by Mary Abshire
Emily gripped Andrew’s hand as they strode behind Matt. From the paved driveway they reached a stone path leading to the home. They walked up four steps to the front door. Matt held it open for them. Pausing to the side, Andrew let Emily enter first.
A fan above the wide entryway blew air over them as they waited for Matt to shut the door. The tiled floor and stucco walls were typical of western buildings Andrew had been inside.
“How many rooms are in this place?” Andrew asked as Matt led them down the hall.
“There are eight bedrooms and two offices,” he said.
They passed on the outside of a wide gathering room with two fireplaces, one at each end, and plenty of windows overlooking a large back yard and pool further away. Black and deep brown leather furniture filled the room. A grand piano sat in one of the corners. Continuing on, they strode down a hall. Pictures of a young boy and girl playing decorated one wall. They soon reached a set of stairs on one side and the kitchen on the other. Two women with black hair were working at counters. The kitchen connected to an informal dining room with a long rectangular table. The two rooms combined were as big as most ranch homes.
Beyond the patio doors, Don sat next to Jon at a long table packed with a variety of food. Both men wore dark t-shirts. A large canopy shaded the area. Christopher sat at the end of the table, dressed in a blue polo shirt and wearing the same flashy watch. A woman with straight blonde hair faced the two men. Her red aura matched Don’s. Andrew clenched his jaw, unhappy with the company at the table.
Matt slid the screen door to the side.
“Wow, this is a lot of food,” Emily said after she stepped onto the patio.
Christopher rose from his seat. “Carrie and Spencer, glad you could join us. Please, have a seat.”
The blonde stood and offered her chair. “Please, take mine.” She had a lean frame with toned muscles. Dressed in a white button-down blouse and dark pants, she looked like a businesswoman on her way to work except she was missing a briefcase.
“Carrie, sit by me,” Christopher said.
Emily hesitated, but after Christopher gave the instruction, she headed for the blonde’s vacated seat. Andrew took the one next to her and Matt scooted the chair back on Andrew’s left. The blonde disappeared in the house.
“As soon as Roy gets here I’ll introduce you to everyone,” Christopher said.
The walkie-talkie on the table near Don chirped. Roy announced his arrival. Don pushed back his chair before he stood. “Take the first road on your right and follow it to a big white house. I’ll meet you outside,” Don said, holding the walkie-talkie to his face as he headed inside.
Emily slid her hand onto Andrew’s thigh. The red and white checkered tablecloth nearly reached their legs. He took hold of her hand and gripped it.
“Is that a garden?” Emily asked, staring out to the right of the building.
“Yes, we grow our own vegetables and fruit. We also have a barn about a mile away with horses. I also have livestock and cattle on the property. I try to be as self-sufficient as I can,” Christopher said.
“Wow, that’s impressive,” Emily said. “I noticed you have pictures of children on your wall before the kitchen. Are they your kids?”
“Yes. My son doesn’t live here anymore, but my daughter does. You’ll meet her soon enough,” Christopher said.
Andrew squeezed her hand. He knew who the kids were just as much as she did, but it was smart to ask the question so Christopher would think they were clueless about him.
“The positions you have available, are they to protect your daughter?” Jon asked, elbows on the table and hands clasped together.
“Yes, and when you meet her, I think you’ll understand why. She’ll be with us shortly,” Christopher said.
Jon lowered his arms. “Great. I can’t wait.”
The screen door rolled to the side before Don stepped out with Roy behind him. Don directed Roy to the seat next to Jon.
“Don, can you have the ladies join us, please?” Christopher said.
Don returned inside the house.
“Thank you for coming, Roy,” Christopher said.
The red head nodded to Andrew and Emily and then faced Christopher. “Thank you for the invitation.”
“The four of you are truly skilled in your profession. Choosing two of you is a task too difficult for me alone,” Christopher said. “And the safety of my daughter means everything to me.”
Roy’s gaze darted to Emily and Andrew. “Am I to understand the job is to protect your daughter?”
“Yes. You see why when she comes out to join us,” Christopher said.
“Is that an indoor pool,” Emily asked, her gaze past Roy and to the far left.
“Yes. Sometimes it gets too hot to swim outside,” Christopher said as one of the women from the kitchen came out with a pitcher in her hand.
Don returned to the patio. He walked around the table and took a seat next to Roy. The Hispanic woman with the pitcher poured water into glasses by each guest. Female voices grew louder from inside the home. All eyes waited for the women to appear. The blonde stepped out first. Behind her, a young woman dressed in a flowery dressed exited the home. Her wavy blonde locks and wide smile gave her an innocent, country girl look. But her black aura revealed her true nature to Andrew.
Annabelle walked behind them and stopped at her father’s side. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Please introduce our guests,” she said.
“I’d like you to meet my daughter. You may know her as Annie Butler. She has a hit record and with a song climbing the charts,” Christopher said as his daughter gazed at each of them. “This is Carrie and her husband Spencer.” Christopher turned to his right. “And this is Jon and Roy.”
Annie lifted her hand and waved. “Hello. Thank you for coming.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jon said before Roy.
“Nice to meet you,” Emily said.
“Likewise,” Andrew said lastly.
Her blue eyes met his and she smiled. “What happened to your arm?”
All eyes turned to Andrew.
“Carrie got into a bit of a fight trying to protect our last client. I was trying to help out. One of the two men broke a bottle and cut me with it. I stitched myself up to avoid questions at a hospital,” Andrew said.
“How did you stitch yourself up?” Annie asked with a crinkled nose.
“I was a nurse when I met Carrie, so it wasn’t difficult. She helped me some,” Andrew said.
“Wow, that’s amazing,” Annie said, her gaze locked on him.
Christopher patted her back. “Have a seat, dear, so we can get started.”
Annie strode around the table to claim her spot at the opposite end, facing her dad.
“Before I forget, Sherri is part of our security team who has been with us for several years too. She works close with Annie, Don, and Matt. The three of them, Annie, and myself would like you to enjoy lunch with us. After we eat, we’ll take turns asking you questions so we can get to know you better. My goal is for us to make a decision by the end of the evening. With that said, dig in and eat,” Christopher said.
Don, Annie, and Sherri were the first ones to grab food. Fried chicken, brats, skewered chicken and veggies, salads, rolls, all kinds of fruit and a variety of vegetables were available for the picking. Matt took a roll and passed it to Andrew. Andrew claimed one and gave the dish to Emily. Plate after plate of food made it around the table for each person.
“Now, are you the country singer that’s been on all those talk shows lately?” Jon asked while the dishes switched hands.
“That’s me. I’m trying to promote my album. My plan is to go on tour soon,” Annie said.
“Do you like country music?” Christopher asked Jon before plopping a grape into his mouth.
“Me? Sure. I like all kinds of music,” Jon said.
“What about you, Roy?” Christopher asked.
He nodded his head. “I grew up listening
to it.”
Christopher looked at Emily.
“No, I don’t. I prefer music with a fast beat,” Emily said.
“And you, Spencer?” Christopher asked.
“I prefer classic rock music,” Andrew said. “But I’ve heard a little bit of your daughter’s music and it seemed decent for country.”
“It doesn’t have that twang or depressing lyrics like most country tunes have,” Matt said. “I’m more of Van Halen and Def Leopard type of fan.”
“Eighties rock,” Andrew said.
“The best,” Matt added.
“Motley Crew, Ozzy, and KISS can kick ass any day of the week,” Don added.
“It’s good to know we have different interests,” Christopher said. “I, myself, prefer opera. I love the vocals of female opera singers. Of course, I love Annie’s voice. It was always a dream of mine to get her to become an opera singer, but she took to country instead.”
“Do any of you travel much?” Annie asked before she took a bite of a chicken leg.
Roy set his drink down and swallowed. “I was raised in Texas and served three tours in the Middle East. I’ve been to Nevada and Arizona too.”
Annie looked at Jon. “And you?”
“I served a couple tours in Iraq. My station was in Oklahoma. I traveled to Texas, Arkansas, and Kansas through the Guard.”
Annie pointed her chewed up chicken leg to Emily.
“I’ve been to several mid-west states along with Canada, New York, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas … all over really,” Emily said.
Annie smiled at Andrew. “What about you?”
“Same as Carrie. We travel together. Before I met her, I didn’t move around much.”
“It’s good to know everyone has traveled. Protecting Annie will involve a great deal of traveling once her tour begins,” Christopher said.
“What’s it like in the Middle East?” Annie asked.
Jon gave a long description of his time in Iraq. Roy jumped in with added commentary. In little time, the two were going back and forth about the Middle East customs, culture, climate, bugs, food, and weather.
“Did you serve in the military too, Spencer?” Annie asked, capturing his attention while he was chewing.
He swallowed and shook his head. “No. I did not.”
“But you fired guns so well,” Annie said. “Where did you learn to do that?”
Andrew directed his thumb toward Emily. “This talented woman sitting next to me trained me.”
“Were you in the service?” Annie asked, staring at Emily.
“No, I was not,” Emily said.
“So neither of you has killed anyone. Is that right?” Annie asked.
“Correct,” Emily answered. “We’ve been in tense situations plenty of times, but none that required us killing someone to protect our client.”
Andrew kept his mouth shut. In honesty, he’d killed three people, but they hosted demons. He had to kill the human bodies to destroy the demons. Sometimes he still felt uneasy taking another person’s life. A touch of regret would creep into his soul until he saw the demon and destroyed it. The guilt changed into relief.
Jon and Roy ate quietly.
“I suppose both of you have killed someone one,” Annie said, looking at the two men.
Roy nodded as he leaned back in his chair.
“The Middle East isn’t a safe place. We do what we have to do to survive and protect our brothers,” Jon said.
“And we honor you for your service,” Christopher said. “Our country needs men like you to protect it.”
Andrew sensed Christopher was leaning toward hiring Jon and Roy. While the two had a ton of experience, serving one’s country was different from protecting a country singer.
Annie kept the chitchat going by talking about herself and growing up. She shared her past about her mother too. Most of the information wasn’t new to Andrew. With their bellies full, they leaned back in their seats and listened to her talk about her music career.
“Well, I think you’ve given them an earful honey,” Christopher said. “Perhaps it’s time to start the interviews. Matt, would you like to talk to Spencer and Carrie first? Don would you like to meet with Roy. Sherri, you can talk to Jon. Shall we meet back here in…” He glanced at his watch. “A half hour?”
Matt checked the time on his cell. “Thirty minutes is fine with me.”
“Same here,” Don said.
“Same,” Sherri said.
Christopher smiled. “Good.”
Matt rose. “Let’s take a walk around the grounds.”
Andrew and Emily followed Matt onto a bricked trail leading away from the house. His legs were stiff from sitting so long.
“Don, Sherri, and I have worked for Christopher for a several years. Sherri has been here the longest and Don came here a year before me. Don and I provide security, but he’s the lead. Sherri and I have taken more administrative roles at times over the last year or so. But Sherri spends more time with Annie after gigs. Would either of you have a problem helping out with the menial tasks as needed?” Matt asked.
“No,” they both said.
“We work together to get the job done, whatever that job entails,” Emily said.
“Teamwork is very important. We have to be able to count on each other,” Matt said, leading them toward the garden.
“We understand completely,” Andrew said.
“So you were a nurse before you met Carrie?”
“Yes,” Andrew said. “She came into the ER one day with a bad head injury. I fixed her up and had to ask her these routine questions. Well, I was taken back by her beauty and my questions weren’t exactly routine. Her responses weren’t either. I guess you could say we hit it off from the start.”
“That is incredibly romantic,” Matt said. “So you gave up your job to work with her?”
“In a nutshell, yes. After she told me what she did and I’d seen how she could get hurt, I asked her to train me so I could work with her. I’d give my life for her,” Andrew said.
“And you’ve been together how long?” Matt asked.
“A couple of years,” Andrew said.
“Have you been in difficult situations where someone wanted to hurt your client?” Matt asked.
“Absolutely,” Andrew said.
“Can you give me an example?”
Andrew gave him the bullshit story about going to Mexico with their client from Texas who had to meet someone.
“The security guards had this cold look in their eyes. It gave me the creeps,” Emily said.
“One of the guards tried to block us from leaving. It got tense and we both thought we might end up in a gun battle that day,” Andrew said.
“My hand was always near my gun,” Emily said.
Matt checked his cell. “We better head back.”
They turned around and followed the brick road to the house.
“Even though we don’t have the military background Jon and Roy have, do you think we have a chance at getting the positions?” Andrew asked.
“You two are honest and loyal team players. Christopher needs that. We all do. I think you have a very good shot at getting the openings. But Don and Sherri have a different approach to things. They’re more … aggressive. Don’t let them get under your skin,” Matt said.
Andrew’s confidence grew from hearing Matt’s words. The man seemed like a good guy, which made Andrew question why he worked with Don and Sherri. But as Matt had said, he handled more administrative matters. Perhaps that was the answer.
They returned to the patio to find everyone but Christopher and Annie. Don and Sherri finished their questions with Jon and Roy. As Andrew and Emily sat, Matt led the two military men away from the house.
“Matt said you don’t have a résumé because your clients made you sign contracts to keep their information confidential,” Don said.
“That’s right,” Andrew said.
“Did a client ever do anything illegal?”
<
br /> “Yes,” Emily answered. “We had a client in New York who got into some illegal activity. We tried to talk the client out of it, but…” She shrugged.
“What kind of illegal activity was it?” Sherri asked.
“Drugs and solicitation,” Andrew answered.
“What did you do?” Don asked.
“Since she didn’t listen, we had to watch and make sure nobody brought harm to our client,” Emily asked.
Don pressed his lips together and nodded.
“We’re loyal to our clients, even if we don’t agree with their actions,” Andrew said.
“Have you ever hurt anyone to protect a client?” Sherri asked.
“Yes,” Emily and Andrew answered in unison.
“Have you stopped someone from potentially harming your client?” Sherri asked.
“Yes,” Andrew said. “We have detained, searched, and questioned people who look suspicious.”
“Do you like to party?” Don asked.
The question stunned Andrew and he hesitated to respond.
“We like to have a good time as much as anyone else,” Emily said. “But we don’t do drugs or drink heavily.”
“If you saw someone doing illegal drugs at a party, what would you do?” Sherri asked.
Andrew bobbed his knee under the table. “If my client was nearby and was unaware, I’d inform him or her. If my client was the drug user, well, I get paid to protect, not to tell the client how to live his or her life.”
“So you would keep your mouth shut about it?” Don asked.
“As we’ve stated already, we are loyal to our clients even if we don’t agree with their actions,” Andrew said, wondering if Annie had a drug issue. Why would they ask such questions otherwise?
The screen door rolled to the side. Annie and Christopher stepped out from the house.
“How’s it going?” Annie asked.
“Great. I think we’re done,” Don said before he looked at Sherri.
“We’re done,” Sherri said.
“Why don’t you two go inside and let Annie and I take over?” Christopher asked.
Without any argument, the two rose from their seats. Andrew continued to bob his leg under the table as nervous energy flowed through him. He couldn’t get a good read on Don or Sherri. Although he’d answered their questions in a way he thought they’d like, he couldn’t be sure they approved of him or Emily. Matt seemed to like him and Emily. If Andrew could convince Christopher and Annie they were the right pair for the jobs, then the vote would be three to two in favor of Emily and Andrew. Somehow, they needed to sway the two most important decision makers. Otherwise, he had no idea how he’d get close to Annie to kill her.