Ahh. That was more like the Harold she knew and loathed.
Careful to keep her voice even, she said, That seems fair enough.
Oh, God. The baby. Hed just ordered her not to go off and do anything impulsive or wild or that would land her in the tabloidslike, oh, getting pregnant out of wedlock. And if heor the tabloidsfound out the real circumstances of this babys conception, the media would have a field day with it.
A baby or her career? How was she supposed to choose between those?
She took a deep breath. If she played her cards right and Mark didnt go and do anything stupid, maybe she could have them both.
Or maybe she could lose everything.
Chapter 2
Army Captain and Delta Force Team Commander, Austin Dearing, stepped out of the taxicab into the blast furnace heat of Las Vegas. Jeez. And it was only May. Hed hate to see this place in August. Of course, after living in full body armor in parts of the world where daily highs frequently topped one hundred twenty, Vegas wasnt so bad. But he was still grateful to step into the air-conditioned cool of the Rothchild Grand Hotel and Casino.
He looked around the gaudy lobby curiously. He liked his creature comforts well enough, but the job hed been sent here to do overshadowed his appreciation of the beautiful, leggy women cruising the joint, sharklike, in search of fresh meat. In his world, this was what was known as a target-rich environment.
A silicone-enhanced bleach-blonde purred at him, May I help you, sir? She was almost tall enough that at six foot four, he didnt have to look down at her.
Im looking for Harold Rothchild.
A startled look flickered across her face, but she replied smoothly enough, Is Mr. Rothchild expecting you?
Yes, he is.
One moment, sir.
She pulled out a cell phone and made a discreet phone call. Hes at his daughters birthday party at the moment. Would you care to wait in his office?
Im under orders to report to him as soon as I get here, no matter what hes doing. The actual phrase Rothchild had used was more obscene and involved interrupting him even if he was having intimate relations with his wife. Austin snorted. Even an Army grunt like him was couth enough not to repeat such a thing to a lady, though.
Another discreet phone conversation.
Mr. Rothchilds assistant says youre to go to the party. Would you like to check into your room first? Maybe freshen up a bit?
He clamped down on his impatience. His orders were to see Rothchild immediately. Not after he took a nap and got pretty. Fingering the beard stubble of his past twenty-four hours worth of travel, he said firmly in his commanding officer voice, No. Ill see him now.
The blonde twittered, signaling how turned on she was by his display of manly resolve. Groupie alert. Women were forever hanging out at the places Special Forces soldiers frequented, trying to land guys like him. Usually, he could spot em at a hundred paces. But this one had snuck up on him. Hed lost his touch. Been out in the field too damned long. Two years since hed taken a minute off. Only reason he was on leave now was because of his busted left eardrum. Hed blown it when an explosion had gone off too close to him a few weeks back. The doc said it would take several months to heal. Which meant he was left cooling his jets for a while.
Thankfully, his commanding officer, General Sarkin, knew him well enough to know that sitting on his butt for months would drive him completely crazy. With his entire unit deployed overseas, it wasnt like there was anything on a stateside Army post to keep him busy. So, Sarkin had arranged for this special assignment.
Austin had never heard of Harry Rothchild, but he damned well knew who Silver Rothchild was. Her father, eh? Austin sympathized. His daughter was possibly the most notorious wild child of the past decade. The dossier Sarkin had given him said that Rothchild was worth hundreds of millions and the Grand Casino was the crown jewel of his hotel empire. He had a big family, which he kept close by, including several daughters. One of them, Candace, had been murdered a few months back, which was why Austin supposed hed been hired to play nursemaid to Rothchilds third daughterthe troubled Silver.
Hed fought the cream puff assignment, but Sarkin had been adamant. Ultimately, hed been a good soldier and sucked it up. It wasnt an official job, of course. The military didnt make a practice of babysitting spoiled little rich girls, thank you very much. But when a man with the stature of General Sarkin, who held the future of a guys career in his hands, asked him to do something off the books, the guy did it, like it or not.
And it was only for three months. Just until his ear healed and he was cleared to go back into the field. He could put up with pretty much anything for three months.
The busty blonde opened a door marked Private, and the sounds of a party in full swing slammed into him. The shock of it was a physical blow. He couldnt remember the last time hed been in a gathering of people this large and boisterous. Claustrophobia closed in around him. So accustomed was he to the desolate, wide open mountains of Afghanistan that hed been patrolling for the past two years, he could barely force himself into the crush.
Three months. He could do this.
He waded into the crowd. Using his height to look over the partiers, Austin searched for the florid face of Harold Rothchild from the dossier. There he was. On the far side of the room on some sort of raised platform.
A hand groped Austins rear end, and he pivoted sharply, prepared to take out the assailant. A brunette leered up at him. He stood down, relaxing his hands from their knife-blade rigidness. Youre back in the real world, Dearing. Cool it.
Easier said than done. Those lightning fast reflexes, the total lack of hesitation to kill, were the reason he was still alive and kicking. Lecturing himself about the rules of engagement for this particular type of jungle, he managed to cross the dance floor without causing anyone bodily harm.
Austin touched Harold Rothchild lightly on the shoulder. The older man spun around, startled. Hmm. The Rothchild patriarch was plenty edgy. Not to mention he was hiring ridiculously overqualified bodyguards for his kids. What was going on? The dossier hadnt said anything about why the mogul suddenly wanted someone like Dearingwho specialized in guarding heads of Statewatching out for his daughter.
You must be Captain Dearing. Your commander described you to a tee, I must say.
At least Rothchild sounded relaxed enough. Call me Austin, sir. Im not on the Armys clock at the moment.
Rothchild snorted. You dont have to tell me. Im the guy who wrote your first paycheck. It has already been wired into the Singapore bank account you gave my secretary.
Austin nodded, annoyed. Why did men like this think that men like him gave a damn about money? Just because Rothchild worshipped at the altar of the almighty dollar didnt mean everyone did.
He schooled himself to patience. Growing up poor had probably made him more cynical than most. But his family had gotten by. And he and his brothers had all turned out fine. They were all hardworking, law-abiding citizens who enjoyed their work. Sure, he could make more money as a civilian bodyguarda lot more than his Army paybut that wasnt remotely why he did his job. He loved his work.
He schooled himself to patience. Growing up poor had probably made him more cynical than most. But his family had gotten by. And he and his brothers had all turned out fine. They were all hardworking, law-abiding citizens who enjoyed their work. Sure, he could make more money as a civilian bodyguarda lot more than his Army paybut that wasnt remotely why he did his job. He loved his work.
Rothchild bellowed, Silver, come over here. Theres someone I want you to meet,
A fist in his gut couldnt have knocked the wind out of Austin more thoroughly than his first glimpse of Silver Rothchild. Wow. He couldnt help it; he stared as the pop star made her way to them. Her face, familiar to him from newsstands around the world, wasnt the most beautiful hed ever seen, although she was genuinely pretty. She didnt have the best body hed ever seenshe was too petite to achieve beauty queen staturebut she was in great shape and shaped great, not to mention he didnt spot a hint of silicone or surgery. She was one of those rare women with innate sexual charisma, a woman whom men couldnt peel their gaze away from and didnt want to. A genuine blond bombshell.
It was, of course, the reason shed been such a sensation on the pop music scene. Belatedly, it occurred to him that she was actually wearing a perfectly modest dress, not showing a hint of cleavage, nor an inch of extra thigh. Her signature platinum blond hair was twisted up in a clip of some kind behind her head, and her makeup was understated.
Those silver-blue bedroom eyes of hers penetrated right through him as she looked up at him politely. She held out a perfectly manicured hand. Hi, Im Silver. Its nice to meet you. Her voice was honey sweet, hinting at the million-dollar sound that had made her famous.
Suppressing an urge to stammer, he replied, Austin Dearing, Miss Rothchild.
One graceful brow arched at his shift of her name into the formal. She glanced over at her father questioningly.
This, my dear, is your other birthday present.
Silvers startled gaze shot back to his. Chagrin abruptly warmed his cheeks. He was a birthday present? An elite-trained, highly-decorated war hero who led men into the jaws of death on a routine basis? Harold made him sound like a damned trained monkey!
His brows slammed together. Favor or not, General Sarkin could take this job and shove it. He wasnt anybodys pet.
Silver murmured in an appalled undertone, What are you up to, Daddy?
Austin is a bodyguard.
The rosy blush in Silvers porcelain face drained away, lending a faintly gray cast to her complexion. Austin frowned, his internal alarm system exploding to life. He was missing something, here. Silver Rothchild was deathly afraid of something. Or someone. His protective instincts roared to the fore, jolting his every sense onto high alert. He abruptly didnt like the press of people around her, didnt like how exposed she was up on this raised dais above the crowd. He needed to be in front of her, between her and the balcony to his left that was a perfect perch for a sniper.
She choked out, I already have a bodyguard, Father.
And hes an idiot. Captain Dearing comes highly recommended by a friend of mine. Hes the best. After Candace
Rothchild trailed off. Silver closed her eyes in pain, obviously understanding her fathers veiled reference. Austins brain kicked into overdrive. Was there more to the Candace Rothchild murder investigation than met the eye? Was the killer targeting other members of the Rothchild family? That would certainly explain daddy bringing in a high-powered bodyguard to protect his most famous child.
Silver seemed to gather herself together. She said more strongly, I appreciate your concern, Dad, but I dont need another bodyguard. Im perfectly safe with the one I have.
What about that incident last week?
Brakes fail on cars. And Las Vegas is as flat as a pancake. I coasted to a perfectly safe stop.
You were supposed to drive up into the mountains that day. What if your brakes had failed then?
Well, I didnt go up into the mountains and everything was fine.
Austin had to give the girl credit. Her father was a big, intimidating guy, and she was showing pluck to stand her ground like this. Brake failure, huh? In his experience, the brakes on any reasonably well-maintained vehicle never, ever failed of their own volition.
Rothchild turned to him. Ignore her. She needs a decent bodyguard, and Im signing your paycheck.
Austin glanced over at the singer, who looked more than irritated. For just a second, her wonderfully expressive eyes lookedhaunted. What in the hell was going on that had a wild woman like her looking like that? No doubt about it. She put his protective instincts on full combat alert.
He turned back to her father and nodded firmly. Ill protect her with my life, sir.
But Silver began.
Harold cut her off. No buts. Austin Dearing is your bodyguard now. Consider him part of our earlier deal.
Whatever that deal was, Silver subsided immediately. But this time, resentment simmered at the back of her transparent gaze. Didnt like being pushed around by daddy dearest. But she was thirty years old according to the banner over her head. She could tell the guy to go to hell if he was that big a pain.
Rothchild gestured at one of the waiters passing by. Take Mr. Dearings bag. Check him into the New Yorker Villa and see to it his gear gets up there. Rothchild glanced over at Austin. As of now, youre on duty.
For his part, Austin nodded and kept his thoughts to himself. Good thing hed slept most of the way back from Afghanistan on the various flights that brought him here. Jetlag going east to west wasnt that bad, but he was twelve time zones out of sync at the moment. Of course, Harry Rothchild wasnt in the business of caring about anyones comfort other than his guests. For his part, Austin was used to the uncomfortable demands of guarding someone elses life.
Speaking of which, Silver turned away from her father and pushed heedlessly into the crowd. But not before Austin caught the flash of naked fear in her eyes. What was going on with her? The currents of mystery and danger swirling around her were palpable. And it was his job to decipher those currents and deflect them away from her at all costs. Of course, Rothchild hadnt exactly helped him get off on the right foot with his famously willful daughter. Austin sighed. Time for some serious damage control. And to think, hed been on the job a grand total of thirty seconds.
Chapter 3
Silver glanced over her shoulder as a deep voice growled from behind her, We need to talk, Miss Rothchild.
At least her fatherd had the decency to pick a jailer who was easy on the eyes. He was a big man wrapped in muscle. Good looking in a chiseled, all-American kind of way. Totally not her kind of guy. She liked them dark and dangerous, and always seemed to end up with lean, jaded Europeans. He was all tawny and bronze, with a deep tan and sun-streaked blond streaks. His eyes were dark. Mysterious. Smoking hot, in fact. He looked like a male model for sailing attire.
She so wasnt stopping to talk to him. He was the living embodiment of everything she hated about how her father was forever manipulating and controlling her life. If Austin Dearing wanted to play bodyguard, he could darn well keep up with her.