Lakyn was betting this was an ongoing argument, and she wasn’t inclined to get involved. At one time, she’d been an excellent swimmer,but she hadn’t done anything more than lay on the beach and have her picture taken for years, so the added precaution was in her best interest.
“You’ll also take a member of the team with you. Find somebody who isn’t working today and ask them to accompany you.” Tobi’s eyes were shining and Lakyn wondered what she was up to. They’d only talked online, so she wasn’t sure how to read Tobi’s expressions.“We’ll get a tracking bracelet for Lakyn before you go.” His eyes softened when he looked pointedly at the diamond sparkler on his wife’s wrist. Turning to Lakyn, Kent glanced over her shoulder to where Juan and Trac now stood.
“You’ll check with your Doms before going to the river. Stay close, there hasn’t been a lot of boat traffic yet this year, but that’s bound to change. Remember, boatsand tubes do not mix.”
Lakyn felt like she’d fallen down a rabbit hole. Boats? Hadn’t she heard Tobi mention boats? She didn’t have any desire to battle a boat from a tube… good grief that would be crazy. Lakyn might be a lot of things, but suicidal wasn’t one of them.
“We’ll take Lakyn to Micah’s office for the tracker, and one of us will accompany her to the dock.” Trac helped her to her feetas he spoke, and when she reached for her plate, he gave her a knowing grin. She’d always seen Lakyn Storm as a completely different person apart from Lakyn Hicks. Her alter-ego might be a star, but even she knew better than to expect someone else to wait on her hand and foot. Picking up her dishes, she returned them to the kitchen and thanked the Wests’ staff for a delicious breakfast.
Thirtyminutes later, Lakyn wore a beautiful sapphire and diamond bracelet Micah Drake insisted was anecessary precaution. Personally, she thought they were nuts for allowing her to wear something so valuable in filthy river water, but it was obvious the point wasn’t open for discussion. For a lovely piece of jewelry, it appeared to be remarkably functional. Not only would it send a continuous signalback to the Prairie Winds control center, giving her location, there was also a panic alarm. The small recessed button wouldn’t be activated during normal use, but the wearer could press it, alerting the entire team if she needed help.
“As soon as this small button is locked down, the microphone begins transmitting a continuous audio stream which feeds to the entire team and is recorded at PrairieWinds. We’ll hear everything happening around you.” Micah flashed her a knowing smile. “While our contact back east was still perfecting it, a couple of the subs accidentally depressed the alarm while changing clothes in his club’s locker room. Their conversation was recorded, and their Doms were not pleased with what they heard.” His soft chuckle didn’t do anything to soothe her sudden senseof unease.
“I don’t think I want to wear this. It’s tooBig Brotherfor me. Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.” She wasn’t about to have someone listening in on every conversation she had. Not having any personal privacy was one of the things she hated the most about her life in New York, but she’d at least had privacy in her own apartment… hadn’t she? The next thing she heard was the sound of herown blood pounding in her ears and another man shouting about catching someone before she hit the ground.
What the hell was that about?
*
Luke Grayson walkedinto the control center and was hit by a wave of emotion so strong, he had to reach out and grab the edge of a nearby desk to keep from stumbling. Lakyn Hicks was broadcasting panic so strongly, he wondered whatthe hell his boss had said to her. Juan Rivera and Trac Hughes skidded around the corner just as Micah was settling the petite beauty in a chair. Luke had been a member of the Prairie Winds team long enough to know the two men whose pale faces didn’t look anything like the hardened warriors he knew they were. Their panic made it clear they considered her theirs. Pushing aside the emotions rollingoff them, Luke took her hand and opened his mind to hers.
Luke’s empathic gift was stronger than anyone else’s in his family, he also had better control over it—usually. Lakyn’s mind was spinning so wildly out of control, it took him a few seconds to process the jumble of information flooding him. She’d been listening to Micah talk about the recording capabilities of the bracelet and suddenlyrealized she hadn’t checked her apartment for hidden electronics after the break-ins.
“We’ll take care of it, Lakyn. We’ll have someone in there within the hour, I promise.” Turning to Micah, Luke quickly explained her concern. His boss and mentor knelt in front of Lakyn and wrapped her free hand in his, her small hand swallowed up in Micah’s giant mitts. Looking down where he held her hand inhis, Luke realized for the first time how tiny she was. He laughed to himself, it was easy to forget how petite she was because she appeared bigger than life in all the photographs he’d seen.
Hell, this was the first time Luke had been this close to a woman whose beauty held the world captive, but touching her, he’d instantly known she was so much more than the person people saw when they lookedat her picture in magazines or watched her on screen. When the men behind them growled, he cast a glare over his shoulder before turning back to give her a conspiratorial wink.
“There isn’t any reason to worry about this now. We can’t change the past, so let that go, but we might learn more about who broke into your apartment if they left some electronic goodies behind.” Luke listened to herthoughts for a few more seconds, then satisfied she was on an even keel once again, he moved to his chair and rolled it smoothly to the bank of computers and got to work. He might be the youngest member of the team, but that didn’t mean he was without resources, and one of those happened to live a few blocks from Lakyn’s apartment building.
Luke met Brooklyn Adler when they were both studentsat MIT. As an only child, he’d been fascinated to learn his raven-haired lab partner was one of ten children, all named for places around the world. He and Brooklyn had become fast friends and they’d kept in touch after graduation. Luke always chuckled when he saw her business card in his wallet.
Brooklyn Adler
Insurance Acquisitions Specialist
He loved teasing her it was a fancy title fora licensed thief. B, as she was called by her friends and family, was a cat burglar extraordinaire. There wasn’t a building she couldn’t get into or a lock she couldn’t open—and everyone he knew was more than a little grateful she used her skills for good rather than evil which she always swore would pay better.
Even though Luke had heard B talk about her large family, the only one of her siblingshe’d met was her sister, Catalina. Brooklyn had explained her sister was a jewelry designer, but it hadn’t taken Luke long to discover the real reason Cat was continually on the road.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Luke dialed B and smiled when it sounded as though she’d dropped the phone before answering. Brooklyn was a night owl and wasn’t going to be thrilled about being awakened before noon,but it couldn’t be helped.
“This better be life or fucking death, Luke… youfeelwhat I’m saying, my friend?” Brooklyn knew about his gift and continually teased him, insisting he could make more money as a circus performer than as a computer specialist. More than once, she’d pleaded with him to, at the very least, become a hacker, insisting he was going to die in the financial middle class—afate she considered an unnecessary tragedy.
“Rise and shine, sweet cheeks, I need your help.” He could feel her smile and hoped his bosses were prepared for what this was going to cost them. Brooklyn was the best, and she knew it—this wasn’t going to be cheap. She wouldn’t want money, but the favors she’d call in later would be huge.