Page 40

“Nah. I can handle it.”
Climbing the outside stairs, he ignored the twinge in his lower back. He slowed his steps, not because of that, but because his headcount came up one Secret Service Agent short.
At the door, the two standing on either side stopped him.
“We need to check that,” the agent on the left said. The guy had a buzz cut, a square jaw, and eyes that missed nothing.
His partner continued to monitor the scene behind tinted sunglasses. The third came striding from around the corner of the building.
“All quiet back there.” He walked with purpose, adjusting his jacket as he jogged up the stairs, effectively pinning Rory in between the three of them. “What do we have here?”
Rory relinquished the kit without a word, but handed it to him rather than buzz cut. He remembered this guy from the hospital. Flat eyes and not a single laugh line in his face. His suit barely hid his muscled biceps, and as he took it, he locked eyes with Rory for a long moment.
Meant to unnerve him?
Rory stifled his snort as well as his middle finger.
The agent opened the box, rifling through the fiberglass brushes, dusting powder, and lifting tape. He then checked the case for hidden compartments.
“It’s just a fingerprint kit,” Rory told him.
The man didn’t bother to fix the disturbed tools, snapping it shut and shoving it back at him. “For what?”
“Lifting prints.”Duh.
“Of the First Daughter?”
“Can’t get anything past you. My evil plan is to steal Hannah’s identity and use her prints to take over the world.” He added a maniacal grin.
The agent’s eyes narrowed. “This time try the truth.”
Carefully, Rory used the case handle to accept it and put on his most placating expression. He’d dealt with plenty of security details before, and while he didn’t blame these three for being ultra-suspicious, he was tiring of this game. “Dude, you know who I am and who I work for. You also know that my girlfriend upstairs was attacked the other night. Today is the first time I’ve heard her laugh in a week and it’s because of Hannah. I’m giving them some time for girl talk and I’m making myself appear useful while they’re at it. Cut me some slack. I’m not lifting Hannah’s prints to use on biometric scanners. I’m just checking a window to see who might have opened it. Probably Amelia’s mother. That’s all.”
“I’ll need to accompany you.”
Great. “It’s a party, then, but I suspect your dull presence will put a damper on things.”
The man motioned for him to lead the way and Rory kept his impatient eyeroll to himself.
FIFTEEN
Amelia heard the door open, saw Rory and Agent Masden enter. Masden took up a position outside the kitchen door and Rory disappeared, heading for her bedroom.
Didn’t it figure that the first time she’d brought him home, it wasn’t for a romantic evening?
“That’s him, right?” Hannah whispered, jutting her chin in Rory’s direction. “The guy you were excited about?”
Amelia couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “That’s the one.”
“He looks like a lumberjack.”
She scrunched up her nose. “He does not.”
“Big, burly, that beard…” Hannah winked. “He doesn’t seem your type.”
They’d known each other for so long that she couldn’t lie because Hannah would call her on it. “I know, but I really like him.”
Hannah chuckled. “I can see that.” She used her good hand to sip tea. “What did you think of the photos? Did you have a chance to look at them?”