Page 6 of Guarding The Phoenix: Vol. 1

“This was my late husband’s office.” She pointed at a closed wooden door. “I’ve redecorated everything on this floor but his office.”

“Why?” I was curious about her, her motivations, why she had really stayed in the marriage. And my questions weren’t purely from an investigative standpoint. There was something about Kylie that set my being ablaze.

I couldn’t go there with a CIA asset. It would cross an unforgivable line. And while I found her stunning, she was forbidden.

“Because the one time I went in there, I regretted it. That room was off limits for me, and while my husband is gone, I can’t bring myself to go in there.” Dark shadows mingled with her bleak expression as she stared at the door. The way she stared was like she expected monsters inside.

Chapter five

The Tour

Gideon

Interesting—andratherdisturbing.Justwhat the hell had Carlos Vega done to her? It was obvious there were things she hadn’t divulged. And I couldn’t figure out what she was hiding. Was it all an act to garner our sympathies? “Will it bother you if we go in? To set up surveillance equipment, of course.”

And to examine everything inside to help us collar Santos. But I wasn’t going to admit that’s why I wanted full access to the room. We had to establish trust before we even considered divulging the truth of why we were here. We had been monitoring her phone and laptop, and when she started searching for a bodyguard security team to hire, we had put the business together as a front. Then, with Mateo’s brilliance behind a keyboard, he had pushed the fake company to the top of the search engines until she had finally called us.

It didn’t hurt that Mateo had messed with the other security companies’ schedules to make it appear like they didn’t have any openings for another two weeks.

“No. Have at it. I can’t tell you what you will find besides layers of dust. I haven’t even had the maid go in there. Sandra comes three mornings a week. Given the size of this place, there’s no way I can keep up with it.”

“That’s understandable. It’s a lot of space for one person.”

“It is.” We followed her into the basement once we had toured the first floor except for Carlos Vega’s office. I could only shake my head at what was in the basement. There was a full gym I had every intention of taking advantage of, a sauna, a bowling alley with ten lanes, a movie theater with plush leather seating, a bar and old-school popcorn maker in the theater, and storage areas with extra food supplies and stockpiles of toilet paper. There was also a locked room with keypad access.

“What’s in there?” I asked, nodding my chin toward the door.

Kylie glanced at the door. A pained expression crossed her face before she met my gaze with a nonchalant shrug, like she couldn’t care less what was inside. “Don’t have a clue. It’s another room my late husband warned me to stay out of or face dire consequences. After my foray into his office once, I never went anywhere I wasn’t supposed to in this house.”

Damn.

Her words sounded grim. The other guys’ brows rose at her offhand comment. Mateo nodded with a sanguine expression, giving me the signal that he could breach the security. There was an electronic keypad with multiple locks. Made a man wonder what was so important to keep locked up that way and keep his wife from ever entering.

We toured the rest of the house. Damn thing was massive. Each bedroom had its own sitting room and bathroom. She even allowed us inside the enormous master suite. She must have redecorated here too. Her bedroom was distinctly feminine, with a bed large enough to host a party.

The massive oak four-poster bed had mounds of pillows and looked like a pink cloud. Everything reflected softness and comfort, and the scent she wore was stronger in here.

When we returned to the living room with a firm grasp on the equipment we would need, I said to Kylie, “We’ll get all the legal stuff, like the contract, done and tour the grounds outside once we are set up here. My associates and I will head out and grab everything we’ll need. We shouldn’t be gone more than two hours maximum.” They would be back inside of an hour. Mateo had already been texting our superior everything we were going to need on this job. The team at headquarters would have it all together for us. And when it came to our personal effects, we already had our bags packed, plus three trucks full of surveillance supplies we’d already amassed. It was simply a matter of collecting everything from headquarters.

“Okay. You’re sure it won’t take longer than that?” Kylie asked nervously. Poor thing was really spooked. Like she expected Santos and his men to stage an invasion.

“Did something happen recently, Kylie? I need you to be honest with us if we’re going to be able to do our job.”

She sighed, her shoulders sagging with the weight of her fear and anxiety. “It’s probably nothing. I’m likely being overly dramatic. Yesterday, during the day, the doorbell rang. But when I checked the security camera feed, there was no one there. It happened four times yesterday. And I...I don’t feel safe. Not after the boxes of body parts and threats Luka Santos has lobbed my way.”

Fuck.

She was being terrorized. I glanced at Axel and had a wordless conversation with him to stay here and keep an eye out. I trusted him to get her to safety if Santos attacked. Axel nodded his understanding in response.

“Axel will stay with you while the rest of us grab what we’ll need for this job. This way, you won’t be alone. The rest of us will be back soon. Kylie, we’re good at our jobs and will protect you with our lives. Just trust us and do whatever Axel tells you to without question, all right?”

Kylie visibly relaxed. “Okay. Thank you.”

“It’s what we’re here to do, Kylie. Axel’s going to walk us out but will be right back. Okay?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be in the kitchen. Any requests for lunch or dinner?”

She was so eager to please. I cocked my head as her question finally sank in. “Wait, you cook?”

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