Enemy Outside (Unseen Enemy Book 2) (4 page)

Chris had proven especially adept at getting traumatized local women to relax and talk to him through a translator. Something about him seemed to win their trust, and he was often called in to deal with women who had information that the Americans could find useful, but who didn’t want to let a man anywhere near them.

He’d learned fast how to keep his distance, make himself seem smaller than he was, lower his rough voice. He’d been angered at what had happened to those women, but also inspired by their courage. He knew damn well that true courage didn’t always carry on a public battle, that some of the bravest acts were internal and silent.

The guys also had a strong feeling that Emma, Liv and Kat knew exactly what was what with Jenny. Chris remembered how Liv and Kat had stood directly in front of Jenny that first time the guys had shown up in the hospital, looking to get Dean in to see Emma. They had acted as physical barriers between the men and Jenny, and Chris would never forget the look of abject fear on her face when she first saw them all standing there, huge and muscled. That had been his first clue, and the signs had just multiplied in number since that day.

None of the guys had brought it up with the ladies. Dean hadn’t even talked to Emma about it, though they were as close as two people could be now. The unspoken feeling among Chris and his friends was that it was Jenny’s business, and they’d never bring it up unless she did first. To do anything different would be yet another violation of her, somehow, and they weren’t about to do that to her.

But it never stopped bothering Chris; not even for one minute. Every single time he saw her, he ached to hold her close, to offer her some comfort. He longed to tell her that she could trust him, that she’d be safe with him. He wanted to show her that a man could be gentle and caring; he wanted to make love to her and watch her just let go of all her fear. Fly apart in his arms. Feel real, deep pleasure with him, and know that he’d be there to hold her after.

She turned now and saw him standing there. Those beautiful blue eyes widened a bit in surprise and she smiled at him. Chris watched her walk over to him, and his gaze ran up and down her glorious curves.

I’d give anything for her to let me touch her. Just once.

“Hey, Chris,” Jenny said. “You doing OK?”

“Sure am, sweetheart,” he said, keeping his voice low and gentle. “But I need to talk to you for a minute. You got some time now?”

“Yeah, sure.” She glanced around, made sure that everything was under control. “My office?”

“Good.” He followed her down a long hallway and stood well back as she unlocked the door. He watched her carefully, saw how she ushered him in first and then stood close to the open door. He was sure she wasn’t even totally aware that she was doing it, but he’d never known her to let him get between her and the door when they were alone. Not once.

I’m not going to hurt you, baby. I’d never do that…

“So what’s up?” she asked.

In an effort to look less threatening and intimidating, he sat down. He wasn’t at all sure how she was going to react to the news that Liv was being targeted and stalked, but he worried that it may trigger something in Jenny. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice even more.

“It’s Liv, honey.”

Jenny took a step towards him. “What about her?”

He leaned back in the chair. “She’s got a stalker.”

He watched all the color drain right out of her pretty face and she swayed a bit. It killed him to do it, but Chris stayed in his seat, watched her steady herself against the wall with one trembling hand. His arms were taut with the desire to reach for her, but he knew that she’d never stand for it.

Jenny took a deep breath, trying to stop the room spinning. The thought that someone wanted to hurt Liv – maybe hurt her the way that Jenny had been hurt just over six years ago – made her sick and furious. She looked over at Chris and felt the insane and surprising urge to curl up on his lap, just press her face in to his broad chest and hide from all the ugly, awful things in the world that scared and hurt women for no reason at all.

“You OK?” he asked quietly.

She was back in control of herself now and she nodded. “Tell me, Chris. Tell me the whole thing.”

He hesitated.

“Chris.” Her voice was stronger now, her cheeks had some color again. “Tell me.”

And so he did.

**

Olivia rubbed her eyes, feeling exhaustion start to creep up on her now. It had taken her a long time to fall asleep the night before, despite knowing that Dallas was just inside the front door on the sofa and that he had alarms on all his windows. She just couldn’t shake the feeling of malicious eyes on her, and she had lain awake in the dark for hours, afraid to close her eyes.

When she did finally fall asleep, she dreamed that she was in her bathtub again, unable to move. In her dream, the door burst open and a man with a knife stood there, grinning at her. She’d woken up with a start, wondering how Dallas would react if she crawled on to the sofa next to him.

Would he take her in his arms and soothe her to sleep again? He was so hard to read sometimes, with those clear blue eyes and crossed arms. He could be gentle and tender, but still… Liv thought that he may not want to blur the line between friend and sofa mate. Or, if she thought about it now, between friend and client.

She
was
his client, wasn’t she? He was certainly acting like it: she’d never seen Dallas’ professional side before now, and she was stunned and a bit taken aback at just how impersonal he was.

He’d always been so easy-going, with a jokey demeanor and a distinct lack of reverence for most things. But today, he was all crisp business and hard-assed, probing questions. Liv suddenly saw exactly how Dallas had built up one of the best and most-respected personal security firms in the country: he was in total control of an out-of-control situation, and that was a hard thing to accomplish.

Dallas glanced up from his laptop and really took in Olivia for the first time in hours. She looked worn out and almost teary, and he blinked at her vulnerability. He sighed and she looked at him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Just thinking that maybe you could use a break. We’ve been going over this stuff for almost four hours now.”

She nodded. “Yeah. That’d be good.”

“OK, then.” He stood and stretched, his t-shirt pulling tight against the muscles on that huge chest. “I’ll cook us some lunch.”

“You’ll what?” she asked in utter shock.

“Yeah.” He grinned at her now and she felt like she knew him again. “You still eat carbs, right, darlin’?”

She laughed out loud. “Only on Saturdays now.”

“Are you fucking serious?” he asked.

“As a heart attack,” she informed him. “If I want to keep getting the bikini shoots, I’d better not pad these thighs and butt too much.”

“Uh-huh,” he said. “Well, I don’t think it’d hurt you too much to put on a few pounds… you’ve been looking too thin lately.” His eyes narrowed. “I’m guessing it’s been the stress of Emma and the stalker. Yes?”

“Yes.”

“Thought so. OK, let’s see what I got in the kitchen. Come on, Olivia.” He held out his hand, helped her to her feet. “Good thing today is Saturday, huh? Otherwise I’d probably have to feed you an apple and a lettuce leaf.”

“Yeah, that was my lunch yesterday.”

“For real?”

“Almost.” She smiled at him, her brown eyes dancing. “I also had a glass of water.”

“Goddamn, girl,” Dallas said. “I’m gonna hold you down and force-feed you pasta, I swear to God.”

Her stomach jumped at the thought of being pinned under Dallas’ massive body; she thought she wouldn’t mind it in the slightest. She swallowed hard, tried to get her heart rate back under control.

Liv followed him in to his kitchen and leaned on the counter and watched him root around in the fridge and cupboards, noting how awesome his ass looked in his jeans. He emerged triumphantly holding a package of pasta and some salmon.

“How about I make a creamy pasta dish?” he said.

“Really?” she asked him.

“Yep. I’ve got cream, garlic, olive oil, a bottle of white wine from a client that I’ll never fucking drink, ‘cause I’m a beer guy… I think we’re good.”

“Sounds great, Dallas.”

“OK,” he said. “Go sit down and relax. I’ve got this.”

“I can help…”

He shook his dark head. “No, go sit. You’ve had a hell of a night and morning. I have some red wine too – same client, if you can believe it – so I’ll bring you a glass, yeah? Unless you like your white wine unchilled?”

She stared at him, and to her horror, she felt tears well up in her eyes. Dallas saw them and looked alarmed.

“Hey, what’s wrong? You OK?”

She nodded, hesitated, shook her head.

“Yeah, I’m sure you have no idea which way is up right now, huh?” He opened his arms. “Come here, baby.”

Olivia closed her eyes as he held her to him. She took a deep breath and inhaled that amazing scent that was pure Dallas: musk, lime and soap. It was strong, tangy, clean; she loved it, couldn’t seem to get enough of it. She’d recognize him in pitch darkness, she was sure of it.

Dallas rubbed her back, thinking about nothing except making sure she felt secure again. “I’m here with you, Olivia. You’re OK now… you’re safe. He can’t get to you, alright?”

She nodded against his shoulder, gripping him close. She took another deep breath, then pulled back a bit. “I don’t think I’ve said this properly yet, but… thank you, Dallas. For – for everything. Coming when I called, and for calming me down last night. For letting me stay here… for it all.”

He used both of his hands to smooth her long hair back off her stunning face. “It’s no problem, baby.” He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. “Anything you need.”

They stared at each other now, so close that they felt the other’s breath on their face. Dallas felt his heart rate speed up slightly, and Liv’s legs suddenly felt wobbly under her. Being close to Dallas was such an amazing experience, she’d discovered: the man was all taut muscle and raw, primal strength. She felt so feminine next to him, soft and small. She’d never felt as safe and protected as she did when she stood in the circle of his arms.

Just then, Dallas’ cell rang in the office. He started, let her go.

“I’d better get that, darlin’,” he said. “I’ve got a team over at your house now, and I’m expecting them to report in.”

“Oh, sure,” she said, trying to collect herself a bit. “I’ll start lunch. Just slicing and boiling… I’ll leave the heavy lifting for you.”

He grinned and went to his office. Liv turned away, resolutely, and focused on chopping the garlic. As she did, she tried very hard not to think about how Dallas’ lips would feel on her own. She failed miserably.

Chapter Four

On Monday morning, Olivia sat in the Solid Security offices, sipping a coffee and feeling very impressed. Dallas had chosen to set up his business in a former factory, and the space was massive. High ceilings and lots of open-plan areas, several private offices and two conference rooms. There was even an interrogation space – quite forbidding in its starkness – with an observation room behind the two-way, bullet-proof glass.

She looked up as Dallas entered his office now; two large men followed him and Liv blinked. They were scary as hell, no doubt about it, and they gazed at her coolly, looking her up and down. She was used to being assessed by strangers – usually by clothing designers and companies looking to book her – but this was a totally new experience. She was sure these men weren’t mentally sticking her in a bustier or bikini, trying to figure out if her breasts were big enough and her ass small enough. She got the feeling that they were seeing something totally different about her, but hell if she knew what that might be.

“Olivia, hon,” Dallas said, “I’d like you to meet Mark Hayden, my second-in-command, and Hunter Sullivan. They’re going to be your main protective detail.”

She was startled. “So… you won’t be on my detail anymore?”

His blue eyes were gentle. “Of course I will. But I can’t do it all alone, right? Mark and Sully are with me. OK?”

She nodded and held out her hand to Mark. “I’m so glad to meet you.”

He smiled now, and she relaxed a bit. His mint-green eyes were amazing against his
café-au-lait
skin and his grin was almost boyish. “You too, Ms. Jameson.”

“Liv, please.”

Sully smiled too, but didn’t say anything as he shook her hand. He was older than Mark, she guessed, and somehow less approachable with his hard black eyes. She figured he’d be the strong, silent type, the kind to simply step forward without a word and act as a human shield if need be.

As she stood there staring back at these three men now tasked with keeping her safe, she felt a wave of relief wash over her. In just thirty seconds with these guys, she felt safer and more secure than she’d felt in almost six months of being under the protection of Greg and the Blue Star group. Somehow, instinctively, Liv knew that Dallas and his team were the real deal.

Sully held out a chair. “Sit please, Liv.”

“Thank you.”

The men sat too and she suddenly felt alert. The mood in the room had just sharpened and tightened, somehow. Like shit had just got real.

“OK, Olivia,” Dallas said. “Mark and Sully have gone over all the documentation from Greg Wallace, and of course, you and I went through it all repeatedly over the weekend.”

She nodded. They had indeed. Dallas had asked every single question at least seven different ways, and if he noticed any discrepancy whatsoever in her answers or in the time line, he had jumped on it and clarified until he totally understood. She had been in awe of his memory for detail and her respect for him as a professional bodyguard was now officially through the roof.

“I gave you the copies of the contract yesterday – have you got any questions?”

“No.” She took it out of her purse. “They’re all signed.”

Dallas took the papers and signed the three copies himself. He slid one across the table back to Liv and said, “One copy I’ll keep in my home office, under lock and key. The other stays here in the HQ.”

“OK.”

“So. I want you to go with Sully and Mark now… they’re going to take you home.”

She froze. Her last memory of being in her own house was the terrified knowledge that her stalker had stood in her living room. Maybe in her bedroom. Maybe right outside the bathroom, where she’d been cowering in the tub.

Mark saw her face. “Hey,” he said gently. “I spent the whole weekend there with our tech team and we swept your entire home for bugs and any other kind of unauthorized surveillance. It’s clean, Liv. And of course, we won’t leave you alone there. Someone will always be with you, no matter where you go.”

“Someone will sleep in my house?”

“Yeah, we’ll set up a sleep area, but there will always be someone awake and on patrol. We’ll explain all of this when we get back to your place. OK?”

She nodded.

“So, let’s go,” Sully said. “We’ll talk about all the rules and roles, and then we’ll figure out how to work within your schedule for the next few days.”

“You mean my work schedule?”

Sully shrugged. “Your life schedule. We work around what we can, and we ask you to rethink or even cancel some things that may seem especially dangerous or risky. We also have to go over some things we need you to do, and not do, to make it possible for us to do our jobs effectively.”

“OK,” she said and turned to Dallas. “Are you coming?”

“No.” He checked his watch. “I’m interviewing someone for a job in about fifteen minutes. I’ll come to your home later today, make sure everything’s set up and in order. And I’ll be staying with you overnight until we identify this guy and he’s in police custody.”

“You will?”

He nodded. “Yep. I’ll be inside with you, and the night team will be outside, guarding the perimeter.”

“Night team?”

“Yeah, two more members of my staff.” Dallas grinned. “They’re sleeping right now, so you’ll meet them tonight. Griff and Selena. They’ll take the night shifts, me and these guys will handle days. Alright?”

“Yeah.”

“Any questions, darlin’?”

She thought for a few seconds then shook her head. “Not right now.”

“OK, then. Off you go. I’ll see you later.” Dallas held the door for her. “And just take it easy today, alright? We’ve got this, Olivia… it’s under control. I promise you.”

And as she looked at the three men standing in front of her, she totally believed him.

**

Nigel’s Monday morning had taken an unexpected turn, and he wasn’t as happy about it as he could have been. Normally, he’d be thrilled and delighted to have two large, handsome men in dark suits come strolling up to him as he was opening the office door, kindly requesting that he come with them right away. He’d stood there, staring up at their hard eyes, startled and even a bit afraid.

They’d told him that Dallas Foreman had asked for Nigel to be brought to the Solid Security office for a conversation about Liv’s stalker. He’d agreed, of course, and then the two gorgeous men had hustled him to a black SUV, bundled him in to the back seat, and off they’d gone.

Nigel sat there, looking at the men’s broad shoulders and large hands, and realized that this was a kind of fantasy-come-true. He had a serious thing for bodyguards, and he always thought he’d find this kind of scenario hot. But worry for Liv and the men’s cool professionalism worried him.

After a few minutes of silence, Nigel spoke up. “Ummm. Has something happened? Is Liv OK?”

The dark-haired one stared at Nigel in the rear view mirror. “We’re not authorized to give you any details. Mr. Ramirez. I’m sorry.”

“Details about what?”

“I can’t say.”

“But something must have happened, or else there’d be no details for you to stay quiet
about
. Am I right?”

Silence.

“Please,” Nigel said. “Just let me know if Liv is OK.”

“Ms. Jameson is fine,” the blond one who was driving said. “That’s all we’ll say, though.”

Nigel nodded. “Thank you.”

They pulled up to a large building and the men escorted Nigel inside. He looked around, amazed at the size of Dallas’ operation. Nigel saw at least ten staff in the main area, plus he saw several private offices.

“Sit here, please,” said the blond one. “Mr. Foreman will be right out to talk to you.”

Nigel nodded again and sank on to the sofa near the reception desk. He found that he was very nervous at the thought of speaking to Dallas alone, in a professional setting. He’d only met the man for the first time at Emma’s party on Friday night, and he’d found Dallas formidable in a sexy-yet-intimidating way.

A door opened and Dallas emerged with a dark-haired, dark-eyed woman. They shook hands and she smiled. Dallas watched her leave, then he scanned the entire office in mere seconds.

Nigel sat up straight and watched those hard blue eyes turn to him. Even from across the room, he felt the other man’s entire body and mind focus right on him. He felt like he was in the crosshairs, somehow. Then Dallas was standing in front of him, extending his large hand, and Nigel got to his feet.

“Mr. Ramirez,” Dallas said. “My apologies for my men having to ambush you at work. I don’t normally like to do things that way, but time is of the essence in this case.”

Nigel blinked at the formality. On Friday night at the party, he’d been Nigel.

“It’s OK,” Nigel said cautiously.

“Let’s go sit in the conference room,” Dallas said. “Coffee?”

“Um, yes, please. With just milk.”

“OK, you go in and sit down. I’ll be right there. Give me two minutes.”

Nigel sat, feeling more and more worried. Why was time of the essence? What was ‘in this case’? Where was Liv? And why was Dallas’ firm handling anything that might have happened, and not Greg and Blue Star? Nigel got the very strong feeling that something had happened, and that it had been bad enough to be a total game-changer.

Dallas came in with a thick folder in his hands. He sat down, and another huge man followed him in with Nigel’s coffee.

“Thank you,” Nigel murmured.

“You’re welcome.”

The man closed the door behind him and now Nigel found himself being stared at very intensely by a large, muscular, tattooed ex-sniper. His breath caught and he found that his hands were shaking.

“Mr. Ramirez,” Dallas said. “Why did you disable the cameras at Olivia Jameson’s house on the night of her party?”

Nigel put his coffee cup down on the table so quickly, it was a shock that it didn’t crack. “What? I didn’t do that!”

“Then how were the cameras disabled?”

“I – I have no idea.”

Dallas glanced down at his notes. “According to my IT team’s research, the cameras were active and fully-operational until just before four o’clock. You entered the house a few minutes before that. Within five minutes of your arrival, everything was offline.” He looked up. “How do you explain that?”

“I – I can’t. I mean, I don’t know. I mean, I didn’t do it…”

“So who could have?”

“I don’t know.”

“The party began at eight o’clock, so what were you doing in Ms. Jameson’s house for four hours?”

Nigel ran his hands through his hair. “Getting things ready… moving the furniture, hanging the banner, lighting the fire, organizing the food and drink.”

“Alone?”

“Yes. Yes, I was alone.”

“The whole time?”

“Uh. Well, no.” Nigel blushed. “My boyfriend Abe came over around seven-thirty, out-of-the-blue. He brought some flowers for Emma.”

“How long did Mr. Castell stay?”

Nigel blinked.
He knows Abe’s last name?
“Uh, probably about ten minutes.”

“And what did you two do?”

Nigel blushed again. “Ummm. Well, we… he kissed me. And I responded.”

“And you saw him leave the house?”

“Yes.” Nigel paused. “Actually… no.”

Dallas cocked his head. “Which one is it?”

Nigel was thinking hard. “Well… I saw him walk down the stairs from the living room to the front door, and I heard the door open and close. But – but…”

“But you never actually saw him
walk out
the front door,” Dallas finished. “Is that correct?”

Nigel nodded.

“And did you go down the stairs at any time and lock the door behind him?”

“No,” Nigel said slowly. “It locks automatically when shut.”

The two men stared at each other. Nigel looked almost frightened.

“OK,” Dallas said. “So what did you do after watching Mr. Castell walk down the stairs?”

“Nothing, really. I finished getting a few things ready – I chose some music, and I fiddled a bit with the banner – and then Liv and Emma came in through the elevator from the garage.”

“Who was buzzing people in and out of the party?”

Nigel paused. “Well, I was.”

“You know Ms. Jameson’s security codes?”

“Yes.”

Dallas leaned back. “All of them?”

“Yes,” Nigel said. “The garage code, the main door, the side doors. I have full access to Liv’s home.”

“You know all her computer passwords?”

“Well, the professional ones. She has some personal accounts that I can’t access.”

“Who can?”

Nigel paused again. “I – I don’t know. I imagine just Liv.”

“Who did you give her new cell number to without her knowledge or permission?”

“Nobody!” Nigel was getting angry now. “I’d never do that, especially since this stalker came in to the picture!” He glared at Dallas. “Now, I want to know what’s going on here, if you please. Where’s Liv?”

“At home,” Dallas said, watching Nigel closely.

“OK,” Nigel said. “And why am I here? Where’s Greg Wallace?”

“Blue Star no longer protects Olivia. We do now.”

Nigel heaved a gigantic sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God.”

Dallas narrowed his eyes. “Why do you say that?”

“Because I never trusted them to take care of her. They seemed… unprofessional and lazy. Uninterested. I’d send them information and never get confirmation that it had even been received. I’d tell them about some texts or pictures she’d been sent, and Greg never seemed all that worried.”

“Were you worried?”

“Of course!” Nigel exclaimed. “And I know you were, too. Liv told me about your talk at the hospital. That was the first moment I thought that maybe I wasn’t crazy – that maybe I was right to be as freaked out as I was. You were the first person who reacted in what I thought was an appropriate way.”

Dallas smiled. “You must know that you were originally our strongest suspect as her stalker.”

Nigel sighed. “Yes. I can see that.”

“Where were you on Friday night after the party?”

“I went home.”

“Alone?”

“Yes. I was exhausted and Liv told me to go. She walked me out, and I assume she set the door code. I went straight out to my car and went home. I showered and fell in to bed.”