Page 9

CHAPTER 9

Kayley

The main lobby reminded me of something out of Yellowstone . The exposed log walls, massive windows that no doubt provided amazing daytime views, and a huge double-sided stone fireplace.

Derek turned toward a pixie-ish woman manning the large check-in desk on the far side of the space and signed, “ I’ll bring them over in a little while. No interruptions, please .”

She signed, “ Yes, sir ,” in reply.

There weren’t any other people in the lobby. I struggled to take everything in as we followed Derek across the vast space to what I took to be his office. There looked to be restaurants and a store and plenty of comfortable seating where I could imagine people gathering for friendly conversations. Despite its size it still felt… cozy. Welcoming.

Once inside his office, Derek closed the double doors behind us and indicated for us to take seats in luxurious leather chairs positioned in front of the largest mahogany desk I’d ever laid eyes on.

Whoever this guy was, he obviously stacked some serious paper to afford all of this.

Derek settled behind his desk and wasted no time. “This is an unusual situation,” he said more to Vic than me. “Before we go any further, can you assure me Secret Service won’t swarm us? Because if you can’t, I’ll send you away. I will not have this Ranch invaded, least of all by the Feds. This is a place of sanctuary and safety, and people trust me to protect their privacy.”

“It’s not a problem,” Victor assured him. “And if you’ll allow me to make a phone call and put it in speaker mode, someone else can assure you, too.”

Derek nodded and sat back, crossing his massive arms over his chest.

Vic had brought my burner phone in with us and, a moment later, we were speaking with Leo.

Once Vic set the scene for my brother, Derek took over. “Mr. Cruz, this is a completely unexpected surprise.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Leo said. “Been a lot of unexpected surprises today.”

“As I just told Vic,” Derek continued, “the safety and privacy of my employees, residents, and guests are my primary concerns. Will there be any… challenges to that status quo? Such as unwanted intrusions by government agents? Because if there will, I’ll treat Vic and Daphine to a hearty home-cooked meal before sending them back to Cedro’s tonight.”

“I’ve already put things in motion,” Leo assured him. “I’m former Secret Service, and the former chief of staff to President Samuels, so I carry a certain gravitas with the agency beyond my husband being their boss. I will have undercover agents staying in and around the nearby town… Porter’s Corner, is it?”

“Yes, but I prefer you have them book into the B&B on the Ridge. It’s not only part of my property, but is closer to the Ranch,” Derek said.

“That works. Thanks for understanding. I cannot in good conscience not have a small team nearby,” Leo continued. “A two-person tactical ready team will stay with Cedro at his house, just in case. I got off the phone with him a few minutes ago. Plus, another team will stage a small ops center with a helicopter on a nearby ranch. The owner is retired Secret Service and a frequent visitor to the Ranch. I will handle connecting your head of security to the head of my sister’s protection detail for arranging logistics and communications. I just need their name and a phone number.”

Derek rattled off the info to Leo without looking it up. “What are the chances of these logistics being needed?” Derek asked.

“Practically nil,” Leo said. “Before today’s events I would have said absolutely zero.”

I hated how exhausted my brother sounded, listening as he continued.

“I also have a friend and now-retired former coworker and his wife—she is still active Secret Service—who are frequent guests of yours and are currently flying into Bozeman from DC on a military plane for a last-minute stay that happens to coincide with Vic and… Daphine’s stay.”

“I hate that name, Leo,” I finally said.

He snickered. “Suck it up, Bookworm. It’s this, or getting locked up for god knows how long with me and Elliot and Jordan and a bunch of pissy congressional members and staffers and their families in a bunker under a mountain and eating MREs.”

“Of all the weird conversations I ever thought I’d have,” Derek said, “this never entered the top five hundred.”

“Makes two of us,” Leo said. “And, FYI, that buddy of mine and his wife will be heavily armed and bringing a Pelican box full of gear. They are under orders from me to pretend to have zero knowledge of Vic and my sister and who they are unless they ‘accidentally’ meet and start chatting with them on-site, or in the unlikely event their skills are needed. I will liaison with your head of security to give them a heads-up about the hardware, as well as set up communication between them in case something happens. Vic will probably recognize both of them.”

“You sure seem to be over-preparing for an event you insist won’t happen,” Derek said. “Not sure I like the idea of them bringing that many weapons.”

“No offense,” Leo said, “but my entire career consisted of over-preparing for the most likely and unlikely events you ever conceived of, and plenty more that never crossed your mind. It would straighten your short-and-curlies if you ever took a look at our playbooks. And if you want my people to keep most of it locked in their vehicle or have them coordinate for secure storage on-site that will satisfy you and your security, they have the authorization to be flexible. They must remain armed, however, and will carry concealed so as not to raise alarm.”

“Fair enough,” Derek said. “But, again, where is my guarantee my Ranch won’t be swarmed by agents?”

“If something happens, Vic will grab my sister and head for the front gate, or the nearest property line if that’s closer, to leave the Ranch, with my inside team right behind them. The backup plan is to fly the bird in and land it for an immediate exfil.”

Derek’s expression darkened. “Not sure I like that plan.”

“I’ve already looked at the maps and your property is enormous. That would be a last-ditch contingency plan if she’s not close enough to move her in a car. You can’t tell me you’ve never had a helicopter land there. It’s not like it’ll unexpectedly drop onto your roof.”

“We do have a helipad on our roof, you know.”

“No offense intended, but Secret Service already checked that out and requires a ground landing in the event that’s necessary, especially if winds are high. Nothing personal, but it’s a hard no from them because it doesn’t meet their risk mitigation criteria.”

“No one’s crashed through the roof yet but suit yourself.” Derek slowly rocked back in his chair. “I suppose I could tell the staff to spread word we might have an aerial survey conducted, so no one’s surprised by a helicopter.”

“Like I said, I sincerely doubt that will even be necessary. Frankly, if any situation develops that impacts your daily ops it would mean an event on the scale of the Yellowstone caldera exploding, or some crazy idiot in North Korea lobbing nukes. In that case, we’re all equally fucked and I’m reasonably certain confidentiality and normal daily ops will be your absolute last concerns.”

Derek snorted. “Very true.” He sucked his teeth. “If you have to deploy a helicopter, I want immediate notification before it flies in.”

“You’ll probably know before I will,” Leo said, “because my people will coordinate with your security and have the authority to do that without me clearing it first.”

Derek glanced at Vic and nodded. “Okay, that’s reasonable.”

“Anyway,” Leo continued, “consider this a dry-run for when my husband’s out of office and the heat’s off enough we can book our own stay. I’ve heard nothing but glowing reviews from friends.”

“If this seamlessly plays out the way I’m sure we all hope it will,” Derek said, “then I’ll welcome you two as guests.”

“Three, but thanks.”

Derek’s eyebrow arched only slightly, as if hearing about a throuple was business as usual for him. “Sorry. Three, then.”

“Is there anything else you need from me right now?” Leo asked.

Derek seemed to weigh his options, looking first to Vic, then me. “I’ll take this chance,” Derek eventually said. “But if at any time I think it’s negatively impacting the Ranch I’ll send them away.”

“That’s fair,” Leo said. “And let me add their tab is on me. Have your manager call me at this number using this burner phone and I’ll give them my credit card deets. Happy birthday, sis.”

I wearily laughed. “Buying me a kinky vacation wasn’t on my bingo card, but thanks, bro.”

Vic ended the call and pocketed the phone while Derek sat studying Vic for a long moment. “Cedro is on an extremely short list of people I’m willing to stick my neck out for like this because of the trust I have in him. But I mean it—if someone on my staff brings you your car keys when you haven’t asked for them, you immediately get in your vehicle and leave with no questions asked, and all your belongings will be moved to Cedro’s. Understood?”

Vic nodded. “Understood and agreed.”

Derek looked at me. “Understood and agreed,” I said.

My stomach decided at that point to let out a long and embarrassing growl in the quiet office that made my face heat and made Vic and Derek laugh. It felt like the tension immediately drained from the three of us.

“How do you feel about macaroni and cheese?” Derek asked me.

“I love it.”

“Good.” He pushed away from the desk and stood. “I’ll take you over to meet Erika and we’ll get you squared away. Because of how late it is, I’ll have her set an appointment for tomorrow for you to come see me so we can finish our usual questionnaires and handle the new-guest business. That way, you can sleep late.”

My gaze locked with Vic’s. “That sounds great to me, thanks.”

Although I hoped we’d be doing way more than just sleeping late tomorrow morning.