I looked back at Christopher. “You’d be surprised. Most of the people I’ve seen get shot happened right in the middle of the day.” His eyes widened in alarm and I heard Maddie gasp beside me.
“Were these people you were assigned as a bodyguard to?” Maddie asked hesitantly.
I shook my head. “No. It was in the Marines. Anyway, my point is, bad stuff can happen when you least expect it. I was hired to protect you, so I’m not letting you out of my sight,” I said firmly. Christopher stared back at me and I could see the questions swimming in his eyes. Questions I didn’t feel like answering, especially not with him. In fact, he was the last person I’d want to share anything personal with.
“You ready to go?” Christopher flinched, and I realized I’d said it much sharper than I’d intended. I started to apologize, but then walked away instead. Better to set firm boundaries right from the start.
I drove the two of them to a nearby pub that Maddie insisted had the most delicious fries on the planet and we sat down in a booth at the rear of the restaurant. I chose the side with my back to the wall, so I could keep an eye on the rest of the room. Maddie sat across from me and Christopher nudged him over, so he could sit beside him, then promptly buried his face in the menu.
Christopher didn’t say much during our meal, but he didn’t need to because Maddie talked enough for all three of us. He was friendly and outgoing and easily one of the happiest people I’d ever met. He told me all about growing up in a house with seven brothers and sisters and, whether it was his intention or not, I was grateful for the distraction he provided.
After lunch, we headed back to the campaign headquarters. Topher remained quiet the whole ride there, and when we walked in, he took off for his office and shut the door without a backward glance. “Interesting,” Maddie murmured softly as he watched his friend walk away. After a moment, he turned and headed in the direction of his own office. It was obvious that he could tell something was going on, but I let out a relieved breath, glad that he hadn’t decided to pepper me with more questions.
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur as I took the opportunity to get to know the names and faces of each person working on the campaign. I’d never been a very sociable person. Other than hanging out with the guys I worked with, I preferred to keep to myself. However, Micah had taught me that a lot could be learned about a person through casual conversation.
In just a few hours, I knew what everyone’s role was on the team, how long they’d worked there, who was married and which of them had kids. I also discovered which of them had gone to college and where they liked to hang out after work. I tucked all of it away in my memory in case any of the information proved useful later. One thing was crystal clear to me though as I listened to all of them; they all believed in Christopher one hundred percent and they were passionate about the work they were doing to get him elected as the next governor.
I was sitting at an empty desk, looking over the schedule that Maddie had given me after we got back from lunch, as well as the threatening letters that had been delivered to the campaign headquarters. There was nothing extraordinary about the letters themselves, typed on plain white copy paper and delivered in equally unimpressive white envelopes; the kind that could be bought in any store across the country. The words, however, definitely carried a malicious tone and I could see why Topher’s father wanted to hire someone to keep an eye on his son.
The first one—Drop out of the race now. The world doesn’t need your kind in office, while nasty, was vague enough that it could’ve been easily dismissed. The second letter, delivered in the same style of paper and typed font, showed an increase in aggression. You’ve been warned before but chose to ignore me. Don’t make that mistake again, Mr. Brooks. Drop out now while the choice is still yours. Tick tock.
I frowned as I studied both letters. I’d seen and heard a lot of threats made against clients in the past. That was often the reason I was hired in the first place. So, I was pretty good at determining which were actual threats and what was probably just someone hoping to scare that person or looking for attention for themselves.
I had no doubt that the letters had been written by an amateur, but there were a couple of red flags that told me not to disregard them. The first was that they had used Topher’s name directly, which let me know that he was the intended target and not the campaign staff as a whole. The other was the words tick tock. That told me that whoever wrote the letters was running out of patience and, if they didn’t get what they wanted soon, they might be willing to take things further than some simple letters.
I rubbed a hand over my jaw and sighed. I’d been hoping that once I read the letters, I’d be able to assure Topher and his father that they had nothing to worry about, leaving me free to walk away. Unfortunately, it looked like he did in fact need protection and I was the only one able to offer it at the moment. I looked up just as Topher walked out of his office. His jacket was flung over his arm and he carried a briefcase in one hand while scrolling through his phone with the other. I glanced at my watch, realizing for the first time how late it had gotten. I’d been so busy that the day had flown by.
“Are you heading home now?” I asked him.
He glanced up from his phone and his eyes widened as if he was surprised to see me there. “Oh. Yes, I need to get home. Charlie will be hungry and doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
Some unfamiliar emotion flared up in me, leaving an uncomfortable, churning feeling inside my gut that I couldn’t quite figure out. “Fine. I’ll follow you,” I agreed grudgingly.
Topher looked like he wanted to argue, but he snapped his mouth shut instead. He turned to leave, taking the time to thank each of his staff members for their hard work along the way. I tried not to let my impatience show on my face as I waited by the door, but all I wanted to do was escape to my car. I needed be alone for a few minutes so I could try and sort through my swirling thoughts. The entire day had been one surprise after another, and I was having trouble blocking out all the memories that had been pushing their way to the surface since I’d seen Topher again.