Executive Protection

by Jennifer Morey

  Lucy walked with her toward the walk-in pool. She held Kate’s arm as they stepped into the water and went in to their waists.

  “It isn’t Thad, is it?” Kate guessed. “You seem worried about something.”

  “Let’s swim to the other side.” Lucy stayed close to Kate, who grimaced as she started to swim. Lucy swam with a side stroke to the other end of the pool. There, she held on to the edge along with Kate.

  “I might be able to help,” Kate said.

  Maybe, with all her security. But if Thad found out, he’d take action, and she was beginning to think Cam was a lot more dangerous than she’d estimated until now.

  “Is it that man who stalked you?” Kate accurately surmised. “Who is he?”

  Lucy relented. Kate knew enough to tip off Thad, and Thad would only come asking her questions.

  “I joined an online dating service. That’s how I met him. I went out with him a few times.”

  “Are you still on this site?” Kate asked.

  “Yes.” Her account was still active.

  “You’re dating other people?”

  Other than Thad, she realized Kate meant. “No. Not anymore. I—I mean...I—I’m dating, but not right now.” She looked away as she wondered if the reason she’d stopped checking her online account had anything to do with Thad.

  “Did this man confront you again?” Kate rested her arms on the pool edge with her body horizontal to the water’s surface, her feet moving just enough to keep her afloat.

  Lucy told her what happened and as she did, Kate lowered her feet. That was the only indication that the savvy politician was appalled.

  “Does Thad know about this...that he attacked you again?”

  “No, and I’m not sure he should. I think if I just lay low for a while Cam will lose interest and move on to someone else.”

  “Someone else he can hurt?”

  Lucy hadn’t thought of it that way. Cam hadn’t hurt her that much. He’d gotten physical with her but would he try to rape her or worse?

  “Did this occur when you went to your hair appointment?” Kate asked.

  Lucy had told her where she was going. “Yes.”

  After a moment of calculated thought, Kate said, “Well,” and then reached a wet arm and put her hand on Lucy’s shoulder. “We’ll take care of that.”

  How? “I don’t know what Cam is capable of. Thad working alone may not be enough.”

  “Thad won’t have to work alone.”

  Kate had resources Thad didn’t. She could protect her family.

  Family?

  It sort of felt that way....

  “There you are.”

  Lucy’s heart palpitated from heated awareness as she heard Thad’s voice. She moved to hold on to the edge so that she faced him as he approached. The next thing she registered was Kate’s pleased observation.

  Thad made everything worse by crouching by the pool’s edge and looking at Lucy with heated regard, as though he were glad to see her or had missed her while he’d been away.

  “That man Lucy dated from her online site accosted her after her hair appointment yesterday,” Kate announced.

  “Your mother needs to ease up on her pain medication,” Lucy tried to quip. When Thad’s masculine appreciation of Lucy in a swimsuit abruptly fled, and his brow turned stormy, she added, “It was nothing. He came to apologize and say he would leave me alone, that’s all.”

  “He scared her,” Kate said. “I don’t think he’s going to leave her alone. But Lucy is concerned you’ll get hurt protecting her.”

  “Why did you go to your appointment alone?” he demanded, not acknowledging his mother’s comment.

  “It’s okay, Thad,” Kate said. “I’ll make sure she’s got security the next time she has obligations like that.”

  Thad wasn’t satisfied. The way he continued to look at her told her so.

  “Were you followed?” he asked.

  “I watched for that, but I didn’t see anyone.”

  “Cam isn’t exactly an expert,” Thad said. “So if he didn’t follow you, how did he know you’d be at your hair appointment?”

  Awed that Thad had considered that, Lucy only stared up at his handsome face.

  “You think Cam knew she had an appointment?” Kate asked.

  Thad turned to his mother but didn’t answer.

  “What have you not told me?” Kate asked.

  “Jaden and Cam have been talking. They know each other,” he said.

  “But Jaden is new to the security detail,” Kate said.

  “I don’t think he’s the shooter.”

  “But you think Cam might be?” Lucy was stunned.

  Thad stood. “That’s what I intend to find out.”

  Chapter 9

  With many questions racing in her brain, Lucy walked up to the front step of Rosanna Bridger’s two-story townhome. Paint had begun to chip and weeds grew through cracks in the driveway before the single-car garage. There were toys junking up the yard. Lucy had never been to Rosanna’s home before, and seeing its condition worried her. So had hearing the woman’s voice when she’d called yesterday evening.

  That Rosanna had called her at all surprised her. But she’d explained how fond Sophie was of her and that she had no one else to turn to. She’d confessed the state of her marriage. Her husband would be moving out today and she didn’t want Sophie around when that happened.

  As she stepped up to the door, she heard arguing.

  “Hurry up and get that kid out of here,” a man said in an angry, snide tone. “I don’t have all day and Harry is on his way with the moving truck.”

  “Lucy will be here any minute,” Rosanna answered in a strained voice.

  Lucy rang the doorbell. What kind of environment was Sophie living in?

  Rosanna opened the door. “Lucy. Hi.” She opened the door wider. “I can’t thank you enough for doing this.”

  Lucy looked past her to the man standing in a small living room filled with boxes. Paper plates with food still on them littered the coffee table. Last night’s dinner?

  “I’ll get Sophie.” Rosanna vanished up the stairs.

  The man watched Lucy, his gaze going all over her body before resting on her face. After dealing with Cam, she was hypersensitive to strange men who gave her a bad feeling.

  “How do you know Rosanna?” the man asked.

  “I’m sorry, you are...?”

  “Layne Bridger. Soon to be single.”

  Lucy didn’t even spare him an acknowledgment for that statement.

  “How do you know her?” Layne asked. “She doesn’t have many friends here.”

  Rosanna had explained she’d moved from Minnesota where she was from because her new husband had gotten a job here in North Carolina. They’d only been together for two years.

  “I met her through the literacy program.”

  “Ah.” He raised his head in a half nod. Lucy couldn’t tell if it was in mocking or if he was impressed. “You’re one of those do-gooders.”

  “Isn’t that what you are?” she asked sarcastically, not appreciating his insult. He had been mocking her.

  Just then, Sophie came bounding down the stairs.

  “Lucy! Lucy!” She ran up to her and threw her small body against her.

  Lucy laughed and crouched to her level to give her a hug. “Hey there, little pumpkin. Are you ready to go have a sleepover at my house?”

  Sophie’s smile expanded to gigantic proportions. “Yeah!”

  “Here’s her bag.” Rosanna handed a flowery duffel to Lucy, eyeing her uncertainly. Was she threatened by how much Sophie liked Lucy? Were things so bad with her home life that it had created a wedge between them?

  “C
ome on, honey.” Lucy took the girl’s hand and said to Rosanna, “You have my number....”

  “Yes. Thank you again.” Rosanna walked them to the door.

  Lucy took Sophie outside and to her Subaru, putting the duffel in the backseat. Sophie knew the drill about sitting in the back. She planted herself behind the front passenger seat, happy as could be.

  Lucy got in and began driving. “How are things at home, Sophie?” It was time to start picking for information.

  Sophie’s happy glow dimmed some. “Okay.”

  “Just okay?”

  She glanced up at Lucy, then turned toward the window. Her feet didn’t quite reach the floor and she bobbed them up and down.

  “Rosanna and Layne aren’t getting along, huh?” Lucy coaxed.

  “No. They fight.”

  “Layne is moving out this weekend, so things should get better.”

  Sophie shrugged.

  “Why don’t you like it at Rosanna’s house?”

  Again, Sophie shrugged, feet still bobbing.

  “It’s okay, you can tell me. I won’t say anything to Rosanna.”

  Sophie’s feet stopped moving. “She yells at me.”

  “Rosanna does?”

  “She never wants me to be around,” she blurted in a louder voice, eyes looking at Lucy with a desperate plea. “She never plays with me or lets me play at friends’ houses and she never lets me watch TV!” The torment poured out from her tiny body. “It’s boring there! Rosanna doesn’t want me. Nobody does!”

  That well and truly sliced a gash in Lucy’s heart. “Oh, sweetie. It might seem that way, but Rosanna does want you. She’s just going through a rough time right now. You wait and see, once Layne moves out, you two will have fun together again.”

  “It’s not fun there.” Lucy barely heard her quiet voice.

  She took her shopping and then out for dinner. It was getting late when they arrived at the estate.

  When Lucy retrieved her bag and walked with Sophie toward the side entrance, Sophie gaped at the huge home.

  “You live here?”

  “Just for a while. I’m taking care of someone who was injured and just released from the hospital. That’s what I do. I’m a nurse.”

  “I want to be a nurse when I grow up.” She skipped along toward the side entrance.

  “Do you?” Or was she just saying that because she had a case of hero worship going on with Lucy?

  “Yes. My mommy was a nurse. Rosanna told me you were a nurse.”

  “Did she?”

  “Yes. My mommy had brown hair, too.”

  Oh, this poor child. Losing her mother at such a young age.

  When they entered the house, Sophie continued to gape as Lucy declined the help of a servant and took her up to the room Kate had prepared for her.

  Inside the white-and-pink room, it was fit for a princess.

  “Wow!” Sophie yelled, bouncing into the bedroom that had been designed especially for kids, with its pink comforter and pictures and a rug. Lucy wondered if the items had been placed here just for Sophie. There were toys in an open trunk and a dollhouse left open.

  Lucy put the duffel down on the bed while Sophie dropped before the Victorian-style, yellow-and-white Princess Anne dollhouse. The interior was fully furnished.

  “I asked for some monster girl dolls for my birthday,” Sophie said.

  Monster girl dolls was the latest trend in dolls. Times sure had changed since Lucy was a kid. “When’s your birthday?”

  “March 15.”

  This week? “I’m sure Rosanna will get you them.”

  “No.” Her head whipped back and up to see Lucy. “She said I couldn’t have them.”

  “Why not?”

  “She said she can’t afford them.”

  Because Layne had cleaned out her bank accounts. Lucy was uncertain how much she should intervene. Part of her contemplated taking her for herself and part of her warned to be careful. Winning Sophie over too much might harm her. Lucy would have to return her to Rosanna.

  “Will you get me those monster girl dolls?” Sophie asked.

  Lucy couldn’t respond right away.

  “You said Imagene gave us those books. Can she give me those dolls?”

  The drawbacks of making up stories...

  “I don’t know, Sophie.”

  “Will you ask her?”

  She hesitated. “I’ll try, okay?”

  “Okay.” She was back to being the happy girl again, pretending she had the dolls she wanted, her hands curled as though she held two and moved them through the elaborate miniature house.

  “What happened to my mommy?” Sophie asked.

  The question took Lucy aback and she had to spend a few seconds to think it through. “Well, she was in a bad car accident.”

  Sophie turned with a blank look. Had no one explained this to her? Likely someone had tried but she didn’t understand.

  “A man in a big truck ran into her car while she was driving. He didn’t mean to. That’s why it’s called an accident.”

  Sophie stopped playing and stared down at her hands. “Where did my mommy go? Why doesn’t she come and get me?”

  Why doesn’t she come and get me. Lucy swallowed a wave of sorrow for the girl, her eyes burning with near-tears. She knelt beside Sophie. “Well...she can’t, honey. She died in the accident.”

  “Why do mommies have to die?”

  Lucy touched her shoulder. “Everybody dies. Usually that isn’t until we’re all very old. It’s when accidents happen that they’re taken from us sooner than they should be.”

  Sophie looked down at the lower level of the dollhouse, her young mind trying to process a grave topic.

  “You know, every time you think of your mom, she’s here with you. You keep her right here.” Lucy pointed to her own heart. “As long as she’s there, she’ll always be with you. She won’t be able to talk to you, and you won’t be able to see her, but she’ll be here. She’s here right now.”

  A glimmer of hope lit in Sophie’s eyes. “She is?” She searched the room.

  “Yes, but remember, you can’t see or hear her. You can just feel her.” Lucy pointed to her heart again. “Right here.”

  When Lucy withdrew her hand, Sophie pressed hers there.

  Lucy had to leave before she started crying in front of Sophie. “Get your pajamas on. I’ll be back to tuck you in, okay?”

  “Okay.” Sophie pretended to play with a doll a while longer. At first her motions were mechanical, but as the imaginary doll went up the stairs and into a beautifully furnished master bedroom, she seemed to fall into another world, the tragic loss of her mother receding to a dark corner of her small head.

  * * *

  Listening to Darcy talk on the phone with his new girlfriend, Thad suffered the glaring evidence that his best friend was falling in love. So fast? It was like a bad movie he couldn’t stop watching. The smile on Darcy’s face stayed after he disconnected the call and stared off into space. Thad imagined a cartoon character with big, round eyes and red hearts floating up over his head. Desks surrounded the one where he sat, phones rang, detectives talked, and Darcy was oblivious to it all. Worse, he seemed to have forgotten Thad stood next to him.

  Sitting on the office chair beside his daydreaming friend, Thad cleared his throat.

  Snapped back to the real world, Darcy straightened some papers and put them back into a folder on his cluttered desk, two computer screens and a keyboard sticking up from a bed of papers, folders and books.

  “We were talking about Cam confronting Lucy outside her hair appointment,” Thad reminded him, not missing his self-conscious preoccupation with the papers. Moving them to other piles on his desk would hardly tidy things up.
r />   “Right. Yeah. I’ll get the paperwork going to charge him for stalking. We may not have enough evidence.”

  They had Lucy’s phone records, and Thad had witnessed the first confrontation in front of the hospital, but Lucy hadn’t gotten the old woman’s name who’d witnessed the confrontation in front of the hair salon. She had no pictures, nor had she reported the second incident to police.

  Maybe the threat of charges would be enough to scare him away from Lucy. Thad had a feeling it wouldn’t.

  Noticing Darcy drift off into another daydream, he gave up trying to get any work done. “Things are going pretty good between you and that girl.”

  Darcy’s attention came back to him. “I talk to her every day. We’ve gone out a couple of times. Dude. I can’t get her out of my mind.”

  Wow, every day. “Do you want to?”

  “No. Yes. It’s so soon after my divorce.” His uncertainty was palpable, but Thad didn’t think his uncertainty extended to his feelings for the woman.

  “She makes me feel so good,” Darcy continued, getting that dreamy look again. “Am I just desperate or is this for real?”

  Thad had no idea, and he was the wrong person to ask. “Just go with it.” That’s what he always did. Stay in the now and enjoy it while it lasted.

  “This is different,” Darcy said.

  He could tell his friend was torn over this. “How? Do you think you’re falling in love with her?”

  When Darcy could only answer with silent resignation, Thad controlled his alarm. “Already?”

  “I know it’s crazy, but Avery is... I don’t know... She’s so...perfect for me. She’s having a rough time getting over what happened to her, and we’re taking it slow, but we talk about everything.”

  “Are you hearing what you’re saying? Taking it slow? You just met her.”

  “It doesn’t seem like it. It seems like I’ve known her my whole life.” His whole face corroborated his claim.

  Thad had never experienced anything like that. Or had he? Being with Lucy felt like that, only it was different. With her, there was this burning cauldron of...not lust...attraction. Pure attraction. The kind that led to something deeper. Unlike Darcy’s relationship with Avery, his with Lucy was slow to develop. He couldn’t say she was perfect for him because she had opposing beliefs. But there was something about her that drew him to her. Her literacy charity. Her caring nature. The way she teased him without being insulting. If he were to make the stretch and say they had things in common, it was their service to the community. Didn’t that qualify as the same belief structure? Was it only his issue with marriage and babies that didn’t mesh?