Alicia took the phone and pressed it to her ear. “Meredith? Hi. My name is Alicia, and I’m Marcus’s assistant. Are you doing okay?”
“No. The message said that they were going to hurt my brother.”
Meredith’s response sent chills down Alicia’s spine. As Meredith spoke, Alicia heard Marcus on her phone with someone named Derek, asking him if he was around where Meredith was. She knew that things had happened in the past with the company and wondered if this was related to that.
“Get eyes on her, Derek.” Marcus lowered the phone then tapped the screen before putting it to his ear again. “Trent? I need you to meet me at my house. My sister’s computer has been hacked, and I need you to figure out what’s going on.”
“I’m really worried about Marcus.” The panic was clear in Meredith’s voice. “You’re with him? I need him to be okay. Is he okay?”
“Your brother is safe, Meredith.” Alicia hoped her tone was soothing and would calm the other woman down. “He’s sitting right next to me, and we’re on our way to you right now.”
“He’s coming here now?” Meredith asked, her voice not as calm as Alicia had hoped that information would make her. “But what if they’re waiting for him to come here to take him?”
Alicia had no response, and Meredith’s question did nothing to ease the sense of dread that had been growing inside her. “Marcus wouldn’t be coming to the house if he didn’t think it was safe.”
“Nothing can happen to him,” Meredith insisted. “I need him. If something happens to him…”
She wanted to reassure Meredith he would be fine, but she couldn’t guarantee that. So, she had to lie. “Nothing is going to happen to him, Meredith.”
Marcus had made a couple of other calls while she talked with Meredith, and it sounded like there would be people there for physical security fairly quickly.
Alicia heard what sounded like a bark. “Do you have a dog, Meredith?”
“Yes. Yeah, his name is Bond.”
“Bond? Like James Bond?” Alicia asked.
“Yeah. I like the movies.”
“What else do you like to do?” Alicia hoped that asking personal questions of his sister would be okay with Marcus, but it seemed like it was calming her down a bit.
“Dance. Marcus and I go ballroom dancing once a week.”
Alicia took a moment to imagine Marcus ballroom dancing. Somehow that didn’t quite gel with what she knew of the man so far. “I’ve never done that. What type of dancing is your favorite?”
“I don’t know all the different styles, but so far I like waltzing the best.”
Over the next fifteen minutes, Alicia did her best to keep Meredith talking. They talked about music, books and what types of puzzles the other woman liked to do. Every time the woman revealed something about her brother, Alicia would glance over at him. He wasn’t talking to anyone on the phone, but he had his tablet in his hands and was looking at what appeared to be security feeds.
Alicia listened to Meredith talk about a book she was looking forward to reading, her eyes going wide as they approached a large set of gates that began to open for them. She glanced out the back window once they’d passed them and saw the gates closing again. Thankfully, no one slipped through before they settled back into place, blocking out the outside world.
“Let me speak with her,” Marcus said as he held out his hand.
“Your brother wants to talk to you again, Meredith,” Alicia said then handed him the phone. He gave her back hers in the exchange.
Gripping her phone tightly, Alicia pressed her other hand to her stomach and watched as they approached Marcus’s house…which was really a mansion. She remembered the last time she’d been there—the gates hadn’t been closed for that event—and she wished she was returning under better circumstances.
She listened as Marcus directed the driver where to park then, not knowing what else to do, followed him from the car into the house. They were immediately greeted by a slender woman with dark hair like Marcus’s and a large golden retriever who Alicia assumed was Bond. The dog stayed close to Meredith as she came towards them. Before Meredith could say anything, Marcus gathered her into his arms.
“Everything’s going to be okay, Meri,” Marcus said as he held her. Bond stayed close to both of them while the brother and sister embraced.
Again, Alicia was struck by the way Marcus softened when dealing with his sister. It was something she had never experienced herself. Not having had a father or brother growing up, Alicia hadn’t had the chance to have someone like that in her life. Of course, now, she had Doug and Eric, but though she appreciated both of them and the way they’d welcomed her into their lives, she hadn’t allowed them to get too close. Too close meant revealing things she should have shared right at the start.
As the siblings stepped apart, Alicia noticed a man standing in a doorway not too far away. His head almost touched the top of the door frame, and he stood with his feet braced and one of his hands gripping the wrist of his other arm. All of that, along with the short cut of his dark hair, screamed military to Alicia. She took a wild guess that this was Derek, the man she’d heard Marcus speaking to first on her phone.
“Nothing on the perimeter?” Marcus asked.
“It’s clear so far,” Derek said with a nod. “There hasn’t been any movement at all over the last twenty-four hours except for what has been approved. I can go back further if you’d like.”
Marcus glanced over at Alicia and then his sister. “Meredith, why don’t you show Alicia the kitchen. Maybe make us something for lunch?”
Alicia wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about being banished to the kitchen, but she had a feeling it was more for Meredith’s sake than getting rid of her.
Meredith seemed happy at Marcus’s suggestion and motioned for Alicia to follow her. With Bond at her side, Meredith led the way into an enormous kitchen with large stainless steel appliances and a huge island in the center of it. The smile on Meredith’s face as she began to pull things from the fridge told Alicia that she had no problem at all following Marcus’s suggestion as she appeared to enjoy working in the kitchen. Although, from the look of the spacious room, Alicia was hard pressed to think of a reason why a person wouldn’t be happy working in that place.
~*~
Marcus turned when a buzzer on the security panel alerted him that someone was at the gate. Strategically placed cameras showed him that it was Trent, and it looked like Eric had come with him. Hopefully, the security personnel wouldn’t be far behind. If it were just him, he wouldn’t be as concerned, but he would take absolutely no chances with Meredith.
He pressed the button to open the gate, watching as Trent’s car came through before closing it. Marcus continued to stare at the monitor, not really seeing what was on the screen. His mind was on how to best protect Meredith.
“What’s going on, Marcus?” Eric asked as he walked into the house with Trent right behind him.
“My sister got some kind of threat on her laptop, and it freaked her out.”
“Where is it?” Trent looked around. “Let me have a look at it.”
“I’m not sure. I’ll go ask her.” Marcus walked into the kitchen, not too surprised to see that Meredith was in the middle of making sandwiches. Alicia was working alongside her, slapping the tops on the sandwiches once Meredith was done building them.
Alicia glanced up when he walked in, her hands stilling their movements. Her gaze shot to Meredith quickly before looking back at him. He knew that he’d kind of thrown her into the deep end of the pool with the current situation. Thankfully, she seemed to be rolling with the punches, and he truly appreciated that.
“Meri? Where’s your laptop, sweetheart?”
She looked up at him, her blue eyes widening as if only remembering now why he was there at the house. “In the family room.” After a glance at the sandwiches, she said, “These will be ready in a few minutes.”
“Sounds great. Just br
ing them to my office, okay?”
Marcus told the guys to head into his office while he went to grab Meredith’s laptop. He was trying to keep focused on the situation at hand and not the burning anger that had taken root in his gut when he’d first gotten the frantic phone call from Meredith. It wouldn’t help things at all if he let that take over when he needed to keep his head straight. But if he ever got his hands on the person that had frightened his sister like that…
Spotting his sister’s laptop laying open on the floor with the monitor side down, Marcus approached it slowly. The message that had scared Meredith was still there, written in large white letters on a black screen:
WE’RE GOING TO TAKE YOUR BROTHER.
Scowling, Marcus picked it up and began to make his way to his office. As he walked, movement on the screen caught his attention, and he glanced down. The words started to disintegrate into pinpoints of white until the screen had gone completely black. Then it came back to life.
GLAD WE HAVE YOUR ATTENTION
Marcus began to move quickly in the direction of his office. He didn’t know what was going on, but he had someone waiting there who would.
“Trent.” The man looked toward the door as Marcus walked through it. “How are they doing this?”
Trent took the laptop from Marcus and set it on the desk, sinking down into the chair in front of it. He glanced up at Marcus. “Is this a new message?”
“Yes. It said we’re going to take your brother when I picked it up. It changed to that message as I was on my way here.”
Eric and Derek moved to stand behind Trent and stared at the screen. Trent began to type on another laptop that was set up on the desk. Marcus paced behind the men, glancing at the white letters on the black screen every so often.
“Here are the sandwiches, Marc.”
He spun on his heel to see Meredith and Alicia walking into the room with trays in their hands. With a quick step, he made sure to move between the laptop and Meredith’s view of it. Marcus knew that he should have the car take Alicia back to the office to do some work, but knowing that she was there with Meredith was giving him the ability to focus on what was going on with the laptop.
Marcus helped them put the trays down on the desk then guided them out of the office. “Can you take Bond to the sunroom, Meri? Alicia will be there in a minute.”
Meredith nodded and turned to leave the office. For once, Marcus was glad for his sister’s rather docile demeanor. Most of the time, he wished that she would show more of a backbone, but right then, he was glad she didn’t.
Marcus placed his hand on Alicia’s elbow and guided her closer to the doorway. “Thank you for helping out with Meredith. I know this is not exactly part of your job description.”
Alicia’s lips curved in a small smile. “Actually, I figure my job description really only says one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Do what Marcus says.” Her smile grew a bit more.
“Well, that’s good for when we’re at work, but this whole situation kind of crosses the line, I think. However, I’m glad you’ve been willing to roll with the punches today. If you need to go, just let me know, but in the meantime, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Alicia gave a quick nod of her head. “I’ll just go hang out with Meredith for now.”
“Let me show you the way,” Marcus said, not sure why he felt the need to prolong contact with her. He told himself it was gratitude, but that didn’t actually resonate as the truth.
He walked with Alicia by his side through to the back of the house where the sunroom was located. He’d had it built onto the house the previous summer to give Meredith a safe place within the house where she could still enjoy the outdoors. Meredith had obviously detoured by the kitchen since she was sitting at the glass-topped table with another tray which held more sandwiches and drinks.
She looked up as they walked in and smiled. “I hope you’re hungry, Alicia.”
Marcus looked down at Alicia just as she glanced up at him before turning toward Meredith. “I am. My stomach was growling when we were making them.”
He waited for a minute, watching as the two women settled into seats at the table. It pleased him that Meredith was as at ease with Alicia as she was. If this situation was going to escalate, he was going to need to be able to focus on it without having to worry about his sister. And yes, Alicia was not hired to deal with his personal life, but until he knew for sure what was going on, he felt confident that Meredith was in good hands.
As he made his way back to the office, he knew that he would likely have to give Alicia an explanation for Meredith at some point. And yet, he didn’t really have an explanation for why his sister seemed to have stopped her emotional growth at the age of fourteen. Yes, she’d experienced extreme trauma, but so had Justin’s sister, Beth, and yet she had managed to move forward and go on to marry and have a child. Marcus couldn’t even begin to imagine Meredith in a similar situation, as much as he wished she could experience that.
He heard the buzzer on the security panel go again as he stepped into his office. “Can you get that, Derek?” The man nodded and left the room. He moved to where Eric and Trent were staring at Meredith’s laptop. The screen was no longer black with white letters across it. “What’s that?”
Trent kept his gaze on the screen, but Eric straightened, a concerned frown on his face. “We’re not entirely sure. It’s just you and Meredith, right? Like as siblings?”
“Yes. It’s just the two of us. Why?”
Eric handed over his phone. “We captured this on my phone when we realized it was changing again and you weren’t here.”
Marcus took the phone and tapped the screen to start the video. The view jostled for a moment before focusing on the laptop monitor where another message filled the screen.
MEET YOUR BROTHER JEFF
The words disappeared, and a video took its place. Marcus glimpsed a face that looked familiar, but he couldn’t place it. He looked over at the laptop monitor to the video that was playing there as he handed Eric back his phone. The guy’s head lolled around to the side. His eyes were closed, and his arms were restrained to the chair he sat on.
“Who is that?” Marcus asked as he bent to look more closely at the laptop monitor. Nothing more was happening except that the guy was sitting there unconscious. Marcus glanced over in time to see Trent and Eric exchange glances. “Who is it, guys?”
“What’s going on, Marcus?”
At the sound of Alex Thorpe’s voice, Marcus straightened and turned to see his friend walking toward him with Connor Mackenzie, his brother-in-law, behind him. He wasn’t too surprised to see him since he was pretty sure word had spread that he’d abandoned his trip to Washington to respond to an emergency with Meredith.
He looked back over at the screen and listened as Eric filled Alex and Connor in on what had transpired. They still hadn’t answered his question about who the man in the video was. And why would anyone say that this person was his brother? It had been just him and Meredith ever since the day their dad had decided to wipe out their family and then end his own life. If they had a brother, Marcus would know about it.
Wouldn’t he?
As he watched the screen, the guy’s head moved as he struggled to lift it. Marcus wasn’t sure if he’d been drugged or physically knocked out. Either way, the guy was in a bad way. Brother or not, Marcus didn’t like to see someone suffering like that. Well, not normally anyway.
“Isn’t that Kelsey’s guy?” Connor asked. “Jeff?”
All of them moved closer to monitor, and Marcus held his breath, hoping that Connor was mistaken. He didn’t want to have to deal with another person going through the fear and worry of having a loved one taken from them. It had been awful to watch Justin go through that when his fiancée, Alanna, had gone missing. Thankfully, they’d found her in time, but it could just as easily have gone the other way and ended without getting her back alive. Marcus couldn’t
say why exactly, but something in his gut told him that this might not have the same happy ending.
“How are you feeling, Jeff?” The voice coming through the laptop speakers made them all jump a little.
“We need to get this up on a better monitor,” Trent said in a low voice as he looked around. “It would be better if we could get this back to the office, but I don’t want to lose the connection. I’m working to give the guys back at the office access to this.”
The guy in the chair tried to lift his head. “Why are you doin’ this? I did everything you said.”
Marcus scowled as he listened to the slurred words. Jeff’s head lolled to the side.
“Yes, you did. And you did it quite well, Jeff, but my use for you was two-fold. We’re finished with part one. This is part two.” It was apparent that whoever was behind the camera was using something to disguise their voice. “Do you think your brother will rescue you, Jeff? Especially after what you’ve done?”
“You tol’ me tha’ I’d be able to tell him. When he was ruined.”
“I’m afraid that honor will now fall to me. In fact, he’s learning all about you right now. Do you want to tell him a little bit more about yourself?”
Jeff’s head lifted with a little less wobble. It seemed as if he was able to look around and take in where he was. When his gaze found the camera, Marcus knew there was no denying that this was Kelsey’s Jeff. He recognized the man from Lindsay and Than’s wedding where he’d come as Kelsey’s date.
The man’s gaze slipped away from the camera for a moment. “No. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.”
“I’ve always called the shots, buddy. Go ahead. Look into the camera and tell Marcus Black who you are to him.”
Jeff said nothing, and suddenly something dropped over the lens of the camera. The sound of flesh on flesh came through the laptop’s speakers followed by a grunt. Marcus had to make a conscious effort to unclench his jaw. The lens was uncovered once again to reveal Jeff sitting there with his head bent forward once again.
~*~
“Do you think he’s cute?”
A Sense of Security: A Christian Romance (BlackThorpe Security Book 6) Page 8