Guilty. He hurried into the den.
“I can’t trust you, Antony. I might have been falling in love with you, but that was all a lie.”
A dull ringing filled his ears. Surely, she hadn’t just used the L-word on him. Must be a bad connection. Had to be a bad connection. No way, no way had Ella said—
“I won’t be back. But I do wish you the best. Good-bye, Antony.” Her voice had thickened again and gone extra husky, and it certainly sounded as if his Ella was crying. She never cried.
“Ella—”
Click.
Antony glared at the phone. She’d hung up on him. Left him. Given him an insane night and left.
His right hand was holding the phone. His left gripped her panties. Ella’s freaking panties. He’d had Ella in his bed. And he’d lost her.
He’d dreamed of her. Wanted her for so long. Been so careful around her. She’d been the strongest temptation of his life, but he’d held onto his control. Until…
Until she kissed me.
Now he was just supposed to let her go? Without a fight? No. Hell, no, that wasn’t happening. You didn’t give a starving man a taste of paradise and then kick him out into the cold again with nothing. You didn’t say that you might have been falling in love and then leave a guy with his world blown into a million pieces.
Dammit!
He tried to think. Tried to see past the haze of need and longing. Ella didn’t get it. She had no clue how important she was. He wouldn’t, couldn’t lose her. He just…he had to find a way to convince her to give him a second chance.
But first, in order to do that, he had to find her. He had to figure out what damn job was waiting in the wings for her.
He stalked into his study. Grabbed his laptop. His fingers flew over the keyboard. Yes, what he was doing wasn’t exactly legal, but he was desperate. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
I might have been falling in love with you.
Might? Might?
His jaw clenched. And he started hunting.
***
Exactly three minutes and fourteen seconds later…
“Fucking hell,” Antony breathed. He glared at the results on the screen before him. Sonofabitch. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Couldn’t believe that Ella—his Ella—had taken a job…
At Wilde. She’d left him to join the elite protection and security firm in Atlanta. A firm owned by one of Antony’s friends. Or, rather, ex-friends. Antony grabbed his phone and dialed Eric Wilde, the owner of the company. He didn’t care what time it was.
He just wanted Ella back.
The phone rang once. Twice. Three times and—
“Seriously, I am in bed with my wife. This had better be important, Antony. Like…your life-is-in-serious-danger important. The world-is-on-fire important. It had better be—”
“Why the hell did you hire Ella Webb?”
A yawn. “Because her resume is outstanding, and she’ll make an incredible Wilde agent.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that you’d stolen her away from me?” Each word was bitten off.
“I didn’t steal her. I offered her a job.”
“You didn’t tell me. No heads up. Nothing.” How was that shit acceptable? How could a friend stab him in the back this way? How could—
“I didn’t tell you because Ella wanted the pleasure of informing you herself.”
Was Eric laughing at him? “Fire her.” The words flew out. Yes, he felt bad for saying them. But Ella didn’t belong at Wilde. She—
Belongs with me.
Now Eric did laugh. “Hell, no. Are you crazy? The woman is phenomenal. She’ll be a total asset to the company.”
“I need her back.” I need her! “You can’t steal my head of security and—”
“She left you. Once more, I didn’t steal her. Deal with it. Now, I’m going back to bed. Do not call me again. If you wake up Piper, I will make you sorry.”
The guy hung up on him. Hung up. That was why Eric was an ex-friend. Shit, shit!
Antony sucked in a deep breath. Then another one. He could figure this out. He would figure this out. Things couldn’t end this way. Yes, he’d screwed up with Ella. He’d lied. More than once. More than even a few times. But the lies had been necessary.
He needed time with her. Time…proximity…
A plan began to form.
And Antony smiled.
Chapter Three
“Why in the hell did you request this meeting, Antony?” Eric Wilde tapped his fingers on the edge of his desk. The deep mahogany held a bright shine as his fingers pounded out a quick rhythm on the wood.
Antony lifted his brows and strove to look innocent. “Are you not the best?” He peered pointedly around the lavish office and its killer view of Atlanta before turning his attention back to Eric.
“I—”
“Because I have been told—by more than one acquaintance—that Wilde is the best security and protection firm out there. Not just on the East Coast, but in the entire United States. I certainly hope I have not been misinformed.” He made a tut-tut sound. A little click of his tongue. “That would be a shame. Such a disappointment.”
Eric’s eyebrows shot up. “We are the best.”
“With the best agents,” Antony murmured. “Agents that you steal away from other people…” He just had to throw in that barb.
Eric leaned forward in his chair. “How many times do I have to say that I didn’t steal—”
“So, you’re the best, and I need to hire the best. That is why I am here.” Antony pulled off his glasses. Polished the lenses on his sleeve. It had taken a few days to set up his plan. Four desperate days, to be exact. But now he was in the Wilde building in Atlanta, and he was about to get his Ella back. Maybe. Hopefully. If all went according to plan.
“Why do you need to hire Wilde?” Eric squinted at him.
Wasn’t that obvious? “Because I need protection.”
Eric snorted.
Antony’s lips tightened. Eric knew the real score about Antony. He knew that Antony and his business partner Sebastian both worked covertly for the US government. But even spies could use some protection every now and then. Not like they were immortal or that bullets bounced off them. “The gaming industry is very cutthroat,” he allowed by way of explanation. “I have been targeted by someone.”
“Have you really?” Eric’s tone clearly showed his doubt.
“I have, and I need protection.” Antony let a dramatic sigh escape. “If I hadn’t recently lost my most capable head of security, I wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“I can give you some recommendations. Point you in the right direction and help you to hire someone else for that head of security job.” Eric’s smile was wide.
And annoying. “I don’t want to hire someone for that job.” He’d assigned a temporary head of security from within the company, but he was not about to permanently give anyone Ella’s job. “But thanks for the offer. I’m here today because I want personal protection. I’m looking to hire a Wilde agent to act as my bodyguard for the next two weeks.” Maybe longer. He’d just have to see how things developed. He hoped two weeks would be long enough to get the job done.