“He’s safe.”
The relief I feel is tainted. When I lean forward, my back sticks to the leather. I fish in my bag for what I need. “Who is he?” I ask loudly. The driver meets my eyes in the mirror, but no one speaks. “Tell me, or I kill him right now.” I press the loaded gun against the back of the driver’s seat. He straightens his back, his head perking up higher, but he continues driving along a coastal highway.
“He’s driving us,” Reggie says, gaze shifting between us. “This isn’t a good decision.”
“A good decision? That poor guy back there is dead.”
“He served his purpose. He protected you,” Reggie says. The driver continues white-knuckling the wheel. “This is Gus, and you’re safe.” A helicopter flying low is heading toward the direction we just came.
“Why didn’t he help us back there if I’m so safe.”
Reggie exhales noisily. “The cartel merging with the Astors is complicated and these men, these guards, are neutral.”
“If it’s all the same, I’m going to hold his gun right here until I’m somewhere safe.” I scoff. “And neutral? Neutral? I’ll have them all killed if they aren’t loyal to us.” Pure adrenaline forces me to make threats, but Reggie wide-eyes me, and I realize I must sound like a different person entirely. “There can’t be neutrality in our business, Reggie.”
He nods slowly, shaking the shock of hearing me become a different woman. “I agree, but now we don’t have another option. Can you please be quiet now, ma’am?” At the word ma’am, the driver meets my eyes in the rearview. If he wasn’t sure where my place was before, he knows now. He also understands English.
I hold his gaze, a challenge. “He needs to hand you the gun he’s holding,” I say. “Now.”
Surprisingly, he does as he’s told, schlepping the gun from his lap to Reggie in the passenger seat. A point in the column of arriving alive. Reggie splits his time in between texting someone furiously while watching Gus and me. My arm is shaking by the time we reach a section of highway with the blue ocean lapping on one side. I won’t move the gun and only allow myself quick peeks at the water and scenery. The weapon feels like it weighs fifty pounds at this point. Reggie could have done the same thing, but an angry woman always gets the job done more efficiently. The manse appears after we exit a short tunnel. I know immediately it’s the one because it’s the largest, most exquisite estate I’ve seen since the drive began.
Ivy-covered gates that seem to touch the sky appear after we make a turn off a private winding path. My heart is hammering, and all I smell is blood. But it’s not mine, and for that, I must be thankful. As soon as the gates open wide enough for me to see what comes next, the car is swarming with guards in ranger-type vehicles. I recognize faces now. They are A Team employees. Reggie turns and gives me a reassuring grin, holding out his hand for my gun. I shake my head. “I’ll be keeping this while we’re here. Thanks.” He exhales, shaking his head.
“Gus, get out of the car and let him drive.” He does. Reggie gets into the driver’s seat and continues up the winding, tropical path toward the manse. There are waterfalls on one side and lush, colorful plants on the other. I roll down the window and let the balmy air beat against my skin. The rangers are following us, and one alongside our vehicle. “Reggie, what the hell happened back there?”
“We’re trying to figure it out. Sure, I knew it was a possibility, because it’s always a possibility but they reassured me only trusted employees would be at the airport. Our arrival leaked while we were in the air, so the attempt was haphazardly planned, thank God. If they’d had a decent amount of time to get things straight, you wouldn’t be sitting here right now, and I’d also be dead on the tarmac.” He’s speaking matter of fact, and as strange as it is, it’s also empowering to be in the loop—to be trusted enough to know things I wasn’t granted before. “Who would have told someone and why? The Astors notoriously don’t pay ransoms on kidnaps. Not ever. Not once in the past for a higher-up political figure. What motive is there for them to want you?”
“I feel like I should be offended,” I say. “But I get it. Why wouldn’t they send our security to the airport instead of these, these, neutrals?”
“A way to weed out the not-so-neutral ones, but that’s a risky decision Mr. Astor wouldn’t make. Not with you.” He makes a noise in his throat. “Unless he isn’t the one who coordinated it. This was a merger. I need to find out what’s changed now that we’re the largest cartel in the damn world.”
My stomach tips and dips again. We come up to another gate. More guards. Another gate and more security, except when the steel monstrosity spreads open, paradise stretches on before us like a warm invitation. Unlike the rest of the things, I’ve gotten used to, this place is something else entirely. Beyond anything in my wildest dreams, the rocky surface and sheer size captures all my senses. It holds a magic quality, like the whole visage might vanish if I close my eyes. Stepping out into the sunshine, I put the safety on the gun and put it back into my bag. “Holy shit,” I mutter under my breath.
“It’s a different league, right?” Reggie says, standing next to me. Someone takes the car, backing it out the way it came from. Several people lead us to the stairs and into an entryway. “There’s no way around needing more people on staff, Drew. It’s a learning curve for all of us.”
“I’m just supposed to trust strangers after someone tried to gun down my bodyguards and steal me? That’s a hard no.”
He leans over and says, “At least keep it in your bag while we’re in the house. I’m here. I got us. Let me lead. It’s my job.” He says the last words with a bit of an attitude, so I shoot him a look. Reggie grins and nods solemnly once.
This place is crawling with people. Women in white uniforms cleaning, black suits doing whatever black suits do, men in plain clothes, and others who don’t fit any of the categories I’m used to being around. The outside of the manse is rock and looks like it’s an old castle, but the inside is incredibly modern and clean. Thank God I’m not cleaning this, I think as a woman with scared, brown eyes rushes past my group of black suits with a duster in one hand.
Riley calls out to me. I’d recognize his voice anywhere even when it’s tinged with worry as it is now. Leaning, I peek around Reggie’s shoulder and see his pale face, eyes meeting mine. Worry creases every line, and fear takes the place where sunshine usually beams pure. He clears his throat and blinks as he listens to someone on the phone pressed to his ear. I’m unable to approach him, or move, really in any direction due to the men surrounding me. He confirms I’m okay by talking to a guard next to him and says, “Take her to the lounge.” He pivots to go back where he came from, and all hopes of his arms around me turn to a cloud of smoke.
When I’m alone with Reggie in a room that resembles a living room except ten times the size of any I’ve ever seen before, Reggie spins and begins pacing the room. “He’s pissed and confused. This isn’t good at all.”
“Did you think he would know who was responsible for this?”
He furrows his bushy brows. “Of course. Everything is immediate. We should know.”
Finally, he looks at me and really sees me. “Drew, you should wash off the blood before he sees you up close. Go change.” Unfortunately, there’s not enough time for that because Riley Astor storms into the double doors, gaze lighting on me like a match. No, something stronger than that, a whole forest fire.
“A moment alone, please,” Riley rasps to Reggie even though he’s staring at me. Reggie tells us he’ll be right outside and closes the door behind him. I’m still holding my bag, clutched to my chest and with my next exhale, I drop it onto a nearby table.
“I’m fine,” I say, because I can tell that’s what he wants to ask by the way he’s surveying me. “It’s not my blood. You should see the other guy.”
The corner of his mouth quirks up as he stalks toward me. “Was that a joke?”
“If I don’t joke about a man dying on top of me to protect me, I might cry and not stop. Ever.”