Page 60 of Out of the Shadows

“Next time.” She smiled, but her gaze quickly sobered. She placed a hand on his abdomen and electricity shot through him. “Be careful, okay?”

Meeting her gaze, he nodded. “Always, B.”

There was no way in hell he’d do anything to put himselfin jeopardy. For the first time in forever, he had someone to come back to.

An hour later, after introducing Team Three’s Rizzo, Hanniger, and Schreiber to the McClintocks as Rita’s new personal security detail, Gavin gave Carmichael the okay to return to the hospital.

Gavin was now in the McClintocks’ massive home office, which they’d immediately scanned for bugs upon entering. Thankfully, no listening or recording devices had been found. Across the coffee table from him, Edward and Rita were seated beside each other on the leather couch, their hands linked tightly. Xander stood sentry at the door, while Wilson was positioned to the right of the office’s window, scanning the surrounding woods where Team Three was patrolling.

“How did this happen?” Rita asked. “Polanski said none of the alarms were triggered.”

“They weren’t. Our IT specialist verified that the system’s cameras weren’t hacked.”

“All due respect,” Rita interjected, “but what are your IT specialist’s qualifications? They could have missed something.”

Gavin understood the woman’s apprehension, but her superior tone grated on his nerves. “No.” More like fuck no, but he was a professional, dammit. “Our IT specialist is more than qualified.”

Edward frowned. “Rita does have a point. How do we know that he didn’t miss anything? Hackers are very talented?—”

“I’m going to stop you both right now.” Irritation simmered in his gut, and he took a moment to rein it in. “My staff’s ability isn’t up for discussion. If you’ll recall, our ITspecialist was the person who was able to locate your kidnapped child within twenty-four hoursandfind the proof that members of your security detail were responsible. Our IT specialist—along with the rest of Hudson Security’s cyber division—is more than capable of checking for security breaches on a video feed.”

“Fuck those tech billionaire shitheads,” Bean muttered in his earpiece. “But thanks for having my six, boss.”

A quick glance at Xander and Wilson showed they were both sporting smirks. Looks like Bean had opened everyone’s comms.

“How did these shooters evade detection?” Edward asked.

“From what we learned through our contacts at SPD and the FBI, there was only one caliber of bullet found, so it’s possible it may have been a single shooter. Regardless, my guess is that whoever it was knew where the cameras were. As our team pointed out last week during our initial assessment, there are a few blind spots on your property. Whoever was responsible for the shooting managed to utilize each and every one.”

They both stared at him blankly, then Edward ran a hand over his jaw. “What exactly are you saying?”

Holy shit. For a couple of tech billionaires, common sense didn’t seem to be either of their strong suits. It seemed a little unfair to burst their bubble.

“Either they scoped out your property, which considering how camouflaged the cameras are doesn’t seem plausible, or... someone on your team let them know the location of the cameras.”

Rita shook her head. “But who . . .”

It should have been comical how both Edward’s and Rita’s eyes widened at the same time, but Gavin took no satisfaction in them realizing that it was more than likely that one of their trusted security team had sold them out.

“We don’t know anything for sure at this point. It’s all supposition.” It was, but Gavin would bet his company someone on Polanski’s team had dirty hands.

Standing, Edward began to pace. “I need to keep Rita and Anson safe.”

“I need you safe too, Eddie,” Rita said, wrapping her arms around her waist. Her gaze followed her pacing husband and then swung to Gavin. “What do you suggest?”

“Polanski and his team can stay here at the house.”

“But you just suggested they?—”

He held up a hand, quieting her interruption. “My suggestion is that once Anson’s released from the hospital, the three of you move to a safe house. One ofoursafe houses.”

Edward made his way to the credenza that had an assortment of liquor bottles atop it. He filled a shot glass with what looked to be whiskey and tossed it back. Shaking his head, he added a large cube of ice to a lowball glass and poured more whiskey nearly to the rim. “Rita?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder.

“No, thanks, Eddie. I’m going to head back to the hospital soon.”

Edward downed half his glass before he looked at Gavin and held up the bottle of Pappy Van Winkle. “Join me?”

“No, thank you.” Gavin stood and made his way toward Edward. He knew the man had been shaken by today’s shooting and the possibility that his long-time security detail was somehow involved, but the last thing he needed was for Edward to tie one on. “I’ll take some water if you have any.”

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