Page 20 of Guarding Grace (Hawk Security #2)

Terry

I rode the elevator back up to SpaceMasters, wishing I didn’t have to stop at every single intervening floor, but today was not my lucky day.

Pushing through the doors into her offices, I didn’t see Grace anywhere—or Peyton or Zane. I reminded myself that his job was to stay with her.

“Where is Grace?” I asked Marci when I reached her. I clenched and unclenched my fist to remind myself to slow down and take it easy.

Marci jerked her head up. The urgency of my words had startled her. I’d have to remember she was a skittish one. “Oh. In demo room one. And before you ask, yes, Zane is in there as well. He’s pretty intense.”

I nodded and started for the hallway.

“Hold on,” Marci called.

I spun. “What?”

She rose from her chair and approached me. “This is an important client,” she whispered.

The softness of her voice made me realize I’d raised mine.

“And the process of the VR session is delicate. She’s safe, and I know she’d appreciate it if you didn’t interrupt.”

Two others in the cubicle area had raised their heads, watching our interaction, and it made me feel foolish. “Of course.”

I followed her back to her desk. “If you sit here, you’ll see her as soon as she’s done.” She gestured to the couch .

Feeling appropriately chastised, I sat. As the minutes clicked by, it seemed worse than an all-night stint in a sniper’s blind, needing to stay absolutely still—no matter how many bugs buzzed around—until the mark arrived.

Marci leaned close. “What can you tell me about Zane?”

My cluelessness in social settings showed itself when it took me a solid three seconds to comprehend the question. “Zane is a good guy.”

She raised her eyebrows, expecting more.

“He was in the teams before us.” When I noticed her brows crease, I explained. “He was a SEAL. He and Duke, another member of our company, were on the same team, so he could tell you a lot more than I can. Duke swears by him, and that’s all I need to trust the guy implicitly.”

She whispered, “Is he single?”

Oh . I’d still missed her real question. “Yes.”

A minute later, she casually applied lip gloss.

When the door to the demo room finally opened, Grace emerged, followed by an elderly couple—the customers, I guessed—and then Zane.

I smiled wide when her soft blue eyes found mine. I could finally see for myself that she hadn’t been hurt.

Then Zane looked around. He focused on Peyton’s empty desk.

I waited patiently for Grace to finish with her customers before I approached her. “I’m back.”

“I see that.” She nodded.

“Zane, the boss wants you back at home base to interrogate our guests.”

“Copy that.” After another glance toward Peyton’s desk, he turned.

Marci watched him leave.

“How did it go?” I asked Grace. “Your customer meeting?”

“Rambo here wanted to barge in, but I tackled him,” Marci interjected.

“Thank you.” Grace wheeled on me. “I get that you want to build a wall around me, but we agreed I get to run my business. An interruption would have been terrible.” She breathed in deeply. “I appreciate that you didn’t barge in.”

I raised a hand to my ear. “Is that a thank you I hear?”

Marci smirked.

“Don’t let it go to your head.” She marched off.

I followed her through the cubicles.

She spent a few minutes with each of her employees, asking about their progress on this or that. Based on her questions, she clearly had an excellent memory and grasp of everybody’s work. Several times, she was asked about the disturbance and why we didn’t want to call the police .

I followed the training-exercise script we’d prepared for this kind of problem.

“It was a training exercise, run by an outfit that rates the preparedness of security firms like ours,” I explained.

“The police don’t generally approve of how realistic we are.

Actually, they always tell us to do it in another city. ”

I went on to say that the scenario had to look and feel realistic to be valuable. No blood was spilled, and beyond what they’d witnessed, the fake assailants would also try to escape on their ride to our facilities.

That almost worked, until a fellow named Paul noted that Grace’s bruises looked real.

“They are,” she had to admit. “I was mugged last night. Terry and his company are looking after me until we catch the muggers.”

After Paul, we had the explanation down pat, and each employee seemed genuinely relieved when Grace assured them that her issue would be resolved soon.

I hoped that was true.

As we continued through cubicle after cubicle, I liked that it seemed Grace had put our previous argument behind us. This was a chance for a fresh start.

Clearly, her employees loved her and the projects they were working on. She’d built a good work environment.

When she finished her rounds with the employees, I followed her back to her office.

“Do you have to hover all the time?” she asked. “Can’t you maybe clear the space—isn’t that the lingo?—and then guard the door?”

“Does the Secret Service operate that way, or do they go where the president goes?” I sat down in her office.

Two hours later, Zane returned and took me aside. “We’re fucked. We’ve confirmed that the woman is Maria Torelli, and she is Tony Russo’s niece.”

“And we’re still holding her, right?”

“Lucas says she’s the leverage to get a meeting with Tony himself. High risk, if you ask me.”

“Nobody asked you,” I bit out. He was right about the risk. Holding the niece of a mafia don was a ballsy play, but that was Lucas’s call to make.

Zane had been a SEAL and a tier-one operator, among the best of the best, and Duke had vouched for him. But on our team he was still the new guy, and it wasn’t his place to be second-guessing Lucas on command decisions.

“I just meant?—”

“If you have an issue with it, you take it straight to him and discuss it. But in the end, his decisions stand, and we follow them.”

“Sorry. Forget I said anything.”

Zane was apparently okay grumbling, but not ready to challenge Lucas Hawk one-on-one, which I would count as a smart move on his part.

“Okay.” Zane raked his hand through his hair. “If direct is how we roll, then I have to say I don’t think it’s smart that you’re the lead guarding Grace.”

Suddenly I didn’t like Zane using her first name. “Lucas made it her choice, and she chose me.” I didn’t need to justify anything to Zane. “Get over it.” I crowded him.

He backed up. “Hold on. It’s not that I wanted the gig.” He held up his hands. “But I was told you were the executor of her trust, the one Pete set up.”

“That’s right.”

“They may know that or find it out and find her through you.”

His observation was a valid one, but this was no longer up for debate. “Grace made her choice,” I snarled.

“I get it.” The door handle turned, and Zane backed away.

“There you are,” Grace said, breezing in and closing the door behind her. “I’m done for the day, and I really would like to lie down. This standing all day bit sucks.”

Zane raised a brow.

“I got a Taser barb to the backside,” she explained. “I don’t recommend the experience.”

Zane cocked his head. “Understandable.”

Grace addressed me. “I said I’d follow Lucas’s security advice and stay at your place, but first we need to go by my apartment to pick up some things. And then I promised Serena I’d join her for a while after work.”

“You shouldn’t,” Zane said quickly.

Grace frowned. “Shouldn’t what?”

“The Russo people are likely to be watching your place,” Zane continued.

That was the same advice I’d been about to give her. I shook my head. “We need to set up cameras and basic security here before you come back, so clothes can wait. Tomorrow you can wear whatever you’d like.”

She went wide-eyed. “I have work to do tomorrow, just like today. I need my clothes, and I also have to get my cats. I can’t leave them. ”

“Tell me they can’t survive the night alone,” Zane said, helping to rile her.

Sheepishly, she agreed. “Okay, but I have to pick them up after work tomorrow at the latest.”

It was going to work. I could feel it coming on, another fight over simple security protocols. “You can come back here after we equip this building, but that takes a day. You can work remotely tomorrow, and we’ll figure something out about the cats.”

She stomped her foot. “And how does that look to my employees, not to mention my customers who are scheduled tomorrow? What do I tell my people?” She raised her arms. “Huh? I won’t be here because it’s too dangerous, but don’t worry, it’s safe enough for you guys?” She shook her head. “No way.”

I pulled in a steadying breath to keep from yelling at this infuriating woman. “I don’t like it.”

“Figure it out.” Zane aimed his comment at me. “I’m available as your backup here tomorrow while they do the security install, and I can pick up her stuff and deliver it tonight. Between the two of us, we should be okay for a day.”

Grace instantly calmed and nodded. “That works.”

“Give me your keys,” Zane said, stretching out his hand. “I’ll feed the cats, and I can get in and out without them knowing I’m picking up things for you. Less risk that way.”

I clenched my fist at the vision of Zane picking through her underwear drawer, but I had to restrain myself. My job was to stay with Grace. It made sense for him to make the clothes run.

She swung her eyes to me.

I nodded. “We’ll work it out.”

“I didn’t get lunch,” Grace said as she walked to the door. “So you better have some food at your place.”

“I have the basics.” I kept my tone clipped and professional. She’d been argumentative on purpose, and it worked to my advantage.

Zane tapped Peyton’s desk as we passed by. “I haven’t seen your pretty assistant.”

Zane wasn’t the most subtle guy around. “Marci can help you if you need something,” I noted.

He shook his head and held out his hand. “Keys?”

Grace handed them over. “She had an errand to run.” She pulled open the door to the office, offering Zane a smile.

I followed them out.