“Good morning.”
“W-Who are you? How did you get in here?” I stammered, my heart pounding a mile a minute. “Where’s Brady? BRADY! HELP!”
“Hey, hey, hey now,” the man said, holding his hands up in a non-threatening gesture. “Relax. I’m not going to hurt you. Brady’s not here. I’m filling in for him.”
I stared, speechless and unable to comprehend what I was hearing. The stranger in the kitchen was an older man. He had a head full of white hair, beady gray eyes, and a stocky but muscular frame. “What do you mean you’re filling in for him?” I asked.
“I mean exactly that. I’ve been put on duty as your personal guard. You’re Speaker Harper’s daughter, right?”
I nodded. “Why didn’t anyone tell me this before?”
“Beats me,” the man said. “I guess it was too last-minute. I was contacted first thing this morning and told to come out here immediately. You want some coffee? I picked up some donuts.”
I shook my head. “But where’s Brady?”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
I stared at the man, getting a distinct feeling that he was lying to me. “Yes, you do.”
I wrapped my arms around myself, remembering that I was wearing a rather flimsy nightgown. But the man hardly seemed to notice, or perhaps just didn’t care. He looked old enough to be my father.
“I’m sorry, honey. I can’t tell you that.”
“You can’t tell me where Brady is?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“It’s just not my place. Now, what’s on the agenda for the day? I’ve been instructed to take you wherever you need to go. I hear you’re studying for something?”
I nodded. “Yeah…Uhm. Give me a minute to get ready. I need to go to the library.”
I ran to my bedroom, but not without checking the guest bedroom first, just to confirm that Brady truly wasn’t there. I looked around, noticing that his clothes and belongings were gone. A knot formed in my stomach as I left his room and headed for the bathroom. His toothbrush and shaving cream were missing too.
He was gone, and from the looks of it, it didn’t seem temporary.
I quickly showered and dressed, trying not to panic.
There has to be a logical explanation for this, I told myself. Brady didn’t leave me. Whatever this is about, it’s temporary. No need to panic…
Back in my bedroom, I retrieved my cell phone and swore.
How ridiculous was it that I didn’t even have Brady’s number?
Disregarding the fact that my father wanted to keep limited contact with me for the time being, I dialed his number, needing to know if he was aware of this current situation. Yet, when the phone continued ringing and he did not answer, it occurred to me that he was probably busy with meetings. At the sound of the beep, I left him a voice-message, trying my best to disguise the alarm in my voice.
“Hi Dad. I’m sorry to bother you, but…I just wanted to know if you knew that Brady is gone and that someone else is here, claiming that they are filling in for him? Can you…Can you give me a call back? Thanks. I love you.”
I ended the call. Sitting at the edge of my bed, I closed my eyes for a moment and took several deep breaths, letting oxygen fill my lungs, and then exhaling slowly, trying to get my heart-rate back down to normal. Yet, the way my stomach squirmed when I returned to the living room to the man who was not Brady, I knew it was going to take more than a couple deep breaths to keep my panic at bay.
In the living room, the man sat on the couch with his legs crossed, whistling to himself and flipping through the pages of what looked like some sort of scientific magazine.
I cleared my throat to announce my presence. “And what is your name again, sir?” I asked once he looked up from his magazine toward me.
“Call me Wallace,” he said with a smile.
“Wallace—my father is aware that you are here, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. He’s been alerted.”
“And he’s okay with it?”
“I would presume so. Have you spoken with him?”
“I just tried calling him, but I think he must have meetings all morning.”
“I see. Yes, the Speaker is a busy man. I wish him all the best though. I think he’d make a fine Vice President. You should be very proud of your dad.”
I forced a smile. “Thank you.”
“So, are you ready to go?”
“Yes. To the local library, please.”
“You want a donut or anything before you go?”
“Uhh…sure.”
* * *
In the car, I tried to eat the donut, but it was hard to swallow over the tightness in my throat. The dough tasted too sweet, and I hated the way it left my hands so sticky. But I forced myself to finish it before we made it to the library. All the while, Wallace tried to engage me in polite conversation. He was a friendly man, and I had a feeling he and my father would have gotten along well. He was the type of guy that I could imagine myself referring to as ‘uncle’ had I known him longer.
However, he wasn’t Brady, and I desperately wanted Brady back.
When we got to the library, I went to the front desk to request several study guides. The woman behind the desk stared at me for a moment, and I instantly felt myself growing paranoid.
Did she know something about yesterday? Had she seen me and Brady? Had the person who’d almost come toward the room we’d occupied mentioned something to a library worker—telling them to be on alert for the Speaker’s daughter and a tall and hot security guard because they had done filthy things on a library table in a back room?
After she retrieved the study guides, she didn’t hand them over right away. She continued staring at me, her eyes scrutinizing me in a way that made me want to run away and never come back.
Wallace stood off to the side, watching. He took several steps toward me, apparently catching on to the fact that something was wrong. “Everything all right?” he said from the sidelines.
“I’m sorry,” the woman behind the desk said. “But are you Speaker Harper’s daughter?”
Wallace was at my side in an instant.
I swallowed, my mouth having gone dry.
“I’m going to need you to keep your voice down,” Wallace said to the woman.
Her eyes widened and she nodded. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I just wanted to say how much I love your father. He’s done some excellent work around the community. I just wanted to say that I wish him the best of luck. I hope he’s chosen as Vice President. If he is, he has my vote!”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh…Uhm…Thank you.”
As if that close run-in wasn’t enough, to torture myself further, my feet seemed to move as if they had minds of their own. It even took me a moment to realize that I was taking myself right back to the room Brady and I had carried out our sordid deeds the previous day. I wasn’t even sure why. I suppose there was a part of me hoping that he would be right inside that room, waiting for me. That he would relieve Wallace of his duty, and then take me to re-enact the previous day.
But once I got there, the room was empty.
“You like to be away from everyone, eh?” Wallace said, following behind me.
“Uhm, yeah,” I lied. “It’s less distracting back here.”
“I understand,” he said. “Especially if you’re being recognized now.”
I sighed and settled into the room, suddenly feeling awkward. I didn’t want Wallace in our special room, but I had so purposely walked here that I knew it would look weird if I suddenly changed my mind and headed to another area. So resigned, I took a seat at the table, trying to force from my mind the things Brady and I had done on that table. If I breathed in deeply enough, I thought I could still smell Brady’s scent.
“Well, this looks like a cozy spot,” Wallace said, settling into a chair on the opposite side. “Don’t mind me. You won’t even know I’m here.”
I gave what I hoped was a polit
e smile, and cracked open the first study guide. I already knew that staying focused enough to actually study would be a hard task though. Slowly I was coming to understand the reason for Brady’s abrupt departure.
Brady Logan was a man who had always taken his job seriously, and due to what had been happening between the two of us, he obviously felt his professional reputation was on the line. And if it came between me and his job, he was going to pick his job, no matter how many pretty words he had whispered in my ear while we’d been in the throes of ecstasy.
There was just no way that Brady and I could have, or should have, been together.
CHAPTER 13
Brady
When my phone had buzzed in the dead of night, my first thought had been, ‘Please don’t let me have jinxed myself.’
I was happy. So happy. Happier than I could remember being in a long time. Autumn was sleeping soundly beside me, her face so peaceful and finally relieved of the stress that had been lurking in her expression for weeks on end.
I’d hurriedly reached for the phone, not wanting to it to disturb her.
It was so early in the morning, the sun had just started to rise. I crept out of the bedroom.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Mr. Logan, this is your captain speaking. I need you to report to the home base immediately. Please pack your bags. You are to move out of the safehouse with Speaker Harper’s daughter immediately. A new guard is being sent there as we speak to take your place.”
“What? Why?”
“No time for questions. Just do what you’ve been told if you want to keep your job. I will answer any questions you have once you report to our headquarters.”
The phone line went dead, and the happiness I felt plummeted.
I locked myself in the bathroom, thinking.
As the minutes ticked by, I realized I didn’t have time to waste. I would just have to report to Savage Soldier headquarters to figure out what this was all about.
Deciding not to wake or worry Autumn, I quietly and quickly went to the guest bedroom, where I packed up my belongings and then made my way out of the house, waiting for the replacement guard to arrive. He showed up almost the instant I stepped foot out of the house.
“Is this the safehouse for Speaker Harper’s daughter?” he had asked as he pulled into the driveway.
I nodded. “Take care of her until I’m back.”
“Sure thing.”
And then I set off to the security headquarters, without a doubt in my mind that I would be back. Whatever issue had arisen, I would solve it and get back to Autumn before the end of the day, because there was simply no way that I would leave her.
But hours had gone by, and I remained stuck at the headquarters, wondering why on earth I was there in the first place.
“Brady Logan.”
I’d been restless in the waiting room. I had even tried calling Speaker Harper several times, only for his phone to go straight to voicemail.
I stood and entered the room where I was to meet with my captain, the man who briefed me on any new special jobs. We weren’t exactly friends; he simply gave orders, and I followed them.
“Good afternoon, Brady,” he said. His went by Jordan.
I pursed my lips for an instant, momentarily finding it difficult to return a polite greeting. I knew that the instant I opened my mouth, angry words would come out, demanding an answer for why I was so unceremoniously awoken at such a fucking ungodly hour, only to have to spend hours waiting to see him. But instead, I managed to clear my throat and remained respectful. This was, after all, the guy who given me the assignment. “Good morning,” I said.
“Please, close the door and take a seat.”
I did as I was told, positioning myself in the chair directly across from him. He leaned back in his chair, looking a little too nonchalant for my liking. I folded my hands in my lap and stared pointedly at him, eager to know what this was about. I’d been doing my job, so there was no reason for me to be here, as far as I was concerned.
“So, how’s it going, Brady?” he asked. Jordan was a middle-aged man, vibrant and in good shape. He was ex FBI and he always managed to speak in a friendly tone, even during the most trying of times. This had always been a trait I admired about him—until now. I could tell that something unpleasant was on the way, and I didn’t appreciate the false pleasantries he was attempting to show me. I wanted him to get to the point and stop wasting my time.
“Pretty good,” I said, deciding to keep my answers short and to the point.
“And how is Ms. Autumn Harper doing?”
“Fine.”
“Is she? Coping well with all the drama going on with her father at the moment? I know how close the two of them are. It has to be hard for them to be separated like this.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Sure. But Autumn is a smart girl. She understands that all of this is being done for her own protection, and that her father would have it no other way.”
Jordan nodded. “I understand that she’s a smart young woman. So I have no doubt that she understands logically why these measures have been put into place. I guess what I’m referring to is how she’s doing emotionally and psychologically.”
I tilted my head. “She’s fine…”
“So you haven’t seen any signs of emotional distress from her end?”
“No offense, sir, but if you wanted to ask questions about her emotional and psychological wellbeing, I’m sure you could have contacted her instead.”
Jordan laughed. “Oh, I don’t want to stress her out any further. I figured I could gather what I needed from you, since you’ve been spending every waking moment with her, correct?”
“Correct.”
“Just for clarification, I do mean every waking moment. Or have you been spending more than waking moments with her? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”
I froze in my seat, wondering if he was implying what I thought he was, or if I was just being paranoid.
There was no way anyone could have known that Autumn and I had…
I wracked my brain, trying to figure out how we could have possibly been caught.
Maybe you’re just jumping to conclusions, I told myself. First, find out what he really means…
“I’m sorry,” I said, “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking.”
“Really now?”
A long silence passed between us, and Jordan literally started twirling his thumbs. His brow lowered and he stared at the table for a moment, as if trying to find the right words to say. “Have you been getting a bit too attached to Ms. Autumn Harper, Brady?”
“No,” I answered immediately, the lie leaping off my tongue. Fuck.
“Hmm.”
It was evident that Jordan didn’t believe me, and I had no idea what else to say. I was treading on thin ice though.
“Well,” he continued, “just to be on the safe side, I am reassigning you to Speaker Harper himself. There have been some suspicious whispers about the relationship you’ve been developing with Autumn, and I would just hate for any issues or scandals to arise while the Speaker is in consideration for Vice President. Not to mention that Savage Soldiers have a stellar reputation to protect. You understand, right?”
I paused for a long moment. “I’m sorry, but I belong with Autumn,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I’m not trying to be difficult, but she trusts me. I think it would be detrimental to assign someone else to her right now, for…you know, psychological and emotional reasons.”
“Do you now?” Jordan said. “And whose psychological and emotional reasons are we talking about here, yours or hers?”
I swallowed. “I…I just don’t think it’s a good idea to reassign—”
“Can you promise me that you can refrain from getting too attached to Autumn Harper?”
“Yes,” I said, feeling a knot flip in my stomach.
“Then you may eventually be reassigned to her. For now though, please
report to Speaker Harper’s estate.”
* * *
There was no use in fighting against the orders. Besides, I didn’t want to further incriminate myself by fighting too hard to get back to Autumn. If someone had been tipped off about a budding romance forming between the two of us, I didn’t want to do anything to feed into the issue.
It was now overly obvious that our escapade in the library hadn’t been a good idea. Too overcome with lust and passion, neither of us had paid attention to the fact that it was far too easy to get caught in a public area like that. Maybe someone had seen us. Maybe someone saw the smiles and giggles and disheveled clothing as we left through the library, looking like a couple of sneaky hormonal teenagers.
Maybe a photo had been snapped somewhere…
Or maybe hidden security cameras had been recording us…
The thought sent a shudder down my spine.
How could I have been so stupid? So unprofessional. It was all my fault.
I had brought this on myself.
Way to fucking go, Brady.
I pulled up in front of Speaker Harper’s estate with a sigh. Knowing Autumn was not inside already made the grounds seem less welcoming.
As I approached the steps, the door automatically opened to me. Speaker Harper stood on the other side.
“Brady, my man! Welcome back,” he said, immediately extending his hand to me.
I took it and forced a smile onto my face. “Thank you, sir. Good to be back.”
He shut the door after I entered. “So, they’ve reassigned you to me, huh? Autumn called this morning, all distressed. Do you have any idea why such a change was made?”
I scratched the back of my head. “Uhm…I think it’s just because the…the odds of you being targeted, sir, are higher than the odds of her being targeted. So I’ve been told that I’m needed here with you. Another security guard has been placed with Autumn, so she’ll be fine.”
“I see,” Speaker Harper said, a slight frown on his face. “I guess I should be relieved by this, but I don’t know. Only the best come from the Savage Soldiers, and you’re even one of the best among them. I personally would feel better if you were with my little girl, but I guess that’s just the fatherly instinct in me. I worry far more for her than I do for myself. The guard that’s with her—is he good? Is he capable of protecting her the way you can?”
Fearless Hero: A Military Bodyguard Romance (Savage Soldiers Book 3) Page 7
