Page 20 of Guarded from Corruption

After another minute or two of small talk, catching up on all of Cole’s teammates—Georgia and Leo are expecting, Hanna had a photograph featured in National Geographic, Nora and Jackson just got back from their honeymoon—Dante shifts the conversation back to business.

“So we have our first paid job set up for the week of launch,” he says. “It’s a four-day assignment in Dallas to coordinate security for a FinTech conference. I’m thinking Erik and Rhiannon will take that one. And two weeks later, Xavier and I will head to Austin to give refresher training to a CEO’s security team.”

Dante tells Erik, Rhiannon, and Xavier in explanation, “I just figured considering what’s going on with Jade, it would be best to keep Matt and Niall here. That okay with you guys?”

Rhiannon nods. “Of course.”

Erik and Xavier echo her sentiment, Xavier adding, “Makes sense. Anywhere you need me to go, I’m there.”

Brow furrowing, Dante says, “Now. Moving on to the situation with Jade.” His gaze moves to me. “Niall. What are your thoughts on all this?”

My jaw clenches; the same reaction I get any time I think about what happened to Jade. “Well. You’ve all heard what happened. It’s clear Jade’s still in danger. Whoever’s behind this isn’t happy she escaped. And they’re motivated to find her, not just to keep her quiet, but”—my teeth grind painfully—“for all the money they were expecting.”

Cole grits out a low curse. “I read the report. It’s just…” He trails off, scowling. “And you know her well, Niall, don’t you?”

“She’s my sister’s best friend, and I’ve known her for over ten years. So yeah. I’d say so.”

Glancing around at my teammates, I add, “I’m helping her either way. But I think she should be our next case. What happened to her…” My chest gets tight. “You guys don’t know her. But Jade is just… she’s special. And I’m so fucking furious that someone did this to her. She’s scared, and hurting, and we can fix this?—”

“Of course,” Dante interjects, meeting my gaze. “I don’t think there’s any question of making Jade our first case. Does everyone agree?”

In unison, everyone around the table gives an emphatic, “Yes.”

The pressure in my chest eases. “Thanks.” A beat, and then, “Sorry. I’m just…”

Cole stops me. “Don’t worry about it, Niall. We understand. When it’s someone you care about… it hits differently.”

It does. I’ve helped hundreds of people during my years in the Army, first as a Ranger, then as a Green Beret. And I felt a duty to do whatever I could to protect all of them. But with Jade… it’s different.

Now that the decision’s been made, we settle into a discussion about strategy.

Matthew outlines his preliminary plan for researching, his fingers flying madly across the keyboard as he talks. “I’ll look into everyone Jade knows and search for anything suspicious. Large debts. Gambling problems. Criminal connections.”

He also goes over his plan to search for other missing women in the area with similar characteristics to Jade; women in their twenties and thirties, beautiful and smart, possibly with unique features like her gorgeous hair and striking eyes.

We’ll have to question Jade again to get a list of possible suspects and to find out if anything strange happened lately. Someone following her home, a feeling of being watched, maybe a recent date that made her uncomfortable.

That last part niggles at me. That’s one thing Shea never mentioned when she talked about Jade. I heard about Jade’s accomplishments, her interests, how her love of crossword puzzles borders on obsession, but never about the guys she dated.

Obviously, Jade had boyfriends. But I never thought about them before.

Now that I have to? I don’t like it.

But my conflicted feelings about Jade have no place in a meeting with my teammates. This is a time for strategy and logic and cool rationality. So I lock everything else away and focus on figuring out the best way to keep her safe.

By the time we finish the meeting, we have a solid plan in place.

Matt will work the online investigation. Rhiannon is following up on Jade’s blood tests and she’s sending out the scrubs to look for any DNA evidence from the nurse. Erik and Dante will head to Jade’s apartment to check for anything suspicious. Xavier and I will start looking into properties Jade could have escaped from.

And of course, Jade will stay here, and we’ll support her however she needs.

Counseling. New clothes. The rom-com movies she and Shea used to watch incessantly. Stacks of crossword puzzle books. Anything to help her feel better. Safer.

As I head back to my apartment, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried.

She didn’t call, so that should be reassuring.

Except I know how damn stubborn Jade is.

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