Deadly Testimony

by Piper J. Drake

  Ah. So Lizzy was indeed gone. And her absence might be indicative of whether he’d ever find her again. Or if she even wanted him to. “I’d like to speak with her.”

  “You can look for Miss Scott at the Safeguard offices for the time being. If she’s not on the premises at the time, you’ll be able to leave a message for her there and we’ll make sure it gets to her.” Diaz didn’t miss a beat in his response. It was very well practiced and delivered smoothly.

  “I see.” Actually, he did not. He was tired and irritable and wanted to check in with his family then rest. He wanted to hold Lizzy in his arms again.

  “Considering the complications leading up to today’s trial, I’m here to see if you are in need of Safeguard’s services for extended personal protection,” Diaz continued. “We’ve got a few options for you and while the part you’ve played in this trial is complete, you and your family may feel better for the added assurance of safety while you put this all behind you.”

  Nguyen nodded. “You also have the federal witness protection plan, Mr. Yeun, but that was extended to you specifically and didn’t take your sister and nephew into consideration.”

  The US marshal appeared genuinely regretful about the situation. His brows were drawn together and his gaze showed concern.

  Kyle had been thinking about it. “My nephew has a scholarship and his education is a priority. I’m told by the legal team that the threat to him is considered to be minimal at this point. His mother will want to be close by but she also was hoping to give the young man space. It would be difficult to take all three of us and reestablish a plan for their life and his education.”

  But not impossible. He would do it for them if he had to. And then there was finding Lizzy.

  Diaz was watching him. Waiting.

  “Mr. Diaz, I would like to explore some of the personal protection options you have available in further detail.” Because Kyle could trust Safeguard, Lizzy in particular. And they were driven by practicalities, logic and money. Kyle understood them. Whereas the government was a completely different animal.

  “Drop by as soon as you’re ready, Mr. Yeun.” Diaz glanced around and then returned his attention to Kyle. “Your sister and nephew are currently at Safeguard’s Training and Recovery facility outside of the city. You’re welcome to come out to the facility and have dinner, see to their needs. Or if you’d like, we can bring them back here to any accommodations you had in mind.”

  “I appreciate the offer, Mr. Diaz. I’m not certain if I’ll be entering protective custody again...” Kyle glanced at Nguyen. “...or if it is safe to return to my apartment. It’s a bachelor’s home but I’m sure we can make do.”

  He hadn’t been expecting his sister and nephew so soon. Hadn’t made the more practical arrangements yet.

  Sympathy was there in Diaz’s eyes. “Why don’t we take you to see them, Mr. Yeun? We’re planning to move them from the current location to accommodations more suited to an extended stay. The three of you can spend the night on Centurion Corporation grounds and make long-term arrangements tomorrow morning.”

  Nguyen nodded in agreement. So much for protective custody. With his part in the trial over, that must be complete, as well.

  Diaz was generous, but Kyle was a businessman first and foremost. No offer was without its hidden assumptions. “Thank you, Mr. Diaz. I am grateful to you and your team for the exemplary services provided thus far. But to be brutally honest, I no longer have employment. While I have significant savings set aside and I was willing to sign a contract with your organization to get me through this trial, I will need to take the time to assess my finances and seek out a new position before I know what further services I can afford.”

  “Understandable. I think if you do come back with me to the Centurion Corporation facilities, I may have a few ideas to discuss with you regarding those concerns too.” The man leaned forward slightly, enough to make Kyle eye him warily. “All professional considerations aside, my partner has extended the invitation for you and your family to join the Centurions for dinner. She intends to ask you where you found the pair of shoes you bought for Lizzy. I’ve been informed I’m not allowed to come home without you. Please consider it a personal favor.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Isn’t it early to be drinking?” Lizzy studied the pair of glasses on the small table in Diaz’s office. They were new, she thought. Like brandy snifters but slightly taller and narrower. A new bottle of Macallan single malt scotch stood next to them. “What’s the occasion? And is Harte here?”

  Diaz wasn’t usually into the whisky, whether it was single malt or blended. He kept some on hand for when Harte was in town.

  Chuckling, Diaz came around from his desk. “No. Not today. He’s due in soon though. This’ll be out again.”

  “Okay,” she said slowly. “Is this out for me? Seems kind of fancy.”

  She wasn’t picky about her drinks. Oh, she liked good cocktails if she was drinking but she wasn’t particular about what kind of vodka she was served when a cocktail called for vodka as long as it was decent.

  “Not really.” Diaz nodded at her feet. “What about you? You’re dressed up kind of fancy. What’s the occasion?”

  She was not going to blush in front of Diaz. Nope. “Nothing. I just wanted to wear the shoes.”

  Because the black heels Kyle had chosen for her were her new favorites and she hadn’t gotten to wear them for long. Sure they’d been picked to pair with a cocktail dress, which she’d gone back to the hotel to retrieve, but the shoes went well with business casual too. The effect was a dressy business casual.

  “What? Not used to me going for the dressy look once in a while?” She knew it was defensive body language but she allowed herself to cross her arms over her chest anyway.

  Wouldn’t hurt for the guys around the office to start acknowledging she had a feminine side.

  Diaz held up his hands, backing away from the topic.

  “How’s Marc after the surgery?” She’d gotten the update from Victoria that he’d come through and was resting but she needed to catch up on the long-term impact.

  “Alive and already bored.” Diaz didn’t waste time with niceties. “Lost a lot of blood though. Took a lot of time to hunt down the bullet fragments in him. Fragments tore him up inside and did a lot of damage. They’re keeping an eye on him now for infection. It’s going to be a long recovery.”

  Ah, shit. Their fire team was well and truly a mess.

  “Going to need a new person on our fire team, then?” she asked, then bit the inside of her cheek.

  Diaz’s stared her. “Yes. Pending some structural changes to the way this division is organized. Been meaning to talk to you about that. Glad you came in this morning.”

  “Figured you’d hunt me down if I didn’t.” She owed him an answer. It wasn’t her style to run from it for too long.

  “I’ll listen first, then tell you what changes I’m considering.” Diaz motioned to the two armchairs.

  Uh-huh. Sure. Don’t drop any bombs to make her doubt her decision. Only leave her insanely curious. Bastard.

  She made herself comfortable in one of the chairs. “I joined Centurion Corporation because I wanted to work in the private sector for a team with the same kind of standards I hold myself to. It’s been a good couple of years. I’ve learned a lot.”

  Diaz waited.

  “Not going to lie, being in one place for too long made me antsy these last few months. I’ve still got to work through this need to be out there and blow off steam. I thought the personal security work was going to be boring. Didn’t want to lose my edge.”

  “Valid concern.” Diaz nodded.

  “These last couple of days are probably not going to be representative of what Safeguard does. But I figure the situations will come up.” Here, she
was fishing some. Nguyen hinted at future collaboration. “Maylin’s sister, then Kyle, neither of those contracts was what we’d normally anticipate.”

  Diaz only smiled.

  Okay then, he was going to make her tell him her decision first. Probably reserving whatever he was thinking to change her mind if what she told him wasn’t what he was hoping for. The old, contrary part of her would’ve wanted to do exactly the opposite just to prove he couldn’t tell her what to do.

  But she didn’t want to be that person anymore.

  “They were a challenge though. Both of them. And we did some good in a personal way.” She tapped her heel against the floor. “You didn’t like those sorts of jobs for us, and I agreed because they could get messy as hell. But, they have their moments.”

  Seeing Kyle hug his sister and nephew, spending time with Maylin and her younger sister, those had been incredibly rewarding moments.

  “I think dealing with the personal complications is a good thing. I don’t want to lose touch with the people we’re working to protect and I think there’s a lot to learn about personal security.” She met Diaz’s gaze steadily. “I’d like to stay on with Safeguard, if you’ll have me.”

  Leaving, even going back to Centurion Corporation, would take her down a path to become colder, more solitary. She’d forget how to laugh and Kyle had only just reminded her how much she enjoyed the feeling of warmth it gave her.

  Diaz broke into a grin. “Like I was going to let you leave without a fight.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I could see you getting ready to talk me around. Trust me.”

  “Glad I don’t have to.” Diaz rose to his feet and crossed over to his desk, picking up a tablet. “I’ll get a contract drawn up for you. Standard two year. A couple of perks added for your renewal.”

  “You mentioned organizational changes?” She figured he was planning to tell her, but wanted to draw it out a little longer. Torture.

  “A couple.” Diaz turned and leaned against the edge of the desk, holding out the tablet to her. “You’re being promoted. I need a right-hand person to run this division and you’re it. Salary to be increased along with the responsibility. In the field, we’ll be partners.”

  “Partners.” Interesting. “You’re not rebuilding the fire team?”

  “Ours won’t be structured the same way, no. For Centurion Corporation, fire teams work. Safeguard isn’t going to get as many contracts willing to employ four resources or more. Probably never going to need a squadron all at the same time. So I’m organizing us into two-person teams. We’ve got about two dozen resources either on contract or waiting for assignment at the moment. I’d like to expand us by another fifty percent. There’ll be some future training, too, on working in pairs.”

  Ah. She liked the idea. Of course, some engagements like the bigger parties and private charity events could still require a larger set of personnel but they could still be organized to work in pairs.

  “Makes sense.” She studied the tablet. Victoria’s name was at the top, her partner marked as TBD. “But Marc is going to be out for a long while.”

  Diaz sighed. “Yeah.”

  “You could have had me working solo.” She’d leaned toward it before and was still probably the best in the division for it.

  “Could have.” Diaz shook his head. “But you’re best qualified to be my second. Victoria is better at training up a new person in a team. I’m going to find her a new partner. Someone fresh.”

  “That’ll take some shaking out.” Victoria and Marc had been close.

  “It’ll be your responsibility to oversee it.” Diaz sounded very happy to hand off that particular assignment.

  “Joy.” Maybe it wasn’t too late to reconsider.

  “I plan to have you get to know each of our new hires, make sure I didn’t fuck up the hiring process. Confirm they’re a good culture fit in the first few weeks.” Diaz moved around to the other side of his desk. “You’ll be in charge of intel in general, nothing you haven’t been doing already. So this is sort of an expansion on those responsibilities.”

  She narrowed her eyes. Casual as his move was, was he retreating?

  “We’ve actually got a new hire. Not going to be a field operative.” Diaz lifted his chin to indicate the tablet in her hand. “Man’s a project manager. He’ll be responsible for keeping our in-progress contracts organized, draw up new statements of work or change orders, and build a finance team to handle invoices, expenses and all that. I figured you could get started with the on boarding process for him.”

  “And what’s our on boarding process?” She tapped the tablet’s screen to pull up the new hire files and froze.

  “I figure you could establish that as you went.” Diaz said quietly. “Maybe you could figure out which office is going to be his for starters. He’s over in one of the pods waiting.”

  * * *

  Kyle was pacing when she walked into the pod. Turning to face her, he swallowed hard. She didn’t look happy to see him.

  “You’re here.” Her voice was quiet, neutral.

  “Yes.” Maybe she didn’t want him to be.

  “As a new hire.”

  He nodded, straightening. Funny how he had so much confidence and self-assurance, arrogance even, and facing her he wanted to apologize like a schoolboy who isn’t absolutely sure what he’s done wrong but saying sorry just in case. “Safeguard had need of someone with my experience.”

  “True.” She set a tablet on the table. “I’m supposed to find you an office.”

  Well, fortune didn’t favor the hesitant. “Will you be here for the day only or are you staying?”

  “Would you have a problem working with me?” Her dark eyes were still unreadable. But he’d spent time with Lizzy over the past few days and he was sure he hadn’t imagined the slight quaver in her voice. Her vulnerability.

  Something she trusted to him.

  “I was going to try to find you, regardless. Working with you is going to be a new experience.” He straightened his tie and resisted the urge to fuss with his suit jacket. He would not fidget further. “It depends on just how much you can put up with me.”

  She lifted an eyebrow.

  He grinned. “I’m impressed with the facilities here. Can I talk you into testing the opacity settings on some of the conference rooms?”

  “No.” Her response was immediate, sharp, but she didn’t hide her smile.

  He stepped toward her and held his hands out. After a moment, she placed hers in his.

  “I won’t work here if you feel uncomfortable.” He glanced around through the glass and then returned his gaze to hers. “I can find another position someplace else.”

  She tipped her head to the side slightly. “You want to work here though.”

  “Yes.” He nodded. “It’s an interesting change. Challenging position. And I’ve learned this place does things that have a direct impact on people’s lives. I’d like to reconnect with that feeling again.”

  “So what do I have to do with it?” She had stilled, waiting for his answer.

  Everything.

  And somehow, he needed to let her know because otherwise, she’d shut down and withdraw behind a professional wall. He could see her bracing for it. He didn’t want her to.

  “Meeting you was the last thing I could have anticipated.” He wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to say but he figured he would start and let it flow, unplanned. Sincere. And hope she didn’t hate him. “I can’t say if I’d have thanked you if I’d known how much I would change after meeting you.”

  He’d been a carefree bachelor living a shallow life. He’d thought he’d been happy. Now, he was sure he wouldn’t be if he couldn’t at least let her know how he felt.

  “Whatever way our stories end. However you choose.” He c
losed his hands around hers and squeezed gently. “You’ve changed me for the better and I can actually say I am building toward being a good man. Someone my nephew can be proud to live with. Because I knew you.”

  Her fingers had tightened in his grip, returning his hold with her own strength. Encouraged, he continued, “Here. Now. I am grateful to have met you. And I can’t imagine life moving forward without you. So please. Lizzy. Isabelle. Let me be a part of yours.”

  A small noise escaped her and tears welled up in her eyes.

  Shocked, his mouth fell open. “I’m sorry, I—”

  She kissed him.

  There were several long minutes he lost in her lips and he didn’t care at all.

  “Are you certain about testing the opacity of the conference room?” When she pulled back and swatted him across the shoulder he gave her his best rakish grin.

  “Let’s go find you an office before more people try gawking.”

  Startled, he looked out into the office space. “There’s nobody there.”

  She glared at him. “There’s half a dozen people in cubes trying not to be obvious about peeking over the top. And Diaz is probably watching on video feed.”

  “Oh.” He turned to the camera and gave it a jaunty salute.

  She cursed and grabbed his sleeve, dragging him out of the pod. “Let’s get you an office.”

  “Is it private?”

  “No. All of them have glass walls.”

  “With opacity adjustment, I saw the control panels.”

  “You aren’t allowed to use them.”

  He planted his feet and halted.

  She turned. “What?”

  “I’ve got a few things for the office.” He’d actually discussed the job with Diaz the night before, so he’d made a stop in the morning at his flat and also at the hotel for a few special items.

  “Seriously?”

  He ducked into the pod to retrieve a box and then followed her down to the end of the office floor. It took a minute to pick an office at the end, then he set the box down on the desk.