Page 57 of Gentle & Broken
“Oh, Tim?” She looked back at Gray. “He’s fine, but he is duct-taped and zip-tied next to the garage.”
“Excuse me?” He stared at her, pretty certain she was joking, but admittedly not a hundred percent. His security guys were top-notch, and he couldn’t imagine Russ not coming himself if an intruder had penetrated his intricately woven security web. No matter how gorgeous and welcome this intruder was.
“I’d tell you to go look, but you need to get dressed, and wading through that snow might give you frostbite. It’s freezing out here.” She did the cutest all-over body shiver he’d ever seen. Maybe cute was the wrong word. He could write an entire song about how appealing she looked right now. “I know, I’m gorgeous. I can read it in your eyes, and yes, you did get me wet pinning me down.” Shaking her head and laughing at him, she said, “Come on, my irresistible saxophone player and singer extraordinaire. Let’s go.” She bounced to the patio door and flung it wide, slipping inside.
Gray grabbed a towel and hurried after her, squeezing some of the water out of his suit before securing the towel around his waist. He shut the door behind him, appreciating the warm house, the in-floor heating making even the wood floor warm. She walked over to the fireplace, picked up the remote, and clicked it on.
“Nice place,” she said, giving a cursory glance around at the three-story open area with the massive three-story stone fireplace on the wall next to the double doors to the master suite. The wall perpendicular to that was three levels of windows overlooking the valley almost two thousand feet below, the huge living room and state-of-the-art kitchen and dining area on the opposite side of the windows. The ‘nice place’ was a twenty-million-dollar mansion perched on an exclusive mountainside a short walk from the high-dollar resort village of Wengen and one of the most gorgeous settings in the world, but it didn’t seem to impress this lady much.
“Thanks,” he murmured. He was so confused right now. Why was Scarlett Lily’s stunt double in his living room, teasing and flirting with him, and had she truly bested his highly trained security guards? If that was true, why had she let Gray pin her down? He thought himself a great fighter, but he hadn’t bested even Kaden yet, despite the tips Tim always gave him when they sparred, and Russ and Cameron were ten times tougher than Kaden. Russ was a decorated and accomplished retired Marine who Gray thought would win a battle against any man or woman in the world.
“Come over here and get warm,” she said again. “I’ve got a bit to tell you and then you can shower while I get settled. Then we’ll chat more, as I’m sure the questions will keep coming.”
“Did you really tie Tim up?” he asked in disbelief, walking to the fireplace and getting in her space, staring down at her beautiful and seemingly innocent face. Up close, her exquisite blue eyes that seemed so lit up and friendly were actually guarded. He’d met and helped many, many women over the years and could usually read what they needed and the anguish they’d been through. This woman had a shield up that he doubted anyone could get through.
“Zip-tied and duct taped,” she corrected in a sing-song tune. “Of course I did. The rest of your security men are equally incapacitated. You’re right. We should go say hello to them quick and let them go. They can go free Tim. He was dressed in high-quality gear but he might be getting chilled with the lack of movement. I needed to prove a point,” she grinned and shrugged, “but I examined the surrounding area and put up extra perimeter security when I disabled yours. I’ll know if anyone but me tries to infiltrate your beautiful rental home, but it’s probably not smart to leave your guys out of commission with all the people you have after you at the moment. Plus, if I’m going to be working with your security, I shouldn’t make enemies out of them. I might get my hand slapped for that one.”
Sara was equal parts gorgeous, appealing, cute, baffling, and possibly unstable. Hand slapped? Did she ever get in trouble for her sassy tongue and antics? Who could get upset at a woman with a smile that friendly, sweet, and innocent? Though if she’d truly bested his security, she was light years from sweet.
He had so many questions, but he started with, “All the people after me?” He scrubbed his fingers through his beard. “The Russian mafia?”
“Yes, but they aren’t the most worrisome party at the moment. You like to tick people off, don’t you?”
His eyes widened. He ticked bad people off when he helped those who needed him, but most of the world loved him and his music.
“Come on. Sorry to put off your shower and getting warm, but you do look mighty fine in that swimming suit.” Sara’s voice was still lilting and happy, as if she were teasing or laughing at him at all times. He couldn’t imagine any world where this small and innocent-looking woman could take out his well-trained security. She must have other operatives hiding somewhere outside.
“Who’s working with you?” he asked, looking around.
“We’ll get into that soon, but for the moment, I’m here alone.”
She turned and walked toward the stairs. No, this woman didn’t know how to simply walk. She bounced or danced or skipped. With each step she lifted slightly onto tiptoe. Her hair floated around her shoulders, and she pranced to the stairs and down them. Gray was certain he’d never been around a more fascinating woman in his life. He’d thought he was in love with Malory Grange for almost a year and a half, regularly begging her to marry him, but Malory had shockingly found and married her former fiancé two weeks ago. He’d imagined it would hurt more, but he knew now that Malory had always been in love with Van Udy. Gray had helped her escape her horrific ex, Senator Ted Malouf. He was happy for her. Even Malory hadn’t held the appeal Sara did, and he hardly knew Sara.
They descended the stairs and walked into the massive basement. It had its own kitchen and living section, four bedrooms, a workout room, and a separate theater. The carpet was warm with the radiant, in-floor heating on here as well. It felt good on his toes. Sara looked over her shoulder and for a brief second her gaze focused on his chest, her cheeks turned a becoming pink, and she tripped over something.
Gray reached out a hand and steadied her. She stilled under his touch, and he found himself wrapping his hand around her waist and slowly tugging her toward him. She stared up at him, all traces of laughter and teasing replaced with a warmth that made his heart race faster than when she’d knocked him down on the patio.
She rested her palms on his shoulders. The warmth seared into his bare skin. Gray let out a telling groan and focused on her summer-sky blue eyes. Her gaze captured him completely, and lyrics raced through his head. He was lost and found in her gaze. Her touch lit a fire in him he’d never known existed outside of song lyrics and romance novels.
“Mpmf!” A strangled yell came from across the room, and a body scooted from behind the pool table.
“Cameron?” Gray questioned, stunned by what he was seeing. His tough bodyguard. Incapacitated. Just as she’d said. Zip ties secured the man’s hands behind his back and to his feet, which were also secured together. His mouth was covered with duct tape.
“Apologies.” Sara’s grin was back and that teasing, almost-mocking light filled her blue eyes. She pulled from Gray’s grasp and strode toward Cameron, pulling a knife out of her pocket and flipping it open.
Russ and Kaden stormed out of the bedroom they’d converted into their security headquarters. Russ’s face and neck were mottled red, the skin around his mouth raw and patches of his beard missing. His dark eyes were furious. Kaden was actually smiling, but the kid had a perma-grin and he didn’t have a beard, so maybe he wasn’t as upset about the effects of the duct tape.
“Ah, good job.” Sara straightened and faced the two security guys who would make most people run the other direction if they were marching their way. She held the knife loosely in her hand. “You two get gold stars. Did you both get free, or did one of you free the other one?”
Russ reached her first and knocked the knife from her hand. It skittered across the nearby countertop. “I broke the zip ties.”
He reached out with both hands, blood dripping from one wrist, most likely from his struggle with the zip ties, and moved to grasp her upper arms. Sara knocked his hands away, dodged underneath his arms, landed a vicious punch to his kidneys, and then she leaped and kicked him in the side of the head. Russ stuttered but straightened quickly.
“Gray,” Russ grunted out. “Move away while we take care of this problem.”
“Stand down, Russ,” Gray commanded. “Do you know who this is?”
“I don’t care if she’s the President. She incapacitated and took down my men. By herself.”