Branded (Strand Brothers Series Book 1) (5 page)

“You Aimee Taylor’s friend?”

“Again, who’s asking?”

“Steve. I’m here under Mr. Strand’s directive.”

“Who?”

I heard the confusion in her voice, for she had no idea who Nik was. I cleared my throat. “Renée, ‘s okay. I’ve got it.”

She spun on me. “The hell? You were shaking like a leaf a few minutes ago. Now you’ve got it? Start talking, Aimee, or I swear…”

I held up my hand to silence her. “Trust me.” I inclined my head so she would fully comprehend what I attempted to convey to her silently.

“Fine,” she sighed and stepped around me to go back inside her apartment. But I knew my best friend; she would hover by the door to make sure I really was all right.

I approached
Goliath
—I mean, Steve—and introduced myself. “I’m Aimee Taylor.” I held out my hand to shake his.

As he grasped my hand, he affirmed, “Steve Thompson, ma’am. I’m your body guard.”

“Body guard? I didn’t hire a protection detail.”

He smiled, which was alarmingly bright. He truly was easy on the eyes. “No, ma’am. Mr. Strand assigned me to you.”

“Nik hired you for me?”

“I already work for Mr. Strand.” Steve confirmed, “He sent me here to keep an eye on things until he arrived.”

I blew out a long breath. “How did…?”

I never did get to complete my inquiry because the man in question prowled to my side. Whew, even the man’s gait was hella sexy.
Oh boy, I’m in so much trouble.

Nik addressed, “Thank you, Thompson. I’ll take it from here.”

“Sir.” Steve gave him a deferential nod. “Did you want me to wait for you here or the car?”

“If you wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on things out front, thank you.”

“Affirmative, sir. Let me know when you’re ready.”

With that he left. And I stood there in the hallway with the most audacious man I’d ever met. That was saying something. I fluctuated between extremely pissed off and grateful. I settled for somewhere in the middle and queried, “Nik, what’s going on?”

He grasped my elbow and ushered me through my front door.
Wait! How’s my door open?
As we stepped inside, I abruptly stopped. “What? How?” I stood there in absolute shock. My apartment—the one place that I could be
me
. My sanctuary had been completely destroyed. I gasped, “Oh, my…Who? I-I don’t…” I took in the sight completely befuddled. “Why would someone do this?”

Nik grabbed me by my upper arms and moved me against the wall. Then he took a protective stance in front of me and withdrew a gun from an ankle holster. He glanced over his shoulder and commanded, “Stay.” He began to case my apartment. His gaze missed nothing. If I hadn’t known better, I’d think he was law enforcement. After he performed a thorough search, he returned. He replaced his gun back in its holster and held out his hand to me. “Come.”

Still unsure how I felt about him barking orders at me, I took his hand. I would think about it later. At that moment, I clutched his hand firmly and obeyed, letting him lead me through my once beautiful space. Nothing appeared to be salvageable. But, then again, that could’ve been my mind playing tricks on me. With lack of sleep and my emotions high, I wasn’t firing on all cylinders. When we reached my bedroom, I froze in utter horror. After a beat, I screamed, “NO!!!” The word
WHORE
was spray painted on the wall and my bed. Everything had been slashed to bits or broken beyond repair: my clothes, shoes, books, and bedding. There wasn’t a thing left untouched from the hatred. I ran to the toilet and heaved. Nik crouched beside me and held my hair back with one hand. With the other, he soothingly stroked up and down my spine. “Don’t worry,” he appeased. “I’ll find out who did this. I’ll handle it,” he vowed.

Of that I had no doubt. He would not only find the person responsible, but he would hold them accountable. A shiver passed through me. Heaven help the person who did this when Nik got his hands on them. I didn’t know him well, at all. Yet, even I could tell he was a powerful being that demanded respect. Absolute authority. You did
not
cross this man. Since my tooth brush was nowhere to be found, I rinsed my mouth out in the sink.
Seriously, my toothbrush! For what purpose, exactly?

“Are you all right?” Nik asked.

“I have to go.” I walked into my living room and over my shoulder demanded, “Call the police, please.”

He nodded and replied, “Done.”

*****

I proceeded to Renée’s with Nik hot on my heels.

“What the hell’s goin’ on?” Renée inquired.

At that point I snapped, no longer able to contain the emotion that had been building up since the first moment I laid eyes on my apartment. The dam broke. I fell to my knees and sobbed. Renée rushed over at the same time Nik knelt in front of me.

Nik leaned in so he was speaking in my ear. “Hey, now.” He reassured, “You’re going to be fine.” I reached up and clasped my hands behind his neck, letting the tears continue to fall. “Shh, baby,” he comforted, “I’ve got you.”

There was a knock at the door. “I’ve got it,” Renée announced.

As two police officers stepped into the apartment, I pulled away from Nik. I felt cold without his warm body against mine. I wrapped my arms tightly around my middle and answered their questions. When all was said and done, I found myself barely able to stay awake. Exhaustion was taking its toll on me. I leaned heavily into Renée. She looked over at Nik, who hadn’t left my side through the entire ordeal. He was silent the whole time the police officers were there, but it was his presence I appreciated most.

Renée took charge. “She needs to rest. Don’t worry; I’ll take care of her. She can stay here.”

Nik responded with a resounding, “No. Until we know who’s behind this, she’ll be safer with me.”

She exhaled. “While I can’t argue that your place is safer—probably tighter security than Ft. Knox—does she really know you?”

I cleared my throat. “Um…I can speak for myself. Thank you.”

Renée smirked, “There’s my girl. Wondered where you’d been.”

I smiled, “Up yours.”

She laughed. Nik sat there and brooded for a moment before he chimed in, “Aimee. It’d be best for you to stay with me until we figure out who did this to you.”

I could neither argue nor did I have the strength to. I was terrified whoever had done such a malicious act on my apartment would return to do the same to me. I shook with fear so Nik coiled his arm around my shoulders. I glanced up at him and nodded my acquiescence.

Renée grabbed my hand and stared at me intently. “You sure about this?”

I softly replied, “Yes.”

She stood. “Okay, then.”

Nik joined her and assured, “I won’t hurt her. Thank you, Renée. I’ll make sure she calls you after some much needed rest,” he promised.

She squared her shoulders and warned, “You make sure you don’t. If you harm her in any way, I’ll kick your ass.”

He slightly grinned. “That, I don’t doubt.”

Nik reached down to help me to my feet and then pulled me into his side for support. I couldn’t explain it to myself or anyone else. There was just something about
him
I trusted. I knew he would always protect me. Odd, that. Yet not only my body seemed to recognize him, my entire being somehow knew
this
man was
mine
.
Oh, I am
definitely in over my head.

Chapter Five

Nik

We entered the penthouse, and I immediately led her towards one of the spare bedrooms. It was a crucial error on my end. How did I expect myself not to touch her when she was under the same roof? The smell of her lured me to her side. As I opened the door for her, I informed, “You can sleep here in the guestroom.” She was so weary I wasn’t sure she’d make it to the bed. When she stumbled over her own two feet, I clutched her elbow to keep her from faceplanting onto the floor. My God, she was beautiful. I had to divert my gaze before I did something impetuous.

Her eyes were heavy as she curled up under the covers. As I turned off the lamp on the nightstand, she grabbed my hand. “Stay. Please?” she slurred.

Oh, hell no. I did not have the strength for that. I brushed my fingertips along her cheekbone. “I’ll be right here, little one,” I reassured. “I’m not going anywhere. Rest, now.”

She mumbled, something like, “Only one man has ever called me ‘little one.’ ”

I smiled and whispered, “Sleep sweet.”  I shut the door, not quite understanding why she had shared that information.
She’s very tired and probably has no idea she said it,
I chastised myself mentally. A woman like her should be loved and cherished, not debased and ignored, which was exactly what would happen if I gave into my impulses. I could not have a functioning relationship with a woman. I knew that. I was fully aware of my failures, and how much I was capable of hurting her. My past alone was enough to make any woman run, screaming.

*****

I stepped into my home office and was surprised to see Alex lounging on the sofa against the wall. As I entered, he looked up and greeted, “Nik.” Then he inquired, “You want to start explaining why she’s here?”

I scoffed, “Hell no.”

His perfect brow arched. “Really? Because I think you need to.”

I proceeded to tell him everything that had gone down since he’d left me in the wee hours that morning.

“Shit.”

“Yeah. That about sums it up.” I ran my hand through my too long hair. “Here’s the thing, my gut tells me this was not a chance break-in.”

“You think it was done to scare her?” He rubbed the stubble along his jaw line. “Maybe to send some kind of message? Has she threatened to leak information on her clientele?”

“No. Not that I’m aware of. I really don’t think she’d do something like that. She just wants to move on with her life. Put this chapter behind her,” I inferred.

He leaned forward. “You don’t say. How exactly was she planning to do that?”

I folded my arms across my chest. “What’re you hinting at?”

“Nothing.” His eyes widened.

I shook my head. “Sorry. No offense, I thought you were accusing her of pulling a Heidi Fleiss.”

He chuckled and assured, “None taken, brother.”

“Are you laughing at me for some reason?”

“You don’t see it, do you?”

I sighed in exasperation. Alex could talk a person in circles for hours if you didn’t nip it in the bud. “See what?”

“You’re defending her, wanting to provide protection, already.” He shrugged. “I’ve never seen you this intense over a female. It’s interesting, to say the least,” he intoned.

I flipped him off and then stood. “Did you need something else?”

“Nah,” he teased, “Just enjoy watching you squirm.”

“Knock it off, Alex.” I declared, “I’ve had enough.”

“Damn. You’ve got it bad.”

I growled, “Leave.”

He stood while he shook his head. “I’ll be back later,” he advised as he left me alone.

*****

I did have it bad, and it was beyond what I thought if my brother could pick up on that. Images of Aimee invaded my mind every waking moment. Honestly, she starred in my dreams as well. I couldn’t seem to stop, and this was only after twenty-four hours. I’d only felt this tied up in knots over a woman once before. Never quite like this, though. I would not go down that road again. The connection with Reynolds was even more confusing. Downright disturbing, actually. In both instances, he had a valid reason for being involved. But dammit, there was a gut feeling I could not shake no matter how hard I tried. This was not a coincidence. And by God, I planned on getting to the bottom of it.

I poured myself a glass of Jameson and pondered for awhile. I must’ve dozed off. I awoke to tender fingers stroking my temple. I clenched them too tightly as I exclaimed, “The hell!?”

“I’m s-sorry,” she stuttered. “I didn’t mean anything by it.” She tried desperately to pull her hand away, but I wouldn’t let her. Instead I glared at her, causing her to swallow hard. “I just…” she hesitated. “I’ll go.”

“No,” I growled and then tugged her onto my lap. She fell ungracefully. The look of shock made me chuckle, which ticked her off.

“Don’t laugh at me,” she commanded in haughty tone that made me itch to put her over my knee.

I flexed my hand to resist. She squared her slender shoulders, inadvertently raising her beautiful breasts to my hungry gaze. I licked my suddenly dry lips. As she watched my mouth, her eyes darkened. In anger or desire? I couldn’t quite tell.
Only one way to find out.
I pulled her to my chest and felt every luscious curve of her body pressed against mine.
Shit, now I have a hard on.
“You do not tell me what to do,” I asserted roughly due to my sexual frustration. “Are we clear?” Damn, sometimes I could be a real asshole.

She stared at me, not sure if she should stand up to me or back off. I was curious to know her buttons so I prodded, “Answer me.”

She shoved me and tried to stand. I wouldn’t let her. It was good to know she had a feisty side. True, I generally liked my women submissive and solicitous to my needs and wants. Yet there was something intriguing about her. As in, she wouldn’t put up with my shit. And that was a major turn on. I was even harder now. I knew she felt it against her stomach where I held her captive. When she wriggled to try and get away from me, an unbidden groan from deep in my throat escaped. Ah, hell. If she showed an ounce of interest, I would end up taking her here and now.
No, that can’t happen!
I grasped her upper arms, not too hard but enough that I had her attention. Her eyes widened. “I’m waiting,” I declared.

Emotions played across her face: fear, anger, and lust. She lifted her chin defiantly. “Yes, sir,” she retorted.

Fuck me. Of all the things she could’ve said.
I pushed her off my lap and quickly adjusted myself. We needed to hammer out some things, so I softened my voice and began, “Listen. Until we know who’s behind the ransacking of your place, I’d like for you to feel comfortable staying here. You’re my guest.”