Protecting Lulu (Global Protection Agency)

by Jeffries, J. M.

  “Introduce me, sweetie.” Lulu twined her arm around her brother’s. She glanced around the room, her gaze lingering for a moment on Noah. “I’m assuming I will be spending a lot of time with these people.”

  Noah’s mind went blank. While he groped for a comment to make, Harrison took the initiative and stuck out his hand. “Harrison Bain, ma’am.”

  “Lulu.” She smiled at Harrison, her eyes moving from his brown skinned face, down his toned body and then back up again.

  Noah felt as though he were melting. He wanted to touch her; he wanted to thread his fingers through her hair. He wanted…he wanted … oh hell no, don’t go there.

  “How do you do?” Harrison gazed down at Lulu with her hand clenched in his.

  “Very well, thank you.” She studied him. “Are you by any chance related to Debra Bain at the district attorney’s office?”

  Harrison grinned happily. “She’s my wife.”

  Lulu smiled widened. “I adore her. We’ve done several fund raisers together. Please, tell her I said hello.”

  “Of course.”

  Dante held out his hand. “Dante Jimenez.”

  She shook his hand and gave him her dazzling smile. “Texas?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Noah could see the big Latino was already smitten with her and generally Dante was immune to charm. The former West Point grad was folding like an old lawn chair.

  Lulu shook her finger at him. “You’re not a Cowboy’s fan are you?”

  Dante shook his dark head. “Never heard of them.”

  “Good answer,” she said with a throaty laugh. “You Texas boys are always so polite.”

  She was flirting with them. In two seconds, she’d charmed them all and would be leading them around by their noses. Noah was going to have nip this shit in the bud real quick, or they’d have a client who’d be dead in a week. That was not good for business.

  “Roman Baptiste,” Roman said quietly as she shook his hand. His blond hair flopped over his forehead as he looked down. Lulu was tall, but Roman was six five in his bare feet with muscles on his muscles. He could bench press an elephant.

  Lulu rattled off something in French too fast for Noah to catch it. His French was adequate enough to get around, but he wasn’t fluent. Roman smiled. In all the years since Noah had met him on a joint French-American exercise in Iraq, Roman had rarely smiled. Noah wasn’t sure who was more shocked, him or Roman.

  Lulu winked at Roman with a saucy tilt to her head and the former French commando actually blushed like an adolescent school boy. They were in trouble.

  E. J., the lone woman in Noah’s employ, stepped forward with a grin. “E. J. Wexler. I’m pleased to meet you.”

  E. J. was nice to look at. She cleaned up pretty good too, from her deep red hair to her pale baby face.

  Lulu’s eyebrows rose. “How did you .get into the boy’s club?”

  E.J. being the straight shooter she was, told the truth. “They needed a thief.” E. J. slanted a glance at Noah with a hint of pride in her eyes.

  E. J. used to be one of the best in the business. They didn’t call her The Snake for nothing. She could get in and out of spaces that made Noah cringe.

  “Impressive.” Lulu leaned forward. “We’re going to have some serious girl talk.”

  E. J. nodded. “I’d be happy to have some serious girl talk with you. I don’t get that chance too often.”

  Noah couldn’t help but admire Lulu. She flirted with women just as easily as men. Shit, Lulu Bennington was lethal. Who could dislike her enough to want her dead?

  “Gideon Lazlo.” Gideon stepped forward. Built like a soccer player, he was slim and lithe; the dark haired, retired CIA mechanic was the perfect edition to the team.

  Noah had met Gideon in Afghanistan while both had been hunting terrorists and he had seemed a logical addition to Noah’s staff besides bringing some valuable training to the table.

  “What do you do?” Lulu asked.

  “I can neither confirm nor deny what I do,” he grinned. It’s not like he could bring up ‘I was a hired gun on the government payroll’. That didn’t make for polite chit chat.

  She giggled in the most charming manner. “This is rather exciting.”

  Gideon shook his head. “Ms. Bennington, we don’t like excitement.”

  She gave him a small pout. “I’ll see what I can do about that.” She turned to Ian Richardson. “We’ve met. Ian Richardson, or should I say Lord Chattsworth?” She held out her hand.

  Ian bent over and kissed her fingertips. “I’m in America now; titles are for when I’m back in England playing the Earl. Who could forget you? Ten years ago, wasn’t it?”

  Suave English bastard, Noah thought, a spurt of envy hitting him. Ian was one of best agents MI-6 ever produced, because no one would think a titled English playboy had what it took to be a spy. Ian could have shown James Bond a thing or two. Never at a loss for words, always polite, and the kind of man ladies fought over.

  Lulu’s eyes lit up. “London at the Vivienne Westwood fall show.”

  “I remember as though it were yesterday,” Ian half purred. “You wore the black wedding gown at the end of the show and brought down the house. I’m honored you remember me.”

  Lulu laughed. “I never forget tall, blond, and titled. What are you doing here?”

  “Aiding a damsel in distress,” he said.

  Oh for Christ’s sake, Noah almost grabbed Ian to pull him away from Lulu. Ian could turn on the bullshit and now everyone was knee deep in it. All they needed was for these two to be swapping crap for the next couple of weeks or however long it took to catch her stalker.

  Noah closed his eyes, working to contain his irritation.

  Lulu turned to Noah and he felt the urge to flee. Already he could tell this woman was a force to be reckoned with and Bennington was afraid that one minute with this over-powering woman would send Noah running for the hills. Noah was made of sterner stuff than that, but still he’d felt the urge to get away from her as much as he wanted to kiss her. What the hell was wrong with him?

  Noah forced himself not to walk out the room. All of a sudden, he knew exactly why Wilder Bennington had hired him instead of using his own security force. Lulu Bennington was no one’s fool and she’d run rings around anyone who knew her well. At least with Noah, Wilder had a chance to keep to her safe because he wouldn’t be influenced by her dynamic nature.

  Her gaze moved up and down him like she was studying him. “And you are?”

  Her low sultry voice mesmerized Noah. Maybe running for the hills wasn’t a bad idea. “Noah Callahan,” he said, proud that he didn’t stutter. He held out a hand and she grasped it in a strong grip.

  She just stared at him for a second her brown eyes widening. What no witty remark?

  “My, you are a whole lot man.” She tilted her head at him in a flirtatious manner that made his throat so dry he thought he’d choke.

  What did a guy say to that? “Yes ma’am.” How lame! He needed a new line.

  She seemed to recover. “Well, first things first, no ma’am, no Ms. Bennington, call me Lulu. Everybody does.”

  Noah just stared at her. His body may be tired, but his libido wasn’t. He opened his mouth to object, letting her know rule number one was never get personal with a client. But she’d already moved on and he was left with the words unsaid.

  “What happens now?” Lulu asked a query in her eyes as she looked at Noah.

  “We need to work out some logistics,” Noah said.

  “I think we should all go into the conference room,” she said, “where we can spread out and discuss this.”

  Bennington stepped forward. “I’ll meet--”

  “Wilder, you stay here.” She planted her hand on his chest. “We’ll be fine by ourselves.”

  “Lulu.” he said in a warning tone, his eyes sparkling with annoyance.

  Lulu brushed some lint off his shoulder. “Wilder, you’re the one who insists I
need a bodyguard to protect me over my objections. You’ve done your part. Besides, you hover and make people nervous. I’ll behave, I promise.” She batted her eyelashes at him.

  Noah forced himself not to smile. She had her brother’s number, too.

  Bennington took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Pinky promise,” he said and held out his hand, pinky extended.

  Lulu laughed. “Pinky promise.” She twined her pinky around her brother’s and they shook.

  The dull headache that had been plaguing Noah since he’d gotten off the plane was turning into a raging migraine. His head said he should gather his people and get the hell out of here because this woman was not going to make their job easy. His gut demanded he stay. She was in danger and he wanted to make sure she was going to be all right. Whether she wanted them there or not.

  Bennington’s mouth hardened as Lulu trailed Harrison out of the office, but he didn’t follow.

  She smiled at Noah and crooked her finger. “Follow me.”

  And that was how it was going to be. Her voice was so sultry, Noah’s insides almost melted. Before he reached the door, he grabbed Ian’s arm. “You know her?”

  Ian held up a hand. “We met once.”

  “Telling me wasn’t important?”

  Ian’s gaze followed the woman. “I didn’t know she was a potential client until Harrison told me this morning. You were still up 55,000 feet. Calling you was not an option.”

  Noah had met Ian on a job in, of all places, Monaco. Ian had been pretending to gamble while Noah and E. J. were trying to keep tabs on an alleged Romanian countess who’d stolen a necklace from a New York client. Noah had hired Ian on the spot thinking he could bring a new level of clientele to the business.

  Noah knew Ian had a point. “What she’s like?”

  Ian shrugged. “She was a model at the time. Too skinny for me. Although I have to say, I’m intrigued now.” Ian gave him a little smile that didn’t bode well for the way this assignment was going to go.

  Noah looked ahead and saw that Lulu had looped her hand through Harrison’s arm and a slight man with a pencil thin mustache, Noah didn’t remember being introduced to. “You know she’s going to be trouble.”

  Ian only smiled. “The most interesting women are, but so worth the effort.”

  Noah swallowed his irritation, not liking the fact that Ian was intrigued with Lulu. This was a job. They all had to act professional and make sure she kept breathing.

  Chapter Two

  Lulu had been around gorgeous men all her life and had refused to let them mess with her head. But Noah Callahan startled her. There was something so masculine and hard about him; she felt that she would swoon if he looked at her in just the right way.

  He wasn’t pretty, and his craggy features spoke of strength and character. His tall, rugged body suggested a physical strength strong enough to protect her. Not that she needed protecting. She was just letting Wilder have his way to keep him happy.

  She caught a wisp of his scent—a subtle hint of musk and wooded forest. If she could bottle that scent, she’d make a fortune.

  At least she was able to control herself. The one thing she learned about doing a talk show was how to think on her stilettos.

  She opened the door to the conference room, a large space with a solid walnut table that could seat twenty people. The room was painted a neutral gray. The only spot of color were silk plants in the corners, the dark red fabric on the chairs and some abstract art on the walls.

  “Why don’t we all have a seat?” She walked down the length of the table. “Aiden would you please have some refreshments brought in.” Aiden gave her a panicked look as if he were afraid to leave her alone with all this male testosterone. “Sweetie, I’ll be fine.” Lulu patted his hand and watched him go.

  Harrison politely held out a chair for her and she sat down.

  “So where do we start?

  Harrison pushed her chair in. “Ms. Bennington--”

  “Lulu. Please.”

  Harrison pulled out the chair next to her and sat down and rested his forearms on the table. “Ah, Lulu—”

  “See that wasn’t so hard now, was it?” She grinned. “Please everyone, take a seat and stop hovering, you are going to give me a crick in my neck.”

  She watched everyone sit. Interestingly enough, Noah Callahan took the chair furthest from her and she wondered why. Did she intimidate him in some way? She couldn’t imagine how and why he felt the need to put distance between them.

  She had dealt with personal security before, but not on this level. All these people exuded danger and a professional detachment that told her they were good at what they did. “Now, where were we?”

  Harrison put his brief case on the table and snapped open the locks. He pulled out a sheaf of papers encased in paper sleeves. ‘We start with the letters.”

  He started passing the letters around the table. Lulu refused to touch them.

  “What do you know about the letters?” Noah asked as he held one up.

  “Standard typing paper, the letters are cut from a magazine. No fingerprints, nothing to indicate if the person is male or female.”

  Everyone studied a letter and passed it on. Lulu watched them. She repressed a grin when she realized Noah’s lips moved as he read each letter.

  “What about the car that tried to run her down?” Noah asked when he’d passed the notes on.

  “Nothing,” Ian said. “We pulled a video from a bank across the street, but someone was at the ATM and obscured the view. No other cameras around.”

  Noah looked pointedly at Lulu.

  “It happened so fast,” she said, “I didn’t really see anything besides that it was black with dark windows and looked like a sedan. I didn’t notice the make or model.” She took a deep breath. “So how do you proceed?”

  Harrison smiled at Lulu. “We need to assess the threat level, find the person who is stalking you, and then we stop them.”

  His dark brown eyes made her feel at ease and safe. She could tell they were going to be friends. “How is this going to impact my life? And how fast can you find this man, or person.” She bit her bottom lip. “I’m assuming my stalker is a man and I shouldn’t assume anything, correct?”

  “You’re a public figure,” Harrison said, “which means we have a big suspect pool. The impact on your life is going to be profound,”

  Glancing around the table, she felt an inkling of fear. They all looked at her gravely. They were taking the threat far more seriously than she was. She hated feeling powerless. She’d spent a lot of years afraid that the people who had killed her parents would come back for her and Wilder. The sense of vulnerability froze her to the core and she was fighting hard not to let it engulf her again. “How do we narrow down this suspect pool?”

  “We dig into your personal life try to determine who your enemies are,” Noah Callahan said quietly, as though aware of her fear.

  She wanted to say she didn’t have any enemies, but did she really know. Digging into her personal life didn’t sound like a fun idea. She looked over at Ian for some kind of support. “How deeply do you dig?”

  Aiden returned to the room holding a tray with a carafe of coffee, a teapot along with mugs, a plate of cookies, creamer and sugar packets and several cans of soda along with glasses of ice. Lulu eyed the cookies, snicker doodles—her favorite. Aiden set the tray in the center of the table. He fussed over the placement for a moment while everyone watched him. He glanced around the table, suddenly aware that everyone was watching him. He stopped fiddling with the tray and came to stand behind her.

  Ian smiled at her. “We understand that people have secrets. We don’t judge.”

  Her secrets weren’t what she was worried about. Her gaze slide over to Noah Callahan who scowled. He was judging right now. From the expression on his rugged, face rather harshly. His ice blue eyes seemed to peer into her soul and she didn’t know if she was more turned on or frightened. Aiden put his hand on
her shoulder, the gesture reassuring.

  “Thank you.” She took a deep breath. “What do you need?”

  “Who knows your schedule?” Noah Callahan demanded.

  Harrison had collected all the letters and replaced them in his briefcase. He snapped the case closed.

  She held up a hand and ticked off on her fingers, “Besides Aiden, Maris my secretary, Sid my driver, Calvin my butler and, to some extent Wilder.” Only because Wilder insisted he know how to find her in case of an emergency.

  “Until we know for absolutely sure,” Noah said quietly, “everyone is part of the suspect pool.”

  Aiden’s hand tightened on her shoulder. “Not me. I would never hurt Lulu. Neither would anyone on her personal staff.”

  Noah eyed him curiously and then shook his head. “Maybe not, but loyalty isn’t a guarantee of anything.”

  She considered her personal staff family. “Nonsense, my house staff has been with me for years. They would never hurt me.”

  Noah leaned forward and placed his hands flat on the table. “Family means nothing. From this moment on you trust us and only us. If your staff loves you the way you say, they will want you to be safe and will understand what needs to be done to keep you that way.”

  Lulu realized she had no choice. As much as she wanted to believe no one wanted to hurt her, she knew she could be wrong. She’d been a public figure for years. Some people hated her because she was wealthy, some because she modeled, or now because she wasn’t a model. She was honest and told women to live, love, and enjoy life, and that they had a right to be happy no matter their dress size. “I want this situation over as quickly as possible. How can you make that happen?”

  Noah stood up. His wide shoulders and muscled six foot plus body filled her vision and she fought not to gasp. He was all man and she felt heat just thinking about him.

  “We get total access to your life twenty four/seven,” Noah said. “You are going to have to trust us and do exactly what we say when we say. No questions, no arguments, no nothing. We have two options. We can put you out there and see what shakes loose, or we hide you until this over.”