Mace (Black Blade Protection #3)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Mace

“Mace?”

I spin around in my desk chair to face Rachell. “Yeah?”

She’s leaning in the doorway. “There’s a woman here to see you. Says her name is Autumn. She looks…distraught.”

I frown. Autumn… The only Autumn I know is my old Army captain’s daughter. That seems unlikely since she just graduated from college in Indiana. Captain James Burke is a good guy. I’ve stayed in touch with him even though I now work in the private sector, and he retired two years ago.

I push to standing and follow Rachell to the reception area at the front of Black Blade Protection.

Rachell is our hidden gem. She works at the entrance as if she’s nothing more than an entry-level receptionist. She even looks the part—pencil skirts, makeup, perfect hair.

However, it would be in poor judgment for anyone to underestimate her.

Like the rest of us working for Black Blade, she’s former military, and she could easily disarm five grown men in seconds.

As soon as I spot the woman who asked for me by name, my breath hitches.

It’s definitely Captain Burke’s daughter, and she’s been crying.

Her eyes are swollen and red. Whatever mascara she was wearing has been mostly wiped away, leaving a gray halo around huge green eyes.

It looks as though she is going to burst into tears again any second now.

She looks exhausted, and my heart seizes. “Autumn?”

Her lips quiver, and new tears fall. She’s trembling.

Based on how wrinkly her blouse and skirt are, I’d say she’s been wearing this professional outfit for more than one day.

Dressed in a similar way to Rachell, her navy skirt is tight and short; her lavender blouse is wrinkly.

She has navy heels on. Her auburn hair is in a bun at the back of her neck, but several curls have escaped.

I set a hand on her shoulder and turn toward the hall. “Let’s go to my office.”

She hasn’t spoken yet, and she moves with me, remaining silent.

As soon as we step into my workspace, I close the door and point at the loveseat. “Would you like to sit? Can I get you some water?”

“No. Thank you.” She lowers onto the cushion gracefully, which doesn’t surprise me. Autumn has always been polished. Burke told me that even as a child, she was grown up. Burke calls her an old soul. I suppose he’s right.

I hadn’t noticed she was holding a large manila envelope until now. It was tucked under her arm, but she sets it on her lap after she drops her small purse on the seat next to her.

Something terrible has happened, and my heart is racing as I sit beside her. With my hand resting on the back of the sofa, I twist to face her.

She lowers her gaze. “My father is dead.”

My breath hitches.

A dam opens, and she cries in earnest, as if she’d been barely holding back sobs by a thread, which has now snapped. Her shoulders heave, and I scoot closer and wrap my arm around her, pulling her into my chest.

I’m a computer guy, so I’m not the largest man in this office by far, but I’m still big compared to Autumn. I’m six-two. I may not be as broad as Tank or Blade, but I’m fit. She’s about five-four and slight.

I let her cry against my white dress shirt.

I don’t give a fuck that it’s getting wet and probably will have smudges of her makeup on it.

After tucking my fingers into her loose bun, I hold her cheek to my chest. There’s a story here, but she needs to let out pent-up emotions before I start firing questions at her.

Eventually, she takes a deep breath and pulls back enough to sit up and wipe her eyes.

I twist to reach behind me for the box of tissues on the end table. Autumn isn’t the first person to cry in my office. Everyone at Black Blade Protection is used to dealing with all kinds of emotional issues. We get clients who are grieving every week.

“What happened?” I ask gently as I tug a few tissues out and hand them to her. Sorrow consumes me. Burke is—was—a good man. One of the best. He can’t be dead. He’s too young.

Autumn blows her nose and wipes her eyes. “Someone killed him. Poison.”

I stiffen. Burke? Who would murder him?

She turns to look at me, tears still streaking down her face. “When I got home last night, I found him on the floor in his office. Foam was coming out of his mouth. He was clutching his chest. I don’t know how I managed to get there before he died.”

“So, you spoke to him?”

She nods. “Yes. He grabbed my wrist, told me to get this envelope out of the safe, and come directly to you. He insisted that I not even pack. He wanted me to get out of the house immediately.”

I glance at the envelope, wondering what the hell it could contain.

She sobs and fists her hand at her chest. Her voice goes up in pitch as she continues, “He wasn’t even dead, Mace.

He refused to let me call an ambulance. Said it was too late.

I couldn’t leave him like that. I hurried over to the safe to do what he requested, but by the time I turned around, he was gone.

” Another desperate sob escapes her lips.

“His eyes were still open. Frothy white stuff was coming out of his mouth. He wasn’t breathing.

I’m going to have nightmares…if I ever sleep again. ”

Jesus. Fuck.

Autumn resumes crying. I can’t blame her. The fact that Captain Burke has been murdered is enough to make me emotional by itself, but having his daughter here, so broken, causes me to choke up.

I pull her into my arms again. “You did the right thing, sweetheart.”

“He-he trusted you,” she murmurs. “More than anyone alive.”

I close my eyes and breathe deeply. I’m both honored and concerned.

“He told me not to speak to a single soul. Come straight here. All I brought with me are my purse and this envelope.”

Leaning her back, I look into her eyes. “He wanted you to be safe, sweetheart. That was his top priority. And you are. I promise. I’m so glad you made it here. I don’t know who the hell would have a vendetta against your father, but I will find out. In the meantime, you’ll be protected.”

Autumn grips my arm. “I can’t believe he’s gone.

It’s like I’m living in a nightmare. I sat rigid during the entire flight, trying to maintain my composure so I wouldn’t draw attention to myself.

I haven’t slept. I haven’t eaten. I feel like I’m two seconds from collapsing.

” She sobs again. “And I left my father lying dead on the floor in his office without calling the police. Who does that?”

The angst in her voice breaks my heart. “You did exactly what he asked you to do, Autumn. I’ll send some men to your father’s house immediately. Everything will be handled.”

She glances around. “Where will I go? What am I supposed to do?”

“You’ll stay with me. I’ll order some clothes for you. You need to eat something and get some sleep.”

She chews on her bottom lip, hesitating before speaking again. “I can’t ask you to do that. I’m disrupting your life.”

“You’re not disrupting anything, Autumn.

Your father was the most important role model I ever had.

He was the first person I knew who gave a fuck about me.

He turned me into the man I am today. I would do anything for him.

But you’re not a stranger, Autumn. I’ve known you for years.

I would do anything for you, too.” I’m not exaggerating.

My own father was a total deadbeat. My mother did the best she could to provide for me, but we lived on a shoestring budget, and I had no male role model until I met Burke.

She sniffles. “I can’t just stay at your place, though. Don’t you have a girlfriend? I don’t think she’d appreciate that.”

I shake my head. “I don’t have a girlfriend, Autumn.”

She licks her lips and frowns. “Why not? Why aren’t you married? Aren’t you like thirty-five? Surely women have been vying for your attention for almost twenty years.” She says all that in rapid succession.

I smirk. “I don’t think they’re banging down doors, sweetheart. And I’m not married or in a relationship because I haven’t met the right woman.”

Is that true, though? It’s total madness to have this thought at this moment, but I feel like I’m staring at the right woman. She’s in my office. She’s in my arms.

It’s not as if this is the first time I’ve had such a thought. I spent a week at Captain Burke’s house last year. Autumn was on summer break between her junior and senior year of college. She was living at home and working full-time.

Before that, I had seen her a handful of times when I happened to be in Indianapolis and stopped by to see Burke.

Though I’d always heard about his daughter, I didn’t meet her until the summer before she went to college.

And that was a good thing because, holy shit, she took my breath away.

The attraction was instantaneous—at least on my part.

Autumn is the entire package. It took every ounce of willpower for me to tamp down my reaction and keep my thoughts to myself. I was thirty-one; she was eighteen.

I didn’t say a fucking word about my feelings to her father, nor did I give her any indication I was lusting after her.

It wouldn’t have been appropriate. Captain Burke was my friend, my mentor, a father figure.

I don’t think he would have taken kindly to me flirting with his daughter at any point in the past four years.

And yet, he sent her to me today.

That doesn’t mean a thing, though. He insisted she come here because I work for one of the most trusted security agencies in the country. I’m in the business of protecting good people and hunting down bad people.

I will guard Autumn’s life if it’s the last thing I do. I will also find out who killed her father and make them pay.

Moving her into my apartment is a no-brainer. Now I just need to somehow manage to do so without letting my dick make any of my decisions. She would probably punch me if she knew the kind of dreams she’s starred in. Both day and night.

Autumn Burke needs my help. She’s not here for me to make a move on.

I will keep my cock in my pants, my hands to myself, and my lips away from her creamy white skin.

On that promise, I flinch, because I’m already touching her. I still have my arms wrapped around her. I need to take her to my apartment and help her get settled in. It’s imperative that I extricate myself from the grip she has on my arm and get this ball rolling.