Overkill (The Mammoth Book of Special Ops) Read Free Page B

studied him intently. “I’m not sure I did.” Frowning, she added, “I just suddenly felt... wild.”
    “And now?”
    “Now? I don’t know what I feel.” Turning away from him, she said. “Except we’d better get out of here. I think Harrods would agree.”
     

     
    When they arrived at Joe Derek’s Mayfair mansion, Laine asked Collier to show Tanner to his room. And yes, she might have been brusque, but she was more than a little desperate to get away from him—and do some thinking. Something she hadn’t managed to do when she’d seduced him in a men’s dressing room. Tanner gave her no argument, but the last look he shot her before turning to follow Collier told her he was making a pretty good guess about what was going on inside her.
    Good for him, because she had no idea.
    Still light-headed, she drifted into the library to wait for her father. She might not understand her body’s response to Tanner, but what she really wanted to know was why her father brought him here. Why him?
    “Hello, love.” Her father strode into the room, walked directly to her, and gave her the usual kiss on the cheek.
    His valet, Jacobsen, came in a few steps behind him. “Is there anything you need, Mister Derek?” He nodded in her direction. “Miss?”
    “No, we’re fine. Thank you, Jacobsen.”
    “Very good,” he said, in his odd stiff way. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”
    When Jacobsen was gone, Laine eyed her father’s suit and tie. “Are you going out?”
    “A late meeting.”
    She wished he wouldn’t tire himself, but knew it was useless to tell him so. “I’d have thought you’d want to see Tanner. I brought him here straight from the airport.”
    “Really? You picked him up?”
    She nodded but offered no explanation. How do you explain a whim fed by curiosity. “I understand he’s joining your security staff.” She studied her father closely, as she’d taken to doing ever since his diagnosis. It always surprised her how well he looked, tall, straight—thinner than six months ago—but his color was still good. Other than looking tired he wore his sixty-three years with polished grace. She called him her gray fox. A gray fox she was terrified she’d lose.
    “I’ve got a few minutes. Would you like a drink?” He walked to the bar, poured himself a brandy.
    “No. And don’t try changing the subject.”
    He sighed, and despite her refusal, poured her a glass of Chardonnay. Handing her the glass, he said, “That’s what I get for raising a too darn smart, pit-bull of a daughter. I can’t get away with anything.”
    “Tanner said he was hired by Holister. That Holister told him about your surgery. Why? Holister has never had anything to do with Derek security before. Why now? Why didn’t you use our usual firm?” She paused, softened her tone, and tried not to show her fear. “What’s going on, Dad? Is there something—some threat—that I don’t know about?”
    “No, darling. Nothing like that. Tanner’s just a temporary replacement for one of my men who needed some unexpected time off.   When I mentioned the situation to Holister, he brought up Tanner’s name. I remembered him, of course, and I thought it would be interesting to see him again.” He smiled. “Nothing dire, no devious plots.”
    “You’re sure?”
    “I’m sure.”
    “He knows about your surgery. You’re okay with that?”
    He shrugged easily. “Security is the man’s business, Laine. If Holister trusts him to be discreet, I accept his judgment. Besides, in a few days the surgery will be behind us, and Tanner will be gone. Let’s not make a big thing of it. All right?”
    Something wasn’t right... She had a million questions, but rather than cause her father stress, she lifted her glass and nodded. “And in those few days, you’ll be on the mend and driving the staff crazy.” She forced a smile.
    He tapped her glass with his, his expression oddly grim. “Amen to that.”
     

     
    Tanner