Page 41 of Drake Eternal

CHAPTER 14

The next morning was busy with surgery and consultation, so by the time my afternoon break came along, I was ready for a rest. I checked my watch and saw that Kyle had tried to call me several times. Alarmed that something might have happened to Kate, I called right away. There was really no reason for him to call me except if he had bad news.

“Kyle, I’m sorry I missed your calls. I was in surgery. What’s the matter? Are Kate and Sophie okay?”

“Not to worry,” Kyle said, his tone soft. For the next few moments, he filled me in on what was going on in Brooklyn.

“She saw one of your guys and called you?” I said with a laugh, relieved that my worst fears weren’t realized.

“Sadly, yes. You can believe that I sent the guy back into training. If she could tell he was watching her, he was obviously not doing the job right.”

“Thank God,” I said and heaved a heavy sigh of relief. “What did you tell her? Does she know I put security on her?”

“No, I didn’t say anything to her about the detail. It’s against my policy to do so. Instead, I just told my new team to use the red cup and pin that we usually use, so now it’s out in the open. No stealth required. I’ll leave it up to you to tell her.”

“Thanks,” I said and rubbed my forehead. “I’ll call her and let her know right away. I appreciate the head’s-up. I’ll be glad when she comes here and joins me.”

I ended the call and then finished my coffee, passing over in my mind just what I’d say to Kate. I wanted her to understand why, but I also wanted her to tell me herself about the photo with Carlton Page. She hadn’t so far, so I was trying to figure out a way for her to do just that when I got a call on my cell.

Sure enough, it was Kate.

I answered on the second ring.

“You’re not in surgery,” she said, her voice sounding surprised. “I took a chance and called anyway, although I know you’re usually up to your arms in it, so to speak.”

“Yes, I just got finished and am taking a break. What’s up? How is everyone?”

She hesitated for only a moment and then sighed. “We’re fine, but I wanted to call you and talk about something.”

“I’m all ears,” I said, keeping my voice neutral.

“I hired Kyle to provide a security detail until we leave.”

“I know,” I said and decided to come clean.

“You know?”

“Kyle just called me to let me know. He told me you saw one of his guys — who I hired to protect you and Sophie while I was out of town — and that you hired him, too.”

“What?” Kate laughed out loud at that. “You hired someone to watch us? I saw him?”

“Yes,” I said, smiling. I was relieved that she saw the humor in it. But I stopped there. I didn’t want to say anything about the Page One photo I’d been sent and that it was the reason I hired someone to protect her and Sophie. I wanted her to be the one to tell me about it.

“You’re so protective of us,” she said softly.

“It’s hard to be apart and not worry about you,” I replied. I wanted to tell her why, but figured I’d give her the chance to tell me about the photo.

When she didn’t, I kept quiet. We spoke about Kyle and the security arrangements for another couple of minutes, and then she said she had to go.

“Sophie and I will be flying out on Tuesday, so we’ll be there Wednesday night. I hate leaving Daddy, but he’s fine. I miss you and Sophie misses you too much to stay away any longer.”

“I miss you both, too,” I said, smiling, my heart warming despite my disappointment about her not telling me about the photo.

“We’ll call you later, when it’s bedtime. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Kiss Sophie for me. Say hello to Dad and Elaine for me.”

“I will.”

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