Page 27 of Close Protection

Julia reentered the cabin, securing the door behind her. Ivy didn't look up from the table where she'd spread her documents, her focus absolute as she made notations on a complex flow chart. Her hair was pulled back in its customary ponytail, her expression one of intense concentration. In another life, Julia might have found the sight compelling—Ivy in her element, brilliant and focused.

In this life, it only complicated matters.

"We need to talk," Julia said, breaking the silence.

Ivy looked up. "About?"

"Updated threat assessment." Julia moved to the table, keeping professional distance as she surveyed the documents. "Knox has escalated. Two of his people were apprehended near your apartment, armed and carrying surveillance photos."

Ivy's expression tightened, but she showed none of the fear Julia might have expected. "That was predictable."

"There's more. The leak is coming fromDetective Division, someone with direct access to witness protection protocols."

"No honor among thieves," Ivy murmured. "Or police, apparently."

The observation carried a bitter edge that made Julia bristle. "One compromised officer doesn't invalidate the entire department."

"No? Tell that to the people whose safety was compromised." Ivy held her gaze steadily. "I've seen this pattern before, Julia. Corruption spreads because good people believe it's isolated."

The use of her first name—casual, as if they shared some deeper connection—sent an uncomfortable ripple through Julia's composure.

"Morgan mentioned you were working on something new," she redirected. "Something that might explain why Knox is so determined to eliminate you specifically."

Ivy's eyes narrowed fractionally. "I thought testimony was the mission, not the witness."

The barb landed with precision. "They're connected," Julia conceded. "What are you working on?"

For a moment, Ivy seemed to debate how much to reveal. Then she sighed, pushing forward a document from the array spread before her.

"I found a pattern in the syndicate's property acquisitions," she said, reverting to the clinical tone of a professional briefing. "Not just money laundering, but strategic positioning around specific city assets: water treatment facilities, emergency response centers, electrical substations."

"Critical infrastructure," Julia noted, alarm sharpening her focus.

Ivy nodded. "Exactly. These holdings form a net around key vulnerabilities in Phoenix Ridge's infrastructure. In an emergency scenario, whoever controls these properties could effectively isolate or control entire sections of the city."

"You're suggesting Knox is planning some kind of infrastructural attack?"

"I'm suggesting he's creating leverage. Insurance against prosecution, the kind that would make city officials think twice about moving against him." Ivy's eyes met Julia's. "This goes beyond financial crime, Julia. It'sabout power and control at a fundamental level."

If Ivy was right, Knox wasn't just protecting his criminal enterprise; he was positioning himself to hold an entire city hostage if threatened.

"Does the DA know about this angle?" Julia asked.

"Not yet. I was verifying property records when we had to evacuate." Ivy hesitated. "This information makes me more than just a financial witness. It makes me a threat to Knox's contingency plans."

"A bigger target," Julia acknowledged, mentally recalibrating their security needs.

"Yes. And if there's a leak in your department?—"

"We're more vulnerable than I initially assessed," Julia finished.

Outside, clouds gathered over the distant peaks, shadows deepening across the clearing as afternoon slipped toward evening. The weather was turning, another front moving in according to Morgan's update. Another variable to consider, another factor in their increasingly complex equation.

Night fell quickly, darkness seeping through the trees like ink through paper. Julia stood at the window, a narrow gap in the curtains providing just enough visibility to monitor the clearing. The first stars had appeared in patches between gathering clouds, their light doing little to illuminate the forest beyond.

Behind her, Ivy had finally succumbed to exhaustion, falling asleep at the table amidst her spread of documents. Julia had watched her fighting it for hours—head nodding, then jerking upright, fingers pinching the bridge of her nose, shoulders gradually slumping under the weight of fatigue. Eventually, nature won out over stubborn determination.

Julia moved quietly across the cabin, retrieving a blanket from the sofa. She draped it carefully over Ivy's shoulders, allowing herself a moment to observe the woman beneath the armor of professionalism. In sleep, Ivy's features softened, the fierce intelligence that animated her face giving way to something more vulnerable. A strand of honey-blonde hair had escaped her ponytail, fallingacross her cheek in a way that made Julia's fingers twitch with the urge to brush it back.

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