Page 2 of Lethal Illusion (Six Points Security #8)

All eyes turned to Wade, but he ignored them. He bent his head to whisper in Hope’s ear, and she let out a soft laugh in response.

“Well?” Navarre asked.

Wade’s gaze cut to him. “What, you think I’d narc on my own brother?”

“Come on, at least give us a hint.” Navarre knew better than to press him any harder. It would only make him more intractable.

Wade stared at him for a few seconds, and then sighed. “Let me see what I can do.”

He pulled out his phone and typed a short message, most likely to his older brother. A minute or two passed, and as the van pulled into the off-site lot, his phone buzzed to announce an incoming text.

“Nope, can’t tell you shit yet. There’s one final detail that needs to be addressed. He said if things work out the way he wants, he’ll make an announcement tomorrow morning.”

Sloane Welker was almost finished writing up the final report of the day, her feet propped up on the corner of her desk while she typed away on her laptop, when she noticed movement from the corner of her eye and nearly jumped out of her seat.

Her gaze flicked up to the source of the movement, and her breath hitched at the sight of her boss standing in the doorway.

Technically, Larissa Falco was her direct supervisor, but her brother Austin Flint was the head honcho at Six Points Security.

The oldest sibling of the Flint family, he was the founder and CEO, and she usually tried to fly under his radar.

Not because he was mean to her or anything like that.

To the contrary, during the few instances where they’d interacted, he treated her with courtesy and respect.

But he always looked so stern and serious, like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, and the last thing she wanted to do was get in his way… or on his bad side.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.

” His voice was a deep, heavy rumble. A Marine veteran, he still kept his black hair cut high and tight, while the beginnings of a five o’clock shadow darkened his strong jaw.

He wore dark-blue slacks over brown shoes and a white dress shirt that had been tailored to accommodate the deep V of his torso.

“It’s okay, I’m just…” She slid her feet off the desk in an attempt to salvage some semblance of professionalism.

As it was, she felt way underdressed in her combat boots, faded jeans, and old T-shirt, but that kind of attire was fairly common among analysts in the cyber security division. “What can I do for you this afternoon?”

“Mind if I come in?” he asked, and nerves skittered down her spine. “If you’re in the middle of something, I can come back later.”

Like she’d ever tell her boss to come back at a more convenient time. “No, it’s fine. I was just finishing up. Make yourself at home.”

Sloane slid on her hoodie and zipped it all the way up in the hope that Austin hadn’t already read the front of her shirt: You Should See My Active Bitch Face .

Larissa wore shirts like it all the time, and she never had a problem with other members of the team wearing whatever made them feel comfortable.

As he stepped into the room, Austin glanced back to the open doorway and called out, “Are you coming or what?”

“Be there in a minute,” Larissa called back.

Worry knotted Sloane’s stomach. For the life of her, she couldn’t come up with a reason why both of them wanted to speak with her. Well, she could, but none of them were good. “Am I in trouble?”

“That depends.” Austin arched one eyebrow. “Have you done anything that might get you into trouble?”

“Not that I’m aware of, Mr. Flint.” And yet she couldn’t help but worry. She liked this job, and the people she worked with. But more important, she needed this job to keep a roof over her head and the bill collectors at bay.

“Relax, Ms. Welker.” Austin sat in one of the chairs on the opposite side of her desk. “You’re not in trouble. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you and the quality of your work.”

That loosened the knot in her stomach but didn’t get rid of it entirely. “That’s good to know.”

The sound of footsteps came down the hall, and seconds later, Larissa walked in, wearing jeans and a plain black T-shirt with Boss Lady written across the front in glittery letters. She closed the door behind her and claimed the seat beside Austin.

“Sorry, I had to take a call. What did I miss?”

“Nothing yet. I was just getting started.” Austin turned his gaze to Sloane.

“I don’t want to waste your time, Ms. Welker, so I’ll cut straight to the point.

I have a potential client with a unique situation, and I believe you can help us with it.

Everything that I say from this moment forward is highly confidential and cannot leave this room. Is that understood?”

“Yes, of course,” she replied, curiosity gnawing at her insides.

It wasn’t often that people at Six Points came to her for help.

She wasn’t exactly action hero material.

Most of her work came from behind a keyboard, protecting their clients’ computer systems, networks, and data from threats and responding to them accordingly.

A muscle flexed along the line of Austin’s jaw. “Are you familiar with the actress Sierra Page?”

“Yes, sir.” You’d have to be living under a rock to not know about Sierra Page: actress, model, social media sensation, and unabashed devourer of men.

Her leading role in the Deathslayer movie franchise had catapulted her to superstardom.

Now her face was plastered on movie posters, perfume ads, action figures, and the covers of just about every magazine in the supermarket checkout line.

“She’s going to be a Six Points client?”

“Nothing is set in stone, but the odds are leaning in our favor. Ms. Page is unsatisfied with the company that currently provides her personal protection, and she’s heard good things about Six Points.”

She’d probably heard those good things from actress Vicky Hale, who’d recently worked with Sierra on some sort of spy thriller that was scheduled to release early next year, and who also happened to be married to Ryan Flint, one of Austin’s four younger brothers.

“However, there is one sticking point.” Austin leaned forward in his chair.

“While Ms. Page enjoys the attention she receives from the paparazzi, there are times when she prefers privacy. To throw the press off her scent, so to speak, she occasionally utilizes body doubles. Unfortunately, that’s one tool we don’t have in our arsenal, and it’s the only thing holding back our ability to land the account. ”

“That’s where you come in,” Larissa added.

“What— me ?” Sloane stared at them as though they’d lost their minds. It was the only possible explanation if they were thinking what she thought they were thinking. “You can’t be serious.”

“I never joke about my business,” Austin replied.

“You bear a remarkable resemblance to Ms. Page. You’re the same height, same relative build, and your facial features are quite similar.

” He swiped at his phone and then angled the screen to show Sloane the picture she’d posted on one of her social media accounts from that time she dressed up as the Deathslayer at Dragon Con.

“At first glance, I thought this was Sierra.”

The comparison was flattering, but nothing close to reality.

Sierra was bold, and glamorous, and larger than life, while Sloane was painfully plain.

It wasn’t a fun fact to acknowledge about yourself, but the truth was the truth.

“Yeah, but that’s only because I was wearing the costume and makeup.

She doesn’t look anything like that in real life.

She’s blonde, with those big blue eyes, and she’s got that little mole above her left eyebrow, and she’s…

well, you know.” She made a vague gesture to her chest, something she’d never imagined herself doing in front of her boss, and heat rose in her cheeks.

The corners of Austin’s mouth twitched. “Those are cosmetic differences that can be easily remedied. You don’t have to be an exact clone of Ms. Page, just close enough in appearance to fool the press from a distance.

” He paused as if giving time for the information to sink in.

“You’re a damn good analyst, Ms. Welker.

Larissa and I would much rather have you doing the job we hired you to do.

But Ms. Page needs a decoy next weekend, which puts us in a bind. Will you help us?”

This was so outside her comfort zone it wasn’t even funny. There had to be another way. “Can’t you just hire the body double she’s already using?”

Larissa shook her head. “We contacted her, but she isn’t available at that time.”

“And Sierra can’t reschedule to a time when her double is around?”

“People like Sierra Page don’t reschedule. That word isn’t in their vocabulary. We either provide the service she wants when she wants it, or we don’t provide it at all.” Austin rubbed a hand along the side of his neck. “I wouldn’t be asking this of you if it wasn’t important.”

Sloane blew out an unsteady breath. It all seemed so exciting, but it also scared her to death. “I don’t know. I’ve never done anything like that before.”

There were so many ways for this to go wrong.

What if somebody she knew recognized her and blew her cover?

Or the press figured out she was a fake?

The public humiliation would be monumental, not to mention the black eye on Six Points’ sterling reputation.

It could turn a lucrative contract into a devastating liability, and it would all be her fault.

As if sensing her indecision, Austin added, “I’ll pay you double your normal hourly rate, plus a bonus at the end of the assignment if successful.”

That got her attention. “How big of a bonus?”

Austin met her gaze. “Ten thousand dollars.”

Sloane’s breath caught in her throat. It wouldn’t mean a lot to some people, but ten thousand dollars would be life-changing for her.

She could pay off her credit cards, buy some badly needed tires for her car, and have a tiny bit left over for a rainy day.

For once in her adult life, she wouldn’t have to live paycheck to paycheck. Still, she had a few more questions.

“Would I be in any danger?”

“You’d have a full security detail assigned to protect you day and night, with the same number of staff we’d normally use for a person of Ms. Page’s stature.”

“That didn’t answer my question.” And it set off an alarm inside her head. “Is Sierra Page under some sort of threat?”

The muscle along Austin’s jaw flexed again. “Are you familiar with Sierra’s relationship with Dax Garvey?”

“Yes, but last I heard, they broke up.” Their whirlwind romance, which played out in public, had ended with a fiery flameout in the lobby of a Ritz-Carlton Hotel at two o’clock in the morning.

A bystander had captured the incident on their phone and posted it online, where the footage had immediately gone viral.

For the life of her, Sloane couldn’t understand what Sierra had seen in the guy.

The son of a billionaire hedge fund manager, he’d been born with a silver spoon up his butt and expected to be treated like royalty.

He wasn’t smart, or funny, or even all that attractive.

And the opinions he frequently spouted online made it clear that he had a problem with powerful women.

“Apparently, he refuses to accept that simple fact.” Scorn crept into Larissa’s voice.

“Sierra blocked him from all means of contacting her, but that hasn’t stopped him from crashing a number of events where she was in attendance.

And last month, he paid two million dollars for the property that’s three doors down from her home on Lake Nona. ”

“Oh, that’s creepy.” But it wasn’t all that surprising. He struck Sloane as one of those guys whose fragile ego couldn’t handle being told no.

“Mr. Garvey hasn’t made any direct threats to Ms. Page’s safety,” Austin continued.

“But his actions are a cause for concern. If we win the account, we’ll provide Ms. Page with a personal protection detail 24/7.

And if you agree to act as her doppelganger, you have my word that you’ll be afforded an equal level of security. ”

Knowing that she’d be protected day and night alleviated some of her concerns.

This wouldn’t be the first high-profile client for Six Points Security.

They guarded corporate executives, politicians, A-list celebrities, and the family of a member of the Saudi royal family whenever they vacationed in Florida.

Keeping her safe from a spoiled rich boy should be a walk in the park.

And what the hell, playing the role of a pampered rich girl might be fun for a few days. She could wear fancy clothes, stay in a fancy mansion, and pretend she was somebody special. If she turned it down, who knew if this sort of opportunity would ever present itself again?

Decision made, she blew out a breath. “All right, I’m in.”

“Yes!” Larissa reached across the desk to give Sloane a high five.

“Thank you for agreeing to do this,” Austin said. “You have no idea how much we appreciate it.”

She hoped they remembered this when it came time for her annual review. “So what happens next?”

“Ms. Page’s representative will be here Friday morning to ensure our body double meets their approval.” Austin stood. “That means we have three days to turn you into Sierra Page’s twin.”