Rage (Shadow Security #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Luna

The first time it happened, I brushed it off, certain I was imagining things.

When it happened a second time, a few weeks later, I convinced myself that kids had been playing ding dong ditch for longer than I’ve been alive.

Everyone knows the game, where a group of kids go on the hunt in a neighborhood and decide which house would be that evening’s target.

One of the kids inevitably was talked into running up to the front door, knocking or ringing the bell repeatedly, and then the entire group would scatter like ants.

They would almost always give themselves away, laughing so hard they couldn’t contain themselves as furious homeowners would open the door to find no one there.

I live in an apartment, so it’s a little different, but there are a ton of teenagers in the building.

At least, that’s what I try to tell myself.

The third time is tonight. I’m still awake, reading in bed, and I sit up when I hear it, putting down my e-reader and grabbing my phone.

For some reason, it hits different tonight.

The knock isn’t loud or frantic. Instead, it’s a light, consistent rapping that goes on for about thirty seconds.

And I just sit there, holding my phone and dialing 9-1-1 even though I don’t hit the button to make the call.

Finally, it stops and I slowly get out of bed, tiptoeing through my apartment to peer out of the peephole.

Nothing.

Just darkness and an eerie silence that makes my chest tight and my stomach hurt.

It has to be stupid teenagers being funny, right?

I don’t sleep a wink but by the time I get to work the next morning, I’m calmer.

Still, I have to mention it to my boss because anyone in the witness protection program has to be cautious.

Aware. The fact is, I’m always looking over my shoulder.

Even though I feel relatively safe, I can’t help but worry. Probably more than I should.

Daniil Gustaffson, together with his wife, owns the company I work for, Shadow Security. It’s an elite bodyguard and security firm that caters to the rich, the famous, and the titled. He himself is a non-working prince for the royal family of Limaj, a small, eastern European nation.

He looks up when I knock on his office door and I note the way his brows knit together almost immediately. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

I chuckle. He’s intuitive this way, keenly aware of everything going on around him and with the rest of us.

“Do you have a minute?” I ask.

“For you? Always.” He motions to the chair across from him.

I sink down and tell him about the three times someone has knocked in the middle of the night. How the first two times seemed ridiculous but now this third time has given me pause.

“I can’t put my finger on it,” I say carefully. “But it feels off.”

He nods. “Always trust your gut.”

“What should I do?”

“Let’s get you a doorbell cam and better locks. I also want you to work with Grim on your firearm training.”

Ugh.

I hate guns.

With a passion.

But knowing how to use one is mandatory to work here and it’s not like I have to carry one.

Or do I?

“Does that mean you think I need to buy one?” I ask, trying not to sound horrified.

“I do.” He meets my gaze. “Look, you don’t have to carry it around. You don’t have to use it. Unless…” He pauses, letting the sentence hang in the air.

“Unless someone actually tries to break into my apartment.” I sigh. “I know. I just—that feels like someone else’s life. I’m supposed to be nothing but some boring receptionist.”

He shakes his head. “But you’re not. Even if you weren’t in witness protection, you work for a high-profile member of a royal family.

The fact that I’m a non-working royal means nothing to someone trying to hurt or blackmail one of us.

That’s why you have to be able to protect yourself.

Do you really want to be in a situation where someone gets into your apartment and you’re just hiding in the closet hoping the police get there in time? ”

“Gun or no gun,” I admit with a laugh, “I’ll still be hiding in the closet.”

He chuckles. “Fair. But won’t you feel safer with a way to protect yourself?”

I wrinkle my nose. “Probably not. But I understand the point and yes, I’ll schedule training with Grim.”

“Good.” He cocks his head. “You look like you didn’t sleep at all last night.”

“Thanks,” I say dryly.

“Go home early today and try to get some rest. If you’d like, you’re welcome to crash in our guest room for one night until we can get you set up. I’m going to send Chaos over to take care of it either this afternoon or first thing tomorrow.”

I hesitate.

I would absolutely sleep better under Daniil’s roof, but I hate the idea of being forced out of my own home. My sanctuary. Where all my things are.

No, I have to deal with this.

“I think I’ll be okay,” I say. “But I appreciate the offer.”

“All right. See you later.” He turns back to his computer, and I head to my office.

I’m exhausted but there’s a cappuccino with my name on it in the kitchen and then I’ll talk to Grim.

I’ve just taken my first sip of cappuccino when I hear movement behind me. I turn and am momentarily at a loss for words.

Rage.

Also known as Elliott Rageis.

He’s one of the bodyguards I work with and about two hundred and fifty pounds of pure delicious masculinity.

My mouth practically waters every time he walks into a room and I get as tongue-tied as a teenager with her first crush.

I have no idea why he impacts me like this.

I’m dating someone. There’s nothing between us but work.

But I would lick every inch of him given half a chance.

“Morning.” His eyes meet mine and I’m at a loss for words. Still.

Knock it off.

The internal admonishment seems to do the trick and I smile as pleasantly as I can. “Good morning. How are you?”

“Good. What about you?”

“Daniil is making me learn to shoot,” I grumble. “Do you know where Grim is?”

“I can teach you to shoot.” He leans against the counter, and I force my eyes to leave his gloriously broad shoulders.

“Oh. Um, well, Dan said to ask Grim. But it doesn’t matter to me. I just have to become proficient with firearms as a prerequisite to work here.” I playfully wrinkle my nose. “I’m way too girlie for guns, but I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to come work here.”

“It’s never a bad thing to learn a life-saving skill. I know guns can be intimidating but when used properly, and with good training, they’re not as dangerous as people think they are.”

I nod. “I suppose that’s true. I just never really liked guns and stuff. I was more of a punk rock princess.”

He chuckles. “Nothing wrong with being a princess of any kind. Learning how to handle a gun doesn’t change that. It just adds to your mystique.”

My mystique? I’m going to swoon if he keeps talking to me like that.

“Let’s make a plan,” he continues. “Maybe later this week, or on Saturday, we can get started. You can use a gun from my collection.”

“You have…a collection?” It shouldn’t surprise me but it does.

He smiles, showing surprisingly white teeth and dimples, and it’s disarming as fuck because he’s so damn hot. “I do. I mean, nothing crazy. I have six. Not like an arsenal or anything. And one of them is a collectible. It was my grandfather’s, an old .22 that he loved. It’s all I have of him.”

And he’s sentimental too. Could he get any hotter?

I’m equally shocked that he shared something so personal with me. Normally, he’s pretty tight-lipped about his past, family, anything like that. It makes me feel good that he would open up, even if it’s just a small thing.

Bad Luna.

Stop picturing Rage naked and focus on Roger, your actual boyfriend.

“It’s nice that you kept it.”

He nods. “Anyway, just let me know what day works for you and we’ll get started.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

He winks and says, “See you later, princess.”

Oh, well, there goes my stupid heart, fluttering like crazy.

I have a boyfriend.

Not only that, but we also have plans Friday night and I have something important to talk to him about. It will take our relationship to the next level and potentially change both of our lives.

If he’s on board.

I think he might be, but it’s hard to know, because he’s quiet and a bit nerdy. He’s incredibly smart and hard-working but he doesn’t have much game in the romance department. It’s been four months since we started dating and I honestly have no idea where he sees our relationship going.

Friday night, however, I plan to find out because what I want to discuss with him can’t wait.