by Eve Langlais
“Your boss is correct.” She smiled at Darren and ignored Marcus’s scowl. “GPS and timed devices are the preferred methods these days.”
“What do you mean by GPS?” Marcus asked.
“GPS activated means the bomb will only go off when you hit a certain specified location. Popular areas for this would be small bridges or roads bordering ravines. The hope is that the car will veer off the road and that the subsequent crash will obliterate any evidence.”
Marcus gaped at her. “You’re fucking nuts. No one planted a bomb.”
She kept going as if he hadn’t spoken. “If it was a timer bomb, then you’re wasting time arguing with me instead of checking. The clock could be ticking.” She waggled her hand. “Use this to scan the car.”
“You want me to use a USB charger?”
“That’s the disguise. In actuality, this little box will detect any electronics that don’t belong to this make and model of vehicle. Just like my compact and lipstick scanned for signs of any listening devices or cameras.”
He wanted to tell her to shove her gadget and her conspiracy theory, and yet…Darren didn’t say a word. Not for the first time, Marcus realized just how different his training in the Army had been compared to someone who’d gone to Darren’s special academy.
Unlike other boys his age, Marcus had spent his high school years working two jobs because his mom kept flaking out on him and his grandpa. When he’d graduated, there was no money for college, so it was off to the military he went, serving for years before matters at home called him back for an early retirement.
A military career didn’t exactly prepare him for high-end bodyguarding. Marcus didn’t know how assassins worked or thought.
Kacy did. Kacy had the training Marcus lacked.
Fuck. He couldn’t let pride get in the way of doing his job.
Snatching the gadget, Marcus exited the town car, luxury on four wheels. Bulletproof and armored like a tank, the only thing it lacked was missile launchers. Darren wouldn’t let Marcus get any, claiming they were illegal in the USA.
Spoilsport.
Walking around the vehicle, Marcus aimed the small box at the top, sides, hood, and trunk. Then he crouched to point it at the undercarriage. It might stick in his craw that the girl had more training in some areas than he did, but…I’d still beat her in an arm wrestle.
Although, if it came down to naked wrestling, he might just let her get on top.
Better not let his mind veer there.
Given the green light on the device never wavered, Marcus felt pretty confident getting back in and declaring, “All clear.” He went to hand the device back, but Kacy shook her head.
“Keep it for next time. It’s not like I can use it while I’m pretending to be some airhead who thinks your boss is funny.”
“What do you mean pretend? I am funny,” Darren protested.
“You keep telling yourself that, cariño.” Her placating tone made Darren frown, but Marcus laughed.
“Anything else you want me to check, little pint?” Marcus asked.
“What did I say about calling me little pint, meathead?”
“Listen, you want me to stay in character, then that means me calling you little pint.”
“Is this how he treats all your girlfriends?” she asked Darren.
“Actually, that’s one of his nicer names. I had one a few years ago that he called barracuda.”
“And you didn’t fire him?” she asked.
“Fire him for telling the truth?” Darren shrugged. “The woman was as vicious as they come, but she had something I wanted so—”
“You used her.” Kacy’s nose wrinkled.
“Sometimes, a man has to do ugly things to get a job done.” In that case, Darren had taken one for the team. Marcus would have shot the blonde bitch point-blank.
“What a revolting thing to say.” Her indignity showed, but only because she’d never met the other woman.
“Listen, little pint, you’re going to have to trust us when we say barracuda was ugly.”
“Not entirely true,” Darren interjected. “On the outside, she was drop-dead gorgeous. Model perfect. But on the inside…” Darren tapered off, so Marcus finished the sentence.
“Bitch would have sold her own mother for a profit.”
“What happened to her when you got what you needed?” What the tone clearly said was, exactly what kind of man was she protecting?
It made Marcus bristle. How dare she question Darren’s integrity?
Darren didn’t take offense. “The lovely lady is now doing jail time. It seems she was involved in a scam that involved funneling children’s charity money into an offshore account. Someone tipped off the IRS, who, in turn, reported her to the authorities.”
At that, Kacy’s lip flattened. “She was a crook.”
“Of the most heinous kind.”
“I still say we should have shot her,” Marcus grumbled.
“On that, we can agree,” Kacy muttered. “Getting back on track, a few questions. Do you have a current girlfriend?”
Darren shook his head.
“What about a booty call? Anyone that might cast my role into doubt?”
“Nope. I’m in between relationships right now.”
Understatement. Marcus knew for a fact that Darren hadn’t really been into anyone since the blowup with Francesca.
“Are you and your bodyguard intimately involved?”
“No!” The vehemence emerged from them both, and Marcus gripped the wheel tightly, glowering, while Darren laughed.
“Despite our close friendship, we are not, and never will be, romantically involved. Although Marcus has been known to get drunk and confess his undying love to me.”
“As a bro,” Marcus muttered through gritted teeth.
“What will your staff think of you bringing a girl home?”
Again, Darren’s shoulder lifted and fell. “They won’t say a word. I don’t do it often if that’s what you’re asking, but at the same time, they are paid well to do their jobs and keep their mouths shut.”
“How do you know they’re not talking about you?”
“I don’t, but nothing embarrassing has ever been leaked to the tabloids, and no sex videos have emerged.”
“Only because I’m holding out for the right time to release that moment you had with that pot roast,” Marcus added. “You should have seen it, little pint. Someone smoked a joint for stress relief, and next thing you know, he’s in that fridge, cradling the leftover roast like it’s his best friend. Crooning sweet nothings.”
“In my defense, it was a really good roast.”
Kacy’s lips quirked. She fought the smile, but it won. “I hope you at least paid it homage by eating it with some cold gravy.”
“I did. And Marcus hasn’t forgiven me yet for not sharing.”
“I was high, too. And hungry.” He said it with a smile, and yet that brought a frown to her face.
“Do you guys make a habit of getting high or intoxicated?”
“If you mean am I neglecting my duties, then the answer is no. That was a one-time deal. For me, at least.”
Her gaze veered to Darren.
“I do it sometimes for stress relief and to help me sleep. It’s easier to wake up from than the pills the doctor prescribed. I sometimes suffer from insomnia.”
Again, mostly after the incident with a certain ex-girlfriend.
“Given the danger to Darren at this time, I’ll expect meathead to completely abstain, and as for you…” She eyed Marcus’s boss. “If you must indulge, only do so if we’re safe or it can’t be avoided in a social setting.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Darren saluted.
“That’s priceless coming from the girl downing glasses of wine at dinner,” Marcus retorted.
“It was water, you idiot. Made to look like wine. Harry told me what to order. Apparently, he knows the place and said if I ordered a 1980 white chardonnay they would understand that I meant water in a wine bo
ttle.”
Now he felt like a moron, especially since Marcus had never heard of that option. “Anything else you’d like to know or you need to forbid?” Marcus asked, unable to hide his annoyance, as she kept smacking him down at every turn. His poor balls kept reaping the abuse.
“There is one more thing you forgot.” Kacy pulled a gun out of nowhere and pointed it at Darren’s head.
Marcus knew he was too big to lunge over the seat and grab her, but he did growl. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“I am now displaying your ineptitude at not ensuring I was who I said I was. Neither of you did anything to check me. How do you know I really am Kacy? What if I killed her and took her place?”
Despite the gun pointed at his head, Darren didn’t flinch and calmly said, “I read your file and knew what you looked like.”
At that, Marcus frowned. Darren had never showed the file to him.
“I’ll wager the pictures you saw of me were without makeup or my hair styled. Given the advancement of cosmetic arts, it’s not hard to change someone’s features enough to pass as them. Especially if you’ve never met before.”
“Is this your way of saying I should have asked for identification? That seems rather harsh for a first date,” Darren added.
“Not you, but meathead should have.”
“What good would that have done?” Marcus stated. “Identification is easily faked.”
“True. And yet, you should have made an attempt. You sat down with a total stranger.”
“So what should I have done? Carded you and run your prints against a database? Frisked my boss’s date?” Give him a second chance, and he’d skim his hands over her curves.
“Yes, you should have. You’re his bodyguard. It’s expected you’ll keep him safe.”
A frown creased Marcus’s forehead. “You would have slapped me for laying hands on you.”
A hint of a smile lurked around her lips as she nodded. “Probably, and then I would have complained loudly about your treatment. To which Darren would have excused you and explained the precaution. But you didn’t, and now…” She cocked the hammer. “I’ve got a gun against your boss’s head, which you never even knew I carried, and you can’t do a thing before I shoot.”
The rebuke stung. Especially since Marcus knew part of the reason he hadn’t frisked the girl was because of misogyny. For all that he was a modern man, it irritated him to realize he’d assumed her petite and cute stature relegated her to non-threat status. It stung to have those blinders yanked away.
After his time spent in the Middle East, he should have learned that the fairer sex didn’t always play fair. How many bombs had he seen the burkha-clad ladies set off?
Properly put in his place, only a moron would keep arguing. “You’ve made your point. I fucked up.”
“Good. Don’t let it happen again. And consider this another lesson.”
“What do you mean lesson?”
She smiled. “Didn’t your boss tell you? I’m not just guarding his ass. I’m going to be teaching you some academy secrets.”
That earned Darren a mighty glare. The bastard just smiled. “I offered to send you to the academy so you could learn some of this shit. You said you didn’t want to train with kids. So, instead, I got you some private tutoring. You can thank me later.”
Marcus would thank Darren all right, with a foot up his ass.
Chapter Six
Even though he faced forward, watching the road, Kacy could see that the big guy simmered. She almost felt sorry for him. After all, he seemed to have some decent instincts and, even more importantly, he genuinely cared about his employer. That last thing could make a huge difference because those who guarded needed to actually want to save their bosses if shit hit the fan.
But her respect for his passion didn’t extend to his skills or lack thereof. He needed to learn, and learn quickly, if they were to make an effective protective detail.
Kacy turned to the man she was designated to protect. “How long of a drive to your place?”
“We’ve less than five minutes left. Why?”
“Because I need some information, and given I know this car is secure for the moment, I want to make the most of it.”
“My home is secure.”
“Not from what I hear.”
Darren frowned. “We’re working on ensuring that an incident like the other night doesn’t happen again.”
“Even if you plug that particular breach, your adversaries will be looking for a new one.”
“Let them try. I’ll take care of them.”
Her hair swung as she shook her head. “And, see, it’s that kind of macho attitude you need to work on. Both of you. Most assassinations aren’t bold attacks. The majority opt for subtle kills.”
“I would say a guy climbing a balcony in the middle of the night and bypassing security is kind of bold.”
“In that instance, yes, I’d agree because he came in person. There were numerous obstacles to overcome, any of which could have raised an alarm. He made it through and ultimately failed. The chances of someone trying that again are slim. My guess is the attacks we’ll have to watch for will be more subtle. That’s not to say someone won’t try and sniper you from afar. That’s always a possibility. As are explosive devices. We already discussed if they attempt to bomb the car. Which means, from now on, before we go anywhere, meathead, you need to secure the vehicle and check it for tampering.”
“Would it help if we randomly changed up the cars each time we went out?” Marcus asked.
“Actually, that would be great because that will make it harder for them to infiltrate your garage and choose a vehicle to tamper with. Another thing we’ll have to deal with are your phones.”
“They’re encrypted,” Darren stated.
“Great. But they’re still beacons to the right hacker. Might as well hang out a sign and say, ‘here I am.’”
Her client’s features turned stubborn. “I need my phone for business.”
Boys and their toys. “You can have it on when you’re in the house, but as soon as you walk out of those doors, then you and meathead are to place them in this holder.” She pulled a pair of slim black sleeves from the lining of her purse. “These will block any signals trying to ping your devices.”
“It means people won’t be able to contact me.”
“They can call, but you won’t get it right away. They’ll have to leave a message. By having the signal unavailable for long periods of time, it will force an assassin to rely on old-fashioned visual staking out.” Forcing someone to follow closely meant more chances for her to spot them and mount a counter-attack.
“Fine. We’ll put our phones in the special pouches when we leave the house.”
“Phone condoms,” Marcus coughed in the front.
“Isn’t that like a man to have a problem with safety,” Kacy retorted.
Darren smirked. “Anything else?”
“Leaving the house. As of now, you don’t go anywhere without me.”
“Or me,” Marcus grumbled.
“Until I know the level of your skills, I will take point with the client’s protection.”
“Nothing wrong with my skills.” The big guy turned his gaze from the road long enough to shoot her a glare.
She remained unimpressed. “Don’t let your giant ego get in the way of protecting the client. You might be large and intimidating, which is great with in-person confrontations, but when it comes to the more subtle attempts, size means shit.”
“We’ll see about that,” was his mumbled reply.
“I draw the line at either of you following me into the bathroom,” Darren declared. “A man likes to do his business in peace.”
“A man had better learn to leave the door unlocked then and carry his panic button in case he’s attacked while doing his number two.”
“Panic button?” Marcus queried.
“Don’t tell me your boss doesn’t have one?” She turned an
incredulous look on Darren. “What is the point of having a bodyguard if he doesn’t know when you need help?”
“I can handle myself,” Darren replied, finally showing some annoyance. “I’m not completely useless.”
“That button would have helped the other night when that guy broke in.” Marcus looked in the rearview mirror and sought her gaze. “Where do we get one?”
“I know where to get it.” Looking disgruntled, Darren nonetheless seemed amenable to the things she suggested. “I’ll order a package of toys from a supplier I know. It will probably take a day or so to arrive.”
“Anything else we should do?” Marcus asked. While still not exactly happy about things, she could see that he was at least willing to listen. Good, because the moment he wasn’t, she’d have to teach him a lesson. One in humility.
“I think that covers the basics for now. Harry said something about a trip?”
“We leave in two days. Long enough for us to fake falling madly in lust and me insisting you join me.”
“Do you have the plane ticket already?”
“It’s a chartered flight, arranged by the hosts of the meeting. None of us attending have any idea where we’re going.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Would it help if I mentioned we need to pack warm-weather clothing?”
Sighing, Kacy leaned against the supple leather upholstery. “I’m going to fucking kill Harry. How am I supposed to protect you if I don’t know all the facts?”
“If Harry has faith in you, then so do I,” Darren noted. “We’re almost home.”
She took a moment to peek outside and noted the measures they had to go through to get into his property. Metal gates stretched between a high stone wall. An electronic panel required Marcus placing his hand on it. It flashed green, and the gates swung open.
“How many people have access to the property?” she asked.
“Only staff, me, and Marcus. Anyone else has to get permission from the security detail at the house.”
“Is it a live biometric unit or just a basic fingerprint scanner?” she asked.
“Live. I’ve seen the movies, too, where the bad guys chop off hands to use them.”