He had heard the argument from outside the office doors. He had heard the information her father had given her about his past. Information that even
his commander hadn’t been fully aware of.
She knew so little, yet it was enough to send a prickle of dread down his spine. She knew just enough to demand more later.
Hell, how had this happened so quickly? It seemed from one moment to the next his life had changed. He had gone from existing to living.
The senator had been wrong on one count though. Emily would have her freedom. Kell couldn’t afford to try to hide her; to restrain her, in that direction lay madness. To begin with, she would never accept such a life with the man she loved. She would never love a man who tried to enforce it. For another, Kell would never be able to function knowing that his wife, possibly his children, would have no means of protection.
“Wilma Dunmore has done an excellent job putting this party together,” she commented as she stepped into the marble foyer. “I’ll need to spend a few minutes going over the details with her when we arrive, meeting with the caterers and so forth.” She checked her purse as she spoke. “I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t make the same mistake my father’s past bodyguards made and glower at everyone. It makes them uncomfortable.”
“Yes, ma’am. No glowering.” He nodded, restraining his smile.
She was ready for battle. He could see it in her, but even if he had been blind as a bat he would have felt it. It poured off her in waves.
The vixen was finding her claws and God help any man who tempted her to unsheathe them anytime soon.
“Why are you carrying that pack?” Her gaze went to the strap that dangled from his hand.
“Preparation’s everything, sugar.” He shrugged.
“Preparation. That reminds me.” She opened her slender evening purse again and pulled free a folded piece of paper. “I was talking to Wilma last night about the security she has in place for the party. I marked a few weak areas here.”
He accepted the paper slowly.
“What sort of weak areas?”
“I intend to discuss them with Wilma before the guests begin arriving,” she stated. “But I didn’t pinpoint the areas until I was looking at this earlier. There are several entrances and exits onto the grounds through a series of what were once deep gullies. James Dunmore’s father, Winchester, had cement tiles installed in them and had them covered over when I was a child. I used to play in them with the Dunmores’ children when I visited there.”
Kell stared at the sketched diagram she had put together. It was surprisingly well put together. It showed the mansion, the entrances and exits from the main house, and the location of the gullies.
“And these tunnels go into the house?” He frowned back at her.
“They lead to iron grates above the ground. They’re easily large enough for a man to access. I wanted to check with her about security around them. At one time, there were locked gates at the entrances to the tunnels, but several of them run to a streambed several miles from the house. They could have forgotten about them. They never seemed too concerned with them in the past because the grates were always bolted. But if someone knew what he was doing—”
“They could get through the iron grates and into the party.” Kell nodded slowly. “Don’t mention this to Mrs. Dunmore. Let me contact Reno from the limo and see how he wants to handle this. If Fuentes has a foolproof plan to get to you tonight, this could be part of it.”
Emily nodded. Kell had sent Ian into the study where she had gone to finish her calls earlier, to give her the information they’d gotten from the earlier e-mail.
She needed to trust him. Sending Ian to her rather than going himself had been a calculated risk.
“Those tunnels would be a perfect entry point. They’re wide enough for a man your size to shimmy through, and the iron grates covering the openings are slightly wider. Winchester Dunmore never considered them a threat to the grounds though, and James and Wilma weren’t living there at the time. They could have just been forgotten.”
“Let’s go then.” He extended his arm to her, staring down her at with a sense of possessiveness and pride. Damn, she was slick. The tiled gullies weren’t on the security schematics that the team had been given of the estate, which meant they had either been forgotten as she suggested or simply not mentioned for darker reasons.
“I won’t be able to stay in one place or keep you informed of every move I have to make.”
“I’m sure I can keep up with you, Emily.” He didn’t smile, he had a feeling she was hanging on to that redhead temper by an inch and he didn’t want to unleash it before this damned party. The last thing he needed was to allow her to go into this with her emotions more severely tested than they were already.
“We’re coming out.” He spoke into the transmitter at the collar of his uniform, testing the reception and the earwig connected with Ian’s.
“All clear,” Ian responded. “Proceed to the limo.”
The butler gave them a concerned glance as he opened the door cautiously.
“Be careful, Miss Emily,” he said softly as they neared him.
“I’m very well protected, Denny,” she promised the other man as they moved toward the door. “We’ll see you tonight.”