Page 42 of Almost Home
I wasn’t entirely following, but I’d ask Wilder after.
“I understand you’re very new. Are you at all concerned about working with my existing team?”
Ms. Reynolds seemed perfectly relaxed in her seat, but I could see signs of strain beyond the darkened eyes—a tightness around her mouth, the set of her shoulders that seemed brittle somehow.
“What I’ll do for you is not all that different from some of the work I did in the military. One of my specialties is assessing a situation and making a plan. I’ll be adding carefully vetted personnel to the team, and by the time you arrive, you’ll be assigned a manager—most likely myself. I’ll work with your team as much as they’re willing—it won’t be an issue on my end.”
“I’d like it to be you.”
He nodded. “Then it’s me. And by the time you’re here, your house will have the full setup. We’ll run perimeter security, you’ll have your man, and anytime you need backup, I’m ten minutes out. We’ll put together a plan for whatever your other needs might be.”
A ripple of concern crossed her face, but she nodded. “Thank you. And now, could I have a moment with you in your office?”
CHAPTERTWENTY
Wilder
I’d seen this look on other faces. Sometimes good people who’d been hounded by creeps and stalkers like Madeline Reynolds had, and some I’d been sent to hunt down. Like it or not, that’d been a large part of my job. Find the bad guys and remove the threat. Spoiler alert for people outside the black ops community: this rarely entailed capture, and there is no such thing as a tranquilizer dart used on people.
But this woman wasn’t an enemy—she needed my help with one. I settled into my seat, and she took one on the other side of my desk. Her posture was stiff in the chair across from me, exactly as it’d been in the other room. Sometimes, people relaxed in a one-on-one setting and others clammed up even more. Madeline Reynolds likely had more experience with meetings of all kinds than I’d have in ten lives, and I’d sat through enough briefings to last at least three lifetimes.
I waited for her to begin. She’d requested the private meeting, and though it wasn’t expected, I suspected it wouldn’t be unheard of for people like Reynolds who had entourages surrounding her at all times.
“I’m not sure I can trust my current security team. Well, now essentiallyformerteam, though we haven’t fired them outright so that we can figure out what exactly the breach is.”
I blinked and dipped my chin, signaling she should continue. I held her gaze but took in details around the periphery—legs remained uncrossed, hair blond but somehow duller than the last interview I’d found online in my search yesterday. Otherwise, every single thing about her was immaculate. Except for those tired, haunted eyes.
“There is no way anyone could know some of the places I’ve been unless they’re inside my circle. I’ve whittled it down from about seven people to now just Anthony and Brad.”
“You trust them?”
“Yes. But I wasn’t certain about your assistant. And I’ve been through enough that…” Her voice shook until she cleared it. “I can’t take chances.”
“I understand. Sarah is completely trustworthy—I’d trust her with my life. If you trust me, you can trust her and anyone I hire. But your caution is smart, and this helps me know how to proceed. We’ll set up some parameters for communication so your usual distribution network who deals with your scheduling, appearances, accounts, and—”
“They’re gone. Anthony’s here, and Brad. No one else. They’ll be with me while I pack up in New York, and then I’m back here with as few traces as possible. I’m not even using my own transportation. Julian Grenier’s pilot, Mr. Smith, is assisting me on the way over so that I’m not tracked back here.”
All excellent precautions. Brad must be advising her well, and hopefully he was, in fact, capable with cyber protection. I’d known he would stay her physical body guard—I didn’t have the staff set up for that anyway. But I’d planned to deal with cyber myself. If Brad insisted and Reynolds was sitting here insisting he was trustworthy, then so be it. I’d have to review the contract and present them with something slimmer, but in the end, it just meant I wouldn’t be working as much overtime, and I wouldn’t need to hire out my two buddies who weren’t active duty to moonlight before they were ready.
If Reynolds only had a few people she could trust, I was glad at least Brad was one and he was making the right calls. Or perhaps it was her brother, an active duty Lieutenant Colonel in the Army, giving her suggestions. Or potentially even more likely, Grenier. He had a knack for security, an interest in it, and his own wealth plus the population he kept company with meant he was more than attuned to the industry and best practices. He’d seeded the money for the refurb of this building and some of the tech we needed to get started beyond what Bruce and I could contribute. Without him, we wouldn’t have been able to open for at least a year, if not more, without massive debt.
“We’ll get everything set up by the time you’re back. You’ll be safe here, Ms. Reynolds.”
She stood in answer, apparently satisfied with the interaction, or perhaps my assurances that she was safe here. More likely, it was having put a face with the name and having a plan. The unknown was so often what haunted people, and I’d already felt the satisfaction of providing that fix. Exiting the room, we found her staff and Sarah chatting easily in the front.
“If you need anything until you’re back, don’t hesitate to contact us.” I stopped next to Sarah and gave her a look, hoping she’d read it right.
“Yes. And if you need anything in terms of just setting up non-security stuff, or anything, just let us know.”
Sarah’s bright smile was a little too large, but Ms. Reynolds gave her a small smile in return before catching my eye and nodding. Seconds later, the door shut behind them, and Sarah let out a huge breath and her shoulders slumped.
“Everything okay?” I asked, holding in a laugh.
She brushed a hand over her face. “That was intense. I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous.”
My lips quirked into a smile.
“What, you have?”
