Page 20 of Anger

McIntyre nodded but guessed that wasn’t the end of the matter. Lanie had secrets from him, and that wasn’t to be allowed. Not if he was to do his job.

Lanie/Lamia

She began opening her mail and paused when she came across a hand-printed envelope. With a frown, she opened it and pulled a piece of paper out. On it, in cut words from a newspaper, was a threat.

“‘Your time is coming. Death will be a blessing for you by the time I’ve finished’,” Lanie said out loud. “Well, that’s short and sweet. Laura, please ask Ranson to come to my office,” Lanie asked, pressing her intercom.

“Yes, Miss Cross.”

A few minutes later, Ranson appeared. “Miss Cross?

“A threat. One to add to the pile,” Lanie announced, pointing at it on her desk. Lanie rolled her eyes as Ranson approached.

He went to pick it up, and his gaze narrowed.

“What is it?” Lanie questioned.

“Did you see the watermark?” Ranson asked.

“No?”

“It’s an A,” Ranson said, and Lanie stiffened.

“An A?”

“Yes. The style of the letter A on the dead snake is identical. What is going on, Miss Cross? Because Mr Clare mentioned a name, Alainen, it is an old Greek name. Ancient, not a well-known name today. Yet I can’t find a mention of an Alainen anywhere. You know something, and by holding back, you’re risking your safety.”

“Ranson, I’m not lying, I have no clue what is happening,” Lanie lied through her teeth.

“Then we’ve an issue. Alainen, whoever this is, has a serious problem with you. He sent the snake, Mr Clare, and now a death threat. We also discovered Mr Clare was released from the hospital by a Mr Alain. Alain to Alainen isn’t a far jump.”

“No. And you can’t find trace of an Alainen anywhere?”

“No, Miss Cross. It’s not a name I’ve come across. We’ve still got searches running, but whoever this is, they’re using either a false name or he’s buried his identity deep,” Ranson replied.

“What do we do?” Lanie asked.

“Tighten security and notify the police are the first steps. We must resolve this and quickly. But we have insufficient information,” Ranson said.

“Basically, we need this Alainen to up his game so we can catch him. Surely, it would make more sense than to leave me a little more exposed,” Lanie suggested.

As expected, Ranson bristled. “That’s not a good idea and won’t be happening. Your retreat can go ahead, Miss Cross, but you may have to take extra guards.”

“I’ll contact the company,” Lanie mused. Naturally, her brothers would come for appearances’ sake. Lanie only intended to go to the castle for a week, anyway.

“That is not enough, I’m afraid. I am going to insist at least one of your personal team accompany you this time. That or cancel the trip. As the head of your security, I cannot authorise someone else to take charge of securing your safety,” Ranson stated.

“The other company has kept me perfectly safe,” Lanie argued.

“And you’ve not had a stalker after you before,” Ranson disagreed.

Lanie longed to tell him she’d been stalked for thousands of years but held her tongue. Ranson would never understand.

“I’ll consider my options, but remember, you work for me,” she said.

“And I would be remiss if I didn’t point out I can’t do my job without the full information. You can not expect me to be your bodyguard but not allow me to act as such.”

“Some things in my life I wish to keep private and personal. I informed you of this ten years ago when you became my security team. If this is a problem, then you and I need to sit down and discuss it,” Lanie replied. Her gut tensed. She didn’t want to lose Ranson, but she had no idea how to explain the castle.

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