Page 1 of Some Like It Deadly
Chapter 1
Kate
The sharp trill of the phone split the silent darkness in half. Kate Braddock jerked upright and had the phone in her hand, and answered before her mind fully processed the steps from sleep to waking. Adrenaline flooded her system, but training kept her voice calm. “Braddock.”
Too many middle-of-the-night phone calls heralded bad news.
“Kate.” Peterson’s voice sent relief chasing through the adrenaline pumping through her system. “My apologies for the odd hour.” The head of security for Armand Dagmar personally and the Andraste Royal Family in general didn’t sound remotely apologetic. Nor did he sound deeply concerned, which hopefully meant, Anna, her protectee and the fiancée of the grand duke was also fine.
Of course, as her boss, Peterson never sounded disturbed.
“It’s fine, sir.” She gave the perfunctory answer and shoved a hand through her hair. The sharp tug helped fuel her sleepy mind. Slanting a look at the clock, she sighed. It was only four-thirty in the morning. On her day off—the single day she’d had off in weeks. “What can I do for you?”
“We have a delicate situation and I am going to be blunt, Braddock. You’re actually the only woman for the job.” Plunging right in and ripping off the Band-Aid was far preferable to beating around the bush. At this early hour, all she required were the specifics with no sugar coating involved.
“What’s the job?” Pushing back the blankets, Kate rose and padded to the kitchen. She’d already set up the coffee maker the night before. All she had to do was hit the on switch.
“Richard Prentiss slipped his security detail this weekend.” Prentiss was the grand duke’s best friend, and he’d been involved in a rather spectacular car accident a few months earlier.
Kate was impressed—with Prentiss, not his security detail. How they let a wounded man slip them didn’t bode well for their future in the business.
“He was beyond our supervision and out of communication range for nearly seven hours.” And then as if anticipating her question, Peterson added. “He left his cell phone at the house, and returned via taxi looking none the worse for wear, but…”
“But he slipped his security.” The loss had likely pinched the pride of a man as thorough as Peterson. He was damn good at his job. She didn’t envy the members of the detail who’d failed to keep the attorney under surveillance and safe. They wouldn’t have their jobs much longer—if they hadn’t been fired already. “So what does that have to do with me?”
“Mr. Prentiss informed the grand duke he would be returning to his regular duties at his office tomorrow and he wants the security detail pulled.” In a reverse of his earlier bluntness, Peterson circled around to his point. Kate turned at the sound of the coffee maker finishing its job, and poured herself a mug of the dark blend. The process kept her busy and her mouth shut.
She was a good soldier, and well-trained. Peterson would get to what he wanted soon enough.
“Look, Braddock, the grand duke wants to appease Mr. Prentiss, but he’s not prepared to remove security from him. Chatter has slowed, but it hasn’t quieted fully. When we inserted you with Miss Novak, you downplayed your presence as personal security by acting as her assistant.”
And there it was.
“You want me to do the same for Mr. Prentiss?” She hadn’t been especially fond of deceiving Anna, but then she’d never had to lie to her directly either. Peterson and the grand duke had simply told her that Kate had been vetted by security and could act as her assistant. That Kate could do the job. The deception kept her in Anna’s orbit. Every time Anna left the tower to work, Kate had gone with her.
“Yes, we’ve arranged to have his legal assistant head out on a worldwide cruise, all expenses paid. She leaves today, in about three and a half hours, I need you to meet with her and get everything you’ll need to know about how to do the job because you’ll be interviewing with him tomorrow. I’ll have the car picking her up swing by to get you in ninety minutes.” Peterson had thought of everything, his smug tone might be well deserved. Mr. Prentiss wasn’t the easiest protectee.
So much for her day off. “Do you think that Mr. Prentiss is just going to hire me because his assistant left? I’m assuming he has others in that law firm he could borrow?—”
“He could, obviously, but he and the grand duke are scheduled to have lunch later today and…” Peterson trailed off and actually sighed. “Let’s just say that he’ll receive the news of his assistant’s departure under controlled circumstances and the grand duke will then volunteer your services. We’ll get you in the door, but you’ll need to secure the position.”
How very Machiavellian of the grand duke.
“You’re asking me to protect someone who doesn’t want a detail and who won’t know what I’m doing.” The potential for clusterfuck was enormous. Anna had been a similar case, but she’d also had a full detail on her at all times in addition to Kate. “What kind of detail is Prentiss going to have?”
“A discreet one.” He paused a beat, then continued, “Kate, I know this isn’t the easiest assignment. I wouldn’t ask you to do it if I didn’t think you were fully capable of it. The grand duke is worried about Mr. Prentiss’s visibility. We can’t properly secure him without his cooperation. You will have backup, but they could be twenty seconds out.”
And twenty seconds could be the difference between life and death.
“Understood.” She drained her coffee and glanced at the wall clock. “I’ll be ready in ninety minutes for the car.”
Once he had her agreement, Peterson disconnected the call and Kate carried her cell phone into the second bedroom that she’d converted into a workout room. Five minutes later, she was running on the treadmill. Too wired to go back to sleep, she checked the time.
It was nearly noon in Germany, her brother usually had Sundays off and spent them watching recorded sports. After hitting her brother’s contact, she waited. When he answered on the second ring, the last knot of tension Peterson’s middle of the night call had wound in her soul relaxed. “Hey, Beany Baby, how are you?”
His groan made her laugh.
He was okay. Alive.
