Watch Over Me

by Lucy Monroe

  “Oregon?” Frank asked faintly. “Paramilitary training?”

  “Not exactly. As a favor to me, Nitro and Josie Black Eagle have agreed to devise a training program specifically tailored to the security personnel for ETRD right away. It’s a new service our recently combined security companies will be offering in the future. Nitro and Josie are willing to use ETRD’s security officers as the program’s guinea pigs.”

  “Lucky ETRD security guards.” Mykola wasn’t such a novice at sarcasm himself.

  Elle got a distinctly wicked twinkle in her eye. “They won’t be making the kind of mistake they did in Lana’s lab yesterday again.”

  “So, you’re sending the head of security?” Frank asked.

  “He’ll be in the first batch of trainees.”

  “How long does training take?”

  “Two weeks. The current head of security will stay for the entire rotation of all our personnel, but he will be helping with the training in the later rotations.”

  Frank paled a little. “How many will be gone at a time?”

  “A full detail. The rest of the personnel will have their schedules adjusted to compensate for each missing detail.”

  “I assume you’ve got something in place to replace the detail gone at training,” Mykola said. “This is not a good time for you to be running on a skeleton security crew.”

  Elle didn’t even have to say duh this time. She just looked it. “I’ve arranged for Brett Adams and his wife Claire, a total computer wizard, to come with a detail of employees from our security company. There will be at least one of our own on duty here at ETRD twenty-four/seven until the rest of the security force have been trained by Josie and Nitro. I was going to recommend Hotwire, I mean Brett, for the interim security position.”

  “You’ve done a lot of arranging without consulting me,” Frank said mildly.

  “I was going to recommend it to you and Mr. Smith as a follow-on to my security consult. However, the reaction to Dr. Billings pushing the panic button in the Materials Transformation lab yesterday showed me that the security guards at ETRD need some significant retraining if they are going to be effective. I felt the current situation justified taking immediate action.”

  Frank looked very unhappy. “I thought we had a strong force. They were all hired because of their previous experience.”

  “Which only goes to show how necessary this new service is for a lot of companies, not just your own.”

  “You’re adjusting to civilian capitalism nicely, Elle,” Mykola teased.

  Elle smiled. “In fact, I am. I’m serving my country still, but in the private sector. I never realized how much my services were needed before, but Beau has helped me to see that ETRD is just one of many companies at risk because their security measures aren’t up to standard with the criminal element.”

  “Good for Beau.” Mykola said it under his breath, but Lana heard.

  And it made her smile. It was so obvious how much each of these Chernichenkos cared about the happiness of the others.

  “Okay, so we make it look like I’ve replaced my head of security temporarily with Myk,” Frank said in a clear effort to get a grasp on the situation.

  Mykola nodded. “Right. As planned, Elle leaves.”

  “I wasn’t going to leave. Not now that we’ve found out ETRD’s technological developments are once again at risk.”

  “That’s not your problem, Elle.”

  “Of course it is.”

  “The case is mine.”

  “I’m still the security consultant for ETRD.”

  “Your consult is over. Like you said, you were going to recommend the training as a follow-up to your job here. Your primary responsibility right now is to stay alive.”

  “And I’m supposed to do that by quitting my job. I can see where that is going to be very helpful, assuming the Vega Cartel has a mole here, which they don’t, because my measures are foolproof.”

  “No measures are foolproof when people can still be bought, Elle. You know that.”

  “I’ve personally gone over every file on the current security guards and while they may not have the background or training I’d like, none of them have anything that would indicate they are security risks.”

  “Someone gave the Vega Cartel your notes.”

  “It was probably the dirty security guard who sold copies of Beau’s project.”

  “You can’t be sure of that.”

  Elle went silent, her expression mutinous, but apparently she agreed with her brother’s assessment. Interesting. Lana found the Chernichenkos and how they interacted fascinating. Too bad Matej wasn’t here. Then again, Elle would probably dig her heels into petrified rock if she was facing off against two of her brothers.

  “Getting back to my plan,” Mykola said. “You don’t just leave ETRD, but you go stay with the folks until the wedding. No one would think anything of you doing that. It certainly wouldn’t clue the cartel in on the fact that we know about their attempt on your life.”

  Elle said nothing, but her expression said she was thinking plenty.

  Mykola’s tension increased, but it didn’t sound in his voice. “After the wedding you go off on your publicly announced honeymoon.”

  “No way.” Elle sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. “We’re keeping that a secret.”

  “Whatever trip you and Beau have planned can wait for your first anniversary. For right now, you are going to announce plans to go on a four-week African safari.” Mykola sounded very pleased with his plan.

  “African safari?” Elle and Beau asked in shocked unison.

  Lana thought it sounded fascinating and wouldn’t mind such a honeymoon herself, if she ever got married. Not a hunting safari, of course, but a trip into the wilds of Africa would be amazing.

  “I get it. We pretend to go away while remaining here in secret so I can help you with the case.” Elle smiled at that idea.

  Beau, however, had a severe glare going on.

  Mykola just shook his head. “Wrong. You go on the safari.”

  “Wouldn’t that just make it easier for the cartel to kill her?” Beau asked.

  “You’re assuming their assassin will follow her. Once she’s out of the way, they have no reason to follow through on the kill.”

  Beau looked less than convinced. “You hope. You can’t be sure of that. If they do follow, how is she supposed to protect herself when she’s completely out of her normal environment?”

  “She’s not supposed to. The guides for this particular safari outfit are former military. In fact, while they will take you both on a genuine safari, their company is only a cover for what they really do.”

  Beau smiled, appearing delighted. “They’re mercenaries?”

  “You got Roman into this?” Elle asked in a raised voice.

  “Who is Roman?” Frank asked.

  Lana could answer that. “Elle’s second-oldest brother. He’s military Special Forces, though I’ve never heard which branch. He doesn’t come around the family often, but they all love him. Neither Mat nor Elle were expecting him to make it for their double wedding.”

  Mykola smiled at Lana, like he was impressed with her observation ability, like he didn’t think it made her some kind of freak. “He’s coming. In fact, he’ll be in town tonight, along with a select squad of his elite soldiers. They will be handling security at the folks’ place.”

  “Where you expect me to stay until the wedding?” Elle asked in a voice that said not in this life.

  “Yes.”

  “No way.”

  Beau looked ready to explode. He dropped to his haunches and spun her office chair around so they were face-to-face behind her desk. “Damn it, Elle. I love your strength. I even find your stubbornness sexy, but we’re getting married on Saturday. I’d like us both to be alive to make that possible.”

  “I can’t live with my parents while you’re at the condo.” Elle reached out and cupped Beau’s face. “For all we know,
you’d end up collateral damage.”

  “If that’s what’s bothering you, I’ll stay with your parents, too, but I think Myk has come up with a damn fine plan. Let him keep you safe, please.”

  “We won’t be sharing a bed. Baba won’t allow it.”

  Beau leaned forward and kissed Elle, nothing scorching, but incredibly intense for all that. “We’ll just have to get creative, sugar. Do this for me. I’m begging you.”

  “I can’t just leave while Myk cleans up my messes after me,” Elle said the words in a quiet, subdued voice, but Lana had no problem hearing them.

  She was sure no one else had, either. She could feel the distressed vibe coming off Mykola, and Frank just looked flummoxed.

  “If you don’t mind me saying so, Elle, this isn’t your mess. You’ve done a fantastic job upgrading security at ETRD, but if you stayed until every wrinkle was ironed out, you’d never leave.”

  “That would make you an employee of Mr. Smith, not a consultant for him,” Frank interjected.

  Lana wasn’t sure why that was a factor, but she would take all the help she could get.

  Lana had no reason to believe the other woman would listen to her, but she had to try to make Elle see reason. “You no longer work for TGP. Mykola is the agent in charge on this case. That makes your safety and protection of the enzyme technology his responsibility. You owe it to yourself and to Beau to let your brother do his job while you fulfill your promise to marry my friend and colleague. A man I have never heard beg in all the years we’ve worked together, by the way.”

  Elle was listening, Lana could tell, but the other woman’s gaze was fixed firmly on the man she loved. She didn’t say anything, but she was no longer arguing and that had to be a plus.

  “Thanks, Lana.” Mykola gave her a one-armed hug, pulling her body into contact with his.

  It made her feel surprisingly safe and not so surprisingly tingly.

  The man was amazingly sexy.

  “Don’t thank me for telling the truth. Elle is taking responsibility for something that isn’t hers to take. She didn’t create the enzyme. She did implement an amazing security system, but as a consultant. Not an ongoing employee of ETRD. If this issue had not arisen, tomorrow would have been her last day here. I think for her and Beau’s sakes it still should be.”

  Chapter 8

  “How did you know that Elle was leaving tomorrow?” Frank demanded. “I suppose you put two and two together since Myk announced she planned to leave this week.”

  Everyone else in the room just gave Frank a look while Lana felt herself squirm. Sometimes, she felt like a voyeur, even though she never consciously spied on people or their conversations. It was just that so much got said around her because people thought she wasn’t paying attention. And really, she didn’t mean to. She couldn’t help it.

  “You know, that brings up an interesting question,” Frank said musingly. “Why did the Vega Cartel make an attempt on Elle’s and Beau’s lives this morning when she planned to vacate her position tomorrow?”

  “Because they didn’t know she had those plans. Besides Lana, who else at ETRD knew Elle’s contract was ending?” Mykola asked.

  “No one. I hadn’t announced it to the security team because I didn’t want them getting complacent in my company,” Elle said. “Frank and you were the only two people who knew.”

  “I didn’t tell anyone, not even Mr. Smith,” Frank said.

  Elle nodded. “As far as anyone else was concerned, my consulting contract was running indefinitely. I hadn’t even told Beau I was finished. I planned to surprise him by taking some time off after we got back from our honeymoon as well.” She smiled at her husband-to-be. “I thought we could go to Texas and visit your family again.”

  “They’re flying out for the wedding.”

  “But we’ll be busy with all our other guests. This would have given us some time to be with them alone.”

  “You’re assuming Beau can get time off from ETRD,” Frank said.

  “He’s never taken any personal vacation days—he’s got months accumulated. You and Mr. Smith will just have to deal,” Elle said firmly as she turned to face the rest of them again.

  “This means you no longer work for ETRD?” Beau asked.

  “Yes, I suppose it does.”

  Beau was grinning as he lifted Elle from her chair, sat down, and pulled her into his lap. “That all sounds good to me, sugar. But the first four weeks of that vacation time is going to be spent on safari in Africa.”

  “What about our honeymoon plans?”

  “Your brother’s idea of taking the trip to celebrate our first anniversary works for me. How about you?”

  Everyone waited for Elle’s answer.

  She smiled at Beau. “I can get tunnel vision when it comes to work, but Lana and Myk are right. I don’t belong on this case and staying alive so we can have a long life together is my top priority right now.”

  “So, are we going to stay with your folks until the wedding?”

  “Yes.” Elle gave Mykola a squinty-eyed look. “Don’t get used to me agreeing with you.”

  “Heaven forbid.”

  Everyone laughed, except Lana.

  Mykola noticed. “What’s the matter, doc?”

  Other than the fact that now that Elle Gray was going to be out of the picture, nothing stood between Lana and the position of primary target for the Vega Cartel? Not that she’d mention that concern. After all, it wasn’t as if she would have done anything to change it. She didn’t want Elle at risk because of Lana’s scientific research. The other woman had so much more to her life worth fighting for than Lana did.

  Elle had been arguing with her brother over where she could take her honeymoon—a once-in-a-lifetime trip signifying the start of a new phase of Elle’s life. And Lana had been arguing with Mykola over whether or not she could teach a neophyte belly-dancing class another instructor could easily take over.

  How pathetic was it that Lana had nothing more than her belly-dancing classes to lose? Maybe she wasn’t as far out of that self-made prison that Mr. Smith had found her living in than she thought. If it weren’t for her work at ETRD, she’d say she hadn’t come out of it at all.

  “Technically, though I have a double PhD, I am not a doctor.” For once, she’d managed not to blurt everything she’d been thinking and had in fact, even managed a bit of misdirection.

  “If you say so…doc.”

  The twit. Or not. The nickname was kind of cute and she’d never had one before. Sometimes, Casey called her boss, but technically she was his boss, so that wasn’t really a nickname. “You may call me doc if you wish.”

  “Thank you. I will. Now, spill it.”

  “Spill what?”

  “Whatever put that look of fear in your eyes a second ago.”

  “What about the Gestapo guards?” It was her second attempt at misdirection in as many minutes. She was impressed with herself.

  This time it worked.

  “What Gestapo guards?” Elle demanded.

  Mykola repeated Lana’s earlier complaints about the guards’ high-handedness. He had been listening. Elle was furious, giving credence to Mykola’s assertion that the guards had not been instructed to behave the way that they had.

  Elle called the two guards in question into her office, along with the shift’s lead security officer—a woman. Frank introduced Mykola as the new acting head of security and announced that after that night, Elle Gray’s security consulting work for ETRD would be done.

  Mykola took over from there. Glaring at the two guards and their team lead, he asked, “You are aware what a covert security tail is, aren’t you?”

  The two guards shot sideways looks at their shift leader before nodding.

  Looking smug, Beau said with a singsong Texas twang, “Wouldn’t want to be you,” as he exited the room. Frank just shook his head and followed the other man out, giving his tacit approval of whatever was to follow.

  “They were
supposed to be covert, not just nonintrusive?” Lana asked, stunned by the guards’ complete lack of effort to be either.

  Mykola replied, “Yes.”

  “The guard last night, um, Perkins,” she said, reading the man’s name tag, “waved at me before driving away and the guard this morning, that would be…” She took another peak at nametags. “Nelson…insisted on being admitted to my building.” Even she knew those activities couldn’t be considered part of the broadest definition of covert.

  Elle said an ugly word in Ukrainian. She glared at the hapless guards. “Explain.”

  “I wanted Dr. Ericson to know I was leaving,” Perkins said, looking nervous.

  Nelson looked far less belligerent than he had when he knocked on her door that morning, but his words still came out defensive. “It was my responsibility to see to her safety. I couldn’t do that from the car.”

  “It was your responsibility to follow orders,” Elle gritted.

  “I don’t see what the harm was. This was a simple training exercise,” the team lead said. Her name tag read Ramirez. “My officers did as they were instructed.”

  So, that was how Elle had explained the instructions without alerting the security guards to the fact that Lana might be in real danger.

  “No. In fact, they did not.” Mykola had that deadly quiet thing going on with his voice again. “They were not covert, nor were they nonintrusive. They insisted on Dr. Ericson leaving her lab before she was ready and coming into the office before her usual time as well.”

  “Security guards may not have PhDs, but they do have their own lives,” the shift lead sneered. “Expecting them to wait around past their own scheduled work hours at the whim of a coworker is not appropriate.”

  The room went totally silent. Elle made an aborted move for the telephone and then looked at Mykola. “As the new acting head of security, this is your call.”

  “The permanent head of security is still in the building. Call him in. We’ll give him a chance to make the right choice. If he mishandles this situation, he has no business in his position, and I expect you to tell Mr. Smith and Frank that as one of your final recommendations.”