Hotel Hideaway: (Soldiering On #4)

by Aislinn Kearns

  “Well, I suppose we can look into that,” she said. If they found who was trying to kill him, she would be closer to finding out why, and whether it had anything to do with the events at Christmas.

  His eyes brightened, barely detectable, at her words. “So, you’ll do it? Take the job?”

  “Yes,” Sam told him.

  He grinned at her, his whole face transforming from untouchable handsomeness, into boyish charm. He was far more approachable when he smiled. That wasn’t the face of a murderer, but she had to remind herself looks could be deceiving. Just because a man had a nice smile did not make him innocent.

  Then, his eyes narrowed and his smile faded, and the moment was lost. “You said you had a job. What made you change your mind?”

  Sam gave a shrug of studied casualness. “Money is a powerful lure. I’ll expect a high salary, particularly since there seems to be a high level of danger in protecting you. This isn’t some puff job for a Hollywood starlet that wants a status symbol by her side.”

  Cameron nodded slowly. “Fair enough.” He paused for a moment, then suggested a salary more than twice what she currently made.

  Unwilling to appear too eager, Sam countered his offer with an even more outrageous one.

  He accepted without hesitation.

  Stunned, she shook his hand to close the deal. “Let’s get you some paperwork,” he told her, still clutching her hand with his long, strong fingers. “I, of course, would like you to start immediately.”

  It was an order, and Sam bristled at the presumptuous tone. But considering it was exactly where she wanted to be, she didn’t complain. Just followed him out of the room and further into the belly of the beast.

  ◆◆◆

  The door to Duncan’s office swung open and a familiar irate blonde stepped into his domain.

  “I cannot believe you sent Sam in there alone,” Mandy hissed as soon as the door closed behind her. “These people are murderers!”

  Duncan looked up from his desk, muscles tight with tension at Mandy’s presence. Beautiful as always, blonde hair slicked back in a tight bun, her clothes pristine and expensive, she was like the reincarnation of Grace Kelly: lovely, icy, but with enough charm to melt through when she needed it.

  His heart thumped painfully at the sight of her, and he dropped his gaze before she saw his expression.

  “She knew what she was getting into,” he protested, shuffling papers around his desk.

  “Does she?” Mandy countered. She placed her hands firmly on his desk and leaned in until he looked up. She was close, too close, and glaring at him with a fire that almost scalded him. His hackles raised in response.

  “You and I were there that night,” she continued. “We’re the only ones who understand what these people are capable of. Everyone would’ve died if it wasn’t for you. Hundreds of people. And you want Sam to go up against them without any backup?”

  Duncan worked his jaw, tamping back his anger. “It’s precisely because of who they are and what they did that we have to do this. This is the chance we’ve been waiting for to gather proof of who they really are. Can you honestly say we should’ve let this opportunity go without even trying?”

  “There has to have been a better, a safer, way. She has no backup in there, and if they discover who she is…well, we’ve already seen what they’re capable of. We should pull her out and reassess.”

  He didn’t—couldn’t—admit to Mandy that he also feared for Sam’s safety. It had been a hasty impulse sending her in there, one he now regretted not thinking through more carefully. But damned if he’d admit that to Mandy. He refused to show weakness in front of her.

  “We might never get this chance again. We’ve spent every day since Christmas searching for a way in. It’s risky, yes, but it’s a risk Sam took willingly.”

  Mandy let out a defeated breath and slumped into one of the chairs across from him. “Far be it from me to take away another woman’s agency…” she muttered.

  Duncan pressed his advantage. “The two of us have spent months in secret trying to gather intel on these bastards. We’ve come up with nothing. They cover their tracks well. We have to stop them from doing this to other people, Mandy.”

  He wanted desperately to take her into his arms, comfort her. Ever since Christmas Eve, he could no longer deny to himself that most—if not all—of his frustration with her stemmed from the fact he cared for her. And not just as a colleague or friend.

  He’d kissed her that night, a product of frustration and fear for her safety and the belief he’d probably die…and they hadn’t talked about it since, not even when she’d come to his mother’s house for Christmas Day. It sat between them in the quiet moments, waiting for them to address it.

  But neither of them had.

  He could admit some of his impulsiveness in sending Sam into Beaton stemmed from a need to protect Mandy—and, maybe, a need for revenge for the danger they put her in. He still had nightmares she’d died that night at the end of a terrorist’s bullet.

  “What do you think she’ll find that we can’t?” Mandy asked, interrupting his thoughts.

  “Proof,” he said simply. “Proof they were behind the hostage situation, and whatever other dodgy shit they have going on. This wasn’t their first terrorist rodeo.”

  “I still can’t imagine why such a respected and profitable company would stoop to something like this,” she muttered disbelievingly.

  Duncan raised a brow. “Maybe this kind of shit is how they got profitable and respected in the first place,” he suggested.

  She tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling, exposing the long, delicate column of her throat. “You’re sure Sam knows what she’s getting into?”

  Duncan shrugged. “I told her everything I know. We’ll be here to support her.”

  “The slightest hint anything is going on, and we pull her out, right?”

  He exhaled in relief. He’d won this battle. “Of course,” he told her.

  She dropped her chin, gaze zeroing in on his. Duncan’s heart kicked up a notch at her intense expression. “You’re acting like this crusade against Beaton is personal,” she said.

  A buzzing sounded in Duncan’s ears. He swallowed. He couldn’t tell her. Not the true reason, anyway.

  “I went to war to fight terrorists on foreign soil, to protect the people back home. But now Beaton is putting the lives of the very people I protected in danger for what? Profit? This isn’t what I fought. Not what I got this useless, damaged leg for.”

  Mandy swallowed and blinked rapidly as she looked away. “I understand. I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” he muttered, a slight twinge of guilt twisting in his chest. “We just…we have to stop them. That’s all.”

  Mandy nodded and caught his gaze again. “Then we will. Whatever it takes.”

  Chapter 4

  The phone rang, startling Cameron out of his concentration on the email he was composing. He answered the call with an annoyed grunt.

  “Cameron speaking,” he said.

  “We need to talk about the finances for this event,” said John, the Chief Financial Officer of Beaton Security, by way of greeting. “You’re way over budget.”

  Cameron’s jaw clenched. “It’s an important event. Our most successful clients will be there, plus a whole lot of press. We can’t skimp on this.”

  “For what?” he asked. Cameron understood the question. Why were they spending all this money?

  “For the good will it’ll bring us,” he gritted out. “Our image needs it.” He didn’t have to mention the rumours that were circulating in some circles, since they’d had a senior meeting about it just last week. Cameron had started the rumours himself in an attempt to ferret out information, but John didn’t need to know that.

  Cameron tapped his fingers. He didn’t like being questioned, but this man held the purse strings, and Cameron needed him onside.

  Only then did he remember Sam, still and quiet in the c
orner of the room. Her gaze lingered on him, not hiding her curiosity at his conversation. She’d withdrawn into herself from the moment they’d got back to the office, not drawing any attention in her direction. It had to be intentional. Cameron couldn’t help but be intrigued.

  He dismissed John with a few words of platitude and hung up the phone without taking his eyes from Sam.

  “I should ask you to step out of the room next time I have a work conversation.”

  She raised her eyebrows and sauntered a few steps in his direction. “Why? You have something to hide?”

  His face flushed as she skirted the truth with her words. “It’s confidential, is all.”

  “I can’t protect you from out there,” she countered, planting her hands on the back of the chair opposite him and casually leaning forward.

  “You could stop someone from coming in, though,” he replied, not backing down. The challenge she offered him sparked something to life he thought he’d shut down long ago. Cold ashes had become embers, smouldering, waiting to be fed the fuel to set them alight.

  “I’d have to open the door to ask you if they could come in, anyway. Defeats the purpose.”

  “Possibly,” he allowed. “I’ll simply have to remember that you’re here, I suppose.”

  Sam narrowed her eyes. “So, you do have something to hide.”

  Cameron scowled at her. “We’ve been over this…”

  “You said before this event is to bring good will and improve your image. People only do that if they’ve done something wrong.”

  Cameron’s heart skipped a beat. Did she know? Or was she fishing? Curiosity or malice? He couldn’t parse her motives.

  “Sometimes it’s preemptive,” he told her. “Just in case.”

  She made a face, telling him she’d drop the line of questioning. But it had felt suspiciously like an interrogation to Cameron, and now he couldn’t help wondering if she’d had an ulterior motive to coming to work for him.

  “Why are you here?” he asked. “Really.”

  “I told you. Money.” She shifted a little in her chair.

  Cameron shook his head. “You didn’t know about the salary when you came here today.”

  “I knew there was a possibility of money.” She hesitated for a second. “Besides, I was worried.”

  Cameron pulled his eyebrows down in confusion. “Worried?”

  “You clearly had incompetent bodyguards. I felt…somewhat responsible for you.”

  He reared back, affronted. “You’re here because you see me as, what, a lost child?”

  She shook her head. “No. But you have people after you—dangerous people. If I’d flat out rejected your job offer and then got a news alert tomorrow saying you’d died? That would weigh pretty heavily on a person.”

  “So you’re my bodyguard for selfish reasons?”

  She shrugged. “I’m here. I’m your bodyguard. I’ll do my job and do it well. Why do you need to know the reasoning?”

  He stared at her, long and hard. She didn’t flinch away from his gaze, just patiently waited for his answer. Thing was, he didn’t know. He didn’t know why her reasons for coming back mattered. But they did.

  She intrigued him, that had to be it. A beautiful woman who tried to be invisible, but could kick his ass in a heartbeat if she wanted to—a potent combination.

  “I suppose I don’t,” he muttered. At least, not yet.

  She breathed a small sigh of relief. What was she hiding? He had to find out.

  “I should return to work,” he told her reluctantly. She nodded and moved back to her spot near the window. Tension still lined her frame.

  Cameron desperately tried to focus his mind on work but it was impossible, now. She couldn’t become invisible to him no matter how hard she might try. He was attuned to her. Awareness hovering at the edge of his consciousness.

  He couldn’t allow himself to become distracted. He had a mission to complete, and nothing—no one—would stand in his way.

  ◆◆◆

  How could she have been so stupid? She’d nearly let slip she was investigating Cameron, and Beaton, right to his face. He wasn’t a stupid man, so he’d picked up on it immediately.

  This is why she hated undercover work. She wasn’t smooth enough to ferret out information without giving the game away. She preferred an open interrogation, where everyone knew where they stood. Open lines of communication, honesty, the works. Maybe the best course of action would be to ask him outright. It could save her a lot of time. But who knew if he’d answer honestly?

  She’d have to be far more careful in the future. She’d distracted him this time, but didn’t know how long that would last.

  The door to Cameron’s office swung open, revealing a sharply dressed woman. Sam straightened, on alert for any danger.

  “Erica,” Cameron greeted her. Sam relaxed and slouched deeper into the corner.

  “I spoke to our erstwhile CFO this morning,” Erica told Cameron.

  Cameron’s eyes darted in Sam’s direction, and Erica immediately spun around, her gaze latching on Sam. Her expression cleared, though a suspicion still lingered in her eyes. “Ah, you must be the saviour we’ve heard so much about.”

  “No saviour. Just in the right place at the right time,” Sam replied, stepping farther into the room.

  Erica’s eyes moved over Sam, assessing her. The urge to shrink into herself, protect herself from the probing gaze was strong, but she fought it, straightening her shoulders and returning Erica’s gaze.

  “Hmmm. And you think you can do better than our highly-trained bodyguards?”

  Sam smiled. “I’ve already proven I can.”

  A flicker of something like anger crossed Erica’s face. “Well, we’ll see how long you last.” She paused, her gaze once again roaming over Sam. Prickles of discomfort bloomed over Sam’s skin in the wake of her gaze.

  “What are your qualifications?” Erica asked.

  Sam swallowed. “I was in the military.” She had to be careful here. Erica was clearly more discerning than Cameron in her questions. She could easily trip Sam up in a lie.

  “Is that so?” Erica asked, her eyes narrowing as if a hunter scenting wounded prey. “Which branch?”

  “I was a grunt,” Sam lied.

  Erica sauntered a few steps in Sam’s direction. Sam glanced at Cameron, surprised to see he had a fierce scowl on his face directed at Erica.

  “Your full name?” Erica asked.

  “Samantha Watkins,” Sam replied. It was the name on her fake ID, chosen specifically because it matched someone with a similar background to the one Sam was faking. It was easier to tweak an identity than start one from scratch, and it would pass a cursory inspection at least.

  “Samantha Watkins,” Erica repeated, testing the name. “You don’t mind if I run that through our systems, do you?” she asked with faux-sweetness.

  “That’s enough,” Cameron snapped. Erica spun around, surprise written on her face.

  “Are you seriously telling me not to vet an employee?” she questioned him.

  “She’s my employee, not yours.” Cameron’s voice was deadly soft.

  “Need I remind you I own this company,” she gritted out.

  “Part of the company,” Cameron corrected her. “But even so, Sam is my employee, hired personally. Not through the company. So you have no business interrogating her.”

  Erica spluttered briefly, but quickly recovered. “She’ll be in our building. I need to know she is who she claims.”

  “Fine,” he conceded. “But I don’t want you intimidating her. I understand you’re put out I hired externally, but that’s on me, not her. All she did is save my life.” He paused to let that statement sink in. Erica had the grace to look ashamed. “She prevented you from having to find a new CEO. You should be thanking her,” he said softly.

  Erica turned back to Sam, considering her for a long moment. Sam tried not to squirm.

  “You clearly have some solid sk
ills. I admire that.” With that, she spun on her heel and strode from the room.

  Silence settled over the room, doing nothing to dispel the tension.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” Sam muttered.

  Cameron crossed his arms over his chest. “What, defend you?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Sam replied. “You belittled and questioned your boss’s motives and methods in front of a new employee.”

  Cameron frowned. “She was interrogating you.”

  “Yes,” Sam said again. “And I didn’t enjoy being on the receiving end of that. But she was doing her job as she saw fit. I’m not sure she deserved the rebuke. Plus, it’ll make life harder for you—and me, probably—now you’ve upset her.”

  Cameron sighed. “You could be right. I’ll apologise to her later.” He hesitated. “Why are you defending her?”

  Sam smiled, a little sadly. “I’ve been a woman in male-dominated environments before. I know how tough you have to be to succeed. I don’t resent a woman that gets some hard edges because of it.”

  Cameron fell silent for a moment. “Was it difficult? Being in the military, I mean.” He’d clearly dismissed Erica from his mind.

  Sam shrugged. “It wasn’t easy.”

  “I’ve seen the news articles,” he murmured. “The scandals and such.”

  Sam sighed. “There are definitely issues in the military as a whole that the people in charge need to deal with. Thankfully, I was spared the worst of it. Some of my friends weren’t so lucky.” An aching pall settled over heart at the memory of Grace, in particular. They’d been friends, but when Grace had been targeted by a group of men determined to exploit her, Sam had been deployed elsewhere. By the time Sam had found out what happened, it was too late. Grace had committed suicide.

  “I’m sorry,” Cameron murmured.

  Sam allowed herself one more moment of grief before she put her mask back in place. “It’s alright. I’m out now.”