Hidden With You
Contents
Title Page
About Hidden With You
Stark Security
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
Tame Me-an excerpt
Also by J. Kenner
About the Author
Learn more at:
www.jkenner.com
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Hidden With You is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously; they are not real, and any resemblance to events, establishments or persons (living or dead or undead) is entirely coincidental.
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Hidden With You Copyright © 2022 by Julie Kenner
Excerpt from Tame Me © Copyright 2014 by Julie Kenner (used with permission from Evil Eye Concepts, Inc.)
Excerpt from Release Me © Copyright 2012 (used with permission from Bantam Books)
Cover design by Michele Catalano, Catalano Creative
Cover image by Annie Ray/Passion Pages
ISBN: 978-1-953572-52-3
Published by Martini & Olive Books
V-2022-4-22D-CORRECTED
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.
Hidden With You
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He was hired to kill her. He never expected to fall in love with her.
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Former MI6 agent Jasper Kent gave up being a good man when his wife and daughter were murdered. Now, he’s a paid assassin for the highest bidder, using the payouts from his underworld contracts to fund his search for the man who killed his family. He gets the break he desperately craves when he’s invited to join Stark Security, a legitimate organization that knows nothing about his deadly side hustle, but provides the cover he needs for his private missions.
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Then he hits the jackpot — kill the woman he’s been assigned to protect, and his payment will be the identity of the man who murdered his family.
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Heiress and rising author Zelda Clayton has spent her young life projecting a bubbly personality while putting all her fears and doubts onto the pages of her novels. She’s certain that if she shows her darkness, she’ll be abandoned once again. Now, the pulse-pounding attraction between her and the older but devastatingly gorgeous bodyguard Jasper Kent is off the charts, and she’s terrified he will leave, too, breaking her heart right as she’s falling in love with him.
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But a broken heart may be the least of Zelda’s worries…
Charismatic. Dangerous. Sexy as hell.
Meet the elite team of Stark Security.
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Shattered With You
Shadows Of You
(free prequel to Broken With You)
Broken With You
Ruined With You
Wrecked With You
Destroyed With You
Memories of You
Ravaged With You
Hidden With You
Charmed By You
Tangled With You
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Click here for JK’s entire booklist!
Prologue
I’m no stranger to being alone. To being surrounded by people, but entirely by myself. Wrapped in darkness, yet hiding it with bright smiles and bubbly laughter. Faking a life in the hope it will become real but knowing that won’t ever happen.
Then he entered my world, stepping past the walls that surround me. Filling the dark, small place in which I hide with light and hope.
He’s here and he’s real. He’s sunshine and joy. Light and love.
But that is only an illusion. The truth is he belongs in the darkness. It feeds him. Fuels him.
He’s horrible.
A monster. A bastard.
I look at him and know that’s what I should think now that I know what he planned. What he wanted.
And yet there’s warmth under his icy exterior. There’s hope in his eyes.
I see it. I crave it. And somehow the monster turns beautiful in my sight.
But the more his heat engulfs me, the more I am afraid.
Because I know better than anyone that fire destroys everything, and all I can hope is that love can still bloom from the ashes of those flames.
Chapter One
Jasper Kent sat on the bottom step of Jamie and Ryan Hunter’s back porch, his toes in the sand as he watched the sun slip away. A few clouds hung low in the sky, now illuminated in vibrant shades of purple and orange as Mother Nature painted yet another masterpiece on the Malibu horizon.
This was what he’d dreamed of so many years ago. A home outside of London with a beautiful view where he could grow old with Sandra. A house where Bonnie could grow up, huge and roomy and ready to be filled with sisters and brothers for her. A fairytale life wherein he and Sandra would sit on the porch and watch their children play and laugh and grow. The world would continue to turn with its horrors and tragedies, but his family would stay warm and safe in the protective bubble of a loving home.
And how much of a crock had that turned out to be?
Instead of London, he was living in Los Angeles.
Instead of a family, he was all alone.
Instead of a home, he had a hotel room.
Instead of a life, he’d become a ghost.
No. Not a ghost. A hunter. For ten years, he’d been chasing the monster who’d murdered his family. That was his quest. His mission. That was why he’d left MI6 and gone freelance, sliding into a dark world where he killed for both money and information, taking out evil as he pursued his own vendetta.
For ten years, he’d chased lead after lead, but his efforts had led nowhere. Now, though, he had another. Thin, true, but it was all he had, and he would tug on this thread to the end.
That was why he’d come back to the States. Why he’d accepted the offer from Stark Security. He needed access to the well-funded agency’s databases. He needed resources. Because with a decade of misses piled up behind him, he knew damn well that this was his last shot at finding the bastard who’d ripped Sandra and Bonnie from him. Screw this up and there’d be no retribution. No closure.
They’d be gone. Finally and truly gone.
Then he really would be a ghost. A haunted man, moving through the world, stripped of purpose and desire.
But not yet, dammit. Not quite yet.
He stiffened at the footsteps behind him, his training kicking in, then immediately relaxed as he recognized the gait. Ryan Hunter, the director of Stark Security and his new boss.
“You have an incredible house,” Jasper said without turning around.
Ryan chuckled, then sat beside him. “And that’s why we hired you. A man with eyes in the back of his head is handy in our business.”
Jasper glanced over his shoulder and met the other man’s piercing blue eyes. “And here I thought it was my good looks and sharp humor.”
“That and Quincy’s recommendation,” Ryan retorted. Quincy Radcliffe, a former colleague from MI6, had left the service years ago. Jasper had heard rumors that he’d been involved in a vigilante group founded by billionaire playboy Dallas Sykes, but that seemed so unlike Quincy that Jasper had discounted the intel. Then again, the world was full of strange things—Jasper himself was proof of that— so maybe it was true. All he knew for sure was that Quincy was one of the first agents recruited to Stark Security by its founder, billionaire Damien Stark.
So when the possible trails to his family’s killer petered down to one narrow path leading to the States, Jasper had made a call. Quincy had introduced him to Damien and Ryan, and just like that, Jasper had a solid base in the States from where he could run his own operation. While doing the job they paid him for, too, of course.
“We don’t have sunsets like that in London,” Jasper said, gesturing at the pyrotechnics that were wrapping up in front of them, seemingly lighting the ocean on fire. Soon, darkness would fall completely, and the only illumination would come from the upper patio where the party was starting to ramp up as more and more guests arrived.
“We ordered it especially for you,” Ryan said. “Wanted you to feel good about accepting this job.”
“You certai
nly know how to roll out the red carpet.” He turned to face his boss. “Seriously, thank you. It was time to leave London. Time for a change.” That had been his excuse. The well-rehearsed explanation that after so many years, he needed to leave the memories behind. He could hardly tell his new boss that not only would his attention be split, but that he also intended to covertly utilize his new employer’s tech to follow that precious, single lead.
Ryan nodded, his expression compassionate. “Come on. You already met Jamie, but Zelda’s just arrived. And this party’s just as much about her.”
“Sounds good.” He stood at the same time Ryan did, then shrugged into his jacket before bending down for his shoes. He slipped them on, then glanced once more at the infinite ocean. The light was gone, and the world hung in shades of gray. The same gray that had enveloped him since Sandra’s and Bonnie’s light had been stolen from him. His wife had been thirty. Their daughter only five. Two entire lives gone, and he’d never get them back.
But somehow, someday, he would avenge them.
He turned his back to the gray, then followed Ryan up the wood and stone staircase that led toward the twinkling fairy-style lights that illuminated the upper levels of the huge back patio, and with each step he told himself he was getting closer to his goal.
“We’re so glad you could make it,” Jamie Archer Hunter said as she squeezed his hand and flashed a very camera-ready smile. She was the kind of woman the camera loved, with her sculptured face, wide mouth, and thick, dark hair. He knew she’d worked as an entertainment reporter and part-time actress before finally landing solid roles, including the lead in the upcoming Intercontinental, a thriller based on a book written by the other guest of honor, Zelda Clayton.
They were on the top level of decking by the infinity pool. The house was designed with four levels of decks, the top one partially covered with huge glass doors that could be fully opened. During the day, the view must be incredible. At night, the stars twinkled above, the house far enough away from its neighbors to welcome the darkness and invite starlight, making this outdoor living space warm and inviting and beautiful. Jasper could only assume the interior of the home was equally remarkable.
“I hope you didn’t feel obligated to come,” Jamie added, “what with being the new guy and all. This really wasn’t intended to be a command performance.”
Jasper laughed, immediately liking this woman. He’d heard that she said what was on her mind—most often unfiltered—and he appreciated the honesty. “Truth? I heard the house was completely remodeled by Jackson Steele, so I wanted to see it. And, of course, I wanted to congratulate you on your movie.”
“Liar,” she said with a laugh. “About the movie. I believe you about Jackson.”
He grinned. Jasper was a long-time fan of the renowned architect’s work. A man who also happened to be Stark’s half-brother.
“We completely lucked into this house,” Jamie said. “The former owner ended up moving away. A family thing. And then Damien mentioned to Ryan that it was going on the market, and we had Jackson come over to suss out the potential.” She shrugged. “So now we live next door to our best friends. It’s pretty awesome.” Her smile rivaled the sky’s brightest stars.
“At any rate,” she continued, “I’ll give you the tour later, or feel free to wander inside. Jackson did a freaking amazing job.” Her mouth twisted, and she rolled her eyes. “Did you hear that? I really just said freaking. That’s me censoring my language even when there are absolutely zero kids around. Yo, Nicholas,” she shouted to a lovely blond woman he recognized from various photos as Nikki Stark. “You and your brood have ruined me.”
“I’ve got news for you, James,” Nikki called back. “You were already ruined.”
She shifted as she spoke, the movement just enough for Jasper to catch a glimpse of a woman passing behind her. The vision wore a dangerously short metallic-gold dress, her brown hair pulled up in a messy bun, the flickering lights catching some strands and making them glow red.
Inexplicably, he took a step forward, pausing when she disappeared behind a cluster of guests. Who was she?
“—totally right.”
Jamie’s words startled him, and he shook himself, mortified at his almost physical reaction to the woman in gold. He tried to think why—she hadn’t reminded him of Sandra. She was pretty enough, but not breathtakingly beautiful. She didn’t look the slightest bit familiar.
And yet damned if there hadn’t been a tug.
“I lost you,” Jamie said with a laugh. “Oh, god, I’ve turned into a boring hostess. I never would have believed it.”
“You? Never. I just saw—”
She waited for him to finish his thought.
“I don’t know,” he confessed. “Possibly someone I knew.” That wasn’t it, but it was the only thing that sounded plausible. “Lost her in the darkness and the crowd.”
“Well, we’ll have to find her, won’t we?”
He could practically see the gleam of matchmaking in her eyes, and since that was absolutely not on his agenda, he scrambled to change the subject. “Did I hear you call Nikki Stark Nicholas? And she called you James?”
“Oh, totally. Childhood nicknames.”
“You grew up together?”
“In Texas, yeah. And you’re from the UK. You don’t have much of an accent. I would never have guessed if Ryan hadn’t told me.”
“Born in Manchester, but we moved to Manhattan when I was two. My father worked at the British Consulate in the city. I moved back to Britain to attend Oxford and ended up at MI6. I like tea, and bloody hell is my go-to curse. So I managed to fit in.”
Her eyes twinkled. “I’ll tell Ryan he got it all wrong.”
“Great. Get me in trouble with the boss in my first week.”
“Speaking of bosses, have you met Damien yet?”
He shook his head. “Ryan hired me over the phone. When I came back to the States last month, I started out in Manhattan. Familiar territory. Besides, I understand Damien isn’t in the office day to day.”
“Yeah. He’s got fingers in a lot of pies.”
“I only started on Friday,” Jasper told her. “And that was really just paperwork. Monday will be my real first day.”
“Damien was gone all last week, anyway,” Jamie told him. “Family getaway. They have a place in Lake Arrowhead. But he’s great. Not nearly as intimidating as you’d think from the packaging.”
“Is that so?” Jasper wasn’t easily intimidated, but he’d watched interviews of the former tennis pro turned tech billionaire, and the man was formidable. Still, Jasper glanced around for a glimpse of the man, hoping to meet him soon.
He didn’t find Damien in the clusters of people scattered across the various patio levels—nor did he find the woman in gold. Not that he’d been looking. Well, not too hard, anyway.
Nikki caught his eye, however, then came over, a tall man with an easy smile beside her. “I would apologize for Jamie,” Nikki said to him, “but there’s really no excuse for her.” She extended her hand, clearly trying not to laugh as Jamie rolled her eyes. “Nikki Fairchild Stark. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” he said. She had sea-green eyes and wavy hair that fell to her shoulders in loose curls. She was girl next door pretty, and he remembered reading that she’d competed in pageants as a teenager. Now she ran a software development business, though most people outside of the tech world probably remembered her as the woman to whom Stark had paid a million dollars for a nude portrait. A scandal that started what had apparently turned into a very strong relationship.