Mystique Rogue Page 4

  The sight of her knife gave her assailant pause. It did nothing for the tiger as he went into hunting mode, belly crawling forward in the silent tradition of his species. Carmen gave him a look. “Back off, fur ball, before I pull those claws and make them into a necklace.”

  “Khan!” The word was a whiplash of command.

  The tiger paused in his stalking and looked up at the shadows and made a whuffing sound. “I know, Khan, but you can’t eat her. Go eat the dinner Lucy and Heather made for you.”

  The huge white tiger sneezed, heaved himself up onto all fours and stalked off to his plate of food. The shadow moved into the light, revealing the masked visage of The Rogue. “You have exactly ten seconds to explain yourself and why I just kept the fur ball from tearing out your throat.”

  Carmen rolled her eyes. “Oh please. Let’s not start with the awful clichés. I hate those things.” She sat up and put her back to the warm stone behind her, setting her knives down on the floor. “I believe you know Daria Randall? Owner of the Tarrington Security agency?”

  His eyes narrowed behind the wine colored mask. As he turned his head, the gold inlays framing the eye slots winked softly in the firelight. “I know of her, yes.” The burr in his voice became more pronounced. “What has she got to do with an intruder in my home who might be here to kill me?”

  Carmen kept a hand to her face to try and staunch the blood flowing from the cut and growled, “I’m the woman you so blithely called a coward to my boss and sent me a bottle of very old Glenmorange even before your arrogant ass thought I just might turn you down.” Wiping her hand on her duster, she gave up trying to hold the cut and let it bleed down her face. “And if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t have had to get this close to do it. A sniper with a silencer on the wall outside your house, a stealthy killer could have taken out your two assistants, then used a handgun at the door. Your tiger may avenge your death, my friend, but you’d still be dead.”

  “Miss Marshall?” The Rogue’s eyes widened showing his anger. “There were arrangements made for your arrival here. Anyone else would have welcomed the chance to meet The Rogue.” He made a theatrical sweep with his hand.

  Gods what an arrogant asshole! Carmen slowly reached into a pocket and hit speed dial.

  The phone was picked up on the other end, “Tarrington Security, how can we help you?”

  Trust Daria to be at work at whatever time it was there. “Hey Daria, have you got The Rogue’s number handy?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Can you call him while I sit here next to the fire? I need you to confirm my identity. Just don’t hang up with me.”

  A sigh of resignation. “What have you done, Carmen?”

  “Testing his security measures and found out his suck.”

  “My security measures do not suck, as you put it.” He took a step forward to loom over her “Khan has been my bodyguard since our first meeting!”

  “Dialing now.” The phone started ringing near his right hand.

  He picked up, his second dagger still pointed at her. “Hello?”

  Daria’s side of the conversation echoed in her ear, “Rogue, this is Ms. Randall, Carmen’s boss. You threw down the gauntlet when you called her a coward. Now she’s doing her job so knock off the arrogant bullshit. I know you’re doing it and, for God’s Sake! Get that cat out of the room before she makes another claw necklace!”

  He winced at the commanding tone in her voice. “I assure you Khan isn’t going anywhere, he’s currently asleep after eating a full bowl of the last person who thought they could intrude on my privacy.”

  An ominous silence met her ear. Carmen looked at her client before saying, “It’s a bowl of fresh meat, prepared by his cook, Daria. Before you pop too much of a cork, it was my fault. I should know better than to sneak up on a tiger. Should have remembered they like catnip.” She gave the masked man a meaningful look. “Just for alone, I may just demand combat pay.” She groused.

  That got his attention as his eyes took in the bloody mess on the side of Carmen’s face, and the anger slowly died, replaced by concern. “Do it, Ms. Randall. Her latest injury was due to my own paranoia, not my cats'.” He paused and added, “Thank you for having your company available to me.” He hung up his phone and left the room.

  “Carmen, what in hell really did happen over there?” Daria asked softly.

  Carmen sighed, then sat up a bit, keeping an eye on the tiger. “Oh nothing. You know me and checking security before introducing the team to a client. He pissed me off with the stunt he pulled at your office, so I figured I’d give him a run for his money. Thing’s definitely are bad when you get within five feet of the man you’re going to be protecting, only to have him come at you with a dagger in hand, and a tiger out for blood. Nothing in the files I got said his tiger ran around loose.” She wiped at her forehead. “And besides, I wasn’t really going to ask for combat pay.”

  Daria growled. “Tough titties, Carmen. You spoke, he approved, it’s a done deal. Now, he didn’t hurt you did he? You’re okay?”

  Carmen pulled a bandanna from a pocket, she blotted the cut on her face. “Nothing I can’t handle, Mom.” She teased. “I didn’t expect the knife. Don’t worry, I don’t think it’s serious enough for a hospital visit. It’s just a shallow cut. If it had been anyone else, let’s just say they’d need more than just a bandage and warm milk for comfort. Look, what was the reason he gave for hiring my team? The way those two attacked together,I’d say he was waiting for someone to come kill him.”

  Daria sighed. “You didn’t read his file, did you? I should let you figure this one out on your own, but I won’t. Mr. Tall Dark and Mysterious has recently been receiving threat letters and the home you’re in has been vandalized more than once. He’s let all but two of his servants off the hook by giving them an extended vacation with pay to protect them.”

  Carmen closed her eyes. “Well, it explains why he was sitting in the dark with only the firelight to keep him company. Does the team have his itinerary and where he’s scheduled to perform?”

  “It should be in the package they sent you. I’ll ask and see if they have updates.”

  “If they do, tell them this is a top priority package, meaning works.” A sound by the door had her tensing until he walked back through the door, carrying hot water and a first aid kit. “I’ll talk to you later, Daria. Mr. Mysterious just returned with the first aid kit.”

  “He Wha…”

  Carmen turned off the phone, cutting off whatever her boss was about to say just as he moved close enough to set everything down beside her. “You know... We all know you’re big and bad anonymous, Rogue. But if we’re going to have a working relationship here, it’d be nice to know your real name without having to grope you in the dark.”

  Clearly startled, Rogue dropped the washrag he was holding. “That was you on the train?” He gaped. “But, you were supposed to be...”

  “Jumping through your hoops, to your tune, to allow myself to be led around by a ring through my nose and see what only you were going to show me, not what I needed to know. And besides,” she laughed, grabbing a clean rag, wetting it, then began to clean her face, “I was slightly pissed at you, if you’ll recall.”

  The corner of his lip twitched with a hint of a smile before taking the rag from her. “Well, you have to admit. I was not expecting you to be on board. When the train stopped, I merely went there to be away from prying eyes. Instead, I felt hands and a soft body run into me shortly after the door opened. Your boss never told me what you looked like, so I had no idea what to expect.”

  Wincing, Carmen stared at the green eyes behind the mask. “Take a look at my face, friend. Who, after seeing this face, would want to hire my team and me? No amount of reputation in the world would keep people from shying away from someone who looked like me. There’s a good reason I don’t do face to face meetings. Most of the time, I run the show from my home so as not to offend the sensibilities of the clientele.�
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  Switching to gauze pads and bandages, he began taping over the cut. “I’m arrogant, argumentative, and most people don’t like me very much because I don’t share with anyone. When people tell me no, my attitude gets worse. My manager does not trust women and had made it a point to smear Ms. Randall’s name, which.” He managed to look sheepish. “Made me want to look into it all the more, just to see what caused him to look down his nose at Tarrington Security.”

  Closing her eyes, Carmen relaxed under the warm, gentle touch. “I hate arrogant men and even worse, prissy chauvinistic gay men.”

  His green eyes reflected the firelight as he finished taping and offered her a hand up. “How did you know he’s gay?”

  “Because a manager who never trusts women, tries to smear my boss’s good reputation, and is as tight lipped as the rest of your roadies is either very good at his job or has no interest in females.” Carmen took the hand, ignoring the jolt of heat branding her skin, and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. “Now, since I know from the file I have, you always treat your people fair and pay them top dollar, I’m betting he’s gay. Probably overbearing, over protective and overreacts to any situation which doesn’t fit a strict parameter set by him.”

  A rich, melodious laugh escaped from lips which Carmen knew were oh-so-soft. “You have Sam pegged on the dot. He’s more like a mother hen than a manager. He’s been with me since the beginning of my career and has kept the women at arm’s length. Even after the...” He looked away. “Accident.”

  “You want to tell me what happened? And you’re avoiding my question, you know. I can’t keep calling you Rogue or The Rogue every time I want your attention. The moment people hear the name, you’ll have screaming women, fans big and small, not to mention potential killers mobbing you.”

  “I was attacked by a tiger several years ago.” He kept a hold of her hand. “The visual scars are not something I wish to inflict on the public. Unlike you, however, I must be seen. So I wear the mask to not only protect my identity, but to keep the scars from detracting from the performances.”

  Carmen smiled. “Aren’t we just two of a kind now? A man who hides from the world while being completely seen, and a woman who isn’t seen, yet plays a major part in it. Now, you are stalling. At least give me some sort of name.” Carmen didn’t need to see the pain in his eyes to know he didn’t want to delve any further into those memories, so she deliberately changed the subject to lighten the mood.

  He grinned. “You are like Khan with a chew toy he doesn’t want to give up. When you need to, you may call me Sean. But please, it just between the two of us. Not even my manager knows this name. To everyone, I am just The Rogue. Master Illusionist and Magician.”

  “Sean, then. Now, before the day gets too much farther along, introduce me to your furry beast who wanted a piece of me, then we need to go through this place and work on the private security.”

  Sean pulled her close to his body and stared into her eyes. “And tomorrow?” He whispered softly. He seemed unable to stop himself from holding her.

  Putting a hand on his chest, Carmen smiled up at him. “Tomorrow, we start getting you used to being integrated with my team.” The thump of his heart through his black t-shirt seemed to caress her hand with each beat.

  Leaning down, his lips almost brushed hers before she stepped out of range. “What?”

  Carmen blushed slightly, “I’d best keep calling you The Rogue because if I don’t, I’m going to break my own rules.”

  “Which are?” A wicked gleam lightened his eyes.

  “Never get emotionally involved with the client, never let it cloud your judgment of any situation, and never ever mix business with pleasure.” She smiled apologetically to him. “And you, my dear Rogue, are sending my imagination into places it has no right to dive into.”

  Sean bowed regally to her, then looked off in the corner. “Khan,” At a huffing noise, “get over here. You need to recognize her and not eat her the next time she shows up.”

  A rumbling grumble followed the massive form moving into the firelight. Carmen looked him over then knelt and held out her hand. After the attack by the snow leopard, she’d been determined not to allow herself to be debilitated by fear. To defeat it, she’d gone out of her way to visit wild animal parks, zoos, and other places to conquer her fear. So the sight of a regal tiger approaching her caused only a slight twitch. “He’s beautiful. How did you manage to get this handsome cat past government policies?”

  Sean, AKA The Rogue shrugged. “His mother had been killed by poachers in India. My best friend and I were doing research for one of my newest illusions and were being escorted by the rangers when we accidentally stumbled across the camp. The army had already arrested and transported the poachers off to the local jail and packed up the evidence into crates for transport in large trucks. It seems they missed the small cub, hiding in the bushes, watching everything. With no one to watch out for him, he would have died.” He paused, “One of our rangers was going to do a mercy killing, but I talked him out of it.”

  Carmen ran her hand through the thick fur and scratched his ears. She was pleased when the great cat leaned into her fingers, moving closer, she worked her hands over the white coat, feeling its texture. “And the legality of him being here?”

  “A few payoffs, an inspection by a vet, and the good graces of all parties combined. I took him in and we sort of made an agreement. I provide him with all the meat and chew toys he wants and he keeps me safe and helps with the illusions I create.”

  “Sounds like you two have a great bond. Almost in sync with each other.” She let Khan get a good sniff of her, then stood up. “Okay kids, time for me to get very annoying.”

  Both of them stared at her. “What?”

  She gave them both a stern look. “We’re going to get busy and figure out the best road to take with you both. If my team hasn’t got your list of performance dates, times of arrival, the whole party package yet, you’d best call your manager and tell him to give them what they need. Next, you’re going to have someone get out here and repair the wall in the back of your property. It’s how I got in, by the way. Third, I take my work seriously as you probably have noticed. It means you don’t question me, you don’t argue, you go along with the program because it’s for your own safety. If it isn’t an emergency I’ll let you know why something is being done, otherwise please, just do what we ask.”

  “You think I’m going to just hand over my life to you because of a few threatening notes and a sabotaged illusion.” Anger laced Sean’s voice as he stared at her.

  Carmen gave him the look his comment deserved. “Yes, and before you start arguing, I’m calling Ian over at The Red Aurochs to have my stuff delivered here. My job is to keep you safe, remember? You threw down this little gauntlet, now you have to deal with having it thrown back in your face. Before you get too indignant, let’s get out of this dreary room and back into the afternoon sun so I don’t feel like I’m in a cave with no hope of escape.”

  An hour later, she was standing on top of the wall, staring down at an angry human and an even angrier tiger. “If I had wanted to kill you, there are more than enough ways to get in here.” Carmen scooped up some snow from the two foot wide ledge and packed it into a snowball. “One of them would be as easy as this.” she lobbed it at Sean before taking off at a run.

  A shout of suprise told her she’d hit the mark and Carmen stopped to look... and almost fell off the wall laughing at the melting snow plastered on Sean’s mask. Controlling her amusement, she tilted her head. “If it had been a grenade, there wouldn’t have been enough of you or Khan to put in a shoebox.”

  “You’ve made your point about the wall.” Sean wiped the slush off his face. “What else?”

  Looking at the mansion from her vantage point. Carmen sighed and lept to the ground into a snowbank. What she didn’t expect was landing and sinking up to her chest in deep snow. The shock of cold and the feel of it dripping in
to her clothes forced a yip of startlement from her. Struggling only made her sink deeper into the snow. “And here I thought my dignity was intact.” she muttered to the air around her.

  Khan bounded over and whuffed in her face before rubbing his cheek against hers. Seconds later, he bounded out of the way of a snowball aimed at her head. “Oh you two have had it now.”

  Soon enough, white spheres of snow were flying in both directions. Khan, having no hands, ran interference for Sean, and got more than his fair share of snowballs aimed at him. Laughing, Carmen kicked a shower of show in Khan’s direction, then tackled him into the snowbank which she’d dug herself out of. Not easy to do when the animal is over two hundred pounds, but Carmen managed it.

  “Tag! You’re it.” She shouted, then ran straight at Sean.

  With a roar of offended feline pride, Khan shook himself free of the snow and gave chase. So intent on Carmen, he didn’t notice Sean was the target until she dove to one side. With no time to stop his charge, Khan ran into Sean with enough force to send them rolling across the courtyard, coming to a stop only when they hit the wall to the mansion. The resulting collision illicited a groan from the human and a rumbling moan from the tiger.

  Carmen immediately ran over to make sure they were both alright, only to be grabbed by Sean and dragged down into his arms. Khan got his own form of revenge by nibbling on her snow boot. Not enough to puncture, just enough to let her know she’d been ‘tagged’. Laughing, Sean gathered her up in a bear hug

  “Surrender, fair maiden, or we’ll continue to hold you prisoner until you do.” Sean purred softly in her ear.

  Carmen laughed. “Fair maiden my ass. The only time someone said those two words to me was when I played Juliet to Bobby Moran’s Romeo in third grade.” She snuggled into the warmth while tugging at her foot. “C’mon Khan. Leggo of my foot.”