Risking Trust by Adrienne Giordano Read Free Book Online

her.
    “She never wanted to coach?”
    “Sure she did, but she was the heir apparent and her father expected her to work for the newspaper.”
    “Sucks.”
    “Yep.”
    Michael linked his hands together and placed them on top of his head. Serving in Special Forces together had forged a bond between Michael and Vic and very little went on that the other didn’t know about. When two people watched men die together, perspectives on life changed. Maybe they didn’t talk about it, but they both understood it, and talking to Vic about Roxann brought Michael a sense of calm. It had been years since he’d spoken of her freely.
    Hadn’t that always been the way with her? From that first night, her acceptance of a man who flinched at the sound of doors slamming gave him hope. Back then, any banging noise sent him ducking for cover, but she always took it in stride and never made him feel weak or less of a man for it.
    “So, are you two doing the horizontal mambo?” Vic asked, his face a cross between amusement and curiosity.
    Ball-busting. Great. Roxann had been special and Vic knew that. Michael sat up and put his feet on the floor. “I should knock you out.”
    Vic put up two hands. “Whoa, boss. Chill.”
    “She’s a responsible and savvy businesswoman. She has the chops to help me clear my name. That’s it. Got it?”
    Vic grinned like the asshole he was. Michael had been played. The son of a bitch knew what buttons to push.
    “Why are you here?” Michael asked.
    “Crazy Tiffany. Mike, this chick is nuts.”
    “Don’t I know it?”
    Michael sat back while he waited for the latest gossip on Tiffany Limone, a twenty-four-year-old rising star they provided security for. A former pop singer trying to break into acting, she was a royal pain in the ass. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about with a murder hanging over him.
    “What’s her problem now?”
    “She wants another guy on her.”
    “Jesus. She’s got three already. Who wants to kill her so bad they’d fight off three guys?”
    “She wants Toby off. Personality conflict.”
    “Who gives a shit? He has to keep her alive, not like her. Tell her everyone else is assigned.”
    Vic held up a hand. “I talked to Toby. Miss Crazy got hammered one night and wanted our boy to slip her the hot salami. He told her no can do. She got pissed and called me with this personality conflict crap. I had to beat it out of Toby. He’s all business and scared shitless of her now. Thinks she’s gonna attack him after she belts back a few.”
    Michael shook his head. People. Someone always screwed up. After years of busting his ass to build his business from one guy doing personal security to a multi-faceted company, he was still a well-paid babysitter. He shifted to his computer and pulled up his personnel roster. And then reality sucker punched him. He leaned forward and propped his elbows on the desk before he ruined his best friend’s day. This would suck.
    “Listen, if things go bad for me, are you gonna be able to take over here?”
    Vic snorted. “Don’t be stupid. You’re not going anywhere.”
    Vic hated being confined to an office for any length of time. Michael understood this because he preferred the action in the office versus anything he’d find in a war torn country. That’s what worked about their partnership. Vic handled the government contracts that sent their employees overseas to guard diplomats or other high ranking officials, and Michael handled the private security. Perfect partnership.
    “We need to be prepared,” Michael said. “If you don’t want to do it, I need to find someone else. Who that would be, not a fucking clue.”
    Vic huffed out a breath. “Yeah, I’ll do it, but it’s not going to be a problem. Let’s move on.”
    He didn’t want to discuss it. Fair enough. They’d established he’d take over if Michael went to prison and that’s all Michael needed to know. They could get to the particulars later.
    “One more