Breaking Her Rules (21 page)
Read Breaking Her Rules Online
Authors: Katie Reus
Not this time.
Rolling his shoulders once, he let her go. For now. He was working and wouldn’t let anything get
in the way of his job. But he’d damn sure find her before the night was over. Glancing around the
expansive room, he surveyed some of the wealthiest people in Miami. Glittering jewels, pricey
dresses and some of the most expensive art anywhere in the world was on display.
The Garcias wanted to show off their collection while throwing a thirty-five-year anniversary
party. Anyone who was anyone in Miami was there. Kell had met Corinne Garcia and the sixty-year-
old woman was eccentric and adorable. Standing a little under five feet tall, she’d married a man
twice her size who looked fierce where she was soft and sweet. Somehow they fit. Together they’d
accumulated a mass of wealth. Kell’s job was to make sure there weren’t any surprises tonight. There hadn’t been any credible threats beforehand, but with all the art and jewels around, they weren’t
taking any chances with their safety or that of their guests. Something Kell respected. Some wealthy people became blind to the everyday threats facing them, but not the Garcia couple.
“You see something wrong?” Porter Caldwell, Lizzy’s husband and one of his bosses, slid up next
to him like a ghost.
Kell hated when he did that. But the former Marine moved like stealth personified. “No.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“You know the woman in the red dress Lizzy was talking to earlier?”
Porter shrugged and grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing server. Unlike Kell, Porter
wasn’t working tonight. He might run Red Stone Security with his two brothers and father, but the
man’s wife came from serious wealth and they’d been invited as guests, not security. Still, Kell knew him well enough that Porter was definitely carrying a weapon and was watching the crowd. “Lizzy’s
parents know her parents. She’s visiting from Virginia. Or maybe living here,” he said distractedly, his gaze narrowing on the man walking up to Lizzy.
“You know why?” Kell asked, still scanning the room for any possible threats, but was thankful
everything was calm and uneventful.
“Something to do with her kid. I don’t know, I wasn’t paying attention.” Porter let out an annoyed
sound, but Kell ignored it as he tried to digest what his friend had just said.
Kid?
What the hell? Charlotte didn’t have any children. Turning back to his boss, he gritted his teeth when he realized Porter had already melted into the crowd and was heading straight for his
wife. The man in the expensive suit who’d been heading her way earlier was currently talking to her
—and apparently Porter didn’t like that. Ever since Lizzy had gotten pregnant Porter had been acting even more paranoid than normal. Not that he blamed the guy.
Sighing, Kell turned and slowly started making his way around the west side of the room. Porter
must have been mistaken. Maybe he was talking about one of the other women Lizzy had been talking
to—though there hadn’t been any other women in red dresses he could have been referring to. Work
came first and right now he needed to keep a sharp eye out for any possible threat. They weren’t
expecting any trouble, but he wouldn’t let his guard down. Trying to shake that nagging feeling that something was off with Charlotte, Kell had reached the open French doors at the back of the house
when someone spoke into his earpiece.
“Got a man secured by the back wall, but he’s working with a partner. Male, five ten, dark hair,
wearing a tux, heading toward the pool house,” Travis, one of the other security guys, said, his words clipped.
“I’m on it. Those on perimeter stay put unless you see the suspect. Don’t leave your posts.” There
were men and women placed all around the giant estate, and just in case this was a ploy to weaken
their defense, he was taking this guy down himself. “Who’s the closest to the pool house?” he asked as he hurried across the yard, disappearing in between a cluster of thick oak trees.
“I am.” Iris Tarango’s quiet voice came over the line. The tall, reed thin woman with clear Native
American roots was deadly with a blade. He knew she’d been in the Marines and there were
whispers that she’d been part of a secret intel-gathering group before coming to work for Red Stone, but that could all be bullshit. What he did know was that she was damn capable.
“I’ll take the west side of the pool house, you take the east. If he’s trying to scale the wall, he’ll use the building as cover.” Kell drew his weapon from his concealed shoulder holster, holding his SIG at the ready if he needed to use it.
There weren’t supposed to be any guests this far back on the grounds so he wasn’t worried about
anyone seeing his weapon. Even if someone did he didn’t care. He had a job to do. As he neared the
pool area he slowed and ducked behind a tree, only peering out to scan the other trees and the pool house for threats. He wasn’t actually worried about someone dropping down from the trees to assault him, but in his experience it was better to be prepared than end up ambushed.
He could hear a low, grunting and clanging sound so he eased out of his hiding place and hurried
around the dimly lit pool to the one-story building. Slowly he crept along the wall and once he
reached the end, he carefully looked around the corner.
For a moment he blinked at what he saw. A man in a tuxedo had a green hose with a nozzle on the
end of it in his hands and was trying to throw it over the privacy wall like it had a grappling hook attached to it or something. Clearly these thieves hadn’t thought anything through. Probably thought they’d do a quick grab and run.
Idiots.
Sheathing his weapon, Kell crept up on the man and tapped on his shoulder as he reached him. The
man yelped and jumped as he turned. From his right Kell heard Iris snicker, but she didn’t make her presence otherwise known.
“What are you doing?” he asked the other man calmly.
“Uh…” He looked around frantically and dropped the hose. As he moved a diamond bracelet fell
out from somewhere under his jacket—he’d probably lifted it from a guest. The man stank of booze
and even though he swayed once, he tried to take a swing at Kell.
Easily dodging the wide punch, Kell grabbed his arm, twisted him around and slammed his face
against the wall as he pinned his arm behind his back. As the man struggled and cried out about ‘suing his ass’, Kell spoke into his communicator. “Got the other guy. Tell the police we’ll be bringing them around the side of the house. They can pick them up near the main gate.” He didn’t want the guests
seeing any of this.
Kell felt more than heard Iris as she approached. Wearing a sleek black dress that split to mid-
thigh he knew she had to have a weapon on her somewhere. The woman rarely smiled but right now
she was grinning. “I thought I was gonna die when you just tapped him on the shoulder like that. You should’ve just punched him.”
His eyes widened slightly at her comment. “Didn’t know you were so bloodthirsty.”
She simply shrugged and the man he’d just flex-cuffed moaned about police brutality. “We’re not
the police, you dick,” Iris muttered as she grabbed one of his upper arms.
Kell took the other and they began leading him back toward the house. Oh yeah, tonight was off to a great start.
Complete Booklist
Red Stone Security Series (romantic suspense)
No One to Trust
Danger Next Door
Fatal Deception
Miami, Mistletoe & Murder
His to Protect
Breaking Her Rules
Romantic Suspense Books
Running From the Past
Everything to Lose
Dangerous Deception
Dangerous Secrets
Killer Secrets
Deadly Obsession
Danger in Paradise
His Secret Past
Paranormal Romance
Destined Mate
Protector’s Mate
A Jaguar’s Kiss
Tempting the Jaguar
Enemy Mine
Moon Shifter Series (paranormal romance)
Alpha Instinct
Lover’s Instinct
Primal Possession
Mating Instinct
Acknowledgments
Thank you so much to my readers for your amazing support of this series! I also owe a huge debt of
gratitude to Carolyn Crane, Kari Walker and Laura Wright. You ladies are wonderful and I’m grateful to have you as friends.
About the Author
Katie Reus fell in love with romance at a young age thanks to books she pilfered from her mom’s
stash. Years later she loves reading romance almost as much as she loves writing it. However, she
didn’t always know she wanted to be a writer. After changing majors many times, she finally
graduated with a degree in psychology. Not long after that she discovered a new love. Writing. She
now spends her days writing dark paranormal romance and sexy romantic suspense. For more
information on Katie please visit
her website.
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