Page 23 of The Rough Ride (Sanctuary, Inc. #3)
A soft, muffled sound pierced the night. Nick bolted upright and listened, his heart in a staccato sprint. He turned toward the baby monitor. It was Ella. He gently pulled himself free of Liz’s warm body and sat up on the side of the bed.
More noises drifted from the baby monitor. What the hell? He didn’t want to wake Liz for a false alarm. He glanced at the time. They’d had three hours of sleep. The baby whined, and his feet hit the floor. He crept to the doorway of her room and listened.
She babbled and whimpered off and on. Maybe he should get some eyes on her?
He turned on his phone flashlight and tiptoed toward the crib, shining the light on the blanket.
Her little head popped up with a squeal.
Judas priest! Shit. He stumbled backward and killed the light in his sweaty palm. It was as nerve wracking as night ops.
He inched backward out of the room and leaned against the wall in the hallway.
If she didn’t quiet down, he’d turn the volume up on the baby monitor for Liz and leave.
He would not pick that kid up under any circumstances.
She was so small. One wrong move and he could break her.
He stood there for the next five minutes while his heart jackhammered.
Thankfully, it remained quiet in Ella’s room. She must’ve fallen back to sleep.
His phone chimed, and he read the new text. Damn. It was from Mason. Nick found his clothes and dressed in the bathroom. The snick of the front door was a soft whisper behind him when he left.
Mason would cover his shift with the Richardson’s today, but tomorrow, he’d ship out to the hurricane disaster area down south.
Nick had less than twenty-four hours to find a replacement during one of the biggest holiday weekends of the year.
Crap. How was he going to cover this work?
His mind churned. He used a three-tier system in case of emergency with himself as last resort. Derek served as primary, Mason second.
The senator and Angie were flying to Dallas for a big fundraiser early the next morning. Beau had said they’d be socializing among friends and didn’t need to have Nick along. He preferred that Nick stayed east and made sure the nanny and kids had coverage.
Nick shook his head. He’d hired quite a few personnel on a sub-contractor basis. He’d start making phone calls once the sun came up to see who was available.
He mentally browsed parts of the list he could remember as he drove home. He couldn’t call the ex-mobster who’d cleaned up his act in the Army. The guy was a freaking mercenary these days and would scare the living crap out of the kids with the scars on his face and permanent sneer.
Nick turned onto the final road toward home.
He’d start with the women on his auxiliary list. Yeah, he’d prefer a woman.
They were tough as nails but with a softer face.
That’d work. He’d get this taken care of by mid-morning.
Talking to himself in the rear-view mirror, he grew positive.
Who knew an entrepreneur required a lot of self-talk?
He parked in the garage under his building, and the elevator chugged him to his loft.
He slid a mug under the coffee machine, punched the brew button and fired up his computer to open the document with possible temporary hires.
A particular name and personality stuck out.
She was a former CIA operative. She might work.
He tapped the number and left the phone on speaker.
“Nick, you studmuffin. You’ve got to be on east coast time to be calling me at this hour of the night. What’s up, darling?”
He shook his head. Her breathy Marilyn Monroe voice always cracked him up, and made her sound like a softie. Underneath the voice and sex-kitten looks, she was an expert covert operative. “Where are you, Lana?”
“At the moment, I’m extricating myself from under a beautiful sleeping Canadian Mountie on vacation in a super king-size bed in Maui. I had myself an exhilarating evening. And you?”
Aww hell. Maui was a longer flight than he wanted to pay for. But he’d do it if he had to.
“DC. You’re on my back-up list. Any chance you’d want to fly back later today? I’ve got a senator’s family that needs protection for a few weeks. Three kids, a nanny, and a wife.” He mentally crossed his fingers and listened for something he could use to sweeten the pot.
“Ooh—kids. I love kids as long as they’re not mine,” she crooned.
That’s exactly why he needed her now.
“Could you be here by tomorrow morning? What if I book you a first-class flight to Dulles or National later today? I’ll send a limo to pick you up.” Please, I can’t deal with these kids. She’d be an entertaining fit for the Richardsons.
“I’d love to, sugar, but I told you after I passed that grueling physical of yours that I’m not available until Tuesday. Bodyguard duty for two movie stars on vacation. I can’t just drop them and ruin my rep.”
Ah, crap. He’d forgotten about her date restrictions.
“I understand. I’ll call you with work once you’re home, or are you already committed going forward?”
“No commitments just yet. You know, cutie-pie, you sound so tense. I wish you’d take me up on my friends-with-benefits offer. I’d have you purring in no time.”
Nick rolled his eyes. Lana was like an older sister but didn’t look a day over thirty.
She had the martial arts skills of a samurai and could pin him to the mat in three moves.
Four, max. “I’m taken, Lana. Enjoy the sun.
Don’t exhaust too many Hawaiians and leave a little something for the other tourists. Catch you later.”
“Kisses, handsome.” She disconnected the call.
Replacing Derek and Mason would be difficult because they were irreplaceable.
They excelled every day, manned the security office in the house, kept up with the hourly checks on the security, and somehow found the time to join Natalie’s daily tea parties, escort Angie to appointments, and Derek even had the teenager, Lindsay, smirking at his jokes and calling him boss .
Derek and Mason made the damn-near-impossible look easy.
Maybe the Sanctuary, Inc. guys could help. Nick had certainly volunteered plenty of times to help the private rescue organization. He placed a call to Mac Mackenzie, the guy in charge, who answered on the second ring .
“Mackenzie speaking.”
“Mac, it’s Nick Flannery.”
“You got an assignment for us?”
“Not a legit rescue, but I could use some help. I’m short-staffed with Senator Richardson’s family this weekend. Do you know of anyone who wants to work?”
Mac’s reply was clipped and quick. “Describe short-staffed.”
Nick cleared his throat. “Primary bodyguard is on family leave. Secondary just got called up by the National Guard. I’m no good with kids. I’d like someone who’s dealt with children before to handle the day shift for a week or two.”
“Is the senator’s family in jeopardy?”
“No, everything’s good. I’m just putting feelers out for someone who’s kid-friendly.”
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air for a few seconds. “Because you don’t want to be around the kids?”
Nick turned the ceiling fan on. It was hot in his office. “I can be around the kids, but I’m thinking they’d be happier with someone less intimidating.”
Mac heaved a deep breath. “Yeah. I know you’ve got this thing about kids. Remember the orphanage we guarded in Guatemala for four days?”
“Of course.” How could he forget? Didn’t keep food down the entire time.
“You were kind of amazing, bro. If I remember correctly, it was you who loaded each one of those kids into choppers while we were under fire. They all survived and landed in Miami. You underestimate yourself, Nick. I’d trust you with my life.”
Nick took a slug of his coffee. “Thanks, man. The feeling’s mutual. ”
“If it isn’t a rescue team you need, I’m really hesitant to light up everyone’s burner phone on a holiday weekend. Now, if things go south, call me back. Better safe than sorry.”
Nick fidgeted with the paper clips on his desk. “Okay. I understand. No problem.”
“Did you get the wedding invitation?”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks. I’ll send my RSVP soon.”
“Make sure to bring your plus one , bro. And remember, if you get in a sticky situation, call me back.”
“Gotcha. Thanks.” He disconnected the call. Well, that was that.
He looked at his watch. By now, Liz would be up and moving with Ella.
How the hell would they make a relationship work with Ella in the mix?
And he’d damn near had a panic attack peeking on the little girl this morning.
He moved on, pushing the thoughts of Liz and Ella to a mental shelf and continued with the calls.
An hour later, he came up empty. Two thirds of his list was on a beach somewhere, and the other third currently worked other assignments.
The holiday weekend and bad timing didn’t help either.
There were a few prospects he couldn’t reach by phone, and he sent them a text. He’d wait to hear back. With any luck, one of them would be thrilled to have the work.
But just in case, because the whole fail to plan and plan to fail thing sat in his gut like a rock, he packed a briefcase and extra gear bag.