Second Chances (Athena Group Novel Book 1) (11 page)

“Tell me Shelby, do you have a corset that you wear?”

She blinked at him for a moment. “Yes Max, I do. We’re all required to wear them when we’re on an assignment. The ones you saw downstairs are limited to specific assignments. Since I’m usually working in here, mine is either here or upstairs.” She cocked her head as she watched him think about that bit of information for a minute. Oh the war she saw going on in his eye,

She knew he was turned on, but at the same time disturbed. What man wouldn’t have mixed feelings about a garment that most women wear to entice a man, but is used as body armor?

She giggled. She smacked her hand against her mouth to stifle the giggle. She couldn’t help it, but he looked lost.

“Find something amusing, Shelby?” His brows furrowed.

“I’m sorry Max. It’s just so funny to see you try to decide whether or not you should be turned on by the corset or not.” She was on the verge of a full blown laugh.

“Oh Shelby, make no mistake, I’m definitely turned on and as I recall there are consequences to laughing at people Shelby.”

Her laugh died on her lips as she watched his fingers tap his chin as he was thinking. She remembered his statement from the beach. Oh no, she was in trouble. She already looked forward to the next time she saw him, but she was in definite danger here. What did they have in their arsenal to protect her heart? Nothing, and she was in deep, deep trouble. She had to get this under control and back to business.

Max leaned back in his chair and asked, “What exactly is The Athena Group, Shelby?”

She turned her head to him and could see that he was serious. She wanted to make sure that he wasn't trying to demean the idea of the group. Hesitating, but figured since Liz had allowed him into the basement it was alright to tell him.

“No one in the bureau knows about The Athena Group with the exception of a few. Liz is an ex bureau employee that started the group after leaving under circumstances of which I don’t even know.” She watched him to gage his reaction.

“What the outside world thinks they know about the organization is what Liz wants them to believe. On the outside, The Athena Group operates as a corporate crisis management service in which we offer criminal background, financial, marital and any other type of checks that our clients require before making an offer to a potential merger. Few know what The Athena Group really does, and few know what we look like outside of our normal black attire. When we are on assignment, Liz requires that we dress in a certain manner. This allows a sort of anonymity as well as protection when we are working. We each dress in all black which consists of a blazer, with a mock knit turtleneck and slacks. We have specialized boots fastened with an extra place to holster a knife, gun, or chemical spray and under our jackets we each wear our corsets. Each corset is equipped with a holster for our standard Sig and pouches for extra clips. We also have two Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting knives fastened to the back with quick release snaps for easy access. Our members come from all backgrounds. Anywhere from military trained to those that resigned from the bureau. Each member has a specialty and you already know mine is technology, Alex is our resident law expert, Jo is mechanical and Tabby’s is well let’s just say a jack of all trades.” She paused seeing the glazed look on his face.

“One thing that I want to make clear is that you don't want to cross any one of us, and we are fiercely loyal to each other and to our clients.” she quipped.

Max rubbed his hands across his face and stared back at her. “Shelby, I don’t know what to say. I had no idea that a group like this existed. I mean I’m familiar with black ops groups, but this is something else.”

“I guess it’s good that you have a front row seat to watch what happens then.” She turned back to her console and dismissed him. She turned back around and said, “Look Max; I know it’s not conventional, and it’s certainly not part of the good old boy system, but what we do allows us to get into areas that normal law enforcement can’t or won’t. Like now, why do you think John came to TAG for help? As you’ll see Tabby and Jo will be able to get into the club and work undercover without fear of being associated with any government or law enforcement agencies. If for any reason someone pulls any type of check on them, they will be linked back as employees of a crisis management service. That’s it.”

Max didn’t know what to say to her, and he had obviously offended her. “Shelby, I didn’t mean to imply that TAG wasn't capable. It’s just a lot for someone to absorb, especially someone who has spent most of his life in the bureau. I'll keep an open mind, and I’ll say that I’m beyond impressed with the organization.” He was smiling at her.

She found herself unable to stay mad at him. “We’ve worked really hard to establish TAG and its reputation. The fact that Liz allowed you to go downstairs says a lot about you. Liz doesn’t trust easily.”

“I’m guessing you saw me down in the basement from one of your monitors?” His smile cracked open even bigger.

She blushed again. “Yes, I saw you go down with everyone else. I keep an eye on everyone and everything in TAG. I’m big brother, so to speak.” One of the monitors that displayed Hawks activities and his associates began to flash. He was getting out of his car in front of TAG. What was he doing here? Was Liz expecting him? Damn, it was almost time for them to leave for the airport. She had to notify Liz.

He felt her tense when she saw the man on the screen and knew that it was Hawk, but was surprised by Shelby’s reaction to him. She clearly didn’t like him and quite frankly he was glad she didn’t. He continued to watch as she called Liz to inform her that Hawk was walking into the front door of TAG.

Chapter Sixteen

“Shelby, is everything ready for this evening?” Liz asked as she answered the phone.

“Yes, were you expecting Roger this evening?” She watched as Hawk entered the building.

“No, why?” she asked skeptically

“He’s walking in the front door right now.”

“Take Max and go out the back door. Go to the airport and make sure that everyone is ready and headed to New York. I’ll stay here and take care of Roger.” She hung up, turned to Max and grabbed his hands.

“Come on Max, change of plans.” She closed down all the monitors.

“Where are we going?”

“Liz wasn’t expecting Roger, so we’re going to take everyone to the airport and she is going to find out why he’s paying an impromptu visit. She doesn’t like unexpected visits from him.”

That piqued his curiosity. “Why doesn’t she like him showing up?”

“Roger is her biggest client, but she likes to keep him under control. He feels that the world should heel whenever he calls and Liz has never been one to be subservient to anyone so she keeps the control, but he doesn’t like it. He also knows that we’re good at what we do and because of the control that Liz maintains he trusts our group explicitly.” She explained as they went up to her apartment.

Amanda was in the living room playing video games when they walked through the door. Hoping to distract them, Shelby walked over and gave Amanda a hug and kissed her on the cheek. "You remember Max? We are helping him with a case, and I have to go to the airport this evening."

Amanda looking suspiciously at him cocked her head. “Hello.”

Max nodded “Hello.” He wasn’t quite sure what to say. Any doubt he may have had before was all gone. Looking at her, he saw the deep blue of her eyes and the slight curl to her hair that she had pulled up. Finally the one irrefutable evidence that she was his was the birth mark on the side of her neck. It was a small brown mark in the shape of a teardrop. The majority of his family members had it including him.

Shelby had to break the silent bond that was building between them. “Amanda, go ahead and order something for dinner this evening if you’d like. Just send me a text with the place you want to order from, and I’ll let the security desk know, ok?”

“OK mom, is everything alright?” Amanda asked.

“Yes Amanda, it is.” She smiled back at her daughter. Turning to go into her bedroom she quickly put on her uniform and looked at herself in the mirror. She never got used to seeing herself dressed like this. Dressed in black with her hair pulled back in a low ponytail, made her look and feel formidable. She checked her weapon and fastened it to the holster on the corset. She secured the knives to the back and put on her jacket. It wasn’t often that she had to escort anyone, especially their own members, but she took it seriously. You had too, because if you ever let your guard down it could be a mistake that you could never take back. She grabbed her earpiece and put it in place and walked out of the bedroom.

He saw her come out, and his mouth went dry when he saw the attire she was wearing. She had explained it to him earlier, but never did he imagine it would affect him this way. His blood began to boil, and body came to life. He had never seen anything so hot in his life. It was contradictory to what he was thinking, because it also drove home just how dangerous their situation could get. He wanted to take her to bed and protect her all at the same time.

Shelby saw the war going on in his face again. “Are you ready to go?” she asked him.

“Yes” was all he could manage to get out.

Pulling out her phone, she watched as Liz met Roger in the lobby. She activated the audio on the cameras so she could hear their exchange.

###

Liz met Roger at the security desk. “Roger, what a surprise. I wasn’t expecting you today. Is everything ok?” She smiled at him.

“Liz, it is always a pleasure to see you. I just wanted to come by and talk about a trip that I need to take. I would like for you to accompany me.” He caressed her arm.

She pulled away. “Of course, we can discuss it in my office. Follow me.” She led him to a side office next to the main conference room in the lobby.

He appeared to be on edge, which was never a good thing. “Roger, have a seat and tell me what’s bothering you.” He finally had a seat across from her.

“Liz, one of my contacts in Asia has informed me that someone's been snooping around one of my subsidiaries Entertainment Consultants.” He told her.

###

Shelby took Max down to the main lobby and over to the elevator that would take them down to the basement. John, Tabby, Jo and Ross were all waiting for them. They went to the end of the hall opening the door into a bay area of the building which housed the garage. Shelby opened the door to a black Mercedes ML63 SUV and motioned for Max and John to get in. Tabby, Jo and Ross got into the same type of SUV. The bay doors opened and they pulled out of the TAG complex heading to the airport.

Max watched as Shelby pulled up an image of the office where Liz was meeting Roger on the computer screen. He felt John tense up next to him. Looking at him the muscle along his jaw was twitching as he watched Liz on the screen. He glanced over at Shelby and she seemed just as tense. “Would someone like to tell me what is going on?” he asked openly.

Shelby answered, “From the beginning he has always tried to figure out a way to get Liz to be more than a business partner. Anytime he’s tried one of these visits, one of us has always been able to intervene.” She punched in a number into the car phone and immediately Alex’s voice came online.

“Hey Shelby, what’s up?”

“Liz is at TAG with Roger. The rest of us are on our way to the airport to get Tabby, Jo and Ross on the plane to New York by this evening. He didn't have an appointment.” she said with urgency.

“I’m on my way.  I should be there in approximately five minutes. Where are they?” Alex asked.

“She is meeting with him in the office next to the main conference room.” Shelby responded.

“OK, I’ll call you as soon as I arrive. I’m assuming you are monitoring the room?”

“Yes and so far everything seems in order except….” She stopped short remembering that John was in the car with her. She glanced quickly in the rearview mirror and saw the tight face of John.

“What is it Shelby?” Alex asked,

“Roger is taking a trip and he’s trying to convince Liz to go with him.” Looking at John she saw the black fury cross his face.

“I see, he’s persistent if nothing else. How many times can she refuse him? I’ll call you back shortly. I’m in the car now.” She hung up.

They arrived at the airport and pulled up in the hangar just as the jet was ready to go. The car monitor beeped, and Shelby saw Alex’s face. “Alex, are you there?”

“I’m going to see if I can interrupt the meeting.”

“Thanks, Alex.” She looked at John. “We'll feel better knowing that you have Liz’s back.” She saw John relax just a little bit and hoped it was enough, but he kept brooding as he always did.

The wind had picked up a bit as they were getting out of their cars. A storm was fast approaching. Tabby ran over. “How are things with Liz progressing?” she asked Shelby.

“They're alright; Alex is there with her now.” Shelby told her.  

“Good, I knew she’d make it back." Looking at the sky "We've got to get out of here before that storm rolls in. One of us will contact you as soon as we land.” She waved at Shelby as she hurried over to the opening as Jo and Ross got onto the plane. Immediately the door was closed, and they were cleared for take-off. Shelby, Max and John, watched as the plane taxied to the runway and took off into the night for their final destination, New York City. They would check in as soon as they landed and settled in at the loft.