Unmasked (Godmother Security Book 1)

by Stevens, June

  Faye sighed. “I have no idea why I thought I could keep it from you. Kimber recognized you. I have no concrete proof, but I had your name flagged and there has been some search activity.”

  Cindy didn’t ask how her aunt could get such information. She didn’t want to know, and knew she wouldn’t get a straight answer if she did.

  “And you think it was the Bauers? Were you able to trace it?”

  “No. That’s why I’m sure it was the Bauers. They have been pretty good at avoiding too much attention from the authorities, and the best FBI analysts couldn’t track the correspondence on Duke’s computer. Whatever else they may be, at least one of them is excellent with a computer.”

  “Audra was the best in computer science class. She cracked every security program the teacher gave us faster than anyone else,” Cindy said, long buried memories resurfacing. Cindy had been third in the class after a thin, dark haired boy whose name she couldn’t remember. It had been one of her favorite classes, though at the time she hadn’t realized that most twelve year olds didn’t learn how to hack sophisticated security systems in their computer classes. “But why would that matter? Perhaps Kimber did recognize me, and maybe they know I’m ex-FBI and I work for a security firm now. All that would tell them is that Prince is being guarded. That might actually deter them, right?”

  “It’s not the sisters I’m worried about. I doubt they could care less about you. What little intelligence we’ve been able to gather points to them working with Ingrid Bauer. She’s the ringleader, and they do her bidding.”

  “Some things never change,” Cindy snorted derisively. Mother Bauer, as she insisted all of the students call her, was an advocate of bullying the children that didn’t measure up to her high standards. Not that Audra and Kimber had needed any encouragement. They got a perverse joy out of pushing around the younger kids. But Cindy had once overheard Mother Bauer giving them the names of a couple of girls that had done poorly in classes that week, along with instructions to teach the girls a lesson. The girls in question had turned up a few days later bruised and battered after taking a walk in the woods behind the school.

  “No, they don’t. And Ingrid Bauer is a nasty, vindictive woman. I’m sure she knows who destroyed her school, and it wouldn’t be hard for her to find out that you are my niece. That in itself is enough reason for you to be under lock and key. Add in the fact that you were one of her top students, and she had dreams of you being her protégé, it makes you a prime target.”

  “I’m not afraid of her.”

  “I am.” Faye’s voice shook. “I know you can take care of yourself, but I want you out of the line of fire. And I want Jack and Gus at your back. You just do your job, and get Prince out of town and keep him safe. And I don’t have to worry about you while I find that woman and put her behind bars to keep you safe.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The Press Conference

  The large conference room on the first floor of the Prince Industries headquarters resembled a small theater, complete with a curtained stage. Friday morning the auditorium was packed with media while Jackson Prince stood on the stage behind a podium and announced his son as the new head of Prince Industries. After his father’s short speech, Sebastian gave an even shorter one in which he asserted that business at Prince Industries would go on as usual with no immediate changes.

  Then the floor was opened to questions. It seemed to Cindy that not one of the reporters listened to either men when they spoke. The first questions asked were the main points of the speeches. Is Jackson stepping down for health reasons? As he’d said when he first stepped to the podium, the answer was no, he and his wife wanted to travel and spend time together. Does Sebastian plan big changes for the corporation? Will companies be shutting down? Will people lose their jobs?

  The questions went on for several minutes, and Cindy was amazed at how many different ways the reporters found to ask the same questions. But soon, as Cindy guessed was normal, the questions denigrated to queries about Sebastian’s personal life, and then, inevitably, about his search for the woman from the ball. Had he found her? Was he in love with her? Had she rejected him? Were they dating?

  Cindy stood just off stage in front of a door that led into a back hall. Though she wasn’t visible to most of the cameras, she was in full view of those on the opposite side of the stage. She kept her face perfectly blank as question after question was fired at Sebastian, despite the inner annoyance she felt. She hated the trend over the past decade that had turned people’s private lives into prime time ‘news.’ It made it worse that she was the ‘her’ in question, even if no one knew that.

  Sebastian, however, took it all in stride. He stood at the podium, his calm smile denoting that he wouldn’t speak until everyone was quiet. Gradually the questions ceased. “The mystery woman from last Saturday night has not yet stepped forward. I do still have hopes that she will, and I will be happy to talk with her when she does. However, I can assure you my motivations are pure, and perhaps even gallant. I simply want to return to her a family heirloom.” He gave a quick wink to one of the female reporters then checked his watch. “Now, as much as I would love to stay and chat with you all, I have a business luncheon to get to. I would hate to make a beautiful woman wait.”

  As flashes went off and a din of shouted questions rose to a deafening roar, Sebastian turned and followed his father and their lawyers off the stage, Jack taking up the rear. On cue, Cindy opened the door where Faye waited on the other side, and then took up her position in the rear as the troupe made their way through the back halls to a service elevator. The elevator stopped on the top floor and they all stepped out. After a short round of goodbyes, the lawyer’s and the elder Prince continued on to Jackson Prince’s office. Sebastian, Faye, Jack, and Cindy turned down a side hall and took stairs up to the roof where Gus waited in a helicopter, ready to take off.

  Frank had loaded Cindy’s bags into the car this morning with the intention of delivering them later, so when Faye climbed in beside her she wasn’t surprised. She assumed her aunt wanted to lay eyes on the security at the country house herself, and would ride back with Frank.

  Cindy clicked off the audio on her headset so she could relax and shut out the idle conversation between the other four. She knew Sebastian had a weekend place upstate, a couple hours outside the city. She figured she had at least half an hour to catch a little bit of a nap; it was sure to be a long day. She was shocked to feel the helicopter descending less than ten minutes after take-off. She looked out to see they were still on the edge of the city, landing in a small, private airport.

  Flipping her headset back on she asked, “What’s going on? I thought we were flying to house.”

  “We are,” Sebastian said. “But not in this.”

  The helicopter set down and they all disembarked, following Sebastian across the tarmac to a small hanger. As they approached, a man in his mid-thirties wearing gray coveralls and a baseball cap hurried out to meet them.

  “How you doing, Chad? How’s Kelly and the baby?” Sebastian said, shaking the man’s hand.

  “Good, Mr. Prince, real good. We found out last week the baby is going to be a girl. I’m thrilled, but I think Kelly wanted a boy. She says she knows what pains teenage girls can be, having been one and all.”

  Sebastian laughed. “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you, sir. Your plane is all gassed up and waiting for you. Your guy went over it with a fine tooth comb, though I told him I keep all the planes I take care of locked up secure, and no one has access but me,” he said, his tone a bit anxious as he tilted his head in the direction of the tarmac.

  Cindy looked over and saw Frank leaning against a car parked a few feet away from a Cessna floatplane. Where in the world were they going that they needed a float plane?

  “Don’t take it personally,” Sebastian told the mechanic, his demeanor friendly and familiar. “I have a new security company, and they like to be a bit overcautious. You kn
ow how this change up in the company has had the public nervous. Hopefully it will all blow over soon, and we won’t have to go through this again.”

  The relief was visible in Chad’s face. “It’s no problem, sir. If you need anything else, you just let me know.”

  “Thanks, Chad, I will. Have a great weekend,” He shook the man’s hand again.

  “You too, Mr. Prince,” Chad said, then turned and headed back inside the hangar.

  The group proceeded on to where Frank waited for them.

  “Whoo! This is a beautiful machine!” Gus whistled as he walked around the plane. “I’ll get her fired up.”

  “Don’t even think about it, Mendoza,” Sebastian called to the big man. “No one pilots my baby but me.”

  “Aww, come on!” Gus protested.

  Cindy laughed and shook her head as the two men started talking about the plane like little boys sizing up new baseball cards. She ignored them and followed Faye over to Frank. “Everything in order?” Faye asked.

  “Luggage is all loaded. The plane is in top shape—the mechanic here is pretty good. It’s clean, no mechanical issues, and no bombs. Unless I’ve lost my touch, it is in top flight condition.”

  “Good,” Faye replied. “I didn’t think there would be any problems; Prince keeps this plane and his house pretty well under wraps. I couldn’t find any leaks in Prince’s security, and the mechanic, Chad Ross, is very discreet about the clients he works for and rents hangar space to. But, you can never be too careful.”

  Cindy understood what Faye meant. If Prince often used his plane, what more efficient way to kill him than a plane crash due to mechanical issues.

  “Well, I for one am glad there are no problems with the plane. But I’d really like to know where we are going. Why couldn’t we go on in the helicopter?”

  “Sorry, Cindy. Prince is very hush-hush about where he actually lives when he’s not in the city. We were under strict orders not to tell anyone until last minute. Even his body guards. Only myself and the advance team knew.”

  “It’s pretty common knowledge that he has a country house upstate,” Cindy said, perplexed.

  “Yes, it is. But that isn’t where you are going. You are going to Virginia. It’s a family home he inherited from his father’s mother. He’ll have to give you the details, but it has been held in trusts in such a way that it is not easily traceable to him or the Prince family at all. Very few people know about the house’s location.”

  “There’s an advance team?”

  “Yes. Despite Prince’s assurances that even a skilled hacker wouldn’t be able to trace the property to him, I couldn’t let you go out there blind. I sent Greer’s team out ahead to sweep the house and the surrounding area. They will be staying in the area to give you backup, but not with you. They’ll meet you at the house and brief you on the area.”

  “Okay,” Cindy said, a bit disappointed Faye wouldn’t be joining them on the second leg of the flight, but not surprised. She’d guessed as much the moment she’d seen Frank waiting for them at the plane.

  Sebastian, Gus, and Jack were all seated when Cindy boarded the plane. Gus had talked Sebastian into letting him sit in the co-pilot seat and Jack was right behind them. Cindy picked a seat at the rear where she wouldn’t be drawn into the chitchat of the three men.

  Within minutes they took off and were in the air. Cindy tried to rest, but found it impossible to sleep. Her brain was in overdrive wondering if Faye was right about targeting her. Yet, the prospect of that didn’t really worry her. She wasn’t a kid anymore, and she could take care of herself. The thing that had her eyes popping open every time she drifted off was the prospect of spending the weekend, or longer, in tight quarters with Sebastian Prince.

  It had been easy to avoid spending too much one on one time with him while at his office, but it would be different at his home. She was basically on twenty-four hour babysitting duty. Gus, Jack, and she would take alternating 10 hour shifts, but in close quarters, she would actually be spending 16 or more hours a day with Sebastian, and sleeping under the same roof at night. She had already been wondering how he hadn’t recognized her yet, but if he didn’t realize who she was after spending that much time with him she’d lose all respect for the man. Yet, that was the last thing she wanted to happen, especially while she had no choice but to stick close to him. She couldn’t imagine what she would say to him if he confronted her. Yes, she’d been working and under orders to keep her identity a secret. But she knew that she couldn’t justify her unprofessional behavior on that terrace. Even with Faye’s directive to be seductive to keep him close to her, she’d crossed boundaries.

  A little over two hours after take-off, Sebastian set the plane down in a small lake surrounded by trees on all sides except for a large clearing. Sebastian docked the plane next to a long pier, opposite a large boathouse. Five people waited for them on the pier. Cindy had expected to see Greer and her team, but the white-haired couple that stood beside them smiling expectantly was a surprise to her. To Sebastian as well, apparently.

  “Mr. & Mrs. White, I thought you were off on vacation,” he said once they had all climbed out of the plane and introductions were made.

  “Oh, we will be,” the plump, sweet faced woman said. “We’re driving up to Lynchburg to take the train to Sacramento to see Leslie and the grandbabies. Imagine that, a train ride all the way across the country. It’s going to be so much fun.”

  “Yes, I’m not much for flying these days, it plays havoc with my ears,” the man said. “Our train leaves this evening. We were about to head out, but we heard your plane coming in so we popped up to say goodbye.”

  “Yes, well, I’ve made up all the rooms, including the one in the boathouse, with fresh linens,” Mrs. White said. Then, eyeing Jack and Gus, continued, “You said you’d have three visitors, so I stocked up on food, but perhaps not enough. Oh, I wish I could be here to cook for you. But your father surprised us with these train tickets, and we just can’t pass up spending two weeks in California.”

  Sebastian laughed. “We will be just fine. You go on. I’d hate for you to miss your train. Give Leslie, Carl, and the boys my love.”

  After hugs and handshakes the older couple was off, rumbling down the dirt drive in a battered pickup truck.

  “So, do you want to get settled in or briefed first?” Greer asked as soon as the couple was out of sight.

  Cindy eyed the tall blond. Greer was the woman’s last name, but no one at Godmother Security, except Faye, knew her first name. She was ex-military and good at her job, but abrasive and didn’t like not being in charge. She and Cindy had gone head to head on more than one occasion.

  “You can go ahead and brief me so you can get back to your posts,” Cindy said neutrally. She turned to the men. “Jack, Gus, can you two help Sebastian take the bags in, and go ahead and get settled in. Do a perimeter check on the house, and I’ll brief you on the security setup when I’m finished here.”

  “Sure thing boss,” Jack said, flipping her a mock salute.

  Sebastian looked from Greer to Cindy, and for a moment she thought he was going to say something. Instead he just nodded and said, “I’ll dig something up for lunch.”

  It didn’t take Greer long to fill Cindy in on the layout of the property. The property sat on top of a mountain surrounded by trees. There was a farm house with several acres of pasture about a quarter of a mile down the drive. It was where the Whites lived.

  There was one clear path down the mountain, the dirt driveway. Most of the drive was thickly lined by trees and a heavy metal gate could be closed across the road and padlocked about halfway down the mountain. It would keep vehicles out, but not people on foot. However, the woods were thick. There was one other road that veered off from the main drive and led to an old, dilapidated sawmill. Greer said the mill was about a mile away on the other side of the lake, and she could find no visible paths that lead in the direction of the house.

  Both Sebastian’s ho
use and the White’s house had state of the art security systems with motion activated cameras at the gate and other points along the drive. Greer hadn’t found any evidence anyone had been on the mountain in weeks, other than the Whites.

  Cindy thanked her for the information and Greer and her team left. They were staying at a nearby lodge posing as hikers. The area was popular with hikers, so they would blend right in. They would be keeping an eye out in town for anyone fitting the Bauers’ descriptions.

  After they left, Cindy stood on the pier staring out over the lake girding her loins for the next several days. Living in the same house with Sebastian Prince was going to be a new level of hell.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The Cabin in the Woods

  Cindy had glimpsed the house through the trees as they landed, but hadn’t been able to get a good view; and since disembarking the plane, she’d been too preoccupied to pay it any attention. Now as she made her way up the stone path that led from the lake to the house she was in awe. The house was breathtaking, yet nothing like she would imagine someone like Sebastian Prince would own, much less live in.

  She had expected a mansion, what rose up from the hill before her was a log cabin. It was a large split level with floor to ceiling windows and two wide decks across the back, but it was still, essentially, a log cabin.

  Gus and Jack stood on the lower deck and Cindy climbed the steps up to meet them. She went over what Greer had told her, then set up a schedule so that at least one of them would be on duty at all times, then the three of them went into the house via a set of glass paned French doors.

  The inside of the house was as beautiful as the out, and just as bafflingly un-millionaire like. While the expensive rugs and leather furniture denoted wealth, it wasn’t lavish like what she’d seen in other clients’ homes. Almost the entire first floor was one giant room with floor to ceiling paned French windows around two sides of the room. Another wall was two-thirds floor to ceiling bookshelves, and one-third kitchen cabinets. The fourth wall held four doors and a staircase to the upper floor.