Emily hung up the phone, having spoken to her grandmother who was blissfully unaware of the internet coverage.

“Emily, what can I do? Should I call Brian?”

“No, thank you, Carrie. He’ll just give me a mouthful. Maybe call the police officer I dealt with before?” Emily couldn’t think straight. How could anyone drag her grandmother into this? The old lady had nothing to do with anything. She had never hurt anyone in her entire life. Shaking, Emily closed her eyes. If anything happened to her nana, she would never forgive herself.

“Carrie, Emily, Conor Dunne is here. He said he needed to speak to you.”

“He’s here?”

“Right outside. Do you want me to show him in?”

Emily looked at Jason’s face. She could tell her friend was furious. She glanced at Carrie.

“I can wait outside if you want me to?” Carrie offered.

“No, stay with me. Please.”

Carrie nodded. Jason walked out and slammed the door behind him.

“Emily, do you want me to call the cops?”

“No, Carrie. Let’s listen to what he has to say first.”

Emily drew in her breath as Conor walked in the door, followed by another guy who looked like he had just stepped out of army training. His blond hair was cut close to his head, his short-sleeved T shirt outlined his six pack abs and his trousers were glued to his legs.

“Thank you for seeing me, Emily, Carrie. This is Steven Armstrong, he’s head of my personal security. I wanted him to be here with us. I saw the footage.”

Emily stood, her legs shaking. She willed them to stop. “Thank you for coming but why here? It’s obvious where the threat comes from.”

“Obvious isn’t always the reality, Ms. Williams. We are currently checking the backgrounds, and the computers, of every employee of Sunny Studios. We have reason to believe the person doing this is not working for Mr. Dunne’s company,” Steven said.

Emily sat back down, her legs feeling as if they would go out from under her. She glanced at Carrie, who was staring at the security guy.

“Do you think it could be someone here at the foundation? That’s ridiculous. Everyone here loves her. She’s known most of us for years. They have no reason to attack her.”

“With all due respect, ma’am, you can’t be sure of that. People threaten others for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes the reason is financial, other times it’s more personal.”

Emily shuddered, her eyes meeting Conor’s. His sympathy nearly made her cry with frustration. He had stood her up at the coffee shop and now he was in her office offering to help. What was his game? She tore her eyes away.

“Emily, how is your grandmother? Does she know anything?” he asked.

Emily looked up again as Conor took a step near her and then another. She couldn’t help it. She was trying to be strong but the whole idea that someone was trying to hurt her grandmother was too horrible for her to comprehend. Once one tear fell, the others soon followed. He pulled her out of her seat and wrapped his arms around her.

“He won’t get to her. I promise. Let me take you two away for a couple of days. Just until Steven and his crew sort this mess out. He’s the best in the business. I trust him with my life.”

She stared up into his face, his deep blue eyes full of concern and worry. “Why should I trust you? You didn’t show up at the coffee shop yesterday?”

“What? Which coffee shop? Sorry Emily, you’ve lost me.”

“I called your cell but it transferred to your office. I spoke to someone and they took a message.”

“Crystal? She never forgets to give me messages.”

“No, it was a man. I didn’t ask his name?”

Conor’s eyes pierced her, she could see he was confused. Did he think she was making it up?

“I am sorry, Emily, I didn’t get a message. I wouldn’t have missed a chance to speak to you.”

She stared into his eyes and found herself believing him. He seemed totally surprised about the coffee and nobody was that good an actor.

“I think we should get out of here and get to your granny as soon as possible.”

Before she could second guess herself, she found herself agreeing. She had to protect Nana.

“Carrie, can you handle things here?”

“Yes, of course, Mr. Dunne.” Carrie’s cool tone didn’t go unnoticed, judging by the look Steven and Conor exchanged, but nobody commented.

“Can you give Steven access to everything he’ll need?”

Emily caught Carrie’s look. What if she were wrong? What if this was all a charade, an attempt to gain access to her files? Steven could be a spy. Oh, she was losing it. Gathering her thoughts together, she gave Carrie a nod.

“Let’s go, Emily. We will call at your place first and collect some of your stuff and then pick up your grandmother. Does she know anything?”

“No, I just spoke to her and she seemed her usual happy self.”

“Maybe it’s a relief the internet seems to have passed her by, then.”

She couldn’t answer him. She wanted him to hug her close again, make her feel safe. Then she immediately despised herself for being weak. She had managed so far on her own.

“Come on, let’s go. My car is waiting outside.”

He led her out of the office. Jason stood at his desk, glaring at Conor. Emily sent him a half smile.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going away for a couple of days. Carrie is in charge while I’m gone,” Emily said.

“But you can’t just go. We have to do the vlog, and what about the—”

“Ms. Williams is leaving now,” Conor said, backing her up. “I’m sure you can manage for a couple of days.”

Emily spotted the mulish look on Jason’s face before he hid it. She took a step toward him but Conor kept moving, pulling her along with him. Outside, he opened the car door and waited while she got in before he went over to the driver’s side.

“How long has this been going on, Emily?”

“With Nana?”

“No, from the start. It wasn’t just the photos was it?”

Emily shook her head. She told him about the messages on her cell and how the police couldn’t trace the source. Then there were the photos, and the messages about her bedroom, the threats to have her reenact the scenes from the game. Now her grandmother.

“Emily, you should have said something. Told me all of this when you showed me the photos. I could have helped.”

Emily stayed silent.

“I’m really sorry. I was in meetings all day. I didn’t get the message about the coffee shop. Did you wait long?”

“Only a few minutes or so.” Emily didn’t want him to know she had waited for ages. He seemed sincere and he was being very nice now, but had he really not gotten the message?