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Chapter 1
Ian McGregor looked out over the still waters of the bay toward the shimmering lights of the mainland. Standing in front of the wall of windows in his bedroom suite gave him an amazing view of what he had always considered one of the most beautiful expanses of water on Earth. His many business pursuits required him to travel the world, so he figured his opinion was at the very least informed. Living on an island off the coast of his beloved Virginia had proven to be a dream come true. He valued his privacy and, considering his chosen lifestyle, staying out of the media spotlight was almost a requirement.
Even though he kept luxury penthouse suites in several cities, the home he’d built here was where he spent the majority of his time and where he felt the most comfortable. The entire structure was an eco-technological wonder. Hell, the patents alone on the energy-efficient building materials he’d designed for it would make him a billion dollars in the next ten years. And that was without adding in the software for the audio-visual and security systems. He had collaborated with his friend and colleague, Mitch Grayson, on several of the security system’s features, and Ian was thrilled to be sharing the profits from those with Mitch. Sighing as he thought about how Mitch and his friend, Bryant Davis, had settled down with their wife and submissive, Rissa, he wondered if he’d ever be as happy as they seemed.
Glancing around the beautifully landscaped gardens between his home and the beach, he smiled, remembering all the time he’d spent listening to the Lamonts explain the “special” elements of the beautiful gardens behind The ShadowDance Club. He planned to implement some of their ideas behind Club Isola as soon as he figured out how to camouflage it from overhead. The members of ultraprivate Club Isola were, for the most part, very high-profile public figures, so media intrusion was always a concern. And while the patents for his island retreat were the moneymakers, it was the well-hidden building on the other side of the small expanse of land that had been his true motive for this labor of love.
Only a select few people had known about the deep caves on the tiny island, and that fact had enabled his purchase of the small treasure for well under its real value. The caves were deep and structurally sound with several natural outlets so ventilation and escape routes had been easy to implement. The island itself was just over two square miles in area and was long enough that he’d been able to add a small landing strip and helipad. The golf course had been designed by a member of the PGA who had traded his services for a lifetime membership to the club. As soon as he found the right manager, he wanted to build a small but very exclusive luxury resort he would simply call The Resort Isola.
While he’d been at ShadowDance Mountain last month, he’d vowed to lure away their newly hired motel manager, but Alex and Zach Lamont had threatened to castrate him if he did. He’d been in the room but out of her view during her interview and had been impressed with the Marilyn Monroe look-alike. Smiling to himself he remembered Alex growling at him, but it had been Zach’s threat that had made him laugh and ultimately give up his taunts. Zach had threatened to sic their wife, Katarina, on him, and Ian was wise enough to avoid the tiny blonde’s wrath. He’d also been smart enough to hire her on the spot to do his web-designing after he’d seen some of her work. He’d enjoyed teasing her about being too smart to be married to his Neanderthal friends. She hadn’t missed a beat and had joined right in agreeing with him, something Ian was sure her sweet ass had paid for later that evening.
Looking down on to his private beach, Ian wondered if he’d ever share it with a woman who would appreciate it for all it had been designed to be. No one visiting the club or any of the island’s other amenities would ever be able to get close enough to view the small strip of sand. The flora surrounding it was reminiscent of a rain forest, and he had even added a solar-powered waterfall cascading over eco-friendly and erosion-resistant material fashioned to look like the volcanic and granite bedrock found in the Shenandoah National Park. The entire area was so well protected there was rarely even as much as a white-cap atop the tiny inlet’s water, and the white sand he’d brought in for the beach sparkled as if it was laced with diamonds each evening as the sun set.
Standing in the dark and thinking back over the past several years, Ian was surprised he didn’t feel a deeper sense of satisfaction from all he’d accomplished. Monetarily the past five years had been more than he could have ever dreamed possible, but all the professional success in the world wasn’t meeting the burning need in his soul. He hadn’t even been able to pinpoint exactly what it was that he was looking for, so finding a solution in the near future didn’t seem likely.
Just as he was ready to turn back into the room before heading down for a late dinner, something out on the water caught his eye. He’d just caught a distorted shadow in the glimmering lights that looked as if it had been about a quarter of a mile off-shore. Grabbing the night-vision scope he kept nearby, he stepped out on to the wide walkway that surrounded his private quarters and hit the small, hidden switch that suppressed the solar security and landscaping lights so he wouldn’t be seen. As he zeroed in on the spot, he saw a shimmer of blonde. His eyes had to be playing tricks on him. Nobody would brave the frigid bay waters that far out knowing there was no way to avoid detection once they’d made their way on to the island. Mentally correcting himself, Ian knew that wasn’t entirely true. There were two types of people who would try—corporate spies and reporters.
Ian had seen the company helicopter land about an hour ago, so he knew Jace would be in his office by now. He and Jace Garrett had been friends since college. After graduation, Ian had returned to take over his father’s struggling business after his dad had died suddenly from a heart attack, and Jace had joined the Navy. They had stayed in contact even as Jace had gone on to become a SEAL. When Jace had decided to retire after a mission had gone so far south his friend had sworn to him he’d seen penguins, Ian had hired him as the Chief of Security for McGregor Holdings. Ian hit the button on his phone that would connect him directly with Jace, and Ian wasn’t surprised when the other man answered on the second ring.
“Garrett. What’s up, boss?” Jace’s tone reflected his surprise. Ian rarely called him this late.
“Looks like we’ve got company. Meet me at the top of the stairs leading to the dock. Bring the night visions. I want to see who this is before we confront them.”
“Roger that. ETA two minutes.” Ian smiled to himself, nothing like the US Special Forces teams to drill clear and concise communication techniques into their members. But truth be told, Ian found himself using the same curt, cut-to-the-chase style in business as well, and he’d often wondered if it was Jace’s influence or simply his own lack of motivation to listen to what was usually a bunch of dribble.
As luck would have it, Ian was already dressed in black jeans and boots. It hadn’t taken him but a second to pull on a black hooded sweatshirt and grab a penlight. Moving quickly through his dark home and sliding stealthily out the French doors leading to the patio stairs down to the dock, he was surprised to see Jace already in place.Two minutes my ass.Donning the goggles, they moved silently down the stairs, staying to the side in the shadows of the trees. The cloud-covered moon would work to their advantage unless the intruders had night-vision optics as well, then it would be an even playing field.
Whoever the intruder was, he certainly wasn’t a professional. They’d caught a glimpse of the interloper just as he’d landed unceremoniously on his ass on the dock’s synthetic decking. The recycled material he’d used when building the small dock might be state of the art for durability, and it looked so much like naturally aged wood that most people couldn’t tell the difference, but the stuff was noisy as hell. That had been a real sticking point and had sent the product back through McGregor Holdings’ R & D department more than once. But at this moment, Ian was grateful he hadn’t replaced the prototype with the much quieter third-generation product.
Watching as the trespasser scrambled around in a tangle of arms and legs, he and Jace had looked at each other in disbelief. Hell, the ruckus the joker was making would have been enough to attract attention even without the motion-sensing alarms that were no doubt lighting up Jace’s office at this very moment. Ian watched as the guy fell not once, but three times trying to get his small boat tied securely and to unload his gear from the small dinghy.
Ian looked over at Jace just as the former soldier looked up at him grinning and just shook his head and chuckled. Just as Ian returned his gaze to the walkway, he noticed wisps of blonde wafting in the soft breeze. Those few escaped strands had obviously been what had attracted his attention earlier. He and Jace must have reached simultaneous conclusions, because just as he’d noticed the soft voice cursing a blue streak was definitely female, Jace gave him a quick but completely inappropriate hand sign for woman. Ian caught his snort of laughter just before it had broken free and managed to simply nod his agreement. The realization that they were dealing with a female prowler was definitely a mixed blessing. On one hand, restraining the tiny slip of a woman was going to be a piece of cake, but on the other hand, their usual methods of interrogation were going to need to be altered—significantly altered.
