Trouble In A Tight Dress (Six Points Security Book 1) Read online

  To her right, the sound of two men talking snagged her attention, not because of what they were saying but because they were speaking in fluent Russian. As a child of immigrants, she’d learned both Russian and English, but she hadn’t heard anyone speaking her family’s native tongue since she left home over a decade ago. Curious, she turned her head toward the conversation, and a punch of recognition knocked the air out of her lungs.

  Time hadn’t been kind to Victor Gagarin. What was left of his hair had turned completely white, and his pale face was etched with deep wrinkles. But there was no mistaking the stocky man who’d acted as one of her father’s enforcers ever since she was old enough to walk. The other guy, a tall blond with a pockmarked complexion, seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t remember his name. Why were they here? Were they searching for her? Or was their presence a mere coincidence?

  She had no intention of hanging around long enough to find out. Glass in hand, she strode away from the bar and searched for Austin and Ryan amid the clusters of people. They’d moved away from the piano, but she spotted them not far from the small stage where Benjamin Trask was supposed to address the guests. Relief went through her as she started in their direction, but then she let out a gasp when Victor Gagarin stepped into her path.

  “Antonina, is that you?” he asked in Russian, astonishment clear in his voice.

  It took every last ounce of her self-control to overcome the instinctual urge to flee. She’d left home at a young age and under less than ideal circumstances, and she had no intention of ever going back. If she ran, he’d definitely know it was her, but if she played stupid, she might be able to bluff her way out of this mess. Knees shaking, she peered up at Victor, plastered a bewildered expression on her face, and tossed some Southern drawl into her voice. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  Confusion bloomed over Victor’s weathered features. “I apologize,” he said in heavily accented English. “I mistook you for someone I know.”

  “That’s okay, darling. You have a good night.” Flashing a smile so he wouldn’t see how rattled she was, she stepped around him and continued toward Austin and Ryan. By the time she reached them, her heart pounded so hard against her ribs it was a wonder they couldn’t hear it.

  “Ah, there you are. We were wondering where you’d run off to.” Ryan’s smile faded. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

  “I’m all right. My head’s just killing me.” It wasn’t a lie and wasn’t the whole truth either, but it was a hell of lot easier than telling her bosses about her past. Her focus shifted to Austin, whose face was drawn tight with concern, and the memory of their kiss shot front and center in her mind. God, she was screwed. “When can we leave?”

  Austin glanced down at his watch. “The senator should be taking the stage any time now. We can go as soon as he’s finished.”

  She’d had a feeling he was going to say that. Impatient but not wanting to draw attention to herself, she cooled her heels until the senator gave a short speech thanking his donors, volunteers, and campaign staff for their support in the upcoming election. All the while, she felt Austin’s gaze on her, and she felt guilty because he probably assumed she was acting strange because of what happened in Trask’s office.

  As soon as the senator finished speaking, they headed for the door, along with a few other guests. Nina crossed the room, her heels clicking against the marble, unable to shake the distinct feeling of being watched.

  She glanced over her shoulder and sure enough, she found Victor Gagarin at the bar, staring at her as though he was trying to solve some great mystery of life.

  Chapter Two

  AUSTIN RAISED HIS pistol, sighted the target, and methodically squeezed off half the clip.

  Mondays were typically quiet at the outdoor gun range, which was one of the reasons he was there. He hated shooting with a bunch of weekend warriors who talked a better game than they shot. This way, he could get in, burn through a few boxes of ammo, and still get to the office with time to spare.

  Time at the range also helped to clear his mind, though a certain curvy blonde continued to dominate his thoughts.

  He hadn’t spoken to Nina since Friday night, when he’d practically mauled her like a goddamn animal at Senator Trask’s fundraiser. The feel of her, taste of her—Christ, just the memory of it made his whole body rev with awareness. It made him want so much more, but that shit wasn’t part of the program.

  He was a man of discipline—a former Marine with five combat tours under his belt. He knew better than to let the little head do all the thinking. It wasn’t happening—they weren’t happening—and the sooner he got that through his thick skull, the better off they’d both be.

  “Jeez,” his brother Tyler said to his right, his voice muffled through the hearing protection Austin wore over his ears. Compared to Austin, Ty was on the lean side, built more like a basketball player, with a shaggy mop of reddish-brown hair and their mother’s dark-green eyes. As usual, he was dressed in faded cargo pants and an old T-shirt with some sort of geeky sci-fi logo plastered across the chest. “What do you do, sleep with that thing under your pillow?”

  Austin ignored the smartass comment, shoved all thoughts of Nina from his head, and fired off the remaining rounds. He’d dragged his youngest of four brothers along to work on his shitty aim. Seriously, the guy couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn if his life depended on it. As an electronics specialist, most of Ty’s work was done behind the scenes. He’d probably never be in the type of situation where he’d need to fire a gun, but in their line of work, it never hurt to be prepared.

  The scent of gunpowder filled Austin’s nostrils as he ejected the empty clip, slapped in a fresh one, and handed the gun to Ty. “Remember, press; don’t pull.”

  He watched while his brother stepped up to the line and took aim. His stance was good, with his legs spread, elbows bent, back straight, and chin up. He seemed a bit stiff, but that might be because his sharpshooter big brother was close by and critiquing his form.

  Ty stared down the sight, drew a deep breath, and on the exhale, he squeezed the trigger, again and again. Spent shells flew all over the damn place, until there was a click to signal the magazine was empty. Even with hearing protection, the shots were loud, but neither of them flinched.

  Not great, but it was a definite improvement. There wasn’t any kind of grouping to speak of, but at least all of the rounds had hit the target.

  “Good job.” Austin clapped a hand on Ty’s shoulder. “Hit three in the black, and we can call it a day.”

  Ty picked up a box of ammo and started to load bullets into an empty clip. A lock of his hair fell onto his forehead, and he absently brushed it back. “So how did things go Friday? I asked Ryan, but he didn’t say much.”

  Austin shrugged, struggling for nonchalant while memories of Nina nearly melted his brain. He hadn’t said shit to Ryan about what happened in Trask’s office, and he wasn’t about to tell Ty. “Not much to say. We got there, Nina did her thing, and we left before anyone got suspicious. Larissa should be back from her cruise this morning; she’ll be able to tell us if everything’s working properly.”

  Knowing his sister, she’d brought her laptop on the cruise, but he hadn’t wanted to interrupt her first vacation in…well, ever. The woman was a workaholic with a small child and another on the way, so she had a lot on her plate and deserved a few days of peace and quiet. This was important but it could wait a little longer, until she came back tanned and well-rested. After that, all bets were off.

  “It’ll work. Nina’s good with that shit.” Ty loaded the full clip into the pistol and took aim at the target. This time around, two of the rounds hit the black rings at the center, a definite improvement. “Does Wade know?”

  “Uh-uh, and he’s not going to know unless we find something useful.” Their brother had already gone through so much. The last thing he needed was to get his hopes up and have them dashed…again.

  “Cool. In
that case, I’ll keep my mouth shut.” Ty ejected the clip and placed the gun on the loading table before he set off to replace the bullet-ridden targets with fresh ones.

  Austin’s phone vibrated in his back pocket, and when he checked the screen, he smiled at the sight of Larissa’s number.

  “Back already?” he asked when he answered. In the background, he could hear his niece Emma chattering about something, and the sound of her high-pitched, energetic voice made his smile even wider.

  “We got off the ship about a half hour ago. Did I miss anything good while we were gone?”

  “A little. I’ll bring you up to speed when you come to the office. Any idea when that’ll be?” He couldn’t remember whether she was planning to return to work today or tomorrow, but with everything going on with Trask, he hoped it was today.

  There was a pause, followed by muffled voices. “We’re less than an hour from the house. Then we’ve got to unload everything and get Emma settled. Odds are it’ll be around ten before I can make it in. Why, what’s going on? Is it important?”

  “You’ll see when you get here.” He hung up before she could try to pry it out of him. Almost immediately, the phone sounded with her ringtone, and he sent it straight to voice mail. “Don’t worry about the targets,” he called out to Ty. “Larissa’s on her way in. I want to get to the office before she does.”

  And if he was lucky, he’d have a few moments alone with Nina to apologize for kissing her. He didn’t want her feeling uncomfortable around him, and he sure as hell didn’t want her quitting because of what happened. Competent computer specialists were hard to come by, especially ones who weren’t know-it-all assholes and who also got along well with Larissa. That alone made Nina worth her weight in gold. So even though he didn’t like it, he’d suck it up and shove his feelings aside for the sake of the family business.

  FOR THE FIRST time in months, Nina made it to work early, pulling her Honda sedan into a parking spot in the front row of the lot.

  No one else was there yet, so she used her key and the retinal scanner to gain access to the building that was home to Six Points Tactical and Security. It felt weird, being the person who turned on the lights, and the sound of her boot heels clicking against the tiles seemed a little unsettling.

  Of course, that was probably just her being paranoid. She’d barely left her apartment all weekend, only leaving to check the mail once or twice and to pick up a few things at the grocery store. Mostly, she’d spent her time in front of the computer, checking up on the family she’d turned her back on nearly half a lifetime ago.

  There wasn’t much to find, which didn’t surprise her. In their line of work, it was best to stay off the radar. There were a few minor references to her family’s shipping business, and an article about her brother taking the helm after their father died from complications related to colon cancer. Though she hated the bastard, reading about his death still managed to bring tears to her eyes. It was silly, she knew it, but he was still her father, and she couldn’t help but think of better times when he’d treated her as though he actually loved her.

  On some sick level, she’d appreciated the distraction, because it kept her from dwelling on Austin. To be honest, she still did, but it would have been worse if it hadn’t been for her screwed-up family. Days later, she could still feel his kiss on her lips—dark, demanding, and seductive. It made her pulse trip and made her yearn for much more, even though she knew it wasn’t going to happen. The only reason he’d kissed her was to give them an excuse for being in the room, and reading more into it wasn’t going to get her anything but frustrated.

  And perhaps unemployed.

  A shiver went through her. The office was freezing—one of the guys must have cranked down the air conditioning again—and she pulled on the sweater that she left on the back of her chair to ward off the chill. She dumped her purse and keys into her desk drawer and turned on her computer. While it booted, she went to the break room for a cup of coffee and bit back a shriek when she flipped on the lights and discovered she wasn’t alone after all.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Wade said from his seat at the table, a bottle of water in his hand. It was the most he’d said to her in about a month. He wasn’t a talkative guy.

  “It’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting anyone to be in here.” Although now that she thought about it, she shouldn’t have been surprised, considering he lived in the converted storage area above the warehouse portion of the building.

  Dressed in black jeans and a black T-shirt, he exuded the air of a man who knew how to take care of himself in a fight. Why he was sitting in the dark, though, she had absolutely no clue.

  She crossed to the coffeemaker and grabbed a clean mug, all the while trying hard not to look at the scars on Wade’s otherwise handsome face. One started at the corner of his left eye and trailed all the way down to his chin, while the other went from his nose to his ear, forming a jagged cross. She had no idea how he got them and she wasn’t about to ask. If Wade wanted her to know, he’d tell her. Until that happened, it was none of her business.

  After filling her mug a little more than halfway, she dumped in a ton of cream and sugar. Technically, it probably didn’t qualify as coffee with that much stuff in it, but it was the only way she could handle the flavor while getting enough caffeine to jump-start her system. Maybe she should switch to those energy drinks that Ty seemed to like so much.

  She glanced back at Wade. “If you need me, I’ll be in my office.”

  Her computer was fully powered up by the time she got there, and she checked her messages while she sipped from her mug. For the past week, she’d been the only cyber expert in the office, and she was looking forward to Larissa coming back from vacation. Not that she’d been ridiculously overloaded or anything, but it would be nice to have a little help shouldering the load.

  But more important, she’d missed the woman known as Fossa in the hacker community. Larissa was her boss and mentor, but she was also her friend, and they’d grown close since Nina started working for Six Points a little more than a year ago.

  The front door chimed, and her pulse tripped again at the sound of Austin’s sexy voice. He was talking with Ty, and in true guy fashion, they were giving each other shit about something.

  “I’m telling you, the Dolphins are gonna win it all,” Ty said, and Austin laughed.

  “Yeah, like I’m going to listen to the guy who can’t even pick the winner in a Rocky movie.”

  “Whatever. Fifty bucks says it happens.”

  “You’re on, sucker. Now get your ass to work. We’re meeting with Acevedo at eleven.”

  Footsteps sounded in the hall, getting closer and closer until Austin appeared in the doorway. He looked mouthwatering as always, in a pair of midnight-blue slacks and a red polo shirt with the Six Points logo embroidered on the left breast. His strong, square jaw was freshly shaved, and a pair of dark sunglasses perched on top of his thick black hair.

  “Morning.” His smooth, deep voice poured over her like sun-warmed honey. He braced one muscled arm against the doorframe, and when his gorgeous eyes met hers, she found it difficult to breathe. “I wanted to thank you again for your help this weekend. We couldn’t have gotten that part on Trask’s tablet without you.”

  She shrugged, a little uncomfortable. Growing up, she’d never gotten much in the way of praise, and she wasn’t accustomed to receiving it. Alexei had been the smart one, Ivan was athletic, while Dasha had been pretty and poised. As for Nina…well, she’d been the one who faded into the woodwork. In a way it was good, because it allowed her the freedom to do what she wanted, like learn how to write computer code. “No problem. That’s what I get the big bucks for, right?”

  The corners of his mouth tipped up at her weak attempt at humor, and the nerves fluttering in her stomach eased a fraction. But then his face got all kinds of serious as he stepped into her office and closed the door behind him, and the fluttering came back with a venge
ance. “Listen, about what happened the other night—”

  “Nope, not going there.” She cut him off with one hand raised in a stopping gesture. “We’re going to pretend that never happened.”

  He frowned, his eyebrows drawn close together. In three long strides, he crossed to her desk and braced his hands against the dark wood. He leaned slightly toward her, and the clean, crisp scent of his aftershave filled her senses.

  “We can’t just pretend, because it did, and it was good. And I wouldn’t mind doing it again. But we can’t because you’re my employee and it would be wrong.” He dragged a hand through his hair, something she’d noticed he did a lot whenever he was stressed out. “So look, I’m sorry, all right? I was way out of line. It won’t happen again. You have my word.”

  She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that. Relieved? Yeah, she supposed, in a way. Getting involved with Austin could make things messy, especially if their relationship didn’t work out. And even if it did, he’d eventually want to know about her past, and that was something she wasn’t willing to share.

  But another part of her couldn’t forget about the kiss, about how electric his mouth had felt against hers. About how alive he’d made her feel. And that part couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if they took things further.

  She gave herself a mental slap upside the head to clear away the inappropriate thoughts. Like it or not, Austin was right. He was her boss, plain and simple, and that made getting involved a major no-no. After years of searching, she’d finally found a place where she felt she truly belonged, and the last thing she wanted was to screw it up by letting her hormones override common sense.