Game of Risk E-Book

Scarlett Finn

• Herausgeber: Moriona Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Going about her uneventful life, the last thing commitment-phobe Layla Jansen expects is to be abducted from a business meeting by one of her brother's crazy friends. But her brother, Drew, does know how to get himself into trouble. This time he's investigating a case of corruption that goes all the way to the top.           

Ruger Warner has a debt to settle and protecting the pretty behind of his old ally is an easy way to put the past to rest. But the sassy vixen has legs which go all the way to heaven and a mouth that can match his wit.

Layla promises her brother she'll do as she's told and let Ruger keep her alive. But that doesn't mean she plans to make it easy for the hulk of a man who thinks he can charm his way into every woman's good graces.

Layla has been accused of many things, being easy isn't one of them. This Ruger is about to learn that the hard way.

Warning: Contains explicit language and imagery. Suitable only for ages 18 and over.

Leseprobe

Copyright © 2015, 2021 Scarlett Finn

Published by Moriona Press 2015, 2021

All rights reserved.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

First published in 2015

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form on by an electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

www.scarlettfinn.com

RISQUÉ SERIES

Take a Risk

Risk It All

Game of Risk

Read them in order for maximized reading pleasure.

For other titles from Scarlett Finn, please read on after the story.

Click here if you’d like to leave a message for Scarlett.

Enjoy!

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

EPILOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

Ruger Warner was sitting at the bar of his brother’s strip club, Risqué, waiting for his brothers’ attention. The twins, who looked and acted nothing alike, each had their strengths, and right then he needed both.

Blaser finished filling a drink order and came over. When he saw that his twin, Colt, was a few feet away whispering to his fiancée, surrounded by Risqué girls, Blaser whistled for his attention.

“So is the meeting setup?” Blaser asked.

Leaving the gaggle of women to their business, Colt moved down a couple of stools to sit next to him. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“It’s a trip to Jersey,” Ruger said. “I’ll make it back intact.”

“It’s not your safety we’re worried about,” Colt said, sharing a look with his twin.

“I know I laid it on pretty thick,” Blaser said. “When I found out that you were mixed up with the people who took Bri, I wasn’t exactly thinking straight.”

“You and me both,” Ruger said. “Bri is the love of your life, Blase. She was abducted, held captive, raped—”

His brother flinched.

“Bri can say it aloud,” Colt said to Blaser. “Maybe you should try it too.”

“That’s thanks to Doctor Lyssa Cutler,” Blaser said. “Your wonderful fiancée… Is she keeping her name by the way?”

Colt indicated he wanted another beer and Blaser delivered. A distraction or Dutch courage?

Colt slurped the liquid. “We haven’t talked it out and it’s not her name, it’s her ex’s. If I have my way, she’ll be a Warner.”

“Your kids will be Warners,” Ruger said, “so it makes sense.”

“We’re not talking about my relationship with Lys tonight,” Colt said. “Or Blaser’s with Bri. We’ve spent too much time getting distracted recently. Did you find who you were looking for, Ruge?”

“Had to get in touch with some old contacts. I’ve been trying to track down the man we owe Bri’s life to. The man who saved her. A guy named Drew Jansen.”

“The meet in Jersey?” Blaser asked. “It’s actually him?”

“Yeah, my contacts have set it up. I’m leaving tomorrow to meet him.”

“And when you do?” Colt asked. “What do you plan to say?”

“I plan to say thank you,” Ruger said. “And then figure out a way to repay the debt. He gave us back Bri. He can pretty much ask me to do anything.”

Colt and Blaser looked at each other, their concern palpable. They were right to be worried and he’d be the same if the situation was reversed. He wouldn’t want either of them walking into a possibly dangerous scenario without backup.

But he didn’t like owing anyone anything. At the very least, Jansen deserved a handshake. Rushe and Flick, his contacts, had been tight-lipped about Jansen’s motivation. The info from Flick had been sparse.

This meeting was important. Nothing his brothers could say would keep him from going to that hotel room and looking Jansen in the eye.

CHAPTER TWO

Waiting wasn’t Ruger’s strong suit. From the moment he’d learned of Bri’s ordeal, and that it had been his fault, setting things right preoccupied him. That started with getting the truth about what had happened.

In a hotel room in Atlantic City, fun was the last thing on his mind. Gambling was on the agenda. Just being there was a gamble. The Jansen guy might not even show. Setting up the meet took two weeks, the guy was reluctant, which made sense given some of the crooks they had in common. Being stood up wouldn’t change his goal. One way or another, he’d track Drew Jansen down.

Dropping to the end of the bed, his head fell into his hands.

His work as a fence, a black-market trader, wasn’t supposed to put anyone he cared about in danger. He worked away from his family and never revealed what he did to keep them safe.

When Colt told him about what Bri went through… it had plunged a knife into his heart. Blaser loved Bri and had since they were teenagers. Bri had given him a pass, which was the only reason Blaser did too. Despite that, Blaser had spent the last two weeks scowling at him. It wasn’t over yet.

An abrupt knock on the door brought him to his feet. Striding the width of the room, he opened the door without checking who was on the other side of it. Only three other people knew his location and one of them was the man he was about to meet.

Jansen went into the body of the room while Ruger closed and locked the door. He didn’t expect interruptions but didn’t want Jansen choosing to make a speedy exit.

The lithe guy walked with purpose as he paced to the top of the bed then back to stand next to the TV. “Rushe and Flick have saved Serendipity more times than I can probably count,” Jansen said. Serendipity was his girlfriend, the woman he’d intended to save when he saved Bri and Flick. “I’m only here now because Flick did the pouty face at Rushe, and he got pissed off.”

No one was safe when Rushe got pissed off and he’d do anything to keep his girlfriend, Flick, happy, even if that meant attacking a friend. Rushe was Ruger’s only link to Jansen, and the guy who’d put the meet together.

“I appreciate you making the effort to be here.”

“Good, ‘cause it is an effort,” Jansen said, his hands rising to his hips. “I’m not a cop anymore, which means I work alone.”

“Like Rushe,” Ruger said, though Rushe “worked” with his girlfriend now.

That description was dubious because Rushe hated to see Flick get into any kind of jam and she managed to get herself into them frequently. Rushe would probably rather see Flick at home safe all the time, but Flick wasn’t that kind of girl anymore.

“No, not like Rushe,” Jansen said. “I leave Serendipity at home. And I don’t have Rushe’s rep or… manner.”

Rushe’s manner had a lot to do with scaring the shit out of people and showing no mercy. “All I want from you is information.”

“About Victor?”

“Yeah,” Ruger said. “I know he was working for someone higher up; the feds are dealing with that mess. I need to know, are Victor and his men dead?”

“You should’ve asked Rushe that question. He killed them.”

Rushe hadn’t offered information, the guy didn’t answer to anyone and distrusted everyone. The only reason Ruger got that far was with Flick’s assistance.

“Yeah, Flick told me how it went down. Victor’s men died after the rescue.”

“Look, I worked with Victor and his gang undercover, as a cop. Victor found out who I was, and he kidnapped Serendipity to manipulate me into feeding my superiors false information. I did everything he asked, but it didn’t matter. Their trade was human cargo. They trafficked women to men all over the world; men who ordered what they wanted and had it delivered to them.

“I heard about a drop. I knew Victor and his guys were sending out a shipment of women. I had to get Serendipity. If I let her leave the country… I had tried everything else, tried to get to her from within, but Victor was too strong. So I intercepted them on their way to the cargo containers. The van full of women left Victor’s mansion, and I knew the route. When the time was right, I rammed them off the road. I killed John and Victor’s other guys and let the women go.”

“Bri?”

“Yes,” Jansen said. “I wasn’t being a hero. I was there to get my girl.”

“And did you?”

“No,” Jansen said, slumping down to sit on the bottom corner of the bed. “Serendipity wasn’t there, but Flick was and so was Bri.”

“You’ve got Serendipity now, how—”

“Yeah, Flick and I went back in to get her out. They were holding Rushe too. Once we freed him and Serendipity, we took Victor and the rest of his guys out. That was the end of it.”

That was far from the end if what Flick had told him was true, but that was irrelevant.

Ruger offered Jansen a hand. “Thank you. Whether you meant to do it or not, you got Bri out of there. She’s back with my brother, Blaser, and they’re working things out.”

“You’re welcome,” Jansen said, frowning and getting back to his feet while avoiding the handshake. “Is that all you wanted to know?”

Ruger lowered his hand. “No.”

“I didn’t care about Bri. I didn’t even care about Flick back then. I was there to get my girlfriend out. I turned a blind eye to a lot of suffering in the name of keeping her safe. I’m no hero.”

“Regardless,” Ruger said. “I owe you a debt.”

Ruger had worked for Victor himself before he figured out what the thug was into. As soon as he learned they were human traffickers, he cut all ties and refused to work for them anymore. His abandonment of their cause led to Victor instructing his men to abduct Bri, and subject her to horrific treatment, in the name of revenge against him.

“You owe me nothing,” Jansen said. “We’ve all moved on from that. Dipity, Flick, they don’t deserve to go through that again, and neither does Bri.”

“I’m not talking about putting them through anything,” Ruger said. “There must be something you need. I heard you went into private practice. Are you a PI now?”

“No, I’ve got a kinda vigilante thing going on. Maybe it’s my cop days chasing me, or maybe I still have guilt about what I did for Victor. These days, I spend my time investigating corruption.”

“My brother, Colt, was a cop. He spends his time tracking stalkers,” Ruger said. “I understand not turning your back on the job.”

“Except my current job has the potential to get me and mine hurt,” he said. “Serendipity works freelance as a reporter. She’s uncovered… Ashcroft is crooked, and it looks like he’s in bed with the DA.”

“Governor Ashcroft?”

“That’s right,” Jansen said. “He doesn’t know Serendipity is involved yet, but he knows I’m sniffing around. I can keep her safe. I’m much better at it now than I used to be.”

Almost losing his love once would be enough to make Jansen more vigilant about it.

The ex-cop’s pensive expression drew him in. “You’re worried about someone else?”

“I have a sister in Miami,” Jansen said, tensing as he made the admission. “I guess… once bitten, twice shy. I know what it is to have someone you love used against you. We lost our mom young, just a week after Layla graduated college. It’s just her and I now… I can keep Serendipity in my eyeline almost twenty-four seven. Rushe and Flick are still in Jersey too. They’ve been helping me work through the possibilities and with surveillance…”

“Wow,” Ruger said. “I didn’t think Rushe was the type to give a rat’s ass about politics.”

“He’s not,” Jansen said. “The trick to Rushe these days is getting Flick interested and she knows plenty about moving in society’s highest echelons. Her family is seriously old money. She and Serendipity were the ones who started asking questions. Rushe and I are just trying to keep up.”

“If Serendipity and Flick are involved, aren’t their families in trouble?”

“Flick’s family can look after themselves and have their own influence. Plus Flick hasn’t had anything to do with them in a long time. Serendipity doesn’t have family of her own. Her father split when she was young, and her mom died a couple of years ago.”

“And Rushe doesn’t have anyone to worry about,” Ruger said.

Family was a foreign concept to Rushe.

“I’ve been doing the digging. I’m the only one Ashcroft has seen ask questions. Rushe spends his time trying to keep Flick out of it.”

“If you’re the only one the governor has seen, you’re the only one in real trouble.”

Jansen dismissed the threat to himself with a shrug. “Which I don’t care about, but I can’t protect Serendipity in New Jersey and Layla in Florida.”

No, he couldn’t, which presented Ruger with the opportunity he needed. “I’ll get her.”

“You’ll get her?” Jansen asked, wearing another frown. “What do you mean?”

“You’re worried about your sister. I have two brothers, their women are practically my sisters. I get it. I can look after your sister.”

“No offense, Ruge, you’re a big guy and I sure wouldn’t want to take you on in a fight…”

“But?”

“But you’re not security, you’re not a cop, you’re a fence. What do you know about taking care of an asset?”

Good point. But he’d seen his share of action over the years, even if he wasn’t specifically trained in combat.

“I don’t have to fight anyone,” Ruger said. “I can pick her up and bring her to you.”

“You can’t bring her to me,” Jansen said, shaking his head. “That just puts her in the path of trouble. Ashcroft might not be looking for her, yet. Bringing her to me would put her in more danger.”

“But you’re worried about what happens when Ashcroft realizes you’re on to him. If he thinks you and Serendipity have threatened his way of life, he might try to get to Serendipity or Layla to get you to back off.”

“Yeah. I have Serendipity covered.”

“Then I’ll cover Layla,” he said. “Do you have an address? Somewhere I can find her?”

“Why would you—”

“Because you took care of Bri, whether you meant to or not. Running that van off the road, getting her out of it, you saved her from being trafficked to God knows where. As far as I’m concerned, I owe you.”

“You think you can take care of Layla? That you can look after her? You’d have to get her out of Miami.”

“That I can do,” Ruger said, fishing his phone from his back pocket. “Do you have your phone?”

“Yeah,” Jansen said, taking out his own.

“Turn on your AirDrop and send me your most recent picture of her. If you give me her address, I’ll track her down.”

“She doesn’t know any of this is going on,” Jansen said, searching through his phone, doing as asked. “She’s stubborn. Picking her up won’t be easy.”

“Oh, I know about stubborn women,” Ruger said. “I’ll keep an eye on her until I figure out the best way to approach her.”

“Then what will you do? You have to get her out of Miami, but you can’t bring her here. If Ashcroft decides to look for her, she won’t be safe at her friends’ houses or—”

“That’s easy,” Ruger said. “I’ll take her somewhere safe. A place filled with guys who’ll watch her back. They won’t let anything happen to her. Trust me, this isn’t just important to me. It’s important to Blaser and Bri, and to Colt and Lyssa too. We’ll keep an eye on Layla for you. No one will harm her. You have my word.”

“Okay,” Jansen said, putting his phone away once all the information was transferred. “I’m trusting you because Rushe does, because from everything I hear you’re a good guy. Once you have Layla, get her to call me. I’ll try my best to get her to give you a break. If I call her before you go down there, she’ll be expecting you and will probably go into hiding before you get the chance to get her. Like I said, she’s stubborn.”

“I can handle it,” Ruger said. “I’m not worried about picking her up or looking after her. I can be persuasive when I have to be.”

“Layla knows every line in the book,” Jansen said. “She’s used to guys and their attention. She’s had more marriage proposals than most guys have pairs of shoes.”

“Proposals? Does she have a thing for engagement rings, or—”

“No, she never accepts. As soon as a guy gets down on one knee, she ends it and runs, usually moving to a different state, or at least a different city.”

“Why’s that?”

Jansen shrugged. “Beats me. She’s always been independent and thinks she knows best about everything. If you ask her, she’ll tell you she doesn’t need a man.”

“You think different?”

“I think she doesn’t need any of the losers who’ve tried to coerce her into marriage. One day, when the right guy takes charge… she’ll figure it out.”

Ruger nodded. “Okay.”

Her relationship status and attitude toward marriage was irrelevant to his mission. But when he glanced down at the picture Jansen had just sent, he saw sultry almond eyes and glossy dark hair. The allure that had ensnared the men who wanted to marry her was obvious. Looking after her was his job and that didn’t involve cracking the code to break into her heart.

CHAPTER THREE

“If you entrust the launch to us, Mr. Potter, I can assure you your club will be the most popular hotspot in Miami before this week is out,” Layla Jansen said. “Tickets to your opening night will be gold dust in this town.”

“Your firm does come highly recommended.”

The meeting in this cocktail bar on the waterfront was meant to be informal, but the sixty-year-old in his slick Italian suit wasn’t from that part of the world. His choice of apparel betrayed as much.

“We have done a number of very successful nightclub launches,” Layla said, pushing a glossy folder across the metallic table-top toward Potter.

“I was advised to speak directly with your boss.”

“Mandy has assigned your account to me. I am a very trusted member of her team.”

Actually, Mandy couldn’t stand her, and Layla had to beg for the chance to take the meeting. She’d only been working under Mandy for six weeks but could already tell gaining any glimmer of respect would be an uphill climb. The only reason Mandy folded and agreed to let her have this client was because he insisted on a meeting so late in the evening. “In the buzz of Miami” was apparently what Potter had said, but Mandy had a new boyfriend and her recent evenings were reserved for him, meaning Layla caught herself a break.

“I suppose that’s acceptable,” Potter said, his gaze falling to the slope of her breasts displayed in the V-lines of her spaghetti strap sundress.

She reached to the brochure and opened the glossy pages to show him images of clubs launched by her PR firm. “You can read testimonials here from—”

“Layla Jansen!”

Drawing her eyes away from the booklet and up to the man next to their high silver table, she was at a loss. He had to be six five and was built broad under his white vest.

“Do I know you?” she asked, sitting up straight to examine the tan under the stubble on his jaw.

His eyes were hidden under slick wraparound shades, nothing about him was familiar.

“Sure!” he said with an exuberant grin and turned to Potter. “I’m Ruger Warner, Layla and I are old friends.”

“Are we?” Layla asked through her smile without moving her lips. The men shook hands, but Potter was as flummoxed as her. “Remind me.”

“Always a kidder,” Ruger said, dropping a heavy hand onto her newly exfoliated shoulder. “Layla and I go way back. She’s a great girl.”

“And it was great to see you again, Ruger,” Layla said, hoping he’d take the hint and vanish as quickly as he had appeared. She’d never had a one-night stand in her life, but she began to mentally catalogue every creepy guy in a bar who had tried it on recently. “Maybe we’ll see each other again.”

“You don’t mind if I join you, do you?” Ruger asked, rounding the table to seat himself in the vacant spot.

“Actually—” Potter began.

“This is a business meeting,” Layla said. “I can’t catch up right now.”

“Oh,” Ruger said. “How stupid of me. This is the nightclub guy, Potter, sure. You were worried he wouldn’t like your pitch, but smart move with the dress.” Ruger lifted his glasses to ogle her cleavage. “Guy won’t hear a word you say.” He winked and re-seated his glasses.

Trying not to have a heart attack, she pounced out of her seat and snatched Ruger’s wrist. “Would you please excuse us, Mr. Potter?”

Ruger put up no resistance when she yanked him from his seat to drag him to the sidewalk. Behind the potted palm tree which stood at the entrance, she dropped Ruger’s arm and spun on the spot to thrust her fists to her hips.

“An old friend who knows my current calendar?” she demanded.

He grinned. “Weird, isn’t it?”

“I don’t find this funny. At all. What is your problem? Who the hell are you? Stalking laws are strict in this part of the world, you know.”

Layla had no idea about the stalking laws in Miami. She’d been living there less than six months. So far, that information hadn’t been high on her research priority list. It was quickly moving up the ranks.

“You need to come with me,” Ruger said.

“Yeah, right.”

“Seriously,” he said, and his grin disappeared. “I need to take you from here, right now.”

“Not a chance. Do you know how long I’ve waited to have a chance at a meeting like this? If I can crack this guy, I can have my own accounts and… Wait, why am I explaining myself to you? Go away! If you come near me again, I’ll call the cops.”

She moved half a step to the left intending to return to her meeting.

He grabbed her arm. “I can’t let you do that.”

“Can’t let me what? I’ll call the cops if I want to call the cops.”

“What are they going to arrest me for? Standing in a public place?”

“Menacing, disturbing the peace, something,” she said.

“That will go down really well with your client,” Ruger said. “I’ll just tell them that we’re having a lover’s tiff.”

“A lovers—what the…? Who the hell are you? We’ve never met!”

“Only you and I know that,” he said. “I know a lot about you. One brother, your dad died when you were a kid, and your mom died of cancer the week after you graduated college. You’ve spent the last ten years living all over the country and you’ve never settled down… Your last boyfriend turned out to be a bastard who screwed your best friend… I guess she wasn’t a prize either.”

A complete stranger with information about her past? Those weren’t things she would tell a guy in a bar. Either he was a stalker, or he got the information from someone else. There was only one person in the world who would know all those facts.

Her shock became resigned impatience. “You’re one of my idiot brother’s idiot friends, aren’t you?”

His floppy grin was more charmed than she felt. “Idiot brother, yes. Idiot friend, no. I’m really smart.”

“I’ll reserve judgment.”

“Hey, I’m giving up my vacation for this,” he said, holding his hands open at his sides. “He’s got himself into some trouble.”

“Drew is always in trouble,” she said, edging closer. “Since my brother has been so kind as to educate you on my history, let me educate you on his. He does this all the time. He gets the sniff of some ridiculous case he’s sure he’ll crack open. He did it when he was a cop and it’s no different now. He chases it around like a dog chasing his tail and it never comes to anything. If I had a dime for every time he called telling me how he’d pissed off the wrong person…”

“This time it’s different,” Ruger said. “They’re coming after you.”

“My brother and his idiot case are in Jersey. I’ll panic when the hit-men get on a plane.”

She tried to pass him again, but he got in her way. “They got on a plane this afternoon. They’re on their way now, and your brother can’t beat them down here. He’s got Serendipity to worry about up there too. He can’t be in two places at once.”

“My brother cries when he gets a splinter. Does he think he can face down some crooks intent on fighting?”

“That’s why he sent me,” Ruger said, flashing his grin again.

“I’ll take my chances,” she said, patting his arm. “Nice seeing you again, old friend.”

Skirting around him, she muttered to herself about her brother, Drew, and his dramatic flair, then pasted on her smile and returned to the table with Potter. “I’m so terribly sorry about that. Ruger is troubled, very troubled, but I’ve dealt with him now and he won’t bother us again. Where were we?”

Potter’s focus wasn’t on her, it was on something behind her. Without turning around to see what had his attention, Layla knew she’d spoken too soon. Just at that, Ruger materialized at her side again.

“I’m sorry that I have to do this, Mr. Potter,” Ruger said.

Awaiting an apology that never came, Layla was confused when Ruger crouched at her side, though not for long. He took her wrist, gave her a tug, and tossed her over his shoulder. Keeping hold of one wrist, he locked his other arm around the back of her thighs over her dress. Layla screamed and kicked, but he was unmoved.

“What is this?” Potter asked.

“She’s late to take her medication. I didn’t want to say anything before,” Ruger said. “But it’s vitally important she gets it on time, or she becomes an outrageous lush. We can’t have her embarrassing the firm like that again. I’m sure you understand.”

Various patrons gaped at the sight of her being carried out of the bar over the shoulder of this giant. When she saw Potter in the distance, standing at the table wearing a look of shock and disgust, she flopped and stopped screaming.

“I hope you’re happy with yourself for ruining my career,” she said, trying to aim a kick at his groin.

Being upside down and back to front, judging the angle was near impossible.

“You’ll get another one, Layla. You always do, honey.”

He kept on walking, carrying her to the end of the block then turning up another street.

“I can walk, you know.”

“No need,” he said and entered a parking lot to stop at a large gunmetal grey pick-up truck. Its lights blinked and he opened the back door to toss her inside, on her face.

Clambering to sit up, he was in the vehicle, backing out of the space before she had flattened her skirt. “You just kidnapped me,” she said, launching herself between the seats. “Dozens of people saw you carrying me down that street. Your face will be all over the news by dinner time.”

“People have seen stranger things in these streets,” he said, turning the truck. “This is Miami, honey.”

“You can’t just kidnap a woman off the street! You’ll have cost me my job, my career…” Indignation was exhausting. Slumping back in the seat, she folded her arms. “Oh, just take me home.”

“No need,” Ruger said. “Your things are in the back.”

Whipping around to look out through the small back window, all she saw was the flat bed cover. “My things? You’ve been in my apartment? What are you? Some kind of snoop?”

“Not exactly, no.”

“You picked my lock? That’s breaking and entering, that’s illegal, that’s—”

“Jansen called the super and I gave him a hundred bucks,” Ruger said, referencing her brother by his last name. “No one broke anything.”

The stranger was confident and attractive, but the idea of him foraging through her underwear gave her a chill. “Are you a pervert?”

“No way… though I am wearing your panties right now. They’re not as comfortable as they looked.”

“They do me just fine,” she grumbled, aware of his not-so-hilarious teasing. “Where’s your cellphone? I want to speak to my brother. I’m going to kill him! Where are we meeting him?”

“Don’t know yet,” Ruger said, retrieving a cellphone from the glove box. “Be quick, I’m out of long-distance minutes.”

She took the phone to dial. “Bet your balls I’ll take as long as I damn well please,” she said and listened to the ring of her brother’s phone.

“Did you get her?” Drew asked when he answered.

“Her? Yes, he got her,” Layla said. “What the hell is going on? You sent a savage to come and steal me off the street?”

“Oh, sis,” Drew said, with audible relief. “Thank God, I was starting to panic.”

“Who do you think you are telling this weirdo about me?”

“Ruger is a good guy,” Drew said. “Honestly, Lay, you can trust him. I’m told that he’s got this overhyped sense of responsibility. He’s going to look after you.”

“I don’t need anyone to look after me,” she said. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“I just found out what they were planning this morning and I’ve been trying to call you. Where’s your cellphone?”

Reluctant to admit the truth, she lowered her chin. “Let’s just say there was an incident in a ladies’ room stall.”

“You’re the worst, you know that? You think you can take care of yourself? You can’t even pee without cutting yourself off from the world.”

Affronted, she straightened again. “You’re the one who thinks the world is tumbling down. This is ridiculous, Drew. You can’t do this. You can’t order your friends to commandeer me just because you want to be dramatic.”

“I know you’re pissed. But you’re my baby sister and I promised Mom I’d look out for you. I’ve got mixed up with some serious sons of bitches, and you’re the only family I’ve got. They want to use you to hurt me.”

“So give up on the case. If it’s going to hurt me, or hurt you, just give up.”

“I can’t do that. I can’t let them get away with the intimidation tactics and—”

“Spare me,” she said on a groan. “So it’s okay for you to trash my career to save yours?”

“Public relations isn’t your career. It was just something you decided to try. You would hate it, trust me. You have to be nice to people all the time, and we both know you’re not capable of keeping that going for long.”

“Such a funny guy,” she said, unwilling to admit her brother was probably right. When it came to her, he usually was. “Okay, so if I’m in such grave, horrible danger, are you going to tell me the plan?”

“Stick with Ruger, he’ll keep you safe. He knows what to do. If you do what he tells you, exactly what he tells you, you’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know Ruger,” she said, noticing he was watching her in the rear-view mirror. “He seems a bit slow to me, you know? Special.”

Ruger’s smile formed and moved back to the windshield.

“Give the guy a break, he’s helping me out. We’re both lucky he was down there to bail you out.”

“I don’t need to be bailed out. You do. Once again, you’ve gotten yourself into trouble. You’re a danger to yourself, do you know that?”

“I do, but this one is worth it. Trust me.”

“And who is looking out for you?” she asked. “You’re up there all by yourself. Is Serendipity there? If we get on a plane—”

“You’re not getting on a plane,” Drew said. “You can’t use any form of public transportation. They’re looking for you and these people have the means to access all kinds of information. Including flight manifests.”

“My God, Drew, what have you gotten yourself into? Who is after you?”

“I can’t say much, but this is big, bigger than anything I’ve ever got into before, and if I break it—”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ll be hot property.” She sighed. “Okay, brother, I’ll do what you’re telling me to do. But look after yourself because as irritating and frustrating as you are, you’re all I’ve got.”

“You won’t get rid of me,” Drew said, and she was pleased to hear the smile in his voice. “You stick with Ruger, and I’ll be in touch soon, okay?”

“Okay. I love you.”

“Back attcha,” he said and the line disconnected.

When getting dressed for the meeting with Potter, Layla had worried her silk dress would crease and that her shoes might pinch her toes. She hadn’t worried about being drawn into her brother’s crazy world.

It was no wonder Drew had such a tight relationship with Serendipity. He had a singular kind of focus which made him the best kind of guy to commit to. At least he would be if he didn’t get himself involved with so many shady characters. He’d take whatever risks were necessary to crack a case and to protect Serendipity from the peril she was so frequently put in by his work.

CHAPTER FOUR

“Okay,” Layla said, climbing between the seats to position herself in the front passenger seat. “Where are we going?”

“We’re getting out of Miami,” Ruger said, with a sideways look her way.

Smoothing her skirt with one hand, she sought out road signs trying to get an idea of which direction they were heading in. “That’s… incredibly general.”

“I’m hoping the mysterious thing will work for me.”

“So far it doesn’t. The muscles are panty melting,” she admitted, giving him the once over. “The arrogance and condescension, not so much.”

“Thanks for the pointers.”

“How do we expect to learn if we’re not willing to be educated?” she asked, tucking the phone back into the glove box. “Tell me about your family.”

“Why?” he asked, frowning at her sudden re-route of the conversation.

“You know about mine and I’m not in the habit of traveling around with strangers. It will make me feel better if I know something about the guy who’s abducting me.”

Ruger wasn’t really abducting her because Drew had given him permission to do what he did. Still, she wanted to know who she was spending her time with.

“Fair enough. My mom and dad live in a nice house and like to talk about the grandchildren they don’t have yet.”

“Only child then… explains a lot.”

“Actually no,” he said, retrieving gum from the door well and offering it to her before he took a piece. “I have twin older brothers in committed relationships. I come from a huge family, there are a million cousins.”

Feigning her disbelief with a curious frown, her sass wasn’t defeated. “Your dad is still around?”

“Yeah,” he said, glancing at her to observe her expression of astonishment. “You sound surprised.”

“I am. Huh…” she exhaled. “He obviously never taught you how to approach a woman.”

“Never needed taught,” he said with swagger. “Some things just come naturally.”

“You’re rusty, maybe you should think about polishing up some of those skills,” she said, admiring a guy who could give as good as he got. “So you’re from Jersey?”

That was where Drew and Serendipity lived, so she guessed this Ruger guy was from there too.

“North Carolina, actually.”

“How did you end up mixed up with Drew?”

“That is a very long and complicated story probably best left for another time.”

“So that’s how it’s going to be?” she asked. “You think you’re calling all the shots?”

“I’m the driver,” he said, pleased with his superior position. “I have all the controls, right here.”

Taking his grip away from the steering wheel, Ruger opened his hands to gesture at everything the driver had access too. Reaching over, she blasted the horn before he could swat her hand out of the way.

“If a woman knows how to move right, she has all the control,” Layla said. “Don’t you forget it, Ruger.”

The satisfied tilt of his lips prompted her to lean a little closer. He drew his attention around to fix on her for longer than a driver really should. His eyes were paler than his brown hair, but they were far from aloof, his whole being exuded refreshing warmth and openness.

Most of the men from her past had been guarded or weighed down by the trials life doled out. Ruger was sharp, she could tell that by his wit, but he wasn’t cynical, something she’d been accused of herself.

“Are you going to tell me how you hooked up with my brother now?”

“I have to figure out how squeamish you are before I reveal all,” he said, concentrating on the highway ahead. “I wouldn’t want you to have nightmares.”

Almost affronted by the suggestion she could be weak, her eyes pinched closer, ready to accept his challenge. “I have a strong stomach, Ruger, you can’t shock me.”

“Have you ever watched a person die?”

Yes, she had, and it wasn’t an experience that she wanted to repeat. Ruger was trying to shock her and was just playing; she was sure he hadn’t intended harm. Despite his benevolent intention, her memory conjured a mental flash of the life seeping out of her mother. That memory wasn’t one she wanted to share with him, with a stranger, and it didn’t fit the spirited mood of their repartee, so she decided not to answer.

“Will you at least tell me why you’re doing this?” she asked.

His motivation would reveal a lot about his character.

“Let’s just say that I owe your brother one.”

“Figures that Drew didn’t pay you. I’d guess you met him on one of his other cases. That guy just can’t leave anything alone.”

“He’s tenacious,” Ruger said. “But that’s not a bad thing. Jansen’s ‘hang on and never let go’ spirit saved a good friend of mine.”

“Well, I’m glad my brother did you a favor.” She switched on the radio and began to flick through stations. “What do you know about this case my brother is on now?”

“It’s a big one.”

“So he said… big in what way?” Ruger hesitated, prompting her to abandon the radio. “I think if these men are coming after me, I have a right to know why.”

“It relates to Governor Ashcroft and rumors of kickbacks.”

“Rumors?”

“That Ashcroft is as crooked as they come,” Ruger said. “He’s making decisions in favor of those who can pay him the most and he has a lot of sway with the prosecutors and judges in his state. Serendipity got Drew involved. He has the skills to get the information she needs to prove that the stories are true.”

“She’s still on this journalism kick?”

“Yeah,” Ruger said.

Layla couldn’t judge Serendipity for her recent change in career because she too often made abrupt changes in her life. Journalism did complement Drew’s need to investigate with purpose, but Layla wished they would settle down so she didn’t have to worry about her big brother all the time.

“I’ve been watching you for almost a week,” Ruger said.

This statement jarred her out of her thoughts about Drew’s safety. “You’ve what?”

“Yeah,” Ruger said. “I told Jansen I’d look out for you.”

“You said you were on vacation,” she said, narrowing her eyes, but he was intent on the road ahead.

“I’m not being paid, and Miami is a party town. How else would you define a vacation?”

At least he was being honest, but if he’d been watching her, there wouldn’t have been much partying going on. Her social life had been uneventful for a while. Drew had made it seem like Ruger’s presence was serendipitous. She’d need to have a word with her brother about distorting the truth.

“You said there were hit-men on a plane, was that a lie too?”

“No,” Ruger said. “Drew is putting the pieces together and Ashcroft found out he was on the case. The not-so-good governor decided to do some investigating of his own and his men discovered your location.”

“Does Ashcroft know Serendipity is writing a story?”

“It’s more than a story. There is a real crime being perpetuated here. Whether Ashcroft knows about Serendipity’s involvement or not, I don’t know. What I do know is Ashcroft knows Jansen is onto him. Whatever Jansen is doing, Ashcroft is freaked enough to want to scare him off.”

“That’s all you know?”

“Call your brother, he’ll tell you more.”

“No, he won’t,” she said, pulling in a long inhale and glancing out her side window. “My brother still acts like I’m a kid in need of protection. He acts like I couldn’t understand what he does.”

“You don’t understand what he does,” Ruger said.

This declaration was enough to offend her, so she whipped around. “Excuse me?”

“You were on the phone arguing with him. You talk about his work and Serendipity’s with disdain.”

“You’re calling me narrow-minded?”

“Something like that,” he said. “You told him you loved him, but other than that, I haven’t heard any indication you support your brother in anything he does. Why would he tell you about it if all you’re going to do is judge him?”