Deadly Testimony (24 page)

Epilogue

Three months later

Lizzy strode across the darkened office floor as indirect lighting came up at intervals to provide her with just enough to see by.

It was late and while she and Kyle were both guilty of working long hours, they usually made sure to leave the office together. Managing this thing called work-life balance was a tough concept. It hadn’t been much of a consideration for either of them until they’d met each other. So far though, it’d been an adjustment they’d both taken to. Easy enough when their time off was spent exploring fine dining hot spots around downtown Seattle and taking active day trips around the Puget Sound. They had fun together. A lot of fun.

Tonight was the third time this week he’d managed to work late enough for her to come seek him out at the Safeguard offices rather than in bed at his condo. But to be fair, her hours were odd too. The important part for both of them was the flexibility to make their days off count.

This was Monday night, essentially her equivalent of the start of a weekend since she generally had assignments from Friday through Sunday. Kyle usually arranged his office hours to match and they made a point of spending their two days off together, away from the office.

Their most recent success had been an overnight kayak expedition around the San Juan Islands. The sights around the islands and the wildlife had been incredible, highlighted by cooked-to-order gourmet meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’d been a foodie adventure and she was eager to see what they could come up with next.

They’d been talking about an extended vacation but they’d also both taken up their new responsibilities at Safeguard with enthusiasm. Plus, he’d been making sure his sister and nephew were settled in an apartment near his nephew’s university. The past few months had swept by in a blur.

Which made the time they spent together something they both made the most of, whenever they could.

The glass walls of his office were dialed to opacity, tweaking her temper up a notch. He wasn’t supposed to limit his line of sight when he was working alone. It made him vulnerable to oncoming danger.

Like her.

She covered the last few steps to his office door and stopped in her tracks.

On the desk was a dinner spread set between two pillar candles in hurricane glasses. Savory scents teased her and her mouth started watering just a little, but not just because of the amazing meal.

Kyle sat behind his desk with his feet up, his suit jacket open and his tie undone to hang down on either side of his collar. His perfectly tailored dress shirt was unbuttoned and left open to expose his chest and deliciously sculpted abs. His dark gaze found hers over the candlelight and he gave her a slow, sexy smile.

“Happy birthday, Lizzy.”

Slowly, he lifted his hand from behind the desk to set a pair of absolutely stunning shoes of creamy white lace accented by delicate crystals. They were open-toed and on the front of each balanced a sparkling butterfly.

Caught without words, she crossed over to the desk. Picking up a
pão de queijo
and popping it into her mouth, she chewed slowly and savored the cheesy Brazilian bread treat.

Unruffled by her lack of response, Kyle took his feet down off the desk and stood smoothly, pouring her a glass of wine and holding it out to her.

She took it and had a small sip. “Thank you, for all of this.”

Especially for the amazing shoes.

He came around the desk and reached out, his hand brushing her jaw in a light caress as he slid it behind her head and grasped the nape of her neck. He pulled her close for a scalding kiss, his lips hot on hers as she opened for him. He tasted of wine and spice, his breath mingling with hers until she set the wineglass down and spread her hands over his chest.

When she tilted her head back in a gasp, he pressed a trail of searing kisses along her neck and whispered, “We could celebrate right here.”

She growled and set her teeth against his shoulder, not hard enough to break skin, then licked the same spot. “Negative. Cameras everywhere and this is already way more than any of them need to see.”

He chuckled and straightened without protest, the hunger still in his gaze, promising the night was going to be a long one once they got back to his place.

She gave him another quick kiss and then turned her attention to the slices of skirt steak with garlic butter. There was just enough here for a light meal.

“I figured you might enjoy a snack.” He leaned against the edge of the desk. “There’s another dinner waiting in a basket back at my place.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Does Diaz know you’re the reason Maylin’s catering company is expanding this winter?”

He shrugged. “The food is unparalleled.”

No argument there. “Why a basket?”

“Well, if things go as I hope they will, we’ll be heading out as soon as we stop by to pick up the luggage I’ve packed.” A twinge of uncertainty had crept into his tone.

“Packed?” Her heart did a little flip. “Where are we going?”

“I thought you might trust me. The first flight is to Hawaii.” He gave her a heart-stopping grin. “You can find out the next stop after a couple of days and I give you the boarding passes to our next destination. All cleared with Diaz already, no worries about any contracts. Just a well-deserved vacation.”

Together.

“What about Frederick?” She glanced at the goldfish in question, still swimming around happily in his fishbowl.

“Diaz even agreed to come in and feed Frederick every day.”

Lizzy huffed out a laugh as she touched the water’s surface. The goldfish swam up to the surface to kiss her fingertip.

Kyle opened his arms in invitation and she stepped into him without hesitation.

“You keep surprising me,” she whispered. “Not just with what you do, but the way you get me to react. I’m all sorts of things I forgot I liked being when I’m with you.”

“I love you.” He made the statement simple, his voice almost cracking with the emotion behind it, then pressed a kiss against her hair. “I love everything about you. I’m looking forward to discovering more.”

She swallowed hard. “You’re a complicated man, Kyle Yeun.”

“Yes.” And she saw through all of his posturing to the person he’d evolved into over the past few months and who he could be.

Even better, he looked at her and saw her too.

“I love you too.” Her mouth had gone dry but she’d gotten better at saying what she felt, out loud, to him. “I might not say it often or even admit it again anytime soon. But I do. So I’ll say it now because I have no idea what’s going to happen tomorrow or even later tonight and you have a tendency to have explosives go off near you.”

“Let’s survive to tomorrow together, then.” He bent his head and kissed her.

* * * * *

Read on for an excerpt from
HIDDEN IMPACT

book one in the
SAFEGUARD
series
by Piper J. Drake

Hidden Impact

by Piper J. Drake

Chapter One

“I need your services. Whatever they cost, I’ll figure out how to pay...somehow.”

Gabriel Diaz scowled and didn’t bother looking at the latest person to approach him, instead keeping his attention on the crowded room. He figured the slight woman was minimal threat to anything but his temper. “Look, lady, I don’t know what you think you’re trying to get, but I guarantee you I’m not into whatever you have in mind.”

Jesus, this celebrity bodyguard gig was getting old. Fast. He’d had so many propositions tonight from plastic women as shallow as they were vain, he couldn’t stand another whiff of expensive perfume. And he only had himself to blame.

He’d been the one to insist their team take on the easy jobs in the downtime between their real engagements. It kept a steadier flow of income for their private military contracting business, and the executive-level connections had an even more significant value than simple dollar signs. That being said, he’d overestimated his tolerance for the glitzy after-parties this particular client liked to throw. And apparently everyone from the socialites to the groupies hot enough to be allowed into the party were partaking of the food, booze and eye candy. Personal security included.

Course, they didn’t use the business terms. No. They all whispered a different word behind their hands.
Mercenaries.

Whatever. He could give a flying...

“N-no. I mean...w-what I...”

He gritted his teeth. Why couldn’t she take a hint and bug out? He was going to be forced to send her away crying or some shit. “What you need to do is take yourself off to find another man.”

There was a sharp intake of breath. Good. Maybe she’d finally go and warn off other hopefuls too.

“What you need to do is hear me out.” Steel edged her voice now, and maybe a bit of desperation.

It was the former, not the latter, that made him take a real look at her.

Her eyes caught him first. Deep emerald green. Shocking, actually, set in a delicate Asian face framed by a cascade of hair so black the lighting caught blue highlights. Her features were naturally beautiful, accented with a minimal amount of makeup. Very different from the majority of the people in attendance, regardless of gender.

Color leached from her face as she must have realized she had his full attention. But she didn’t back away or break eye contact. Good for her. Lesser men had balked when Gabe had stared them down.

“My little sister is missing.” The edge was gone from her words but the desperation was still there.

Anger washed away. Damn. “I’m sorry, miss. But the police are the people to contact.”

Political targets, reporters and prisoners of war were the kidnap victims private military might be contracted to locate and retrieve. The kind of people held for ransom in places so far off the radar, even sunlight might not find them. And those weren’t his team’s specialty.

The woman in front of him was a normal civilian. Willowy, slender. The thought of a little sister conjured up images of some tiny waiflike kid. He and his partners were heavy hitters, not the kind of people you sent in to do anything but cause strategic destruction. They went into hot spots overseas and did the things politicians didn’t admit to knowing about at these glitzy events, things a US uniform wouldn’t be doing. Delicate, gentle—the sort of handling a traumatized girl retrieved from a kidnapping situation would need—was not their forte.

The older sister shook her head. “I’ve spoken to the police and the US Embassy. No one will do anything, not yet. And by the time they believe something’s actually wrong, I might never find her.”

Missing persons cases were tough. She was right about the time crunch. There was only a short window before the abducted was more than likely dead. Considering what could have already happened, death might not be the worst thing either.

Definitely not going to add to what this woman was already imagining. Hopefully she didn’t know what
could
happen.

“You’d do better hiring a private investigator.” He drew his eyebrows together, tried not to let the urge to squirm under her very direct stare show. Damn. Give him vapid groupies and a clueless entourage and he had no problem staring them down. This woman, it was like she could see straight through him and know how much he didn’t want to cause a scene at this very moment. There was nothing good he could do for her.

“A private investigator doesn’t have the international resources I think your company has. And I asked—you’re the best. Henderson only hires the A players for his events and he likes to brag about the mercenaries he has on his payroll. He wouldn’t risk bragging about you if you weren’t the real thing. If you’re not the right person to talk to, maybe you have someone else in your organization? Someone I can present more details to so they’ll understand?” If she’d whined at him, it’d be easier to tell her to get lost. Even tears.

Great, man. You’d rather make her cry than help her.

Damn straight.

But she was being reasonable and calm, businesslike without giving up any of the urgency she’d had from the moment she’d approached him. The lady definitely had experience negotiating. And their organization didn’t. The sort of strategy and the tactical strikes they made were a lot more final than any verbal agreement. People didn’t hire private military contractors like the Centurions for delicate jobs like this, not when the package was likely to be so fragile.

The Centurion Corporation took contracts internationally for more...potentially volatile situations. Their jobs had more to do with combat force augmentation, local populace liaison, community patrolling and “black bag” jobs that wouldn’t be explained or reported to the US citizens. There were other private organizations with divisions to handle situations like this woman’s missing sister. But he didn’t know of any with a likely price tag any normal individual would be able to afford.

“I’m gonna be honest, because you seem like a nice person and you’re still giving me no other choice.” He leaned forward, looming over her so his whispered words could be understood despite the blaring music around them but no one else would hear. “Save your money. Don’t give it to anyone who promises to get your sister back alive. Doesn’t matter how long they listen or what they promise you. If she’s out of the country, it’s going to take anyone way too long to get her back in one piece. Put it towards her memorial.”

Harsh. No one wanted to tell a person their loved one was probably already dead, and almost certainly would be before anyone could find them. But feeding her false hope wouldn’t do her any favors. And he really wanted her to walk away.

She’d stood absolutely still as he’d spoken. Hadn’t given any ground or shrunk away from him. As he straightened, he cast his gaze around the room in a safety check before looking back down at her.

Her face was frozen, but it was her eyes again. Sheer and utter devastation, shattered hope and some emotion bordering on hate welled up with her tears. Then dark lashes came down, releasing him from the shock of it, and when she opened her eyes again there was nothing but cold calm. “I won’t thank you for your advice, but I do for your honesty.
Xiè xie.
”

Thank you. In Chinese. Mandarin, he thought.

He didn’t know Mandarin or Cantonese but he knew the words for
please
and
thank you
in a lot of languages. There were a lot of situations where someone was saying those words to him or his people. He made it a practice to try to reciprocate when appropriate when out in other parts of the world. Sometimes with genuine sincerity, sometimes with sarcasm as they tried to kill each other.

He’d stop thinking along those lines for the time being.

She turned and walked away, head up and shoulders straight. Her hips rolled slightly as she strode with purpose in three-inch high heels—as if she had someplace to be and he hadn’t broken her hope to pieces. And wow but the silhouette of her very tight behind in the little pencil skirt she wore did awful things to his libido. If he wasn’t already going to hell in a handbasket, he definitely would be now.

“Trouble?” Marc’s voice murmured in his earbud.

Only if he ever saw her again. He lifted his wrist and spoke into the tiny microphone attached to his shirt cuff. “No.”

“Looked pretty tense from where I’m standing.” Of course Marc’d seen the exchange. They were positioned around the perimeter of the event. Each of them could survey the crowd and had direct line of sight on at least two of the others on their team.

“Keep eyes on her in case she does something crazy.” His first priority was the safety of his client, and wouldn’t it just suck if the woman went ballistic because he’d turned her down?

“Roger that.”

* * *

Qīng wā cào de liú máng.

That was a complete and total fail. Yet again, Maylin blinked back tears and struggled to maintain her composure. The party was over now and she’d only need to finish overseeing her team’s cleanup of the catering equipment. Then she could bury herself in a tray of egg tarts and try to figure out what her possible alternatives were at this point.

If there were any.

With every day, every hour, her chances of finding An-mei were dwindling. It wasn’t as if her family would be of any constructive help either, even if they did somehow realize the reality of An-mei’s disappearance.

Watching her staff carefully wrap up any leftover food and clear away the chafing dishes, she seized the thought of family to take her mind down safer paths for the time being.

Thank goodness her stepmother hadn’t been there to witness either Maylin making a fool of herself or the cursing to follow. Though with a body like that man had, she rather doubted the big bodyguard ever had to settle for frog-humping, curse or no. When she’d first approached him, she’d not realized just how big he was in the midst of all the milling party-goers. She’d thought he’d been standing on a step or part of a raised stage. Nope. Both his feet had been firmly planted on the same floor as hers and he’d stood head and shoulders over the crowd. It’d taken her by surprise, made her stutter like an idiot.

First impression was key.

A lesson from her mother, her real one. And one she should have kept in mind rather than blowing her last chance to find someone to listen, to help her find An-mei.

“Cleanup is complete, Miss Cheng.” The young man didn’t come within arm’s reach. Not that she’d ever strike out, but her entire catering staff was familiar with how clumsy she could get when distracted. Few ways to be more distracted than humiliating oneself at a high-profile event thrown by one of her best clients. Luckily, no one seemed to have noticed her discomfiture but her own staff, and they were like family. The kind of family a person chose instead of having been born into. When it came to relations by blood, only An-mei had been the family of her heart. Maylin would do anything for her little sister. Anything to get her back.

“Thanks, Charlie. Let’s get out of here and head home, then.” She nodded to one of the venue’s regular security guards and stepped out into the cool night hoping to clear her head.

It must’ve only stopped raining a short while ago. Not a surprise for Seattle. The sidewalk pavement shone silver in the light of the streetlamps, with highlights of green or red from the traffic light at the top of the alley.

“The others left for the train station already. I’ll walk you to your car.” Charlie gave her a lopsided grin.

She shook her head. “No worries. You need to catch the bus, right? Don’t wait for me. I’m parked just up the street anyway. Totally safe.”

“You’re sure?” Charlie’s brows drew together and briefly she flashed back to the way the mercenary’s scowl had darkened his face. A fierce expression—not frightening so much as intimidating—and Charlie couldn’t be more different. What she needed now was more than any of her friends or family could do.

“Yes.” She forced her lips to widen in a smile. “Absolutely.”

Another door opened farther down the alleyway, the venue’s other back exit. Several men and women stepped out, all with the dark suits of the personal security her client had hired. Funny the way Henderson enjoyed flaunting his mercenary security, but they’d carried themselves with better polish and sophistication than the majority of the guests.

Speak of the devil. The man she’d spoken to and his colleagues must be heading home too, wherever it was for each of them. She wondered if they called each other “colleagues” or something more...militant.

“See?” She turned back to Charlie. “I’m not even alone back here. Get going. And if anything happens, I’ll shout to those guys for help.”

Charlie eyed the group dubiously. “Men like those aren’t safe to be around, Miss Cheng. I bet the women aren’t either.”

As if Charlie could do anything against them.

No, that was uncharitable. “Thank you. Really. But I’m sure I’ll be fine. You get yourself on your bus or I’ll have to drive you all the way home.”

She made a shooing gesture to Charlie and after another moment’s hesitation he turned, jogged up the alley to the street and headed for the bus station. She followed at a walk because trying to jog in heels this high was ridiculous. Plus she’d probably trip and break an ankle. An added embarrassment she did not want with those people, with him, behind her.

Maybe in an immediate emergency they’d actually move to action. Or they might just shout the name of a private investigator to her.

Not fair.

Shaking her head, she huffed out a laugh at herself. She was in all sorts of a mood this evening. And who would blame her? But being temperamental wasn’t going to convince anyone to help her, and she needed help. She’d take every moment of frustration and rage and swallow it if it could get An-mei the help she needed faster. What Maylin had to do was be constructive, figure out next steps. There was always something else to be tried. Somehow.

And sometimes it seemed like every street in downtown Seattle was uphill. So no one would judge her if she took a breather up at the top of the alley and maybe stood at the corner a minute longer than necessary. If anyone did, she’d blame it on the crosswalk signal changing sooner than she thought she could cross.