Demons

by Beth Abbott

Of course, he was going to have his wife’s back, that went without saying, but Lacey had done some excellent work for him over the last year, always where he needed her, when he needed her. It was a pity that he couldn’t have kept both of them happy, but that was never going to happen.

  Suzy had never been Ok with Lacey taking her place, and no amount of reassurance from him had been able to convince her that his relationship with his young PA was purely a business one.

  Sure, Lacey could be a little flirty at times, but that was just her personality. She was young, fun, and had lots of positive energy.

  In a way, she reminded him of Suzy twenty years ago when they first met. Well, a tame version of Suzy, anyway.

  Today’s version of Suzy was still as full of spark and sass as twenty years ago, but recently there had been something else, something he’d never associated with his wife before. Uncertainty.

  He didn’t really know where it had sprung from, and although common sense told him it was at the bottom of her feud with Lacey, he couldn’t really understand why.

  The only thing he could attribute it to was jealousy, and if that was the case, you could hardly blame Lacey for that, could you?

  This was Suzy’s problem to deal with, and the least he could do after all her hard work, was to offer Lacey some support as she tried to get her head around working for a different director.

  That wasn’t unreasonable, was it?

  Matt was just taking his jacket off when there was a knock on the door, and Logan stuck his head in.

  “Ready for us, boss?” He grinned.

  “Yeah, sure. Come on in.” Matt frowned.

  Lacey normally checked with him before his visitors were shown in. But Lacey wasn’t his PA anymore. Maybe Suzy thought it was Ok for them to go straight through?

  Evan followed Logan into Matt’s office, and as he closed the door, he stood rubbing his arms and shivering.

  Matt stared at the Welshman in confusion.

  “Feeling Ok?” He asked, prompting the guy to break out a wide grin.

  “I’m fine.” Evan shrugged. “I was just noticing the chill in the office as we walked through. It’s ten degrees cooler out there.”

  “I take it you’re referring to the atmosphere, and not the actual temperature?” Matt rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I had noticed. In the interests of family harmony, I’m trying to keep a safe distance, but if it goes on much longer, I’m gonna have to do something about it. The Suzy/Lacey stand-off can’t continue. People are taking sides.”

  “If it makes any difference, most people are on Suzy’s side.” Logan shrugged. “I was talking to them before, and quite a few of the office staff weren’t happy with the way Lacey was playing up her ‘special relationship’ with you. She was making it sound like you and she have a very ‘cosy’ working relationship.”

  Matt stared at Logan in surprise.

  “That sounds like something Suzy might have said.” He frowned. “I’d hate to think she’s been bad-mouthing Lacey to get support.”

  “Nuh-uh, boss.” Logan shook his head. “This was way before Suzy came back to work. Whoever was doing the complaining would have been unlikely to get that message from Suzy, not unless she’d been talking to them regularly outside of work.”

  Matt shrugged. He was pretty sure Suzy hadn’t had much contact with the office staff while she was on maternity leave, and certainly not to the extent where she would feel comfortable complaining to them about Lacey.

  Suzy always understood that she was the boss’s wife, and kept gossip and staff contact within reasonable boundaries.

  “Anyway… I doubt if you called us in to talk about office cat-fights.” Logan grinned. “So, what’s up?”

  “Another letter came in today, threatening Robbie and his family.” Matt handed Logan a photocopy of the offending document. “This one was posted from the village where Robbie lives.”

  “That suggests they’ve been hanging around his house again.” Evan sat forward. “Have the police been checking vehicles in the area? Vehicle number-plate recognition? Shit like that?”

  “Yeah, they’ve been through all that.” Matt nodded. “Plus, Hannah has our own cameras set up at the end of Robbie’s road, so we can monitor all vehicles coming within five hundred metres of his property. No unusual activity, and nothing out of the ordinary in the village. Just the normal traffic passing through.”

  “What do you class as normal traffic?” Logan frowned.

  “Mostly the nine-to-five commuters.” Matt shrugged. “More than ninety five percent of the traffic that passes through on the main road is headed for the business estate two miles away. There’s a big R&D plant up on the hill with about eight hundred staff. The employees there cause the vast majority of the traffic from Birmingham, because the road doesn’t really go anywhere else.”

  “So, what’s the play here?” Evan sat back. “Do we suggest that Robbie stays put while the police investigate, or do we suggest that they move to a safe-house?”

  “Unless you’re going to persuade Robbie’s manager to excuse him from playing and training for the duration, it’s pointless thinking about a safe-house.” Matt explained. “Whoever was after him would just follow them from the stadium after training or a match. It wouldn’t take long for them to figure out where he was staying.”

  “Besides which, can you see anyone managing to keep that sister of his in lock-down?” Logan chuckled. “She’s out virtually every night, putting it about left and right. Not gonna happen.”

  Matt had to agree. Cerys was what you would call a liability in their world. Someone who could start a fight in an empty room.

  Or more significantly, someone who would hook up with a different stranger every night of the week, and still believe she was ‘keeping a low profile’.

  “Seeing as the threats regularly mention Robbie’s sister, are we going to be offering her round the clock visible security?” Logan asked.

  “If we do offer it, I suppose we’d have to offer it to both sisters. If we are, I call dibs on which one I get.” Evan said quickly, glancing at his partner.

  “Self-interest in there, much?” Logan chuckled, and Matt watched the big Welshman blush.

  “Maybe.” Evan shrugged, but Matt could see the grin he was struggling to hide.

  What the f...?

  “Don’t tell me you’ve hooked up with the sister?” Matt put two and two together and was pretty sure he was making four.

  Evan glanced up at him, still with half a smile on his face.

  “It’s not quite like it sounds.” He explained, holding out his hands to pacify, as if that was going to make a difference.

  “What the fuck?” Matt jumped to his feet, not quite believing what he was hearing. “You hooked up with the client’s sister and you don’t think it’s quite like it sounds? It sounds like you got your dick wet sticking it in what you’ve already described as the easiest lay in town. What part of unprofessional can’t you spell?”

  “Now, hold on a fucking minute!” Evan stood up so fast his chair flew backward.

  “WHOA! Time out!” Logan jumped between the two men. “You’re talking at cross-purposes here, and someone definitely has the wrong end of a very long stick.”

  Matt stepped back, glaring at Evan and Logan in turn.

  “Explain.” He demanded of Logan before turning to Evan. “Sit your ass back down.”

  The three of them took their seats again, and Matt took a deep breath to calm his temper. As if he didn’t have enough problems with the women in his company, it looked like the men were intent on making his life complicated as well.

  “Ok, it’s not quite what you’re thinking, boss.” Logan began. “Evan has a prior knowledge of Robbie’s half-sister that we weren’t initially aware of, going back to the days when they all grew up in Cardiff.”

  “Why wasn’t this reported to me sooner?” Matt looked between the two men. “You know you have to report any prior contact with the client. It’s on page
one of the fucking staff handbook!”

  “I never had any prior contact with Robbie.” Evan shook his head. “I didn’t even realise when I met Robbie that I knew his half-sister. And when I met her again recently, I didn’t think that it would turn into anything more than me giving her a lift home from Robbie’s at his request, after she got a flat tyre on Christmas day.”

  “You didn’t plan on seeing her again?” Matt checked.

  “I didn’t plan on it, but it happened, again at Robbie’s request.” Evan explained.

  “And I think you can tell by the smile on Evan’s face, that, despite his reluctance to tell me any details, his re-acquaintance with the half-sister has developed into something far more… intimate than before.” Logan laughed. “Against her better judgement, no doubt!”

  “So, you hooked up with the sister again?” Matt tried to keep his voice steady. “Despite everything you know about her reputation, and the fact that she basically gives it away to any man with the right equipment, you really had to go there?”

  “What the hell…?” Evan demanded.

  “Shit, no!” Logan laughed. “Wrong end of the stick, boss. Wrong sister!”

  “What?” Matt was getting confused. “You’re not talking about Cerys?”

  “Hell, no!” Evan fumed. “I’m talking about Megan. Robbie’s oldest sister.”

  “The recluse?” Matt frowned. “The one Robbie describes as a cat lady with an allergy to cats?”

  Evan smiled.

  “That’s the one.” He nodded. “Only she’s not a cat lady, and she doesn’t have any allergies. She just likes to live a very private, very normal life, away from Robbie’s fame, and absolutely as far from the other half-sister as she can possibly get.”

  “And you had to hook up with her again, why?” Matt growled. “You left Cardiff more than a decade ago. She can’t have been that good in the sack for you to wait so long for an encore.”

  “You’d better watch your fucking mouth!”

  Matt didn’t know which of them was more shocked by Evan’s snarl… him or Evan.

  He glanced at Logan who was grinning behind his hand.

  “I think you’d better explain this to me in short words.” Matt said slowly. “I’m obviously missing a big chunk of the story, and I think it would be a good idea for us to get on the same page before one of us ends up punching the other, and you find yourself signing on for unemployment benefits.”

  “Megan is my wife.” Evan explained slowly. “Are those words short enough for you?”

  “You forgot the shortest word, Evan.” Logan pointed out. “‘Ex’. Megan is your ex-wife.”

  Matt watched Evan glare at Logan.

  “Let’s just call our relationship status ‘fluid’, shall we?” Evan growled.

  “So, you were married to her when you were in Cardiff?” Matt clarified.

  “Yes.” Evan nodded. “It’s a long and complicated story, but in a nutshell, we divorced not long after I enlisted, and I hadn’t seen her again until now. Let’s just say that there’s still a very strong chemistry there, and I’m very hopeful that it’s something I can make work this time around.”

  “If she didn’t like you being in the military the first time around, she’s not going to like you being in the Guardians, is she?” Matt shrugged. “Aren’t you setting yourself up for a whole lot more heartbreak if she doesn’t like you going into dangerous situations?”

  “Meg had no problem with my job. It was me who had the problem.” Evan admitted. “I ended it, badly. Now I’m hoping for a second chance. Early signs are promising, but I’m not taking anything for granted.”

  “And it can’t wait until this job is over?” Matt suggested, realising he was probably asking too much.

  “When the job here is finished, I might have to head straight back to London, and onto a plane taking us to the next Guardians’ mission.” Evan shrugged. “I can’t afford to waste this opportunity. I might not get another chance.”

  Matt looked between the two men.

  “Shit!” He sighed. “How the hell are we gonna sort this mess out? Megan doesn’t want to come under our protection, but you’d rather be with her, and Cerys is out every night until the early hours, and nobody wants to touch her with a bargepole!”

  “Until we get more intel, there’s no reason not to stay as we are.” Evan reasoned. “I’m with Robbie most of the time anyway, and Megan stays out of the limelight. We just need someone else to watch out for Cerys, and make sure she doesn’t get up to anything worse than usual.”

  Matt glanced at Logan.

  “I think he means you.” He pointed out.

  “Yeah, I got that!” Logan scowled. “Do I get danger money?”

  “No, but if you get too close to that little madam, you might need an extra strong dose of penicillin.” Evan pointed out.

  Matt stood up and walked around the desk.

  “Look, sort this out between you, and if you think you need any back-up let me know.” He shrugged. “We’re not totally convinced the sender of these letters is actually capable of following through with their threats, but we can’t take any chances.”

  “Agreed.” Both Evan and Logan nodded.

  “Right, so is there anything else before we call it a day?” Matt asked.

  “Erm, yeah.” Evan was blushing again. “Any chance I can have tomorrow night off?”

  Chapter 32 – Suzy

  “Is it me?” Suzy sat across from Claire, sipping a large cappuccino. “Am I just paranoid, and seeing something that’s not there? You can tell me if I am, y’know. I just need to know if I’m seeing things or not.”

  “I really don’t know, Suzy.” Claire frowned. “In fairness, Lacey hasn’t been near Matt’s office anywhere near as often over the last two days as she was on Friday and Monday. But I caught her on the phone to him this morning, and he’s stopped by her desk a few times. I’m sure it was business related, but it isn’t helping to create the distance we were aiming for.”

  “I tried to speak to Matt about it last night, but he shut me down completely.” Suzy scowled. “He says he’s trying to help her make the transition from working for him to working for you as painless as possible, but every time he talks to her or stops by her desk, she just smiles at me afterwards, like she’s got one over on me.”

  “Do you want me to speak to him about it?” Claire offered. “He has to see that by offering her additional support he’s muddying the waters. I’m trying to wean her off him, but he won’t cut the ties. It’s frustrating, that’s for sure.”

  “No, I don’t think you saying anything at this stage will help.” Suzy shrugged. “You know what Matt’s like. If he thinks we’re ganging up on Lacey, he’ll get even more protective of her. It’s just his nature.”

  “But have you told him all the things she’s been doing to you?” Claire asked. “I don’t just mean the skirt, either. What about the key that’s suddenly disappeared from your drawers, leaving everything locked inside, including your bag and your phone? And the spreadsheets that have suddenly acquired password protection that never had any before? A password that she says she wrote down for you, but mysteriously can’t remember.”

  “I didn’t mention the drawers to him.” Suzy shrugged. “He would have just said I lost the key myself. Of course, I mentioned the spreadsheets to him because I had to ask if he knew the password. When he asked Lacey about it, she claimed she gave me the original piece of paper with the password on it, without keeping a copy. Can you believe that?”

  “No, I can’t.” Claire shook her head. “And I’m sure they’re the same spreadsheets I was working on last week, and they sure as hell didn’t have a password then.”

  “You’re sure?” Suzy sat up straighter. “I mean, are you sure enough for me to mention it to Matt?”

  “I’m sure enough to place a call to Hannah just before we left the office.” Claire smiled. “She was in the middle of something when I called, but she promised to have a
look at the file tomorrow, to see when the password was added, and whether she can get the spreadsheet open.”

  “It’s probably best if I wait until she reports back before I say anything.” Suzy nodded. “I don’t want another evening of silence. Charlie’s picking up on the atmosphere, and of course, he’s blaming Matt. That’s the last thing I want. They’ve always had such a good relationship.”

  “Until Lacey arrived on the scene.” Claire mused.

  “Yeah, but I daren’t even suggest that to Matt.” Suzy rolled her eyes. “He’d flip his lid and tell me it was all in my imagination. He’s got into this annoying habit of telling me I’m seeing things that just aren’t there.”

  “It sounds like Matt is the one who needs an eyesight test.” Claire grinned. “If he can’t see what’s right under his nose, maybe you ought to make him an appointment with an optician.”

  “Yeah, I can see that going over really well.” Suzy rolled her eyes. “I thought getting back to work would make things so much better between us, because we would have so much more to talk about when he got home, and I could do much more to get him home at a reasonable time.”

  “At least you know that if he’s late it’s because of a genuine meeting, and that she’s not going to be with him.” Claire pointed out.

  “Very true.” Suzy saluted Claire with her coffee cup. “And there’s definitely more to talk about now I’m involved with the business, even if I do have to skirt around the ‘Lacey’ issue.”

  “And what about everything else at home?” Claire grinned. “How’s that going?”

  “Why Miss Claire! I do believe you just asked about my sex life!” Suzy chuckled. “Honestly, it’s always been good. Better than good, actually. For the last year it had been less regular than usual, what with me having to cope with the baby, and Matt working such long hours. But since Matt and I talked it through before Christmas, it’s been as good as ever. Hell, better, even. No matter what else is going on, that’s always something that works between us. We just know each other so well.”

  “After as many years as you two have been together, you should know each other that well.” Claire smiled. “But for some couples, where the sex wasn’t great to begin with, well, it just goes downhill over time. That’s when you have problems.”