THURSDAY. SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS."WHAT THE HELL HAVE you gotten me into?"Riley ignored Casey's complaints. It wasn't like Riley had shoved him in the SUV. Casey had climbed in of his own accord after getting gear from his vehicle."The signal came from a hundred yards that way," Grant pointed up a gravel lane. A construction sign indicated a new office building development.Riley took point, sticking to a few yards off the trail, still under the cover of trees. If they were able to track the laptop, what were the chances Mark could, too? And even if Mark wasn't here, they didn't want to give Erin's kidnapper any kind of warning they were there.The SUV backed off the curb behind them and flipped a U-turn. Melody was on comms, but muted with the plan to wait at the gas station down the street."Mom and Dad are going to love this story," Casey muttered."Shut the fuck up," Riley said."Guys, we're sticking to silence," Grant said.The darkness was fading with the coming
"YOU'RE GOING TO BE okay," Erin said.She kept one hand on Khalil's side, pressing the shirt she'd found in the back seat against his wound, and the other on the wheel. The young man groaned and threw his head back in pain."Hang on. Just a little bit farther." She had no idea where she was going, but eventually she'd find a highway and hospitals were clearly marked when it came to highways. She hoped they found one before Khalil bled out.Riley had come for them. If he hadn't, she had no doubt that both she and Khalil would be dead. She wanted to be back there, she wanted to know if Riley had survived, but the best thing was to get clear of the combat. Her training had that drilled into her to the point she couldn't go against it even if she wanted to. Besides, Khalil's life depended on getting to safety.Businesses clustered along the road. A far different cry from the seemingly rural area they'd been. A sign for Interstate 141 was posted at the red light.She gassed it, ba
RILEY GLANCED IN THE rearview mirror. Grant and the others had hung back at the scene to explain to the cops what happened, freeing Riley and Casey up to go find Erin. The threat wasn't over."Where the hell are we going?" Casey demanded."I don't know. Erin left. Where would she go?" Riley swung his head back and forth.Melody hadn't seen a SUV come her way. That meant Erin had to have taken this road, but there were dozens of different ways she could have gone.The highway was ahead of them in another mile or two. From there she could get out of the city and go anywhere. Or, what if Mark had her?"Tell me about her," Casey said."What?" Riley frowned at his brother."Tell me about her. What is she like? Would she run from danger?""No." Riley shook his head. "She's a run into it kind of person.""Then why'd she leave? If the danger was there, what would make her run?""Someone is in danger." Fuck. Riley's brother was a genius.His phone began to vibrate. He dug
ERIN SAT ON THE bumper of the ambulance while the first responders moved around her. Could it really be over?Mark was in custody.According to Riley, the black ops Allied Security team was either dead or wounded, and accounted for. The videos made the employee list fairly easy.All that was left was for the police to fit their stories together.Erin had lied to them, and for that, she'd have to shoulder the guilt.A pair of black boots stepped into her field of vision. They were scuffed and in one spot the leather peeled up. If he wasn't careful that could get him hurt."You need new shoes," she said."Erin?" Riley knelt in front of her. They hadn't had the opportunity to speak since he'd taken Mark down. Between the injured and answering the questions from law enforcement, they hadn't had a moment to speak. Riley's brow creased and there were deep brackets around his mouth. "I thought we came to an understanding. I've got your back. Don't you know that?""I couldn't a
RILEY HELD THE DOOR for Erin and together they stepped out into the sunshine, leaving NexGen in their wake. Whether someone at the company was guilty or not would be the job of someone else. He kept his hand on her back, steering her out to the parking lot where Casey waited for them."Feel better?" he asked."Not really. Lighter, but not better." She stepped up on the curb, the red paved walkway between the rows of cars stretching the length of the lot."What's wrong?" He tugged on her hand until she stopped."I don't know." She lifted her shoulders.There'd been something sad and resigned about her since the hospital. He'd thought it was about quitting, but now he wasn't so sure. He stared down at her, all his thoughts jumbled together. He didn't know how to say what was in his head, but if he didn't get it out now, he might not get the chance. There was no guarantee they'd see each other again after this."Where are you going after this?" he asked."Miami, I guess." Ag
SIX WEEKS LATER. FEDERAL COURTHOUSE, FT WORTH, TEXAS.ERIN STEPPED THROUGH THE doors, escaping a few moments ahead of those allowed in the courtroom. She'd sweated through her shirt to the point that her jacket felt damp, but it was over. Two days of testimony, and her part was over.Riley, Khalil and Casey sat on the bench across from the doors."How'd it go?" Riley crossed to her and wrapped an arm around her waist."Fine." She glanced at Khalil.Their secret was still theirs. There was so much to untangle in regard to the black-ops side of Allied's business that no one cared about their role beyond how it all went public. She would take the fact that Khalil kidnapped her to her grave, and so would the others.She squeezed Riley and let go of him.Over the last few weeks she'd gotten to know Khalil. They'd talked, helping heal much of the other's pain and come to terms with the future in a new light.She took Khalil's hand in hers."Thank you," he muttered."None of this
Volume Two: Dangerously InvolvedThursday. Tech Conference, Kyoto, Japan.YVONNE KRIEGER WAS GOING to be sick.She and her brothers were about to meet very important people from their Krieger Asia offices. She couldn't hurl now."Vee, you okay?" Her older brother Theodore leaned close.God, did he always wear so much cologne or was this new? And why did she have to sit between Theodore and Douglas?"Fine. I just need to be out of a car, plane or train for a little bit." She pressed her hand to her stomach and tipped her head back as the town car slowed."Well, we're almost there." Theodore gave her knee a squeeze. "Supposedly we have a security detail that's meeting us here.""Is that really necessary?" Yvonne lifted her too heavy head and frowned at her brother.They were into virus protection software, for Christ's sake. Not weapons or anything dangerous. Between the two of them they'd taken over many of the operations for their family company, Krieger, Inc. T
NOLAN THOMPSON WAS GOING to need the coffee gods to be on his side today.What the actual fuck just happened?He strode toward the elevator in a daze.When he'd packed for this job, he'd expected boring. Playing bodyguard in Japan wasn't a terrible way to spend a week.Then a familiar scent had tickled Nolan's nose, bringing to mind long caramel hair, rumpled sheets and the sweetest moan he'd ever heard.Kim.She'd been standing right there.She looked different all buttoned up in business attire with her hair twisted up off her shoulders and subdued make-up. Hell, if it hadn't been for that scent that had haunted him for the last six weeks he might not have recognized her at all.Man, that night.There'd been something different about her. The sex. How they fit. It was like they belonged. Normally Nolan kept his relationships short. Traveling the way he did and his lifestyle didn't lend to putting down roots. But she'd made him want to try, if only for the sex.Too ba