Snatched (Coronado Series Book 2) Read online

  SNATCHED

  CORONADO SERIES

  BOOK TWO

  LEA HART

  Copyright 2014 Lea Hart

  All Rights Reserved

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters and events are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be interpreted as real. Any similarity to real events, locales or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  DEDICATION

  For My Daughters, My Heartbeat

  For My Mom, My Champion

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I want to thank the people who helped me shape this book into something readable; Mom and Sharon

  I would like to thank my brilliant oldest daughter for helping with the social media side of being an author and for not being too horrified that her Mother writes Romance Novels.

  I would like to thank my youngest daughter for providing me with an opportunity to become the person that I’m supposed to be.

  Prologue

  Rory and Max met in Latched (Coronado Series Book 1)

  . ….Max lifted his chin in the direction of the table, “Who is the woman who looks like an Italian movie star sitting with her?”

  “That’s Rory, she is the woman who has been receiving those letters. Birdie wants her to talk to you.” Max studied the woman, she was beautiful but probably a pain in the ass. Women who looked like that always were. “I will introduce you two later on. I’m going to let them finish eating.”

  Ana walked into the back yard and found Birdie. She walked over and noticed Blake standing with Mark out of the corner of her eye. She could feel his presence all the way across the yard. Birdie saw her walking over and got up to hug her cousin. “I finished the last of my lab work for my final paper. I think I may be done, which is impossible to believe.”

  “Congratulations, I’m so proud of you. I can’t believe that I’m going to be able to call you Dr. James.” Mark, Blake, Travis and Max walked up to the group and Birdie stood up to give Mark a kiss. “Are you having fun?”

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in and kissed her hard. “Baby, you sure put on a great party. When are we going to make our announcement?”

  “Mark, everyone already knows. I didn’t realize that men in the Navy were bigger gossips than high school girls.”

  “We like to call it exchanging Intel, not gossip.”

  “Is that like when you give a stink eye and call it evaluating your opponent?”

  “Something like that, anyway, I wanted Max to meet everyone.” Mark introduced Birdie to his close friend and then introduced Rory and Ana.

  Rory shook Blake and Travis’s hand and then turned to Max and gave him her complete focus. She held her hand out and he took it. “I’m very happy to meet you and I look forward to coming into your office and discussing my current situation. I think I’ve foolishly ignored it hoping it would go away but in fact it has gotten worse. I hope you can help me.”

  Max looked at Rory and noticed she had eyes the color of emeralds and smelled like vanilla. He realized he shouldn’t be thinking about how nice she smelled because she was going to put her safety in his hands. “Please come by first thing in the morning, so we can take a look at everything and put together a plan.” He handed her his card and she leaned forward and hugged him. As he felt her softness he took a steadying breath and tried to remember why he didn’t play with fire anymore.

  She let him go and swept her hair over her shoulder. “Sorry, I am a hugger. I’m so relieved that you are willing to take this on.” She patted his chest with her hand, “I hope I did not make you uncomfortable.”

  “No, not at all. I’m glad my group is going to be able to solve this for you.” Liar, liar, he was going to be in a shitload of trouble with this one. She smiled at him and he felt his heart skip a beat.

  CHAPTER ONE

  At least it wasn’t a dead body or rat on the front porch, only a bunch of dead, decapitated roses.

  Rory ignored the sweat trickling down her back as she jumped into her car. She made her way downtown and thought about the note that was attached to the bouquet. In the scheme of things decapitated flowers were not that big of a deal. Coming face to face with the person who was sending such sweet gifts might be.

  She zigzagged in and out of traffic and thought about the man that she’d met yesterday at Birdie’s house. She hoped he was as good as Birdie said, otherwise she was never going to be free of this nonsense. She drove into downtown, made her way over to the street and checked the address on the tall elegant glass building. Discovering she was in the right place, she swung into the parking structure and found a spot. She took a calming breath and hoped this was going to mark the beginning of the end for her stalker.

  She gathered her things, got in the elevator and tried to take a deep breath. Unfortunately, the form fitting business dress she wore made it nearly impossible. She knew that tailoring was her friend because it kept her curvy figure from looking too overblown. But she just didn’t always find it very comfortable. She walked up to the offices of Security Alliance and noticed two security cameras above the door. She looked for the door handle and couldn’t find it, then glancing over, she finally spotted a panel to the left and a bell right above it. She heard the whirring sound of cameras as they moved to locate her image. I guess they must be good if they have all of these precautions. She rang the bell and a minute later heard a click as the door slid silently open. She walked in and was greeted by the receptionist, “May I help you?”

  “Yes, I’m here to meet with Max. He’s expecting me, I’m Rory Basso.”

  “Of course. Please have a seat and I will let him know you’re here.”

  The lobby was beautiful – luxurious yet comfortable. There were huge plants in the corners, soft classical music in the background and plush armchairs to enjoy. She sat down and looked around as she waited for Max to be available. She noticed some impressive original art on the walls and a lovely Aubusson carpet beneath her feet. They must be good at what they do to afford such lovely offices.

  She looked through the heavy glass wall that separated the back offices and watched Max walk down the long hall in front of her. He’s as attractive as I remember. At a little over six feet, with broad shoulders, he certainly qualified as man candy. The man was built like a bear. You could see his well-developed chest under his dress shirt. He had short light brown hair, dark green eyes and a deadly smile. She admonished herself…. Pull it together - not here to get a date. Here to get rid of a stalker. She had bigger fish to fry and this wasn’t the time for her sleeping libido to wake up. Go back to sleep desire – not the time.

  Max walked down the hall and walked through the glass doors, “Hi Rory. Welcome to Security Alliance.”

  She took his hand and noticed that it engulfed hers as they shook. Somehow having this small physical contact with him allowed her to take a calming breath for the first time in weeks.

  “Let’s go back to my office - would you like anything to drink?”

  “No thank you, I’m fine.” She followed him down the hall and noticed that beneath the wool of his black slacks he had a very fine ass. You could probably crack a walnut on it. She knew it was inappropriate to be ogling his behind, but it didn’t s
top her from enjoying the view.

  They arrived at his office door, she walked in and sat in the chair that faced his desk and waited. He followed her in and sat behind his big desk, “When you’re ready, let me know how we can help you.”

  Rory sat up with her shoulders held tightly, No dead bodies… only dead roses, pull it together. “I want you to know that I’m both scared and mad at the situation I find myself in. I don’t like feeling vulnerable, and I’m furious with the son of a bitch who is doing this. In fact, I may bash the bastard’s head in when I find out who it is.” She let out a big breath and crossed her legs. “Sorry about that, I’ve been holding that thought in for a while. It feels good to just let it out.”

  “No problem, the more information you give us, the faster we can solve this for you.” Max watched her sit back and heard the hiss of nylons as she re-crossed her legs. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard anything so sexy. A surprising image flashed through his mind and it involved him slowly pulling down her stockings. It might or might not involve him using his teeth. It definitely involved his hands in places that she might not feel was appropriate in light of their current relationship. He tried to regulate his breathing and keep a neutral expression on his face. It would probably be best if she didn’t figure out what was going through his mind.

  She opened her briefcase and looked for the bag with the notes. “I want to thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I’m sure you’re terribly busy and I appreciate it.” She continued to rummage through her briefcase and finally found what she was looking for. She looked up and stared at him, “I noticed your southern accent yesterday at the party. Where are you from?”

  “I’m from a small town in Georgia called Cedartown. I sometimes forget about my accent.”

  “I thought you might be from Alabama. I’m not sure why I’m asking about that right now. Before I got here, I reminded myself to be thankful that there were only dead roses and not dead bodies on my front porch. Maybe I’m just distracting myself.”

  “I know walking through our doors often makes the situation more real for our clients.” He watched her closely and realized she was getting close to her limit. He came around the desk, sat next to her and put his hand on her arm. “We got this. The team and I will take care of you.” She put her hand on top of his and squeezed.

  Max felt it all the way up his arm. “Would you like to start with the dead roses? Why were you thinking there might be a dead body on your front porch?”

  “I wasn’t expecting a dead body. I was just happy there wasn’t one. At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me. The last couple of months has taught me that anything is possible. Maybe you could teach me how to use a gun or a knife or something. That way I can have a few options when I meet the person.” She looked at him with complete sincerity as she waited for his response.

  “I think you can leave the knives and guns to us. We can certainly give you some instruction on self–defense though. Let’s take advantage of the multi-million dollar training we’ve received courtesy of Uncle Sam. Think of us as your own personal army.” He looked at her and wondered if he should be worried about her desire for a weapon.

  “Can you teach me how to use a small gun? Maybe a cute one that can fit in my purse? That way if you’re busy, I can take the guy out.” She sat back in the chair and let some of the tension out of her shoulders. “I guess I skipped crying and moved right into rage. Surprisingly, I’m starting to feel better.”

  He returned to his chair, “Let’s wait on the firearms training and see what we have first. That way we know what kind of arsenal to give you.” He saw her face light up with a dazzling smile. It was scary how the idea of an arsenal made her so happy. He was going to have to keep that in mind as they moved forward on the case. It was a good sign that she wanted to be in charge and not a victim. It would serve her well. “Sweetheart, just give me as much information as you can and we’ll do the rest. Tell me what’s been going on.”

  Rory mentally pulled up her big-girl panties and began. “It started a couple of months ago when I was photographed with my mom, her husband and his son. My stepfather owns about a dozen hotels around the world and is quite wealthy. The picture showed up in the newspaper and I was listed as one of Bob’s children. I never thought much about it, until I received a note several days later at work. I work at the corporate office for Bob’s company. I’m in charge of operations for all of the hotels. After I received notes steadily for two weeks, I decided to speak with the corporate security team to see if they could put an end to it. They conducted a preliminary investigation and came up with nothing conclusively. The following month, I started receiving notes on my car as well as emails. Mom and I went to the police and asked for their help, but they said they couldn’t do anything until the person contacted me in person. I was so frustrated at that point and began to wonder if I was over - reacting. I decided to get out of town and travel to all of the hotel locations and see if I could get a break from the nonsense, but no such luck. I continued to receive emails and the person seemed to know where I was. That’s when it went from creepy to scary. I spoke with Birdie before I left, and she suggested I speak with you. I was finally scared enough to come home and face whatever is going on.”

  “Let me see what you have and we can get started.”

  “You make it sound so easy - I guess I should’ve come to you earlier.” She handed him the bag with the notes she’d collected, as well as a flash drive with a copy of the emails. “This isn’t everything. Bob’s security team kept a few, as did the detective. I think there’s enough here, though, to give you a clear picture of what’s been going on.”

  He opened the bag and took out the envelopes that contained the notes. He arranged the envelopes by date, and started to go through them. She had collected enough notes to fill ten envelopes - the guy was serious about communicating with her. “I wish we had more clients like you. You’ve done the work for us by putting them in order.”

  Max frowned as he read them. Why the fuck had no one taken this seriously? The guy was escalating through the notes and making some very clear threats. Anyone with half a brain could see that the guy was on the edge. He hadn’t even gone through the emails yet, but was fairly confident that they were going to be worse. He had a feeling that the next step this guy took would be an attempt to snatch her. Over my dead body. No one is going to get a hold of her. The guy seemed to be obsessed and interested in controlling her behavior. The notes from last month were very clear and descriptive. He wanted to do some real harm to Rory if she didn’t behave in a way that he approved of.

  “We’ll start with a 24 - hour security detail. Then we’ll secure your home and car, finally we find out who this son of a bitch is. Let’s take a look at your computer and phone and see what we come up with.” He put the notes back in order and put them in the bag, “Tell me about the dead roses that you received.”

  “As I was leaving this morning, I discovered a bunch of dead decapitated roses at my front door.” She opened her purse, pulled out the note that came with them and handed it to him. “This came with the roses - not quite the missive I was hoping for. Quite frankly, I think it’s rude to give someone flowers and then threaten to chop them up. I think he could have just skipped the flowers if he was going to threaten me.”

  He unfolded the note and read it. He looked at her and was surprised by how calm she appeared despite the threats implied in the letter. “We will definitely be placing you under 24 hour protection.”

  “Wow! That sounds like a lot. Are you sure I’m going to need all of that? No one has paid attention to me in the last two months and you’re willing to do all of this for me?”

  “I’m paying attention, Rory, and this is serious.” Leaning forward, he returned her gaze, “The person is escalating the contact. The notes are becoming more frequent and threatening, and they arrive wherever you are - which suggests the guy has eyes on you all the time. The next thing this assho
le is going to do is contact you in person, and I’m guessing it’s not going to be friendly. People who do this are pushing the boundaries until you push back. They take one step forward and then another. We need to make sure we stop this before he tries to snatch you. One of our specialties here is recovering kidnapped people. Unfortunately it’s turned into a big business. We want to make sure we don’t have to come rescue you.”

  “Well, let’s get started.”

  He watched as she pulled herself together. Good job, you’re going to need that. This wasn’t going to be a quick fix and she was going to need all the resolve she could muster.

  “Let me call my partner in, I want him to work on this as well.” He pushed a button on his phone, “Frank, can you come into my office? Rory is here.” They heard a grunt and then a man walked through the side door of Max’s office. She stood, turned towards Frank and watched him drag his gaze up and down her body slowly. He finally lifted his eyes to her mouth and let it rest there as he gave her a very appreciative smile. Max noticed what his partner was doing, “Knock it off Frank - the woman isn’t interested in your charm.”

  Rory held up her hand, “Hold on a minute. I may be interested in his charm.” She looked him up and down and gave him a smile similar to the one he had given her. “You’re a very good looking man, but I’m sure you already know that.”

  Both men stared and Frank was the first to speak, “Nice to meet you.” He took a step forward, held her hand and looked her in the eye. He instantly recognized that he was being played. Not only was she pretty, she was smart as well. She took control of the situation without being a bitch, and let him know where she stood. They looked at each other for a second longer and Frank started laughing. “I deserved that - I like you Rory. I will make sure to take good care of you.”