“Who did you say dropped these clothes off for me?” Niko called from the bathroom, as she stared at herself in the mirror.
The silk blouse was in a gorgeous green colour, and the long black skirt actually reached to her ankles, with just a slit up the one side to her knee.
Niko turned to look at herself from another angle, not believing her own eyes.
She actually looked elegant.
“Ellen dropped by while you were showering. The boy’s clothes and toys she brought are stuff that her own kids have grown out of, which she thought you’d like to have for Roman. But the women’s clothes are from a lady called Vicky Dixon. She’s married to two of the Alpha Company directors, and luckily for you, the two of you are about the same height.” Hollywood stood leaning on the bathroom doorframe. “And you look stunning in them, just in case you hadn’t finished looking for faults. You can stop already, because there aren’t any.”
Niko looked at his reflection in the mirror and poked out her tongue at him.
“Hold on… You said she’s married to two directors?” She questioned her hearing.
“Yeah, two directors, Drew and Tony Dixon. They’re bisexual, madly in love with each other and Vicky, and have a daughter of about eight or nine called Amelia or Emily, or something like that.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I just came to give you a five-minute warning. Hannah and the gang will be here on the dot of seven, so if there’s anything else you want to do, you’d better do it fast. They won’t be late.”
Niko turned and stared at Hollywood with that wide-eyed innocent look she’d perfected just for him.
“Oh, no!” He grinned. “Not even I can make that happen in under five minutes. I don’t perform well when I’m under time-pressure. Besides, haven’t you had enough already? I’m older than you, don’t forget. If you keep abusing him, you’ll wear him out, and where will you be then?”
“Hmm, let me think…” She tapped her chin while she pretended to consider her options. “I guess I could always trade him in for a younger model.”
Hollywood stepped forward and wrapped her up in his arms.
“Don’t even suggest it, because you know it’s not going to happen.” He lowered his head and kissed her softly, obviously trying to avoid ruining her lipstick. “Just be gentle with him, and he’ll last us a lifetime.”
Niko wrapped her arms around Hollywood and rested her head on his shoulder.
They’d made love six times in less than two full days, so she figured it wasn’t unreasonable if he was feeling a little… well-used.
“Come on.” Hollywood kissed the top of her head. “They really will be here on time, and we don’t want to look all mussed up like we were caught doing something we shouldn’t have been.”
They walked from the bedroom holding hands, and Niko couldn’t help but peek in the hall mirror to check her appearance again.
“Gorgeous, I told you.” Hollywood tugged her forward into the living room.
“You look pretty gorgeous yourself.” She smiled, gazing at the snug fit of his pants, hugging those firm ass cheeks she loved to squeeze.
“Yes, but that goes without saying.” Hollywood grinned. “So, you don’t need to waste your breath. I’m not the one with the under-inflated ego that needs re-educating.”
“No, you’re the one with the over-inflated ego that needs bringing down a notch or two.” She scowled at him. “You could at least pretend you don’t know how gorgeous you are.”
Hollywood grinned just as the doorbell sounded.
“Here we go.” He smiled, heading for the door.
Niko stood in the middle of the room facing the door to the hallway, nervously twisting her fingers together. She had no idea who was coming to visit with them, as all Hollywood had thought to share with her was that ‘Hannah and some of the guys were calling in’.
In the three and a half days she’d been in London, she’d pumped Hollywood for as much information as he could give her about the Guardians, but when he’d insisted she trade questions for kisses, they’d gotten distracted far too easily, and the questions, most of them at least, had gone unanswered.
“Wow! You’re even more beautiful than your pictures.”
Niko’s head spun around to the door between the living room and the kitchen, to where a tiny woman with blonde hair and cowboy boots was standing in the doorway.
“Sorry, honey.” She stepped forward. “I didn’t mean to scare you. It was just easier to drop the food in the kitchen first, rather than meet you with my hands full.”
Niko couldn’t help but smile at the woman’s friendly manner.
“You brought food?” She asked, realising she sounded like an idiot.
“Sure.” The woman smiled. “Hannah told Hollywood we’d bring food with us. Didn’t he tell you? We didn’t expect you to entertain all of us, not when you haven’t had a chance to catch your breath from last week’s excitement.”
Niko frowned.
“You mean you aren’t Hannah?” She clarified. “You’re exactly like Hollywood described her.”
“Oh, my goodness!” Another blonde woman appeared at the kitchen door. “You do realise you just made my mom’s day, don’t you?”
Niko glanced between the two women, finding the similarity between them quite striking.
“I’m Carolina Jordan.” The older woman stepped forward and enveloped her in a brief hug. “My friends call me CJ, just so you know.”
“And I’m Hannah.” The younger woman smiled. “My friends just call me Hannah.”
“Or Brat. Or Gob-shite.” The man at the door was huge, easily as big as Hollywood, and maybe a tiny bit wider. “I call her ‘Wife’, but that’s my cross to bear.”
He stepped forward, but instead of shaking Niko’s hand, he grabbed his wife and lifted her up to plant a kiss on her lips.
“Put me down, you idiot!” Hannah hissed. “First impressions, remember? I’ve told you about this before.”
The giant put his wife down but didn’t let go of her.
“Danny Simons.” He grinned at Niko. “Hannah’s gorgeous, sex-god husband.”
Niko glanced at Hannah who rolled her eyes.
She couldn’t help but smile at the couple who seemed completely at odds, but so much in love.
“Is your little boy still awake?” CJ smiled at her. “We brought him some treats.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, no. He’s been asleep for half an hour.” Niko frowned. “I didn’t realise you expected to meet him.”
“Oh, sugar, it’s no problem.” CJ waved away her concerns. “They’ll keep until tomorrow.”
“Niko?” Hollywood’s voice was behind her now, as he brought the rest of the visitors through from the hallway. “Come and meet our guests.”
As she stepped forward, Hollywood met her halfway, taking her hand and holding it protectively in his.
“These gentlemen are all connected to the Guardians in one way or another. Obviously, Kellen you already know.” He smiled. “The others are JT, Drew and Tony Dixon, Luke Roberts, Thomas Payne, Ryan Tucker and Gregor Diminov, who you met in Budapest, and David Roan.”
Niko knew she was staring like a rabbit in the headlights, but tall as she was, it was like being surrounded by giants. The only one anywhere close to average height was the older man standing at the end, David something.
“I’m pleased to meet you all.” She nodded. “But you’ll have to forgive me if I forget your names. I’m not sure if it’s connected to the concussion or not, but I’m still a little bit fuzzy on certain things.”
“We’re just relieved you’re safe and sound.” The man she recognised from the police station stepped forward.
“Mr Tucker.” She smiled. “I remember you from Budapest. And your friend, Gregor.”
The two men smiled at her reassuringly.
“Drew and Tony…?” She murmured, looking at the two men standing together. “You’re married to Vicky? Could you thank her for the clothes? I’m very grateful.”
“It’s no problem.” The darker of the two men smiled at her. “She has to have lots of clothes for the charity functions she attends with JT’s wife, Alice, but normally she’s a jeans and t-shirt kind of woman. She can spare ten times that much without even noticing.”
“She’s also one of only a few women in our family who are tall enough to be of any use to you.” Hannah grinned. “You certainly wouldn’t want to try and get into a pair of my jeans.”
“Alice and Vicky send their apologies, but they’ve been in America this week attending some pre-arranged charity events. They won’t be back for another couple of days.” JT smiled. “No doubt there’ll be a get-together with all the families in the near future, so you can get to meet everyone else. There are rather a lot of us.”
“Listen, why don’t you guys sit down and get the business talk out of the way.” CJ suggested. “Thomas and Luke can help me get the food ready, as officially we’re not part of the Guardians crew. Afterwards, we can get to know each other and relax a little.”
Niko glanced up at Hollywood.
‘Business talk’?
Hollywood steered her over to a sofa while the rest of the group found somewhere to sit.
Danny Simons took up residence in their big armchair and pulled his wife down to sit on his lap.
Niko glanced at Hollywood, wondering if she was the only one who found it strange.
He squeezed her hand.
“That’s just their way.” He murmured, so nobody else could hear him.
“Niko?” Hannah smiled. “I’m sure by now Hollywood has filled you in on who we are at Guardians International Security, and exactly what our purpose is.”
Niko glanced at Hollywood, who nodded his encouragement.
“He’s told me some, yes.” She smiled nervously.
“Has he told you about your old friend Drago?” Hannah smiled. “That he’s agreed to join us to help with our next mission?”
“He mentioned it yesterday, yes.” Niko nodded.
“What Hollywood probably didn’t mention is that we’d like you to join the team as well.” Hannah continued. “Or did he?”
Niko glanced around at Hollywood who was looking a little sheepish.
“Hannah asked me to say nothing, so I said nothing.” He held his hands up in defence. “I’m good at obeying my superiors. What can I say? You can take the man out of the Marines…”
Niko smiled at him reassuringly.
“What exactly is it you want me to do?” She asked nervously. “I don’t know anything about the military, or whatever it is you do.”
“Actually, you know far more than you think you do.” The older man, David, interrupted. “You have all the knowledge of Ilya’s business, his contacts and his suppliers. That could be invaluable to us on future operations.”
“But I told the police everything I know.” Niko explained. “How much more help can I be?”
“Niko, you answered their questions, the same questions, over and over.” Ryan Tucker pointed out. “Whoever interviewed you had about as much imagination and intelligence as my son’s goldfish. You gave them what I would describe as the tip of the iceberg, because that’s all they asked for. What you still have in your head is what we’re looking for.”
“Do you want me to go back to Russia? To Turkey, and all those other places?” She whispered, her heart racing a mile a minute. “I don’t want to go back there. Please, don’t make me.”
“Hey, no!” Hannah’s voice was louder than the men. “Honey, you’re going nowhere you don’t want to be.”
“Niko?” Hollywood shook her hand to get her attention. “They’re offering you a job here in London, sweetheart. You’ll be working from the same offices as Kellen and I.”
Niko tried to steady her breathing, embarrassed at her mini panic attack.
“What about Roman? He’s still a baby.” She whispered.
“The Guardians’ offices are two floors above our original Alpha Company offices.” The man called JT smiled at her. “We have a creche there, where all of our younger children are cared for during office hours, or whenever we need them looked after.”
“Our daughter Amelia attended the creche, and our wife, Vicky, actually helped set it up.” The blonde haired of the two Dixon men smiled reassuringly. “Roman would love having other children to play with, and you wouldn’t have to worry that he was far away.”
“Besides that, you would only be asked to work as many hours as suits you.” Hannah smiled. “And of course, the cherry on the top would be that you get to work with me every day. What more could a girl want?”
Niko listened to all their reasons why working for the Guardians would be a great idea, and she had to admit, it sounded fantastic. But what none of them had mentioned was whether she would actually get paid.
Did they expect her to work for them voluntarily? Maybe in recompense for all the money it had cost them to rescue her and Roman from Budapest?
“I need to be able to pay for Roman’s food and clothes.” She blurted out.
Hannah frowned at her.
“Of course, you do, sweetheart.” She looked at Niko strangely.
“I need to be paid at least a hundred pounds a week.” Niko bit her lip, wondering whether she sounded greedy. She didn’t want them to rescind their offer.
The silence in the room was deafening.
Tears pricked the back of her eyes.
What if Hollywood thought she was after his money? What if he thought that was all she was after.
Hannah climbed off her husband’s lap and came and sat next to her, taking Niko’s free hand in her own much smaller ones.
“Sweetheart, Hollywood has explained to us how you lived when you were working for your brother. He described the conditions, and how you were treated.” Hannah squeezed her hands. “The Guardians may not be your average employer, thanks mainly to what we do, but we pay our staff a rate commensurate with their contribution.”
Niko nodded. That sounded promising, right?
“I know you have Roman’s grandparents coming to visit with you this week, excited to meet their grandson for the first time. Maybe, if you’d like to come along to the office the following Monday, and have a chat with David, JT, and I, we can reach an agreement on pay and hours that will suit us all.” Hannah leaned forward to whisper in Niko’s ear. “I think you can add a zero to that figure you asked for.”
Niko sat straighter and looked at the diminutive woman.
A thousand pounds a week? Was she serious?
“Also, I don’t know if Hollywood has mentioned it yet, but Abbey, one of our other Guardians, is an expert in forensic accounting, among other things.” Hannah continued. “Anyway, she’s already tracked down your parents’ lawyer, and we believe we’ve found your inheritance. It looks like the money your parents left behind was split into two accounts, and the lawyers have been sitting on your share, waiting for you to claim it.”
“Really?” Niko whispered, shocked that there would be anything left.
“I don’t know how much it is.” Hannah cautioned. “It might be next to nothing, but whatever it is, we’ll make sure you receive it.”
“Thank you.” She whispered.
“So, do I take it that you’re interested in working with us?” Tuck asked.
Niko looked around the room at the expectant faces.
“I think I might be.” She nodded. “If I can help you stop someone taking over where my brother left off, then I’d be happy to help you.”
“Here we go, ladies and gentlemen.” CJ walked in from the kitchen carrying a tray of glasses, while the men carried trays of finger food and several bottles of champagne.
“Are we celebrating the Guardian’s first success, or the addition of a new team member?” CJ looked straight at Niko for confirmation.
Niko looked at Hollywood and noticed he seemed to be holding his breath.
Kellen was giving her two thumbs up, nodding in encouragement.
“Both?” She suggested.
Before she could react, Hollywood wrapped her in his arms and pulled her in for a kiss.
Champagne corks were popping behind them, and she could hear glasses clinking as the drinks were poured.
When Hollywood let her up for air, a glass was pushed into her hand and she looked up to see CJ grinning at her.
“To the Guardians and their latest recruits. Long may their missions be successful.” CJ held up her drink, and soon they were all clinking glasses, smiles all around.
Niko stared at the woman curiously.
“I’m sorry, but why do I think I’ve seen you somewhere before?” She said politely, sure that she recognised the woman’s face.
Hearing a noise, Niko turned around to find Hannah doubled over, and snorting with laughter.
“Oh, mom! I think we’d better get some more wine.” Hannah grinned. “I have a feeling this is gonna turn into a three-bottle night!”
The End
Don’t go just yet….