Читать книгу Playing With Fire - Rebecca Hunter - Страница 11

THE SUN SHONE through the windows of Simon’s top-floor office, reflecting off the marble floor. Nothing was out of place on the sleek, modern desk in front of him, aside from the coffee cup Stephanie, one of the admins, had dropped off when she arrived. Probably cold by now. Simon slowly rocked in his soft leather chair and frowned out at the Sydney Harbour. He had gotten back from Miami a week ago, and he had wasted too much of that time thinking about Marianna.

What the hell was wrong with him?

At night when he was alone, he let his guard down, and images of that scene in the kitchen came flooding back. He was going to spend the next twenty years getting himself off to the memory of her soft warmth around him as he came deep inside her. And while the teenage memories were more dreamlike, this one was real. Raw. Whatever else had happened between them, the explosive spark hadn’t dulled over the years.

What would have happened if he hadn’t walked away last week? Maybe it was a dick move, but he’d had to cut that encounter short. Otherwise... Would they have spent the night reliving the past, over and over? Before he could stop himself, the fantasy took life: he’d carry her up to her room and taste her and tease her with his mouth until she told him the truth.

Did you believe your father over me all this time? Have you thought of me like I’ve thought of you?

When William was fucking you, did you ever wish it was me?

Those were the questions he’d taunt her with. Once she’d told him the truth, he’d make her come.

Simon had already come to terms with the fact that he’d never fully get over her. Maybe it was always like that with first loves.

If he hadn’t left last week, if he had stayed and kissed her and laid her down on her bed one more time, he wouldn’t have been able to pull himself away. Not until things got ugly again. Here in Sydney, he was a self-made man, but with her, he wasn’t sure he’d ever shake the feeling that he was from the wrong side of the tracks. Her father had made sure of that.

None of that matters now.

He was living his dream, so far away from the struggles that had plagued his childhood. Far from debts. Far from the illness that had sapped his mother’s life away. And the sickening feeling of helplessness as his family suffered.

His parents had given up everything when they’d left Cuba, and they’d put all their hopes into the future of their kids. If they were alive now, they’d be more than proud of him. He now experienced luxuries his teenage self would never have believed. He was living the kind of life his father had hoped to give his sons, the kind that should give Simon peace of mind—

Fuck. He had a meeting in a few minutes. He wouldn’t keep his team waiting.

Forget the past. Forget Marianna. He belonged here in this corner office with floor-to-ceiling glass and clients lining up at the door. Where people saw what he had become, not where he’d started.

The ghosts of yesterday didn’t really bother him anymore, anyway. He’d found his place alongside Cameron Blackmore, his boss, and his partners, Derek Latu and Max Jensen. They’d been through a lot of intense shit together, and the trust built through working on a security team together mattered far more than his hang-ups from years ago.

Simon grabbed the files spread out across his desk and headed out the door to the conference room.

Derek and Max were already seated at the half-circle table that faced the video conference screen, and Stephanie was fiddling with the system.

“Need some help?” he asked her.

“Please.” She beamed up at him, and he immediately regretted his offer. Her shirt was unbuttoned enough to give him a peek at her generous tits, and her smile was just a little friendlier than business appropriate.

She always lingered longer in his office than necessary, and he had tried hard not to lead her on in response. Not that she wasn’t attractive. Just an unnecessary complication.

“I’ll take care of this,” he said, gesturing to the system. “You can get back to work.”

Her smile fell a little, but she nodded and walked out.

Simon adjusted the settings, and Cameron Blackmore’s picture appeared on the screen in a conference room that mirrored their own.

“This thing actually works,” said Derek. “Your girlfriend was right, Cam.”

The corners of Cameron’s mouth turned up. “She’s right about a lot of things.”

“First Derek, now you,” said Max shaking his head. “What’s this place coming to?”

Simon had to smile. Derek had been married to Laurie for a couple years, but Simon never would’ve guessed that Cameron could fall in love so quickly. He had—with Jackson McAllister, the PR expert who’d been sent there from New York a few weeks ago to give their team an image adjustment. The moment Cameron asked Simon to get on a plane with him to follow her back to the States, Simon knew his friend was long gone on the woman. Which was how Simon had ended up back in Miami, the city he swore he’d never return to. With the woman he’d sworn to never get caught up in again.

“Looks like you’ve set foot in the New York office,” said Simon to Cameron. “Does that mean you and your father kissed and made up?”

Cameron gave a humorless laugh. “He’s still a fucking asshole, but he’s leaving me alone now that I have the board behind me. It’s probably the best I could hope for.”

Simon nodded. He had met Harlan Blackmore in person a handful of times. The man was as bad as Cameron made him out to be. Sometimes worse. He was the CEO of Blackmore Inc., the company Cameron’s grandfather had started, but he’d had it in for his son ever since Cameron took over the Sydney branch—which Harlan used to be in charge of.

“And your father’s on board for moving the global business toward surveillance instead of just focusing on personal security?” asked Derek.

“I couldn’t give a shit what my father thinks. The board is interested. That’s what matters,” said Cameron with a shrug.

The move made sense, and Simon had already expanded the new surveillance team for the Sydney branch. He had spent a lot of time with the IT department, and it was coming along, though not fast enough. When Cameron got back to Australia, Simon would officially take on that division of the business. Not that he didn’t still get off on the intensity of high-pressure personal security jobs, but building the new surveillance arm of Blackmore Inc., Australia, would be a chance to use his education instead of just his physical skills. In time, he hoped to offer his expertise to the board if they voted to make it a global initiative.

“Sick of my job yet, Derek?” Cameron smirked.

“Glad Simon is back. Not sure it was wise leaving me alone with this clown,” said Derek, nodding toward Max. “The only jobs he wants are with women.”

While Derek was the team’s responsible father bear—and the hulking Pacific Islander knew how to get just about anyone in line—Max was the resident playboy and joker. Probably because he was used to getting away with a lot. He came from a wealthy ranching family, the closest thing Australia had to royalty.

“One day you’ll join the ranks and find a woman who’ll bring you to your knees, Max,” said Cameron.

For once, Max didn’t smile.

“The problem isn’t finding her,” he muttered.

Right. Natasha. Shy marine biologist who he was always obsessing over, the one with a famous model sister. Why the hell didn’t Max just make a move on her? He wasn’t known for holding back in any situation, especially not one that involved a woman. Didn’t make much sense.

But obsessing over a woman did strange things to a reasonably sane guy. He should know that better than anyone. Simon frowned.

“I hear you, Derek,” said Cameron. “Glad you made it back from Miami, Simon. How was the visit?”

Cameron knew exactly how that visit would be. He knew better than anyone in the world the way Marianna had torn his heart out.

“We don’t need to talk about this now,” he growled. “That has nothing to do with Blackmore Inc. business.”

“Actually, it is Blackmore Inc. business,” said Cameron.

Simon gritted his teeth. What the fuck? Derek and Max looked from Cameron to him.

“I got a call from Marianna Ruiz yesterday,” Cameron continued. “She’s coming to Sydney for a few days. And she wants to hire you as a personal bodyguard, Simon.”

“Hell, no,” he blurted out. A screech of feedback echoed from the video conferencing system. “Follow her around while she’s here? What the fuck is she thinking?”

Cameron put his hands up. “I know. And I said something like that, though not quite in those terms.”

Simon’s heart was pounding hard in his chest. Hell, no. Just thinking about her was making him crazy. Spending time in close quarters with her, keeping his hands off that sweet little body? Watching her smile at every guy who hit on her? Yeah, not going to happen.

“No way I’m doing that, Cameron,” he said.

Cameron raised his eyebrows. “She said you’d probably react that way. I don’t even want to know what went down in Miami.”

Did he have to use the words what went down? Because that was all it took for that scene he had just imagined back in his office to flash in front of him. Vividly.

Simon closed his eyes. “I walked out on her, and she’s trying to get her revenge, Cam. That’s what’s going on.”

Max gave a low whistle.

“Now we know why you’ve been in a shit mood since you got back,” said Derek.

Cameron shook his head. “At first I thought it might be something twisted like that, too. But not anymore. She’s serious.”

Simon scowled.

“Simon, there’s a real threat,” said Cameron. “She was in a hit-and-run accident a couple days ago.”

He froze as Cameron’s words hit him hard in the gut. His heart thudded. “What?”

“She wasn’t hurt,” Cameron added quickly. “Thanks to that security team you hired for her. If one of them hadn’t been driving, she’d probably be in the hospital.”

Simon tried to stop his hand from shaking by running it through his hair. Fuck. He knew what a well-timed accident meant.

He shook his head slowly, letting the news sink in. This was exactly what he was afraid would happen, and now he had no idea what the hell was going on. Simon had specifically told the Miami security team not to give him updates, just to keep her safe. Now something had set William and whoever else he was working with into motion. She’d be lucky if her ex wasn’t on the plane with her.

“Why is she coming to Sydney?”

Cameron furrowed his brow. “She set up a meeting with some business partner. But I think there’s more to it than that. She’s sending over the details, and the three of you will meet with her.”

Simon stared down at his clenched fists. This was going to be a mess. He looked across the table at Derek and Max. Both were watching him, not bothering to hide their curiosity. The two of them knew something of his past, but they were about to learn a whole lot more.

Cameron cleared his throat. “Look, she’s flying in tomorrow. No one else knows her background the way you do. No one will be able to understand this job as well as you do.” He looked almost sympathetic. “But you want to know why I said yes to this?”

Simon shook his head slowly. “Not really.”

“I’m telling you anyway,” said Cameron. “If I send her to someone else and she gets hurt this time, you’d never forgive yourself.”

Damn. There it was. Cameron knew him better than anyone else in the world. His friend didn’t even have to ask. As angry as Simon was at Marianna Ruiz for going behind his back to hire him, he needed to be the one to protect her.

“She said you were the only person she could really trust with her safety,” Cameron added softly.

Simon breathed deeply and let it out. “Well, I sure as hell don’t trust myself around her.”

“Looks like you have a day to get your shit together, Simon,” said Cameron, looking at the papers in front of him. “You’re picking her up from the airport tomorrow.”

By the time the wheels touched the ground, Marianna had exhausted all the reasons this flimsy plan was a colossally bad idea. What was she thinking?

But she had to get out of Miami. Plan A had died when Simon got her to talk through a few scenarios she hadn’t considered. Plan B, report her suspicions about Ruiz Imports to the authorities, had only made things worse. It exposed how far William’s influence had spread, and the high-speed chase across Miami Beach was a lesson in the consequences of defying him. She shivered at the memory of the other vehicle tailing them, then the impact...

Thank God one of the guards Simon had hired was driving that day. At first she’d resented the team of hulking, stoic men who ensured no one came within a ten-foot radius of her. Her well-schooled debutante charm was met with stone-cold disinterest by every single one of those guys—the queen of England probably got more conversation. But then she’d needed them. They had been at her house when William came to her door later that night, too.

But William couldn’t have bought off the entire world. Not yet. While there was no one she could completely trust, Joseph Goodwin was a good bet. Even though she hadn’t seen him since she was a child, the bond had been strong between him and her father. They had been more than business partners, even after Goodwin left Miami. Goodwin wouldn’t hurt her, and he was her best chance to stop this mess at the Australian end, outside William’s realm. At least that was the idea. And she needed Simon’s help to pull this whole crazy plan off.

But Simon would be mad as hell at her. Rightly so. She had hired him, used her wealth and position to push him to do something he didn’t want to, just like the spoiled girl he’d left behind would have done. Would Simon understand that she wasn’t that same girl? Her father had tried to protect her from reality growing up, but her sheltered life had come to a swift end in the months after she had married William. Hope had pushed her to finally leave him, but that had dampened in the last few months.

As angry as Simon probably was, she could trust him. He had also been right about the danger she had stumbled into. After her failed attempt to get the police to investigate Ruiz Imports, everyone in Miami was a question mark. And she put herself and them in danger by asking for help. Even she knew what a hit-and-run accident really meant.