Page 52 of The Heiress

The second giant had a dark head of curly hair and I recognized him immediately. “Teddy! Oh my God, how are you?”

He blushed a little, dipping his head as he hugged me. Teddy went to school with us. And now that I thought about it, he and Jace were pretty close. They played baseball together. “I’m not too bad. Good to see you again, Samantha.”

I recognized the third man too. “Abel?” His hair was shorter and cleaner than I remembered, but it was definitely him.

“Yes ma’am,” he said quietly. He’d also gone to school with us, but we didn’t have any of the same classes and I couldn’t remember ever hanging out with Abel Riddick.

He kept his hands in his pockets and looked incredibly uncomfortable to be here. Or maybe he was just uncomfortable being around me.

Jace clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “All right, let's do the whole introduction thing so everyone is on the same page.” He held out a hand to Teddy. “You know Home Run from growing up. This guy,” he slapped the first man again, “is Storm. And you remember Riddick,” he pointed at Abel.

Then he moved beside me and wrapped his arm around my waist, his hand sitting possessively on my hip. “Guys, this is Samantha. We grew up together and she’s my lady now. We’ll be her protection and security detail.”

* * *

“How long dowe think this is going to last?” Riddick asked.

Forever.It felt like this was my life now. Nobody even knew who I was and I already felt like I was under a microscope.

“Sam’s got some business to take care of in Gainesville. I figured we’d keep moving every other day while Dombrowski works the other side,” Jace explained.

“Yeah,” Home Run fidgeted as he spoke, “but like, is there a generic timetable? A week? A month? A year? How bad is it?”

Jace’s lips thinned and I knew what he was trying to keep from saying.It’s very bad and if I had my way we’d be doing this forever.But that wasn’t realistic. One way or the other I had to decide which road I was taking. Life in the quiet or life in the spotlight? The easy life with maybe a side of guilt and regret? Or the hard life that might make other people’s lives better? The naive eighteen-year-old who demanded Jace live his life the way she saw fit also had an opinion about which choice I should make now, but I wasn’t entirely sure she was right.

I also wasn’t sure she was wrong.

“I think maybe,” my voice sounded small and high pitched compared to the voices I’d been listening to for the last half hour, “you’re asking the wrong question.”

Jace glowered. “Don’t worry about that.”

“Worry about what?” Home Run’s head darted back and forth between us like an excited bird.

“Maybe the question isn’t how long I’ll need protection. Maybe the question is how long will Todd tolerate his men being used for something outside club business.”

“Oh...yeah. That’s a very good question.” Home Run nodded a lot. “But Jace is also right. You shouldn’t worry about him. If you take door number one he won’t notice or care what we do. If you take door number two...he’s going to be very excited to be paid.”

And maybe the Todd extortion problem had accidentally worked itself out. He wanted to tap into my status and wealth? Fine. Provide my security.

“Todd’s all about the money.” Storm nodded in agreement.

Riddick leaned forward. “So it’s us four, on a three shift rotation?”

“For now,” Jace said. “This stage is critical if Sam’s going to have any option for privacy. If things change, we can talk about creating a full security detail.”

It was like he read my mind. “Are you talking about providing my security instead of Dombrowski?”

“Yes. Dombrowski is stretched keeping Georgia safe. He didn’t come right out and say it at the time, but he insinuated he was having trouble with the Feyereisen brothers knowing too much. They’re dug so deep into the company that they know more than he’s comfortable with. Her schedule, her location, even things not on calendars. He runs a tight ship and adding you would jeopardize one or both of you.”

“So you suggested yourself?”

He kept his gaze locked on mine, steady and reassuring. “Not exactly. Once we decided to leave Key West, I asked Dombrowski how he was going to keep you safe. He pointed out that Georgia made it my job, and that I already run a security company through the club. Then he said the only way we could be sure you were safe was if you had your own independent team. People you could trust. That’s me.” He glanced at his brothers. “We’re bound by blood. You’ll never have a mole on our team.”

“Damn fucking straight,” Riddick muttered.

“Traitors wind up in the ground,” Home Run explained with an apologetic smile.

“So...I’d essentially hire your security company?”

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