Page 5 of Swan River

“I don’t think so, Special Agent Kent. My team goes with me.”

The dark-haired Garner bodyguard grimaced. “I don’t think we can do more for you than the Secret Service. Let me just get Garner’s okay to hand you off.”

He pulled out his phone and stepped to the side of the sidewalk while Leya glared at the agent. His face remained expressionless, except she could have sworn his lips twitched just a hair. There definitely was humor in his eyes when the Garner bodyguard came back and said, “I’ll drive you both to the helicopter pad. Garner said to let him know when you’re heading back so we can meet you.”

Leya huffed, shouldered her bag, and headed for the SUV waiting for them on the street. While she hoped with every fiber of her being that her father and Guy Matherton would win the election, she also hoped they didn’t, because she was already tired of having this cocky agent following her around. If they won, it would mean he’d be shadowing her for a lot longer than just a few months, and she wasn’t sure her body could take it.

Chapter Three

Nikki

HOME

Performed by Foo Fighters

Nikki rubbed her temples, feeling the beginnings of a migraine coming on. It would be impossible to get through tonight with a film crew watching her if it kicked in as fiercely as the headaches sometimes did. She scrambled to her bag and pulled out her medicine.

She turned back to see Adria and Fiadh watching her with concern.

Their normally tight-knit group seemed to be full of drama these days. Once upon a time, they’d lived almost hip-to-hip, sharing rooms while touring with Watery Reflection, and even though they’d each had their own rooms on The Red Guitar tour, they’d still lived like sisters…Sisters she’d never had. The tension made her stomach clench and her chest tighten.

After downing her medicine, she turned to her friends and said, “I think Adria’s right. We should reschedule the filming.”

“You have a migraine?” Fee asked.

Nikki pushed against her temples again. “It might not develop into a full-blown one. I might have caught it early enough, but with Leya heading out and things being tense with Landry and Paisley, it seems better to postpone.”

“I don’t think the Hollywood Player Prince will agree.He’s too used to getting his way,” Adria said dryly.

Ronan Hawks was the documentary’s creator and director. He’d made a name for himself filming edgy, dark music videos, including a couple for their Red Guitar album that had won awards. He was the epitome of a Hollywood narcissist and wouldn’t be happy to have his budget or his schedule screwed up because of anything as ridiculous as a headache or family drama.

Nikki’s phone buzzed, and she looked down to see Professor Maynard’s name and number appear over the daisies on her lock screen. She forgot she’d agreed to meet with him this afternoon. He’d been so determined and so persistent ever since she’d arrived in Grand Orchard, and if she was truthful with herself, he’d dropped tantalizing hints that had been hard to ignore.

She could put him off. She should. In all likelihood, whatever he had to say would only increase the chances of her headache developing into a full-on throbbing monster refusing to be tamed. But she’d already postponed twice, each time doubting herself. Each time not wanting to know if her parents had kept things hidden from her all her life. Not little secrets either?life-altering ones.

The only good thing about the start of her headache was she could use it as an excuse to leave.

“I’m going to go get a coffee. Anyone want anything?” Nikki asked the others.

“No. Go take care of your headache before it turns into a beast. We’ll call Ronan,” Fiadh said, and Adria groaned, her distaste of the filmmaker clear. Fiadh smiled at her. “Safety in numbers, my friend.”

Nikki left with her bodyguard in tow. She made her way past the charming old storefronts of downtown to the ivy-covered buildings that made up Wilson-Jacobs College. She’d been on campus only twice before, but she’d looked up Maynard’s office on a site map that morning, so she knew the direction to head.

The university wasn’t nearly as busy as it would be when the fall semester kicked in, but there were still students and faculty wandering the halls. When she reached the floor with Maynard’s office, she turned to her bodyguard, Andy.

“I’d like you to wait here,” she told him. She didn’t want anyone listening to what the professor had to say because she wasn’t sure she believed it.

Andy frowned, unhappy with this development, but didn’t challenge her. Maybe it was because he knew, out of any of the Daisies, she was the one who’d had the most training in protecting herself. A lifetime of it at the hands of some of the best teachers. Not only her dad but his Green Beret friend and a host of martial arts instructors. Andy waited for her near the top of the stairs while she continued down several doors to Maynard’s office.

She knocked and entered, only to freeze.

The office was a disaster?books had been tossed from the shelves, and the file cabinets were open with their contents spread along the floor. The two chairs in front of Maynard’s large walnut desk had their cushions sliced open, while everything on the desktop had been thrown to the floor.

Professor Maynard was standing amidst the mess, laptop clutched to his chest and his trendy, black-framed glasses slipping down his nose. Anger and fear were etched over his face as his eyes found her in the doorway.

“Close the door!” he demanded.

She hesitated, but then did so, trying to find a spot to stand where she wouldn’t be on top of his strewn belongings.

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