Page 39 of Elliot

“Why’s that?”

The man bobbed his head from left to right. “I don’t know how much I can reveal without crossing lines, but, ma’am, he’s fierce. He earned that reputation working on our teams overseas. He and his team pulled off some risky ops and fought unbelievable odds, but he made it out with everyone.” The guy rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, not to be a gossip, but this is common knowledge within our organization. This guy is history in our business. The biggest boss we have took his entire team and made them his personal security team. Elliot wouldn’t let his team get rusty, so they trained like crazy. It was the hardest team to join because no one left his team, but when they did, you had to be exceptional even to be considered as a replacement. He’s tough as nails, too. Up until the siege, that’s what we call the attack on Guardian. He was our mixed martial arts champion. No one came close to beating him. I wouldn’t want to go up against the man; that’s for sure.” The man glanced at the elevator. “Ma’am, if you’re okay here, I need to go downstairs.”

“Sure,” she said and listened to the elevator door close as he left. Maya considered the new information she had on Elliot. She knew he was intense, and it seemed he had the respect of the people in his organization. Mixed martial arts … she had a vague idea of what that was, but she’d make sure to do some research when she had the time.

The sound of the other Guardian, who was down the hall by her room talking to someone, reached her. The rumble of hisvoice was getting closer. “She’s right here. One second.” The man handed her his phone. “For you.” He walked back toward her bedroom.

She frowned and took the phone. “Hello?”

“You didn’t answer your phone.” Elliot’s voice grumbled over the connection.

She glanced at her purse. “I’m sorry. I put it in my purse after I talked to Louise. She’s okay. She said she got an email from me telling her not to come to work because I was on vacation.”

There was silence for a moment. “Is that something you normally do? Email your housekeeper to tell her not to come?”

Maya shook her head and ran her hand through her hair. “No, I usually call her, but I have emailed her a couple of times when our schedules didn’t align.”

“I’ll be there soon. Are you okay?”

She shoved her thumbnail in her mouth and bit down on it as she honestly thought about the answer. “When you get here, I’ll be better.” A sudden thought struck. “What did you need to go to Guardian for?”

“Hmmm, well, several things. But on the good side of that topic, Chandler Kates, who had not one but three lawyers present during our interview, was arrested for placing a bomb at the venue and then calling in the bomb threat.”

Maya dropped her legs to the floor and stood, walking over to the windows. “He put a bomb at the awards ceremony and called it in?”

“Yeah, the case against him on that point is airtight.”

Maya rubbed her brow. “What’s the point that isn’t airtight?”

“The shooters outside the venue,” Elliot admitted.

“You think he’s responsible for that, too?” She leaned her back against the glass and stared unseeingly at her living room.

“No, not anymore.”

“But you did?”

“Some did. There are still people we need to question. Dillon Ulman is one.”

Maya jerked off the wall of glass. “What? Ulman?”

“Ah, that got a rise out of you.”

“He’s a total ass. Why would you need to talk to him? Wait, maybe you should talk to him. I wouldn’t put it past him to be involved. The son of a bitch.” She started pacing. Just the man’s name sent her into a fury.

“Could you expound on that?”

She sighed and put her hand on her brow, closing her eyes. “Five, no six years ago, I bought TransDigiMedCo, the company I’m taking to an IPO offering.”

“Okay …” Elliot prompted her.

She dropped her hand to her hip and stared out the window again. “I also purchased the rights to all developing software and hardware. Using the foundation the old administration had started, we developed new, cutting-edge computer software and hardware for medical procedures. Because I was able to use the money I’d earned on my first IPO of Metrocorp, I had the resources to hire the best available people to research and develop our system. Ulman started at the same time. I don’t know how he was working on the same idea as we were. I suspect he somehow bribed one of my people, but I can’t prove it. He made allegations that I had paid off his people to leave. I didn’t have to do that. Their project was going nowhere, and people needed to pay bills. Besides, his people weren’t the caliber I needed. Then he alleged I’d stolen his research. That stalled us for over six months while we worked with the police and independent investigators to prove we had developed all the tech and hadn’t stolen anything. He still couldn’t catch up with us. Of course, I locked down our research and development facility. Unfortunately, I did have to install cameras in that facility, but it was to protect everyone’s investment. I’ve rewarded some ofmy people in stock, so having this IPO launch without any more incidents is in everyone’s interest. They were told about the security, and every one of them agreed to it.”

“You haven’t had any problem with him since?” Elliot asked.

“No. I’d completely forgotten about him.” She sighed. “How did you find out about him?”

Elliot supplied, “He was shot at the awards ceremony.”

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