Page 3 of Locked Down

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,”she seethed.“Death is imminent for him. Someone is trying to kill him and he needs help. But the stubborn goat won’t admit it. He thinks his security team is good enough, but obviously, it is not because there have been two attempts on his life already and he’s barely managed to get out unscathed.”

“Your uncle is skirting the rules.”Archer took a sip of his drink.“If he’s still alive, his security can’t be all bad.”

Vic was tempted to throw her drink at Gray but he’d probably kill her if she did. He seemed to be that sort of man. Frankly, he scared the crap out of her. Gorgeous but deadly. Not something she wanted in her life. Hell, she wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for the fact that her uncle was the only family she had left. Her parents… they didn’t count. They lived in a commune out west and had a different way of seeing the world. One she hadn’t fit in with as a teen.

She swallowed and tried one more time.“Mr. Gray, my uncle admires you and says you run a tight ship. No one has better security. He needs help.”That was laying it on a bit thick but any port in a storm. Her uncle didn’t like Archer Gray but, to her thinking, that didn’t matter.

“Why isn’t he the one asking?”

She glanced down at the café table. Time for the truth.“Because he is an idiot. He thinks he’s invincible or something. It’s stupid, but he won’t come to you for help. I’ve already pleaded with him to get help.”That had been a scene. She’d tried to get him to see reason and he dismissed her as if she were being a drama queen. The situation, that fight in particular, had made her head hurt.

Gray assessed her with his cool green gaze.“What is it you want me to do about it? You aren’t a member of the society as yet, so I have zero obligation to you.”

“I’m aware.”She was back to talking through gritted teeth. She attempted to unlock her jaw.“But you have an obligation to him. Just because he won’t ask for help, doesn’t mean the obligation isn’t there.”

“Actually, I don’t. You don’t understand how the Society works. I have no obligation to your uncle other than to keep him safe when he is at one of our facilities. He is protected by the Society rules. Nomembercan hurt him but I can’t control the outside world. If he’s pissed someone off, then there’s very little I can do about it.”

“You can do a lot about it,”she charged.“You’re choosing not to.”Why couldn’t he be reasonable? What the hell was it with men? Why couldn’t they use common sense?

“What would you have me do?”

She met his cold gaze.“I want you to assign someone, a bodyguard, to keep my uncle safe.”

“But if your uncle doesn’t want my help then why would he accept me sending him a bodyguard?”A wily smile slowly appeared.“You’re not going to tell him. You work with your uncle. So, you’re going to bring someone in undercover.”He shook his head.“No one can be effective if the person they’re protecting doesn’t know they exist.”

“Leave those details to me. I can get it done,”she said with a hell of a lot more confidence than she felt.“I just need the bodyguard. Someone top-notch. Someone who knows what the hell they’re doing.”

“You can hire someone like that from any of the various security companies here in D.C., or in New York. Why do you want me to send someone?”

“As I explained before, my uncle says you’re the best.”And,she added silently,because the top firms turned her down. They wouldn’t go for the undercover thing. Not to mention the whole money thing. She couldn’t afford the top firms in D.C.

“They turned you down. They won’t guarantee his safety if their man is undercover. There’s not enough access.”He took another sip of his drink and put the cup down on the table.“I’ll send you someone, but your uncle knows all my top people, so undercover won’t work. You’re going to have to figure it out. I cannot guarantee your uncle’s safety. Austin Davis has pissed off half the world. My man can only do what he can do. His name is Ryker Sterling. He’ll be at your uncle’s office tomorrow morning. You can fill him in on your expectations, and he’ll tell you what he can do. Good luck.”

Archer Gray stood.

“How do I pay you?”She had to offer and she’d come up with the money somehow, she always did.

His slow smile made all the hair on her nape stand straight up.

“You don’t pay me. You owe me.”He turned and walked out of the cafe.

Vic looked at her shaking hands. What the hell had she just done? She’d made a deal with the devil, and she might have to pay with her soul.

THREE

“You want me to babysit Austin Davis? What the hell did I do to piss you off so badly?”Ryker griped as he sat down in the chair across the desk from his boss. Davis was a parasite and the idea of being around him made Ryker’s skin crawl.

“Nothing. This is the‘in’we’ve been trying to create. As I said before, Austin Davis is up to no good, and I need someone on the inside so we can sort it out before his damage is irreversible. Davis is dangerous, to the Society and to the outside world. He’s finding out secrets he has no business knowing about. I need someone on the inside I can trust. That’s you.”

“Jesus, Archer! You don’t ask for much, do you? I was happy to do the other stuff but I didn’t think it would lead tomebeing on the inside.”Ryker rubbed the back of his neck. Just the thought of spending time around Davis made his stomach turn.

“Who exactly did you think would be doing the job?”Archer sounded exasperated.

Ryker knew better than to respond to the question. It would just piss Archer off.“What secrets?”

Archer raised an eyebrow.“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret.”

“If you want me to be able to identify how Davis is gathering his information, I need to know what the information is.”

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