Wicked Ties (Steele Security Series) (11 page)

“I’ll be fine.  I have the best security team in the nation on my six.  Nothing will go wrong,” she tried to sound confident but it fell flat, even to her own ears.

Brad stood and placed his hand on her shoulder, “It will be fine.  We will take good care of you, Chaise.”

After the men had left and they were alone again, Bull turned from the door and walked directly up to Chaise.

“You don’t have to do this.  We can work with the local authorities.  We have enough to arouse suspicion and Shadow has some significant contacts.  There are other ways—better ways—to do this,” Bull reasoned.

“You’re right, Colton.  I don’t have the expertise to pull this off alone.  But I’m already inside and I am in a position to snoop in anything because it’s my job.  It would take too much time to get someone else in there now.  We may never find Aura or the other girls if I quit now.” 

Bull didn’t respond.  He knew she was right but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

“I don’t think I can do this without you, Colton.  Don’t abandon me now,” Chaise asked him.  Her eyes beseeched him and she held her breath waiting for his reply.

“Not a chance in hell, Chaise,” came Bull’s promise. 

Chaise tentatively lifted her hand and stretched it out to capture Bull’s hand.  Once she had it, she squeezed it and gave him a small smile of appreciation.

“Well, it’s late and I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow, so I guess I should get some sleep,” Chaise said but she couldn’t hide the anxiety in her voice.  Not only did she plan to dive headfirst into shark infested waters, so to speak, she had much more pressing problems before her. 

Where should I sleep tonight?

Bull’s knowing smile did nothing for her discomfort.  He knew what she was thinking and there was no point in even trying to lie out of it.  They agreed to take it slower and to get to know each other better first.  But in his arms, she just felt so safe, secure, and protected that she never wanted to leave them. 

“Come on, I’ll take you to the guest room,” Bull said with no hint of hesitation or the disappointment that she felt to her very soul.  Chaise simply nodded and followed him down the hall.

At some point during the day, Bull had moved her belongings to one of the guest bedrooms.  He reminded her where the towels and other toiletries were stored and made sure she didn’t need anything else before he left her alone. 

After getting ready for bed, Chaise lay in the big, comfortable bed and stared at the ceiling for what felt like forever.  There was absolutely nothing wrong with the bed or the bedroom.  It was perfect and comfortable. Knowing that he was so close but so far away was driving her crazy and keeping her awake.  When she was still wide-awake just after midnight, she made a decision that Bull would just have to accept.

Tiptoeing through the house with only her tank top and panties on, she reached Bull’s bedside.  He was lying on one side, on his back, and appeared to be sleeping perfectly well without her.  She knew better than to assume he was asleep after the last time she made that mistake.  Not waiting, or asking for an invitation, she carefully pulled the covers back and slipped into bed beside him.

She snuggled up as close to him as she could get and instantly felt better.  The tiny bubble of anxiety that had started building in her chest instantly dissipated.  Just as she was thinking that
it might not be a good thing, relying on him to rid her of the anxiety, he spoke and disrupted her thoughts

“Did you lose your bed?” he asked as he wrapped his arm around and pulled her closer to him.  His teasing and humor laced his words, telling her that he didn’t mind sharing his bed with her.

“Actually, I was momentarily kicked out of
my
bed but I found my way back on my own,” she said in mock defense.

“Took you long enough.  I was beginning to think you’d really stay in there,” Bull laughingly replied. 

Chaise replied with an elbow to the ribs.  “You knew I didn’t want to sleep in there, didn’t you.”  It was intentionally more of a statement than a question.

“I knew,” Bull replied earnestly, placing a kiss to her cheek.  “And I’m glad.  I wanted you in here, too.”  

Chais
e went to work every day that week, gathered additional information as the Steele Security team instructed, and went back to Bull’s house every night.  Every day she felt a little more anxious, felt more eyes watching her every move, and knew that time was not on her side.  Aura had been missing too long at that point and Brad had found nothing on the other missing girls. 

Bull had driven Chaise to work every day and picked her up.  She had argued against it at first, feeling like her freedoms were slowly being taken from her.  Bull explained that he didn’t trust anyone to not tamper with her car while it was in the
Viboro Distributing parking lot.  If it were to break down and leave her stranded, she would be too vulnerable.  

That day
, she was infinitely glad that she had given in and heeded Bull’s advice.  The anxious feeling was at its peak and she knew she wasn’t just overreacting.  One of the warehouse workers had been in the office all day.  He had watched every move she made, listened to her every conversation that occurred outside of her office, and leered at her without trying to disguise it.  She’d had an uneasy feeling all day and practically ran out the front door to Bull’s waiting SUV.

“What’s wrong?”  Bull asked
, his facial expression and voice tone mirrored his concern.

“Can we get out of here?  I’ll tell you while you drive,” Chaise answered, still rattled from the events of the day.  “I just want to get as far away from this place as possible.”

Bull pulled out into traffic, his demeanor belying his thoughts and feelings.  He knew from the fret in her eyes, the furrow of her brow, and the pitch of her voice that something was inherently awry.  His first order of action would be to make sure she was safe.  Second, he would find and kill anyone who threatened to bring harm to her.

“Tell me what happened,” Bull stated calmly.  “No one said they saw or heard anything out of the ordinary from our surveillance.”

“There was a guy from the warehouse who was in the office all day today.  He’s never worked in the office before.  But all day, he was everywhere I went.  He watched me, listened to my conversations, and he just gave me the creeps!  I just get a really scary vibe from him,” Chaise explained.

“You can show me which one he is when we get to my house.  I’ll get Brad to pull up the feed and we’ll identify him.  Could be a good lead for the case,” he reassured her.

“I hope you’re right.  I’m ready for this to be over!  I don’t know how you do this all the time.”

“Training, babe.  I’ve had a lot of training to prepare me for missions.  It conditioned me and taught me how to deal with intense situations.  You’re doing great.  You’ve been our eyes and ears all week,” he replied with a smile that relayed how impressed he was with her.

“Now you’re just being nice,” Chaise playfully scolded.

“No one’s ever accused me of that before,” Bull laughed.  “I need to stop by the store first, if that’s
alright with you?”

“Sure, that’s
fine with me.”

Bull and Chaise strolled through the grocery store, picking out items together as though it had been an
everyday occurrence.  Chaise genuinely enjoyed his company and getting to know Colton Lanier, the man behind the Bull façade.  She found that he had a heart of gold and a protective streak a mile wide. 

As they walked across the vast parking lot, talking and enjoying each other’s company, Bull wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him.  The casual movement was so natural but so intimate at the same time.  Public displays of affection weren’t in Bull’s vocabulary but he seemed to be making a lot of concessions for Chaise.

An alarming sound caught Bull’s attention just in time for him to lift Chaise off the ground, roll across the front hood of a car and duck between the parked cars.   The all black, full-size SUV narrowly missed hitting them.  The SUV came to a screeching halt several yards away and four men exited the vehicle, speaking in Spanish.

“Which way did they go?” the first voice called out.

“I saw them duck between those cars over there,” the second guy responded.

“Spread out and find them.  Kill him.  Bring her to
me—unharmed,” the last voice commanded.

Over your dead body
, Bull thought to himself. 
There’s still at least one more.

Bull kept Chaise moving through the parking lot, winding between cars and keeping low to stay out of sight. 
He kept the men trained in his sights, but there was still one missing.  Four exited the vehicle but he only had eyes on three of them.  As Bull and Chaise cornered another vehicle, he saw the fourth man. 

Bull stopped dead in his tracks.  All the years of training temporarily left him.  He couldn’t breathe.  He couldn’t think straight to make a decision.   He couldn’t make his feet move.  He felt Chaise beside him, holding his arm in her tight grip, furtively whispering to him but her words held no meaning. 

When the man turned around, Bull stood up in plain sight and openly gaped at the man.  Within seconds, Bull was knocked to the ground as gunfire erupted around him.  A large body was lying on top of him, yelling something at him that he couldn’t understand.  He struggled to get free but it was useless.

“Bull, dammit!  Be still!  What the
fuck are you doing?  Trying to get yourself killed?”  Shadow screamed at him. 

“Get the fuck off me, man!”  Bull yelled back, finally finding the capacity to speak again. 

“Don’t do it, man.  I’m warning you,” Shadow growled back.

Chaise had no idea what “it,” was, but Shadow’s words penetrated Bull’s anger.  He finally nodded in agreement and relaxed his coiled muscles.

Rebel came running up at that moment, “They got away but I got the plates.  May be stolen but I have a feeling it’s not.  Let’s go find out who we’re going after.”

Bull stood and looked between his two brothers.  His jaw was hard set, the muscles ticking and bunching in his attempts to keep his anger reined in.  His face was beet red and his eyes were
fierce—in a scary way.

“What the hell are you guys doing here anyway?” Bull snapped.

“You mean other than saving your ass?  We’re doing our fucking jobs,” Shadow replied with his voice deceptively calm and low.  “You nearly just got yourself and Chaise killed.  What happened?”

“Nothing,” Bull lied. 

“Don’t bullshit us, man.  We saw the whole thing while we were getting into place to back you up.  If you hadn’t stood up, we could’ve had these assholes,” Rebel admonished him.

“Fuck!  You’re
right—you’re right, okay?  I fucked up.  Let’s get out of here,” Bull responded when he heard sirens in the distance. 

Someone surely had called the police and he wasn’t ready to talk to them.  He decided he’d have someone from the Steele Security office call and apprise them of the situation.  He had more pressing matters to handle first.

Bull drove them back to his house, keeping both hands firmly gripped to the steering wheel.  His body was rigid and his sunglasses shielded his eyes.  But from what Chaise could tell, his eyes never veered in her direction.  He was definitely in his own world and didn’t want to be disturbed.  Chaise gave him some time and space, knowing that he would have to answer for everything soon enough since Shadow and Rebel were following them.

When Bull put the truck in park, he exhaled loudly and turned to Chaise.  His face was stoic but she knew if she could see his eyes, they would be full of turmoil.  Slowly reaching up to his face, she removed his sunglasses and what she saw broke her heart.  It wasn’t anger.  It wasn’t vengeance.  She knew pain when she saw
it—and Bull was hurting.  Badly.

“Talk to me, Colton.  Tell me what happened out there,” Chaise asked softly.

“I could’ve gotten you killed because of what I did.  I’m sorry, Chaise.  If you want Rebel or Shadow to take over, I won’t blame you,” Bull answered.

“
Wh –
what
?  Of course I don’t want either of them to take over.”  Chaise tried to contain the confusion, frustration, and pain his statement caused.  She knew that he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to realize how his words sounded.  She didn’t want to add to it with her insecurities.  It was definitely not the time.

“Colton, whatever happened back there, I’m not leaving you.  I don’t trust anyone else like I do you.  Besides, they would probably think something was really wrong with me if I tried to sneak into bed with them at night because I’m afraid to sleep alone,” she tried to add a little brevity to the moment, get Bull to smile and realize that he wasn’t alone.

Her plan worked—he gave her a small, half-smile as he rubbed his calloused fingers across her cheek. 

“Over
their
dead bodies, Chaise,” he countered.

“
There’s
my Bull,” Chaise laughed.  She wasn’t accustomed to using his nickname, but it seemed to fit and help remind him of his tough side.

He smirked, “I’ll give you
your
Bull later tonight.”

“
And
he’s back, ladies and gentleman!”

Smiling, he shook his head from side to side.  Bull couldn’t believe how quickly and thoroughly the relationship between him and Chaise had changed, but he had to admit that he was grateful for it.  She was his breath of fresh air in his stale world.  After realizing how dull and lifeless his existence had become, he suddenly wanted no more of that life. 

Since his father had abandoned him and his mother when he was just a young boy, he had kept personal attachments to a minimum.  He had his mother, his brothers, Brianna—and that was it.  He hadn’t let any other woman in until Chaise.  He knew without question that she was firmly seated in his heart and his life.  Her support and belief in him, even though she had no idea what had just happened, solidified her place in his small band of trusted people.

Shadow and Rebel were waiting on the front porch of Bull’s large,
suburban home.  It wasn’t as big as Noah’s palatial home, but it was big enough to have all the amenities he needed.  His eyes cut to Shadow and Rebel as he said, “Let’s get this over with.”

Once inside the house, Shadow immediately started questioning Bull.

“What the hell happened, man?  And don’t tell me nothing—you and I both know that’s bullshit.”

Bull gave them a full rundown of what had happened from his vantage point.  He described the three Latino men in detail and gave a word for word recount of their conversation, including needing Chaise alive and unharmed.  Then he reached the point of the story where he had to explain his actions.  Or rather, he had to explain his lack of action.

“Go on,” Rebel prodded, knowing that Bull was stalling.

“The fourth man with them
was…..my father,” Bull stated.

Stunned silence filled the room.  Chaise’s eyes flew from one man to the next, trying to figure out this part of the puzzle without interrupting their debriefing session.

“Shit,” Shadow blurted out.

“Holy shit,” Rebel echoed.

“Yeah,” Bull deadpanned.

“Um, can someone explain this to me?”  Chaise thought she had held her tongue long enough.

“My dad abandoned my mom and me when I was a kid.  Just left one day and never came back.  That was him I saw today….in the parking lot….with those guys who were after you,” Bull looked apologetic, as if he was responsible for his dad’s actions.

Then he turned his attention to Shadow and Rebel.  “I have to go to my mom’s.  I need answers from her and I can’t do this over the phone.  I’m going back to Alabama.”

Shadow and Rebel simply nodded their understanding.

“What about Chaise?” Rebel asked.

“What about Chaise?” Chaise repeated, irritation laced in her words.  “She’s right here.  Maybe you can ask her.”

Shadow smiled at Rebel, “I like her.”

Bull was torn on what he should do with her.  On one hand, he wanted to take her with him, to make sure she was protected and to get her out of the area.  On the other hand, he wasn’t sure what information he would obtain from his mother, and how he would react to that information, so it may be best to leave her with Shadow and Rebel.

Then he remembered her words spoken in jest while they sat in his truck.

“Chaise comes with me,” Bull responded, leaving no room for argument.  Chaise’s responding smile conveyed she knew exactly what he was thinking when he made his decision.  Bull smirked at her sarcastically and shook his head as he walked toward the kitchen.

“Beer?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure.”

Drinks in hand, the guys worked on their updated plan while Chaise put the remaining groceries away and started cooking supper.  After a half-hour, Rebel appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.

“Damn, what smells so good in here?”

“Chicken tortilla soup, Panini sandwiches, and chips,” Chaise answered as she stirred the soup.