Page 24 of Sachie's Hero

Kalea moved ahead of them. “I’ll let Ule know to move the meal to the Brotherhood Protectors outbuilding.”

“If it’s going to be that much trouble, we can wait to eat when we’re done in the war room,” Sachie insisted.

“Ule won’t mind.” Kalea smiled. “And I’ll make sure he has help.”

Sachie’s eyes widened. “As long as that help isn’t you.”

Kalea’s smile twisted. “I’ve been strictly forbidden to lift and carry anything heavier than a cup of tea and banned from riding and flying until after thebaby is born.” She patted her belly. “I’m bored out of my mind.”

Sachie laughed. “Not for much longer.”

Kalea sighed. “I know, and I can’t wait for him or her to arrive.”

“You still don’t know what you’re having?” Sachie asked.

“Hawk and I decided to wait.” Kalea frowned. “Which makes choosing a paint color for the nursery impossible. But more on that after your meeting and lunch. Go. I’ll be out there soon.”

Teller and Sachie passed through the house and out the back door.

One of the outbuildings had been remodeled and equipped with state-of-the-art computers, satellite systems, offices, a war room and an armory.

“You’ve been here before?” Teller asked.

Sachie nodded. “Once.”

“Have you met Hank Patterson or Axel Svenson, aka Swede?”

“No, but Kalea talks about them all the time. She and Hawk have a lot of confidence in them and the rest of the Brotherhood Protectors around the world.”

When they arrived at the building, Teller pressed his thumb to a biometric reader. A moment later, a lock clicked. Teller opened the door and stood back to let Sachie enter first.

She led the way into the war room, where a long conference table took up the center of the room with a huge screen at one end.

Teller crossed to the array of monitors on one side of the room and touched a mouse. The monitors blinked awake from their sleep mode and brought up images from security cameras.

“Can you tell if anyone followed us?” Sachie asked.

Teller shook his head. “No, but they have a security team monitoring the access road at all times. They would alert Hawk, Kalea and Mr. Parkman if there was a breach or suspicious behavior around the property.”

Footsteps sounded from the hallway.

Sachie turned in time to find Ule, Mr. Parkman’s chef, carrying a large tray filled with sandwiches, utensils, bowls and crackers. Behind him came Hawk carrying a soup tureen, which he carefully set on the conference table.

Kalea brought up the rear with a roll of paper towels. “See?” She held up the roll with a grimace. “They wouldn’t let me carry anything heavier than a cup of tea or a roll of paper towels. Way to make a girl feel useless.”

“We’re headed into the last couple of weeks of your pregnancy.” Hawk slipped an arm around his wife’s waist. “We only want what’s best for the healthof you and the baby.” He dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

Kalea snorted. “What about my mental health? I’m a doer. I need to be doing.”

“When that baby comes, we’ll all be doing,” Hawk reminded her. “You can help Ule lay out the food for everyone while I bring Hank and Swede online.” He stepped away from Kalea and joined Teller at the computer.

Sachie helped Ule and Kalea arrange plates on the table, ladle soup into bowls and uncover the selection of different types of sandwiches. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since the night before.

Her gaze went to Teller.

He turned in time to capture her glance with his.

A surge of awareness rippled through Sachie. The man really was good-looking in a quiet, brooding way. She wanted to know more about him and his statement that he’d never had a permanent home. What was his background? She knew so little about him. That didn’t seem to matter. She trusted him to keep her safe. Hell, he’d saved her life once already.

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