Protecting the Boss

by Beverly Long

  She looked him right in the eye. “I’m scared to death.”

  It might have been the first really honest thing that she’d said to him.

  “Why?”

  “There’s a thousand things that could go wrong. Preeclampsia. Placental abruption. I mean, I know medicine is very advanced but still, bad things happen. Abigail isn’t concerned. That’s good, of course.” She stopped. “Whatever you do, don’t repeat this conversation. It bothers her that I worry.”

  And she didn’t want her sister bothered about anything.

  Which is why she’d agreed to hiring security even though she clearly wasn’t happy about it. “I think it’s going to be okay,” he said.

  “Oh, sure,” she said, not sounding convinced. But Abigail was approaching and Megan gave her a big smile. “Did you get some rest?”

  “I did. And such a stroke of luck that we got invited. Otherwise, I was going to have to learn to play belote.” She turned to Seth. “It’s a French card game.”

  “We speak poker here,” he said. “I see you got something to drink.”

  Abigail held up her water. “Trey took care of me.”

  “What would you like?” he asked Megan. “We’ve got a bartender here. I imagine a piña colada is within the realm of possibility.”

  “White wine will be fine,” she said.

  “You two go ahead,” Abigail said. “Trey was going to find Kellie and meet me back here.”

  Seth motioned Megan to precede him down the hall. They’d set the bar up in the break room. There were three choices of white wine, all equally good. They also had red wine and craft beers and all kinds of liquor for mixed drinks. Hagney, a friend of Kellie McGarry’s from when she’d been a cocktail waitress at Lavender, was bartending.

  “That one is perfect,” Megan said. “Thank you.” She took the wine and turned.

  Hagney’s eyes met his and the message was clear. Wow.

  Indeed. “Business,” he mouthed. Then turned quickly back to Megan. “I’d like you to meet my partner Royce Morgan.” He led her back to a conference room where Royce stood in the corner, swaying back and forth. Grace, oblivious to the noise, was sleeping on his shoulder. He’d never seen his partner look so comfortable and confident.

  “Royce, this is Megan North. She’s a new client.”

  Royce smiled, shifted the baby slightly so that he could shake Megan’s hand. “Thank you for choosing Wingman Security.”

  Seth wondered if she’d correct Royce, insisting that she hadn’t chosen them but rather, they’d been pushed on her. But she just smiled. “You’re welcome. How old is your little girl?”

  “Seven months. Her name is Grace.”

  “She’s beautiful,” she said.

  “Takes after her mom,” he said. “Who is traveling on business, so Grace and I are plotting big things that could involve banana pudding.”

  “However is she sleeping through this?” she asked, taking a sip of wine.

  “I have no idea. It’s crazy, really. At two in the morning, a dog barking three blocks away can awaken her.”

  “I’ll bet you always get to the crib first,” Seth said.

  “Maybe,” Royce acknowledged, not at all embarrassed that Grace had him tied around her little finger.

  Seth saw Trey and Kellie across the room and waved them over. “And you met Trey earlier and, of course, you know Kellie.”

  Kellie and Megan hugged. “So good to see you again,” Megan said. “Congratulations,” she added, smiling at Kellie.

  Kellie smiled back. “It’s good to be out. We spent the day babyproofing our house.”

  Seth rolled his eyes. “I can just imagine the ingenious tips this guy had up his sleeve.”

  Kellie, who looked like a million bucks at seven months pregnant with twins, winked at Megan. “Trey has a bit of MacGyver in him but it’s served me well in the past, so I’m not complaining. I’m on my way to find Abigail in the lobby.”

  “Go,” Seth said. He motioned to Megan. “Come on. We’ll find Rico. He’s the fourth partner.” He led her to yet another conference room and got the man’s attention. “Megan North, this is Rico Metez and his soon-to-be wedded wife, Laura Collins, who is incredibly nice and defies all those wives’ tales about redheads and their tempers.”

  “Good of you to come tonight,” Rico said.

  “Nice of you to extend the invite,” Megan said.

  “Rico was just telling me about your assignment, Seth,” Laura said, her green eyes bright. “I’m a little jealous,” she added, turning to Megan. “Your boutiques sound very exciting.”

  “I understand you’ve got some excitement of your own in the near future,” Megan said.

  Laura smiled. “We’re grateful that Seth will be back in time for the wedding. Awkward when one of the best men is absent.”

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Seth said. “You two planning to honeymoon in Colorado at the cabin?”

  “Of course,” Laura said. “Hannah is coming along but Jennie and Paddie, friends of Rico’s since he was a child,” she added for Megan’s benefit, “have offered to keep her for a few days to give us some adult time.”

  “Good plan,” he said. “We’ll catch you later.”

  He led Megan down the hallway and used his key to open his now-dark office. He turned on a lamp and soft light filled the room. He left the door partially open. “I need just a minute away from the noise,” he said. “And I wanted to make sure we got our schedules coordinated for tomorrow before the night gets too late.”

  “I’m still getting used to the idea that I need to coordinate with you,” she said. “I hope you don’t think I’m rude but I’m really not confident that security is necessary.”

  “That’s the funny thing about security. You really don’t want an event to occur just so that you can prove you’re getting your money’s worth.”

  “I suppose not,” she said. “I’m curious as to what kind of threat you might be anticipating.”

  “I’ll be ready for anything.”

  “That sounds rather...”

  “Confident,” he supplied.

  “I was thinking smug.”

  He couldn’t help it—he laughed.

  “I’m planning on leaving late afternoon. A rental car is getting dropped off at the boutique for me,” she said.

  “A rental? How did you get here from Carmel?”

  “Abigail drove her car. But she’s staying on in Vegas for the next two weeks. Thus, the rental.”

  “Can you give me the contact number? I’m going to want to be added as a driver.”

  “I’m driving. So that won’t be necessary.”

  He’d hit a hot button. It was rather fun to rattle her cage. Her perfect chin got a little sharper and her nose went into the air ever so slightly.

  “It only makes sense that both of us be able to drive. I mapped out the best routes today between the various cities.”

  “I’ve already done that.”

  “Okay. Then you know that there are many days that we’ll have a couple hundred miles to cover. It’s a lot of driving for one person.”

  “I’m driving,” she repeated.

  He let out a loud sigh.

  “Oh, fine.” She opened her purse, pulled out her phone and scanned through her contacts. Then turned slightly to lean over his desk to write the number down on a notepad, giving him a truly excellent look at her backside.

  Yep. Perfect, coming and going.

  Chapter 3

  When she finished writing down the information, she turned, but not before her eye caught the photo on the credenza behind Seth’s desk. Him, younger and in a flight suit, standing next to a plane. Her throat felt suddenly tight. “I didn’t realize you were a pilot,” she said.

  “Air force for eight years. That
’s where I met Royce, Trey and Rico. Flew an F-16.”

  “They’re all pilots, too.” She felt suddenly sick.

  “Nope. Royce worked security, Trey was a plane mechanic and Rico was tactical communications.”

  “Do you fly still?”

  “Is the pope Catholic?”

  Probably because she showed no reaction, he added, “Yes. I have a Beechcraft Bonanza housed at the North Vegas airport.”

  “I’m not terribly familiar with airplanes. Is that a nice one?”

  He smiled. “Nice enough that I’ll need to keep working for a while in order to pay for it. But on a nice day, cruising along at 175 knots, I can barely remember that.”

  “Right.” They needed to talk about something else.

  “You know, I never wanted to be a pilot,” he said.

  Okay. That didn’t make sense. “I’m not sure I understand.”

  “My dad was an air force pilot. Killed when I was two.”

  That sucked the oxygen out of her lungs. “In combat?”

  He shook his head. “Training exercise. That doesn’t make it any easier.”

  “Of course it doesn’t,” she said quickly, irritated that he’d think she thought that. She would be the last person to ever think that. But that was none of his business, either. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  He nodded but said nothing, as if he might be waiting for her to say something else. But really, she knew that words meant little, gave little respite. It dawned on her that he might already know about her parents—after all, his partner Trey had undoubtedly heard the story from Kellie.

  But she didn’t talk about it.

  Ever.

  “Listen, I’m not sure how this...um...security assignment works,” she said. “What you will be doing, I mean.”

  “What I won’t do is try to stand out in any way. The best security is one that is there but not too obvious.”

  “Well, if fitting in is your goal, you probably need to know that there is one black-tie event.”

  “Really.” He paused. “I was hoping I could pack my tux.”

  She knew sarcasm when she heard it. But the idea of him in a tux was a nice one. Sometime this afternoon, he’d changed out of his wrinkled shirt and pants into nicely pressed gray silk trousers and a blue-and-gray button-down long-sleeved shirt. He looked really good.

  “We...uh...should probably rejoin the party,” she said.

  He immediately pushed the door wide open. “Of course.”

  People were filling plates from the lavish buffet that had been set up in one corner of the lobby. They sat with Abigail at one of the high-topped tables. The food was delicious, and then it was present time for Kellie and Trey and for Laura and Rico. Both Seth’s bears and the scotch seemed to be big hits.

  It was really fun. Certainly not how she’d intended to spend the night in a city where she knew no one. But once people had settled in for an after-dinner drink, she stood up. “It’s getting late,” she said to her sister. “I’ll share a cab with you.”

  “No need,” Abigail said. “Evan is flying in tonight and he’s going to pick me up on his way from the airport. I just got a text from him. He should be here in ten minutes or so. We can drop you off.”

  “Your new husband, who has not seen you for six whole days, is not going to want his sister-in-law around. Even for ten minutes. I’ll take a cab.”

  “I’ll go with her,” Seth said, looking at Abigail. He turned to Megan. “I’m your security.”

  She shook her head. “Store and event security. And that starts tomorrow.”

  He shrugged. “Details,” he said, dismissing her objection. “At Wingman Security, we aim to under-promise and over-deliver.”

  “Let him,” Abigail said. “Please.”

  “Fine,” she said. It wasn’t that big of a deal. The ride would be shorter than the argument they might have about it.

  “We can go down to the lobby together,” Abigail said. She grabbed Megan’s hand. “Let’s go say goodbye to Kellie.”

  Once they had done that and were back at the elevators, she saw that Seth had put on a sports coat. He’d also retrieved her umbrella and he passed it to her before pressing the elevator button. There were several others leaving at the same time, which prevented conversation in the elevator. Once they were in the downstairs lobby, it was just minutes before a car pulled up outside and her brother-in-law got out. Abigail saw him and exited the building so fast that Evan didn’t even make it to the front door.

  She watched as they kissed like the pair of newlyweds that they were. Her new brother-in-law was handsome, educated and rich. And definitely not good enough for Abigail. But who would be? “They almost didn’t get married,” she said.

  “Sounds like a good story,” Seth said.

  “They’d been dating for almost a year when Abigail unexpectedly got pregnant. He immediately wanted to get married but she told him no four times. I honestly thought he’d give up asking.”

  “She didn’t want to get married.”

  “She didn’t want to be an obligation.” Said she’d had enough of that in her lifetime. Megan didn’t tell Seth that last part. It would lead to all kinds of questions that she really didn’t want to answer. “But he finally convinced her that it was love, not obligation, that had him all but begging in the streets.”

  “And you like him?” Seth asked.

  “I do. And I’m pretty sure that he thinks that she’s the moon and stars all rolled into one. And I think he’ll be a good dad.”

  “That’s important,” he said simply. He opened the door and flagged down a cab.

  The vehicle traffic was even heavier than it had been earlier and the cab inched along at times. Definitely a city that came alive late in the evening. And there were lots of people not in cars. The crosswalks were filled with pedestrians. They waited long minutes even when they had the right of way to turn. “Where do all these people come from?” she said.

  “Everywhere. The appeal of Vegas is far-reaching.”

  “Are you a gambler?”

  “Hard to live here and not try your luck once in a while. My mother lives in town and she likes slot machines, so we go sometimes. But most of the time, I prefer to bet on things where the odds are better.”

  “Did your mother ever remarry after your father died?”

  He shook his head. “No. I wish she would have,” he said. “She should have.”

  Like Mrs. McGarry, his mom had been left to carry on alone. Would either one of her parents have wanted that?

  “So, have you always lived in Carmel?”

  She was grateful for the change in subject. “All my life,” she said. The cab slowed to pull in to the circular drive of the opulent Periwinkle hotel. It was jammed with cars.

  She looked behind them. There was a break in the traffic. “This is fine,” she said to the driver. She opened her purse to pay but Seth beat her to it, handing the man cash. When he opened the door, she slid across the seat of the cab. Her purse strap slipped off her silk dress and the small bag fell to the ground. She bent at the same time he did to pick it up.

  Just as bullets tore into the roof of the cab, ripping the metal.

  * * *

  “Stay down!” he yelled. He put one hand on her head to reinforce his words and the other around her to move her out of the street. The cab took off, door still open.

  Fifteen big steps had them inside the circular drive, behind a half wall. Arriving guests had abandoned their luggage and flocked inside. Hotel valet staff were crouched down, scanning the street.

  “Are you okay?” he demanded, checking her. She was pale but there was no blood. She had not been hit.

  “Were they shooting at us?” she asked.

  It sure as hell had felt like it. “I don’t know,” he said. “Who have you pissed
off, Megan?”

  Her head jerked up. “No one,” she said.

  “I was kidding.” Sort of. Random shootings occurred. But not that often in the high-rent district that the Periwinkle occupied. It was bad for tourism. He heard the sounds of approaching police. Response time would be fast here.

  “What’s the name of the competitor that you bested?” He’d thought he was going to have plenty of time to get into this but gunshots had a way of expediting conversations.

  “J.T. Daly’s. But they’re a big operation. I really don’t think that they would be all that upset about not getting our four stores. And I certainly don’t want to publicly malign them without proof.”

  He understood that she was warning him to be careful with any unfounded accusations he might make. “I won’t skewer them but I think it’s worth a mention to the police.”

  Once the police arrived, both he and Megan gave a statement. He was pretty sure the shots had come from behind them, to their left, and gave that information to the cops. “I think you’ll be able to get a slug out of the cab’s roof,” he added. That made the cops happy. In a succinct manner, Seth also explained about J.T. Daly’s and how the retailer might have a bone to pick with Megan. The cops made no comments but dutifully took notes.

  The process seemed to take forever. Hotel management hovered nearby and when the police were done with them, the night manager apologized profusely and offered to send food or alcohol to Megan’s room. She declined both.

  He thought a double on the rocks would be nice. He generally had real steady nerves—most pilots did. But the vision of what those bullets might have done to her skull wasn’t a good one.

  “Thanks for getting me out of the street,” she said. “I’m not great in those situations—I tend to freeze. And that might not have been good.”

  “You did fine,” he said. She had. She’d stayed low, moved quickly and thus far, hadn’t cried.

  “I’m hoping that’s the most excitement we have for the next twelve days,” she said. They were at the bank of elevators. She extended her hand. “Good night.”

  He ignored her head. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to make sure that you get to your room safely.”