Page 29 of The Bronze Garza
“You think it was deliberate?”
He rubs his forehead. “She thinks it was.”
“Why?”
A pained sigh. “She said the headlights were off the entire time. That the car was parked on the side and only swerved out when she was in the middle of the road.”
“What about the two who were with her,” I ask, “they corroborated this?”
“Both said everything happened too fast to tell.”
Interesting. “As long as no one’s able to back up her suspicions, the cops will write it off as paranoia in light of all that’s happened—shit spreads in stations. Though they won’t come straight out with it. What I’m guessing they told you is that they’ll do everything they can to find the driver, then suggested she gets therapy in the meantime. Correct?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what they said.” His frown is deep, troubled. “Are they right?”
“You wouldn’t be here if you thought they were.” I pass my knuckles under my chin as I regard him. “I’ve met your daughter, Henderson. If she said it wasn’t an accident, I believe her.”
“But how do I know for sure? She’s been so...broken.”
“She’s not broken, she’s angry.” For some reason, him calling her broken irritates me. That girl on the jet might’ve been emotional, but she wasn’t broken. She was pissed clean off and had every right to be. “Listen to me, those people did a lot of things to your daughter but breaking her isn’t one of them. I’ve extracted a number of girls over the years, and I’ve never come across a single one as tough and defiant as she was after enduring what she did. So the next time you talk to her, look closer; I guarantee what you find won’t be brokenness.”
Henderson’s gaze drops to the table. “See, this is why I wanted to talk to you specifically. Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it.”
Leaning back, I cross my arms. “Still haven’t told me why I’m here, though.”
He chuckles shakily. “Truth be told, I wasn’t quite sure when I came. But now that we’ve talked, two things.”
“Which are?”
“A bodyguard for Lyra, and an investigation into the hit and run.”
“The latter I can offer, the former I can’t. Our security department’s maxed out and no one’ll be available for at least another month. We’re in the process of vetting additional staff, but I’m very particular, so that could take a while,” I tell him. “I can give you a list of refer—”
“No, I want Red Cage on this. You’re the only ones I trust.”
“Well, I’m sorry but—”
“Please, name your price and I’ll pay it,” he says. “I have a slew of business meetings in New York and Seattle that I’ve been postponing for months now, and I can’t any longer without insulting investors. Lyly is refusing to travel along with me. She’s been at her mother’s for the past few weeks but her mother is leaving for Paris in a couple of days and Lyly doesn’t want to travel with her either. My stepson lives on our property but he works odd hours, and I just don’t feel comfortable leaving her at the house by herself.”
“But I’m betting that’s what she wants?”
A nod and a sigh. “That’s what she wants.”
I lace my fingers behind my head. “I agree that she shouldn’t be left alone, but I also can’t help right now.”
He drums his fingers on the table and regards me contemplatively. “Where are you vacationing?”
I lift a brow at him. The fuck does that matter? “Home.”
“How about the Ritz Carlton? With Lyly. All expense on me? Adjoining rooms so you can still keep an eye on her.”
He wantsmeto be his daughter’s bodyguard? “Nice one, Henderson.Vacationingmeans I won’t be doing any kind of work whatsoever, and the Ritz Carlton is not my style.”
“I know I’m being a pain in the ass, but I really need your help,” he pushes. “Name your price. Anything.”
“Truth be told, Mitch, I don’t think your ‘Lyly’ likes me very much. And personally, I think she’s a little too mouthy.”
And too beautiful. And too tempting. And a wet fucking dream.
