Derek

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I WAS STANDING IN MY office, looking at a gun Sam had left for me to use to defend myself. Over the course of the past couple of days, we had been formulating a plan. If we wanted to keep it under the heavy radar of the FBI, it had to be simple. There couldn’t be any elaborate steps, and we had to get the entire team in one place. I was insistent that we only had to target the chain of command Sam had set forth for handling the luggage that went onto the yacht, but she didn’t want to rule anyone out.

She was nervous that she was slipping, so I let her have the win.

Our plan was simple. We were going to tell everyone that an emergency meeting was taking place at my home office. The security team would gather, and we would see who didn’t show up. If everyone showed up, then Sam would slip in after a well-placed phone call to her, and she would start her own interrogation. She was confident she would be able to flush out the perpetrator if she could look every single of them in the eyes.

And the gun? Well, that was for self-defense. If the team gathered and someone decided to lash out at me, or worse, try to use it as a way to take me out, I had something to defend myself with.

Like she had provided for me on the yacht.

The plan was simple almost too simple, in my opinion. But it was all we had left. She had called some guy named Lance at her company, but it was going to take him a while to run background checks and pull the bank account information of the team I had hired. There was a lot of red tape this guy had to hack around in order to not get flagged doing what he was doing.

And the fewer people we could tip off, the better.

My phone rang on my hip, and I answered it. I knew who was calling. Sam had all of this planned down to the minute, and I had been expecting the call from her. I gazed out my window as I watched the afternoon sun rise high in the sky. It was ten minutes before the shift change, which meant there was a brief moment where the entire team was on my property.

That was when she had called the meeting. It was convenient for everyone, which meant no one had an excuse to bail out for any reason.

“You still breathing?” Sam asked.

“Deep, just like you said.”

“This is going to go just fine. I’ve alerted everyone that there’s a team meeting in your office. Your office can fit fifteen men, right?” she asked.

“Easily and with room to sprawl out.”

“Good. I’ve told them John’s the one up there, so they really have no reason to flake. When they get up there and see you, stay as calm as you can. There should be fifteen men in your presence. You count every single one of their heads, and you call me if you don’t have fifteen.”

“Where’s John? Are we not investigating him?” I asked.

“We are, but I’ve got some special tactics I’m using with him. John’s smart. On my level. The guys you’re going to be encountering are strong, but they aren’t always smart. Investigating John is as much psychological as it is physical, but I’m not leaving him out of the loop. Don’t worry.”

“Not worried. Just curious,” I said.

“Plus, I need John. I need someone to be here to provide an alibi and double-check my movements. Not having someone there is what’s gotten me into hot water with the feds in the first place. He isn’t expected at the meeting, so don’t look for him.”

“Does he know why we’re having this meeting?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Do you think it’s smart to be filling John in on things when we’re also investigating him?”

“If I don’t fill him in, he’ll know something’s up. But if I keep him at my side, I can watch him. Keep my eye on him. He can provide me with an alibi if something goes horribly wrong, and I can watch his face while I ask the guys those questions. If they all make it up to you for the meeting.”

“So he knows the guys are expecting him?” I asked.

“They do.”

“And he knows we’re trying to flush out a traitor?’

“He does, and he’s very angry. But I posed the argument, and he was quick to see our side. John cares for the men we hire, but he’s logical. He sees what we’re facing, and he knows that we’ve ruled out every other avenue. The only thing that explains all the strings we can’t tie up is someone on the inside, someone who has access to you in a professional and personal way.”

“Which is the hired security team, as of now,” I said.

“Exactly. Now, I’m sending pictures to your phone of all the men who should show up. Fifteen pictures with their names. If someone comes in with their mask on, order them to take it off. If they don’t, call me. If all fifteen don’t show up, call me. If all fifteen do show up, and you identify all of them, call me. I’ll come up and start my interrogation then.”

“So, there’s really no scenario in which I’m not calling you,” I said.

“Someone might drop to their knees in fear and confess everything,” she said.

“Highly doubtful,” I said with a grin.

“One can dream.”

“There’s another good side to this, though. If you’re getting nervous.”

“I’m all ears,” I said.

“This also throws off Jacob. If he’s got someone on the inside somewhere, and I’m almost certain he does, there’s the slightest chance he knows we’re trying to fish someone out. Figuring out who’s corrupt like this might pull Jacob himself from the shadows.”

“Anything I should be looking for?”

“That’s my job once I get in there. You stay focused on the bigger threats. Someone charging you. Someone not taking off their mask. Someone being absent. Those are the only thing. You leave the rest to me. Now that this bombing has occurred and been confirmed, it’s proof Jacob’s still after you. If we can cut off his pipelines to you, it’ll make him angry. This might not have been about money in the first place. Simply time to find other ways to get to you.”

“I know. And I’m glad we’re both on board with this plan because I’m not allowing any other innocent people to get caught in this crossfire. This is getting ridiculous, and I want it over with.”

“We’re getting close. I know we are.”

“I’m not going to lie down while people are killed around me because of my negligence.”

“It’s not your negligence. It’s mine. I’m taking the fall for all that. Not you,” she said.

“I don’t want people at my company hurt.”

“They won’t be.”

“I’m serious,” I said.

“I know you are. It’s why we’re going to wrap this up, pursue this to the ends of the earth. I’ll fire the whole damn team and do this myself if I have to.”

“That’s why I trust you. Because you would be willing to take all this onto your shoulders if it meant seeking justice,” I said.

Sam fell silent, and I repeated myself.

“I trust you, Sam. I need you to hear me when I tell you that.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“I know those agents don’t, but I do. I know who I hired. I vetted you well. I’ve gotten to know you. I’ve fallen in love with you. I trust you, Sam.”

“Y-you what?” she asked.

“We can talk about it later. Don’t get distracted, and don’t let up.”

“How the hell am I not supposed to be distracted now?”

“Would it help if I told you I was lying?”

“Were you?” she asked.

The silence on the phone was deafening. There was a desperation in her voice like she was looking for any sort of doubt in my declaration. A grin ticked my cheek as I turned away from the window, taking a look at the clock as I heaved a deep sigh.

Three minutes until the meeting.

Three minutes until we flushed this son of a bitch out.

“No,” I said. “I wasn’t. I love you, Sam.”

“Then let’s finish off this day with a win. Then we can move on and figure out our future together,” she said.

Wait. What?

Had I heard her right?

“Our future?” I asked.

“Yep. We find the snake in the bush, we trace it back to Jacob, we go find him, and we’re done. Then, we can move on,” she said.

“With our future. You and me,” I said.

“Yes, Derek. You and me. Because I’ve fallen in love with you too.”

A smile broke out across my face. I couldn't believe it. This stubborn, beautiful, hard, collected, graceful woman had let me in. She’d fallen for me just like I had for her, and I allowed her words to ring heavily in my head. All the effort and the hard work and the showing of affection and the chasing around and the needless arguments had finally paid off.

She loved me.

Samantha Williams, my insanely hot bodyguard, was in love with me.

“I guess I have extra motivation to make sure you don’t get killed tonight,” Sam said.

“And now I have extra motivation to actually use this gun I’m staring at,” I said.

“You use it if you need it, Derek. Don’t you play that game with me. There’s going to be a period of time where you’re vulnerable, and I’m not with you. That’s the risk we’re taking. That’s why I left that gun with you.”

“I know. I know. I’m hoping I don’t have to use it.”

“Me too. But it’s there just in case. Self-defense always holds up in court, especially when you’ve got fourteen specially-trained witnesses. If they’re the men I hired, the moment the rat shows himself, they’ll take aim and try to protect you. If I’ve hired the men I think I have, you’ll have fourteen men on your side and only one who isn’t.”

“When you put it that way, it doesn’t sound so bad.”

“I’ve slipped a lot in this job, I’ll admit that. But I hired those men before I ever fell in love with you. I trust the men I vetted.”

“Did you vet John?” I asked.

The phone call fell silent as I sat against my desk. It was a logical question. Even though Sam portrayed herself to be hard and unwavering, she was biased. She had emotions, and she had a personal relationship with John. It wasn’t an intimate one, but she had told me time and time again that she trusted that man with her life. Which meant she probably didn’t vet him like the rest of the guys on the team.

She would’ve assumed he wouldn’t ever betray her.

Just like I had of Jacob.

“Sam?” I asked.

“I gotta go so I can pay attention,” she said. “The guys are coming up the driveway now. Is your front door unlocked for them?”

“Just like you asked,” I said. “Sam, I didn’t mean to implicate John of anything. It was just—”

“It was a valid question, and your grievances have been logged.”

There she was. The cold, calm, collected Sam all of us needed to flush this bastard out, but I knew my question had triggered that response. I hadn’t learned much with Sam around, but I learned enough to know what was going on. She hadn’t vetted John before asking him to come work for her.

She had simply hired him on and used their prior working relationship as a justification for trust.

And in my world, that was dangerous territory. So I knew it had to be with hers.

“I’m sorry,” Sam said.

“For what?” I asked.

“If my theory’s correct, I’ve done all this,” she said.

“Sam, what do you mean? What's happening? What's going on in your head?”

“The guys are headed for the door. I have to go so I can pay attention.”

“No, no, no. Don’t do this. Sam, what are you thinking about?”

“I need you to do something for me when those men get in there,” she said.

“Anything. What is it?”

“Count their heads. Double count them. Triple count them again and again. Then send me the number via text message.”

“No calling?” I asked.

“No calling. Text message. Number only. Got it?’

“Got it,” I said.

The line went dead as my front door opened. I heard heavy boots knocking against my marble floor as the men started up the staircase. I felt the hair on the back of my neck standing on end as I picked up the gun. I moved myself to the other end of the room, so no one could maneuver themselves behind me. I moved away from the window like Sam had instructed me earlier. I placed the gun behind my body and shielded it with my relaxed form.

Then, I watched as the knob on my office door began to turn.