Page 56 of Death Wish

“No. I took care of it. He asked me to meet him for drinks after work one night, and I told him you would have to be invited as well or I wouldn’t go. He invited you, too.”

“If he gets out of line, you’ll tell me.” Not a question, a demand.

“Of course. I want you to check my office for bugs or cameras. I don’t want anyone spying on me.”

“No problem.”

When the elevator arrived at the fifth floor, Simone introduced Jesse to Ms. Mulgraves. “You’ll be seeing him on the floor occasionally. We’re dating.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Porterfield.”

“Call me Jesse.” He walked with Simone to her office and shut the door before setting down her pack and removing his electronics detector from his pocket.

Jesse completed a slow circuit around her office, stopping six times to remove four bugs and two mini cameras. “Clear,” he murmured.

He kissed her. “I’d better get back. See you after work, sweetheart.” Jesse trailed a finger down her cheek and left the office.

Simone sat in her chair, logged in, and downloaded her three programs to prevent anyone from spying on her through her computer. That done, she checked her email and got to work.

CHAPTER TWELVE

JESSE RETURNED TO his rounds, checking the perimeter of the Dragon Alley campus. The whole time he circled the property, his skin crawled. Was it the encounter Simone had with Daley, or was someone watching him with the security cameras?

Probably both. He was still an unknown element on the security staff, and as much as he tried to fit in, the other security guards didn’t trust him. Neither did his boss.

After completing his check of the perimeter, Jesse started his rounds through each floor of the main building. Occasionally, he’d meet another member of the security staff. Jesse greeted other employees as they went about their business.

His comm system crackled. “Porterfield, report to my office.”

His eyebrows rose. What did Boudreaux want? “Yes, sir. Five minutes.”

“Copy.”

He finished his check of the third floor and returned to the security division to knock on his boss’s door. He turned the knob. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Have a seat.”

Jesse did as instructed. “Yes, sir?”

“How do you like it here, Porterfield?”

What was this about? “Very much. I enjoy my coworkers and the work atmosphere at Dragon Alley.”

“Not too tame for you?”

“No, sir.”

“You were a military cop. You don’t find the work here boring?”

“Work as a military cop is much the same as it is here. Long stretches of nothing with short, intense bursts of life-and-death situations.”

His boss rested his elbows on the padded arms of his chair and steeped his fingers. “Do you want something more than this?”

Jesse remained silent a moment. “Are you asking if I want to quit, sir?”

“I want to know if you’re open to a different assignment, one with more responsibility and pay.”

If he was a normal employee, he’d jump at the chance to bail out of a boring job. But he wasn’t a normal employee, and he didn’t want to be separated from Simone. “What kind of assignment?”

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