
Birds of a Feather was more than a company to her. It was her baby. Her dream when she was in grad school and imagining her future, a future she thought she would share with her boyfriend. Mark was ambitious and studious, just like Taylor, but what she couldn’t see at the time was that he was also jealous of her creativity and lacked his own.
It didn’t bother Taylor, but it was a sore spot for Mark. So sore that he stole an idea he and Taylor came up with together and pitched it as his own to get himself a job at the company where they both first interviewed. When Taylor pitched the same idea, as a joint venture, they all but accused her of stealing it and said the only reason they weren’t reporting her to the school was because they knew the truth.
That was when Taylor learned not to trust other people. Especially men.
“Do any men work here?” the officer asked, dragging Taylor’s focus back to the issue in front of her.
Again, she had to resist an eye roll. “Birds of a Feather is an inclusive work environment. We hire the person who is best for the job, but when developing a company of size inclusive exercise clothes for women, it attracts more women than men.”
The officer stared at the rear end of one of the interns as she rushed past Taylor’s office. Sure, she was cute and perky and perfect, but the man was on the damn job.
“Ahem,” Taylor said loudly.
The cop almost dropped his notepad as he yanked his eyes from the woman’s ass. Minor victories.
He pressed his lips together in what she assumed was supposed to be a smile and gave Taylor and her ample curves a dismissive once-over before announcing, “I think I have all I need. If we find anything, we’ll be in touch, Ms.…”
“Wright,” Taylor provided.
“Yes, of course.” He picked up the evidence bag containing the box and nodded, then left her office.
Taylor’s sigh was more of a groan as she scolded herself that flipping off a cop was not in her best interest, just in case he turned around and caught her.
She watched until he made it to the bank of elevators, then sank into her chair. She was drained. Dealing with threats and cops could do that to a woman.
“What did he say?” Jessica was another one the cop admired on his way to see Taylor. She had jet black hair, a curvy hourglass figure, and a smile that would make any man drop to his knees and beg for her to flash it at him, but Taylor hired her because she was also crazy smart and could think quickly on her feet. She’d saved Taylor’s ass more than once in the last year.
“He said they’ll be in touch.”
“Which means we’ll never see him again.”
“Yep. Whatever.”
“Why don’t you call Braden?” Jessica suggested.
Taylor took note of the way Jessica’s voice lifted at the end, as though there was more than one reason she might want Taylor’s brother aware of what was going on. Taylor resisted the urge to call either of her brothers about anything, but Braden was the worst. He was the worrier. The one who was always telling her she needed to be more careful. Being a firefighter, he saw some of the worst the world had to offer, but he was paranoid. And Taylor wasn’t going to be afraid to live her life.
“I don’t think I need to tell Braden about this.”
“Tell me about what?” Braden asked from Taylor’s doorway.
Taylor sighed and gave Jessica a look that asked if she set Taylor up. Jessica flushed fifty shades of pink and tucked her hair behind her ear before she hurried out of the office, sneaking past an oblivious Braden on her way back to her desk. Braden’s gaze followed her for half a second, then snapped back to his sister. “What happened?”
“It was nothing.”
“Then why did I pass Officer Shaw on my way up here?”
“Dammit,” Taylor hissed.
“What happened?”
“Just someone being an ass.”
“Which means?”
“I got a dead bird in the mail. Wrapped up in a pretty box and nestled in a bed of decaying roses.” Taylor delivered the words with a pissed-off smile that hid the threat of showing her brother what she had for lunch.
“What?” Braden stalked across the room to her side. His fists clenched, and he twisted his neck to release the tension that immediately locked it up.
Taylor shrugged like the whole thing was a minor inconvenience instead of a not-so-thinly veiled threat to everything she’d worked her ass off to build. That was exactly why she didn’t want to tell him. And why she didn’t mention the note.
“You need protection, Tay. Someone with you to make sure you’re safe.”
“No,” Taylor said. Now that was why she didn’t want to tell him. The last thing she wanted was to feel like a prisoner in her own life.
“Taylor—”
“Would you be telling Aaron this? Or Wray or one of your other firefighter buddies? Is it because I’m a woman?”
“It’s because you’re my sister, Tay-tay. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Taylor’s frozen heart melted whenever he called her by her childhood nickname. Especially when he tilted his head to the side and gave her the same lost little boy look he’d worn on a daily basis growing up. As the oldest of four, Taylor took a mother role with her younger siblings. She started babysitting them when she was able to use the microwave for dinner, and she was changing Braden’s diapers, the youngest, the day he came home from the hospital. Taylor’s greatest accomplishments were her siblings.
Until Birds of a Feather.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured Braden. “Whoever sent it is just trying to scare me.”
“Which is exactly my point. I know a guy—”
“Don’t go there, Braden.” Taylor’s sharp look and sharper tone would have made most people shut up quickly, but he was her brother and knew she was like a chihuahua pretending to be a Great Dane.
His matching glare had the punch of a pissed off hornet, but she wouldn’t tell him that. “Taylor.”
“Braden.”
“I’m worried about you.”
Taylor shook her head to dislodge the equally powerful sting of his soft words. “I have the best security system money can buy, both here and at home. There are cameras all over this building. I have no reason to think this is anything more than some sick joke, but if it’s not, I have a baseball bat under my bed and you know I can swing it.”
Braden’s entire face softened at the mention of their shared memories. One of the many roles Taylor took on was coaching his baseball team when he was seven. She’d just turned eighteen and knew little about the game, but she learned fast. Just like she did with everything else in her life.
“At least meet the guy. Talk to him.”
“Braden.”
“Taylor, please. It’ll make me feel better if you have a conversation with him.”
“Let me think about it.”
Braden’s sigh was his annoyed sigh, the one that Taylor had grown accustomed to him using on her since he realized he was finally bigger and stronger than his big sister, and that she still wouldn’t let him take care of her. “I guess that’s all I can hope for.”
Taylor’s grin bordered on a smirk. “Yep.”
* * *
Ryker Hamilton sat in the briefing room and listened to his boss talk about their latest job. Ryker, known as Dex to the rest of the team, had taken his turn as lead on a few cases, but he was happy when Dunn filled the role. It was natural for him, but Dex… he liked to be behind the scenes most of the time. He was comfortable being in second place.
“Dex, are you with us?” Dunn asked.
Dex nodded, meeting the gaze of the other man. It didn’t matter what the task was, Dex was up to it. F-BOMB was as much his baby as the others’. They’d built the company from the ground up over the last few years, working to protect the borders of their country and keep people safe. That included stopping all sorts of bad guys, and brought them to their current asshole.
Dennis Parker.
Parker was the kind of scum that gave scum a bad name. He was involved in anything and everything bad. But he was smart enough to stay a step or two away from it and never get his hands dirty.
Dex hated men like him because everyone knew they were the ones pulling the strings, but their puppets always protected them. It wasn’t because of loyalty, though. He had something on everyone who’d ever worked for him. And he wasn’t afraid to use it to ruin their lives if they ever thought about ruining his.
“How are we going to handle this?” Archer asked.
Archer was their smash and grab guy. He could tear someone apart with his bare hands if he needed to. He was a good man to have on your side, and he was smarter than he gave himself credit for.
“The sheriff is out for blood. We have to bring the entire organization down,” Dunn said. He met the gazes of the rest of the team with his own dark one.
“And we’re sure it was one of Parker’s men who took the sheriff’s daughter and did that to her?” Rocky winced at the picture of the bruised woman on their board. He was the rational one of the group. Rocky thought through their actions and made a decision long before he acted.
“We’re sure,” Dunn said. “The guy bragged to her about other cases they’ve been tied to. He knew too much to be spouting rumors. He was a part of it.”
“What’s the play here?” Dex asked. “Normally, the powers that be would bring in someone like this guy and cut him a deal in order to get his boss. I can’t imagine that’s the plan with this one.”
“No, it’s not. We want to take down the entire organization. To do that, we need to know what he has on his people,” Dunn said. “We need his files.”
“Where do we think they are?” Jack asked.
“They’re not digital,” English said. As the team’s computer expert, if something existed online, English would find it. A self-professed nerd, English was the kind of guy who could shoot you with one hand and ruin you with the other. He was as badass as they came, but he stayed in the shadows more often than not.
“That means everything is on paper. Files somewhere. Probably more than one copy if he’s smart, and we know he is. I’d be willing to bet he has a copy at his home, one in the office, and another somewhere that we don’t know about,” Dunn said.
The frustration in Dunn’s voice matched that of the rest of the group. It wasn’t that they were simply frustrated that they couldn’t bring the guy down, they were frustrated that he impressed them. Not in a way that made them want to be like him, but in a way that made them wonder how he pulled it all off without being caught. After everything they’d seen, not much got past them, but Parker did. More than once.
Dex’s phone rang, prompting a pause to the meeting. He looked up at Dunn for permission to answer during the meeting. Dunn nodded.
“Hamilton.”
“Ryker, this is Braden Wright. I wondered if I could call in that favor.”
Dex waved off Dunn’s look to let him know it wasn’t anything relevant to the current case, then left the conference room to talk to Braden. After Braden went undercover with Dex and saved his life at an illegal poker game a few months earlier, Dex vowed to return the favor anytime Braden needed something.
“Everything okay?”
“That’s why I’m calling. My sister is about to launch her newest company and she’s getting threats. Most have been stupid online things, but the latest was a dead bird. Do you have time to act as private security for her? A few weeks, maybe?”
“For you, Braden, anything.”
“Thanks. I owe my sister everything, and she doesn’t like to admit when she needs help.”
“I’ve met a few people like that.”
Braden chuckled. “Yeah, well, she did raise me. I’ll send you her company’s address. You’re on her calendar for tomorrow afternoon. Thanks, Ryker.”
“Any time. We’ll talk soon.”
Braden hung up, and Dex went back into the conference room. Dunn raised a brow at him, pausing his sentence just long enough for Dex to nod in response to the unasked question. Everything is fine.
“So,” Dunn said, “how are we going to bring this asshole down?”
* * *
Everyone had left for the day, but Taylor still sat at her desk. She refused to leave anything to chance this close to her launch. Years of working jobs that made ends meet had led her to where she was. On top of the damn world.
She checked and double checked her notes and confirmed everything with her suppliers and manufacturer. She’d thought of everything, except sabotage.
Taylor tried to come up with a list of people who might be out to get her, but she was having trouble. The top of the list was relatively easy with former bosses and coworkers and a few people who didn’t get the jobs they applied for, but after a handful of names, she was drawing a blank.
She groaned and pushed her chair back. She stretched her neck from side to side, loosening the tight muscles. Maybe she could book a massage before the launch. God knew she needed it. She laughed to herself. Like she had free time.
A massage was a luxury, sort of like a date was. She couldn’t remember the last time she went on a date. As she got closer to her dream coming true, men were less and less important to her. And less and less willing to see her as a potential partner. Nope, she was a mark, someone to use for what they wanted. She was done being used.
Taylor considered going home, but she was too tired to drive. She kept a small closet of clothes in her office for the too many nights she stayed there. Her executive bathroom was almost as lavish as the one in her home, so she gave up the fight and moved from her desk chair to the couch that was even more comfortable than the one she had at home.
She sank back and closed her eyes. Deep breath in, and out. Again in, and out. She forced her mind to clear and let go of the day. Nothing was going to stop her from moving forward with her plans. Nothing.
Her phone rang, startling her out of her relaxed state. She wasn’t asleep yet, but she was on her way. The price of running an online business.
Taylor answered without bothering to think about the blocked caller ID knowing many of her investors had blocked numbers. “Taylor Wright.”
“Did you get my gift?” a man’s voice asked.
“Who is this?” Taylor asked. Her voice trembled, and so did her hands. She looked around the silent office, feeling exposed.
“I wanted you to know I was thinking of you.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to appreciate me, Taylor. You wouldn’t be where you are if it weren’t for me. I want you to acknowledge that.”
“Why don’t you tell me who you are so I can?”
He chuckled. “That would be too easy. I understand, though. All the people you stepped on as you were climbing the ladder… It’s easy to forget us all. But we never forgot about you.”
“I didn’t step on people.”
His laugh sent ice to her heart. She shivered from the chill and grabbed her blanket.
“Taylor, Taylor, Taylor. You’re so forgetful when it doesn’t serve you. But I know exactly who you are. You’re still that white trash who grew up on the wrong side of town. A cheap whore who tried to pretend she was someone she’s not. But I know the real you, Tay-tay. I know everything about you. And I’m not going to let you destroy more lives.”
“What are you talking about?” Taylor asked. Her mind raced to come up with a name. The list of people who knew her childhood nickname was short, but the voice… She couldn’t place it.
He chuckled again, a breathy sound through the phone. “Don’t play dumb with me. You’re far too smart for it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do, Taylor. But I need to go now. We’ll talk again very soon.”
She tried to say something else, but he was gone. Taylor stared at her phone, shaking in her hand. The fear overtook her and the phone slid from her hand to the floor. She couldn’t stop shaking.
The phone buzzed on the floor, making her jump. She looked at it as if it were a snake ready to strike. The screen lit up with an email. An update from a supplier.
Taylor drew a long breath, letting the air fill her lungs until they ached. She held it to the count of four, then slowly released the air. After a few more deep breaths, her hands stopped shaking and her heart slowed to normal. She picked up her phone and opened the email.
She didn’t have time for threats. She had a job to do.
2
Taylor refused to let the man on the phone scare her into backing down. She was going to do what she set out to do, and she was going to do it the way she’d planned.
That didn’t mean his words didn’t play in her mind the entire next morning. She was an ambitious woman, but she never set out to step on others on her way to the top. She worked hard and pushed herself, but she didn’t intend for her own drive to stop others from moving up with her, or moving up in their own way.
The first job Taylor had was working at an ice cream shop the first summer she was old enough to work. It was near the touristy areas of Niagara Falls and she made most of her money in tips. She learned quickly if she softened them with a friendly smile, then asked people about their days and shared suggestions about the city, people would give her bigger tips. The money she earned helped her to buy Christmas presents for her three younger siblings that year.
Every year after that, Taylor learned what it took to be successful at whatever job she was doing. It didn’t matter to her if she was bagging groceries, making sandwiches, or running her own company, there was always a secret to the job that helped her to get ahead.
Stepping on others was never her plan, though. Which was what kept her mind on the man on the phone. He made it sound like he knew her from her childhood, and he made it sound like she used him to get ahead.
Taylor’s first boyfriend was someone she met the year she worked at the grocery store. He stocked shelves, and she bagged groceries. They joked about being invisible to the people they were serving. They dated for about six weeks, but her job changed and they saw each other less and eventually fizzled out.
Could it be Jesse?
Her phone rang in her hand, startling her. She fumbled with it and dropped the offending item onto her desk where it rattled across the surface until she snatched it back up.
She paused and looked at the screen, then shoved away her fears. She had to answer her phone.
“Taylor Wright.”
“Ms. Wright, this is Steven Anthony.” The head of her security for the building.
“Hi, Steven. What do you need?”
“We have a package here for you. I was told to call you before delivering anything. Would you like me to open it?”
Taylor hated that she wanted to hide behind a man for any reason, but especially for this reason. Whoever sent her the bird got to her. He got into her head and made her doubt her abilities and her strength.
“Yes, please,” Taylor said after a long moment.
“Hold on, Ms. Wright.”
Taylor strained to hear something as Steven unwrapped whatever was delivered to the building. She was grateful for the barrier between herself and the outside world, but she resented it more than anything.
The building didn’t just belong to Taylor and Birds of a Feather. She leased the third floor, but there were five in total. The ground floor was security and retail spaces that were open to the public. One of those retail spaces was going to be the Birds of a Feather flagship store in a few months. Other companies leased the other three floors. A visitor had to check in with security to get a pass to access any of the companies through the shared elevator. All the stairs were only accessible from inside one of the upper floors or with a keycard. The building was secure. As secure as possible.
“It’s clean, Ms. Wright. I’ll send it up.”
“Thank you, Steven. I really appreciate it.”
“Any time, Ms. Wright.”
Taylor set the phone down. Her hands quivered. She squeezed them and flexed them, but the fear running through her was making it harder for her to simply be. She drew a shaky breath and blew it out slowly. She needed to walk.
She left her office and turned toward the marketing department. They were spread out at the conference room table, shouting ideas and scribbling them on the board. Taylor stood in the doorway and listened for a few minutes, letting their excitement fuel her.
She didn’t step on any of them.
Next was accounting. They were a more subdued group, but they were no less important to the success of her company. Taylor felt her confidence returning as she continued past the quiet collection of people way smarter than her.
The art department was another active group with one team that focused on the design of each piece and another that focused on the fabrics and patterns. Taylor wanted her clothing to be bright and colorful. Sure, they had some solid colors, but she insisted on adding pops of color to those, too. She’d been told to hide her shape her entire life, but she was done hiding. She wanted to celebrate her size, and she wanted to encourage other plus-size women to do the same.
Birds of a Feather.
Taylor was finally feeling like herself when she made it all the way around to her office. Jessica was at her desk with a large box covering most of the surface.
“What is that?” Taylor asked.
“This is the package that came for you. It’s gorgeous.” Jessica pointed to the large painting.
Taylor recognized it right away. She’d bought it weeks ago at a showing the artist had. It was the perfect piece for her office. In the center was a brightly colored bird on a full color branch. The birds and branch next to it were outlined in black and white, but the colors of the bird in the middle were flowing outward and painting the other birds, giving them all the same beautiful colors.
The artist titled it Birds of a Feather, and Taylor couldn’t resist the purchase.
“I want to put it up right away. I love it.”
“You have an appointment first. He’s already in your office.”
“Who is he?”
Jessica avoided Taylor’s gaze and focused a little too intently on her computer screen. “He’s on your calendar.”
Taylor gave Jessica a not-too-happy look. Jessica was the one responsible for Taylor’s calendar, which meant she was the one who added the meeting. A meeting Taylor didn’t remember setting up, or asking to have set up.
Taylor walked into her office and froze. His back was to her, and she had to stare for just a moment and appreciate the beauty of him. She had no idea who he was, but she was going to enjoy the view inside instead of the one outside her windows that showed the Niagara Gorge.
He shifted his weight and the black jacket he wore stretched tight across his shoulders. He blew out a breath and glanced at his watch, then turned to look at the door.
Taylor flinched slightly at being caught staring at him. His dark eyes pierced into her, scanning and cataloguing her in an instant. Dismissing her, no doubt. She was used to it. Men were interested in her because she was a powerful woman but immediately lost interest when they saw her and realized she wasn’t a stiletto and pants-suit wearing woman who could have been a pin-up model but started a company instead.
“Ms. Wright?” he asked, his voice rough, like he wasn’t accustomed to using it.
Taylor nodded and stepped toward him. “Yes. And you are?”
His dark brow lifted just enough to say he was surprised by the question. The corner of his lips turned up in a tentative, amused way. He tilted his head and said, “I’m Ryker Hamilton,” like that explained his presence. “Your brother asked me to come by. He said you would be expecting me.”
Taylor groaned internally and gave him a you-weren’t-invited smile. “Thank you for coming by, Mr. Hamilton, but my brother is mistaken.”
Her quick dismissal left him with his hand halfway between them. He closed his fist and tucked both hands behind his back, standing at full attention. He definitely had all of hers, but the glint in his eyes that said he thought she was foolish had her standing firm in her refusal of his help.
“I see. Would you mind giving me a few minutes? We can sit and talk. That way, if you change your mind at some point, you know who I am.”
Taylor breathed a laugh and moved behind her desk. She wheeled her chair out of the way and sat down. “My brother is being ridiculous. I appreciate you coming down here, but I assure you, I don’t need whatever kind of help he led you to believe I needed.”
“And you’re not willing to speak to me. Or let me make an assessment of your situation.”
“I don’t have a situation. I receive threats all the time. I’m a powerful woman, and men don’t like that. Men have a tendency to think they’re the only ones who know how to do things. I’m shaking things up. I’m making waves in their pool. They don’t like it. But that doesn’t mean I’m in any real danger. My brother wants to protect me, but he’s forgotten who raised him. Who protected him when we were younger. I’m very capable of taking care of myself.”
Mr. Hamilton studied her closely for a long moment. Taylor refused to squirm under his steady gaze. She knew he was waiting for it, but she learned a long time ago not to show weakness. Men thrived on it. She herself used it in negotiations. She was not going to show him how he was affecting her.
“If you change your mind, here’s my card.” He set it on the corner of the desk. “My company is willing to help you. My personal number is on there. You can call me day or night and I will make myself available for you.”
Taylor choked out a breath, her hand catching it on her lips. “You’re an escort? I thought you were here for security.”
His lips curled up before he had a chance to wrangle them back into submission. “I am, Ms. Wright. But my company is not your typical security company. Plus, I owe your brother a favor.”
“And I’m your favor?” Taylor asked, incredulous that she was a bargaining chip.
Mr. Hamilton shook his head. “Keeping an eye on a beautiful woman is certainly not a hardship.”
“I…” Taylor fumbled over her tongue. She needed to call her brother. What the hell was he thinking sending this guy to her. Taylor could get her own damn dates. Just because she hadn’t had any in longer than she could remember did not mean she needed her brother to set her up.
Mr. Hamilton stood still, waiting for her to say something. Taylor glanced at the card on her desk and drew a breath.
“Thank you for coming in today, Mr. Hamilton. I am sorry I can’t help you pay back the favor you owe my brother.”
He shrugged and moved toward the door. “I’ll find another way. It was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Wright.”
He nodded and walked out her door, turning toward the elevator and walking away like he was the one who owned the place instead of her.
Taylor sank into her chair and sighed heavily.
“Who was that?” Jessica asked, pausing at the doorway to watch the man walk away. Jessica knew everything about Taylor, including how long it had been since she had gone on a date. Taylor couldn’t help but wonder what Braden said to her to get Jessica to add Mr. Hamilton to her calendar.
“That was a gift from my brother.”
Jessica snorted. “I wish I had a brother who sent me gifts like that. Are you going to go out with him?”
Taylor grabbed the business card from the edge of the desk and stuffed it into her bag. She’d get rid of it later. After giving herself a private moment to fantasize about letting go and giving in to a date with a man like Ryker Hamilton. Private security or not, the man was nice to look at.
“No,” Taylor finally said, answering Jessica’s question. “We have work to do. I don’t have time for dating. What’s next on the agenda?”
* * *
Dex walked into the office with his jacket over his arm and the ghost of a damn-she’s-hot smile on his face. Taylor Wright was not what he expected. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but when Braden called and asked him to meet with his sister, Dex assumed she’d be a lot less… intoxicating.
He smothered the look before he ran into his teammates. They would notice in about three seconds and destroy him for it. He had become a loner since their days in the service. Not that he wasn’t interested in women. He’d been focused on himself for the last few years. If he didn’t, he would have ended up another footnote in history of a warrior who returned home and lost his damn mind. A traumatic brain injury could do that to even the strongest of men.
Dex knew he was lucky that his TBI wasn’t worse, but he also knew it meant he had to be careful, which meant putting himself first.
Taylor Wright was the first woman he’d looked at twice since he returned. And damn if she wasn’t worth that second look.
“How was the meeting?” Dunn asked, sticking his head in Dex’s office.
“Nothing came of it.”
“Are you free?”
“Yeah. What’s up?”
“Need to bounce some ideas off of you. Parker is out there and we need to find him.”
“Conference room?”
Dunn nodded, and the men walked down the hall to where they had a board set up with Parker front and center. They had pictures of the man, but they were from years earlier. The sheriff was the one pushing the case forward after his daughter was assaulted, but Homeland had a file on Parker. All their leads had dried up, though, and they were eager for the assistance. Dunn agreed, but digging up new dirt on a ghost was proving to be more of a challenge than any of them expected.
“His old shell companies have gone under, but we’re struggling to find the new ones. The assumption is he’s set them up under the names of his closest advisors, but we don’t know who they are. He’s obviously not afraid to drop a body, so anyone he’s willing to trust must be someone very close to him.”
“Does he have any family?”
“Not that we know of.”
“What do we have on him?”
“Obviously not enough. Most of the data is old, which is a big part of the problem.”
“And aside from the latest victim of one of his associates, whose name we don’t know and who we also don’t have an actual photo of, we believe he’s still operating out of this area?”
“We’re fairly sure of that.”
“Why?”
“It seems obvious with this case. Darcy Harris, the sheriff’s daughter… All the cases he told her about were older, but they’re still local cases. She knew about them because of her dad, but he obviously didn’t know who she was. If they were gone, if Parker was gone, I doubt someone who’s been a part of his world like that would still be here. Plus…”
Dunn shuffled papers on the table and handed over a grainy photo and a report from the local medical examiner’s office.
“The photo is Parker. It was taken only a few months ago. It’s not good enough to use for facial rec, so English is still aging up old photos. And the report is classic for this guy. He’s not a quick and dirty killer. He relishes it. He enjoys making them pay for turning on him.”
Dex’s stomach flipped as he read the report. He’d read others, but the detailed way the report was written was almost like a love letter to the trauma Parker inflicted on the deceased.
“Who’s the ME?”
“What do you mean?”
“This report is a bit much. Almost like the medical examiner was impressed by what was done.”
Dunn reached for the report and scanned it quickly. “Dammit. We need to talk to him.”
“I’ll go with you. I need some fresh air.”
“We’re going to the morgue. I think that’s the polar opposite of fresh air.” Dunn raised a mocking brow at Dex.
Dex pretended not to notice the look. “Just want to get out of the office.”
Dunn let it go and took the file with them to see the ME. With any luck, they’d get some answers.
* * *
“What do you mean he no longer works here?” Dex asked Jerry, the man behind the desk.
