Destined for Power (10 page)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Mallory picked up the ringing phone as she packed for her stay at Reid’s resort. She stood looking into her gun safe, trying to decide between the Beretta and the Glock. She grabbed them both. Guns were like shoes: you could never pack too many.

“Lloyd, thanks for calling me back,” Mallory said as she answered. Lloyd was the accountant to the stars—the criminal stars, that was.

“Mallory darling,” he said in his prim British accent. After all, being an earl meant that manners were bred into him just like they were in the South. “What can I do for my favorite poppet?”

“I need some information. Someone wants to hurt my daddy, and I just can’t let that happen,” Mallory said as sweet as sugar. Lloyd loved it. If she was with him in person, she might even have thrown in a pout and a bat of her lashes.

“My poor poppet! Tell Lloyd what he can do to help.”

“I need to know all about Prince Liam’s finances.”

“Prince Liam is involved? Then I daresay you do need some help. Spoiled whelp. I’ve seen my fair share of bad apples in royal families, but he’s a blighter.”

“I think he’s the one arranging things with Black and Jonak. Have you heard of them?”

“By Jove, those two have quite the reputation as dirty up-and-comers. But, they still have a lot to prove. Their fathers are something of a legend, or a nightmare, in the underworld—ruthless to the core. Rumor has it Black and Jonak have gone all in with Prince Liam. If they fail their fathers . . . well, let’s just say their fathers will cut their losses.”

“I think Liam is using them to orchestrate this assassination, either through some off-the-books account I can’t find or through their fathers’ business.”

Mallory heard Lloyd take in a deep breath. “I can look into Black and Jonak, but their fathers . . . that could be dangerous.”

“Don’t do anything that would put you in danger. Just keep your ear to the ground, will you?”

“For you, of course. It’ll take some time because I’ll need to be very careful. I’ll call you when I have something. Don’t fret, poppet. Lloyd will come through for you.”

Mallory smiled at the phone as she pushed a pair of boot knives into the foam of the steel case. “Thank you, Lloyd. Kisses.”

Mallory looked into the drawer and pulled out two combat knives along with two daggers. She placed them into the foam liner and closed the case. She set it by the door along with one bag of clothes, one bag of shoes, and one bag of guns. She looked back in her safe and saw the military combat tomahawk. Hmm, a girl never knew when she might need one of those.

Mallory grabbed it from the hook and slid it into her Prada tote. Feeling secure in her ability to protect Reid, she headed out the door. If only she was secure enough to tell him everything about her past. Maybe telling him about the number of people she had killed was like telling him the number of men she had slept with . . . best to divide it by three.

* * *

Reid headed downstairs and walked through his lobby. He was freshly showered and dressed in his typical suit and tie. He passed behind the front desk, saying hello to the people working, and headed back to some of the offices.

He knocked once on the partially open door of the event planner's office and walked in. Evelyn looked up from the computer and smiled at him. He smiled back and took a seat across from her desk. Evelyn was twenty-eight, stunningly beautiful, and would do anything to please. He didn’t know from experience, but by the looks she sent him he knew he could if he ever wanted to.

“Evelyn.”

“Yes, Mr. Simpson. What can I do for you today?”

“I have someone from my Las Vegas hotel coming today. Miss Winters is the head of events there, and I want her to come and take a look around.”

Evelyn’s eyes blinked rapidly. Her lower lip pouted just a bit. “Are you displeased with me?”

“Not at all. Miss Winters will be a silent observer only. And she’s not here to comment on your job performance. She’s solely here to see if there is anything the hotel chain itself can do or offer to improve our guest relations.”

“Oh, like destination wedding and honeymoon packages?”

“Exactly. That’s one of the things she’s looking at—a package at the same resort or if we can offer a special for couples using one of our hotels for the wedding and another for the honeymoon. So, please feel free to write down any ideas you have and tell the staff to answer her questions, but don’t draw too much attention to her. She’s going to stay through the charity ball at the end of this week. Can you have the Star Suite made up for her?”

“Sure thing, Mr. Simpson. Is there anything else you’ll be needing?” Evelyn asked as her tongue darted out to lick her bottom lip.

“No, thanks, Evelyn.”

Reid headed through the lobby and entered the ballroom. In a couple of days, this place was going to be packed with people. Secret Service was scheduled to arrive tomorrow even though Agent Wallace had already done a preliminary report on the place and sent it to Washington.

“It doesn’t look like there could be that many places to hide, but I can think of six ways right now to kill someone.”

Reid turned and looked at Mallory, standing behind him. He blinked at the black wig she wore. With her porcelain skin, it made her look vampish in a sexy way. He cocked his head. There was something different about her nose too. It was pointier. She looked around the room with a critical eye that made Reid realize he didn’t know anything about her anymore. He looked back where the stage was going to be and wondered how he felt about this side of her. He’d been shocked when he’d found Mallory bloody and beaten in an alley as she tried to protect his sister Allegra from a dangerous stalker. Once again when Mallory had killed the son of a bitch with a single shot to the back of his head.

He’d seen her at the hospital afterward. She hadn’t shed a tear. She wasn’t shaking. She didn’t seem upset at all. He’d thanked her for saving his sister and never thought she should have been more upset after killing a man, even if he was a bad man. Did Mallory even have feelings anymore? From the limited interaction he’d had with her, he had thought she had turned emotionless . . . just like her father.

“Are you saying that for shock value? To make sure I know how much you’ve changed?” Reid asked as he looked her in the eyes.

“Yes and no. I’m not the same person I was, Reid. I don’t know how to explain it. I’ve buried so much for so long, I don’t know how to let it out—or if I should. You need to know that. And then, yes, I can also see those things happening. It’s just like planning a seating chart for a society event. I can see it all laid out. Every angle, every possibility. See there,” Mallory pointed to the air return vent. “I’d sit in there with a rifle. I’ve seen the plans, but tonight I’ll need a way up there. I want to check it out for myself.”

Reid looked up, way up, at the vent. “You want to go up there?”

Mallory nodded her head. “Where is the stage going to be set?”

“There.” Reid pointed to the far end of the room.

“Miss Winters! I didn’t know you were already here,” Evelyn cried as she hurried across the ballroom.

“That’s you. Event planner from Las Vegas. Trying to come up with ideas to implement across the hotels,” Reid murmured before turning around to introduce them.

“A pleasure, Evelyn.” Mallory smiled. Reid looked at her again as Evelyn talked. Mallory was telling the truth. She had no real emotion. She smiled and laughed, and none of it was true.

“Please let me know if there is anything I can help with. Anything at all,” Evelyn said sweetly.

“I will. Thank you. Right now I’m going to head up to my room. It’s been a long flight.”

“Of course, your key is at the front desk, and your bags have already been taken up.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you later, Mr. Simpson.”

Reid stood and watched Mallory leave with Evelyn. His mind may have been wondering if Mallory was the same person he had fallen in love with, but his heart already told him she was. She just needed to be reminded what they shared.

* * *

Mallory wiggled into a pair of jeans and a tight-fitting black top. She slipped her feet into a pair of ballet flats and pulled her long hair into a ponytail. She wasn’t going to get dressed up for dinner tonight. Not when she was going to be crawling around ductwork in a couple of hours.

Mallory looked in the mirror then looked away. It was all a lie. She was all a lie. She didn’t even know who she was anymore. Her life had been one of vengeance. Anything it took to make her father angry. She didn’t even know how she felt about her father’s involvement in all this. When Ahmed had said her father was possibly in danger, she’d felt something. Guilt? She didn’t know, and she didn’t particularly want to think about it.

The knock at the door stopped her thoughts. It would be Reid. It was time for dinner. That was a whole other bag of worms she didn’t want to open. He knew. He believed her. But, could she still protect him?

“Good evening, Reid.”

Mallory swallowed. He was so handsome as he held out his arm for her to take. She giggled as she took it, and Reid smiled. Old emotions that had been buried deep struggled to awaken.

“There she is,” Reid said with an achingly sweet smile.

“Who?”

“The Mallory I fell in love with.” Reid pushed open his door and led her inside. Candles were everywhere. The table was set with linens and two covered plates. Wine was chilling. It was the most romantic sight she’d seen.

“I don’t know if that woman exists anymore, Reid,” Mallory confessed.

“She does. I see her every now and again. You’ve protected me long enough, Mallory. You should have told me. We could have figured out a way together,” Reid said as he cupped her face with his hands.

Mallory felt her throat tighten with emotion. “No, we couldn’t. It wasn’t just you he threatened. It was your whole family. You know he’s powerful enough to follow through with his threats of the IRS and SEC. But I’m proud of you. You and your family worked together, and look what you've accomplished. I’m so glad you found something you love doing.”

“But what about you? Do you love working for the government? The same government your father works for?”

“I didn’t do it for love. I did it for revenge. And I haven’t done it in years. This just directly affected me, so I was brought back in. As for owning my security firm, it’s something I’m good at.”

“Are you happy, Mallory?”

Mallory looked into his eyes and shook her head. “For what I did to you, I don’t deserve happiness. How could I ever be happy knowing how much I hurt you? The memory of the pain on your face when I told you to leave . . .” Suddenly her face was crushed against his chest. One hand cradled the back of her head while the other held her tight.

“Mallory, you sacrificed yourself for me. I was angry with you, hated you even, but my heart still wanted you. I’ve thought about nothing else for the past two hours. I was upset that you didn’t tell me. But the more I thought about it, the more I understood your reasoning. If anyone deserves happiness, it’s you—no, it's us,” Reid corrected. “We deserve happiness. Or at least the chance of it.”

“I can’t, Reid. Not until this is settled. I can’t lose focus now. Not when someone is out there trying to kill you.”

“Let it go, Mallory. You’ve protected me long enough. Tomorrow I’m hiring a horde of private bodyguards.”

“They won’t be able to stop him. In fact, it will make it easier. Do you know how many times I slipped in to do a job as a bodyguard? Let me do this, Reid. Let me do my job. I’m good at it. It’s my redemption. Please.”

Mallory waited as Reid thought about it. “Fine. But I’m not wasting another moment. We have years to catch up on, and I’m not about to wait.”

Mallory’s protest was cut short by Reid’s lips closing on hers. He was hesitant as if waiting for her to stop him, but when she didn’t immediately push him away, he took control. Mallory moaned and clung to him as he reminded her with every caress of his tongue why they were destined to be together.

Reid felt as if the piece of him that had been missing was finally found. He was complete once again. His heart pounded with happiness. Every kiss, every sound, every taste was emblazoned on his heart and in his memory. Only now it wasn’t in his dreams. It was real. Mallory had left him to protect him. She had loved him. It had to mean something that all these years later neither of them had been in a serious relationship. Neither of them had found love again.

He ran his hand down her side and felt the curve of her breast and the indentation at her waist as he carefully avoided her burns. His fingers flexed into her hip as he pulled her closer to him. There was no one else for him. It had always been her. It would always be her.

“Mallory, I love you,” Reid said as his lips rubbed against hers. He felt her stiffen and cursed himself. He’d moved too fast.

“Reid . . .”

Reid pulled back and looked into her face. Gone was the mask; all that was left were vulnerable wide eyes. “I know it’s too soon, but it’s not soon at all. I’ve never stopped loving you. Don’t give up on us. Believe in us, Mallory. Together we can stand up to your father. Together we can handle anything.”