Page 5 of Silk Shadow

She arched a perfectly shaped brow. "You can pick me up at five o'clock tomorrow morning. We fly out at seven-thirty."

"I'll need a list of those traveling with you," Viper said. "In order to vet them."

She hesitated, then nodded. "Of course, I'll see my assistant gets that off to you ASAP."

Her assistant?

He was battling to reconcile the swimwear line with the mining conglomerate. What did one have to do with the other? But he kept his questions to himself. All would be revealed in time when he had a chance to look over her file.

"See you tomorrow, then, Miss Beaumont."

She gave a terse nod, then turned to his boss. "Thank you, Uncle Pat. I appreciate your help."

Uncle?

Damn. When Blade had said friend of the family, he wasn't kidding.

Pat came around the desk and embraced her. If he was embarrassed by her term of endearment, he didn't show it. "Any time, Izzy. You know that."

Viper's eyes widened even further. Human contact from the formidable Pat Burke. Who would have thought it?

Izzy Beaumont swept out in her cloud of designer perfume.

"She's quite something, isn't she?" mused Pat, staring after her. "Done remarkably well for herself since her mother's death."

"It must be challenging, running the mining conglomerate."

Pat laughed, deep and growly. “Izzy's got her own fashion empire. She's what they call an influencer, I believe. Not that I'm one for social media.”

Viper’s eyes widened.

“She’s got millions of followers. That makes her a very important asset to fashion brands. She's got her own swimwear line, as you heard, and a signature perfume. I understand she's in talks for other ventures too. Quite the entrepreneur, is our Izzy."

Our Izzy?

"You're related to her, sir?"

Pat's eyes flickered. "Not in the traditional sense, but I've known Izzy since she was a baby, and as her parents are both dead, I feel a certain responsibility toward her. She's my goddaughter."

Goddaughter.

Holy crap. He'd better not screw up.

Viper cleared his throat. "Thank you, sir, for the opportunity. I'm honored to be working for Blackthorn Security."

Pat shook his hand. “Glad to have you on board.” His hair was turning silver at the sides, but he was still a rock of a man. Stocky and broad, he was built like a wrestler and clearly worked out regularly in the gym. Even his handshake was crushing. "Maisie will show you to your desk, where you can prep for tomorrow. There's quite a bit more on Izzy and her father’s company in the file, and you should check out her Instagram profile—see what all the hype is about." He masked a grin. "I think you'll be surprised."

CHAPTER 3

Viper was assigned a desk in Blackthorn Security's headquarters' open-plan office. It was a wide, spacious area, surrounded by glass windows through which he could see the outline of the Washington Monument in the distance. It was a far cry from Fort Bragg, where he’d been based while in the Navy.

Thinking about it always left a pang. Hell, he missed it, but after being medically discharged, he couldn’t go back. Now, finally, he had a purpose again. Even if it did come in a five-foot ten bombshell of a package.

Based in the office were a handful of support staff. They laid the groundwork and provided intelligence and logistics for the operatives out in the field. Big screens showed satellite and drone images, flight and shipping data, and one woman sat with earphones on, gazing at a telephone transcript flickering across her computer.

It felt very much like the ops center back at the Naval Special Warfare base, just with air conditioning and better furniture. He logged onto the computer and pulled up Izzy's file. It made for interesting reading.

Apparently, her father was something of a legend in mining circles. He'd ventured into Mexico when nobody else thought it worth the risk. Regions with complex regulatory environments, but a wealth of untapped resources. Beaumont had grown up in Oaxaca, thanks to his parents being part of the U.S. diplomatic corps, stationed at the U.S. Consulate in Oaxaca, and consequently, had a feel for how things worked there. His methods weren't always orthodox, and there were rumors of bribery and palm-greasing, particularly in the more corrupt areas.

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