Page 50 of Close Protection

‘Yes,’ George responds weakly.

She nods slowly, taking a few deep breaths before lifting her head high, a mix of anger and determination on her face. ‘Okay,’ she starts, ‘someone is going to tell me the truth about what’s been going on here, and they will tell me now. I’m done with being lied to.’

‘Daphne, I lied to you to protect you,’ George pleads.

‘Well, a whole lot of good that’s done,’ she scoffs, rolling her eyes.

Jeez, she’s sexy when she’s angry.

‘Daphne, that’s not fair.’

‘That’s not fair?’ she repeats in shock, her shoulders tensing. ‘No, what’s not fair is that Teddy’s house got ransacked purely because he’s associated with you. What’s not fair is that I got choked and nearly kidnapped because of you. You have absolutely no right to tell me what’s fair and what isn’t. Now, someone, tell. Me. The. Truth.’

‘There’s an organization called Daveeno,’ I start.

‘Milosh, no—’ George tries to interrupt, but I don’t let him.

‘They’re a corrupt international intelligence organization that work with the worst of the worst, supplying them with weapons, intel and power. They’re particularly well known for planting spies.’

‘Spies?’ Daphne gapes. ‘As in Alex Rider?’

‘Who the hell is Alex Rider?’

Daphne completely ignores me, and looks over to George, her mouth agape. ‘Are you a spy? To be honest, that would answer so much.’

‘No, Daph,’ George responds. ‘Well, not really.’

‘Oh, great, here we go,’ Daphne mutters.

‘I used to work with MI6 as an independent contractor for antidote formulas. I really enjoyed it and it was a break from my mundane life. I was good at it, and I was helping people.’ He glances over to Daphne. ‘It’s actually where I met your mother.’ He smiles.

I watch Daphne as that news sinks in, her expression morphing from confusion to hurt. ‘Mother used to work at MI6?’

‘Yes.’ He breathes out a laugh. ‘She was the head of intelligence, actually.’

‘I really don’t know anything about you, do I?’ she whispers in response. The pain evident in her voice crushes me.

‘D-Daph, come on, it’s not like that,’ George says.

‘No, it’s fine, it’s just eye-opening, is all,’ she says quietly, offering a heartbreaking smile. All that fire in her eyes has been extinguished. ‘Anyway, please continue.’

‘Um, okay. Many years ago, I was working on an antidote for a toxin named serum 627. I mixed the wrong ingredients,and instead of making an antidote, I made the toxin worse. It was powerful and deadly and could snuff the life out of someone without leaving a trace. It also lowered their inhibitions during interrogation. I knew that if this got into the wrong hands the consequences would be terrible, and at the time MI6 had a problem with Daveeno double agents so I couldn’t trust anyone. I created an antidote for the toxin, just in case, then destroyed any evidence that it was ever created. I kept a written copy of both locked away, and completely forgot about it.’

He kept a copy of the toxin and the antidote formula?

‘Until recently. Somehow Daveeno found out about the toxin and want it for themselves. That’s the reason they broke into my office and here, but they couldn’t find it. They clearly thought that if they kidnapped you I would give it up, but Milosh got you out of the mall before they had a chance. And now with the increased security around the house, no one’s getting in or out without us knowing.’

I look over to Daphne to check how she’s taking all of this but I can’t read her. Her face is blank. ‘Why haven’t you given it to them?’ she asks.

‘Because I don’t have the formula any more. And even if I did, I couldn’t. These people would probably sell it to the highest bidder and who knows what they would use it for. I don’t even know how they found out that I made it.’

‘Okay then, so what’s your plan? Hide at home for the rest of your life?’

‘No, that’s actually where Milosh comes in.’ I feel five pairs of eyes land on me as I keep my face passive. ‘Milosh isn’t actually a qualified close protection agent. Yes, all his accolades are real, but after his special ops mission he joined a task force that is focused on dismantling Daveeno. When my office at work got broken into, they reached out to me because they suspected it had something to do with Daveeno. I needed protection for you, Daphne, so they suggested that Milosh should come here and pose as your close protection agent, keeping you safe while also having eyes inside the house.’

Daphne simply nods, not looking at anything but the floor.

What are you thinking, Daphne?

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