Vindicated, page 2
part #1 of Atlanta's Finest Series
Just the thought sent a delicious shiver through her.
Dakota eased her hand from his grip and swallowed. Her palm still prickled as she glided it down the side of her jean-covered leg.
“I see Ted trying to get your attention,” Justin said nodding his head toward where one of the crew members was standing near a trailer. He had both hands up, and each finger spread, signaling she needed to be on set in ten minutes.
Dakota sighed. “Sorry, fellas. Duty calls. It was nice meeting you guys. Unfortunately, I have to get going. But first…”
She handed her coffee to Justin. “You didn’t even finish it,” he said.
“Hold it for a second.” She snatched the pen sticking out of his shirt pocket and reached for Dominic’s hand. Dakota scribbled her telephone number in his palm as he giggled and squirmed under her touch.
“Call me sometime, and um…give your dad my number.”
Dominic’s wide grin lit up his face. “Okay.”
Dakota returned Justin’s pen, thanked him before reaching for her coffee cup, then turned and walked away. She put a little extra hip action into her walk since she could feel Hamilton’s gaze on her.
Justin had been right. Dominic was the perfect cure for a crappy day. The renewed energy was just what she needed to get through more filming. Now, hopefully, his father would take the hint and give her a call.
Then again, she couldn’t help wondering what Justin meant by that comment about Hamilton when he said, He wasn’t ready.
Chapter Two
Hamilton’s gaze followed the leggy beauty, surprised by her blatant flirtation. His whole body had come alive the moment their hands touched. The electrifying charge that shot through him couldn’t be hidden and he was sure she saw the reaction when his brows shot up. That had been a first.
Damn, she looks good.
He hadn’t been able to ignore her lithe, curvaceous body in the snug T-shirt, and the tight jeans cupping her butt perfectly. To say Dakota Sherrod was fit would be an understatement. She had a face like an angel and a body that should be on the cover of a fitness magazine.
But it had been her intriguing honey-brown, almost golden, eyes that had totally blown his mind.
“She’s pretty, isn’t she?” Dominic said grinning, reminding Hamilton that his son and brother were standing next to him, watching him gawk at the woman. “And she’s a stuntwoman. You shoulda saw her jump off the top of the building. It was so cool!” With the awe in his son’s voice, it was obvious that he was captivated by the woman.
Hamilton couldn’t much blame him, and he had to agree with his son’s assessment. Dakota was definitely pretty, but she looked a little young. Maybe late twenties, early thirties with a short pixie haircut and skin the color of sun-kissed bronze.
“I take it you’re interested,” Justin said close to Hamilton’s ear.
Hamilton had been around plenty of beautiful women in his life, but it had been a long time since one had immediately sparked his interest.
“Maybe,” he said to his brother as they all headed toward the exit. “Thanks for showing Dominic around today. Was he any trouble?”
“Not at all. As a matter of fact, he was perfect for cheering up Dakota.”
“Why did he have to cheer her up?” Hamilton asked as they watched Dominic skip ahead like only an excited kid could do while they trailed behind him.
“It’s crazy, man. The director’s been riding her ass since the project started, and he hasn’t let up. It’s amazing that she’s been able to put up with his shit.”
“Is he harassing her?”
“Not exactly. He’s just being a jerk. Almost like he’s trying to get her to quit, but I wouldn’t call it harassment…exactly. Dakota thinks he wants or had wanted someone else in her role, but she’s not sure what his problem is. So far, he hasn’t thrown anything at her she can’t handle. Today, I saw her having words with the guy, and though I wasn’t close enough to hear the exchange, it looked pretty heated.”
Hamilton wanted to ask more questions but didn’t. If Justin had the smallest hint that he was interested in the woman, his brother would be quick to play matchmaker.
“Are you done for the day?” he asked Justin.
“Not yet. I have a few more hours of work. We need to erect twenty-foot scaffolding and build a few temporary walls for a set that’s needed by the end of the week.”
After working in his degreed field of mechanical engineering, five years ago Justin announced to the family that he planned to start his own rigging construction company. Hamilton had jumped at the opportunity to invest in the venture, and the business had exceeded the five-year projections.
Hamilton looked up to find Dominic running back to them. “Dad, there’s a food truck,” he pointed toward the exit. “Can I have some money to buy a sandwich?”
“I’ll walk out with you guys,” Justin said.
The food truck was parked on the street a few feet from the gate. Cast and crew members huddled near it, some eating while others stood in line to order.
Hamilton handed Dominic a ten-dollar bill and started to follow him to the truck.
“Dad, I’m not a baby. I can go by myself.”
Hamilton stopped and huffed out a breath. He’d been hearing those same words more often than not lately.
Justin chuckled. “That boy is a trip.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
Instead of irritating his kid by following behind him, he and Justin stood off to the side where they could still see him.
Hamilton’s heart swelled at the thought that his child was growing up and becoming more independent. Some days he found it hard to believe he had a nine-year-old. The kid was sprouting up like a weed on a daily basis, making him realize he didn’t have a baby anymore. At forty-one, Hamilton had planned to be married with at least three kids by now, but that hadn’t been in the cards for him.
“So, what did you think of Dakota?” Justin asked.
Hamilton glanced at his brother who was trying to look nonchalant after posing the question. His family and friends had been attempting to fix him up with one woman after another, especially lately.
After leaving the police force and then ending his engagement to Jackie, Dominic’s mother, Hamilton hadn’t been interested in getting involved in another serious relationship. He’d been suffering through a string of one-night stands, but lately, he’d been thinking about settling down with one woman. Maybe his family sensed that change in him, prompting them to butt into his social life even more.
“Damn, Ham.” Justin frowned and folded his thick arms across his chest. “It wasn’t a hard question. Hell, you either like her or you don’t.”
“Why do I have a feeling running into Ms. Sherrod wasn’t a coincidence?”
Justin rolled his eyes. “She’s good people, man. And it’s time for you to get off of that self-inflicted…punishment that you put yourself on. Shit happens. Time to get over that mess from the past and move on.”
“I’m not on a punishment. I just haven’t been interested in getting involved in anything serious. Besides, my number-one focus right now is raising Dom. Outside of work, that doesn’t leave much time for anything else.”
“That’s bullshit. You can lie to me but stop lying to yourself. I know…hell, we all know why you hook up with women who you have no intention of having a relationship with.”
Hamilton glanced back at the line that was slowly moving and watching Dominic observe the people around him. He was such an astute, intuitive kid, rarely missing much.
Sighing, Hamilton thought about his brother’s words. Had he been punishing himself for something that happened years ago? He hadn’t looked at it like that. He had lost faith in happily-ever-afters. To him, his unwillingness to trust women or let one get too close stemmed from the need to protect himself against the women who meant him no good.
“Listen, man. You and Dakota are perfect for each other.”
Hamilton narrowed his eyes at his brother. “Why? What makes her so perfect for me?”
“For one, did you see that woman? She’s hot as hell.”
Hamilton laughed. “No argument there, but I meet beautiful women all the time. There has to be more to her than a cute face and gorgeous body to keep my interest.”
Overseeing security at Club Masquerade, the hottest nightclub in Atlanta, brought him into contact with some of the sexiest women alive. The same was the case as a managing partner at Supreme Security Agency. On a daily basis, he came face to face with models, actresses, and all types of women who needed and could afford their security services.
“Secondly, she’s smart, funny, and one of the nicest people I’ve ever met,” Justin continued. “Besides all of that, she’s the one person I know could put up with your prickly ass.”
Hamilton had to laugh at that. Both of his brothers were always saying that he was too serious and too hard on people. Truth was, he had a low tolerance for bullshit.
“Call her man. You won’t be disappointed, and I promise you two are going to hit it off.”
“How old is she?”
“Around thirty-four or thirty-five, and don’t even go there about robbing the cradle. A six-year difference is nothing.”
Hamilton looked up as Dominic approached them carrying a sandwich and a drink, a frown marring his face.
“What’s wrong?” Hamilton asked and accepted the change he was given.
“That guy in the truck had a picture of Dakota…I mean Ms. Dakota.”
“And?” Hamilton questioned, wondering what bothered his son about that, but a little surprised himself by the information.
“It was stuck on the wrapper.” He held up his sandwich. “I saw it before he grabbed it, and I asked what he was doing with her picture.”
“What did the man say?” Justin asked.
“He said she was his woman.” Dominic spat the words as if they were a bitter taste on his tongue. “I know he was lying.”
Hamilton didn’t speak and Justin stopped laughing. Dominic might’ve only been nine, but he was a sharp kid and very intuitive. He was also a good judge of character.
“How do you know he was lying?” Justin asked before Hamilton formed the words.
“Uncle Laz told me what to look for when someone is lying,” he said absently as he handed Hamilton his drink and then started unwrapping his sandwich. “That guy had shifty eyes and when he laughed, he sounded like Woody in Toy Story.”
On that, Justin fell out laughing, as if Steve Harvey himself had told him the funniest joke.
Hamilton couldn’t hide his own smile, especially considering how serious Dominic looked. His Uncle Laz—Hamilton’s best friend Lazarus Dimas—was a police detective with Atlanta PD and Dominic’s godfather. Laz treated him like his own, and they talked on a daily basis. Normally Hamilton was okay with their conversations, but occasionally he had to remind Laz that Dominic was only a nine-year-old kid. Laz’s argument was always that it was never too early to teach his godson life lessons.
“Man, Dom, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You are truly your father’s son,” Justin said to Dominic before he turned to Hamilton. “Now I know why he wants to be a cop. He’s even more suspicious than you.”
“Uncle Jay, I changed my mind, remember? I’m going to be a stuntman.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right.”
Still thinking about the photo, Hamilton said, “Dominic, maybe the guy has a picture of Ms. Dakota because she’s an actress. A lot of people get autographed photos of people they…admire, especially if—”
“It didn’t have her name on it, and she’s not an actress. She’s a stuntwoman. You don’t see the stuntpeople’s face in the movies,” Dominic said and took a bite of his sandwich.
Justin looked at Hamilton, his left brow raised as if to say good point.
Like in many conversations with his son, Hamilton didn’t have a comeback.
“I think I’m going to have Uncle Laz check it out,” Dominic said, sounding like a cop before he reached for his drink which Hamilton had still been holding.
“Dom, look,” Hamilton started, trying to pick his words carefully. “It’s none of our business whether that guy was lying or not. Who knows, he might’ve been telling the truth.”
Dominic shook his head. “No, he wasn’t,” he said with conviction. “Ms. Dakota wouldn’t like him. He looked…creepy.”
Hamilton frowned. “And how would you know what she’d like or not like? Exactly how much time did you guys spend together?” he asked and then glanced at his brother, who threw up his hands.
“I just know. And because she likes you. I saw the way she looked at you.”
Justin laughed again. “This kid is too much. I almost hate I have to get back to work.” He pulled Dominic into a headlock and hugged him tightly. “Later, little dude. Thanks for the laughs today. It’s been real.”
“Thanks for letting me come to work with you, Uncle Jay. It was a lotta fun.”
“No problem, kid.” Justin turned to Hamilton, grinning. “I agree with my nephew. Dakota was feeling you, man. Call her.”
As Hamilton walked the two blocks to his truck with Dominic by his side, he thought about his son’s observation. Was Dakota seeing the guy who had the food truck? She had openly flirted, even telling him to give her a call sometime. Would she have done that if she was involved with someone else?
Probably.
Hamilton knew from experience that some women couldn’t be trusted. What if Dakota was one of those women? Dating a man while flirting with another. Then again, maybe the guy had been lying. But why?
Hamilton shook the thoughts free as they approached his truck. He didn’t have time to try and figure out a woman he knew nothing about. If their paths crossed again, fine. If not, that was cool, too. No matter what his brother said, Hamilton wasn’t sure if he was ready to put his heart out there again anyway.
But he couldn’t deny that there was something about Dakota that piqued his interest. Question was—what to do about it?
Chapter Three
Hamilton tapped his pen against the top of the large mahogany table that served as his desk, his thoughts on Dakota again. It had been several days since he’d seen her, but a day hadn’t gone by that he didn’t think of her. Yet, he still hadn’t picked up the phone and called.
Why? He couldn’t pinpoint what it was about this woman that gave him pause. His initial impression of her ticked off numerous qualities he looked for in a woman. Attractive. Physically fit. Adventurous.
The fact that Dominic hadn’t stopped talking about Dakota was a plus. His son meant everything to him, so whoever Hamilton settled down with would have to be able to get along with his kid.
Noting the time at the bottom right corner of his laptop screen, Hamilton pushed back from the table. He had fifteen minutes to get downstairs to his meeting with Atlanta’s finest—the nickname they had given their security specialists. The bodyguards, comprised of over thirty men and a few women, worked out of the Atlanta office and most were former cops or had served in other areas of law enforcement. Once a week, he and Mason met with the team, updating them on new assignments and discussing any issues.
Hamilton grabbed the half-full cup of black coffee he’d been nursing for part of the morning and snatched up his tablet before heading out of his office.
“Oh Ham, I’m glad I caught you,” Egypt Durand, their executive assistant said as she hurried into the main area of the office suite carrying several file folders. Dressed in a pink jacket with a skinny black belt around her narrow waist, and a short black skirt with bold white and pink flowers, she looked professional and stylish at the same time. How she managed to flutter around the office in her sky-high heels always mystified Hamilton, but she did it without missing a step.
“Mason said he won’t be back until later this afternoon. Are you able to cover his agenda items?”
“Sure, not a problem.”
“Great, I need to add two things to his section of the agenda, though.” She pulled a file folder from one of the drawers. Hamilton waited patiently as she jotted notes onto a slip of paper.
Unlike the security specialists hired by Supreme Security Agency-Atlanta, Egypt didn’t have a law enforcement or military background. She was the sister of one of their team members and had worked in corporate America for fifteen years before seeking employment with their agency.
She pushed her long dreadlocks over her shoulder as she wrote feverishly. Hamilton didn’t even want to think about how chaotic the office would operate without her. For the last four years, she had supported him and Mason Bennett, one of the owners who was in charge of the Atlanta office and never complained. As far as Hamilton was concerned, she could ask anything of him and he’d get it done.
Egypt handed him the slip of paper. “Okay, I think that’s everything. Oh, and don’t forget you have two interviews. One at eleven, and the other at two this afternoon.”
“Yes, ma’am. Got it.”
He left for the first-floor meeting room, his black Stacy Adams shoes clicking against the polished concrete floor as he walked past the set of elevators, opting for the stairs. The ten-thousand-square-foot renovated warehouse housed everything they needed and then some. The luxuries included a state-of-the-art gym, indoor shooting range, crash rooms, a huge well-stocked kitchen, and a helipad on the roof.
Hamilton couldn’t ask for a better place to work. After leaving Atlanta PD ten years ago, and despite having a degree in criminology, he hadn’t been sure what he’d do with the rest of his life. All he knew was that he had a young son on the way and he wanted a safer and more flexible job. He had started with overseeing security for Club Masquerade, owned by Mason’s family. Now, as a new managing partner at Supreme, Hamilton didn’t spend as much time at the club and his professional life had exceeded his expectations.
