Silver Shield Security Box Set

by Dee Bridgnorth

  Sierra jumped at the unexpected violence. “Who’s going to pay for that?”

  He hung his head for a moment then looked back at her. “I will. Let’s go. You’ll be late for work.”

  Her mouth hung open. Did he not hear what she said? “I don’t need a bodyguard anymore.”

  “I have been detailed to protect you. Until I get the orders stating otherwise, you’ll have to tolerate my company.”

  She watched him walk away, her frustration rising. As soon as she got to the office, she would make that call to Silver Shield.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Sierra, in my office, now.”

  She looked up from her desk to see Owen Hanson walk past. Owen was one of the senior editors at the Chicago Daily and she reported directly to him. In his mid-forties, he was a well-respected journalist in the industry, almost revered. Owen was tough and did not go out of his way to do favors for anyone, but he was also fair and would give the writers a fair hearing. He did not have patience for controversial reporting and insisted that reporting should be as free from bias as possible.

  From the corner of her eye, she spied Ace sitting at the lounge area, where he always sat each time she came in to work. He had been watching her all morning. Sneaking a peek through her lashes, she saw he was still watching her. The tension between them was so thick that she was just glad to get away from it for a bit.

  Gathering her tablet and her phone, she picked up a white envelope as she stood and hurried to Owen’s office.

  “Hi, Owen,” she said, stepping into the glass-partitioned office.

  “Have a seat, I’ll just be a moment.” He waved towards an empty seat across from him. He was peering into his MacBook and didn’t look up.

  Sierra sat carefully and waited. She placed her devices on the table in front of her and surreptitiously wiped her hands on her skirt. She was nervous. If he axed her plan even before it took off, she would be left with very little options. After a few more moments, he shut the MacBook and gave her his full attention.

  He sat back against his chair and stared at her. She could not read his expression, except that he looked thoughtful.

  “I read your email,” he said, breaking the silence.

  Heart pounding and throat dry, Sierra merely nodded. She really needed him to approve this.

  “How long have you been working on this?”

  “A couple of months now.”

  He pulled his lips into a thoughtful line and leaned forward. “Did it have anything to do with the bomb planted in your car?”

  “Yes,” she said simply.

  “And that’s why he’s been following you around?” He nodded his head towards the general direction of the lounge, which was still within view.

  Sierra turned and saw Ace, his full attention on them. The glass panes were transparent, so she knew he could see them clearly. Even from the distance, she could feel the heat of his gaze and it made her catch her breath. She looked away to meet Owen’s speculative glance.

  “My life was in danger.”

  “Good move,” he said with approval. “Now, about this article, are you sure about this?”

  “The sources are credible and we can provide evidence,” she said quickly.

  Owen raised a hand to stop her. “I know that, Sierra. You are one of the most thorough reporters here. But if this goes out, you might as well go ahead and make funeral arrangements.”

  She met his eyes head on. She knew exactly what was at stake. She had thought long and hard about it before reaching the decision. She reached for the white envelope and pushed it towards his end of the table. He picked it up with a frown but didn’t open it.

  “What is this?”

  “I’m asking for a leave of absence, without pay.” Her hands were on the table and she twined her fingers together. “I need to leave town for a while.”

  He nodded. “That might be a good idea. No, don’t tell me where you’re going. I really don’t want to be dragged into this, my wife would kill me.”

  Sierra smiled. Brittany Hanson was the gentlest person she’d ever met, yet she knew exactly how to handle her husband.

  “That’s okay.” She leaned forward now. “So, will you run it?”

  She held her breath as she waited for his reply. “I will, but I noticed that even though you called the Vida Health Foundation and Sentry Group, you haven’t placed a call to the senator’s office. They need to comment on this.”

  Sierra leaned back, the wind going off her sail. She really did not want to call the senator’s office, and it must have shown on her face.

  “Tell you what, why not put an intern on the job today. Is that okay?”

  She breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, that works.” She shifted. “About the leave, will you approve it?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t see why I shouldn’t, you have a lot of unused time. I’ll talk to HR and get back to you before the end of the day.”

  “Thanks, Owen.”

  She had no idea how long she would be away, but one thing she knew for a fact was that she needed to go underground. She would be leaving everything behind. Her home, her best friend, her job…everything. She turned to look at Ace. He was reading a magazine now, but she could tell that every line of his body was tense and alert. She would probably never see him again, and that made her want to break down and howl in pain.

  “Are you leaving with him?” Owen asked.

  Sierra shook her head sadly. No, she would not be leaving with Ace.

  “Too bad. Alright then, I’ll give you a head start. This will go out on Monday. You should be far away from here by then.”

  She turned to look at him and her eyes blurred with tears of gratitude. “Thank you, Owen.”

  His eyes softened, then it was back to business. “Alright, get out of here. I need to earn my pay. And I don’t want to see or hear from you till it’s all blown over. Got it?”

  She smiled and picked up her stuff. “Yes, Owen,” she said as she walked out of his office. Walking back to her desk, she breathed a huge sigh of relief. She had two more calls to make and she could not make them at her desk.

  She dropped her tablet and walked to the restroom. She bent down and peeked under the stalls. Satisfied that she was the only one in there, she made the call.

  **

  Ace stood outside the building that housed the Chicago Daily. He was standing with his arms akimbo as he stared blindly at the ground. He could not believe that woman. He didn’t want to believe that she’d gone ahead and done it. But he’d just gotten off the phone with Emily and Silver Shield’s contract with Sierra Newman had been terminated.

  She was getting rid of him, just like that.

  The stark reality of it had him desperate to hit something. How dare she dismiss him like that? On the heels of his rage came fear. He had found out a lot more about the Abrantes Dukes. They were a ruthless lot. Too many disappearances and murders were linked to them, yet nothing stuck. Evidence either disappeared or did not exist at all. According to Captain Kinsella, the Chicago Police Department was desperate to put an end to the organization’s activities once and for all. Sierra was in real danger and she knew it. Why was she so stubborn?

  He turned and stalked into the building. Determined to talk some sense into her. He did not want to think about what could happen to her on her own. It gave him the chills just to imagine it. A few feet from her desk he paused. The bottom line was that Sierra did not want him anywhere around her. She had been consistently ignoring him since they left her home that morning. It was clear that whatever was between them was over even before it began.

  Ace told himself that he was happy. Sierra had given him a way out. But he was feeling so many things and happiness was not one of them. He ran his hand over his hair in confusion. Looking around, he observed the busy hustle of a newsroom but didn’t really see it.

  I don’t want this…I don’t want you… This was what she wanted and he really did not have a say.
<
br />   He clenched his fist against the anger and the pain, turned on his heels and walked back out of the building into the hot sun.

  Chapter Twenty

  Arlington, Virginia

  Diane Moore stared in shock at the woman sitting across from her. She looked at her, from her straight blonde hair, which used to be a light brown, to the expensively tailored clothes. Even the way she sat, with her legs crossed and her hands folded neatly on her knees was almost an exact replica of Diane’s position.

  Diane had just returned from DC. The metro commute was smooth and pretty straightforward, but it had been a long week and she wanted nothing better than to unwind with a glass of wine. What she did not need was the numbness that was slowly stealing over her.

  “What are you saying, Sara?” she asked, still struggling to come to terms with what she’d heard.

  “Look, Diane, I paid a surprise visit to the lodge and saw you two together. I had no idea he was still seeing you.”

  Diane opened her mouth but no sound came out. “I told you, five years ago.”

  She had gone with her lover on one of their international trips. That was when she’d stumbled into Sara Warwick. They had been close friends in college and were so excited to meet up again after so many years. Diane had confided in her about her secret affair with him.

  She had joined his staff a year after she left college and he pursued her with such single-minded intensity that she had fallen in love with him. He was married then and could not leave his wife because of his career. She came from a powerful family and he’d needed their support in order to get to his destination.

  In the twelve years that she’d been his lover, she had tried to leave several times, but each time he would break down and tell her how meaningless his life was without her. And she’d believed him. She’d believed that his wife was the only other woman she had to share him with.

  And now this.

  “You’re saying that you’ve been having an affair with him for the last five years?”

  Color filled the other woman’s face and she glanced at her nails before looking at Diane, “Actually, he came to my hotel room that same day you introduced us.”

  Diane felt her face leach of color as a sharp pain seared through her heart. Twelve years. Twelve years of her life, down the drain. She felt like she was coming apart at the seams. Gingerly, she stood up and walked to the door on unsteady legs.

  “I want you to leave, Sara.”

  The other woman stood up and slowly walked out the door. She paused. “I’m really sorry, Diane. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  Diane choked back a laugh. “You aren’t really sorry, are you? He did something to make you angry, that’s why you’re here.” Sudden realization hit her. “That is why you’re here, isn’t it?”

  The other woman’s eyes suddenly filled with anger and hatred, “He won’t leave you even though he promised that he would!” She gritted her teeth. “He’s been giving me empty promises for five years! I’ve tried everything to get him to dump you, but nooo…you’ve got your claws sunk deep into him.”

  This time, Diane didn’t hold back the laughter, even though she could hear the bitterness in it. “You have been a mistress for five years and you’re getting all worked up?” She pointed to herself. “I have been the other woman for twelve years, Sara, and I would love nothing better than for you to know the soul-corrosive blackness that comes with that so you are welcome to have him. You and all the other women he’s been keeping on the side.” She slammed the door so hard, she thought the hinges would come off.

  She leaned against the door and slowly sank to the floor as the agony took over. How could she have been so foolish? She thought of all the missed opportunities, the men who had wanted to marry her. The family she never had. She had given it all, everything to that man, and all the while, she had just been a plaything to feed his ego. She had a law degree but had turned her back on her career and had become his executive assistant instead.

  She lost every single one of her friends, her family…everyone. And for what?

  She clutched her hair and gave in to the desolation that engulfed her. Large sobs racked her body as she struggled in vain against the agony that was threatening to overwhelm her. She could not bear the pain. It was going to kill her; she just knew it would kill her. She curled up on the floor in the fetal position and began to wail.

  She must have fallen asleep there. When she opened her eyes, it was dark and her body ached. She sat up, wincing at the pain. Using the door as support, she pulled herself to a standing position.

  Diane looked around her house as though in a daze. It was a beautiful three-bedroom on Buchanan Street. She had decorated it herself, lovingly picking everything out to suit his taste. She’d wanted to create a sanctuary for him, a place where he could retreat from the hectic life on Capitol Hill.

  She walked around the living room. She had picked out the colors with him in mind. Tan with chocolate accents. Really nice, but totally not her. She moved to the dining room. She trailed a hand on the mahogany table, remembering the meals they’d eaten together. She would cook, then after the meal, he would carry her up the stairs where they made wildly passionate love. Then he would get dressed, leave her and go to his wife.

  She pulled out a chair and sat on it. She placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands as she sat staring out into the darkness. She made no effort to turn on the lights. The darkness suited her. It was exactly how she felt inside.

  Thinking about it, Diane was not angry with Sara. She was also a victim even if she did not yet realize it. Diane was angrier at herself. She would be thirty-six on her next birthday, which was just around the corner. Her best child bearing years were behind her. She had never thought about not having kids, it was just one of those things she’d always taken for granted. And he’d promised that they would have kids once the time was right. Somehow, the time had never been right and so many years had gone.

  She placed her head on the table, too spent to cry. She began to shiver, suddenly so cold. She needed to lie down, but she could not imagine sleeping in her bedroom. Not that bed. So she went to the spare room, dragged off a blanket and went back to the living room. Before collapsing unto the sofa, she turned on the TV and muted the sound. Then she pushed herself deep into the blanket and slept.

  Diane woke up several times that night with tears running down her face. She went from anger to despair. She wanted to pick up the phone and call him. To hear him tell her it was all a prank. A terribly mean-spirited prank, but a prank nevertheless. But he was with his wife and she never called him at home. Oh, what a fool she was.

  Sometime before dawn, she woke up with a resolve in her heart. Revenge. She was going to bring him down. She had no idea how, but she was going to wait patiently for her time and chance.

  Senator James Hugh Coleman was not going to get away with destroying her this way. She would wait and when the time came, she would strike.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  That Monday, opportunity came knocking and Diane was prepared.

  She walked into the office of the senator an hour before anyone else. It was her usual routine. Sometimes, she met up with the senator for a quickie before anyone else came in. This time though, she needed the time alone to get herself together. She did not want anyone getting a whiff that something was wrong, least of all the senator himself.

  Inside her office, she took off her coat and put it aside. Turned on the computer and went to make a cup of coffee. She’d had nothing to eat all weekend and knew she had dropped a few pounds. Other than that, nothing appeared to have changed. Outside, she was the same, still the immaculately dressed executive assistant to Senator Coleman. Inside, she had changed completely. Something vital had died and all that was left was this single, burning ball of flame that had only one target.

  Before long the strong aroma of the Robusta coffee beans, which the senator preferred, filled the office. She poured herse
lf a cup and took a sip. Nursing the coffee mug, she walked to the window and gazed out. She thought of her family in Oklahoma and felt a wave of homesickness hit her.

  She had neglected them for too long. The last time she’d been home had been…she counted back to her brother, Liam’s, wedding and was shocked to discover that ten years had gone by. She had not seen her mother in ten years. Shit. She was not going to cry. Payback was a bitch and by the time she was done with the senator, his life would be over. Of course, she was aware of the fact that she might lose hers in the process. She’d always known that he was a ruthless man, although he tried to hide that part of himself from her.

  Done with her coffee, she went back to her desk and started on her tasks for the day. Slowly, others began to come in to work. Some of them popped in to say hi. Like Dan who was the legislative correspondent and had been asking her out for a couple of years.

  “Hey, Diane, good weekend?” he asked with a smile.

  “Not bad.” Which was such a big lie, she half expected him to call her out on it.

  “Great. Dinner this evening?”

  He asked at least once or twice each week and the answer was always the same. This time though, she paused. “Let’s see.”

  A huge smile broke out on his face. “Great.” He nodded and walked away.

  She regretted it instantly. What had made her say that? She did not really want to have dinner with him, or with anyone for that matter. She needed to strategize and discover the best way to hit her lover. Make that ex-lover. She wanted to cripple him. Needed him to feel the same level of devastation she’d felt.

  Just then, Senator James Hugh Coleman walked into the office with a bevy of people vying for his attention. He was tall, easily six feet, and quite fit. She watched him walk with a slight swagger and felt a cynical smile touch her lips. Why wouldn’t he be feeling on top of the world? He got away with everything.