Part 1 (1/2)
An Alpha series novel.
SAVAGE ALPHA.
By Carole Mortimer.
DEDICATIONS.
Peter As Always.
Chapter 1.
”Why me?”
”What do you mean?”
Jonas wasn't fooled for a moment by the bland expression on the face of the man seated on the opposite side of the desk. Or by the other man's relaxed posture, come to that. To underestimate Gabriel Knight was never a good idea. Ex-British Special Forces, Gabriel, like Jonas, knew a dozen different ways to kill a man, without even raising a sweat. ”Why aren't you or one of your brothers dealing with whatever this situation is with your sister? h.e.l.l, you run your own security company, so why come to Grayson Security at all?”
”I didn't come to Grayson Security, I came to you,” Gabriel corrected tightly. ”This happens to be the best place to find you, probably because no one has any idea where you actually live. I think that's also the most I've ever heard you say at one time. And what the f.u.c.k did you do with your hair?”
Jonas resisted the impulse to raise a hand to his recently trimmed hair, knowing Gabriel was only trying to get a reaction from him. Jonas didn't do reactions. What he did do was outward calm, while he mentally summed up a situation.
”The name 'Apache' was starting to get old.” Jonas's straight blue-black hair, burnished skin, and six and a half feet in height came from his Native American father rather than his tiny firebrand of a blonde-haired blue-eyed mother.
”And you thought having a couple of inches cut off your hair was going to change that?” Gabriel eyed him pityingly.
”I thought having my hair styled might, yes.”
”With a name like Jonas Grayfeather, you've wasted both your time and your money, pal.”
His eyes narrowed. ”Could we get back to my original question?”
”Why you?”
”Yes.”
”Because you're a friend and you owe me.”
Yes, he did. Ten years ago, Gabriel had saved Jonas's life during a joint mission by the US and British Special Forces. The two men hadn't exactly become bosom buddies afterwards, but they did respect each other and have what pa.s.sed for a friends.h.i.+p. For both men, Jonas suspected. ”So this is payback time?”
”Yes.”
”Doing what?”
”Protecting my sister.”
”Why?”
”I'll get to that in a moment. First I want your agreement you'll do it.”
”Is this on or off the books?”
”Off. But I'll pay all your expenses, of course.”
”I can't imagine there will be too many of those involved in babysitting your little sister.”
Gabriel cracked a smile. ”I wouldn't let Lily hear you call her that.”
Jonas couldn't begin to imagine what the sister of Gabriel, Asher, and twins Caleb and Ethan Knight would even look like. All the Knight brothers were well over six feet tall, dark haired, with different shades of green eyes. Gabriel's were so dark in color, they could often appear black. Picturing a woman with that same height and coloring made Jonas think of an Amazon warrior.
An image that caused his c.o.c.k to give a twitch of interest. Being so tall himself, he tended to be attracted to taller women. Not a good idea when it came to the sister of the Knight brothers. ”Why does your sister need a baby-bodyguard?”
The other man's mouth thinned. ”A stalker.”
And Gabriel accused him of an economy of words. ”How? When? What? Where? Why? The devil is in the details, Gabriel.”
The other man rose to stand in front of the window looking out over London, hands in his trouser pockets, every inch the CEO of Knight Security, with his dark, styled hair, bespoke dark suit, pale gray silk s.h.i.+rt and tie, and handmade Italian shoes.
Jonas wasn't fooled for a moment by any of those trappings of sophistication. Beneath all that, Gabriel was still a trained killer.
Jonas was only temporarily in charge at the offices of Grayson Security. He much preferred being out in the field than stuck behind a desk. Seth Armstrong would be returning from his honeymoon tomorrow and back in control here, thank G.o.d. Jonas had intended taking some leave then anyway, so he would be free to do this job for Gabriel. If he decided to take it. He wanted more details before he made a decision.
He didn't push Gabriel for an answer but sat and waited patiently until the other man was ready to start speaking.
The wait paid off when Gabriel exhaled deeply a couple of minutes later. ”First you need to understand my relations.h.i.+p with Lily. Our parents died in a plane crash twelve years ago, when she was thirteen. Being eleven years older, I became her official guardian, but all the brothers had a hand in bringing her up. It's been something of a...tempestuous relations.h.i.+p, to put it mildly.”
Jonas would have paid good money to have been a fly on that wall. Gabriel was arrogance personified. What he said, happened. The other three Knight brothers weren't known for their easygoing temperaments either. Which Jonas doubted would have gone down too well with a hormonal teenage girl.
”I'm guessing that's the reason none of you want to take on the role of bodyguard,” Jonas said wryly.
”Our relations.h.i.+p with Lily is...complicated. We love her, she loves us back, but at the same time, she resents what she sees as interference from any of us.”
”You said she's an actress?”
”Yes.”
”A good one?” Jonas had never heard of her, but that didn't mean anything. The superficial world of acting held little interest for him. Which was only one of the reasons Jonas was more than a little reluctant to take on this a.s.signment.
Another one of those reasons was standing in front of the window. Three others were no doubt back at the offices of Knight Security. If anything happened to Lily Knight while she was under Jonas's protection, he didn't fool himself for a moment into believing he would survive the experience.
”Very,” Gabriel acknowledged grudgingly. ”She's just had her first really big theater break, a starring role. But some guy started sending her letters after the play opened a month ago.”
Jonas shrugged. ”Don't enthusiastic fans come along with the territory when you put yourself out there in the public eye?”