Page 53 of Guarding Grace

Pete and Terry had told me thatnobodyargued with Lucas Hawk, and now I understood what they meant.

“Lucas, the answer is still no.”

“Very well. We’ll do it your way. I’ll submit a bill at the end of our engagement.”

“Thank you.” I’d gotten my way, but I don’t know what I was thinking.I had just agreed to take on a financial responsibility I was certain I couldn’t handle.Damned pride.

“You get the friends and family discount, of course.”

That was Lucas’s move to checkmate and also a relief. I got to claim independence, and he got to lower the bill to nothing.

“Do you understand me?”

I was done arguing with him. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. You can have either Terry or Zane as your primary bodyguard, your choice. Which would you like?”

Terry actually looked concerned that I might not choose him.

“Grace?” Lucas asked impatiently.

Zane would be the emotionally safe choice, but I had to go with the devil I knew, the one who’d kissed me senseless today, and the one I knew would create impossible arguments. Pete had trusted Terry, even if the man drove me crazy. “I would like it to be Terry.” I detected a hint of a smile from Terry, although he tried to hide it.

“Very well. Remember, he’s the security expert, so you need to do what he says. That’s what’s required to keep you safe, and I owe that to your brother.”

His mention of Pete set me off balance for a second. “Sure, within reason,” I quipped.

Lucas ignored my joke. “Terry, you and I should discuss the plan.”

Terry took the phone off speaker and listened intently for a minute. “Yes, sir,” he said, hanging up.

“Your apartment is not secure, so Lucas wants to put you in our Fontana safe house until we can get this sorted out.”

“No,” was my one-word answer, one it seemed I needed with every one of these testosterone-fueled security guys.

Terry’s tone darkened. “I don’t think you understand.”

“I understand completely. The answer is no. Fontana is too far away. I will take security advice from you guys because that is your area of expertise, not mine. I will allow a bodyguard nearby. But I will not abandon my life and the business I’ve built. If I abandon the business, they’ve won. I have people who depend on me. Their families depend on me. I cannot and will not let them down.”

“Maybe you didn’t hear me. Your apartment is not safe and can’t be made safe. You could easily be attacked there. We need to go to a safe place until we find Elliot and sort this out.”

“With the traffic, Fontana might as well be Mars. You’ve got to come up with a better alternative than that.”

He frowned. “I know a place in Marina del Rey. It’s not an official safe house, but it’ll do. Is that close enough?”

I didn’t want to give in easily, but I had to admit it was. “Not ideal, but I guess?—”

“We’re shooting for safe, not ideal, so Marina del Rey it is. You’re staying at my place. It’s very secure.”

“Wait a minute, your place? You saidaplace. You can’t just decide how and where I’m going to live without my input. And I’m not moving in with you.”

“Agreed,” Terry said. “On bodyguard, your choice was Zane or me, and you chose me.”

I relaxed.

“As for location, since your apartment is out of the question, I gave you the choice of Fontana or Marina del Rey, and you said Marina del Rey was close enough.”

I could see now that I’d been maneuvered into this. “It’s not fair. I need another choice.”