SEALs Love Curves Book 8: Future

Book 8: Future

Taylor

Taylor Wright caressed the multicolored bow on the box with a satisfied smile. She’d been getting gifts from supporters and investors for weeks, each more lavish and thoughtful than the last.

After years of killing herself to make it to the top, she’d finally arrived. She was doing exactly what she wanted to do, and she was doing it exactly how she wanted to do it.

She had her enemies, but they were people she’d left behind her. People she wasn’t interested in involving in her success. She’d built her company from the ground up and she was going to open up to customers in two weeks. Initial reviews were overwhelmingly positive, proving she was doing things right.

Taylor lifted the lid with a curious smile on her face. She peered inside and screamed, “Gah!” She dropped the lid and backed away from it. Cement filled her gut and ice flooded her veins.

“Are you okay? What happened?” her assistant Jessica’s near-permanent grin faded to confusion when she saw the panicked look in Taylor’s eyes.

The only thing Taylor could do was point to the box. Jessica turned to it, then back to Taylor with narrowed eyes and a tilt of her head that assumed Taylor was being dramatic and crazy.

Jessica had worked for Taylor for almost a year. She was the closest thing Taylor had to a friend, even though they really weren’t friends, but Taylor thought her assistant had a little more trust in her than to think she was nuts.

“What—? Oh, my God. Is that what I think it is?”

“If you think it’s a dead bird nestled in decaying roses with a note that reads you’re next, then yes, it’s what you think it is.”

“Who the hell would send you something like that?”

“Someone who wants us to fail.”

“Okay, but who?”

Taylor shook her head. “I have no idea.”

* * *

“I’ll send you the list, officer,” Taylor said for the third time in thirty minutes. “I want to be thorough.”

“Does the bird have any significance?” the young cop asked.

Taylor fought the urge to roll her eyes. She was exhausted. It had been a long day before she walked into her office and found a dead bird in a box. She glanced around at the walls, covered in birds. “Yeah, the bird is significant.”

Taylor called her company Birds of a Feather because she wanted the women she targeted to know they weren’t alone. It was important to her since Taylor herself never felt like she connected with the women she knew, but she hoped to create a world where other women didn’t feel the same.

Birds of a Feather was more than a company to her. It was her baby. Her dream when she was in grad school and imagining her future, a future she thought she would share with her boyfriend. Mark was ambitious and studious, just like Taylor, but what she couldn’t see at the time was that he was also jealous of her creativity and lacked his own.

It didn’t bother Taylor, but it was a sore spot for Mark. So sore that he stole an idea he and Taylor came up with together and pitched it as his own to get himself a job at the company where they both first interviewed. When Taylor pitched the same idea, as a joint venture, they all but accused her of stealing it and said the only reason they weren’t reporting her to the school was because they knew the truth.

That was when Taylor learned not to trust other people. Especially men.

“Do any men work here?” the officer asked, dragging Taylor’s focus back to the issue in front of her.

Again, she had to resist an eye roll. “Birds of a Feather is an inclusive work environment. We hire the person who is best for the job, but when developing a company of size inclusive exercise clothes for women, it attracts more women than men.”

The officer stared at the rear end of one of the interns as she rushed past Taylor’s office. Sure, she was cute and perky and perfect, but the man was on the damn job.

“Ahem,” Taylor said loudly.

The cop almost dropped his notepad as he yanked his eyes from the woman’s ass. Minor victories.

He pressed his lips together in what she assumed was supposed to be a smile and gave Taylor and her ample curves a dismissive once-over before announcing, “I think I have all I need. If we find anything, we’ll be in touch, Ms.…”

“Wright,” Taylor provided.

“Yes, of course.” He picked up the evidence bag containing the box and nodded, then left her office.

Taylor’s sigh was more of a groan as she scolded herself that flipping off a cop was not in her best interest, just in case he turned around and caught her.

She watched until he made it to the bank of elevators, then sank into her chair. She was drained. Dealing with threats and cops could do that to a woman.

“What did he say?” Jessica was another one the cop admired on his way to see Taylor. She had jet black hair, a curvy hourglass figure, and a smile that would make any man drop to his knees and beg for her to flash it at him, but Taylor hired her because she was also crazy smart and could think quickly on her feet. She’d saved Taylor’s ass more than once in the last year.

“He said they’ll be in touch.”

“Which means we’ll never see him again.”

“Yep. Whatever.”

“Why don’t you call Braden?” Jessica suggested.

Taylor took note of the way Jessica’s voice lifted at the end, as though there was more than one reason she might want Taylor’s brother aware of what was going on. Taylor resisted the urge to call either of her brothers about anything, but Braden was the worst. He was the worrier. The one who was always telling her she needed to be more careful. Being a firefighter, he saw some of the worst the world had to offer, but he was paranoid. And Taylor wasn’t going to be afraid to live her life.

“I don’t think I need to tell Braden about this.”

“Tell me about what?” Braden asked from Taylor’s doorway.

Taylor sighed and gave Jessica a look that asked if she set Taylor up. Jessica flushed fifty shades of pink and tucked her hair behind her ear before she hurried out of the office, sneaking past an oblivious Braden on her way back to her desk. Braden’s gaze followed her for half a second, then snapped back to his sister. “What happened?”

“It was nothing.”

“Then why did I pass Officer Shaw on my way up here?”

“Dammit,” Taylor hissed.

“What happened?”

“Just someone being an ass.”

“Which means?”

“I got a dead bird in the mail. Wrapped up in a pretty box and nestled in a bed of decaying roses,” Taylor delivered the words with a pissed-off smile that hid the threat of showing her brother what she had for lunch.

“What?” Braden stalked across the room to her side. His fists clenched, and he twisted his neck to release the tension that immediately locked it up.

Taylor shrugged like the whole thing was a minor inconvenience instead of a not-so-thinly veiled threat to everything she’d worked her ass off to build. That was exactly why she didn’t want to tell him. And why she didn’t mention the note.

“You need protection, Tay. Someone with you to make sure you’re safe.”

“No,” Taylor said. Now that was why she didn’t want to tell him. The last thing she wanted was to feel like a prisoner in her own life.

“Taylor—”

“Would you be telling Aaron this? Or Wray or one of your other firefighter buddies? Is it because I’m a woman?”

“It’s because you’re my sister, Tay-tay. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Taylor’s frozen heart melted whenever he called her by her childhood nickname. Especially when he tilted his head to the side and gave her the same lost little boy look he’d worn on a daily basis growing up. As the oldest of four, Taylor took a mother role with her younger siblings. She started babysitting them when she was able to use the microwave for dinner, and she was changing Braden’s diapers, the youngest, the day he came home from the hospital. Taylor’s greatest accomplishments were her siblings.

Until Birds of a Feather.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured Braden. “Whoever sent it is just trying to scare me.”

“Which is exactly my point. I know a guy—”

“Don’t go there, Braden.” Taylor’s sharp look and sharper tone would have made most people shut up quickly, but he was her brother and knew she was like a chihuahua pretending to be a Great Dane.

His matching glare had the punch of a pissed off hornet, but she wouldn’t tell him that. “Taylor.”

“Braden.”

“I’m worried about you.”

Taylor shook her head to dislodge the equally powerful sting of his soft words. “I have the best security system money can buy, both here and at home. There are cameras all over this building. I have no reason to think this is anything more than some sick joke, but if it’s not, I have a baseball bat under my bed and you know I can swing it.”

Braden’s entire face softened at the mention of their shared memories. One of the many roles Taylor took on was coaching his baseball team when he was seven. She’d just turned eighteen and knew little about the game, but she learned fast. Just like she did with everything else in her life.

“At least meet the guy. Talk to him.”

“Braden.”

“Taylor, please. It’ll make me feel better if you have a conversation with him.”

“Let me think about it.”

Braden’s sigh was his annoyed sigh, the one that Taylor had grown accustomed to him using on her since he realized he was finally bigger and stronger than his big sister, and that she still wouldn’t let him take care of her. “I guess that’s all I can hope for.”

Taylor’s grin bordered on a smirk. “Yep.”

* * *

Ryker

Ryker Hamilton sat in the briefing room and listened to his boss talk about their latest job. Ryker, known as Dex to the rest of the team, had taken his turn as lead on a few cases, but he was happy when Dunn filled the role. It was natural for him, but Dex… he liked to be behind the scenes most of the time. He was comfortable being in second place.

“Dex, are you with us?” Dunn asked.

Dex nodded, meeting the gaze of the other man. It didn’t matter what the task was, Dex was up to it. F-BOMB was as much his baby as the others’. They’d built the company from the ground up over the last few years, working to protect the borders of their country and keep people safe. That included stopping all sorts of bad guys, and brought them to their current asshole.

Dennis Parker.

Parker was the kind of scum that gave scum a bad name. He was involved in anything and everything bad. But he was smart enough to stay a step or two away from it and never get his hands dirty.

Dex hated men like him because everyone knew they were the ones pulling the strings, but their puppets always protected them. It wasn’t because of loyalty, though. He had something on everyone who’d ever worked for him. And he wasn’t afraid to use it to ruin their lives if they ever thought about ruining his.

“How are we going to handle this?” Archer asked.

Archer was their smash and grab guy. He could tear someone apart with his bare hands if he needed to. He was a good man to have on your side, and he was smarter than he gave himself credit for.

“The sheriff is out for blood. We have to bring the entire organization down,” Dunn said. He met the gazes of the rest of the team with his own dark one.

“And we’re sure it was one of Parker’s men who took the sheriff’s daughter and did that to her?” Rocky winced at the picture of the bruised woman on their board. He was the rational one of the group. Rocky thought through their actions and made a decision long before he acted.

“We’re sure,” Dunn said. “The guy bragged to her about other cases they’ve been tied to. He knew too much to be spouting rumors. He was a part of it.”

“What’s the play here?” Dex asked. “Normally, the powers that be would bring in someone like this guy and cut him a deal in order to get his boss. I can’t imagine that’s the plan with this one.”

“No, it’s not. We want to take down the entire organization. To do that, we need to know what he has on his people,” Dunn said. “We need his files.”

“Where do we think they are?” Jack asked.

“They’re not digital,” English said. As the team’s computer expert, if something existed online, English would find it. A self-professed nerd, English was the kind of guy who could shoot you with one hand and ruin you with the other. He was as badass as they came, but he stayed in the shadows more often than not.

“That means everything is on paper. Files somewhere. Probably more than one copy if he’s smart, and we know he is. I’d be willing to bet he has a copy at his home, one in the office, and another somewhere that we don’t know about,” Dunn said.

The frustration in Dunn’s voice matched that of the rest of the group. It wasn’t that they were simply frustrated that they couldn’t bring the guy down, they were frustrated that he impressed them. Not in a way that made them want to be like him, but in a way that made them wonder how he pulled it all off without being caught. After everything they’d seen, not much got past them, but Parker did. More than once.

Dex’s phone rang, prompting a pause to the meeting. He looked up at Dunn for permission to answer during the meeting. Dunn nodded.

“Hamilton.”

“Ryker, this is Braden Wright. I wondered if I could call in that favor.”

Dex waved off Dunn’s look to let him know it wasn’t anything relevant to the current case, then left the conference room to talk to Braden. After Braden went undercover with Dex and saved his life at an illegal poker game a few months earlier, Dex vowed to return the favor anytime Braden needed something.

“Everything okay?”

“That’s why I’m calling. My sister is about to launch her newest company and she’s getting threats. Most have been stupid online things, but the latest was a dead bird. Do you have time to act as private security for her? A few weeks, maybe?”

“For you, Braden, anything.”

“Thanks. I owe my sister everything, and she doesn’t like to admit when she needs help.”

“I’ve met a few people like that.”

Braden chuckled. “Yeah, well, she did raise me. I’ll send you her company’s address. You’re on her calendar for tomorrow afternoon. Thanks, Ryker.”

“Any time. We’ll talk soon.”

Braden hung up, and Dex went back into the conference room. Dunn raised a brow at him, pausing his sentence just long enough for Dex to nod in response to the unasked question. Everything is fine.

“So,” Dunn said, “how are we going to bring this asshole down?”

* * *

Taylor

Everyone had left for the day, but Taylor still sat at her desk. She refused to leave anything to chance this close to her launch. Years of working jobs that made ends meet had led her to where she was. On top of the damn world.

She checked and double-checked her notes and confirmed everything with her suppliers and manufacturer. She’d thought of everything, except sabotage.

Taylor tried to come up with a list of people who might be out to get her, but she was having trouble. The top of the list was relatively easy with former bosses and coworkers and a few people who didn’t get the jobs they applied for, but after a handful of names, she was drawing a blank.

She groaned and pushed her chair back. She stretched her neck from side to side, loosening the tight muscles. Maybe she could book a massage before the launch. God knew she needed it. She laughed to herself. Like she had free time.

A massage was a luxury, sort of like a date was. She couldn’t remember the last time she went on a date. As she got closer to her dream coming true, men were less and less important to her. And less and less willing to see her as a potential partner. Nope, she was a mark, someone to use for what they wanted. She was done being used.

Taylor considered going home, but she was too tired to drive. She kept a small closet of clothes in her office for the too many nights she stayed there. Her executive bathroom was almost as lavish as the one in her home, so she gave up the fight and moved from her desk chair to the couch that was even more comfortable than the one she had at home.

She sank back and closed her eyes. Deep breath in, and out. Again in, and out. She forced her mind to clear and let go of the day. Nothing was going to stop her from moving forward with her plans. Nothing.

Her phone rang, startling her out of her relaxed state. She wasn’t asleep yet, but she was on her way. The price of running an online business.

Taylor answered without bothering to think about the blocked caller ID knowing many of her investors had blocked numbers. “Taylor Wright.”

“Did you get my gift?” a man’s voice asked.

“Who is this?” Taylor asked. Her voice trembled, and so did her hands. She looked around the silent office, feeling exposed.

“I wanted you to know I was thinking of you.”

“What do you want?”

“I want you to appreciate me, Taylor. You wouldn’t be where you are if it weren’t for me. I want you to acknowledge that.”

“Why don’t you tell me who you are so I can?”

He chuckled. “That would be too easy. I understand, though. All the people you stepped on as you were climbing the ladder… It’s easy to forget us all. But we never forgot about you.”

“I didn’t step on people.”

His laugh sent ice to her heart. She shivered from the chill and grabbed her blanket.

“Taylor, Taylor, Taylor. You’re so forgetful when it doesn’t serve you. But I know exactly who you are. You’re still that white trash who grew up on the wrong side of town. A cheap whore who tried to pretend she was someone she’s not. But I know the real you, Tay-tay. I know everything about you. And I’m not going to let you destroy more lives.”

“What are you talking about?” Taylor asked. Her mind raced to come up with a name. The list of people who knew her childhood nickname was short, but the voice… She couldn’t place it.

He chuckled again, a breathy sound through the phone. “Don’t play dumb with me. You’re far too smart for it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do, Taylor. But I need to go now. We’ll talk again very soon.”

She tried to say something else, but he was gone. Taylor stared at her phone, shaking in her hand. The fear overtook her and the phone slid from her hand to the floor. She couldn’t stop shaking.

The phone buzzed on the floor, making her jump. She looked at it as if it were a snake ready to strike. The screen lit up with an email. An update from a supplier.

Taylor drew a long breath, letting the air fill her lungs until they ached. She held it to the count of four, then slowly released the air. After a few more deep breaths, her hands stopped shaking and her heart slowed to normal. She picked up her phone and opened the email.

She didn’t have time for threats. She had a job to do.