Christmas Guardian Read online

  Jordan Taylor loved her son.

  “He gets up around seven each morning,” Jordan said, checking his watch. “Elsa will call us so you can come and visit with him.”

  Visit. Yes. That said it all. She couldn’t scoop him up and take him away. Not with all the danger and uncertainty lurking out there, but she could visit. For now, that would have to be enough, but it wouldn’t be enough for long. One way or another, Kinley intended to reclaim her son.

  But how?

  Her life was a mess.

  Jordan touched her arm, and she knew it was time to leave. She checked her watch as well. It was nearly 11:00 p.m., and that meant she still had eight hours before Gus woke. She’d be counting down the minutes.

  She brushed a kiss on the baby’s forehead and reluctantly followed Jordan. She had a dozen questions, and it was best if they had some privacy for that anyway. They retraced their steps through the main room, Jordan whispered something to Elsa, and the nanny locked the door behind them when they left.

  “How long have you had Gus here?” Kinley asked as they made their way back through the basement. She surprised even herself that she called her son Gus.

  “Since Shelly left him on my doorstep. I thought this would be the safest place for him. When I had the estate built, I added the area, thinking I might need it if I ever had to hide away witnesses and such.”

  In other words, short-term use. “But Gus has been there for fourteen months.”

  “Yes.” That was all he said until they arrived back into the closet of his suite. Jordan closed the door on the floor and reset the security. “That’s why I have to move. He needs room to play. He needs a life, and I couldn’t give him that if we stayed here.”

  Jordan stopped and looked away. But Kinley caught on to his arm. “That’s why you sold Sentron.”

  He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. In that moment, she realized just how much he’d sacrificed for her son.

  And just how much he loved him.

  “This is going to be a problem, isn’t it?” she heard herself say.

  Now Jordan looked at her, with that warning in his eyes. She was getting too close to what he wanted to keep buried beneath.

  He tore out of her grip and headed for the bedroom. Kinley went after him and managed to step in front of him before he made it to the desk, where he would no doubt start working so he could avoid this conversation.

  But the conversation had to happen.

  Their gazes met again. He tossed her another of those warnings, but Kinley didn’t move. “You’ve been a father to him.”

  But that was as far as she got. Jordan latched on to her arm, pulled her closer.

  He kissed her.

  Kinley made a sound of surprise. She certainly hadn’t seen this coming and she knew it was a ploy to stop the conversation, but much to her disgust, she didn’t push him away. She stood there and let it happen.

  His mouth moved over hers. Hard. Almost punishing. It was heavy with emotion, and even heartbreak. Maybe it was because Kinley understood those feelings. Heck, she was in the middle of them herself. And maybe she, too, needed to have physical contact with the one person on earth who understood exactly what she was going through.

  At least, that’s how it was in the beginning.

  But then, the kiss softened. So did the grip he had on her arm. Jordan’s mouth moved over hers with a clever touch that she hadn’t expected. The heat moved from his mouth, generating little fires along the way to her belly. She felt that tug. That need. And Kinley melted, too, against him.

  She fought to tear away from his grip, only so she could slide her arms around him. The kiss deepened, and he used his tongue. The heat soared and turned those little fires to much larger ones.

  He backed away from her, and the kiss ended just as abruptly as it’d begun. “You were supposed to stop me,” he mumbled.

  “Sorry.” She ran her tongue over her bottom lip and tasted him there. “I was counting on you to do the stopping. And you did.” Thank goodness. Because she’d gotten so consumed in the kiss that she’d forgotten the danger.

  Amazing that a kiss could do that.

  Which meant it was dangerous in its own right.

  Jordan put his hands on his hips, and it seemed as if they were going to finish the conversation that the kiss had postponed. But before he could say anything, his cell phone rang. He jerked it from his pocket, glanced at the screen and groaned. When he showed her the screen, she saw the name of the caller.

  Burke Dennison.

  Jordan put it on speaker. “Burke, what do you want?” He wasn’t friendly about it, either.

  “I’m outside your place. We need to talk.”

  Jordan went to the laptop and pulled up the security screen. Yep, Burke was there, sitting in a high-end black car parked right in front of the estate.

  “It’s late,” Jordan told him. “And I have company.”

  “Yes. The woman you left the party with. I’m sorry to interrupt, but after our last chat, I think you’ll agree we need to sit down and straighten out some things.”

  Yes. They did. But Kinley wasn’t sure they could trust Burke, and she didn’t really want him in the house so close to her son.

  Jordan glanced at the computer screen again. Then, at her. Kinley shook her head, not knowing what they should do.

  “We’ll meet tomorrow morning at ten,” Jordan countered, and he didn’t wait for Burke to disagree. He hung up.

  “You think it’s safe to meet with him?” Kinley asked.

  “No. But that’s exactly why I have to.” Jordan pointed to the bed. “Get some sleep because you’ll need it.”

  Kinley mumbled an agreement, rummaged through her overnight bag and came up with a white cotton gown. Not provocative, but after that kiss, full armor might not be enough protection.

  She started for the bathroom when she heard Jordan mumble something. She turned around and realized he had seen something on the laptop screen.

  “Burke isn’t still here, is he?” she asked.

  “No. It’s not that. I just got the identity of the person in that other car.”

  “The one who was behind Anderson Walker?” she clarified.

  “Yes.”

  She walked closer when he didn’t add anything. “Was it another of Burke’s men?”

  “No. One of mine. It was Cody Guillory.”

  Chapter Seven

  Jordan checked his watch. Within minutes, he’d have to interrupt Kinley’s visit with Gus. Judging from the little boy’s and her expressions, neither would like it. Both were into the Lego tower they were building.

  A skirt-clad Kinley was on the floor with Gus, who was wearing his usual jeans and a top. This one was a bright Christmas-red that one of the nannies had bought for him on their last secret shopping mission.

  When Kinley had first come into the room that morning, Gus had looked at her with suspicion. Probably because his entire world had been Jordan and his nannies. Jordan had taken him to pediatric checkups, of course. But those had always happened in secret, with him driving the child to the small town of Fall Creek where Gus had been examined by Jordan’s old friend, Dr. Finn McGrath. Finn was a man who knew how to keep secrets.

  Gus had had few opportunities to be a normal kid. And that’s why Jordan had decided to make some major changes in his life.

  Now the question was, what would happen to all his plans?

  Kinley’s smiles and laughter said it all. She wouldn’t just give up Gus. She was here to stay, and Jordan had to figure out how to deal with that while keeping Gus safe. Safety was his top priority.

  But then, he rethought that.

  It was a priority all right, but so was Gus himself. Watching the boy, Jordan knew he couldn’t give him up, either. Even though he’d never allowed himself to say the words aloud, Gus was his son in every way that mattered. Jordan loved him.

  He checked his watch again. “It’s time,” Jordan told Kinley.

  He
r smile faded, and she reluctantly gave Gus a kiss on the cheek before she got up from the floor. She brushed off her calf-length black skirt, straightened her top but didn’t take her eyes off Gus. Gus watched her, too, and then looked at Jordan as if asking for some explanation as to what was going on.

  Jordan stooped down to try to give that explanation but got a big hug instead. Gus launched himself at Jordan, and the little boy giggled.

  “Jor-dad,” Gus called him, and he laughed again because he knew that Jordan would, too. Jordan couldn’t help it. He always laughed when Gus babbled the attempt to say Jordan, and it was a game they played nearly every day.

  Jordan gave Gus a kiss on the cheek. “Be a good boy, okay?”

  Gus babbled his version of “okay” and waved goodbye.

  Jordan waited until the daytime nanny, Pamela, came back into the room. It wasn’t necessary for him to remind the woman to lock up and stay vigilant. She would. And she’d keep Gus safe while Kinley and he went back into the main living quarters. Not that he wanted Kinley there for the meeting with Burke, but he didn’t want Burke getting suspicious as to why she wasn’t around.

  “Gus is wonderful,” Kinley said on their way out. “I had no idea he’d be able to say so many words.”

  “We all work with him, and Elsa’s a former teacher.”

  “Teacher turned bodyguard,” she mumbled.

  Jordan heard the disapproval. Not that she disapproved of Gus’s safety, but it was the need for safety that’d kept him shut away. That need had also kept Gus from her.

  “He calls you dad,” she pointed out.

  “Jor-dad,” he corrected. “He’s trying to say Jordan.” But he couldn’t explain why he hadn’t corrected the boy. He wanted to have that dad label.

  It was time to change the subject.

  “Burke should be here any minute,” Jordan reminded her. “Make an appearance. Walk through the foyer when I open the door and then wait in the bedroom.”

  “But shouldn’t I be there in case Burke says something about being Simon, the investor?”

  “That’s exactly why you shouldn’t be there.”

  Once they worked their way back in through the closet and into his bedroom suite, he went to his laptop and made sure all the security cameras were registering their images on the split screen.

  “But maybe I could guide the conversation in a direction where we could learn more info,” she pointed out.

  Jordan shook his head. “I don’t trust Burke, and I’d rather you not be around him.”

  She blew out a long breath, obviously not happy that she wouldn’t be part of this meeting. “What about Cody? Did you ever find out why he was following us last night?”

  “Not yet. He hasn’t returned my calls.” Which didn’t exactly please Jordan. He considered Cody more than a loyal former employee. Of course, it was possible that Cody was simply looking out for him since Jordan had told him that Kinley and he were being followed.

  But then, why hadn’t Cody let him know that?

  It was definitely something he wanted to ask the man. But first, there was Burke to deal with.

  Jordan pointed to an image on the top of the screen. “That’s the pool house.” It was glass encased and sat right in the middle of the garden. “That’s where I’ll be taking Burke for our chat.”

  She nodded. “Because you don’t want him in the house near Gus.”

  “Right. Burke’s a whiz with developing new equipment, and I can’t take the risk that he might have some kind of scanner that can read signals through metal. I know it can’t be done at long range, but the technology exits for it to happen at shorter distances.”

  “Oh,” she said, obviously understanding the danger.

  Jordan spotted Burke’s car the moment it pulled into his driveway. “It’s show time,” he said to Kinley. And he looked at her to make sure she was steady.

  She was.

  Steady, and still gorgeous. The clothes didn’t help. Her black skirt and silver-gray top clung to her in all the right places. Or the wrong ones, since he probably shouldn’t have noticed all those interesting curves.

  Jordan had hoped that this attraction would have cooled by now, that the kiss would have been enough for him to realize he couldn’t have her. But the kiss had done the opposite. It had reminded him that kissing her wasn’t nearly enough. He wanted her in his bed. And not just for sleeping as she’d done the night before when he’d slept on the floor.

  He wanted her in his bed with him.

  “What?” she said, searching his eyes.

  “Nothing.”

  So that she wouldn’t challenge that, Jordan headed toward the front door. “Remember, just make a quick appearance. If you want to listen in on the meeting, you can do that with the laptop.”

  Kinley agreed, hesitantly, and followed him to the front door. By the time they made it there, Burke had already rung the bell twice. Jordan made sure his gun was positioned for a quick draw in his concealed shoulder holster, and he opened the door to face the man.

  “Jordan,” Burke greeted, though it was far from friendly.

  Jordan stepped aside so he could enter. Right on cue, Kinley made her appearance by walking past them and even managed to look a little mussed and embarrassed, as if she and Jordan had just finished a steamy tryst.

  And in his mind, they had.

  “This way,” Jordan instructed. After he reset the security system, he led Burke past the Christmas tree and through the place. He didn’t rush. Didn’t want to make it too obvious that he wanted to get him out of the main house. However, he also didn’t offer coffee or other refreshments.

  “I’ve spent several hours looking for Anderson Walker,” Burke let him know. “No sign of the man. Did he happen to say where he was going?”

  “No.” Jordan walked through the glass corridor that led to the pool house. “He wasn’t exactly volunteering a lot of details. Did you find out who he was working for?”

  “No. Did you?”

  Jordan shook his head. Last night while Kinley had been sleeping in his bed, Jordan had tried, but the contract for Anderson’s services was buried under layers of dummy corporations. Corporations that Burke could have easily created. It would take time and resources for Jordan to dig through them.

  Later, that’s exactly what he would do.

  The pool house was made of prism glass, circular and with an open top. The outside temp was chilly, but the heated water and floor made the room comfortably warm. It was a room he rarely used anymore. Well, since Gus’s arrival. He couldn’t risk the boy being seen through the glass, and even though his security system ran the entire perimeter of his property, someone might still be able to see the child.

  He and Burke sat across from each other in a pair of cushioned wicker chairs. Neither said anything, but a dozen thoughts passed between them. None good. Burke was now the owner of a company that Jordan had loved. And Jordan didn’t trust him. The feeling was obviously mutual.

  “You’ve been digging into my background,” Burke tossed out. He didn’t wait for Jordan to confirm it, either. “What exactly were you looking for?”

  “The obvious. I wanted to know if you had your man following me, and why.”

  “And did you decide if I’m innocent or guilty?” Burke didn’t seem overly alarmed at what the answer might be. Jordan knew the man was cocky, but he hadn’t thought Burke would aim that cockiness at him. Of course, their positions were different now that Burke owned Sentron.

  “Guilty,” Jordan declared.

  Still Burke offered no reaction. He calmly reached down and swirled his fingers through the lagoon-blue pool water. “Someone tapped into my investment accounts. Was that you?”

  “Yes. And someone tried to tap into mine. The person failed.”

  They stared at each other again. Jordan decided to wait him out because Burke seemed to be on the verge of giving him some real information instead of just repeating things Jordan already knew.

 
; “I’ve had some sensitive investments,” Burke said as if carefully choosing his words. “You zoomed in on those that I made under the name Simon. Why?”

  Ah. Now, this is where he’d lie. Except Jordan didn’t get the chance. He saw the movement in the glass corridor that led from the main house, and he stood to draw his weapon.

  But it was Kinley.

  She stopped in the entryway and motioned for him to come to her. Jordan did. And he hurried. Because only an emergency would have caused her to interrupt this meeting.

  “I was watching the security screen,” she whispered. “Cody Guillory and another of your former agents just drove up in separate vehicles. They’re sitting in their cars, looking at the estate.”

  Hell. This couldn’t be good. Jordan glanced back at Burke. “Did you bring backup with you?”

  Burke shrugged. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  Jordan didn’t believe him. That wasn’t a cocky expression. It was a smug one. Burke was playing some kind of game, and Jordan wanted to know the rules.

  And the stakes.

  Jordan took out his phone and called Cody. The man answered on the first ring. “Looking for me?” Jordan asked.

  “Desmond and I need to talk to you.”

  Desmond Parisi, Jordan’s former communications guru. If a place needed to be bugged or put under surveillance, Desmond was the best at Sentron for that. It made Jordan extremely uncomfortable to have a man like that anywhere around the house. Ironic. Because twenty-four hours earlier he would have trusted these men with his life.

  “Why do we need to talk?” Jordan questioned Cody.

  “It’s about Burke.”

  Jordan didn’t know whether to be surprised or not. “He’s here.”

  “Yes. I saw his car. What we need to say should be said in front of him. In front of both of you.”

  That was an interesting turn. Had Cody learned something about his new boss? And did it have anything to do with Cody following him the night before?

  “We’re in the pool house. Come in through the backyard,” Jordan instructed. Of course, that left him with a huge problem. Two of them, actually. Kinley and Burke. He didn’t trust Burke, and Jordan didn’t want Kinley caught in the middle if there was any trouble.