Fire and Ice (an extended epilogue)

FIRE AND ICE
(AN EXTENDED EPILOGUE)

by Victoria Paige

Copyright © 2013 Victoria
Paige

ISBN:
978-0-9891337-3-9

All rights reserved. No part of
this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed
or electronic form without permission.

This book is a work of fiction. The
characters, names, places, events, organizations either are a
product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
similarity to any persons, living or dead, business establishments,
events, places or locale is entire coincidental. The publisher is
not responsible for any opinion regarding this work on any
third-party website that is not affiliated with the publisher or
author.

Cover Design by
Robin Ludwig Design Inc.,
http://www.gobookcoverdesign.com

The Guardians Series

Artemis Guardian Services
(AGS)
- “The Guardians”, as they are known
by most of their clients, specialize in small team surgical
incursions: Organized crime takedowns, K and R (kidnap and ransom),
DoD covert ops that are too politically high-risk, corporate
security enforcement (usually involving questionable and deadly
force), and recently (and seemingly with increasing frequency)
protective custody detail outsourced by the US Marshals Service.
Work frequently with CIA, DoD, NSA, FBI, DEA, ATF and
Interpol.

Principal owner: Viktor Baran,
ex-Special Forces

Guardians:

Maia Pierce

Nathan Stark

Manning

Edmunds

Braden Connelly, ex Army
Ranger

Data Analyst: Tim Burns

McCord Defense Industries
(MDI)
- company that designs and
manufactures advanced small arms weapons that are efficient in
urban warfare. Specializes in advanced carbine weapons, explosives
and untraceable tracking devices. Well known for its MD-Bandit
drones—a small reconnaissance aircraft capable of firing
air-to-surface missiles. Top military contractor for the
DoD.

Principal owner: Jack McCord,
ex-Navy SEAL

VP of Operations and Design: Derek
Lockwood, ex-Special Forces

CHAPTER
ONE

Jack
had gone too far this time. His overprotectiveness was out of
control. This last stunt of his undermined her position at AGS,
which she had spent years to build. Her Mercedes screeched to a
halt in front of the Trident Building, and she bolted out of the
car.

The guard ran down the steps. “Miss Pierce,
you can’t park there.”

“
Have it towed; I don’t care!”
Maia snapped as she shouldered past the guard. The car was an
engagement gift from Jack. After their whirlwind trip to Paris,
where he had proposed, the first order of business when they got
back was setting her up in all the luxury his money could buy. She
was overwhelmed if not a bit uneasy. And she knew now where that
unease came from. Showering her with expensive gifts did not give
him the right to control her life.

The elevator couldn’t reach the eighteenth
floor fast enough: every second that passed was another second that
fueled her fury.

When the doors finally slid open, she nodded
briefly to Ally, the beautiful receptionist at McCord Defense
Industries (MDI). The brunette was surprised to see her, and she
quickly ducked her head to look at her computer.

“
Maia!” Laurie greeted her.
“Jack...wasn’t expecting you.”

Maia stared at her fiancé’s personal
assistant. “Do I need an appointment to see Jack? Is he
in?”

“
He’s in a conference call right
now.” Laurie hurried beside her and tried to discreetly block the
door to Jack’s office. “I’m not sure it’s a good time.”

“
You know why I am here, Laurie,”
Maia said coldly. She hated intimidating Jack’s employees, but she
had hit the end of her patience with him. She speared Laurie with
an unbending stare, and the petite personal assistant stepped
aside.

Maia gripped the knob, inhaling
deeply before opening the door. Jack paused midsentence, his brows
drawn together. Derek Lockwood, who was sitting in front of Jack’s
desk, twisted his body around and mouthed:
Oh fuck
.

“
Gentlemen, I have an emergency I
have to attend to—we’ll pick this up this afternoon,” Jack said,
hanging up the phone.

“
I’m sorry, Jack, I tried ...”
Laurie began.

“
Not your fault, Laurie,” Maia
told her firmly before Jack could say anything. Maia walked
forward, holding her fiancé’s wary gaze. “No one can stop me from
confronting my deceitful fiancé.”

Laurie mumbled something unintelligible while
Derek made a move to rise, but Maia momentarily turned her wrathful
glare at her friend. “Stay, Derek. I don’t think this AGS fiasco
would have been pushed through without your knowledge.”

“
Maia, babe...” Jack began as he
stood up.

“
Don’t you babe, me, Jack,” Maia
said, firing her opening salvo. “How dare you keep something this
big from me?”

“
The same way you sneak off to
parts unknown without my knowledge,” Jack shot back. “Did you think
your little excursion to Mexico would have no fallout?”

“
How will investing in AGS
mitigate that? Huh, tell me?” Maia challenged. “Not even the AGS
knew that Nathan and I were gone. If I wanted to take off on my
own, I will. And not a single dime from your billions is going to
make any difference. What you’ve succeeded at with this little
power play of yours is to show me how little you trust
me.”

“
And whose fault is that?” Jack
asked as he rounded the desk to stand in front of her. He towered
over her and lowered his head to get in her face. “Sweetheart, I’ll
spend every last penny to keep you from doing stupid shit. Get that
through your damned head and accept it. I’ll know every single
deployment, location, and target. Even what you’ve had for dinner.
I—Will— Know.”

Why this unrepentant
bastard!
Maia fumed inwardly and then
redirected her anger at Derek. “How could you let him do
this?”

“
Maia—”

“
Don’t look at Derek, Maia—look at
me,” Jack growled as her eyes snapped back to his. “Personal
reasons aside, AGS is a good investment for MDI. They’re the
perfect testing ground for implementing advanced small arms
weapons—”

“
Quit feeding me that bullshit!”
Maia yelled. She stepped back a little, so she could regain some
physical advantage. Standing so close to her annoyingly attractive
fiancé played havoc with her resolve. “Can you imagine how
embarrassing it is to sit there and have Viktor tell us that you
own part of the company and I have no fucking clue?”

“
Babe, I’m sorry—” Jack’s eyes
softened as he stepped closer and raised his hand to touch her
face. Maia flinched and took another step back, ignoring the scowl
darkening Jack’s face.

“
Don’t. Don’t try to sweet talk
me,” Maia warned. “God, I’ll be marrying you in two months, you
sneaky bastard, and you keep a secret from me that directly affects
my job—a job I happen to love, which I know now you can never
understand.”

“
That’s not true,” Jack argued
roughly. “I just need to have some semblance of
control.”

Maia gave a short, derisive laugh. “Control? I
was right. You want to control me.”

“
Stop twisting my
words.”

“
You just said it yourself; you
want to control me.”

“
Not you, the
situation.”

“
Tell me, Jack? Does this new
investment of yours give you the right to veto any of my
deployments?”

Jack’s face grew darker, but he did not
respond.

Maia snorted in disgust. “I thought as
much.”

“
Maia—”

“
Don’t,” Maia said quietly. She
took a deep breath and repeated. “Don’t. Jack, I am this close to
throwing your ring back at you—”

Jack blanched. “You fucking throw my ring back
at me and that’s it. I will not go through—”

“
I know,” Maia cut in gently. She
backed away from Jack and Derek. How she hated to put that stricken
look on Jack’s face, but she was furious at him. “That’s why I’m
walking away to clear my head. To calm down. Because Jack, once
this ring leaves my finger, I’m never putting it back on.” She
exhaled deeply. “I’ll be gone for a few days. If you want to save
our relationship, I’m asking you to give me space.
Please.”

Maia’s eyes burned as she turned away and
headed for the door. She ignored the hoarse whisper of her name
that followed her and the pain in her heart screaming at her to
swallow her pride and forget her anger. She opened the door and
shut it quietly behind her.

*****

“
Goddamn it!” Jack raked his fingers through his thick black
hair and paced the length of the office. He glared at Derek. “Much
help you were.”

His friend raised a brow. “I was about to say
something, but you cut me off.”

“
She’s overreacting,” Jack
declared.

“
Are you telling me, or are you
telling yourself,” Derek asked.

“
This is not funny, Lockwood,”
Jack snapped. “You heard her. She was going to break up with
me.”

“
But she didn’t,” Derek reminded
him. “Maia is levelheaded in the face of anger; haven’t you figured
that out yet? She wouldn’t throw a ring back at her fiancé as some
kind of manipulation to get her way. If she gives you back that
ring, Jack, it’s over.”

Hearing his friend say the words made Jack’s
chest spasm painfully. What had he done? Had he broken their
relationship? Keeping the AGS negotiations from her seemed like a
good idea at that time. Derek and Viktor were dubious about it, and
he should have listened to them. He had made a power play and Maia
had called him on it. When Maia took off with Nathan Stark to
Mexico, Jack was beyond furious. During the flight to Texas, Jack
went through several tracks on how to keep Maia from harming
herself. Scenario 1: Sell everything, buy an island, tranquilize
her, whisk her off to said island, and keep her hostage for the
rest of her life. Scenario 2: Build a compound where he could still
maintain control of MDI, tranquilize her, whisk her off to the
compound, and keep her hostage for the rest of her life. Scenario
3: The old adage that if you can’t lick them, join them, came to
mind. Invest in AGS and keep tabs on her for the rest of her
life.

He was seriously psycho. And he didn’t give a
fuck.

“
What do you propose I do?” Jack
asked quietly.

“
She asked for space—”

“
No way,” Jack growled. “I give
her space, she’ll take three weeks again to figure out what the
hell it is she wants.”

“
Then give her three
weeks—”

“
No fucking way,” Jack repeated.
“We’re getting married in two months, Derek. She doesn’t need three
weeks to make up her mind if I’m her ever-fucking after. That time
has passed. She’s got two days to sort her shit, and then I’m going
after her.”

“
Jack—”

“
She can’t do this every time
she’s pissed at me,” Jack said.

“
What you did was underhanded,”
Derek pointed out. “She had every right to be pissed at
you.”

“
I’m not saying she can’t be
pissed at me,” Jack replied. “We can rationally discuss the
situation like mature adults.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “Maybe the discussion
should have taken place before the MDI-AGS
negotiations.”

Jack glared at Derek. “I screwed up—OK? I know
I should have consulted her first. Pfft. Told her.” He paused.
“Shit. I’m doing this all wrong, aren’t I?”

Derek nodded slowly.

“
Fuck. I’m going to have to
grovel, aren’t I?”