Tearing her gaze from Cav’s, she told the General, “I don’t want you to be putting money out to protect me. It isn’t right.”
Robert shrugged. “Well, first we need to know if you’re staying or if you would like to be transferred to another charity, Lia. We don’t want to lose you, but we will certainly understand if you want to leave La Fortuna under the circumstances.”
Lia’s mouth tightened, and she felt anger rise within her. “Look, I’m not leaving those children in a lurch, but I do need to know what you’re going to do and when. Are you going to rebuild the school? If you do rebuild…I want to be a part of the process. I know I’m not a teacher, but I do all the other jobs necessary to keep the charity running smoothly there.”
Dilara said, “We’ve already discussed this, Lia. We’re rebuilding the school. We’re not going to let a drug lord dictate to us, but it does mean we change what we do there so that no attack like this ever happens to us or our volunteers again.”
“Then,” Lia said to her, “you’re going to need security guards.”
“We’ve also come to that conclusion,” Robert told her. “And that’s why we’ve hired Cav to be there with you for the duration.”
“Are you sure you want to stay?” Dilara asked Lia gently.
Lia rasped, “Medina is not chasing me off, Dilara. Those children deserve an education. The only way I won’t stay is if you’re not going to rebuild the school.”
“We’re rebuilding,” Robert promised her. “We have plans in the works with a San José construction company to get the school rebuilt in two months.”
Lia clasped her hands, feeling nervous as she now turned to the General. “I know this is none of my business, but what are you going to do about Maria’s and Sophia’s families? They were depending on their salaries to take care of their families’ needs.”
“No worries,” Dilara said. “Robert and I are setting up a fund for each family. They’ll receive a stipend each month. We’re not going to allow their families to fall into abject poverty. Furthermore, our Home Education team is already hard at work to find capable teachers to replace Maria and Sophia.”
“And this time, Lia, we’re hiring three teachers instead of two.” Robert smiled faintly. “We know from Maria’s transmissions to Dilara’s staff that you were pinch-hitting a lot, so we’re going to relieve you fully of those duties so you can focus on what you do best, which is to manage the entire charity here at La Fortuna.”
“That’s fantastic. Then, are you expanding the school?”
The Major took a small manual and slid it over to Lia. “This is the full blueprint for the new school.”
As she read, Lia caressed the manual, giving Robert a grateful look. “This…this is wonderful, Robert. I was so afraid that, after what happened, you’d walk away from the area and these precious children.”
Robert gave her an understanding look. “We might have, Lia, if Dilara and I weren’t so bull-headed about children in the world deserving a good education, whether or not they’re poor.” He sighed. “The world has changed, unfortunately. Some of our charities in third world countries have experienced theft, some of our volunteers were robbed at gunpoint, and now…this.”
Robert looked up at the slide of the charred remains, and then turned to Lia. “This is top secret, but we want you to know that our entire family had a meeting a few days ago. We’re going to create Artemis Security, an internal security company that Tal, our oldest daughter, has agreed to run. She’s still a captain in the Marine Corps in Afghanistan with her sniper unit, but once we get the place built, she’s handing in her commission to come home and take the helm.”
“And,” Dilara said, “Do you know our fraternal twins, Matt and Alexa? Matt is in Delta Force and over in Afghanistan right now. His enlistment runs out next March. He’s agreed to come home and run the KNR (kidnap and ransom), division at Artemis.”
Her eyes shone. “And Alexa, who is an Air Force captain and flies the A-10 Warthog over in Afghanistan, has agreed to take over the Women’s Division at Artemis for us.” Her voice rose with pride. “We’ll have all three of our children home, out of a war zone, and working behind the scenes to give all of our charities worldwide the best security we can provide.”
“Why,” Lia said, clearly impressed, “that’s a wonderful idea, Dilara!”
“Yes,” Robert said gravely. “And you’re the tip of the spear here, Lia. The charity was attacked and we lost good people. Artemis Security is going to be our reaction and answer to this kind of terrorism. We’re invested completely in protecting all our people who work for Delos.”
Robert gave Cav a nod. “Jordan here is the first security contractor we’ve hired, even though Artemis is a year from coming online. We’re going to be assessing each charity to see if any of the other divisions need immediate security, like this one did. It’s a big job, but we’ve already hired a staff of ex-military experts who were under my command in the Air Force, and they’re getting contractors to help some of our more beleaguered or threatened charities.”
“Wow,” said Lia, smiling for the first time. “That’s awesome!”
Dilara said, “It’s just sad that we have to do this, Lia. You know, my mother created Delos Charities when I was eighteen years old. When I was thirty, I took over the helm. I’m forty-eight now. In all of those years, our charities were always welcomed with open arms by local people they served, no matter what country we placed one in.” She frowned. “Robert keeps telling me that the world changed when 9/11 happened, and I’ve been resisting it, but no longer. I just wish,” and her voice filled with anguish, “that we’d had reports on the threat level to you at La Fortuna.”
“That’s something else that will change,” Robert told her. “Because, Lia, you were in the Army, I’m putting you in charge of a weekly threat assessment report that will go directly to Dilara’s new security company. We want to know, from now on, what’s going on locally around the charity you serve. And if there are threats, we’re dividing them into three different levels. Level Three means we call the government of that country and get police there to assist you. If it’s a Level Two threat, we will be activating our own internal security response to whatever the threat is. We’ll either send down a single security contractor or a team, depending upon the situation.”
“And,” Dilara told Lia, “if you send in a Level One threat, we’ll have a jet with a response team of experts who can keep you and the charity safe within twenty-four hours of the call to Artemis Security.”
Lia sat back, eyes wide, stunned by this information. “That’s an incredible concept!”
Thoughtfully, Robert said, “Yes, and if we’d had that in place here we might have been able to avoid the murder of two fine young women. I could care less about a building burning—we can always rebuild. But we can never replace those two women, and that’s the hardest part of this situation. However, we will take care of Maria and Sophia’s survivors.”
Lia’s heart filled with love for these two people. As bad as the world was, she realized, there were people like Robert and Dilara, as well as their Turkish, Greek and American families out there, making a difference for the poor of the world. “I’m so glad you let me come to work for you,” she told them, her voice choking a bit as she fought back sudden tears. “I’m so proud to work for you.”
Dilara whispered, “You work with us, Lia, you don’t work for us. We’re just a larger family—a sort of cosmic family, if you will. We consider all our wonderful volunteers our children, too,” and she gave Lia a wobbly smile, tears glimmering in her eyes.
Lia swallowed twice. “I just don’t ever want to do anything else besides this work, Dilara, I really don’t. These children at La Fortuna are truly worth fighting for, and worth protecting,” she told them in a fierce whisper. “And that’s why I’m not quitting. I want to go back there and get a new building on the ground. I’ll help the new teachers who come in to assist. I just don’t want those c
hildren missing a year of school or more.”
“Do you have some ideas on how we can support your efforts while we rebuild?” Robert asked her, getting down to details.
“I do,” she replied, and began to lie out an impressive concept. It took forty-five minutes to describe, and the two Air Force officers who were part of Robert’s huge staff busily typed away on their laptops, getting down every word of her plan.
Lia fully expected that Robert or Dilara would have other great ideas to add to it, or would want to tweak hers in some way. When she finished, she drank her coffee, now cold.
Robert nodded, a pleased look on his face. “Your military training is showing, Lia, and I’m extremely impressed with your plan and your ideas. It’s solid as a rock. I have nothing to add to it.” He looked at Dilara. “What do you think?”
Smiling warmly, Dilara said, “I love the whole plan, Lia! I see no reason not to implement it as is. We’ll do it the moment you get back to La Fortuna with us. I’ll have our accounting department wire transfer adequate funds to do what you envision. I’ve brought down an entire new office supply system, including a new laptop and satellite phone for your use. My assistant, Sandy, will come with us to the village and help you get it all set up. You’ll have 24/7 contact with me directly, as well as others on my staff. You aren’t going to be left out here to fend for yourself with the threat of Medina hanging over you. That, I promise!”
Lia sat back, stunned. She hadn’t thought her plan was actually going to be accepted, but she knew Dilara moved mountains when she wanted to. After all, her family had the clout, the power and the money to do whatever she wished.
She happened to look across the table for a moment and saw a faint smile on Cav’s face. She’d tried to pretend he wasn’t there, because every time she caught his gaze, she felt something warm and clean move through her, it was probably nothing more than a pipe dream.
“Let’s get through the rest of this,” Robert told them. He looked over at Cav and then at his watch. “We’re going to be wrapping up here in thirty minutes. Cav, and from now on, I want you to be Lia’s driver. You will take her in the company van back to La Fortuna.”
Lia began to protest, giving Cav an apologetic look. “There’s no need for that. I can drive myself.”
“No,” Cav told her quietly, “If this drug lord wants to attack you while you’re in the van, do you know what evasion tactics to take?”
Nonplussed, she muttered, “Of course not” Just because she’d been in the Army, she was a mechanic, not a black ops person who would have such skills.
Shrugging, Cav said, “I’m happy to drive the van, Ms. Cassidy. Maybe you can get a little sleep on the way home.”
Lia had a lot of retorts on her lips, but she swallowed all of them. And honestly, she had no quarrel with him. His eyes told her she had nothing to worry about. In fact, he actually seemed concerned about her, though he’d said nothing to betray it. She just felt it.
However, she knew enough about professional operators to know that Cav had his game face on. He was on the job, and when they were in that mode, no one could know what they were thinking or feeling.
But his eyes…his eyes spoke directly to her. Why did her silly heart start galloping when their glances met? Why did hope slowly wind its way through her? Just that faint smile playing on his mouth made her yearn, once again, for a relationship…a real one…with the right man.
CHAPTER 4
Cav saw the wariness in Lia’s eyes as he opened the door to the white van on the passenger side. He was looking around the busy entrance of the hotel, watching all the parties on their way out. The Delos logo of a rising sun on the side of the white van was bright red and yellow, easy to spot—especially by the bad guys.
“Thanks,” Lia murmured gratefully. But when he cupped his hand beneath her elbow to help her into the high van, she froze momentarily.
“Hey, I don’t bite,” he assured her. Cav supposed in Lia’s present state of mind, she might be startled by his unexpected touch. But dammit, he needed to protect this woman. She looked fragile, as if she might break. Now that he knew she’d been in the military, he’d assumed she had a strong backbone. But after having survived that murderous attack, anyone in their right mind would be shaken and shocked, so her skittish behavior was pretty understandable.
He felt Lia relax as he kept his hand on her elbow, seeming to accept his courtly gesture. They stood there looking at one another, and this time, this close, he clearly saw that deep welt of a scar on her left cheek. It made his gut clench. Lia had such a flawless complexion, but not around the scar….
Her cheeks instantly became red. She was blushing. He felt her waver, but smiled to reassure her.
“Thanks,” she murmured, quickly getting into the van.
Cav got the impression that she didn’t want any man close to her, and right now, she wasn’t up for him touching her, even if it was well meant.
He had a lot of questions for this enigmatic woman. In the boardroom, he’d been visibly touched by her impassioned plea to stay and help the children. There weren’t many women he knew who would stay after surviving a brutal attack, one she’d miraculously survived. It made him want to know a lot more about her.
As Cav shut the door, he remained alert as he walked around the front of the van. Despite the scar, he found her very attractive. Sure, the scar on her face was unfortunate, but it didn’t take anything away from her beauty. Hell, he had so many scars on his body he’d lost count.
Climbing in, he saw the lead black SUV move ahead. That one had three other security men inside. Robert Culver had come down here with a small armada of ex-military contractors because he hadn’t known what to expect at La Fortuna. He wasn’t going to put his wife, himself or the rest of his team at risk.
Glancing to his left, Cav said, “Ready?”
Lia nodded, quickly putting on her seat belt.
Cav drove the van as the second vehicle in the group. Behind them would be Dilara and Robert, with two contractors on board. Behind them was the staff in two other SUV’s, with an operator in each one. The last vehicle was a huge truck loaded down with supplies for Lia’s village.
Cav admired her guts. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked at Lia’s profile, thinking that her face could be found on a Greek vase. “You have to be tired,” he said, sliding a glance at her in the rear view mirror.
“I am. Exhausted, if you want the truth.”
He drove out of the airport, following four car lengths behind the first van. “Understandable. You’ve been through a lot.”
Rubbing her brow, she muttered, “Yes. But I’m far better off than Maria or Sophia. I’m just grateful I’m alive.”
“It helps to be an optimist in situations like this.”
Lia stared at Cav’s profile for a moment. She heard the grittiness in his voice. He was so tall, over six feet, and his shoulders were thrown back with pride, typical of a military person.
“I don’t like the other choice. Do you?” she replied, her hands folded stiffly in her lap. Just being this close to Cav was doing odd things to her. It had been so long since she’d had a relationship with a man, she’d nearly forgotten what it was like to be attracted to one.
“No, the other choice sucks, that’s for sure,” Cav agreed.
Cav had an interesting face that spoke of a lot of life experience. The feathery lines at the corners of his eyes revealed that he squinted a lot. Or maybe laughed a lot. Lia had little experience with black ops people, so she wasn’t even sure they did laugh—at least, not on the job.
She took a quick peek at his profile. One corner of his mouth had turned upward in a half-grin, and he had both hands on the wheel. She imagined his eyes were constantly moving, looking for potential trouble. While she didn’t think there was any trouble here in the busy, prosperous city of San José, Cav was getting paid to be alert and ever watchful.
It felt nice, actually, to have a guard dog, but Cav was a truly
handsome species, in her eyes.
Noticing the white scars and nicks over his large, long fingered hands, and the deep tan, she figured he had been outdoors a lot, probably in the Middle East. She noted his well muscled back. He probably worked out daily, but he wasn’t excessively muscular.
As she took glances at him from time to time as he drove, she realized how many scars he had on the arm nearest her. Hah! She’d thought she had scars? This guy had her beat!
“I’ve never had a guard before. Is there a protocol to it?” she asked, clearly wanting some guidance from him.
“Some,” he murmured, checking his rear view mirror. The whole armada, and it was certainly that, was now on a freeway heading north toward the Monte Verde Cloud Forest Reserve. “General Culver wants me in close proximity to you at all times.”
“What does that mean?” she asked, frowning. She was still jumpy as hell from the attack on the school, which spilled over to extreme nervousness around men. It wasn’t that she was afraid of Cav. She just hadn’t expected him to be so…polite. What man nowadays helped a woman into a car? Or shut her door for her?
While unexpected, Lia was enjoying that little bit of pampering. It was actually very nice.
“I go everywhere with you. If you have to go to the grocery store, I’m with you. If you need to go anywhere, I drive you to and from your destination.”
“I hope you don’t go into the women’s restroom with me!” She laughed, joking.
“I’ve been known to do that, too.”
She stared open-mouthed at him. “You’re kidding—aren’t you?” She saw amusement gleaming in his hazel eyes.
“Not at all.”
“But,” she sputtered, “That’s awful!” This man had been very close to her earlier, and Lia had felt the coiled power in Cav’s body as he stood waiting for her at the open van door.
Nowhere to Hide (Delos Series Book 1) Page 5
