Ramsey Security (Ramsey Security #1-3)(5)

I glance out the blinds at a passing car. "Locke could grab the family to leverage for the girl."

"Too much heat on him right now. Abducting one person to make it easier to abduct another takes a lot of effort. He'll wait a short period and send someone else."

I think about Locke sending a cold-blooded bastard like Zivkovic to abduct Darla. The killer likely would have eliminated the sister and kids too, just for kicks.

"We might want to consider relocating Darla until we've neutralized Locke," I suggest.

Rafael shakes his head. "The girl isn't stable enough to move around. She's receiving therapy here. Besides, we have the upper hand by keeping it local. Our resources are here. Locke's aren't. He was in LA when she escaped."

"Even so, I get nervous thinking about the kind of damage a psycho like him could do to a high-rise building."

"He wants her alive," Rafael reminds me.

"For now. What happens when he realizes he can't take her alive? Guys like him think if they can't have the girl then no one should."

Rafael stands up and checks his phone. "We'll kill him before it comes to that." Based on his expression, I suspect his new wife Harlow is calling. "We'll send Manny to watch Vernon and his little family. Let them feel safe with a big Latin man standing nearby. I want Minka to baby-sit Darla at the hotel. Saskia, you get hold of your contacts in Serbia and find out how Locke found Zivkovic. I doubt they socialize in the same circles."

Rafael looks at me. "Troy, check out the apartment. Secure it like the damn president is visiting. Once you have it squared away, we'll move the girl there and see what Locke does next. Hopefully, his next move is his last."

"What about me, boss?" Tia asks.

"I need you to set your charm loose on the media types. Feed them false info. They're too damn interested in Darla's every breath. We need their eyes elsewhere, so they don't plaster our faces on the evening news. The last thing we need is for our past enemies showing up in Houston looking for payback while we're working our first big case."

Rafael stops at the door. "Make no mistake. These Richie Rich types talk. If we do right by Young, we'll set our prices and take whatever jobs we want in the future."

"Well that was ominous," Saskia mutters, following him out of the room before heading to her office.

I don't smile at her comment. My mind is on the job. I haven't faced a real assignment in months, and I'm edgy without the adrenaline high. Retiring into a security job at 30 feels like a waste of my talents. I miss hunting a target, learning a man's weaknesses, and preparing to spill his blood. My job has never been like Zivkovic's, and I refused to take jobs that involved killing women or children. Well, most women anyway. Killers like Minka and Saskia were fair game. Equals in every way but a woman like Darla or her sister shouldn't be targets.

There is no challenge in taking a life so easily ripped away. I have no respect for Zivkovic or the man who hired him. They're the kinds of targets I enjoy destroying. The hunt is officially on.





4


~~~

Darla

My Sweet Lies Keep Me Safe

Doctor Parker turns up the air conditioning unit in her office before returning to her seat. I mumble a thank you while adjusting the heavy sweatshirt over my D cups. I've never been quite comfortable with my body. My breasts are too big, my hips too wide, my butt too "baby, got back." Shelley never minded her curvaceous figure, and she tried to teach me to love my body.

"Girls with straight hair want curls. Girls with curly hair want it straight. Big butt girls want a tiny ass, and tiny assed girls wish they had more junk in the trunks. No one is ever happy, so ignore those negative thoughts and be happy with whatever you have."

My optimistic sister gave me the confidence to model swimsuits and work at boat shows. Nothing impressive, but the money gave me security. Then Locke snatched everything away.

"How is your diet going?" Doctor Parker asks me.

"Good. I haven't put on any weight, but it's bound to happen."

"Do you truly believe he will leave you alone if you put on weight?"

"No, but it gives me something to do."

Doctor Parker smiles slightly, but she's only humoring me. I make her nervous, which is fine. The last doctor, her husband, made me nervous. All men make me nervous. Men are strong. Women are weak. Rose was weak, and I don't know if I can ever stop being her.

"You have new security," Doctor Parker says, stating the obvious as usual.

"Her name is Minka."

I think of my security detail in the waiting room. Minka is beautiful and confident, but not like I once was. There's nothing bubble gum about her dark eyes and hair. She's exotic and deadly. I have no doubt she knows all kinds of martial arts moves and could karate chop me square in the face before I knew she moved.

"I like her," I mumble. "She's nice."

"You're moving to a new location."

"Yes."

"How do you feel about that?"

"I feel like I got a man killed two nights ago. I don't really care what my new address will be."

"The retired officer wasn't murdered by you. His life was ended by the same people who harmed you."