Page 52 of Fallout

Or ever.

“His wife is with him.” Clare looked up from her phone. “Brent finally admitted he’s trying to calm down his wife and convince her the blackmail video was a ruse.”

The front passenger glanced at them. “Wanna turn back, boss?”

Clare said, “Let’s keep our meeting. We might be able to help.”

Not the first time Destiny had felt out of her element while working for Vanguard. Maybe that would never go away—and maybe it would always be the point. She didn’t make assumptions or jump without asking questions. “Do we have any reason to believe we’ll be targeted next?”

“Gage asked me the same question.” Clare tipped her head to the side. “I think this might be the last house call I make.”

Destiny wasn’t sure she wanted to be the replacement in these meetings. As far as she’d seen, most of them could be emails. It was just that Vanguard clients wanted the personal touch. “If you let me know who you want to cover for you as CEO, I’ll contact them, and we can start working together.”

One of the Famous Ones snorted. There were only two, so if she threw a shoe, she’d have a fifty-fifty chance of hitting the one who laughed.

Destiny said, “What?”

Clare had an odd look on her face. “It’s me that’ll cover for the CEO job. My company, my responsibility.”

“Okay, but?—”

“Nope.” Clare lifted a hand. “Why do you think I need an executive assistant who is responsible and picks things up quickly, that I can rely on one hundred fifty percent?”

“If we show up to this meeting with mascara all down our faces, I’m going to tell them it was you.” Destiny would start crying if she thought about what Clare had just said.

Her boss reached over and squeezed her knee. “It’s not just because of what happened to you. Although, we might need a daycare in the building. Probably soon.”

Destiny sniffed. Fine, she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye as well. “This is ridiculous.”

“Maybe you’ve needed to cry for so long that now your body is able to release the emotion because you don’t have a say. It’s giving you what you need.”

“A clogged-up nose?” Destiny could laugh about it, though. “I don’t hate crying. My sisters do it plenty enough for all of us, so I haven’t needed to that much.”

“It’s cathartic.”

And Clare was the toughest person she knew. The woman had been in the army. Now she ran a company that kicked butt worldwide. Rescued people. Protected people.

The SUV pulled into a long drive. House on a hill. Secluded, set back from the street, and surrounded by tall evergreen trees.

“This is it?” Destiny glanced around. “Lot of places for a sniper to hide.”

Getting out of the car might not be the best thing for any of them.

“Stay put. Both of you.” The Famous Ones jumped out.

Destiny didn’t like the idea anyone would be taking a bullet for her.

Clare reached over and squeezed Destiny’s hand. “I could distract you by asking about Jasper.”

Like how she wanted to marry him so he could be the father of her child? She mentally swatted away the thought. “I don’t know what there is to say.”

Clare snorted. “Sure. But it is amazing that he seems to be becoming more open to the Lord.”

“And peeling back the layers for his friends.” She loved that the guys he worked with were really getting to know him. As much as she’d been privileged to hear him talk about his brother and tell her what happened with Tessa. All anyone knew was that he’d broken it off when they were engaged. Painting him as a guy who tossed a woman aside because his family didn’t approve.

In reality, it had been a much darker force. Now, they all knew of his mother’s struggle with her mental health. The truth was far more than caving to his family. He had lost so much and then spent years trying to hold things together as best he could.

The door beside Destiny opened. “Let’s go.”

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