Six months later

 

Kira should have loved her dream job, but she didn't.

Not that forensic accounting had miraculously become exciting, but the perks of the job had. In the last six months, she had traveled to exotic places that she'd only dreamed of and lived in the lap of luxury. She flew in a private jet, resided in company-owned condos and rode in chauffeur-driven limousines.

Not to mention her salary was obscenely generous.

It did have its downside though. Because she was privy to extremely sensitive financial information, the job required that she have a security team with her at all times. A couple of big, scary looking dudes in designer suits with personalities to match their fierce expressions. Friendly, they were not.

So even though she worked in exotic locales, she didn't have the freedom to really explore them like she wanted to. And on the few occasions that she had done so, there had been no one to share the experience with. Other than her constant shadows which she had privately dubbed Heckle and Jeckle.

The worst part was that her boss seriously gave her the creeps. Jaeger von Osterman was unfailingly polite and behaved like a complete gentleman, but there was something about him that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Especially when he turned those arctic blue eyes on her and smiled.

Of Austrian descent, with impeccably styled blonde hair and movie star good looks, he was considered an extremely handsome man. The tailored designer suits showcased his muscular body to perfection, but neither that or his old world charm moved her in the slightest. Something about the man just felt slightly sinister.

Not to mention the way he enunciated every word perfectly was annoying as hell.

If she'd known that she would have to work so closely with him, Kira would have had second thoughts about taking the job. Then again, as desperate as she had been to get out of Virginia and away from the painful memories, she probably would have done it, anyway. Yeah, well, desperation made people do really stupid things.

Her relationship with Jax was evidence of that.

Just the thought of him was enough to twist the knife that had taken up permanent residence in her heart. The sad thing was that she still loved him and doubted that would ever change. And she missed him. God, how she missed him. Waking up without his strong arms around her never failed to ruin her day.

Going to bed alone was even worse.

Every night she lay in her solitary bed and wondered where he was. What he was doing. If he ever thought about her. Missed her like she missed him. Then she berated herself for having such foolish thoughts. For thinking about him at all. For loving him even after she knew that he didn't give a damn about her.

In her darkest moments of despair, she had wanted to call him so bad it had physically hurt. Thankfully she'd had the good sense to erase everything on her phone or she might have been foolish enough to beg him to take her back. Fool she may be, but her love for him by far outweighed her pride and common sense.

After the anger had worn off, she'd spent countless hours wondering why he had behaved so out of character that night. To this day she still could not comprehend his actions. Jax had been his normal, lovable self until Chaz had received that mysterious phone call. When he returned, he'd acted like a different man.

A few days later it had occurred to her that he might have had an ulterior motive.

After she had arrived in Miami and was getting settled in the company condo, Kira had turned on the TV to drown out the sound of silence while she unpacked. The news had been on, and she had ignored the commentary until a familiar name caught her attention. A t-shirt held in her hand, she had whirled around to stare at the screen in shock.

A picture of Cat as The SEAL's Sweetheart contest winner was displayed on the screen. It changed to a video of her tied to a chair with something strapped to her chest. She watched in horrified disbelief as her friend yanked wires loose from the device. A split second later, a blinding light lit the television screen.

A gasp of disbelief escaped her parted lips. She sank limply onto the floor in shock. The commentator went on to explain that Cat had been kidnapped by a terrorist organization in order to taunt the US military. He said the group had planned to show their superior might by publicly executing the pride of the Navy.

The video made last month of the team rappelling onto an aircraft carrier appeared. Tears slid unnoticed down her cheeks as she watched Ashe lay public claim to the woman he loved. The commentator expounded on how the SEAL team had been decommissioned after that romantic gesture had revealed their identities.

Jax's smiling face filled the screen, and a sob of anguish ripped from her. Kira reached out with a trembling hand to touch him, but his image was replaced with Ashe holding Cat in his arms while they were lifted up to the helo above them. The grinning team waved to the cheering sailors below as they ascended the ropes.

A taped recording of Ashe's uncle, Admiral Pierce came on next, and she'd never seen the man look so grim. "This senseless act of violence will not go unpunished," he vowed in a voice that resonated like thunder. "Catherine Barker Pierce forfeited her life in an act of bravery befitting a true American hero. Her sacrifice will not be forgotten."

The reporter continued to drone on, but Kira didn't hear a word of what he said. She just sat there staring blankly at the TV. Everything that she had just seen was too insane to be real. Cat had been kidnapped by terrorists. And she'd blown herself up to prevent our military forces from being harmed in a rescue attempt.

She'd sacrificed herself to spare her husband and his team. Because they would have gone in after her. She knew it, and so had Cat. Nothing would have prevented Ashe and the rest of the team from going to get her. Kira had only known the other woman for a few weeks, but they'd become very close.

Now her friend was dead, and she couldn't even contact Ashe and tell him how sorry she was. Because she'd erased her damn phone. Thanks to a mobile phones ability to save contact information, she didn't even know anyone's number. Not even Jax's. Smartphones were making people stupid.

Although she could call Char or Jenna at work since they had land lines there, and the numbers were listed on their websites. But what would she say if they asked what had happened between her and Jax? The truth was too humiliating to share. And too painful to discuss. Maybe it was better if she didn't call.

After all, she was no longer part of their lives.

The unwelcome reminder shoved the knife even deeper into her heart.

Jenna and Char had readily adopted her into their fold, and the three of them had become as close as sisters. While their men were away on missions, they got together every night and kept each other company. The three of them had bolstered each other's spirits and laughed and cried together.

She would miss them almost as much as Jax.

Shoving that depressing thought aside, Kira dried her tears on the t-shirt she held and reached for the remote. Quickly scanning through the news networks, she gleaned every ounce of information that she could find and came to a startling conclusion. Cat had been kidnapped on Friday night.

The same night the men had rushed out of the bar.

Could that have been what the mysterious phone call was about? Had they been gearing up for a rescue operation? That would explain why Jax had returned to the bar without the rest of the team. But not why he had behaved like a complete ass and insisted on them having a threesome to spice up their sex life.

Maybe he'd wanted to fulfill one last fantasy before he faced certain death. Not likely. Even with the scant knowledge she had about what the team did, Kira knew without a doubt that they were the best. So what could have prompted him to behave so out of character? Hell, he had already known that she'd never agree to such a thing.

Jax couldn't have found a better way to get rid of her if he'd tried. The remote fell from nerveless fingers, and her mouth dropped open in shock as she wondered if that had been his goal. If that were the case, then he'd gotten exactly what he wanted. His decision to brutally end their relationship had ensured that she would leave and never look back.

Kira had cut all ties and got the hell out of Dodge as soon as she could.

That part of her life was over for good; she reminded herself sternly. There was no going back or wishing for what might have been. No need to wonder how things had gone from sugar to shit so fast. She had a new life and a very demanding job that required her complete attention, so it was time to stop woolgathering.

Forcing her mind back to the present, she realized that she had accidentally opened the file containing the account holders name. Phobos. It was the name of the God of Fear in Greek mythology. She knew that because the name was so unusual that she'd Googled it the last time she'd seen it in a different accounting program.

How about that? The odds of her running across two separate companies in two different countries with a name that atypical had to be high. It never even occurred to her that they could be the same company because the last time she'd seen the name had been while she was keeping the Hell Riders books.

Curious, she clicked on the account information and saw that this client regularly transferred an obscene amount of money to another client account. Kira clicked on the other one, opened the client information and much to her surprise, another familiar name popped up. CEC2. The Hell Riders had received regular payments from the same name!

Christ Almighty! This had to be a coincidence of epic proportions. There was no way that two different names listed in the OMC's records could be clients of a bank as exclusive as this one. Hell, you practically had to be born with a diamond-encrusted silver spoon in your mouth to be a depositor.

Jaeger had given her a lengthy and rather pompous history lesson about the financial institution that his family had founded in the early eighteenth century. The Von Osterman Bank was one of the oldest privately owned banks in the world. It had survived wars and economic downfalls that others of its kind had not.

It catered to an elite clientele comprised of one percent of the world's wealthiest inhabitants. One of the things that had made them so successful was the privacy afforded by the use of numbered bank accounts. The account holder merely had to give a code word to access their funds instead of revealing their name.

As an added security measure, the client's names were stored in a non-networked computer at the main branch in Vienna. Those files were only accessible by a small group of key employees. Since she was doing an internal audit, Kira had become one of the select few who had access to the information.

Curious, she kept clicking account names and was astonished at what she discovered. Both Phobos and CEC2 sent regular wire transfers to the Hell Riders checking account. She knew it was the club's account because she had memorized the number. Kira didn't know exactly what she had stumbled across, but she knew that it was important.

And if what Raven had said was true, it was also dangerous.

The last thing she wanted was to get mixed up in the club's illegal activities. Because if the wrong people found out, she'd be in deep shit. Or dead. But… it was better to be safe than sorry, and if anyone did find out, she needed a bargaining chip. Having a copy of the financial records just might come in handy.

But how could she make a copy? The terminal that she was using was not connected to the internet to prevent this very scenario from happening. It was connected to a printer, but there was no way that she could walk out of the bank with paper copies. All the employee's purses and briefcases were routinely searched to discourage physical theft.

The internal audits were done to discourage virtual theft.

The only viable option was to upload a digital copy onto a thumb drive. As it turned out, she just happened to have the Mac daddy of thumb drives in her purse. And the cool thing was that it was built into a tube of lipstick. Very James Bondish, or so she had told Hunter when the team geek had given it to her.

It was a cool little spy gadget that one of his friends had cooked up. It even had some kind of built-in thingamabob that masked the upload procedure entirely, so the host computer didn't waive any red flags that it had been tampered with. Hunter had jokingly told her to upload the info on it instead of stealing a laptop the next time.

Kira had assured him that there wouldn't be a next time.

If she had half a brain, there wouldn't be. But this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity, and the intel was too valuable to pass up. Intel. Geez, Louise. She'd obviously hung out with the badass SEAL team too long. Here she was thinking she could pull off some kind of undercover op like she knew what the hell she was doing.

Plug and play, Kira. It's just plug and play. Nothing difficult at all, she assured herself confidently. Deciding to get it over with before she lost her nerve, she removed her purse from the desk drawer, sat it on top of the desk in front of the computer tower and rummaged through it for her lipstick/spy gadget and compact.

Fully conscious of the security camera pointed in her direction, she applied the lipstick, put the lid back on with one hand and surreptitiously pulled the bottom cover off of the USB with the other. Reaching over as if to place it in her purse, she deftly slid the thumb drive into the port on the front of the tower.

The cursor flashed hot pink once just as Hunter had said it would do when it was ready to use. Her fingers fairly flew over the keyboard as Kira saved the data that she wanted to the drive. Each time a file uploaded, the cursor would flash pink once in confirmation. When they were all copied, she began closing out of the system.

As soon as she had logged out, Kira stood and pulled the USB out of the port. She quickly slipped the lid back into place, dropped the lipstick and compact into her purse and left the building at a slow, unhurried pace. Her heart was racing, adrenaline was pumping through her veins, and her nerves were strung bowstring taut.

It was the most exhilarating moment of her life!

Heckle, and Jeckle met her in the lobby and escorted her out to the limo. The fact that they always knew when she was leaving and had the car waiting assured her that someone was monitoring her constantly. The knowledge made her foray into espionage all the more exciting since she hadn't been caught.

Euphoria bubbled in her veins all the way to the condo. Saying goodnight to her guard dogs in the hall, she let herself in and did a happy dance. She'd actually done it. She stole company files and got away clean! Realization slammed into her hard. Holy shit. She'd actually stolen company files!

What the hell had she been thinking?

Geez, Louise. If she got caught, she'd be thrown in jail. Or worse. The thought galvanized Kira into action. She had to get rid of those files ASAP, just in case someone did find out. Grabbing her laptop, she sat down at the dining table, dug the lipstick out of her purse and slid the thumb drive into the USB port.

When the cursor flashed hot pink, the corresponding program opened on the screen. Ignoring the option to download the files to her hard drive, she chose to upload to the private cloud that Hunter had set up for her to store the club's encrypted file copy on. In less than a minute the process was complete, and a message appeared that the drive was empty.

Whew. It was done. Now she had another piece of the puzzle, and she knew the dates and amounts would correspond with payments to the club. Kira didn't have a clue what the payments were for, but she'd bet that it was illegal. Why else would they go to so much trouble to hide it? She just hoped she never needed to use it.

 

***

 

One year later

 

"He's back," the disembodied voice announced through the phone.

"Are you certain?"

"Positive."

"Excellent," Deimos replied in satisfaction and ended the call. The timing could not have been more perfect. It was time to end this ridiculous charade. He slid the phone into his breast pocket and looked at the man seated across from him. In his native German, he imparted, "My nemesis has made an appearance in his usual location."

Arcane smiled in satisfaction, but it never reached his cold, hard eyes. "Wonderful news," he replied in German as well. "Using a sadist to destroy an enemy skilled at torture will be the sweetest revenge. I expect you to make the torment last for days and enjoy every moment of it, my pet."

"That I will, my prince. That I will," Deimos agreed. He had been looking forward to the next phase of his assignment for quite some time. After all, destroying Caulder had been his favorite fantasy for most of his life. Tonight would merely be the first step in bringing the bastard to his knees.

He wanted the other man to suffer a living hell and the best way to accomplish that was by destroying everything he loved. First his lover, then his son and brother. And for the coup de grâce, torturing Caulder until death ended his repugnant existence. But tonight, he had the pleasure of dealing with the woman seated beside him.

She was a lovely creature.

Admittedly, he had a fondness for whores. They did not complain about the rough treatment his dark desire demanded. The fact that no one cared if he lost control and killed one was a bonus. Arcane had insisted he keep this one alive and intact until she had served her purpose. Now that she had, she was his to do with as he pleased.

And he would.

While she pleaded for mercy.

His penis grew hard at the thought. Yes. He could easily envision her on her knees before him, begging for mercy that would not be forthcoming. Because Deimos had no mercy. A true sadist, he enjoyed inflicting pain. The sight of blood excited him. Screams of terror incited his lust to a nearly unbearable degree.

Commanding the power of life and death made him a god among men.

Beginning tonight, he would be Kira Walker's god.

 

***

 

Jaeger Von Osterman escorted Kira to the condo like the perfect gentleman and then insisted on coming inside. "It is time that you and I had a chat, my dear," he said seriously.

"Regarding?" She queried absently and felt as if she had stepped into an episode of the Twilight Zone. The entire evening had been too bizarre to be real, and she didn't know what to make of it.

"You," he replied as he made himself comfortable on the couch. "I find myself helplessly intrigued."

Kira laughed a bit nervously and sincerely hoped he wasn't hitting on her. Geez, Louise. That would officially make this the strangest day she'd ever had, and that was saying a lot. "I find that hard to believe," she demurred.

"I assure you it is true," he confessed. "You are something of an enigma to me. For example, how did a woman raised by a low life outlaw acquire such poise and polish? You dress, act and speak like a lady of quality, yet your pedigree is more befitting of a whore."

"I beg your pardon?" She responded indignantly. Kira was just as stunned that he knew about her father's involvement with the Hell Riders as she was outraged at the insult.

His eyes shifted to her mouth, and a mocking smile curved his hard lips. "Hmm. We will get to the begging later. For now, we need to finish our chat."

Her job be damned, there was no way in hell she was going to let the pompous ass insult her again. Kira shot to her feet and insisted, "I'd like you to leave now."

As if she hadn't spoken, Jaeger stretched one arm along the back of the couch and suggested, "Tell me about Jaxon Caulder."

Oh, hell no. She didn't know what this man's deal was, but she was through playing his game. Kira pointed to the door and demanded, "Get the hell out."

"Ah, there it is," he mused as if she were some interesting specimen he was observing. "Blood will tell, after all. And that fiery red hair speaks of a passionate temperament. I shall enjoy that immensely."

This guy was unbelievable. And he was starting to scare her. A lot. She stalked over to the door and swung it open. "Leave, or I'm calling the police," she warned in a voice that shook with fury. Heckle's imposing girth filled the doorway and loomed over her to reach inside. She jumped back, out of reach, but the man merely pulled the door closed again.

"As you can see, my dear, this chat is going to continue despite your protests," Jaeger said in a bored tone and drummed his fingertips on the back of the couch impatiently. "I suggest you sit down and behave like the lady you pretend to be. Otherwise, I will have to treat you like the whore you are."

Her blood ran cold at the implication. Christ Almighty. The man was serious. And she didn't even want to think about what he'd meant by that last statement. Trembling inside and out, Kira returned to the chair she had vacated and sat on the edge. Her voice cracked when she demanded, "What do you want?"

A smile curved his hard lips again. It wasn't a pleasant sight. Chills of trepidation danced down her spine. "So many things," he sighed. "For now, you will answer my question."

For some reason, he wanted to know about Jax. Well, tough shit. That subject was taboo. She lifted her chin in defiance and admitted, "We broke up before I started working for you."

"Yes. I am told the fight at that quaint little bar was very realistic," he confirmed much to her surprise.

"How the hell do you know about that?" Kira demanded.

The bastard actually laughed at that. "I know everything about the people in my employ," he informed her in amusement. "Including where their loyalties lie. It would seem yours are still with Caulder. Understandable since he did murder two men for you."

Kira was rendered mute at that startling revelation. Jax had murdered two people? For her?! Jaeger continued as if she wasn't sitting there staring back at him in complete astonishment. "He kills very efficiently, I must admit. Your lover is most proficient with a knife. I assume that was why his SEAL call sign was Blade."

Her mind was swirling as Kira tried in vain to make sense of what he was saying. "I don't... don't understand," she denied in confusion. "How do you know these things? Why do you know them?"

"Because knowing a person's weakness makes it so much easier to manipulate them," he responded as if she should have known that. "And you, my dear, are Caulder's greatest weakness."

She shook her head in denial. "You're wrong," Kira denied. "I'm nothing to him."

"No?" He asked doubtfully. "Then tell me, Kira. If not Caulder, then who is the man that skulks in the parking garage across the street keeping watch over you? My men have seen him there many times. As a matter of fact, he is there as we speak."

"It's not him," she denied and refused to even consider the idea. She doubted that Jax had given her a second thought since the last time she saw him. When Jaeger merely arched one brow, she insisted vehemently, "It's not."

"Shall we put it to the test?" He queried blandly and removed the phone from his breast pocket. "There is a sniper with a rifle aimed at his head right now. Shall I have him pull the trigger?"

"No!" She exclaimed in horror and bolted out of the chair.

A slow, wicked smile curved his lips, and he seemed pleased with her response. "You care for him, do you not?"

Beyond even trying to lie at this point, Kira confessed, "Yes."

"Then you must prove it."

"H... How?" She asked shakily.

"If you wish to save his life, you must do exactly as I say," Jaeger informed her.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked suspiciously.

"Does it matter?" He queried. "Is there anything you would not do to keep Caulder alive?"

"No," she answered without hesitation because it was true. In spite of the fact that Jax didn't give a damn about her, she still loved him. Kira squared her shoulders as if preparing for a fight and admitted, "There's nothing I wouldn't do."

The smile he bestowed on her was truly chilling. "Excellent, my dear. That is exactly what I wanted to hear," Jaeger said in satisfaction as he rose and removed his jacket.

"What... what are you doing?" She asked nervously.

"We are going to give Caulder something worth watching," he said as he sat back down on the couch and spread his legs wide. "Come here and get on your knees. I want to make sure that he has an excellent view of you pleasuring me."

Bile rushed up the back of her throat. Kira clapped a hand over her mouth to hold back a scream. Christ Almighty! The man was completely insane.

 

***

 

It had been eighteen long, agonizing months filled with pain and frustration since Kira had cut all ties with him. Time and distance had not healed the hole where his heart used to be. Jax had known their breakup would hurt her, he just hadn't realized how extreme her reaction would be. The knowledge that she had to hate him ripped his soul apart.

The only consolation he had was that the Illuminati had made no attempt to go after her. In spite of the pain it had caused them both, his plan had worked. Once he had managed to track her down, Jax had kept a vigilant watch over his Vixen from afar. He had needed to be certain that she was all right.

He missed her so fucking much. The desire to contact her had been nearly overwhelming at times. But she was safe, and that was the most important thing. His friends and family thought he was a fool for letting her go, and they were right. But there wasn't a goddamn thing he could do to make it right now.

So Jax watched over her.

And he loved her from afar.

Hunter had taught him how to hack a phone's GPS, and Jax monitored her movements daily. Yeah, his actions bordered on obsessive behavior, but he didn't give a shit. Knowing where she was at all times was the only thing that gave him a measure of peace. The two goons that were always with her sure as hell didn't.

He could take those asshats out with no problem.

Once he found out where she was working, he had thoroughly researched everything there was to know about Von Osterman Bank. He discovered that it was one of the oldest and most reputable financial institutions in the world. Satisfied with that, he'd started digging into the family who owned it.

Erich Von Osterman had retired a little over a year ago due to health reasons, and his son Jaeger had taken over the helm. After talking to Kira's former employer, he learned that the younger Von Osterman had offered her a job when she completed a minor audit for him. A job that she had refused until Jax had pushed her away.

Now she was globetrotting as the banks in-house auditor. A position that required bodyguards. He couldn't help wondering if they were for her protection or the banks. With the type of sensitive information that she was privy to, probably both. It also explained why she stayed in company-owned high-security condos around the world.

Tonight he was lurking in the shadows of the parking garage across the street from their Miami condo. Jax knew he was a fool to continue torturing himself like this even after the threat of danger to her had long since past, but the need to see her was too strong to resist. Not to mention that he didn't want to resist it.

He watched as a limo pulled up in front of the building. Saw the goons get out and escort Kira and Von Osterman inside. A couple of minutes later the lights went on in her condo. The curtains were partially open, and his pocket-sized tactical scope provided an excellent view of the arrogant bastard making himself at home on the couch.

After a few minutes of conversation, he saw the man stand and was relieved that he was leaving. When the bastard removed his jacket and sat back down, Jax gnashed his teeth jealously. His heart skipped a beat when Kira walked over to stand in front of Von Osterman. It might have stopped beating as he watched her sink to her knees between his legs.

No. No, no, fuck no. His brain refused to accept what his eyes were seeing. There was no way that Kira and that polished prick were lovers. No way in hell. But the evidence before him was unmistakable. Jax snatched the scope away from his eye and turned his back on the painful scene, but it was too late.

The image was already burned into his retinas. Von Osterman's hands threaded through her silky curls. Her head bobbing up and down. The smile of supreme satisfaction on the other man's face.

Mother fuck!

Everything male within him roared a denial. He wanted to rush across the street and rip the bastard to shreds with his bare hands. He wanted to shake Kira and demand to know how she could do this to him. But he didn't have the right to do either one because he was the one who had pushed her away.

And into the arms of another man.

Enraged at the bitter truth, Jax slammed the scope into the cement column until it shattered into pieces. Exactly like his heart had. His fury too volatile to control, he stalked over to his bike and burned rubber all the way down to the street. The powerful bike roared through traffic, zigging and zagging at breakneck speed.

Once he'd left the Ronald Reagan Turnpike in his rear view, he opened her up and let the bike fly on Highway One headed south. By the time he hit Key Largo the blinding rage had begun to recede. When he arrived in Key West and parked his bike in the agency's storage facility, the anger had reached a manageable level.

Jax walked down to the attached dock and jumped aboard the Zodiac. Halfway to the island, he cut the engine, threw his head back and roared his pain into the night sky. He screamed and yelled and cursed like a madman until he had vented every emotion and purged his eviscerated soul. Until the only thing he felt was numb.

It damn near killed him to know that Kira was involved with another man. It also confirmed that he'd been right to let her go. Because she had been able to move on. She'd found someone else. Lucky her. He knew there would never be another woman for him. His only option now was to live with the regret of losing her.

And to finally let her go.