Bryce: The Project (Indie Rebels Book 3)

by Miranda P. Charles

  They entered the formal living area and Bryce instantly recognised a couple of Eve’s colleagues at Your Eyes and Ears, who were talking to a few faces he hadn’t seen before. But he led Emma towards Eve and Xavier, who were exchanging hello kisses with a group of friends, including Jaxon and Holly.

  “Hey! Bryce!” said someone from behind.

  Bryce turned and grinned at Derek McCarthy and his wife, Bernadette. He introduced Emma to the wonderful couple.

  “So great to meet you, Emma,” Bernadette said, hugging Emma warmly.

  “Yes, it’s a pleasure, Emma,” echoed Derek, also pulling Emma into his arms while giving Bryce a surprised but delighted look.

  Bryce chuckled. The last time he’d seen this couple, they’d wanted to introduce him to one of Bernadette’s single friends. And he’d rejected their offer, saying he wasn’t ready for anything serious.

  They’d be thinking this was serious. No one brought a date to a party that needed NDAs signed unless the relationship was reasonably committed.

  Bernadette guided Emma towards Eve, and Derek whispered to Bryce, “So she’s the reason we got a resounding no, huh?”

  “Kind of,” he said with a laugh.

  Derek patted his shoulder. “No worries. She seems lovely.”

  “She is,” he said with a sigh.

  Hopefully, Emma would eventually learn that Derek was someone the Stirling siblings had helped in the past.

  “Hey, guys!” Eve cried out upon seeing them.

  Bryce greeted everyone in the group, keeping an eye on Emma who was being introduced to the birthday celebrant, and then to Emma’s favourite ever superstar singer.

  Emma’s grin was as wide as her face, any hint of nerves gone.

  “Hey, bro, I’m right here,” Jaxon said teasingly.

  He turned his attention to his brother. “Hey, how’s it going?”

  “Good.” Jaxon gave him a good thumping at the back. “I should be asking you that.”

  Bryce ensured everyone else was busy greeting each other before answering. “Addison appeared to be relaxing somewhat. He’s called me a couple of times, asking about a Flowers’ former underground business contact. Fortunately, I know something about that particular person, since I was always good at eavesdropping on Dad’s conversations. I’m sensing Addison becoming friendlier.”

  “That’s great. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait for much longer. Our firewalls are holding—our guys are doing an incredible job—but they say that the attacks are improving day by day. It’s only a matter of time.”

  Bryce nodded. “Doing my best to hurry it up without raising suspicions.”

  “You’re doing great. Bringing Emma here should hopefully help somewhat. Anyway, I better introduce myself to her, huh?”

  Bryce watched as Jaxon approached Emma.

  “Hi, Emma. I’m Jaxon.”

  Emma smiled brightly, greeting Jaxon with a hug. She seemed to have totally relaxed. “I’m so glad to meet you, Jaxon. Bryce told me how close you two are.”

  Jaxon smiled. “Yes. He’s the closest thing I have to a brother.”

  “Yeah,” Xavier quipped. “They even bicker like siblings.”

  The others laughed.

  Bryce inhaled sharply, a certain fact hitting him in the chest.

  His life had only restarted six months ago after he’d left the Flowers. There was not a single person in his old syndicate he thought of as a buddy, even if he’d gotten along well with a handful of them. They’d still be the first to kill him if they discovered he’d been the one who’d betrayed the Flowers to the Indie Rebels.

  He felt privileged that his brother and future sister-in-law, and Xavier and Eve, had introduced him to wonderful people he could now also consider as friends. Being non-IRs, they could give Emma and him an authentic party experience tonight.

  He’d forgotten what it was like to be a normal guy who could let his guard down and not have a care in the world. But with Emma, he’d rediscovered what it was like to be free and happy.

  What he had with her was real. He’d never experienced anything more blissful and authentic.

  He was certain Emma felt the same, and he wanted her to keep revelling in those feelings.

  But her family would give her the opposite.

  Not happening, he vowed.

  Chapter 14

  Another month later…

  Emma strolled through racks of dresses in a boutique shop, trying to spot a number that took her fancy. She wanted to buy a new outfit for her and Bryce’s two-month anniversary dinner date tomorrow night.

  She wasn’t sure if Bryce truly considered monthly anniversaries a big deal or if he’d just been humouring her when he’d enthusiastically agreed to celebrate them.

  She smirked, wanting to laugh at herself for being so sentimental. It was just that two months had gone by so fast that she knew the remaining month and a half of her stay in Sydney would be over in a blink. Where her relationship with Bryce would be by that time, she had no idea. That was why she wanted to celebrate every milestone.

  Bryce did indicate he was happy to consider a move to Brisbane. That was the one reason she was letting herself become hopeful about their future. But she didn’t want to take it as a given until they’d discussed details and practicalities. Bryce might see problems he hadn’t anticipated once he started looking more closely into moving.

  Still, she was so touched that he seemed to truly want to give their relationship a red-hot go. That was what she wanted too. Two years ago they’d both agreed they didn’t have a future together. They hadn’t even tried to see each other after Plank Island, convinced that there was no way it could work. Now she couldn’t imagine making the same decision. They’d grown so close that she felt like they’d been together for years instead of weeks. She was falling for him hard and fast, and she couldn’t stop the momentum.

  A mannequin wearing a long-sleeved black dress with a moderately low-cut neckline caught her eye. Ah, perfect! She could pair the frock off with her knee-high boots. She grabbed her size from the rack and looked around for Kallan.

  There he was, sitting on a waiting stool and looking utterly bored.

  She hid a smirk. Poor guy. This job had to be the most mind-numbing role Kallan had ever had. Nothing exciting, strange or scary had happened since he’d started being her bodyguard two months ago. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been successful in convincing her father that she didn’t need personal security.

  Emma motioned towards the fitting room and Kallan nodded. Maybe she should ask his opinion on her selected outfit. They’d grown quite friendly with each other.

  Kallan was easy to get along with. She’d been unsure of how she’d feel with him following her around, but he’d been true to his word that he wouldn’t be intrusive. He’d even been good at disappearing when Bryce was around. Apparently, her father had given him instructions to give her and Bryce some space. That was great. And she was glad her dad approved of Bryce even though he hadn’t been interested in Bryce’s advice as a security consultant. According to Bryce, Addison still believed bodyguards for the Fern family were the way to go.

  Emma tried on the black dress and loved it. She couldn’t wait till Bryce saw her in it. Why was tomorrow night so far away?

  She paid for her purchase and smiled at Kallan, who’d left his seat to hover behind her. “Ready for some afternoon tea?”

  “Sure,” Kallan said. “Where to?”

  “There’s a good café on level two that makes great pies. Let’s go there.”

  “Okay.” Kallan held out his hand as they started walking.

  “What?” she asked, confused.

  “I’ll carry your shopping for you.”

  She snickered. “You don’t have to. You’re my bodyguard, not my maid.”

  “Makes me feel useful,” Kallan said jokingly.

  Emma gave him a scrutinising glance. “You’ve been working with me for two months now. Do you like this job?”

&
nbsp; Kallan was quiet for a moment. “Your dad obviously has serious concerns about his family’s safety. I can understand why he’s very worried and wants you to have protection he can trust.”

  “That’s not an answer to my question. Come on. I can tell you’re bored with this job.”

  Kallan laughed. “It’s that obvious, huh? I hope you’re not offended.”

  “Not at all. It’s good you don’t have to save me from anything. It means no one’s after me. So what’s it like with your previous clients? Have they needed you to rescue them from bad guys or something?”

  “I have two celebrity clients who hire me as a bodyguard whenever they’re in Sydney. Mostly I make sure they’re not bothered by fans when they’re out in public. So, yeah, I guess it’s quite interesting working for them. But I mainly work as a private investigator, not a security detail.”

  “Really? I didn’t know that. Are you working on Uncle Edgar’s case too?”

  “No. Your dad hired me to specifically be your bodyguard.”

  “So when I’m at work or I’m with Bryce, you do some PI work?”

  Kallan let out a dry chuckle. “I’ve put my PI business on hold. Your dad’s making it worth my while.”

  Her mouth opened wide. “Am I your only client right now?”

  “Yup.”

  She blinked. That meant Addison had to be paying Kallan a heck of a lot of money. “So do you honestly think the IRs are after me?”

  Kallan glanced at her, his forehead creasing. “There’s a reason to be cautious…”

  “But I might not necessarily need a bodyguard all the time, right? Not that I don’t enjoy working with you. You’re good company. But those IRs are mainly active at night. No one’s heard that they’d done anything during the day without their masks on. Their whole strategy seems to revolve around being unnoticed and unidentified. So I really feel safe from them during the day.”

  “They could be monitoring your movements during the day.”

  “Yeah, sure. But they’d be doing that anyway even if you’re with me, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “So if you’re bored with this and would want to take some PI jobs when I’m at work, maybe we could talk to my dad so I’ll only need you at nighttime?”

  Kallan sighed, but appeared to be thinking about it.

  Emma didn’t care if her father could afford paying Kallan full-time. That wasn’t the point. Even though Kallan was good company, she still craved to do things by herself without someone following her around all the time. Plus, some of her co-workers had noticed Kallan dropping her off and picking her up and believed he was her boyfriend, albeit someone not big on public displays of affection.

  She hadn’t corrected their assumption. She couldn’t very well reveal to them why she needed a security detail. None of her co-workers knew Edgar Fern was her uncle, and explaining the whole situation wouldn’t be simple. Besides, it was none of their business.

  That was why she couldn’t ask Bryce to turn up at her place of work. That part annoyed her most of all.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Kallan said. “If anything happens to you after I’ve convinced your father you don’t need me during the day, I won’t be able to live with it.”

  “You know, Bryce has offered to take me to work and pick me up afterwards. Then you only have to work for me when he’s not with me. I didn’t agree to it before because you’re being paid to do that, and I didn’t want Bryce to go out of his way. But we’re a lot closer now. I actually won’t mind raising it with him. I’m sure he’ll say yes.”

  Emma felt a blush creep up her cheeks. While what she’d said about her and Bryce having grown much closer was true, she had an ulterior motive. She wanted to take all opportunities she could get to spend with him before she had to go home.

  Fortunately, they’d arrived at the café so Kallan wasn’t looking at her. They went in and found an empty booth inside the busy eatery.

  “Bryce won’t be able to consistently take you to the restaurant and pick you up every day without fail, though, would he?” Kallan asked.

  “I asked him about that. He said that he’s happy to rearrange his schedule for me since he’s very flexible with his hours. He’s worried about me too.”

  “Well, if that’s the case, I suppose that could work. I just don’t know what your dad would say about it.”

  “I’ll help you convince him,” she said with an excited grin. “Bryce is an experienced security personnel too, so I don’t see a problem.”

  “Me neither, although your dad did decline Bryce’s offer to help with the family’s security, right?”

  “Because Dad prefers us to have a bodyguard each. He thinks everything’s covered and he doesn’t need Bryce’s advice. But in this scenario, Bryce wouldn’t be giving advice. He’d be acting as my bodyguard too.”

  Kallan paused in thought. “Okay, but let me be the one to raise it with your dad. I don’t want him thinking I let myself get swayed by you.”

  “Okay, great! Let me know when you need me to say something.”

  Kallan nodded, leaning back. “I should talk to Bryce one day about business. There could be a good synergy with my PI work and his security consultancy.”

  Emma smiled. Clearly, Kallan would rather be a private investigator than a security detail.

  What would Myra think when she told her about this development? Myra would probably feel envious, considering how sick of bodyguards Myra had sounded the last time they’d spoken on the phone. Once again, her future stepmother had urged her to resist having a security detail.

  Unfortunately, since it was her dad paying Kallan, she wasn’t able to convince her father otherwise. Addison had even become upset, stating once again he simply didn’t want anything to happen to his family. Emma couldn’t find a good-enough reason to decline when her father was finally showing how much he cared about her. She’d missed out on that for so many years. So here was Kallan, bored to tears with his work.

  “How did you end up being the bodyguard my dad picked?”

  “Strange, right? Especially since I’m probably not the best at it,” Kallan said with a laugh.

  “Hey, I’m not suggesting you’re not competent,” she said hurriedly. “I was just wondering.”

  “I know. I’m saying I’m just as surprised. But in the end I think your dad picked the person he could trust more than anyone. I’m flattered he picked me, and I admire the fact that he cares about his family so much. That’s why I accepted his offer. Kerrod and I have such a high regard for your dad. We respect what he’s doing for Sharryn’s dad.”

  They were interrupted by a server coming over to take their order.

  “Do you know anything about Uncle Edgar’s defence?” Emma asked in a low voice when the waiter had left.

  Kallan shook his head, leaning over the table. “Kerrod doesn’t know much, either. I’d love to help however I can, and Kerrod said he’d passed that message on through Sharryn. No one’s asked for my assistance yet, but I’m not surprised. It’s such a sensitive, dangerous matter that they probably only want high-level experts working on it.”

  “Do you know who these experts are?”

  “No.”

  “I wonder how they’re progressing. I can’t wait for all those IRs to be brought to justice and Uncle Edgar exonerated. And then none of us would need to worry about our safety.”

  Kallan nodded. “That’s why I have so much admiration for your dad. He’s almost singlehandedly waging a heroic war against a sophisticated group with a shiny exterior and dark underbelly.”

  Guilt tapped Emma. “Thank you for saying that. Sometimes I don’t realise how much Dad has to do day in and day out, not to mention continue running their business without his brother.”

  “I think that you finally being with the family is reward enough for him.”

  She smiled, promising to herself that she’d open up her heart to her dad even more. Their relationship had vastly imp
roved. Her father checked up on her often enough for her to believe he truly cared, and she didn’t feel as closed off to him like before. Of course, the best way to truly mend all their hurts was to spend more time together. That wasn’t happening currently, but she was prepared to have more patience and wait for the time to come.

  “Does Bryce have a website?” Kallan asked.

  “Yes.” She told him the domain name.

  “Great. I’ll check it out and see if it makes sense for the two of us to talk business.”

  “Do you have one?”

  “Yes—for my PI work. Actually, Kerrod updated it for me recently because he’s good with website stuff. And my idiot twin decided to play a prank on me and put up the stupidest picture for my bio.”

  “Really? Can I have a look?”

  Kallan told her the website address.

  Emma tapped it on her phone and Kallan’s professional-looking website filled the screen. She tapped the About Us tab and burst out laughing at the picture of Kallan wearing a Sherlock Holmes outfit, a distinctive pipe sticking out of his mouth.

  “Thanks,” Kallan said dryly.

  “Obviously you were going to a costume party,” she said teasingly.

  “I was. I told Kerrod I’ll sue him for loss of income if he doesn’t change it straight away. But since I’m not accepting clients at the moment, he’s not in any hurry.”

  “I can’t remember what picture Bryce used for his website.” She typed Bryce’s URL. “Well, he actually doesn’t have a photo with his bio.”

  “That’s a nice-looking site,” Kallan said, staring at his phone screen. “I’m surprised he didn’t put his picture—hmm.”

  Emma glanced at Kallan.

  “He also didn’t mention the company he worked for at Plank Island. He just said he was an integral part of the security team for a private Whitsunday island for ten years.”

  “Maybe it’s a security thing,” she said, unconcerned.