Game On (The Morgan Brothers Book 4) (7 page)

Watching through the
scope of his rifle as Captain Andrews walked down the front steps of Montana’s most popular kink club, Barry Orman didn’t bother holding back his smile. He’d wondered how long it would be before she moved into position.
This is fucking perfect.

There’d never been any doubt in his mind that she’d eventually run to Montana. Athena’s on-line banter with the game developer and his friend had to have set some sort of world record for longest verbal foreplay in history. Barry hadn’t been the only one who’d noticed, other gamers had been speculating about the relationship in private chat groups for months.

Everyone wondered which man she’d end up with. But, he’d had done his homework. He knew about her friends and their ménage lifestyles. Hell, he wasn’t judging—what did he care if two dudes wanted to fuck the same woman? If they didn’t care that nothing separated their cocks but a thin membrane, why should he?

No, Barry’s goal was to make Phoenix Morgan suffer like he’d suffered—the fucker had stolen his future. Barry lost everything because of Morgan’s God damned report. How the bastard managed to dig up all the dirt from Barry’s past was still a mystery. Fucking hell, his parents had paid millions to suppress those police reports. But it wouldn’t be a problem much longer.

As soon as Morgan fucked Captain Hot Pants, he’d be hooked and then Barry would set his plan into motion. Oh yeah, doing your homework definitely paid off in a lot of ways. He knew exactly how the Morgan brothers operated. There wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do for their women, and Phoenix wouldn’t be any different. He’d change that report and sweep all the dirt back under the rug to get his woman back.
Oh, he’ll get her back all right, one fucking piece at a time.

Aspen felt him
the minute she stepped out of the club. She hesitated briefly, turning back as if listening to someone inside even though Nate hadn’t walked her all the way to the door. He’d been distracted by a phone call, and she’d just waved, then moved on alone. Even though she’d never met Phoenix’s stalker, she recognized the energy immediately. Leaning back, pretending to sweep her heavy fall of hair off her shoulders as she pulled her sunglasses from her purse, Aspen took in her surroundings.

There were two different hilltops high enough to afford a sniper a clear shot, she’d check them both out later this evening. But there was something odd about the energy she was picking up, the danger seemed to be shifting from Phoenix to her. Whoever it was had a clear shot and had since the moment she’d stepped out onto the club’s wide stone stairway. If he hadn’t already dropped her, he wasn’t going to…at least not yet.
Why would he be watching me? What purpose does that serve?

Making her way to her car, Aspen made sure her body language didn’t betray her awareness of his presence. She didn’t want to do anything that would tipoff the stalker, it was hard to anticipate how he might react if he knew she’d felt him watching her. Once she’d gotten in her car, she started to shake and could barely get the key in the ignition. Reaching for her phone, she did what she’d done since she was a kid anytime something went wrong, she dialed her friends.

The three of them had once complained that she always called Kent, so she’d designed an app that rotated their number in random patterns. Today, it was Jax whose number appeared on her screen, and he answered on the first ring. “Hey beautiful, what’s up?” His casual tone sounded a little more forced than usual, and it brought a smile to her face. No doubt he assumed she was calling about them allowing a couple of Doms to sit in on her interview. When she didn’t answer immediately, he spoke again, this time, his voice filled with concern. “Aspen? Are you all right?”

Giving herself a mental shake when she heard Kyle and Kent’s voices in the background, Aspen finally found her words. “Yes, well…yes and no. Someone is watching me. I just left Mountain Mastery, oh, you already knew that didn’t you?” Suddenly her brain found another outlet for all the fear and anger she was feeling. “We’re going to be having a long chat about that, too, don’t think we’re not. You guys are taking this over-protective brother routine too far; don’t you think?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Jax’s flat tone made it clear that particular topic was not open for discussion.
Pompous ass.
“What do you mean someone is watching you? Tell me, now.” She heard Kyle cursing in the background and knew if she didn’t get out of the parking lot quickly, Nate would be running out the front door to stop her. Once her pals dropped a net over her, she’d have a hell of a time getting out from under their thumbs.

Turning the key, her car purred to life. She heard Kyle’s voice in the background, snarling, “Tell her to stay right where she is, or I’ll paddle her ass myself.”
Damn.
She hadn’t even put the car in gear when it suddenly shut off.
Seriously?

“Damnit, tell Micah to knock it off.” Jax’s business partner, Micah Drake was the only person Aspen knew, aside from Phoenix Morgan, with the computer skills to tap into her car’s OnStar and shut it down. And since Phoenix didn’t know who or where she was…Micah was a sure bet. “I am a big girl. How did he get my OnStar code anyway? Hell, never mind I don’t want to know.”

“Enough about your damned car. Stay right where you are and tell me about being watched. Your job isn’t as damned secret as you think it is, which means there are any number of crazies who might be targeting you.”
What?
She hadn’t told them what her position entailed, and even though they knew who she worked for, they damned well shouldn’t have any details. Sometimes their reach was just plain scary.

“I feel him. He’s been tracking a guy I did a clearance for, but now I can feel him watching me. I just got scared…sorry I called and set off a panic. I’m good now.” She tried to restart her car, but it was still dead. Slapping her hand down on the steering wheel, she cursed herself for calling them.

“I heard that. You did the right thing even if you don’t think so. When was the last time your instincts were wrong?” He had her there. Truth was, her instincts were almost always spot on. Leaning her forehead against the steering wheel, Aspen tried to focus on the energy she’d felt just a few minutes before, but it was gone.

“He’s gone. I’ve spotted two places where he could have been. I want to go check them out, but my car won’t start. Let me do my job, Jax, you aren’t playing fair. And if you hold me hostage I’m not going to call you the next time I’m scared or need help. I don’t think this is about me, one of the men I did a clearance for has gained an
admirer.
” Aspen knew she wasn’t playing fair either, but there were times when the only way to fight a fire was with a fire of your own.

Jax muttered under his breath, and the next voice on the line was Kent’s. “Sweetie, we’re worried about you. Your instincts are terrific, but you also think you are invincible.”
Not after the cluster fuck in St. Maarten, I don’t.
“We almost lost you on that damned island, and we’re not eager to repeat the experience. How worried would you be if one of us called you and said we were in some asshat’s crosshairs?”

“Yeah, I get it. But disabling my car is a little over the top.”

“If you hadn’t been trying to leave after Jax told you to stay put, it wouldn’t have been necessary. Don’t make me turn you over to Kyle, you already know how that will play out. Your next trip to the club wouldn’t be simply a looky-loo visit.” He had a point about the car, and he knew it. Damn, they could be exasperating. All three of them had the annoying habit of being right, but Kent didn’t typically take such a hardline stance with her. Threatening to turn her over to Kyle was just plain mean.

Lifting her face from its resting place, Aspen groaned. “You called Nate?”

“No, we called Taz—and he called Nate. Look behind you.” Aspen turned around just as the grill of a huge truck filled her rearview mirror.
Well, shit.

P
hoenix was about
ready to tear Nate’s office apart. While destroying the club’s office wouldn’t accomplish anything, it might ease the tension that had been threatening to erupt for the past twenty-four hours. It had been bad enough hearing the playback of Aspen’s phone call to Jax yesterday. Despite her later protests, the fear in her voice had been much too easy to hear. The only thing that had kept him from running out the front door of Mountain Mastery was knowing Nate and Taz were already moving into position. He and Mitch had planned to return to the ranch to pick up the last of the props for tonight’s scene, but Aspen’s call scrapped those plans.

One call to Kip solved their problem, his youngest brother reluctantly agreed to deliver everything they needed for tonight’s scene. Kip had been tired and damned cranky. Phoenix wasn’t sure if it had been the actual process of first “collection day” or the stress of dealing with Calamity. Whatever it was, Kip set it aside quickly when he heard what had taken place the day before in the club’s lot. The only question his younger brother had asked was, “Do you know who the stalker is?” When Phoenix gave him a short list of possibilities, he’d simply reminded Phoenix to watch his back before ending the call.

Mitch paced the room as he spoke, “We found evidence of someone sitting on the hill south of the club. It was the place where Aspen indicated she’d felt the strongest energy.” Mitch shook his head and smiled. “I’m telling you now, this woman is going to keep us on our toes. Hell, her damned gaming name was dead on. Her instincts are sharper than hell; she’s doing her goddess namesake proud.”

“I’ve listened to the tape of the phone call several times, and I keep coming back to the reason she’s here. The first thing she mentions is that someone she’d done a clearance on was being stalked? Do you think that’s why she’s here?” It was almost beyond his imagination—he’d never had anybody but family put themselves on the line for him.

“The fantasy she wrote is a window directly into her soul. Remember, in the beginning, she described Athena as a protector. I believe the phrase was
a champion of other victims
. Personally, I think that is just the first of many things we’ll discover are clues to the core of Aspen Andrews. Remember, she said Athena had run out of places to hide—I’d say Aspen’s subconscious knew we were closing in on her. She doesn’t appear to be aware that we’re on to her, but she had to know it was just a matter of time.”

“We’ll know soon enough. It looks like everything downstairs is almost ready.” They’d been standing in Nate’s office looking down over the club’s main room through the large glass window. From the main room, all anyone could see was their silhouettes, Phoenix loved the specially treated glass and planned to utilize it when he remodeled his suite in the ranch’s main house. With the touch of a button, the glass could be changed to anything from clear to completely reflective, it was a great piece of technology.

“I can hardly wait to peel the layers of clothing from her. Damn, I thought we’d done a great job with the costumes, but the treasure trove Gracie brought put everything I’d put together look pathetic.” No doubt he’d be hearing about Kip’s wasted effort for days, but his younger brother’s complaints would fall on deaf ears. Phoenix knew Nate had already extended Kip a personal invitation to tonight’s special event. And even though he didn’t know why—everyone knew Nate Ledek’s actions were never random. If he’d made the effort to call Kip personally—there was a reason, and probably a damned important one.

“Gracie said Tobi helped with the costumes for the subs. And she was—and I quote, ‘pissed seven ways to Sunday’ that she wasn’t allowed to fly up here with Jax, Micah, and Gracie. If she really is pregnant, her Masters will have their hands full. She knows they won’t spank her until well after the baby is born and she’ll rack up punishment points like a champ until then.” Micah always had the same grin on his face when he spoke about Tobi. Phoenix didn’t even want to think about how challenging she could be if she was deliberately acting out. Hell, the woman was a spitfire when she wasn’t even trying to challenge her husbands.