Page 10 of Target Me
4
LOGAN
She had a point.
Her feet slapped against the stairs as she made her exit, and all I could do was sit and stare into my cooling bowl of curry.
She may have been a brat with daddy issues and secrets that were going to compromise her to the point of insanity—mine, not hers—but she hadn’t signed up for any of it. I still wanted to spank her ass so hard she couldn’t sit for a week, but maybe I needed to try something different. A softer approach than I would normally take when assignments didn’t fall in line the way they should have.
After scraping up the last of my meal, and finishing off Avery’s because I hated seeing food go to waste, I decided on a new plan. One that would either bring her around to my way of thinking, or at the very least let her see me as someone other than her father’s spy in the house.
After washing up our bowls and cutlery, I took my laptop into the General’s study and logged on to check in for my daily briefing.
The study was large and admittedly a little ostentatious for my tastes. It had the good ol’ boy vibes with huge cushioned chairs beside the fireplace, a wetbar in the corner of the room, and a huge mahogany desk with a wingback chair in the center looking out over everything.
“Tanner. How’s the first day gone? Any trouble?” General Walker asked as soon as his audio connected.
I thought about Avery’s blow up. Her disappearance at the mall. The pain in her eyes before she retreated upstairs for the third time today.
“All quiet here, so far. Did you get the notes I sent through earlier? I took the liberty of changing out the locks as a priority because of the security breach with the key.”
The General nodded. “Good, good. I’m willing to approve the surveillance equipment you suggested. Send me a quote when you have it. The text from yesterday came from a burner cell. Pinged off a tower near the house, which is no surprise. We knew the asshole was in my yard. Anything else of note?”
“I think Avery might chafe under this level of security sooner rather than later—”
“Avery will do as she’s told. Just let her hide in her room, or if she’s making a fuss, take her shopping.” A feminine voice in the background called the General’s attention away, and when he refocused, he was already moving to close our conversation.
“You’re doing well, son. Keep her contained and resolve the situation as best you can. I’m going to be busy with the campaign for the next few months—and busy with something else for the next couple of hours.” He winked, and I suppressed a cringe at the inference. “So keep Avery quiet and don’t let her fuck things up for me. I’ve set up your salary and the first payment should come through on Tuesday. In the drawer to your left, there should be a Mastercard. Use that for any other incidental expenses. Same time tomorrow.”
He closed the virtual meeting before I could acknowledge his instructions. There was no need for acknowledgement, though. I was a good soldier who took orders well. Just like Avery said. I signed up for this shit.
The Mastercard was right where he said it would be, but I didn’t feel right taking it. I’d invoice him for the security instruments, so there was no need to use it for anything else.
Sitting in the General’s study, I considered his attitude toward his daughter, hell, to women in general. It occurred to me that he had always been like that. Dismissive. Demeaning. I respected the man for everything he had achieved and everything he had given me, but I couldn’t get Avery’s words out of my head. Of course, he cared about his daughter. That’s what parents did. Maybe he wasn’t good with his words.
Ignoring the voice that mutteredbullshitin the back of my head, I made a plan for an outing that I hoped would build trust with Avery and make my job a little easier to handle.
* * *
I had never beena good sleeper, even as a child. My parents had been at their wits’ end, trying every trick in the book. I drank warm milk every night, exercised to the point of physical exhaustion every day, never watched television or played video games, and had been slathered in lavender oil so many times I couldn’t stand the smell as an adult. When I joined the Army, I found my place. Sleep was irregular and unpredictable, and no one blinked an eye at a soldier being awake at midnight. While others bitched and complained about night ops and long tours, I was in my element.
After my debrief with the General, I wasted a few hours researching surveillance technology before catching three hours sleep on the sofa in the lounge. I woke refreshed and ready to start the day at around three a.m. Unable to leave for my usual nighttime run, I ran a few laps of the property instead and found a spot on the grass to work on some functional training. By the time I was finished, my limbs trembled, and my heart pounded in that delicious way that made me feel alive. I showered and made myself a snack, set the coffeepot to brew, and wondered how much longer I would let Avery sleep before I dragged her out of bed.
Seven-thirty turned out to be my limit. I ignored the sense of anticipation I felt when I climbed the stairs. I was looking forward to messing with her. It had nothing to do with wanting to see her. In that vein, I didn’t care what her reaction would be to the plans for the day. I had to protect her, so she had to come with me. Simple as that.
The first knock was as polite as I was capable of and elicited no response. The second was a little harder.
The whirlwind I was expecting threw open the door, hair as wild as the day before and eyes set to burn me to a crisp. Her pouty lips parted and just as I was ready for a tongue lashing—not the fun kind—she visibly pulled herself up.
Instead, she turned her frown into a saccharine grin. “We regret to inform you that we are closed at this time. Come back when the sun is up.”
I chuckled, catching the door as she tried to slam it. “The sun is up.”
“I meant directly overhead. You know, the time of day normal people wake up?”
Her cheeks were flushed with color, and I couldn’t help but notice she was back in the white tee and short shorts she’d been wearing the day before.Focus.
“The day’s more than half over by then. Come on, get dressed. We have plans.”
