Page 24 of Locked Down

“What?”Vic stared at him.

“You need to tell me when you’re leaving your place so I can arrange for a driver. It’s not safe for you to travel on your own.”

She shook her head.“What are you talking about? I thought the bullets were meant for my uncle. Are you telling me I was the target?”

“No.”The car jerked as he made a sudden lane change.“I’m telling you that you are now on those guys, and their group’s, radar. They camped outside of your building all night. My guys watched them watch you. You can’t just go out on your own anymore. We don’t know what those guys are capable of. Maybe they really did just want to protect you and take you to your uncle’s, but maybe they didn’t. Either way, you must be accompanied by an official security team member at all times from this point forward.”He cut a glance her way, then growled,“And never get into cars with strangers. That’s something most toddlers know these days.”His look told her everything he was thinking, likeI can’t believe I have to tell this to a grown-ass woman.

Vic stared out the window.Goddammit.Her heart skipped and her breath caught. This day had gone from whelming to overwhelming so fast.“Where were your guys this morning? I mean, if they saw me, why didn’t they come help?”

“You called Rush, and he called me. I was already on the way. Rush’s replacement was doing a walk-through of the alley behind your building and my other guy was watching the guys in the blue pickup who were parked behind the building. That’s why you have to warn us when you want to move.”

Vic was dumbfounded. How the hell had this gotten so out of control? She wanted to run and hide. Maybe she could leave early. She’d still technically be employed on her thirtieth if she took a sudden vacation. Go see her parents. Go see Europe. Be anywhere but here.

“You’ll get used to it,”Ryker said as he turned into her uncle’s driveway.

“Easy for you to say. You don’t have to have someone monitoring your every move.”

“No, I just have to be that person who puts his life on the line to protect someone who needs to have every step monitored.”

Well shit.That put her in her place. She couldn’t meet his gaze. What a princess she was being. She glanced at him as the car rolled to a stop. He was dressed in a white button down with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of gray dress pants. The lack of a tie was his only nod to the fact it was Saturday.

He braked at the curb and turned toward her.“Vic, you need to be more careful. You are in your uncle’s sphere and until we can find who is trying to kill him, you’re a target too. Use your common sense and call me before you do anything.”

His eyes were glacial-blue today. She’d noticed they were a deeper blue when he’d kissed her back last night. Like a twilight blue. She wasn’t capable of saying anything at the moment under the intensity of his gaze, so she merely nodded.Understood.

She got out of the car and walked into her uncle’s house.

“Sugar,”Austin said as he emerged from his office to greet her. After a brief scowl at her attire, his expression morphed to something closer to pleased.“I am so glad you were up to comin’ today.”He gave her an uncharacteristic hug.

Vic was so nonplussed by the hug she didn’t notice the woman coming around the corner.

“Ah! And here’s Marilee.”

Marilee’s blond hair was styled in the perfect bob. The black-and-white summer dress she wore paired perfectly with her wedge heels. Her chunky gold jewelry matched perfectly with her belt and shoes. In a word, she was perfect—and perfectly annoying because of it.

“Invicta, I’msoglad you’re all right, honey,”Marilee said as she stepped forward and gave her a quick hug.

She smelled like Chanel No5, a standard on women of a certain age. Vic put Marilee in her mid-sixties, although through the miracle of modern surgical techniques and overpriced face cream, she didn’t look like she was more than late forties. She knew Marilee had had work done which is why her face was flawless. No wrinkles for her. Her uncle was slightly younger at sixty-one, but he knew Marilee had influence. They were a good team.

“Thank you, Marilee. It’s nice to see you.”She started to move out of the foyer, but her uncle caught her arm.“We’re already running late for our brunch reservation.”He turned her back towards the door she’d just walked through.

“We’re going out? I thought we were staying here.”She tried to keep the disappointment from her voice.

“Of course we’re going out.”Marilee took Vic’s arm.“We have to show the world what a survivor you are. You can’t hide away now.”She tugged Vic out the door and down the stairs to the waiting SUV.

Ryker was holding the door open. She shivered under his icy gaze. The steely determination on his face meant there’d be no help from that quarter.

She slid into the black Escalade and scooted across the bench seat. Marilee and her uncle climbed in next to her. A moment later, they rolled past the ostentatious gateposts.

Brunch was at one of the most popular spots in Georgetown. A place to see and be seen event. People approached their table and expressed their horror at the events of yesterday and made comments about how brave she was to be out and about today.

Austin answered each comment with some derivative of“By golly, my niece is a survivor.”

“She takes after her uncle,”Marilee would add.

The dog and pony show was brutal and she had no appetite. She tried to catch Ryker’s eye a few times, but he ignored her. The set of his jaw and his shoulders made her think he wasn’t any happier with this than she was.

Finally at eleven-forty-five, her uncle stood and said he had to go.“Why don’t you two stay here and discuss the surprise I have planned?”

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