by C. D. Gill
Amos finished the meeting with how they were trying to track down the people the bartender had seen at the bar. Mr. Mallington was as innocent as he was a flirt. Someone had told the bartender Mallington had asked to send it to Gia. He said they’d seen plenty of hate spouted online about how the resort would poison the area and the environment. Apparently, it was fairly common for this level of antagonism to accompany a new build with international recognition.
That didn’t make her feel any better.
Then when she relayed it all to Xander, she felt even worse. Although understandably livid, he had seemed distracted during their conversation. She’d been hoping for solidarity of some sort. His distance hurt.
She pushed his attitude aside in order to focus on the corrections meeting. She and Xander had plenty of tiffs in the last six months, enough to know that distance greatly exaggerated issues. When they could video call, they’d work through everything.
She hoped.
A tiny thought had sprung in the back of her mind, wondering if they needed to take a break until she could work through her current life messes. Not because she didn’t love him, but because her overloaded plate weighed heavy on her and something needed to get the pause.
For right now, her relationship concerns moved to the bottom of the priority list in favor of hitting her Christmas deadline. One stress at a time.
A knock came at her door. No one had knocked on her office door since Andy had been assigned to watch it. Andy opened it and poked his head in.
“Uh, Gia. Save your work and bring your files with you. We have to get out of the office now and won’t be back today.” He glanced over his shoulder.
Loud voices filled the hallways that were usually quiet, even on a Friday. A shriek echoed off the walls. Fear punched her in the gut.
“What is it?” She saved her document and stuffed her paper copies into her work bag. To be safe, she added a few more folders to the stack.
“Rodents are loose in the office,” Andy said, looking both ways as she followed him into the hall. “Also, three dead opossums with mutilated corpses were delivered with the daily mail. Graphic pictures of employees with threatening messages also showed up. Looks like we’re going to need to vacate the office for a while.”
They jogged down the back stairs to the parking garage. Her paranoia got the better of her. She glanced around, clutching her bag to her side as Andy did his routine car checks on her vehicle. The garage seemed emptier than usual. He started her car with her keys and walked around the outside of the car to open the passenger door.
His deep brown eyes caught her wide-eyed stare. He motioned her toward the seat. The man thought he was going to drive her somewhere. She was perfectly capable of driving herself home. Her protest died as a sigh on her lips.
This was his job.
Andy’s head never stopped its swivel as they drove through the parking garage. Her heart raced. What kind of threat was he expecting? She was afraid to ask.
By the entrance, Andy slowed. He reached into his bag and pulled out a hat and sunglasses. “Put these on and keep your head down.”
They crept past the gate into the sunlight where a huge line of picketers pushed signs into the air in time with their chants. Gia slouched in her seat. The picketers stared at her car while shouting as they passed.
Andy turned up some pulsing music as someone stepped right up to peer into her window. He pulled her torso across the armrest, brushed his lips across her cheek, and laughed his deep rumbling as if she’d said something funny. She laid her hand on his chest, keeping her head tucked into his shoulder. With his arm around her, he pulled into traffic.
Two turns later, Andy exhaled hard, retracting his arm back to his side. “We’re in the clear. That was tense. I thought that guy was going to try to open your door or beat on your window.”
Gia sunk further into her seat, her hand on his arm which rested on the console between them. “Andy, I can’t thank you enough for keeping me safe this past week. It’s been…”
“Eventful?” He asked.
“A nightmare I never saw coming.” Gia groaned. “I’m going to beat Joey up so hard when he gets back here, leaving me in this mess.”
Andy chuckled, his warm laugh a balm to the constricting in her chest. “You should have seen Malorie standing on her desk in her flowery skirt and white socks with tennis shoes when those rats went by.”
She shouldn’t laugh, but the absurdity of it struck her hard.
“And you know how Jim is always subtly flexing around the office? He was chucking chairs at the wall completely missing the rats and then he went sprinting out the office door. And I’m ninety-eight percent sure I saw a rat chasing him.”
Andy and Gia laughed together until they couldn’t breathe. In a week at Joey’s office, Andy had picked up what Gia had observed in the last six months. With her own office in Golden, she didn’t miss awkward smiles in the kitchen or the random pop-ins from people who wanted to waste time chatting, but she did miss the consistent comfort of knowing someone was always around if she needed them.
“Such a shame that I missed this while on the phone today. My headphones block sound out really well, I guess.”
Andy turned into the driveway. “I tried not to bother you until I saw the Do Not Disturb light go off your desk phone.” He swiped at his nose. “Those carcasses were starting to stink up the room. We shoved them in an office for the police to investigate when they arrived, but that smell filled up the whole place.”
Gia met Andy’s dark gaze. “Thank you for getting me out of there safely. This rescue thing is becoming a little too frequent for my liking. Whoever this is needs to stop.”
Andy cleared his throat and glanced out the driver’s window. “I’m afraid it’s going to get worse in the next few days.”
He reached between the seats to his bag, his chest brushing her arm. His cologne was subtle, but nice. What was wrong with her? She had a boyfriend whom she missed so much. She rubbed her neck. Six months of short visits messed with her head. Once Xander’s settlement was over, he could move down here permanently and they could really give their relationship a fighting chance.
Andy sat back up and handed her a rolled magazine. There on the front cover was a grainy and unflattering picture of Daddy and Ma walking together, their expressions unsmiling. The headline read “American multi-millionaires in hot water for destroying a cherished green zone in Brazil”. Gossip magazines never did bother picking a decent picture if they were upset about something, which was always.
The heat rose in Gia’s chest. Garbage. She tossed the magazine onto Andy’s lap. “Every so often the gossip rags cycle through the usual misinformation. Guess it was our turn again.” She opened her car door, but stopped part of the way out. “Are you sticking around?”
Andy nodded. “I’ll be meeting the team here in about an hour. We have new location procedures to talk over.”
Gia caught her breath. Now that she had been flushed from the cover of her office, that made their house the next prime target…again. “Let’s eat lunch and you can tell me about your insane life experiences that make this,” she waved her hand around, “seem like high school drama.”
He snorted as he followed her into the house. It was quiet which meant her extended family had found more fun to get into without her. She smiled. They deserved the best. And she couldn’t help but be grateful no one was around to question what was happening at the offices and worry over the situation. They’d find out tonight at dinner.
“Nothing about private security is any less severe than the military operations I’ve engaged in. The enemy is usually unknown, the timing is a surprise, and life of some kind is always on the line, but on a smaller scale.”
“Didn’t you want to be done with the never-ending stress of your life always being in danger?” She’d trade the stress of unwanted surprises in a heartbeat. It seemed like a no-brainer to her, but she didn’t want to insult him.
“They say when you find something you’re good at to stick with it, so I did.” He shrugged and joined her at the counter to make himself a sandwich.
“And your family doesn’t worry?”
“They understand I do what I need to do in order to keep my life on track.”
Huh. That was an interesting way to phrase that. How was putting your life in danger for strangers a way of keeping “life on track”? “Of the far-flung places you have no doubt traveled to in your career, what was your favorite?”
Andy plopped a slice of cheese on top of the pile of lunch meat. “An island unavailable to tourists in the French Polynesian archipelago called Mai’ao. They are deeply suspicious of foreigners and very few outsiders are ever invited. So when anyone pops up, the whole island knows instantly and tosses them out. One of the easiest security trips I ever took, because everyone on the island was doing my job for me.”
That kind of life was another world away. Gia pressed her sandwich together, then took her plate to the table. Bet they didn’t eat cold cuts there. World travel was on her bucket list. She and her parents had mainly spent their vacations in Brazil, apart from the odd cruise here and there. Since neither of them preferred cold climates, they’d never spent any time in the snow and ice.
That had been part of the appeal of Denver. It was so opposite to New Orleans. Everything about her life in Colorado was meant to be a diversion, a life separate from what she’d known and became entrenched in. Xander wasn’t that, was he?
She shoved the thought from her mind. The distance was messing with her again.
“And in the military, did you get stationed internationally?”
He swallowed his bite and shook his head. “I did a tour abroad, but mostly stayed stateside. My squad was based in North Carolina while I was active.”
“You were one of the elite then. It’s hard to have extensive military experience if you are always here.” He was a puzzle. His vague answers did nothing to satisfy her curiosity of him. He’d endeared himself to her at the driving range and confused the mess out of her with his display in the car. She wanted to know more. “Give me something, Andivo. It’s okay to let people get to know you, isn’t it?
Andy studied her. “Yes, I was on an elite squad which is why I’m very good at what I do. I have a special skill set in intelligence and I’m lucky that I’ve found a place for it outside the military. My job is to assess risk and avoid it or stop it. If I do my job right, it’s not supposed to be dangerous. Lives are only on the line if I trust or assume too much.”
She understood his meaning. They wouldn’t be discussing his personal life anymore. “In your professional assessment, how long do you think this is going to go on?”
He sat back. His broad frame making the chair look small. “Your deadline is soon. Then, the fight heads overseas. Whoever this person is has no reason to continue the personal attacks since the job is finished and out of your hands.”
The relief felt good. “So the sooner I’m done, the better.”
His head cocked slightly. “Theoretically.”
And the dread came back with force. “Someone might have it out for me or Joey indefinitely.”
“People are very passionate about green space and nature. Also, you’re the daughter of a very visible power couple.” He set his hand gently on her arm and leaned forward. “I don’t know that you’ll be able to fly under the radar in your lifetime.”
The words came like an elbow to her chest. Her parents had told her that in veiled terms, but hearing it from a stranger who made it his life work to analyze this kind of thing really drove it home. He was right. And she’d tried so hard to live as if she could have a low-key life.
What a fool she’d been. Embarrassment heated her cheeks. How was she edging up on thirty and just now realizing the truth about her life? He probably thought her some spoiled naive rich girl. What if they all did? The whole world could be laughing at her.
Her stomach churned violently. She tried to nonchalantly excuse herself from lunch to get started on work. She opened her laptop and typed in her name into the internet search bar, something she’d trained herself not to do. The headlines touted the latest on the office getting picketed. But one article stood out.
An architectural defense site laid out the mud they’d seen slung around about the project. Then went into great detail about the laws, preservation code, and so on that resorts had to follow to even get approved to build.
Finally, someone who was knowledgeable.
The author finished up by saying Venha had a history of deeply respecting the area they moved into and hoped with this new project in Rio that they would continue to show the cultural insight they’d been known for.
Wow. Did Joey know about such high praise? She copied the link and emailed it to him with a quick note asking how he was. She abandoned her usual attempt to shield him from her emotions and told him she missed him so much.
Inspired, she pulled the paper plans from her bag and laid them on the drafting table. The light above shown like a spotlight on the page. She’d felt for a while that something was missing.
Something was.
In her fear of getting it wrong and messing up the resort, she’d stuck to what she knew of other resorts and how they did things. But that wasn’t what Venha was known for. That wasn’t what Rio needed.
It needed an oasis that preserved as much nature and cultural history as possible. The resort shouldn’t be a hub of western culture with a hint of Brazil. It should be all Brazil with enough conveniences to make visitors from around the world comfortable. She ripped off a fresh piece of paper and smoothed it onto the board. After a moment of acknowledging the excitement of a blank page, she hunched over the board to bring a new concept to life. When she was done, no one would be able to complain that Rio’s culture had been abandoned. Time to let her creativity run wild.
Chapter 12
Finally, he regained his mental capabilities and ability to breathe. His prison training kicked in. “Everyone wants to know where it is. If I hand it over, what do I get out of it?”
The pressure of the gun eased a fraction. “To live.”
Xander clicked. “But if I die, the information dies with me and that wouldn’t work in your favor.”
“Just tell me where the hard drive is and the boss will give you three percent of the cut.”
A hard drive. Okay, now they were getting somewhere. “Ten.”
A loud whack was followed by the big guy dropping to the ground. Above him stood a panting Linc holding his hockey boot bag.
Linc’s eyes were wild, his chest heaving. “You forgot your phone on the table. Gia called.”
Xander shot to his feet. “Linc, you’re a lifesaver. Thanks for not using the taser.” He leaned over the unconscious guy and snapped a few photos of his face and tattoos. Then he fished in his pockets and grabbed his wallet. ID, cash, credit cards. The phone wouldn’t be of much use since it was locked with a number code, so he smashed it into the gravel.
When he looked up, Linc stared at him open-mouthed. “I have so many questions.”
Xander glanced around. “I don’t know that I have any answers, but we need to get out of here in case this guy has a buddy nearby.”
A few more questions might have gotten him the answers he needed, but he had more information than he started with. The idiot had gotten impatient and made the mistake of jumping him in public. Seemed too amateurish for a hit.
Whose hard drive would he have known about? “He told me?”
It didn’t make sense, but these guys would be back for him. And he’d better have an answer the next time or they might actually kill him for being useless.
The night out ended with Linc following him to his house to make sure there weren’t any other nasty surprises awaiting him. Xander gave him the all-clear and sent him home with strict instructions to stay in touch regularly in case whoever was after Xander went after Linc by association. Alone, his anx
iety got the better of him and sent him into a full-blown attack like he hadn’t seen in months. No amount of breathing exercises or other tricks stopped its onslaught.
When he could breathe again, he scrambled for his notebooks. Someone thought he had information from his time in prison. His therapist had him writing memories and triggers from his stay in prison to help him cope with his anxiety. The only person he’d really formed a relationship with had been his first cellmate, Jerry Sorentino.
Abandoning the notebooks, he searched Jerry on the internet. Jerry had been dead for three and a half years. There wasn’t much information on him. He might as well have been a ghost. It had to be someone else.
Xander spent the rest of the dark hours searching every name of the criminals he’d met in prison and their backgrounds. None of them did he know well enough for an outsider to assume they’d tell him about a hard drive.
And with what on it? And why come after him now?
When dawn came, he changed his t-shirt and drove to the office. The exhaustion would strike hard, but he had things to do. His work email had a response from one of the long-haired guys who had taken his workshop earlier in December. He wanted to stop by this morning.
Xander texted him to say he’d meet him at Mother Hen’s at 8:30 AM. At 8 AM, he got a text saying he would be there. The meet-up went quickly and the guy was gone with the money and two shirts in minutes. Xander grabbed a couple muffins for Reggie on his way out the door. The longer he stayed, the more likely Lucy was to engage him in conversation. She’d already asked him why he looked so bad.
Reggie showed up ten minutes early, talkative and ready to dumpster dive. Carl and Regina had agreed to let him continue working so long as he stayed out of trouble and his grades didn’t fall. They visited four different work sites and had the back of the vehicle packed full by lunch time.
They dropped all the supplies off at the office and—on a whim—went back out to two more dumpsters so they’d be well supplied for a couple of weeks, at least.
By the time they reached the office a second time, Xander couldn’t clear the fog from his brain. He sent Reggie home instead of accepting his offer to build the kids’ kits together.