Hidden Enemies

By Andrea Bills

If Tayler Kline’s father was the king of the hotel chain business, then she was the princess. From the time she was born, she had been groomed to work for her father, and one day take over his dynasty.

Tayler had never questioned her predetermined life plans. Not until an explosion rips through Kline Industries offices, and during her escape from the explosion two men try to kill her. Luckily, for Tayler her dad had always been a paranoid man. The night before he had saddled her with her usual company issued bodyguard, Calvin. As chaos consumes Tayler’s life, there’s one person who remains her steadfast protector, Calvin.

Calvin’s first day on the job he had busted the then reckless seventeen-year-old Tayler as she snuck out of her father’s home. She had captured Calvin’s heart from that first moment. As much as he wanted her he, though, he knew there was no room for a poor boy from a small town, in the hotel princess’ life.

After two attempts on Tayler’s life, Calvin has no option but to take her and go on the run. With only each other to rely on, the run down motels, and dive bars they’re hiding out in have the attraction between them building. Calvin’s no longer the security guard that annoys her at every turn. He’s a man who has stolen one too many kisses, that have left Tayler breathless and riddled with desire. She’s the woman that can’t stop undressing him with her eyes, leaving him wanting more than he deserves from a woman out of his league.

Explosions rumble in and out of the bedroom in this romantic suspense. Will their years of friendship turn into more? Can Calvin figure out where the enemy hides, while he struggles to keep his hands to himself?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrea Bills
• Release date: Apr 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370166947

Andrea Bills

Andrea is a wife, mother and writer from small town West Virginia. She spends her time while she's not dreaming up lovers and villains alike chasing after her two kids and husband. Her overactive imagination and her husband's wacky dreams attribute to her love of the written word. Guilty pleasures include Reese Cups and reading all night.

Book preview

Hidden

Enemies

By: Andrea Bills

Hidden Enemies

Copyright © 2017, Andrea Bills

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Editor: Tayler Bennett

Cover Art: Pro Ebook Covers

This book goes out to my Betas. I love you all, you wild pack of crazies!

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Epilogue

Chapter One

Go blow yourself dirt bag! Tayler yelled as she slammed the door on yet another lousy date.

When she walked further into her apartment Calvin, the bodyguard her father appointed to her from time to time, was standing in her kitchen making himself a sandwich. It had been a while since her dad had assigned Calvin to her so seeing him aroused her suspicions. Her day had been shit followed by her even shittier date, so she decided to blow off whatever reason her dad had for moving Calvin back into her apartment.

What are you doing here? She asked, knowing he’d never give her the reason.

Your dad’s working some new big deal. You know how paranoid he gets during negotiations. Lucky you; I got assigned to babysitting duty again. He said with a smirk.

She flipped him the bird in response and then headed down the hall to her bedroom. Calvin would have already set his stuff back up in her second bedroom. She much preferred her old roommate and best friend, Ava, to be there, but Ava was off with her new husband playing house. Tayler was happy for Ava; she deserved her happily ever after.

She didn’t mind Calvin as far as a security detail. He was far better than some of the security details the rest of the family got. The bigger problem was the fact that he was dangerously sexy. He had blonde hair that laid perfectly against his tan skin. The muscles on his body were something straight out of an Abercrombie and Fitch magazine- but bigger and so much better. He knew it too, which annoyed Tayler to no end.

In the mood to pick a fight, Tayler turned around and made her way back into the kitchen.

Do you normally just let yourself in and then eat people’s food? She asked, slamming her purse down on the counter.

First off, it’s my job to be here and have access to your place. Second, this is my food. I brought it because you never have more than just makeup in your fridge. Who pissed in your Cheerios tonight?

No one you’d know. And I’ll have you know that helps preserve my makeup. This humidity wreaks havoc on it.

No judgement, just defending myself.

I can cook. She said defensively. Nothing made her more defensive than Calvin acting like she was some spoiled rich girl without any skills or intelligence.

Never said you couldn’t. He responded neutrally.

I don’t need this crap tonight! Tayler said, turning to go back to her room.

Calvin held his hands up in surrender, but didn’t say anything. Tayler took in the goofy but sexy smirk on his face and then looked down at his sandwich. Since she hadn’t been able to stomach dinner with her awful date she was starving. She snatched up his sandwich and ran like hell to her room.

Hey Brat that’s my sandwich!

Tayler kicked the door shut and hurried to lock it. She took a big bite of the sandwich as she walked victoriously over to her bed. Her phone pinged from her bag, so she dug it out. Ava was texting her to see how her date had gone. Tayler rolled her eyes again at how horrible a person the guy had been.

She typed out a quick reply.

Terrible, we didn’t even make it to dinner. I’m currently eating Calvin’s sandwich.

Her phone pinged with a response almost immediately.

Calvin? Sorry about the date, love.

Yeah, he was here when I got home. Apparently, Dad wants him to play bodyguard again while he works out the new hotel deal he’s got going. No biggie, you know me, I like the single life.

Tayler didn’t really prefer the single life, but letting on that she did helped people not feel sorry for her. Now that she was pushing thirty and still single, people seemed to think she was miserable. Tayler wanted to find a lifelong partner to share her life with, just like every other person on the planet. However, she wasn’t miserable. Her life was full of great people and things to be thankful for.

Her phone pinged again.

Okay, let me know if you need anything. I’m off to bed. Love you.

Love you too. Spank that hot boy toy’s perfect ass for me.

Ava sent back the eye rolling emoji, and Tayler laughed. Brian, was the epitome of a husband, and Tayler loved to tease Ava about it. Mostly because Ava was so easy to rile. The least little thing said, and Ava usually blushed.

As Tayler finished Calvin’s sandwich, she tried to picture the type of man she would end up with. He’d need to be tall, Tayler figured. She liked to wear heels so dating someone too close to her height was out of the question. Preferably he’d be established with a career, home and a retirement account. Not that Tayler was looking for a sugar daddy, but a guy who was saving showed maturity. Tayler preferred blonde, with a nice body and a good sense of humor. Most importantly she wanted a man who would be able to have fun with her.

So many of the men she dealt with at her job were too stuffy. They were all suit and tie men. There was nothing wrong with that, but Tayler needed someone a bit more lax to keep up with her carefree nature. Just like she had stolen Calvin’s sandwich; she wanted her future husband to be able to laugh and joke with her.

At the thought of Calvin, she pictured him making himself a new sandwich and she couldn’t help but laugh. Then she realized Calvin had blonde hair, a nice body and they were always laughing together. Then she laughed a little harder. If there was one thing she was certain of it was that she and Calvin were more like siblings. They’d been through too much together over the years that he had worked for her family.

Tayler undressed and flipped her lights off. She drifted off to sleep to the sounds of Calvin watching television in the living room. The habit annoyed her. More times than not, Calvin annoyed her. Just like she assumed an older brother would.

Chapter Two

Where are you going with this, Tayler? Calvin asked as he navigated them through early morning New Orleans traffic.

All I’m saying is, if you’re going to watch tv at least make it something I would enjoy listening to.

Calvin didn’t have to respond or be visible for Tayler to know he was rolling his eyes. She smiled to herself. Annoying him was one of her favorite hobbies. Her phone pinged with an email alert. The project she had just finalized was set for its grand opening at the end of the week, and the caterer needed the final head count. Tayler blew out a frustrated breath.

With her dad off in another country, she wasn’t sure who he had invited. She forwarded the email to Emily, her father’s assistant, with a note that she needed her dad’s guest list for the event. Being project manager mostly meant ensuring all of the hotels being built stayed on budget and were finished in time. The crap that came after was public relations fluff that got passed off to Stacey.

After her phone swished with the confirmation of her email being sent, Tayler looked out the window. Having grown up in New Orleans, there wasn’t much of the city she hadn’t seen. Things changed from time to time, but the city was mostly always the same. There was the Quarters downtown full of crime and tourists. Old Metairie where all the old families lived that wanted to keep to themselves and preserve the old way of life. Then there was East Jefferson which was the mainstream business district. West Jefferson housed most of the industry and had its fair share of crime.

Tayler lived in an overpriced apartment in East Jefferson. After Ava’s room had been broken into in her last apartment, she hadn’t been able to sleep. With a quick call to her real estate agent, she had found her new, yet still overpriced, apartment overlooking one of her favorite shopping plazas. Aside from Calvin living with her whenever her father got paranoid, she loved her new place.

Calvin slammed on the brakes after being cut off. A few unsavory cuss words flew off his lips as he maneuvered around the culprit. Tayler giggled. Calvin was normally laid back and quiet. Seeing him lose his shit while driving was one of Tayler’s favorite things.

You laugh, but we could have died.

You’re such a baby. We didn’t die. Now, how much longer until we get there? I have a meeting at nine.

Then you should have gotten up earlier. You know how long it takes if we don’t leave before seven.

You’re always whining. She mocked.

Calvin finally slowed down and pulled into the parking garage of her father’s very first hotel. It was also the location for their home office. Tayler loved working out of the hotel. There was something inspiring about being where it had all started. Her father, and their company, Kline Industries, now owned over twenty-five hotels nationwide and three internationally. If her father, Dexter, got his way they would double those numbers in the next five years.

Thanks for making me late, jerk. Tayler joked as she hustled through the parking garage to the elevator.

Hey I’m your bodyguard. You can’t just go strutting off without me. I’m supposed to open the door for you, too. You know how this works, Tayler. Calvin scolded.

Oh please. You said yourself this is just my dad being paranoid. Tayler shot over her shoulder.

Calvin caught up to her in the parking lot elevator. They both reached to hit the button at the same time, touching fingers. A jolt of electricity shot up Tayler’s arm causing her to yank it back. Calvin hit their floor and then took his normal spot in between her and the doors.

Tayler took in Calvin’s relaxed dress. He had on a plain black t-shirt that looked like it had been custom made for his body. It was tucked into his dark jeans that hugged everything he had going for him from the waist down. He always had on a pair of tennis shoes. Nothing annoyed Tayler more than his tennis shoes. A man should have three sets of shoes at the least; tennis shoes for the gym, dress shoes for work and functions, and something for summer either some kind of sandal or flip flops.

Calvin had none of those things. All he ever wore was tennis shoes. She had berated him many times over it, but he never changed. That was one thing Tayler loved about Calvin. He never changed. He was always there, always reliable, and always able to make her laugh.

The elevator jolted to a stop. Tayler grabbed the handle to steady herself.

That was a rough stop. She said.

After a few minutes of the doors still not opening, Calvin hit the button.

I don’t think we’re on the right floor. Something must be going on with the system. Let me page Gary.

Maybe just try to hit the floor button again. I hate to bother Gary. Tayler suggested.

Calvin did as she suggested, but nothing happened. Then Calvin hit the call button, but that too went unanswered. Tayler dug her cell out of her purse, but she didn’t have any service.

Well I guess we’re stuck here until Gary answers our page, huh?

Something’s not right. Calvin said still tense.

Don’t overreact. This building is old; I’m sure it’s fine.

Calvin put his ear to the door, and gestured for Tayler to be quiet. She rolled her eyes, but didn’t say a word. Then he pulled out his cell phone and started typing.

Hey, you have service? She asked taking a step closer to him.

He didn’t answer, but she watched as he accessed the security cameras to the hotel. Two