Passing His Guard

She knew she’d caught his notice when his eyes locked on hers in the reflection of the mirror, hands stilling on his tie. He muttered a curse, the flare of lust darkening that deep golden color. She gave him a grin of pure feminine satisfaction as she watched his gaze break away and travel the length of her naked posterior.

“I’m going to have you like this tonight,” he growled, cinching his tie into place.

His warning heated the blood in her veins until her toes tingled with anticipation. Lord help her, she loved this man. “I’ll be looking forward to it,” she teased.

“Minx . . .” Aiden strode over to the chair and grabbed his jacket, slipping it on.

She didn’t think she’d ever get used to seeing him in a suit. She knew how much he hated it, how badly the conformity rankled him. “You didn’t answer my question,” she prompted.

“The meeting went as well as I expected.” Was she just being paranoid or did he sound evasive? “I’m not sure if the evidence will be enough. If we had something clear cut—indisputable . . .” He shrugged. “It’s a wait-and-see game right now. My father showed up at the office yesterday. He doesn’t trust me, not that I blame him, but he’s being cautious. With any luck this will all be over soon. Until then, I’ll play the game, working for my father during the day, and fighting for Moralli at night. If they think they’ve won, they’re less likely to see what’s coming.”

Rya

“Oh, I forgot to tell you last night. I got an e-mail from a man who said he was a friend of my father.”

Aiden tensed, hands stilling on the buttons of his jacket. “What did he want?”

“To give me his condolences, and tell me he had something my father wanted him to give me if anything ever happened to him.”

“Do you have any idea what it is?”

She shook her head. “I arranged a meeting with him. I was hoping for today, but he’s unavailable until Monday. We’re meeting in midtown at seven.”

“Where in midtown?”

“O’Lu

“Times Square is pretty crowded. Did you pick the location or did he?”

“I did. It was my dad’s favorite bar.” She could see the skepticism in Aiden’s eyes. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t share his concern. She’d considered the risks, the possibility that this could be a setup, and she could see Aiden was thinking the same thing. He was worried for her, yet she could tell he was hesitant to say anything that might dash her hopes. If this was legit, then this was her only opportunity to reco

“Do you know the man’s name?”

“Henry. That’s all I know.”

“No last name?”

She shook her head.

“Did your father ever speak of him?”

“Not that I can remember. Toward the end, Dad had grown pretty private, though. Obviously, since I had no idea he was working for Moralli.”

“Nikko and I will go with you. He can get there early and scout the area. Let this Henry know that I’ll be with you so he doesn’t get spooked when you don’t show up alone.”

“All right.”

“I gotta go.” Aiden bent down and gave her a quick kiss. He started to pull back, then hesitated, slipping his hand behind her head and deepening the kiss. His tongue pushed past her lips, tangling with hers until she was breathless. With a reluctant groan, he broke away, resting his forehead against hers. “I really gotta go.”

“You already said that,” she teased. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Giving her a wicked grin, he growled, “You bet your sweet ass.” Stepping back, Aiden gave her a playful swat on said ass and walked toward the door.

“Hey,” she yelped, laughing, reminding her of the first time she’d met the flirtatious playboy and he’d done the same thing to her. If someone would have told her then that she’d be head over heels in love with the fighter, she would have said not a snowball’s chance in hell. Guess it was looking up for snowballs.

“You know you didn’t need to come with me,” Rya

“I know, but I was going stir-crazy in that condo. Besides, I thought it might be cool to see where you worked.”

Uh-huh . . . Nikko didn’t exactly strike her as the kind of guy who’d be impressed by office supplies. He was tagging along with her. Why? “I don’t need a babysitter, Nikko.”

“Well that’s good, because I don’t do diaper duty. I want your car. That’s it. How long do you think you’ll be? I have some errands I need to run.”

“Oh . . .” Her cheeks warmed with the kiss of embarrassment at jumping to conclusions. “I umm . . . I’ll be a few hours.”

“All right.”

He climbed out of the car at the same time she did and met her halfway. She handed him the keys. “Thanks,” he said, pocketing them. When she proceeded toward the office and felt him at her heels, she shot him a questioning glance over her shoulder. “Mind if I use the bathroom before I leave?”

“Sure.” She gave him an apologetic grin. “You got in late last night,” she commented offhandedly, stopping at the door to dig through her purse for her office key.

“I figured you and Disco could use some space.”

“I wish I could have seen him fight.” She found the key at the bottom of her bag and pulled it out, a wistful smile touching her lips when she saw the mini Statue of Liberty dangling from the keychain. It was fu

“You all right, Gingersnap?”

“Yeah,” she said sadly, sliding the key into the lock and turning it. “Huh . . .” She tensed, a niggling of alarm shooting through her when the lock didn’t click.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded.

“The door . . . It isn’t locked. I know I— Nikko, what are you doing?”

Before she could blink, Nikko’s arm swept in front of her, herding her behind him and backing her up flush against the side of the building. “Wait here,” he commanded, reaching behind his back and pulling out a gun she hadn’t even known he was carrying. With swift efficiency, he chambered a round and brought the gun up to a ready position. And that was her first clue this guy was not your run-of-the-mill MMA fighter.

Her instincts about him had been right. Nikko Del Toro was a lethally dangerous man. He didn’t even hesitate as he stepped through the door. By the way he moved through her office, doing a thorough sweep, it was obvious he’d done this sort of thing before. She’d be willing to bet he was ex-law enforcement, or maybe ex-military.

Glass crunched beneath his feet. She waited as long as she could stand it before following him inside. Her horrified gasp broke the silence. Nikko shot her a tense scowl that softened with sympathy as she surveyed the wreckage. The place was destroyed. Papers were scattered everywhere, glass from the office doors was shattered, computers were smashed.