Kelly wasn't fooled by her casual act. Where was the easy, flirtatious grin she always shot his way? Bee never missed a chance to push the boundaries of their relationship. What had her so scared tonight?
He slid his fingers under her chin and tipped her head. Unable to avoid his gaze, she swallowed hard again. He lowered his face so he didn’t have to shout to be heard over the music. "The truth, Bee. What's wrong?"
She gripped his wrist. "Someone was in my apartment."
The words punched him right in the gut. "What! When? Tonight?"
She nodded. "I came home from working late at the coffee shop and there was a package in my living room."
Kelly's stomach dropped like a runaway elevator. Instantly on alert, he slipped his arm around her shoulders and dragged her closer. His practiced gaze scanned the club for anyone that looked out of place. Dipping his head, he asked, "Did you call the police?"
"No."
Incredulous, he gawked at her. "Why the hell not, Bee?"
Her lips tightened. "What are they going to do? Dust for prints? Tell me to get a restraining order against an anonymous stalker?"
His eyes narrowed. Frustration flared within his chest. "What stalker?"
She licked her lips and glanced away from him. No doubt she understood how upset he was at being in the dark about all of this craziness. "Someone has been following me and leaving sick photos for me to find."
He swore softly and tried not to grit his teeth. "And you didn't think I should know about all this?"
The light overhead shifted to a pop of yellow that illuminated her beautiful face. Her eyes flashed with anger. "Why do you think I've been calling and texting you?"
The realization that the calls he had been dodging put her in this incredibly unsafe situation made him feel like shit. "I'm sorry, Bee. I meant to call you back once the detail was over but—"
"You didn't."
His jaw clenched. "I didn't."
Before he could make a better apology, the bud tucked into his ear clicked. "Kelly? We need you up in the VIP section."
His lips settled into a frustrated line as Ryan's voice dinged his ear. He lifted his arm and spoke into the mic attached at his cuff. "Copy. On my way."
Grasping Bee's smaller hand, he tugged her over to the DJ booth where Coby watched them curiously. He clasped Bee's trim waist and lifted her petite weight without much effort at all. Her hands flew to his shoulders as he placed her on the other side of the short wall that acted as a barrier between the entertainment and the dancers. Her eyes were still wide at his manhandling when he pointed a finger at her. "Don't even think about leaving without me. You stay with Coby until we close. I'll come get you. Understood?"
She nodded. "Okay."
Satisfied that she would be safe, Kelly headed for the VIP section and tried to ignore how damn good it felt to hold Bee. He refused to acknowledge the way his heartbeat had sped up when their bodies had brushed together, her breasts so soft against his hard chest. He really didn't want to think about how badly he'd wanted to nuzzle her neck and inhale the sweet, bright apple scent that she favored. Remembering the short but sizzling kiss they had shared at New Year's sent heat rolling through his belly.
Stop it.
Jeb had entrusted him with Bee's care. If his friend were alive today, he would have kicked Kelly's ass up and down the street for the dirty thoughts racing through his head right now.
Up in the VIP section, he spotted Ryan watching a loud group of guys. He immediately recognized the men as professional baseball players. One of them had a nasty reputation for picking up—and roughing up—college girls exactly like the perky blonde one perched on his lap. How he'd gotten by Big V at the door perplexed Kelly. The giant bouncer and ex-Army sergeant never let assholes like that into the club.
Phoebe, the harried host of their table, smacked away the grabby hand of one of the ball players. Kelly's jaw tightened at the sight of a Faze employee having to defend herself against some prick who thought his high credit card limit and mediocre batting average gave him the right to abuse her.
Movement in the far corner of the VIP section caught Kelly's eye. Yuri stepped into view. He flashed an irritated glance at the offending party and gave a little jerk of his head. His message sent, Yuri slipped back into the ultra-private zone partitioned with gauzy curtains.
Kelly and Ryan didn't rely on their wrist mics and headsets to communicate. Like most of the private security agents on LSG payroll, they were both former military. Where Kelly had been a Marine, Ryan had been a corpsman in the Navy. He'd served alongside numerous Marine units during his many deployments so they were on the same page when it came to situations like this.
There were two ways this would play out—an easy ejection of the group from the club or an altercation. After the relative quiet of the night, Kelly had a sneaking suspicion punches were about to be thrown. Working for Yuri as a bodyguard, he'd learned that the billionaire had a fondness for getting things done quietly and with finesse. This was one time when he might have to step on Ryan's toes a bit to keep the situation calm.
"Look, guys, you were told to keep it down but it seems like your party is unable to comply. Management has asked that you settle your bill and head on out for the night." Ryan diplomatically offered the group a chance to save face and leave without a scene. "You crossed a line touching one of our employees."
"Come on, man! It was a love-tap. You can't expect us not to reach out and touch the merchandise when it's on display like that." The spokesman for the group had consumed enough alcohol to activate the stupid section of his brain. "Look, we'll leave her a nice tip, and it'll be fine."
"Oh, you're going to leave her a very nice tip—but you're all out of here. Now." Ryan leveled one of those icy glares. "Quietly."
The man closest to Ryan shot to his feet and purposely knocked into the bouncer. Kelly groaned inwardly and took a quick step forward to make his presence known. Like Ryan, he was taller and stockier than the athletes attempting to make a ruckus. "Is there a problem?"
"No." The smartest one in the group gently insinuated himself between his friend and Ryan. "We'll pay our tab and go. Can, uh, can you get our driver?"
Phoebe appeared from the sidelines of the almost dust-up with the small black folder holding the check. "He's already waiting out back."
While Ryan and the hothead remained in a staring match, Kelly carefully watched for any signs that things were about to kickoff. The guy paying the tab made an outraged sound when he saw the bill but one look from Kelly prevented a protest. With a swipe of his pen, he settled the tab and handed back the check.
Kelly put a gentle hand on the shoulder of the young woman to prevent her from following the ball player with the bad reputation. He wouldn't let Bee leave with a man like that and he sure as hell wasn't letting this woman either. "Not tonight, sweetheart."
She shot him a strange look. "But I—"
Kelly shook his head. "Believe me. You don't want what he's offering."
A rough hand shoved at his chest. "Mind your own fucking business."
Kelly carefully pushed the player's hand off his chest. "Don't touch me again."
"Or what?" He sneered and wavered on unsteady feet.
Kelly took one step forward and invaded the man's personal space. "Or this Marine is going to unleash the fucking beast that kept him alive through four tours in hell. One of us will be leaving in an ambulance. Understand?"
The drunk blanched and nodded shakily. He backed away slowly and didn't even try to make eye contact with the girl as his group beat a hasty retreat. Ryan shadowed them out the back exit while Phoebe started clearing away the table. The coed looked around, almost as if scoping out the joint for a better offer, before settling on him.
Flipping her hair, she licked her lips and smiled coyly. "So, soldier, you want to dance?"
His eye twitched at the soldier remark. She obviously didn't realize there was a world of difference between a soldier a
nd a Marine. This didn't seem like the time to enlighten her. "No, thanks. I'm on shift."
She trailed one manicured finger down his chest and stopped right above his belt buckle. "Maybe later?"
Her touch didn't have the effect she intended. Instead of feeling good, it made his skin crawl. This woman was a knockout with that bombshell figure. There was a time when he would have craved the touch of a woman exactly like this. Now he found himself pulling away from her and trying to ease his rejection with a kind smile. "I'm flattered, but I'm taken."
Taken? Where the hell had that come from?
Undaunted, she shrugged. "I'm sure I'll see you around later."
"My answer won't change. You'd better find someone else to take you home. Be more careful this time."
While Ryan dealt with the aftermath of tossing the group, Kelly kept his eye on the VIP lounge. He moved closer to the balcony overlooking the dance floor below and allowed his gaze to drift to Bee. Standing next to Coby, she now wore a borrowed set of lime green headphones but kept the ear closest to her friend uncovered so they could talk as she tapped away at the laptop opened in front of her. The screen lit up her face with an ethereal bluish glow. Even in that safe spot, she seemed tense and nervous.
Yuri sidled up next to him at the balcony. "Does she ever stop working?"
Kelly snorted. "That question from you, huh?"
Yuri laughed. "Careful. You're starting to sound like Lena."
"I didn't see her tonight. Is she away on business?"
"No, she's having a night with her friends."
"You'll tell her I said hi?" Of all the security clients he'd ever guarded, Kelly had enjoyed Lena's detail the most.
"Absolutely," Yuri answered with a smile. Then, gesturing toward Bee with a bob of his head, he said, "Backing her might be the best business decision I made this decade. The advertising sales on LookIt have been phenomenal and that cloud program for music that she's about to beta test will be huge. Have you seen this new program she's built for Coby so she can interact with her fans? Musicians will be all over it."
Kelly shook his head. "Tech isn't my thing."
Yuri studied him for an unnervingly long moment. "You should start brushing up on it. LookIt grabbed its twenty millionth user this earlier this month. Bee and I have discussed the outlook of JBJ TechWorks. She's considering dropping out of Rice altogether to move forward with the expansion. Whatever she decides, she's going to need a strong supporter in her corner. Especially now that there's an offer on the table for LookIt," he added almost as afterthought.
Kelly's stomach clenched upon realizing he was that out of touch with Bee. "What offer?"
Yuri seemed surprised. "She didn't tell you?"
Guilt squeezed his chest like a vise. "I've been out of the country for the last few weeks. Dimitri convinced me to take a detail for a sheikh and his family. I've been bouncing between Houston and Dubai."
"Well, I'll let her give you the details. Personally, I think it's a smart move to slide LookIt under the umbrella of Insight."
Kelly's eyes widened fractionally at the mention of the multinational internet company. They were a massive force in the tech world and a company that had actually tried to hire Bee straight out of high school.
"Whether she agrees to sell her baby is another matter entirely. But," Yuri tapped Kelly's arm to draw his attention, "you need to convince her that it's time to hire round-the-clock protection. She might have been able to exist in that safe little bubble on campus, but once the news leaks about this deal or even how much advertising cash LookIt is drawing?" Yuri shook his head. "She's going to be an easy target."
Kelly's protective instinct ignited. "No one is going to hurt Bee."
"I said the same thing about Lena once. We both know how that ended."
The sadness and guilt lacing the tycoon's voice reminded Kelly of the day a fellow bodyguard had tried to kill Yuri and Lena. His inability to see Jake as the threat still haunted him. "We both learned something from that experience."
"Yes, we did." Yuri clapped him on the back. "I need to go network and mingle, but I wanted to chat with you first. I hardly see you anymore." With a lopsided smile, the billionaire added, "I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing."
Kelly snorted with amusement as Yuri left to work his way through the VIP section. That giant man-beast Vasya trailed his boss. The Hulk-sized Russian spoke perfect English but he rarely uttered more than two words together in any language. Still, Kelly had enjoyed working with him. The guy took pride in a job well done and that was something he really respected.
When Ryan returned to his usual post, Kelly moved back down to the main dance floor. Though he maintained focus on his job, he allowed his gaze to wander to Bee every now and then. As instructed, she remained with Coby, safe behind the barrier.
While he worked, Kelly couldn't stop thinking about how disappointed Jeb would be in him. He stretched his tight neck again and tried not to remember why he had put so much distance between himself and Bee. That kiss!
There weren't many people who could throw him off-kilter but Bee was one of them. His mouth went dry as the memory of her soft lips pressed to his made his entire body buzz. His gut clenched as the image of her hurt face flashed before his eyes. Shutting her down and denying them both the one thing he wanted more than anything in the world had been one of the hardest things he'd ever done—but it was for the best.
Wasn't it?
Chapter Two
Protected by the barrier and the wall of sound equipment, I allowed myself to relax enough to tackle the coding issues with Coby's program. Shoulder-to-shoulder with one of my best friends and under Kelly's watchful eye, I felt certain no one could touch me here. I still couldn't believe how damn lucky I was that Coby had messaged me to let me know that the green-eyed bodyguard was keeping Faze in line tonight. I had a feeling my guardian angel was looking out for me.
The lights were slowly brightening around the club as a way to gently force patrons out the doors. Coby had switched to music that wasn't very suitable for dancing as another clue that it was time to head home. I fished my cell phone from my pocket, swiped and unlocked the screen and typed a quick message to test it in real-time.
"Well?" Coby bumped me with her hip. "Are you making any progress?"
"Yes. It's a temporary fix but I'm making notes so I can go back in tomorrow and rewrite this section."
"Dude, it's not that big of a deal. We're still in beta. Don't stress over it."
"It's sort of my job to stress over these things. If I don't, then I'm like an architect who designs houses without doors. Sure, it looks really pretty from the street, but there's no way to get inside to see the really good stuff."
Coby gave me that look she had perfected from knowing me since we were in gymnastics together as little girls. "You know it's not a crime to take a day off, right?"
"Says the girl who has been living off energy drinks so she can finish her album and gear up for the festival season," I countered with a raised eyebrow.
Coby snorted and picked up one of those energy drinks that the bar staff had been supplying her with all evening. She swirled her wrist and swished the liquid around in the sweating can. "Maybe we should have gone with Hadley after all."
"The pictures from India are amazing," I agreed a bit enviously. "But we agreed that we were going to branch out more this year. We were going to try new things as individuals."
"Yet here we stand, hip to hip, at our favorite club doing what we've done every Friday night for the last year," Coby replied with a laugh. "I think Hadley is the only one of us sticking to the plan."
"That's because she's always been the bravest of us." I didn't have to mention that Hadley's heart problems were a big part of that courage.
"Don't look now," she said conspiratorially, "but KC is heading this way."
I didn't dare look up from my laptop screen. After the way Kelly had picked me up earlier, there was no way in hell I could w
ipe the yearning look from my face. I needed his help and didn't want to push him away again by making a jackass of myself.
"Bee." He said my name in that rough, rumbling voice of his. My tummy trembled wildly. "We need to talk. Now."
His gruff tone very nearly drew a yes, sir from my lips. Instead, I nodded and stepped around Coby. She surreptitiously reached out to give my hand a reassuring squeeze. Grateful for her support, I descended the stairs to the dance floor where Kelly awaited me.
When he held out his hand, I stared at it for a second before finally working up the nerve to place my palm against his. The rough heat of his fingers closing around mine blazed right up my arm and arced into my chest. I hated that every single touch affected me in this way but I couldn't stop my reaction to Kelly.
He led me to one of the tables along the far wall. Choosing one of the sleek silver chairs, I avoided the sticky spill on the tabletop and rested my hands on my lap. Kelly sat close to me, too close, and made it impossible for me to avoid eye contact when he slid his arm along the back of my chair. Trapped between the table and his bigger body, there was no escape.
"Aren't you still on the clock?" I glanced at the small group of patrons hanging around the main floor.
"You let me worry about that." Tapping my shoulder, he said, "I want you to start from the beginning of this mess. Don't leave anything out. I need to know everything if I’m going to protect you. When did this start?"
Hearing Kelly say he was going to protect me eased the tight knot in my stomach. With a little sigh, I explained, "The first week of April, I had this weird feeling that I was being watched. I never saw anyone but I had this creepy sensation following me around, you know? Then, the last week of April, the texts and phone calls started."
"What kind of texts?"
"They described what I was wearing or what I had for lunch and were filled with compliments. They were specific enough that I knew they were legit and not simply someone trying to mess with me."
"Do you still have them? Dimitri keeps a couple of IT guys on the payroll at LSG."
I shot him an amused smile. "Kelly, come on. It's me you're talking to, remember? Jeez—I have friends who work at the NSA! And, anyway, the messages came from burner phones bought with cash. The signals bounced off different towers around the city,"