Page 3 of Guarding Zuri
“Daemon is highly qualified. He knows what he’s doing.”
“Is he? Does he?” She didn’t give Daemon another glance. “I’ve made my decision. I shall be with my father and his guards. That should be enough.” She refused to look at him. “And what is he still doing here, anyway? I fired him.”
“Zuri…” David chastened. He stepped closer and spoke in a tone too low for Daemon to decipher the words. Zuri’s cheekbones remained razor sharp, her full mouth tight. Whatever David’s words, Zuri was unmoved.
Daemon rolled his eyes and turned back to the maps on the table. He listened as Bayo’s advisors suggested alternate routes, times, nearby safe house locations, and alternative meeting locations. They seemed to think of everything except the threat—like Zuri. He understood David had explained the peril of this meeting, using intelligence Knight Shield had amassed over the weeks they’d been in the country. Bayo understood and wanted to move forward with hiring Daemon to protect his daughter—regardless of the outcome of tomorrow’s meeting. Daemon accepted, but only if he could protect Zuri on his own terms.
Daemon had his own intel. It was one way he could operate his business. The most wealthyhired him to protect anything from themselves to high-value items, like their pets. For an additional fee, Knight Shield would enter countries and extradite people, usually those who wanted to defect or escape to the United States from oppressive rule. He had substantial experience from countries all over Europe, the jungles of South America, and even the plains of Africa. And he maintained contacts with his old military units, who could provide assistance from time to time. Terrorists hated it when he’d capture them and rescue kidnapped daughters. He was good at his job.
He was good at everything.
Except sitting behind a desk typing on a computer. Chairs non-ergodynamic and outdated styles of keyboards. Stale air in an office packed with cubicles and smells of all sorts of leftovers. That was his absolute worst military assignment before his special ops selection. Every day he woke up thankful he could hire analysts instead of having to sift through all the intelligence himself. He’d rather facetorture; at least he could handle that.
And right now, he was going to keep Zuri alive, whether she wanted his help. So what if shefired him?Nothing could stop him from attending that meeting and doing his job. Her father had signed Knight Shield; the way Daemon saw it, the contract wasn’t with Zuri. Princess could throw around her pretend authority all she wanted. In the end, she’d do exactly what Daemon would tell her, when he’d tell her, and how he’d tell her.
No resistance.
“Where did you find this guy?” Daemon overheard Zuri ask David. “Do you know how dangerous it is to bring new people into my father’s circle? You know what happened the last time we trusted someone without question.”
David had relayed the unfortunate story to Daemon. An infiltration that had compromised the security and had led to the deaths of several members of the resistance’s inner circle. Yet, the attempt to assassinate Bayo had failed.
The scenario had sent chills down Daemon’s spine. Memories of his time in southern Afghanistan at the height of the attacks during NATO’s Resolute Support Mission had flooded his mind. A member of ISIS had posed as a translator and gained access to the base, passing all security screenings—and Daemon’s best friend had lost his life. The lasting effect of that experience caused Daemon to hesitate accepting this job. He had avoided all jobs that held a higher risk of insider threats. Jeremy’s death had compromised Daemon’s emotions.It was my fault.
David held himself responsible as Bayo’s security expert, and Daemon couldn’t blame him.I’d done the same thing.The weight of guilt exhausting, Daemon told David no operation was immune from attack. Insider attacks were often difficult to thwart. He’d hoped those facts comforted his friend, but they both understood the only lasting consolation was revenge. Jeremy’s death was avenged with hellfire missiles from precise drone attacks and the capture of several high-ranking ISIS commanders. David’s revenge would be complete once Bendola threw Gohi out of office.
“I know what happened last time,” came David’s grave voice in response to Zuri’s question. “Never forget that Iwasthere.” He jabbed a finger to his chest. Daemon fisted his hands, an urge to come to the defense of his friend strong. They were battle buddies.
Zuri laid a hand on David’s arm. “I’m sorry, David. That was unfair of me.”
Daemon arched a brow at Zuri’s display of contrition. The woman could admit when she was wrong?Fascinating.
“You’re worried about your father, I know. Daemon is different. What happened before… You won’t have that with Daemon, I promise you. Your father hired him.”
“At your suggestion?”
“Yes!”
“Without consulting me? Yes, you vouch for him, but David, are we not thebestof friends?”
“Yes, Zuri, we are. And I knew you would refuse, which is why I couldn’t say anything.”
“You should’ve. You owed that to me.”
“Maybe I did.”
David’s brows angled upward at the center while the corners of his lips chased his chin. Clearly, this woman had everyone wrapped around her finger. David laid a hand on Zuri’s arm, crossed over that ample chest. With each inhale, the black t-shirt dipped along the curve of her swells, eventually cresting, until the tide drug it out again. Daemon blinked, severing the gravitational pull of her presence.I’m not falling for you.Yet, she was truly the most beautiful woman he’d met. Selective amnesia drove the names and faces of the women he’d known before from his mind.
But he’d known instant attraction before. Pursing it only led to death.
“Give Daemon a chance,” David said. “He is very good at his job.”
“So are my father’s guards. You trained many of them.”
“Yes, but the threat is greater now. We don’t know who to trust anymore because of last time.”
Daemon considered the assassination attempt on Bayo by an insider threat a few months ago. In under six months, the man had slithered in and established trust. His story and passion for the cause went unquestioned. The rebellion had been desperate for more men, with several key leaders captured in compromised movements and tortured for information. Supporters disappeared in broad daylight. People feared to commit to fight, worried about leaving families without primary breadwinners.
Every time they had tried to do a rally or event, President Gohi’s Elite Guard was one step ahead of them and had shut them down. Within a day of David’s hunt for the mole, the man had made his presence known by what David had described was a desperate attempt to kill Bayo while he had the chance.
