Snatched (Coronado Series Book 2) (2 page)

“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 asshole 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.”
 

Rory turned around and saw the angry look on Max’s face. “Don’t give him a hard time. I saw what he was up to and played a long. Now that we have that out of the way, we can move forward.” She sat down and crossed her legs. “It happens a lot - men see a woman with big hair, big boobs and a big butt, and they go dumb for a moment. I think it’s best to deal with it straight off and then move on.” She had a crazy man after her, but she could still be in charge of how men interacted with her. It was small, but it was something.
Once I get a gun then I can really be in charge.

Max still looked pissed off as he studied them both. “I’m not sure what the hell just happened, but I hope it doesn’t happen again. We are a very professional organization here despite what you just saw. You’ll never have to worry about unwanted attention from any of my employees.”

Rory smiled back at him, “What about wanted attention? I saw a lot of good looking men walking around here and I want to know if I have to keep my hands off?” She heard Frank snicker next to her and she chose to ignore him. “I’m just kidding Max. I was trying to bring down the tension in here. I’m a big girl and can take care of myself. I’ve had this body since I was fourteen and I’ve learned how to divert attention. Birdie is always telling me to behave and I try to - just not always successfully. Sometimes I just want to make the person understand what it feels like.”

Frank stood up, “Rory, let’s get your schedule and we can arrange for your security detail.”

Max gave him a list, “This is what we need to get started on today. Let me know if you can think of anything else.” Frank started reading it, looked at Max and nodded.

“Rory, let me have your computer and phone, and I’ll have Derick get started. Also give me your car keys and we’ll have Jack take your car over to the warehouse and sweep it. We’ll have someone bring it over to your house later on.” He turned towards his office, “I’ll check back and let you know what we come up with.” He smiled at Rory and walked back into his office.

“Sorry about Frank. I hope his behavior didn’t make you feel uncomfortable.”

“It was actually a welcome distraction. I’m used to dealing with it and I know how. The crazy stalker who is after me - not so much.”

“Do you have a gut feeling about who this person might be? We discover people often have a sense of where the threat is coming from.” He opened his laptop and started a file on Rory and typed a couple of notes. “I want you to feel confident that we will find the person who is making your life a little more interesting than you would like. Tell me about work and what’s going on there and any ex-boyfriends.”

He watched her let out a sigh, “Well there are no ex-boyfriends lurking around. I haven’t had one of those in years.” He kept a straight face as he felt a wave of relief pass through him. He was glad that he wasn’t going to have to get rid of anyone. He didn’t want another man hanging around - he wanted to be the only one. He knew it was crazy to be so attracted to her, but it was a crazy and he was willing to live with.

“OK, no ex-boyfriends. Tell me about work.”

“I went to work for Bob after I graduated from college. It was tough to get a job at the time and he offered me one for as long as I wanted it. I planned to spend only a year with the hotels and gain some experience. My one - year plan turned into six years. It’s definitely time to make a change.”

“Don’t let this person scare you away from a job you like. This will be taken care of and you can go back to your life.”

She realized she didn’t want to go back to her life - she wanted a new one. “I’m good at my job, but I don’t really enjoy it. Quite frankly, I’m tired of dealing with Bob’s son, and this stalker is the icing on the cake. I’m taking this as a sign to move on and find something that I am better suited for.”
 

“Tell me about your step brother. Has he always given you a hard time?”

“He is not my step brother, he is Bob’s son. When your mother gets remarried when you’re in college, you do not acquire siblings. I think Jackson is a jerk and his narcissistic behavior is becoming more erratic by the week. I knew he resented me when his father gave me an opportunity after college. I had the impression that he was afraid of me taking something away from him, which is ridiculous. I took the job because it was a tough job market. I never considered staying there for a career.”

“We will definitely take a look at him. Do you want to stay at your job or do you want to make a change right away?”

“What do you think? I’m ready to give my notice, but I would also like to catch the creep. Is it worth staying for another month?”

“You should stay for at least a couple of weeks. Give your notice to Bob and ask him to keep it quiet. We’ll gather enough information that we can move on in that time frame. If we don’t then staying at your job won’t make a difference.”

She started to smile, “I’m actually starting to feel relieved. Is that crazy? I’m going to upend my life and create something new. If you can get me a gun and show me how to use it, I would feel even better.” She looked at him and thought,
If I could just let this stalker problem tip into his broad, very capable - looking hands and let it go. What a relief that would be.

“You really want a gun. How long have you had this desire?”

Rory swallowed and stared at him as her gaze dropped to his mouth. When she heard the word desire, her mind went somewhere else. She could feel the heat and excitement ping to life.
That hasn’t happened in a long time. Why now? Why him?
“I just decided today that I want one. I want to be able to take care of myself. I have felt scared for two months, and I’m tired of it. How long does it take to get one? Maybe I could go today.”

“Would you be willing to wait a couple of days? Let us get some Intel, and then we can get you what you need.” He got up again and sat next to Rory and studied her for a moment. “I’m going to take care of you.” He put his big hand over hers and felt like she belonged to him…. just like that.
 

The phone buzzed, and Frank’s voice came across the intercom, they both sat up instantly. “I’d better get that.” He stood up and went around his desk to pick up the phone, as he listened to Frank he frowned and made notes. Rory watched him for a moment and decided to take a break. She went in search of the ladies room, and as she walked down the hall she noticed a large office with computers running different programs. She watched several men work the keyboards and it reminded her of the wizard in the old movie.
 

After Max was done with the phone call, he went looking for Rory and headed in the direction of the back offices. He walked around the corner and caught sight of her. He felt a swirl of anticipation deep in his gut as he got closer. It was sexual energy combined with something else….something deeper and more complicated. He felt his pulse quicken as he walked up to her and took her hand. “I came to find you - lunch is going to be delivered to the conference room in a few moments.”
 

They stood in the middle of the hallway and he felt the noise of the office fall away as she looked up. All he could feel was her soft skin against his and he felt lucky that he was the man she chose to protect her. They stared at each other for a long moment and didn’t say a thing - they simply stared into each other’s eyes. Finally, he broke their gaze and put his hand on the small of her back and led her in the direction of the conference room. “I hope you like what we ordered for lunch.”

Rory followed him into the conference room and brushed against him as she passed in front of him. There was something about him that had her hormones doing a happy dance. She knew this was not something that she could pay attention to right now, as much as she might have liked.
 

She noticed how much food was on the table. “Are you feeding an army? That’s a lot of food!”

“Not an army, just a bunch of retired SEALs. We like to eat a lot and I’ve found it’s a good idea to keep the Team happy.” He pulled out a chair and tucked her in, “What would you like to drink?”

“Water would be great, thank you.”

He brought her a bottle of water and sat down next to her. “We are getting a handle on the situation and have a preliminary TAC plan in place.”

“What is a TAC plan?”

“That is short for tactical plan - the way we are going to approach solving this issue for you.” He opened a bottle of ice tea, took a big slug and looked at her. He found she was staring at him and waited to see if she was going to say anything.
 

“Is everyone who works here a former Navy SEAL?”

“Once a SEAL, always a SEAL. We are either active or retired. Most of the guys are from the Teams, but the support staff are civilians. The key operators are all retired SEALs. We’ve all worked with one another at some point in our career.” He sat back and his big body filled the chair, and he noticed that she continued to stare at him. “Is there something you want to ask me? You seem to have something else on your mind.”