Chapter 7

Chapter

Seven

W ilt pulled up in front of a mansion that wouldn't be out of place in the gentrified areas of Mississippi where he'd grown up. It was white, with large columns on either side of the double doors. The gate had been open allowing them access to the house and he would have words with Lindy about being so lax with her security.

"Damn, this place is better in person than the pictures I've seen of it." His buddy cut the engine and sat back in the seat. "I take it you don't want me coming in?"

Chris arched an eyebrow. "I think it will be best if you don't. As far as Lindy knows it's only me coming and if you turn up, it could freak her out more than she already is. "

Guilt assailed him. He was the main reason for the fear she was experiencing. He'd been ready to tell her that her bag snatch hadn't been random, but the second he'd heard her voice and she'd told him she needed to get dressed, his brain had fried and all his intentions had gone out the window. Now Chris was out the front of her house. The reality of her wealth staring him in the face.

Without allowing himself any more time to wish he'd done things differently he opened the door and slammed it shut. With quick movements, he was standing at her front door, fist raised to knock when the large wooden door was pulled open and Lindy was standing in front of him.

All his blood drained south at the sight of her in tight fitting black pants that accentuated her long legs and trim waist. Her blouse was purple, highlighting her golden-brown hair. The neckline was low and giving a hint of her cleavage.

Chris wanted to pull her into his arms. Sink his fingers into hair and capture her pretty pink stained lips with his own.

Wilt was only a few feet away, no doubt watching him through the car's front window and he didn't want to do anything to embarrass or make Lindy any more uncomfortable than she needed to be .

"Chris? Are you okay?"

Her voice broke through his scattered thoughts. How many times had he got lost inside his head when he was around her? A lot, and he suspected that it wouldn't stop anytime soon.

"Sorry. You look beautiful, Linds." He gave into the urge and brushed his fingers against her cheek, twisting a lock of her hair around his finger before letting it go and watching as the curl he made straightened out.

"Thank you. Did you want to come in?"

If he went inside, he'd more than likely forget about Wilt. The footage exposing the planned crime against her. As well as his vow to keep his hands off her. The second he crossed the threshold he'd slam the door and have her back against it while he lost himself in a shared kiss.

"Umm, no probably not a good idea. We should—ahh—get going."

"You're right, probably not a good one at all. Let me go grab my purse. Well, my almost empty one seeing as everything I normally have in it was taken last night. But I can't carry my passport in my hand for everyone to see."

Did she sound breathless?

Quickly he glanced down and saw the rapid rise and fall of her chest, the hint of her breasts teasing him, tempting him to forget his intentions and follow through with his fantasy.

He opened his mouth to tell her how much he wanted her, but he snapped it shut. Man, did he have to get his hormones under control. Again, he had to remind himself he was forty-two-year-old man. A man who had done things a woman like Lindy, now that he knew the type of family she came from, wouldn't want to have anything to do with.

She must've worked out he wasn't going to say anything more, because she turned and grabbed her purse off the hall table.

He caught a brief glimpse of an expansive foyer before she was facing him again and he zeroed in on the way her fingers clutched her purse tightly.

Overcome with the desire to comfort her, Chris closed the distance and pulled her in for a hug. The musky scent that teased him last night swirled around them and he closed his eyes resting his cheek against her the top of her hair. "It's okay. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

As a Delta, giving promises to people wasn't something he'd ever done while on missions—too many risks and chances for things to go FUBAR making broken promises a foregone conclusion. However, this time, he'd do everything in his power to make sure he kept this particular one.

She pulled back. "It's impossible to make declarations like that, but I appreciate the sentiment."

Stunned for a moment he arms dropped to his side.

Had someone close to her broken the promises they'd made to her?

It was possible. For some people not keeping their word was as much a part of their DNA as breathing.

Laboring the point wouldn't achieve anything, so he followed her to where Wilt waited for them. Chris rushed ahead so he could open the passenger door for her.

"Oh, I can sit in the back, it's fine."

"Not having it." His voice gruff and he met her gaze, holding it until she worked out he wasn't going to change his mind.

With a huff Lindy got in the car. Once she'd secured her seatbelt safely, Chris closed the door and climbed into the seat directly behind her—deliberately ignoring the look Wilt sent him in the rearview mirror.

No doubt when Wilt got an opportunity, he'd grill Chris to find out what the hell was up with him.

Problem was, he didn't have any answers because when it came to Lindy, he was trawling through waters he'd never ventured into before.

L indy's nerves were tighter than Mick Jagger's pants, as Wilt drove them toward the office Chris wanted her to go to.

He'd introduced himself the second she got in the car and she hadn't missed the silent communication between him and the gruff, former Delta Force soldier in the backseat.

She'd have much preferred it if she was sitting in the back. Chris was sitting directly behind her, watching her every move, and it both thrilled and freaked her out.

When she'd opened the door to him, she'd been struck again by how handsome he was. The sun was behind him, highlighting strands of his dark hair. The shirt he wore fit him like a glove and she'd had to grip her hands together to stop herself from reaching out and laying her hand over his hard chest.

Of course, he'd then had to pull her into a hug and whisper comforting words to her.

She'd practically melted into a puddle on her front porch. How Lindy managed to walk to the car surprised the hell out of her, but she'd done it and now here they were, pulling into a building opposite a park and facing the Swan River.

Whoever's office they were going to had to be doing well for themselves. The rent in this part of Perth, particularly with a river view, wasn't cheap.

Wilt pulled into the undercover parking and killed the engine.

"Ready?" Chris's smooth baritone echoed around the now silent car.

"Sure. Nothing like going to a meeting not knowing what's going on. Only that something serious is."

Chris's sigh was audible and Lindy felt a momentary pang of regret for her sharp words but brushed it aside. She didn't ask for all this secrecy, he was the one who'd decided to tell her the bad news face-to-face.

"I'm sorry, but you need to see what we're about to show you." Again, the American's tone was curt.

"Fine," she huffed out and yanked the door open, no way was she waiting for Chris to do it.

With the way he'd rushed to open it for her at her house, she imagined he would want to do the same here. Lindy was an independent woman and in an uncomfortable situation; she was taking charge .

Wilt chuckled as he came around the front of the car, giving Chris a chin lift. "I like her."

Chris's lips firmed and he came up beside her. "Ignore him. He has delusions of grandeur that will never come to fruition."

The man's eyes crinkled in the corners as he belly laughed. He was tall like, Chris, but where Chris was dark haired, this man was blond. "Just watch me."

Her American harrumphed and rested his hand against her lower back. The touch light but possessive at the same time.

Was he jealous of Wilt?

Did he think that she might be interested in his friend?

Her mind whirled with the possibilities but firmly shoved them to the side. No way could Chris be jealous. Besides, he wasn't going to be in the country for much longer, and the chances of him wanting to start anything with her were slim.

Yet, her mind turned over all the little instances where he'd shown he was interested. The touch, right now, on her back. The way he'd pulled her into a hug at her place. The way he'd held her all night.

The thoughts were still turning over in her mind when she, Chris and Wilt entered the offices of Power Security Services, the logo was a trident with a split lightning bolt cutting the middle of it. Subtle but effective and this was a firm she'd never heard of.

During the years she'd been at school, her father had investigated hiring security for her because his was in negotiations to mine a tract of land in South Africa and had been worried for her and her mother's safety.

She'd been fifteen, in the midst of puberty and the last thing she'd wanted was to be treated differently to her school friends. In the end, Mum had convinced Dad that he was overreacting and he'd dropped the idea.

Was this the type of security that Steve provided?

She glanced at the two men who'd accompanied her and decided that with the air of danger that surrounded the both of them, they did more than just simple bodyguard duty. That was what it felt like Chris was doing—acting as a bodyguard.

"Ms. Jones, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Steve Power, owner of Power Security Services." Another tall man approached her. His hair was cut military short back and sides and like Chris and Wilt, he carried himself with precision and confidence, with a hint of lethal force.

Lindy met him halfway, grasping his hand and giving it a firm shake. The last thing she wanted anyone in this place to think, was that she was a feeble female who needed protecting. She ran a billion-dollar company, she could hold her own. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Power. I have to say, I'd much rather it was in different circumstances."

He inclined his head and smiled. "I'm sure we all feel that way." He glanced over at Chris, and his eyebrows rose in surprise.

The hand on her back had shifted until he rested more firmly on her waist. This close, she could feel the tension in Chris's body. The way it appeared as though each muscle had tightened ready to spring into action.

Damn, what was up with Chris?

These people were his friends, and he was acting as if they were the enemy and about to kidnap her. At least, she assumed they were his friends, maybe they weren't and he wasn't comfortable with them.

No, she squashed that thought quickly. Lindy might have only known Chris for a short while, but there was no way he'd willingly put her in danger. Or in front of people he didn't trust.

"Shall we get started?" she asked after the tension around them all seemed to rise a few notches. "I do have a bit to do today."

"Sure. This way." Steve turned, with the same precision she'd seen Chris turn the previous evening .

Looks like you could take the man out of the military, but you couldn't take the military out of the man.

Lindy waited a couple of heartbeats before following Steve. "Are you okay?" she murmured to Chris.

"Fine."

The short-clipped answer gave every indication that he was anything but fine. As a woman, she was very familiar with the connotations that four-letter word could bring.

"Sure, you are." Lindy increased her pace.

When Chris's hand fell away from the small of her back, she mourned the loss. No way did she plan to let him know how much she missed his touch.

After this meeting, their interactions would be over. She'd get a cab or shared ride to the city, pick up her car and then continue what she needed to do to ensure that whoever took her bag wouldn't be able to get to her.

"If you'd like to take a seat here, Ms. Jones, I'll get the footage up on the big screen for you to review." Steve indicated to a seat while he fiddled with a laptop.

"Please call me Lindy, and what footage are we talking about?"

"From last night." Chris sat in the seat next to her. " When you see it, you'll understand why it was best that you viewed it instead of me telling you about it."

For a few minutes, the reason for this meeting had been swept out of her mind. Her thoughts caught up in the man beside her and the others in the room.

"Right, okay." She shifted so she had a better view of the television screen.

The large screen flicked to life and a gasp escaped when she saw herself and Chris sitting at the bar on the screen.

"I had no idea there were cameras there," she whispered and leaned forward.

"I'm glad they were," he commented, his voice seemed closer, as if he was leaning forward wanting to be near her.

Lindy forced her entire focus to the front and not checking to see what the man beside her was doing. "Am I looking for something in particular?" she asked, as her and Chris's initial meet-up played out for the others in the room.

Even though she'd been facing forward, she'd been aware of others entering the room. The slight ruffle of fabric, the squeak of the chair as someone sat. This must be Steve's team and in all likelihood, they'd probably seen the footage she was watching.

"Do you know that man?" Chris's voice jolted her from her internal scanning of the others in the room and redirected it back to the screen.

A man was approaching and then backing away when she and Chris had gotten up to go to the table.

There was nothing about him that seemed familiar to her. "Nope, never seen him before."

"Okay, keep watching."

For the next few minutes, Lindy kept her eyes glued to the screen. No one in the room needed to tell her what was about to happen next. Everything in her wanted to turn away when her assault replayed in black and white. She winced in remembrance of the way she'd been shoved to the ground. Her wrist hadn't hurt at all that day, but it gave a slight throb at that moment.

A warm hand closed over her clenched one, she hadn't been aware she'd closed her fingers of her other hand into a tight fist. "It's okay. You're all right."

Longing to push back from the table and curl in Chris's lap welled inside of her, but she pushed it down. Yes, watching the events from the previous evening was hellish. Chris and Steve had a reason for her to watch this and no way would she look away.

"What the heck?" Lindy leaned forward, as though that would make what was happening clearer, yet it didn't. "What is going on? I don't understand why the person who took my bag is being beaten up."

"Damn, we were hoping you might be able to give us some insight." Chris smoothed his thumb across the top of her palm.

Like every other time he touched her, warmth and comfort chased away her anxiety.

"I don't know anyone of those people on the screen, but it wasn't random, was it?" She didn't look at Steve for confirmation, she swiveled her chair so that she could look Chris in his dark brown eyes.

No way would he lie to say words simply to comfort her.

"Someone targeted me, didn't they?"

"Yes, they did."