SocialPreyAllRomance (5 page)

“I just…We’ve been arguing a lot lately. The tension is…”

“Tension?” he asked, staring at her intently.

She glanced down at the desk and began to tug at the corner of a file. “Maybe tension
isn’t the right word.”

“What is the right word?”

Love. Lust. Passion. All of it unrequited.

“Are you really not taking the job or did you just tell Keith that?”

She looked up at him. “Why does it matter?”

He shrugged. “The office wouldn’t be the same without you. Who would I get to do my
ground work?”

Kiley rolled her eyes. Ground work. Of course.

“Kiley,” Scott said.

Kiley shifted her gaze back to his.

He watched her for a few seconds. Neither said anything. It was as though he was waiting
for her to say something…do something. She knew she was waiting—waiting for him to
say he loved her, that he wanted her, that he couldn’t see his life without her.

He didn’t say any of those things, and Kiley’s heart sank. “I have a headache. Do
you mind leaving so I can get some sleep?”

After a moment of silence, Scott nodded. “I’ll see you at the office.”

He turned to leave, and Kiley felt the sting of tears as they burned the backs of
her eyes.

Please, whatever you do don’t turn around and see me cry.

He didn’t, and Kiley wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed.

* * * *

Keith stared in surprise at the black screen. Did Scott just hang up on him? What
the hell was going on with those two? Sighing, he squeezed his temples between his
thumb and forefinger.

Something he seemed to be doing more and more lately.

“The kiddies fighting again?” John asked as he walked into the main room of the safe
house.

“What?” Keith asked.

“Scott and Kiley. Are they fighting again?”

“What’s with them lately?” Keith asked in exasperation. “It’s like working with a
couple of teenagers.” Keith sat back in the chair and looked at John. “Do you know
anything about the C.I.A. courting Kiley?”

“Are they trying again?” John asked with a snicker. “Those boys don’t give up, do
they?”

“Again?”

“Yeah.” John frowned. “You didn’t know?”

Keith shook his head.

“Well, cat’s out of the bag now, I guess. It’s not the first time they’ve tried.”

Keith frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s not?”

“Nah. Kiley always tells them no. That she’s not interested. Then a few months later
they’ll up the ante and try again. This has been going on for a couple of years now.
She’s a hell of a hacker, Keith. Surely you’re not surprised.”

“I’m not surprised they want her, I’m just surprised she never told me.”

John shrugged as he pulled a tie from one of the suitcases. “Didn’t want to upset
you, I guess.”

“How did you know?”

“Miranda and I ran into her and Kevin Becker at a restaurant. Miranda cornered her
later.”

Keith grinned at the idea of Miranda cornering Kiley. “Ah.”

John tossed the tie to him with a grin. “Time to get all gussied up.”

“Joy,” Keith drawled as he stood and began to lift his black t-shirt over his head.

Chapter Six

Paula sat on her lumpy bed and sighed toward the ceiling. What had she been thinking?
Why hadn’t she seen the signs? She took a deep breath and winced at the pain that
sliced through her bruised ribs.

She was so tired, but sleep eluded her. All she could think about were the things
she would miss. Summers at the beach. Skiing in the winter. A single tear slipped
down her cheek, and she angrily wiped it away.

What good did it do to cry?

She thought back to how she had gotten into this mess. She’d broken up with yet another
boyfriend. Her relationships never lasted. For a long time she thought it was because
of her.

Now that she’d had time to think about it, she knew that wasn’t it. It was because
every man she dated failed against Keith.

Keith was her best friend’s brother. He was gorgeous. He was everything she wanted
in her husband—kind, funny, strong. Keith had never been interested in her, but then
she’d also never really tried to get him either. She’d always felt he was too far
out of her league, too much of a workaholic.

So, she’d looked for him in other men, but none of them ever came close. After her
last breakup, she’d decided to give up. That’s when she’d met James. He’d been safe.
He couldn’t possibly hurt her or disappoint her, he was overseas.

But, the more they talked, the more she liked him.

The more she liked him, the more they talked.

Somehow, she’d convinced herself James was for her. That they could be happy together.
That she’d finally found her Keith double.

Another tear slipped free from behind her eyes. God, she’d been so wrong.

“I should’ve just continued to admire Keith from afar.”

A knock sounded at her door just before it was slung open. Paula jumped and pushed
herself further back against the wall as two guards walked into her tiny room. She
always hated when they came to get her. She never knew what they had in mind and constantly
lived in fear.

“You have a visitor,” one of them snarled in broken English.

Paula frowned, wondering who it could possibly be. She stood slowly and walked between
them to the visitor’s area. The one in front of her opened the door, then the one
behind shoved her through it hard.

She stumbled into the tiny room and grabbed the corner of the small table in the center
to keep from falling. She winced at the pain in her ribs as she steadied herself against
the cold metal of the tabletop.

Pushing up slowly, she took in what little there was of her surroundings. It was basically
empty except for a small table and two chairs. The concrete floor was cold; the gray
stone walls bland and devoid of warmth. Just like everywhere else in this God forsaken
place.

They hadn’t questioned her yet, which was something she didn’t understand. Is this
where it would happen? Is this where they would ‘question’ her? Is that what her visitor
was here to do?

Who else would be coming here to talk to her?

She swallowed the bile that quickly rose up her throat. She’d eaten very little over
the last couple of days. She couldn’t. She was too scared. She remembered what kind
of condition Keith had been in when they got him out of Turkey. They’d beaten the
hell out of him—gleefully.

Back then he’d been a Seal. He’d sacrificed himself so the rest of his team could
get out, but his team refused to leave him behind. Scott led the unsanctioned mission
to rescue him, a mission that had gotten them all booted out of the Navy. But thanks
to the questionable circumstances of the original mission, as well as the bad intel
from the government, they’d been able to get honorable discharges minus any retirement
or pension—provided of course they never talked about it in public.

Paula wasn’t military. Maybe that’s why they hadn’t done anything. So far, all they’d
done to her was just be rough, which is how she’d gotten the bruised ribs and hip.

The door to the room opened and one of the guards stuck his head inside. “Your visitor
is here,” he told her in broken English.

Paula turned, still holding tight to the edge of the table as a tall, handsome man
in a suit walked in. His green eyes met hers, and it was all she could do to not run
into his arms, bawling like a baby.

Keith.

Her legs shook as Keith walked toward her, a look of concern on his handsome, clean-shaven
face.

“Are you all right, Miss Shanks?”

She nodded calmly, but inside she was crying out.
Please get me out of here!

“Who are you?” she croaked.

“I’m your attorney. I was sent over by your cousin, Kiley.”

Paula closed her eyes briefly to try and compose herself. Kiley had gotten her message.
She had been so afraid Kiley would ignore her; that her friend would’ve been so angry
she wouldn’t help. Paula should’ve known better. Kiley would never abandon her, despite
how Paula had turned her back on her friend.

Over a man. A man that once Paula began to look back on things, she could see he’d
been a sham. She’d been stupid and gullible, and she felt so ashamed of her behavior.

The guard shut the door, leaving them alone in the room. Keith stepped closer and
lifted her chin. “Paula,” he whispered.

She opened her eyes, but couldn’t meet his gaze. The heat of a blush filled her cheeks,
and all she wanted to do was hide.

“How could I have been so stupid?” she mumbled.

“Look at me,” Keith commanded softly, and she did without hesitation. Keith had that
effect on people. He was so dominant but at the same time so nice. “Don’t worry about
that right now.

Are you hurt?”

“Just some bruises.”

“Are you sure?”

She licked her lips and nodded. “I think so.”

“Where?”

She lifted her hand to her right side.

Keith glanced down at her hand, then looked back to her face. “I’m going to take a
look, okay?”

Paula nodded. His hands were gentle as he lifted her shirt and probed at the bruised
spot on her side. She winced when he pressed in, and his questioning gaze shot to
hers. “I don’t think any of them are broken, but they’re badly bruised. How did this
happen?”

“They uh…” She swallowed and tried again. “They shoved me into the room, and I hit
the bedframe.”

He frowned. “You fell against the bedframe?”

“When they noticed I had hurt myself they found it amusing to find ways to hit me
in that same spot or force me to injure myself over and over again.”

Keith cursed under his breath as he stood.

“I tried twice in Peru to get away, once I realized something was up.”

Keith looked at her, but anger still darkened his eyes making her shiver. She felt
she needed to explain. That hopefully, he would understand what had happened—that
she hadn’t had a choice.

“I thought once I got on the plane I could just leave the computer they’d given me
somewhere and get away, but one of his cronies boarded the plane with me. They wanted
to make sure I left the plane with that computer.”

Some of Keith’s anger faded as he moved closer and rubbed his hand up and down her
arm.

She held tighter to the table, resisting the urge to throw herself into his strong
arms.

“Your being arrested was probably a good thing, although I know it might not appear
that way.”

“Why would you say that?” she asked.

Keith leveled his stare at her. “Because if you’d made it through customs with that
computer, you would’ve been killed. That’s what they do.”

Paula shook her head. “I’m not so sure this is much better. What’s going to happen
to me?”

A single tear slipped from the corner of her eye to slide down her cheek. Keith cupped
her face and wiped the tear away with his thumb. “I’m going to get you out,” he whispered.

Her breath caught at the determined look in his eyes. Paula knew what he meant. She
knew Keith and his team would be coming for her and the beating of her heart increased
tenfold with excitement. She knew what Keith did. She knew how good he was at it.
If anyone could get her out, it was him.

“Your trial will be coming up soon,” Keith said just a little louder.

They had no idea if anyone was listening in on them. They had to keep up the rouse.
For all they knew, Keith’s declaration to get her out could be through the courts.

Paula nodded, playing along.

“I need you to be ready and to be strong. The trial may be a little rough and frightening.”

“I can handle anything if it means I get to go home.”

Keith’s lips twitched slightly as he dropped his hands and stepped back. Paula instantly
missed his heat, his closeness. She was sure what she felt had to do with her situation.
He was her rescuer—her prince charming.

She’d known Keith for a while. She wasn’t immune to his good looks, his charm, or
his purely alpha demeanor. He was everything any woman would want in a man. Tall,
dark hair,

muscular body, confidence in abundance, unfortunately Keith was also one of those
men that the job would probably always come first. He was a workaholic. Even Kiley
said so.

Keith turned and banged his fist against the door, making Paula jump. “Open up.”

The door opened and two guards stepped into the room. They grabbed her hands pulling
her from the table toward the door.

“Tell your superiors if I see another bruise on my client I’ll report them for abusing
an American citizen,” Keith said firmly.

Both guards stopped and glared at him.

“I really don’t think you want the U.N. involved, now do you?” Keith added in a deadly
voice that sent chills up Paula’s spine. Wow, Keith could be scary.

The guards snorted and continued hauling her from the room. She glanced over her shoulder
at Keith. He winked at her, making her stomach flip. She turned back to the front,
trying to suppress the thrill of excitement over the fact she might actually get out
of here.

* * * *

Kiley’s iPad beeped, and she jerked awake instantly. She blinked, surprised to find
she’d fallen asleep on the couch. The pad beeped again, and she quickly reached for
it, recognizing the signal. As she opened it, she glanced at the clock. Five a.m.
That meant it was twelve noon in Istanbul.

She opened the secure program and smiled at Keith’s face on the screen. “Hey, brother.
Did you get in to see Paula?”

Keith nodded as he loosened the tie around his neck. Kiley knew just how much he hated
those things. He always felt like they were choking him, even when he was a kid.

“How is she?” Kiley asked.

“Scared…embarrassed.”

“I can understand that.”

“Yeah, me too. Scott take the C.I.A. thing pretty hard?”

Kiley sighed. “He went ballistic.”

Keith snickered. “He’ll get over it. He’s just worried about you, I think. If you
stay with us, we can keep an eye on you. If you go with them…well, we couldn’t. You’re
like a baby sister to him, so he freaks out.”