He drove out, checking the surroundings. There were cars parked on the street, but he couldn’t tell if people were in them. He waited until he was on the main road, driving fast before he told Holly she could sit up.
“Ah, finally.” Holly stretched her back.
He squeezed her thigh. “Sorry.”
“Did you see anyone?”
“No. It was too dark to tell. But better safe than sorry, hey?”
“I know. And I want you to know that even though I think you’re being over-the-top, I really do appreciate that you care about my safety.”
“I care about you so much,” he murmured, grabbing her hand and kissing it.
“Same here,” she whispered.
He stopped at the set of lights and looked at her. She was grinning, and he grinned back. Despite the urgency and uncertainty of the situation at hand, right that moment, all he felt was bliss.
They got to Xavier and Eve’s in no time, and the couple’s garage door started opening. Jaxon drove in.
“I’m surprised Xave moved his car out,” Holly said.
“Well, the last thing we want is for someone to see you on the street, going into their house.”
Holly shook her head. “This is making me nervous. It’s all…too much.”
“Just as a precaution, babe,” he said reassuringly.
The garage door closed and Eve and Xavier came out to greet them.
“Hey,” Eve said, giving Holly a hug.
“Sorry to disturb you guys,” Holly said. “But Jax insisted.”
“Which is good,” Xavier said. “We don’t mind.”
“Well, I better go,” Jaxon said.
“Are you coming back to pick me up?” Holly asked.
“I’m not sure what time I’ll finish with Mum.”
“I’ll take you home tomorrow morning,” Xavier said. “I mean, later today.”
“I need to be at the studio by nine, so I need to be back at Jax’s at seven-thirty to have time to get ready before Bryce picks me up.”
“I’ll take you to work,” Xavier said. “I’ll just need to reschedule with a couple of clients.”
“No,” Holly said definitively. “Bryce will pick me up. I don’t want you rearranging your day when you don’t have to.”
Jaxon exchanged a surreptitious glance with Xavier. Holly was immovable about her bodyguard, and they couldn’t let her in on the whole thing yet.
“Anyway, you better go, Jax,” Holly said. “Hope all goes well with your mum.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you, guys.” He wanted to kiss Holly, but Eve and Xavier were watching. They didn’t know about them yet.
So, giving his new girlfriend the briefest of glances, Jaxon went back to his car. He waved to Eve when the garage door opened—glad that Xavier had ushered Holly inside to make it look like it was Xavier leaving—then raced to where Bryce was waiting for him.
He was ten minutes away when the sound of the ringing phone filled his car. “Bryce,” he answered.
“Hey, Joseph just got home,” Bryce said despondently. “We have to cancel our plans.”
“Will Mum agree to see us?”
“No. She specifically said not to let Joseph know I’ve been talking to her. We’ll be putting her in a worse spot if we do something tonight.”
“What in the fuck is going on, Bryce?”
“Why don’t you try to talk to her tomorrow? See if you can convince her to leave him?”
Jaxon raked his hair. “Okay, I’ll call her tomorrow. Where are you now?”
“On my way home.”
“I’ll meet you there.”
“No, go home. There’s nothing else we can do tonight, so we might as well get some sleep. I need to drive Holly to the studio in a few hours. And maybe we can meet in your office at, say, two in the afternoon? Holly should be in the middle of recording then, and she usually doesn’t expect me to sit around and wait for hours. I can go to your office, then we can call Mum together.”
“Good idea. See you then.”
“Bye, bro.”
“Bye.”
Jaxon called Aidan. “Anything suspicious happening in Avalon?”
“Not yet. Everything’s still quiet.”
Jaxon sighed in relief. “Then this might actually be a family thing, after all. Bryce called tonight off. He said Joseph came home. I’m meeting him in my office tomorrow so we can both talk to our mother. But I’ll go to Bryce’s to see if he does go home. If he’s coming from Mum’s, I should get to his place before he does.”
“Copy. I’ll call off your backup. In the meantime, I’ll continue to watch the cameras until you get home.”
“Thanks, Aidan. Sorry I interrupted your beauty sleep.”
Aidan snickered. “I can sleep in tomorrow, but you can’t. You have your JC Tax Franchise work to go to.”
“So how did you get that full-time gig with the IR? I take it you’re getting paid since you don’t have any other job.”
“I’ll tell you once you pass initiation,” Aidan said with a laugh.
“Can’t wait,” he said dryly. “Anyway, I’ll keep you posted.”
“Thanks. Bye.”
Jaxon shook his head. The sooner he became a full agent, the better. So much about the Indie Rebels intrigued him.
He was kind of jealous of Aidan being able to fully concentrate on his IR work. As for him, he still had his business to run—his livelihood. Admittedly, he was becoming good at delegating everything, so he was now only needed for top-level executive decisions.
Maybe Aidan had passive income somewhere else. Or maybe, once Jaxon had done enough IR work to pay for what the team had done for him in the past, he’d start to receive monetary compensation.
Not that he cared. Money was not an issue. Being an Indie Rebel had fast become a cause for him.
He arrived on Bryce’s street and stationed himself a block away from Bryce’s building. His brother should be coming from the other side, so there should little chance of Bryce noticing his car. Unfortunately, with Holly staying at his place, he hadn’t been using the car supplied to him by the IR—the one that wasn’t registered to his name.
It took ten minutes before he spotted Bryce’s vehicle turning into his building’s parking. Relief spread all over Jaxon. Or was that gratitude? So far Bryce had been consistent with his story. With no one trying to get into his Avalon place, it appeared this was all indeed about their mother.
He couldn’t wait for the real kidnappers to be caught so they could take Bryce off their suspect list. He’d be overjoyed.
But why had Bryce taken that picture near his gate? Why had he checked that Jaxon wouldn’t be home before going to Avalon to see Holly a couple of weeks ago?
Jaxon rubbed his face with both hands. He had to keep being suspicious to ensure Holly’s safety. But what he wouldn’t give for his brother to be innocent.
Chapter 9
Holly grabbed the lunch she’d asked Bryce to get for her and went into one of the recording studio’s lounge rooms. Luckily, people here were aware of her desire to be left alone during breaks. It kept her in the zone. At least, it usually did.
She’d been distracted today. Jaxon kept popping into her mind. She’d only seen him briefly earlier that morning when he’d come out to greet her and Xavier when Xavier had dropped her back at Avalon. Although he’d said their family issue was still ongoing, Jaxon had looked more relaxed.
She grinned. She couldn’t wait to tell Xavier and Eve about them, but they’d agreed to keep their new relationship to themselves for the time being. Maybe after they’d dated for a couple more months, they could let her family in on the secret. She couldn’t wait to invite Jaxon to their family dinners.
Oh, listen to her! Who was to say she and Jaxon would still be together after two months? She certainly didn’t have a good track record when it came to relationships.
But honestly, this time something felt different. She might be being too presumptuous, but she ha
d a feeling Jaxon could be the one. It was exciting—and terrifying. She was scared to lose him.
Her phone vibrated with a text message and her heart skipped. Jaxon was thinking about her too, asking how the recording was going. She answered him back.
It’s going okay. But I just can’t stop thinking about my boyfriend. He’s terribly distracting.
She unwrapped her tuna sandwich and bit into it while she waited for his response.
What a coincidence! I can’t stop thinking about my girlfriend too. I shouldn’t be too hard on myself, though. You see, she’s just hot. As in freaking hot. And she’s amazing inside and out—and in bed.
Holly laughed out loud, utterly thrilled.
I bet my boyfriend is hotter than your girlfriend.
You’d be wrong! Seriously, babe, missing you already. Is Bryce doing a good job of making sure you’re safe? Hope that’s all he’s doing, though.
She bit her lip.
Yes. He bought me lunch, then I told him he can go for a walk. Don’t flip out about that, please. I’m safe enough with so many people in here.
I trust you. I just don’t trust the kidnappers, and I still have a question mark on Bryce.
I’ll be fine. Please don’t worry.
Gotta go. See you tonight.
She sent him a kiss emoji.
She didn’t know what to do with Jaxon being so suspicious of Bryce. She just couldn’t imagine Smith Security missing anything important when checking Bryce’s background.
She Googled drug dealers and Whitsunday islands from her phone. But no matter how many different keyword combinations she used, she couldn’t bring up the article Jaxon had mentioned.
Perhaps Jaxon’s memory had failed him in this instance? Maybe the island he’d read about wasn’t in the Whitsundays?
Anyway, even if it were true, she was sure Smith Security would have investigated it. They’d probably already determined that Bryce wasn’t involved in anything illegal or criminal.
But Jaxon would want some proof, so she called Christine.
“Hey, Holly. How’s today going?”
“A bit slow, but not too bad. Hey, I wanted to ask about Smith Security’s report on Bryce. Did they give you something comprehensive or just a summary saying he’s a-okay?”
“It was a summary, as per usual, stating they’d done a comprehensive check on him. Why? Is something wrong?”
“No. It’s just that my family’s still anxious about the kidnapping threat. They said they’ll be more comfortable if my bodyguard’s someone already well-known to us, unlike Bryce.”
“Who do they have in mind?”
Holly sighed. “That’s the thing. There’s no one else we trust who’s able to take on the role full time. Anyway, can you forward me Smith’s email on Bryce? I want to show it to them to put their minds at ease.”
“Sure. Let me find it now… Here it is. Sent.”
“Thanks.”
“No worries. Anything else?”
“That’s it. I’ll see you Friday to discuss the details of that Heavenly Music Spa Retreat endorsement. I’m really excited about that because I love them so much.”
“They are so thrilled that you’ve agreed to endorse them. You’ll be taking me with you for the whole overnight trip, right?”
“Of course,” Holly said with a laugh. “No way my manager’s not going with me for the shoot.”
“Yay! Can’t wait. See you Friday, then.”
“Bye.”
Holly called up the email she’d asked for and read it. Hm. Apart from attaching a copy of Bryce’s resume, there was nothing in it that indicated Smith had had any concerns about Bryce. They had also included transcripts of seven references from celebrities and company executives, all extolling Bryce’s virtues.
Nothing raised a red flag in this email, but she could already hear Jaxon saying Smith might not have known about those drug dealers.
Well, she might as well help in getting this straightened out. She rang Smith Security and asked for Drew Hardy, the account manager who’d sent Christine the original email.
“Hello, Miss Stirling,” Drew said. “What can I help you with?”
“Hello, Drew. I just want to confirm something in relation to Bryce Green’s background check.”
“Is there a problem?”
“No, not at all. Bryce is doing great. My family’s just being overly cautious because of Anna Sanders’s disappearance. They want to make sure there were no stones left unturned regarding Bryce’s personal and work history. So could you tell me if you found anything whatsoever that could link Bryce to anything shady? I know that if you did find something, that you’ve already checked it out and everything’s fine, otherwise you wouldn’t have employed him. But my family just wants to know.”
“We’re always very thorough, Miss Stirling. You can tell your family there’s nothing for them to worry about.”
“I’ve already told them exactly that. How about you send me a copy of your complete background check on Bryce? That should satisfy them.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that because of privacy issues.”
“But hasn’t Bryce signed a document agreeing that you can release to me and my manager whatever information we want relating to his suitability for the role? Your background check on him relates very much to his suitability for his role as my bodyguard.”
Drew was silent for a few seconds. “I’m afraid I can’t help you, Miss Stirling. We’ve already sent your manager everything we can send to our clients.”
Holly sighed. This guy sounded like a stickler for process. She’d waste her time arguing semantics with him. “Okay, don’t worry,” she said, trying not to sound too annoyed.
“Thank you, Miss Stirling. Have a nice day.”
She made a face as she hung up. Then she rang Terry Smith. The CEO wouldn’t mind checking things out for her, would he?
“Holly!” Terry said. “What a surprise.”
“Hello, Terry. Thanks for taking my call. I hope this isn’t a bad time.”
“Not at all. What can I do for you?”
“Well, as you know, your company supplied me with a new bodyguard, Bryce Green. I just want a copy of your comprehensive background check on him. Your employee I just spoke with doesn’t seem to think he can send it to me even though Bryce has signed a document stating we can have that kind of info.”
“I’m afraid my employee is correct. The reason why we don’t release the actual background report is because it contains our procedures for checking out potential employees. We don’t want people getting a hold of how we conduct investigations so that we can minimise the risk of candidates manipulating results.”
“Oh, I see. That makes perfect sense. Is it possible to black out the process and only give me the answers?”
“Hm… yes, I think we can do that for you. May I ask why you want it for someone you’ve already hired?”
“Well, my parents just want to have a read. Because of Anna’s kidnapping, they’re very worried I could be next. They want to double check that I’ve got the best bodyguard for me. I already know I do, but I just want to humour them.”
“Ah, it’s understandable they’re worried. I’ll have it emailed to you as soon as possible. Do we have your email address on file?”
“You can send it to my manager. She’ll forward it on to me.”
“Consider it done. Your manager should get it within half an hour.”
“Thanks so much, Terry. I appreciate that.”
“You’re welcome. Bye for now.”
“Bye.”
Holly blew out a breath. That was a good outcome. Now even she couldn’t wait to get the document.
She texted Christine to warn her about the expected email, then played what she’d recorded earlier on her phone, making notes of what she wanted to change. Before she knew it, half an hour had passed.
She checked her inbox and found the email from Smith Security that Christine had forwarded. S
he opened it eagerly.
The attached document contained several pages, with plenty of lines blacked out. But it was enough for Holly to gather that Bryce had a clean record. There was nothing about drug dealers having been at the same place and time as Bryce, but the names of the islands he’d worked on were mentioned. Jaxon should be able to cross-check it with that article he’d read. She was sure, though, that Bryce had never rubbed shoulders with known criminals.
There was another item that captured her attention. It was about Bryce having befriended a couple of teenage thieves back when he worked as a security guard for a small family-owned grocery in Darwin. Apparently, he’d succeeded in stopping those hungry teens from shoplifting by helping them get a job delivering newspapers and magazines.
“Aw,” she said, touched. See? Not only was Bryce honest, but he also had a big heart. She knew she could trust him.
Now all she had to do was show this to Jaxon so he too could be convinced of Bryce’s trustworthiness. She had to be careful how she’d go about it, though. The last thing she wanted was for Jaxon to think she was siding with Bryce too much and get jealous again, especially when she’d had to persuade Jaxon to let Bryce spend more time with her as her bodyguard.
It was silly, really, for Jaxon—and even Xavier—to drive her around or watch over her when she had a perfectly capable security detail. She understood that the threat of being kidnapped was no small thing. But Jaxon and Xavier taking time off from their respective jobs because of her wasn’t a small thing, either.
Anyway, she’d already made up her mind that she wouldn’t let either of those two go out of their way to accompany her to the photo shoot for Heavenly Music Spa at the Byron Bay hinterland next month. It’d be on a Tuesday and Wednesday, and even though Xavier was flexible with his work, he shouldn’t go anywhere without Eve, since he was effectively Eve’s bodyguard. And Eve couldn’t just take time off from her job to join her at the spa.
Jaxon: The Assignment: Indie Rebels, Book 2 Page 9
