Dangerously Involved Read online

  Dangerously Involved

  Aegis Group Lepta Team #2

  Sidney Bristol

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  Inked Press

  Dangerously Involved

  Aegis Group Lepta Team #2

  The mission: Protect his one-night stand from being kidnapped and tortured.

  Nolan Thompson doesn't mix business with pleasure. Too bad his latest job has him protecting the sweetest body he's ever touched. There's nothing about the cool, calculated business woman that makes him think of the sensual, shy sex kitten he met in Vegas. It shouldn't be difficult to keep his hands to himself when she's sending him "get lost" signals, but the rules change when her brother is kidnapped.

  Yvonne Krieger is hiding a ticking-time-bomb of a secret with a nine-month fuse. Her unforgettable Vegas night left her with a lot more than pleasure and a memorable walk of shame with only one shoe. The very man who charmed her into bed is now the man charged with keeping her body safe and getting her troublesome little brother home. Under the growing pressure from her family to help cover up the kidnapping, Yvonne finds that the only person she can trust is Nolan.

  In the face of danger, Yvonne and Nolan become unlikely allies as they attempt to piece together the mystery surrounding her brother's kidnapping. Every step brings their walls crumbling down until the line between their work and private lives is blurred. Nolan knows Yvonne is holding out on him, and he's determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and capture Yvonne's heart.

  Explore the whole Aegis world in these series...

  It all began with the Aegis Group.

  Dangerous Attraction

  Dangerous in Training

  Dangerous Games

  Dangerous Assignment

  Dangerous Protector

  Dangerous Secrets

  Dangerous Heat

  More Coming Soon!

  Within Aegis Group, special teams take on special jobs, beginning with the Alpha Team.

  Dangerous in Love

  Dangerous in Action

  Dangerous in Transit

  Dangerous in Motion

  Dangerous in Charge

  Other specialized teams exist under the Aegis Group umbrella, including Lepta Team.

  Dangerously Taken

  Dangerously Involved

  Dangerously Deceived

  Dangerously Broken (2019)

  Dangerously Entwined (2019)

  In Dangerous Games it continued with the Gone Geek girls.

  Beauty and the Geek

  Mr. Purr-fect and the Geek

  The Jock and the Geek

  The Gamer and the Geek

  The Adorkable Girl and the Geek

  The Fake Boyfriend and the Geek

  When the Seattle office of Aegis Group opened the Twisted Royals took the stage.

  The Origin Story

  Alpha Prince

  Her Prince

  Bad Boy Prince

  Noble Prince

  Stay tuned for the appearance of the Troy Team and Omega Team.

  For short reads, tune in this December for the Body of Danger novella series kick-off.

  Heart for Danger

  Mind for Danger (2019)

  Soul for Danger (2020)

  The other Smith brother takes us to the Texas SWAT series, a small town suspense series.

  Fighting Redemption

  Stolen Redemption

  Reckless Redemption (coming soon)

  To my Girl Squad. I couldn’t have survived this one without you.

  I'm convinced my heart knew who it belonged to long before I met her.

  ―KARLA CAMPOS

  Table of Contents

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  9.

  10.

  11.

  12.

  13.

  14.

  15.

  16.

  17.

  18.

  19.

  20.

  21.

  Epilogue.

  Continue reading for a sneak peak at Dangerously Taken, Aegis Group Lepta Team #1...

  1.

  1.

  Thursday. Tech Conference, Kyoto, Japan.

  Yvonne Krieger was going to be sick.

  She and her brothers were about to meet very important people from their Krieger Asia offices. She couldn’t hurl now.

  “Vee, you okay?” Her older brother Theodore leaned close.

  God, did he always wear so much cologne or was this new? And why did she have to sit between Theodore and Douglas?

  “Fine. I just need to be out of a car, plane or train for a little bit.” She pressed her hand to her stomach and tipped her head back as the town car slowed.

  “Well, we’re almost there.” Theodore gave her knee a squeeze. “Supposedly we have a security detail that’s meeting us here.”

  “Is that really necessary?” Yvonne lifted her too heavy head and frowned at her brother.

  They were into virus protection software, for Christ’s sake. Not weapons or anything dangerous. Between the two of them they’d taken over many of the operations for their family company, Krieger, Inc. Their father had made the company a household name with the rise of the personal computer. Someone had to protect those precious machines from hacking and viruses.

  “Hard to say.” Theodore frowned.

  “It’s all bullshit.” Douglas, their younger brother, actually put his phone down to utter that statement.

  The car eased to a stop out front of the hotel-convention center they would be living at for the next week. The conference hadn’t officially begun and wouldn’t until tomorrow, but they had plenty of business to see to before and after the main event.

  Yvonne’s stomach gurgled.

  “I need out.” She pushed at Theodore’s shoulder.

  Her brother didn’t take the urgency to heart. He waited for the valet to open his door, gathered his briefcase then stood. Yvonne scooted out of the car, abandoning her purse and hoofed it inside, her heels clicking in double time as sweat broke out all over her body.

  What was wrong with her?

  She traveled all the time, weathered the worst conditions, ate the most miserable food and rarely ever got sick.

  Yvonne spied the universal symbol for the toilets and darted into the ladies room. She dashed into a stall just as her stomach revolted. She clutched the porcelain god and heaved.

  Great. As if she didn’t feel gross enough after thirty hours traveling.

  It had to be all the trips. For the last eight weeks she’d done nothing but travel, shaking hands, smoothing out the wrinkles for a massive deal they’d just closed with the US government last week. She should have scheduled a doctor’s visit, especially after Vegas, but there hadn’t been time.

  Now she was paying for it.

  For several long moments she crouched on the floor, weariness weighing her down, and waited to see if her stomach was finished. She was fairly certain there wasn’t anything left inside her. Their meal options while traveling had left much to be desired. She’d been dreaming about a bubble bath and room service for half the flight.

  Yvonne flushed the toilet and got to her feet, wobbling just a bit.

  There was no way she could meet with the delegation from their Asia offices smelling of vomit and sweat. She’d need to change, a shower—all in about fifteen minutes.

  It wasn’t happening.

  Theodore would have to do this one solo. Truth was he probably wouldn’t notice her absence. He was the face everyone wanted to see. The next CEO of the family owned and operated Krieger Inc.

  Yvon
ne leaned against the bathroom wall and unbuttoned the top button on her suit jacket.

  This was not the way to start a conference.

  “Ms. Krieger?” a woman called out.

  “Yes?” Yvonne opened the stall door slowly.

  Please don’t let it be one of our employees...

  She was still paying penance for Vegas.

  A woman wearing a pale blue pant suit with a white silken top stood in the middle of the marble and tile bathroom holding Yvonne’s purse. She was petite, spoke English as though it were her first language, of Asian descent—but not Japanese—and looking at Yvonne as though they should know each other.

  “Hello, Ms. Krieger, I’m Melody Nguyen.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Yvonne stepped past her and washed her hands, more for the cool feeling water than anything else at this point.

  “I’m the client liaison for your security detail.”

  “Oh.” Yvonne grabbed a paper towel and turned toward the woman.

  So they really had security.

  She’d read the risk analysis, but it hadn’t seemed more dire than usual. Apparently someone on the government side of their deal thought otherwise.

  “I know you have a meeting in a few minutes.” Melody glanced at her watch. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

  “I can take that.” Yvonne held out her hand for her purse. “As far as the meeting goes, unless you have a change of clothes on you, I think I need to bow out of that meet and greet.”

  “Afraid not, but I do have these.” Melody produced what looked like miniature tooth brushes.

  “You are an angel.” Yvonne accepted the offered toiletry and turned to the sink to at least take care of her breath.

  Melody chuckled. “I’m going to go ensure your bags are taken to the suite. Here’s a room key. Our team is still setting up, but they will be out of your way shortly.” Melody placed a business card on the vanity. “This has my phone number as well as our Team Leader’s phone number. His name is Grant Anderson. Anything you need, just let us know.”

  “Thank you.” Yvonne took the card and key then slid them in her pocket.

  Melody left Yvonne in peace.

  She turned her attention back to the toothbrush.

  Theodore would handle the meeting, but he would mention it to Dad, who would then chastise Yvonne even more.

  Douglas got away with everything.

  Theodore could do no wrong.

  But Yvonne? She lived under a microscope. She had to be ten times as good as her brothers to matter half as much.

  No, that wasn’t true, but it felt like that.

  What she needed was some peppermint tea to soothe her stomach then a shower. The bubble bath would have to wait until she’d put the finishing touches on their keynote address.

  Yvonne finished up in the bathroom, outwardly no worse for wear. Unless someone smelled her.

  She dug out a small bottle of body spray and spritzed a bit on herself. If she was going to wait in line for tea she had to think about the poor souls around her. The light, fruity fragrance would mask the worst of it until she showered.

  Satisfied, she pushed out of the bathroom and into the lobby.

  The lobby was busy, but not packed like it would be tomorrow. Marble gleamed. The metallic wallpaper made the whole space seem to glow. It really was a lovely hotel.

  Yvonne crossed to the coffee bar, grateful for the short line. In a matter of moments she’d placed her order for the biggest tea they had.

  “Kim?” a man said right next to her.

  She side stepped the bar area and reached for her phone.

  “Hey, Kim?” The same man placed his hand on her elbow.

  Yvonne tipped her chin up, her gaze locking on forest green eyes.

  The world faded away and for a moment she wasn’t standing in a hotel lobby. No, she was on her back, nestled against soft sheets, staring up into those eyes.

  No.

  Oh, no.

  No way in hell was he here.

  “Hey.” Nolan’s mouth spread into a grin. A grin she’d thought was sexy when she met him in Vegas. “It’s good to see you again.”

  Right. He’d called her Kim all night and no amount of telling him he’d gotten her name wrong had stopped him. Then she hadn’t cared what he called her so long as he didn’t stop.

  Yvonne’s cheeks heated at those memories. The few good ones mixed into all the horribly embarrassing others. She couldn’t very well be rude to the man, even after what he’d done to her.

  “Nolan. Hello.” She held out her hand, using it to put space between them.

  He glanced at her hand then her face. Did he expect a warmer greeting after shoving her out of his hotel room, missing one shoe, hickies on her neck and left to walk across a hotel by herself?

  “Do you have a moment?” Nolan tilted his head to the side.

  Did she want to give him the time of day?

  No, not at all, but she really wanted that tea. She glanced at the barista then back at him. Deep down she was tempted to unleash all her anger about how he’d treated her, the mess he’d caused that she was still living through, but she wouldn’t make a public spectacle of herself.

  “Fine. Yes.” She took two steps toward the wall and away from the busy crowd.

  Nolan leaned in closer. She had to force herself to stand her ground instead of shrinking away. “Look, I’m sorry about having to leave like I did. When my job calls I have to go.”

  He stared at her.

  She stared at him.

  That was it?

  Her mind played back that morning in crystal clarity.

  She’d gone to sleep after the third or fourth round of the best sex of her life only to be woken up by a naked man having a heated argument with her father. Her father on her phone. She’d yanked it away and immediately set to doing damage control.

  After all, it was Douglas who woke up in random beds, not her.

  She’d gotten a glimpse of herself in the mirror mid-conversation while trying to convince Dad she’d slipped out for a morning meeting. That was when she’d seen the first hickey on her collar bone.

  Who did that?

  No sooner had she gotten off the phone than he was on his, getting dressed and telling her to get out. Okay, he might have said it a little nicer, but she’d been panicking, hung-over for the first time in her life and he hadn’t cared one bit. That she’d left his room with only one shoe was more insult to injury.

  And he was sorry for rushing out.

  “I see.” On the inside Yvonne raged. He didn’t see a single problem with what had happened, did he?

  “Was there something else?” His smile still dimmed.

  “I guess not.” Yvonne wanted away from this man. She’d thought for one night to take a chance on a handsome, smooth talking stranger who made her laugh and she’d been wrong. He was just like her man whore of a little brother. Yvonne would not make the same mistake again.

  “Nolan?”

  He glanced at the barista and frowned. “One second.”

  She took a deep, fortifying breath.

  On top of feeling like shit she now had to go through this weekend knowing he was in attendance as well. That was just her luck. At least he didn’t know her real name. His confusion might work out in her favor if they could simply avoid each other for the duration of the event.

  Nolan picked up two carriers of coffee then turned toward her once more.

  “Obviously you have somewhere to be. Don’t let me keep you.” She smiled, because what she wanted to do was flip the coffee all over his too handsome face.

  “What the fuck?” Nolan’s brow creased and his mouth turned down. “Did I miss something?”

  “That speaking to you is the last thing I want to do? Yes.” Tears prickled the back of Yvonne’s eyes.

  Why the hell was she about to cry?

  This over the top reacting had to be a product of too little sleep.

  Of course he didn�
��t take into consideration how his actions affected her. To this day her mother and father were still treating her like an errant child. Douglas loved bringing up her indiscretion. Theodore was the only one who didn’t hold it over her.

  Nolan opened his mouth then closed it.

  “Okay. Message received loud and clear.” He took a step back. “Hope you have a nice day, Kim.”

  Yvonne turned from him and muttered, “My name’s not Kim, asshole.”

  NOLAN THOMPSON WAS going to need the coffee gods to be on his side today.

  What the actual fuck just happened?

  He strode toward the elevator in a daze.

  When he’d packed for this job, he’d expected boring. Playing bodyguard in Japan wasn’t a terrible way to spend a week. Then a familiar scent had tickled Nolan’s nose, bringing to mind long caramel hair, rumpled sheets and the sweetest moan he’d ever heard.

  Kim.

  She’d been standing right there.

  She looked different all buttoned up in business attire with her hair twisted up off her shoulders and subdued make-up. Hell, if it hadn’t been for that scent that had haunted him for the last six weeks he might not have recognized her at all.

  Man, that night.

  There’d been something different about her. The sex. How they fit. It was like they belonged. Normally Nolan kept his relationships short. Traveling the way he did and his lifestyle didn’t lend to putting down roots. But she’d made him want to try, if only for the sex.

  Too bad he hadn’t gotten her number. He’d been so pissed when he realized he didn’t have it. No amount of digging had yielded anything else about her. Ultimately, he’d had to give up finding his mystery woman in the sequin dress with vamp red lips.

  If he could go back and be a little less of an ass trying to get out the door for an emergency job, he’d do it. But Grant had called and said those magic words, kids in danger, and Nolan had lost his shit. He’d made an ass out of himself in more ways than one. Clearly it was too much to hope that fate was giving him a shot at making things right with his mystery woman. She hated him. Because he’d had to go?

  Well fuck that.

  He couldn’t exactly tell her that lives were on the line—children—but he had no time for someone who wouldn’t hear him out. Everyone fucked up. What mattered was what came after.