Page 23 of Tate
Cher laughed.
“He also has a younger sister, Ford’s twin, Ruby Jane. I met all of them but Ford a month ago at a family gathering for their mother’s sixtieth birthday.”
“You were at their ranch?”
Outside, the sky drizzled down a cool, late-April rainfall, reaping the fragrance of the lilacs shading the front porch and mixing with the scent of fresh-brewed coffee. A few cars splashed by.
“We hunkered down there for a couple weeks after the bombing. It was Tate’s idea. We hired him mostly for emotional well-being. None of us really thought we were in danger, but Kelsey started having panic attacks.”
“Are they related to her attack in Central Park?”
“Yeah. It’s been over a decade, but she still has wounds, especially since her attacker got paroled right about the time of the bombing.”
Cher raised an eyebrow.
“Mmmhmm. So, Kelsey wasn’t sleeping, and I thought having a bodyguard around might help her feel safe. When Tate found out about her past, he made the call to bring us to his ranch while he tracked down her attacker, just to make sure she wasn’t being stalked.”
Cher finished off her muffin. “And, was she?”
Glo nodded. “Actually, yes. And Tate and his brother found him, but…well, that wasn’t the biggest problem.”
“The biggest being that Tate has manly muscles and a killer smile?”
“I mentioned you’re making it worse.”
“I just don’t see what the big deal is here, Glo. He’s a bodyguard—he’smadefor trouble. And it sounds like he’s pretty good at shutting it down.”
“He got the stuffing kicked out of him by a Russian mobster and nearly died.”
Cher frowned. “But he didn’t. Crisis averted.”
Glo ran her finger along the handle of her mug. “We got the gig from NBR-X and decided to take it. Our debut was in Las Vegas. I didn’t know it then, but Tate has some sort of dark past in Las Vegas that involves the mob. They found out he was in town, and one of their thugs came looking for him.”
“And you, given the bruise you’re trying to cover up. And what’s with the bandage on your shoulder?”
“I was shot, but that was before.”
Cher’s eyes widened. “Shot? You wereshot?”
“Just a nick, but…yeah.”
“You’re leaving a lot out.”
“Okay, back to the bombers…one of them tracked us down at Tate’s ranch and winged me.”
“You make it sound like you’re in an action thriller.”
Huh. Maybe she was. Complete with hunky hero.
Except in this version, the hero went down with the plane, so to speak.
Not the ending she was after, thanks.
“Here’s the bottom line. The bombers are with the Bryant League, a leftist group who wants the United States out of all international ties. They hate my mother because she’s a moderate and is on the National Security Council and has diplomatic ties with Russia and General Boris Stanislov. I’ve even met him. Anyway, they’re trying to scare my mother into not running by threatening her—and apparently, me.”
Cher’s face had lost its color. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. And that means Tate would be right in the middle of it all.”
