Dirty Little Secrets Read online

  Cover Copy

  Revenge might be cold . . .

  Xander Dade has a deep-seated regret, and the nomadic decade he’s spent doling out justice as a computer hacker hasn’t helped ease his conscience. Ever since Charlie McGovern was asked to leave the specialized revenge-for-hire business called Dirty Deeds, the curvy blonde bombshell has been stuck in his head. And now that the talented thief is being stalked by a dangerous enemy, Xander isn’t about to let her slip through his fingers—not when he’s so close to convincing her she belongs in his bed . . .

  But desire is a dish best served hot

  Caught in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, Charlie won’t be surrendering her secrets any time soon. Not even when long-lost friend, Xander Dade, shows up, packing a sexy agenda all his own. Her movements are being tracked, and accepting his help may put everyone she loves in danger. Things are getting too hot to handle, and selling her secrets to the highest bidder may end up costing more than her heart . . .

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  Books by AJ Nuest

  A Likely Story

  Dirty Deeds

  Dirty Little Secrets

  Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

  Dirty Little Secrets

  A Likely Story

  AJ Nuest

  LYRICAL PRESS

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  www.kensingtonbooks.com

  Copyright

  Lyrical Press books are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2017 by AJ Nuest

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

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  Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

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  Lyrical Press and the L logo are trademarks of Kensington Publishing Corp.

  First Electronic Edition: June 2017

  eISBN-13: 978-1-5161-0044-6

  eISBN-10: 1-5161-0044-1

  First Print Edition: June 2017

  ISBN-13: 978-1-5161-0047-7

  ISBN-10: 1-5161-0047-6

  Printed in the United States of America

  Dedication

  For the Floozies

  And for everyone everywhere who has been done wrong

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks so much to the fabulous team at Lyrical Press! A huge, huge thanks and my undying devotion to the wonderful Jennifer Herrington, editor extraordinaire. She believed in this story from the very beginning and stuck with me to the end. Thank you, sweetie!!! I couldn’t have written Dirty Little Secrets without the support and help of several incredibly talented writing pals. Arial Burnz, Kelly Moran, Mackenzie Crowne and Rachel Brimble—I am in awe of your brilliance! Always and forever, I thank my husband and two beautiful children for putting up with my lunacy, for talking to me as if my characters are real, for repeating themselves when my head is stuck inside a story, and for pretending to the world that I am normal, when we all know I’m so…not.

  Chapter 1

  It took a special brand of cold-hearted bitch to target the elderly. Xander couldn’t wait to hardwire Piper Farrow’s mainframe to the nearest jail cell.

  Lifting his rocks glass, he downed a mouthful of club soda, his black suit jacket chafing against the velvet nap of the low, built-in couch curved along his back. The tang of the lime wedge he’d juiced over the ice fizzed on his tongue, and he zoomed in on the facial recognition software he’d loaded onto his cell courtesy of the security cameras inside the downtown Miami nightclub.

  From top to bottom, the woman epitomized a ruthless line of code written into a malware virus. All show and zero substance. If he’d had any doubts, they’d been deleted the second she’d vainglorified her description when they’d set up this meeting via a secure online chat.

  His brow twitched. But he had to hand it to her. She’d done a decent job of ticking off a list of eye-catching attributes most men typically found appealing. Glossy dark hair stopping just short of her thin shoulders. Hip bones jutting under her cropped sequined slip of a shirt, framing the diamond stud in her belly button like a set of anorexic parentheses.

  A pair of soft green leather pants rode her narrow ass like a second skin, gloving her legs in a slick ride down to the rhinestone-studded torture devices strapped to her feet.

  Well, shit. He pursed his lips against a chuckle. If she’d gone all sultry avatar in hopes of distracting him, she’d just shown up to the party empty-handed. Sex was one of the few physical indulgences he allowed himself, and when it came to exorcising those cravings, he wasn’t about to skimp. Give him the sweet depth of luscious curves he could mold with the imprint of his cock over a bunch of sharp angles and insufficient padding any day.

  Tapping the screen, he closed the feed, but kept the hack streaming in case she’d invited her usual backup to join in the fun. While she considered herself pretty damn smart, Ms. Farrow couldn’t afford any kinks in her plan.

  Too bad for her, kinking was his specialty. He’d uploaded the photo IDs of her known associates into the program, and if any unwelcomed visitors showed at the club, he’d receive a text alert in a matter of seconds.

  He ran his thumb and index finger along the side of his cell. The bottom edge dented the crease in his black slacks as he upended the phone and skimmed his fingers down the opposite side.

  Beyond the stainless steel railing of the second-floor balcony, a packed mob gyrated to the techno beat shaking the bricks loose from their mortar. His mark lifted her chin to search the VIP area, and the sequins arcing along the threadlike straps of her shirt caught in a volley of pulsing lights.

  A smile tugged at corner of Xander’s mouth as she circumnavigated the dance floor toward the private elevators. She glided through the crowd with the practiced art of the privileged. A sense of entitlement he’d bet his right nut was directly tied to the seven digits residing in her off-shore bank account.

  Experience indicated it wasn’t something she’d learned growing up as Loretta Swinehart, kid number three in a family of nine rug rats, tending the farm in the middle of Nowhereville, Nebraska, population eighty-six.

  She disappeared past the edge of balcony and, a few seconds later, the first elevator off to his left slid shut and the lighted number two above the door winked out as the car descended.

  Xander shifted his focus to the lone bartender standing before the phosphorescent blue light illuminating the high-end alcohol shelved on either side of the wall-to-wall mirror. The dude returned Xander’s nod, hefted an ice bucket and two champagne glasses off the bar and rounded the end.

  The elevator inched open, and his target stepped off, hair sweeping her shoulders as she swiveled a frown over the vacant booths and empty cocktail tables stationed around the floor.

  Another
chuckle worked the muscles of his stomach as Xander waited for her to pinpoint him through the multi-colored strobe that sputtered her motions like an old 8mm film.

  Had she really assumed he’d risk some loved-up Ecstasy-driven clubber might stumble into their conversation? Maybe Snapchat a photo just for shits and grins? Not a chance. Not with him the supposed front man for a bratski krug and Russian mobster who commanded more wealth and power than God. And especially not given the high probability she’d launch into a full-out freak attack once he got the last piece of information he was after and blitzkrieged her accounts.

  The music hydroplaned to a frenetic beat that buzzed the fillings in his teeth. A roar of approval erupted off the dance floor, and their gazes locked as she trailed the bartender in his direction.

  Xander had seen it enough times, he knew the drill. The wide-eyed shock. That split second of panic. The dark anger that normally followed whenever a con fell apart and realization set in.

  Pushing his glass to the center of the low, oblong table, he stood, the edge grazing his shins as he sidestepped out from the couch. According to the numerous testimonials and hours he’d logged researching her history, Loretta Swinehart’s volatile personality made Adolf Hitler look like Fred Rogers. Stir those ingredients into a toxic mix, and he wasn’t about to put a bunch of innocent kids in danger. No matter how high they were.

  His first priority with any job was to keep the fallout contained.

  He extended his hand as she neared, snapping his heels together with a polite tip of his head. “Ms. Farrow. Is pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

  The guttural Russian accent rolled off his tongue as if he’d spent the majority of his life inside the Eastern Bloc. Her palm met his in a firm handshake and, even in the erratic light, he caught the way her focus lingered over his mouth, dropped to his shoulders and spanned the open collar of his black dress shirt.

  The green bar of that successful download streaked through his cranium. She had a thing for European men. Generally speaking, the more Rottweiler in their personality, the better.

  Looked as if dressing the part of a thug had been a good call. And while he was at it…

  He lifted her hand to his lips for a soft kiss. Ran his thumb over her knuckles in an inviting caress.

  Her fingers tightened in his. “Likewise, Mr. Ivanov.”

  “Alexei, please.” He opened his palm toward the couch as the bartender deposited the ice bucket and glasses near the end of the table. “I hope I do not overstep by ordering the best champagne?”

  “Not at all.” She smiled up at him through her lashes. “And feel free to call me Piper.”

  Her perfume was one of those expensive brands that were meant to come off as mysterious, but the overpowering scent coated the back of his throat like a stick of incense that had been stuck to the floor of a VW minibus a decade too long.

  He booted up the censorware against the impulse to grimace and worked his tin of mints from the slash pocket of his slacks. An icy blast of peppermint cooled his sinuses as she sank to the seat.

  The pop of the cork was muted by the thumping music. A thick layer of foam floated toward the lip of each flute as the bartender poured their champagne. He crammed the bottle of Dom back in the ice bucket and glanced in Loretta’s direction.

  The small tell was imprinted on Xander’s retinas like a hi-res image, eighteen-hundred dpi. He hesitated as a beat of…something passed between them.

  Shit, were they playing him? Flirting with each other?

  The bartender pivoted away and Xander tracked the dude’s steps back to the bar in his peripheral vision. He carried some bulk, but came up several inches short of Xander’s six-foot-four. From the cut of his red vest, he didn’t appear to be packing, and he’d gladly accepted the five crisp hundred dollar bills Xander had handed over to ensure the VIP area remained off-limits to the rest of the club.

  Maybe Loretta had rewritten the parameters of their meeting with a payoff of her own. Any number of weapons could be stashed behind that bar, even though it was highly unlikely the guy knew how to use them. His life story was squeakier than the contaminant-free zone inside a clean room.

  Xander shifted his focus back to the table. Smiled as Loretta toasted him with her champagne. Could be he’d misread the signals. It’d been nearly a week since he’d left the isolation of his apartment. That was quite the stretch without human contact. Even for a computer jock like him.

  In fact, come to think it… She crossed her ankles and he faked an appreciative glance at her legs. Once he’d finished this assignment, maybe he’d take some time off. Find an actual woman instead of the scarecrow currently sizing him up, and see about fucking some tension off the skitzy paranoia that came from riding a bank of monitors too long.

  Christ knew, three hours of mixed martial arts per day followed by a perfunctory jack-off in the shower only went so far.

  “Wow, expensive bubbly, a handsome date…” Loretta smoothed her palm over the table, leaning forward to give him a clear shot at the unimpressive landscape down the front of her shirt. “Mr. Yerovkin flatters me with all this attention.”

  Yeah, right. Xander internally snorted. More like she was finally getting the attention she thought she deserved.

  “My employer insists you be welcomed as family.” Easing into the spot on her right, he rested his arm along the wide ridge mirroring the curve of her shoulders. A tactic that both tested her boundaries and allowed him to keep one eye glued to that asshole behind the bar. “For personal reasons, I must confess how grateful I am for his decision.”

  Based on her breathy laugh and the way she kept her ass glued to the seat, her thigh warming his through his pant leg, she didn’t mind the compliment or the way he’d invaded her personal space.

  Not that he bought into her act. She needed him, after all. Or rather, she needed his implied connections by way of a silent investor. Someone who held no interest in her business other than earning a small profit in exchange for providing several umbrella companies through which she could siphon her money someplace safe. He’d made sure of it by throwing up several firewalls and backing her into a nice tight corner so she’d have no choice but to reach out for help.

  She tipped the champagne to her lips with a wink and irritation firmed his jaw. He grazed his hand down the mutton chops he’d spirit-gummed on either side of his goatee in case his mouth accidently curled into a sneer.

  Letting her believe he not only approved but was an integral cog in her self-serving bullshit made every neuron in his brain short circuit. For Christ’s sake, the victims who’d bought into her fake retirement communities were old enough to be his grandparents. Hard-working folks who lived on a fixed income and toted around a list of medical issues a mile long. A few had even shouldered additional debt when she’d stolen their identities.

  Returning her glass to the table, she stuck out her bottom lip in a sexy pout. “You’re not joining me for a drink?”

  Well, well. She’d picked up on that, had she? As if the tangled maze of phishing traps and sock puppet accounts she used to cover her ass didn’t supply enough evidence to confirm her intelligence.

  “We will have plenty of time to celebrate, Lisichka.” He reached into his breast pocket and removed the bogus contract, dropping the envelope next to his glass. “In Russian business venture, Mr. Yerovkin prefers we conclude negotiations before moving on to pleasure.”

  Her focus flicked to the diamond cuff link peeking past the sleeve of his suit coat before she stared at his mouth. “Lisichka?”

  “Is Russian pet name.” He gazed into her brown eyes even as the sour taint of coffee and cigarette breath made him want back off. Like, way, way off. “How you say in English…little fox?”

  Her brows rose. “Oh, I like that.” The smile curling her lips came off as sincere. Which was expertly played, considering the woman didn’t have a genuine bone in her body. “Business before pleasure it is, the
n.”

  She reached for the envelope and Xander plucked a German Montblanc from his breast pocket, offering the pen in her direction. Apparently, she was eager to move on to other things.

  He stole a peek at the bartender. Quite frankly, so was he. “Mr. Yerovkin will be expecting payment the first of next month.”

  Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the top sheet and then flipped the page. “That’s fine. Although, I must admit, signing my name to anything makes me a little nervous. I haven’t done that in ages, for reasons I’m sure Mr. Yerovkin understands.”

  Probably around the last time the truth had rolled off her forked tongue. But after the months he’d dedicated to getting her here, Xander wasn’t about to let her back out now. Her hand-written signature as Piper Farrow was the last bit of corroborative proof he needed to substantiate she and Loretta Swinehart were one and the same.

  She slipped the pen from his fingers and tipped her head, twiddling the tip over the contract. “Seems odd he would insist, given the circumstances.”

  Anxiety jabbed his gut, but he smiled. Five years the Justice Department had been looking to indict her for fraud, and during that time her scam-baiting expertise had continued to challenge the most experienced hacker.

  The bonus content was, no one outdid him in the experience department, and when it came to selling lies and working schemes, he’d been doing it for ten.

  “My employer is old-fashioned business man, Lisichka.” Xander shrugged and lifted his palm. “But if refusing his generous offer is best…”

  “No, no.” Smoothing out the creases in the contract, she scribbled along the dotted line. “The next group is nearly ready. Please tell Mr. Yerovkin I should have everything I need to move forward by the end of next week.”