Chapter 1
Three Pittsburg senior police officers listened to the request from mega-wealthy businessman Ben King.
Ben was asking for around the clock protection for his wife following the second attempt on his life.
In the first incident, a shot from a high-powered rifle burst through the windscreen of his car and grazed his neck. He lost control of his car and it spun into an empty school bus, leaving the elderly driver shaken but no more shaken than Ben.
In the second incident, he was confronting by two knife-wielding guys. A cab driver spotted what was he thought was a murder in progress. He drove straight at the assailants, running one down and killing him. The other felon landed on the hood and bounced off to the side of the vehicle and onlookers allowed him to hobble off.
Ben was rushed to hospital with knife wounds to his arms, received with defending himself.
He and his attorney were now discussing the situation with the senior police officers.
The captain in charge of the division, Mike Orchard, said, "I regret to advise Mr King we are unable to offer you and your wife police protection because our investigations have failed to produce evidence that the threat on your life persists.
There is no evidence to show that that gunshot was in fact an attempt. It could have been the result of an accidental discharge of the rifle.
Police investigations of the recent knife attacks revealed the dead knifeman has been identified as a street thug with at least twenty known associates, none of whom you were able to identify as the suspected accomplice of the fifteen associates we managed to identify as possible suspects."
Ben interrupted, "I don't want police protection for me, I want it for my wife. I'll tighten my accessibility and my close associates will take care of my protection."
The lieutenant from criminal investigations said, "Unfortunately Mr King you have not managed to produce any evidence that your wife is in danger. Until you can convince us that the lives of Mrs King and you are clearly under threat of attack, I agree you should take prudent measures to protect yourself and that you arrange protection for your wife if you are that concerned, or perhaps you should send her away out of this State for a period."
Ben King stormed from the room with his attorney, yelling "Assholes" as he left. His attorney hurried back to apologize on behalf of his client whom he said obviously was under stress.
When the attorney had gone, the captain said to the two lieutenants, "We must take Ben King seriously. His life could be in danger. Mick get a team on to this right away. Find out why anyone would want him killed. If those were in fact real attempts on his life, then the people involved appear real amateurs."
There was a huge row in the King's apartment that evening when Ben announced he was giving Nova a bodyguard.
"No way," she yelled. "You give me a light machine gun and I'll look after myself."
"At least that would give you firepower far beyond what the .32 peashooter you carry would deliver."
"Shut up, shut up; you're trying to scare me."
"Baby, believe me, I don't want you hurt."
"Then put Dick Johnston in charge of your business and we'll go away for a few months."
"That's a good idea. But first I have a couple of crucial deals to work through. Give me three weeks."
"Get me another martini," Nova sobbed, throwing her empty glass against the stone feature wall.
Next morning Ben called the head of a company that performed private investigations for him and worked on clients who were threatening to default on loans made by some of his companies.
"Carl, I want to hire an agent for a month with eyes in the back of his or her head and who's good with weapons."
"We don't do contract killings, not even for you Ben."
They laughed.
"I want a 24/7 bodyguard for my wife. It had better be female as the agent will have to remain pretty close."
Carl asked why and Ben told him the two suspected attacks on his life, both having gone unreported by the media.
"I have no idea who it is Carl."
"Well I was about to recommend Jules Clark as she's a great shot and is tough but I would recommend you take Lewis Driver, a former Navy Seal."
"I don't want a brawny brute around my wife who is a sexy thirty."
"He's about your height and weight Ben and is a real gentleman I promise you. But if you are worried about him fucking your wife..."
"Ex Seal eh, and I take he's still fit and alert?"
"Very much so and he's my nephew Ben. I'm confident he'd put his body on the line for your wife once we have the protection contract."
* * *
Nova King came out of the air-conditioned jewelry store into humid heat and was erecting her parasol when a guy came in against her and taking her arm asked, "Mrs King, Mrs Nova King?"
He was smiling and sounded confident and so she replied only a little nervously, "Yes?"
"Okay don't attempt any sudden movement and don't scream or attempt to run. I have a hypodermic ready to plunge a lethal substance into you that will be impossible to identify and trace. Force me to use it and you'll be dead. I'll simply merge into the crowd."
"W-what do you want?"
"You are to come with me to be used as bait to lure your husband to us Mrs King. We have decided it is time to give him an ultimatum."
"V-very well. I'll cooperate."
"Good. Please hold this Mrs King. But don't prick yourself with it."
Nova took the hypodermic and waited fearfully for the next instruction.
Suddenly, she realized she was alone.
She looked around quickly but saw no one matching the guy in the white suit who'd held her captive for a few moments.
"What the hell?" she gasped, not knowing what to do.
Her phone rang.
Nova dug it out and answered with a querulously stammered y-yes.
"Hi I hope you are not shaken up too much?"
"No."
"You were calmer than I expected. Just drop that hypodermic into a street trash bin. The needle is useless as it's rubber and the liquid is just distilled water."
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"Because you have been a naughty girl. You wouldn't do as Ben wanted to ensure your safety. We decided to show you just how vulnerable you are when alone but then again even if you had three bodyguards surrounding you, good professionals would still take out your protection guy or guys or simply wipe out all of you."
"God you're brutal."
"Oh no, that's not my style. I was only relating how it could be. Here, talk to your husband."
"Hi darling. Sorry about that nasty fright but I had to get through to you in a manner that you couldn't ignore. Lewis Rogers will be your bodyguard 24/7 for the next month."
There was silence.
"I didn't hear any objection. Why's that?"
"Because that nasty little piece of acting scared the crap out of me, that's why."
Ben laughed and said they were coming up behind her. "Get ready to jump in but check first that it's just Lewis and me."
Ben was driving his black metallic Porsche Cayenne Turbo SUV and a guy was sitting beside him.
The furious Nova climbed into the back of the vehicle and after the guy said hi and looked very relaxed, she slapped him. Well she attempted to slap him. He caught her wrist in a lightening reflex and smiled and said, "Ma'am I believe my face almost got in the way of your flaying hand?"
"Let me go, and stay still so I can slap you."
"Okay," he said, dropping his hand to his side, his smile still in place, although looking a little brittle.
Nova wound up her slapping arm, looked at him and then her shoulders slumped. She sat back into her seat and buckled in.
Her husband looked at her via the rear-view mirror and smiled looking rather relieved.
"Well darling you have met your bodyguard. I'm very pleased with him because he's so, um, so complaisant."
"It's incongruous to declare that an effective bodyguard is capable of being complaisant," Nova snorted and Ben said she was free to believe what she wished.
Nova thought darkly men and their fancy notions that could grip them at times, particularly when they felt vulnerable as Ben did right now anxious that she might take a bullet meant for him or be in a vehicle with him if it were blown up.
God she was the eldest granddaughter of Ivan 'The Turk' Korknaz who, when she was twelve, had taught her the philosophy to accept that if it happens, it happens, not that the lesson had really sunk in.
She scoffed complaisant her ass. She leaned forward and placed her arm on the seat toward him, testing to see how he'd react. Still looking ahead, Lewis placed his big mitt over her hand. Christ, the guy must have eyes that see around corners. She smiled thinly, knowing the guy would be secretly gloating that he'd proven his value to her.
Now to burst his little bubble.
She quietly hitched up her short skirt and pulled his hand back severely to between her legs. But it was only the briefest moment of embarrassment for him because he turned tables on her. The skunk squeezed her pussy, activating sensors all the way to her ovaries and then calmly hooked two fingers under her panties to launch an unwanted invasion.
Nova could have smacked his hand away but did not wish to appear weak and alert her husband to what was happening. Instead she sat humiliated staring out the side window and conversing at times with her husband as the jerk fingered her.
She hated Lewis for what he was doing to her.
A few minutes later Nova tensed knowing she was at the jaws of a climax and then, thankfully, Asshole must have felt her muscles tightening because he quietly withdrew his fingers, patted her vulva affectionately and totally pulled his arm away from her.
Nova was greatly relieved and looked at him to nod, indicating her appreciation at him stopping at the brink. To her astonishment, he covertly sniffed his fingers.
Omigod, Nova screamed silently, and stimulated by his outrageous action, she twitched into the beginning of a climax she was powerless to stop.
The mess soaked through her panties and skirt and probably on to the leather seat.
Thank goodness, when dressing she'd chosen the black skirt when also holding the fawn skirt. Walking into the house ahead of the men with a wet stain at the rear of a fawn skirt would have been one of her greatest humiliations ever.
After entering the huge apartment on the third floor with the King's, Lewis learned Nova and Ben had adjoining bedrooms because Nova had ruled he was too messy with his clothes and in his bathroom habits and Ben had objected to all the potions and perfumes and other muck she covered her dressing table and bathroom with.
Ben had decided that asshole, er Lewis, should sleep in the room on the other side of her bedroom that had been designed as a nursery and Ben ruled the interconnecting doors were to be kept unlock. That left Nova wondering which of the rooms would she go to when she felt like sex other using her own hand?
"God, this crisis is providing me with new interests," she cooed in the bath, soaking away sexual secretions she'd just produced, before she dressed for dinner.
When they went into the TV room after dinner, and the housekeeper brought them coffee and brandy, Ben made the toast, "Welcome to the family Lewis."
"Yes welcome," Nova murmured.
Ben said he wanted Nova and Lewis to live like a very close married couple, but um, perhaps without the sex.
"Perhaps?" Nova said scathingly.
"Now don't be rude darling. I was just wanting you to be aware that I want Lewis free to walk in on you when you read on the bed nude or are even in the bathroom attending to suppression of pubic hair."
