Locke Manning took a long drink of water before he resumed his search on Bellamy East. He was thankful for Weston’s recommendation and happy to hear from an old friend. As usual, Weston had remarked how silly it was that the two of them both lived in Atlanta and never got together. Both were busy with their careers, and Weston was a family man now with a wife and two kids. Still, he made the offer for Locke to come over soon for an evening of beer and burgers like they used to do in college.

They’d met during Locke’s freshmen year at Harvard when—after a fraternity prank gone wrong—Weston saved his life. From that moment on, the two became fast friends. Weston, a senior upperclassman, served as Locke’s mentor even after he joined the CIA. His dedication to his craft inspired Locke to join the army after college and Weston was happy to write a letter of recommendation when Locke applied to the prestigious Ian de Caro & Associates several years ago.

At age twenty-six, he’d already vaulted years ahead of the life plan he’d written during his senior year in high school. To say he was an overachiever would be an understatement. Damned and determined to get everything he wanted out of life, Locke Manning worked hard and pushed himself even harder. Early on, his parents fostered that attitude of independence, told Locke he could do anything he set his mind to. So he did. He wanted to go to Harvard and graduate in the top of his class and he did it, receiving honors and a three-point-nine GPA. He wanted to enlist in the army to follow in his father’s footsteps, so after graduation he enrolled in Officer Candidate school, eventually earning the rank of 1^st Lieutenant. After two tours of duty in Afghanistan and an honorable discharge, he was accepted to the private security firm, Ian de Caro & Associates. When he’d completed the required training, he became the youngest security operations director in IdCA history, and today, he supervised over the entire southern region.

Bellamy’s case interested him. As evidenced by his earlier search, she wasn’t easily accessible on social media. Her Facebook and Instagram profiles were private and the only information he found on the Internet was a write-up about her high-school graduation a few years ago. Her parents both had biographies on the hospital website, but nothing beyond generalizations. From what Bill East told Locke, Bellamy was headstrong and resolute and she’d hate the idea of private security.

Locke liked her already.

“Mr. Manning,” his secretary buzzed in. “The Easts are here to see you.”

“Great. Send them in.” Locke closed his laptop, then opened the door to greet his guests. “Welcome. Glad you could make it, Captain and Dr. East. Where’s your daughter?” He glanced in the hallway when only two people entered.

“We’re happy to be here. And we wanted to meet with you first, get an idea of what an assignment entails before we tell Bellamy. As I’ve mentioned, Bellamy’s not going to like anyone telling her what to do and when to do it.”

Regina chuckled awkwardly. “She has enough of that from me. Our daughter is very self-sufficient and she’d be even more so if not for my meddling in her life. But this circumstance goes beyond what she wants or even what I want. Keeping her safe is the top priority.”

“I agree. So why don’t you tell me what’s happened so far?”

“A few nights ago, Bellamy and her roommate Amy, came home to find their apartment destroyed. They talked with the police and changed the locks. Bill had contacted the landlord and there were plans to install a security system, but their apartment was broken into again. This time the intruder assaulted Bellamy and nearly raped her. He kept asking her where is it, but she had no idea what he was talking about. Amy didn’t either.”

“How did she get away?”

“She shot him. Got away, took his gun, and shot him.”

Locke suppressed a smile. Bellamy intrigued him. “How on earth did she manage to do that? I know seasoned cops who have trouble getting their faculties together in a stressful situation.”

“I’ve trained Bellamy to protect herself since she was young. She’s taken martial arts for years and is proficient with a gun. I don’t mean she can simply shoot it for sport. She’s damn near an expert. The girl’s good under pressure too. She aimed to kill him, but right as she shot, he lunged and the bullet caught his shoulder. It was enough to stop him and Bellamy, her dog, and Amy ran to safety.”

“But he died anyway? Some sort of drugs?”

“Took a cyanide pill. Was dead within minutes.”

With a forehead full of lines, Locke thought of all the reasons why a botched robbery or even an attempted rape would end with a suicide and decided there were none. Sure, it could happen, but the likelihood was slim. The perpetrator would be charged with a misdemeanor if it was his first offense, but why would that make him kill himself? “People who have cyanide pills are preparing for the time when they might need to end their lives. I’m sure you’ve seen it, Captain, when you were overseas with the military.”

“Nothing can be done to save them. Most were DOA.”

“Right,” Locke agreed as he opened a mini-fridge and removed three bottles of water. “So what I’m gathering from this is the intruder was looking for something in Bellamy’s room and when he couldn’t find it himself, he tried to get her to help him, then was injured with his own gun, and ingested a lethal dose of cyanide.”

After a long drink, Bill spoke. “Yes. That’s correct.”

“Strange. But onto specifics. The team I assemble will be divided into two parts: Team A will focus on discovering what the intruder wanted from Bellamy. They’ll do an extensive investigation into your lives as well as hers. Where you’ve been, who you’ve talked to. It will be an intrusion of your privacy, but protection is our priority. We’ll also obtain a consent from Amy’s family. I know the police established that there was no motive, but we’re going to delve deeper than they did. The other will center around protection for her. We’ll have a man with her at all times. Someone will stay inside her house either on the couch or a spare bedroom and the two more will be twenty-four-hour surveillance. Bellamy will continue with her day-to-day activity and we’ll be in the background. How does this sound to the two of you?”

“Wonderful.” Regina sighed. She looked at Bill and he nodded. “When can you start?”

“Right now, but first, do you want to talk cost?”

Bill shook his head and flipped his wallet open. “It’s irrelevant. Cash or credit?”

“All right.” Locke pointed to the booklet he’d passed them earlier. “If you are curious, it’s detailed in the first few pages of our packet. And I can take a credit card.” As the payment processed, he leaned forward and folded his hands. “I guess the only thing left to do is meet Bellamy.”

An hour later, Locke waited outside the Easts’ hotel room. Though the door was closed, he could hear Bellamy’s protests. With his hand over his mouth, he couldn’t help but chuckle at her plight. Already, she seemed difficult to control and while that should make Locke back out or at least pass the case along, something inside told him this assignment may change his life. Even as a small boy, Locke had the gift of knowing. The ability to discern a situation and make a judgement about it with very little information. It was what made him effective in the army years ago and what helped him excel in his career now.

“I expected this from Mom, but you, Dad?”

“Our concern is your well-being, honey. I think you’re downplaying the threat…”

“This is ridiculous.” Bellamy’s voice was closer now. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Just meet him,” Regina encouraged.

“Hell no.”

The door swung open and Bellamy East collided with Locke Manning. For a moment, Locke couldn’t speak. Taking in each feature, he decided she was the loveliest woman he’d ever seen with her raven hair and sapphire eyes. She wasn’t his usual type—generally, he preferred blondes—but that didn’t prevent the almost instantaneous swell in his jeans. Her hair was long and curly, and her clothes and shoes were black as were her lips and nails. Black was definitely Bellamy’s signature color. Though she barely reached five-three, her presence was fierce and intense, like heat rising from a thunderstorm that came out of nowhere. When she jerked back, Locke extended his hand. “Ms. East, I presume.”

“Seriously, y’all?” She turned to her parents. “You brought him?”

“I’m Locke Manning,” he said before Bill and Regina could respond. “I don’t want to work against you. I want you to help me help you.”

Bellamy threw her head back and laughed. “I call bullshit.”

“Bellamy Amanda!” Regina chastised. “Stop being rude. Locke, I’m sorry. She’s usually not like this.” She paused long enough to glare at Bellamy. “Okay, well, maybe she is, but she usually uses more discretion around acquaintances.”

“This is a lot to process,” Locke said.

“Sweetheart, I know you don’t want any help, but it’s either your mom and I stay here in Athens with you at your apartment indefinitely, or we let Locke and his associates get to the bottom of this,” Bill spoke with authority. Normally, Bellamy listened and relented, but not this time.

“I chose option number three. None of it.” Bellamy pushed past Locke, slamming the door behind her.

Regina’s eyes closed, then opened again. “I was afraid of this.”

“Will you give me a chance to talk to her?” Locke asked, his hand on the doorknob.

“If you think it will make a difference, then be our guest.” Bill typed on his phone and Locke’s phone chimed in his pocket. “I sent you her number. She wouldn’t go far, not when she knows we’ll worry. Even when she’s mad at us, she still cares about our feelings.”

Locke smiled. The more he heard about Bellamy, the more he wanted to know.