Page 25 of Unloaded
“We are here withBaby Girl’s Catering,” I tell him, simply and hand him my ID. “We’re the muscle, you might say.” I keep my face blank and stance loose, ready for whatever might be about to take place. I’m concerned this client seems to have their own bodyguards. Something we weren’t informed about. Something is off. I have a bad feeling about this whole thing. The man glares at me a moment.
“Look you are clearly here for your boss’s protection. We are here to ensure our servers are protected. It’s as simple as that.” The man nods, considering what I’ve said. He turns away and speaks into a comms unit, after a brief pause, he indicates we can follow. I scan the lawn and back of the house and clock at least four more men who I’d bet my last dollar are also armed. They seem to be patrolling the estate.
Rachel, Cindy, and another server who’s name I can’t remember are heading back out to the vans for more supplies. I place a hand on Rachel’s upper arm to halt her progress. “You are not to leave my sight, do you understand me?” I mandate, infusing a commanding tone into my voice. Rachel stiffens. Her chin tipping up in defiance.
“What the hell is your problem?” she hisses, jerking her arm from my grasp. “I have a job to do. I won’t let you keep me from doing it. Marley and Shelby are trusting me to handle this event, and that’s exactly what I intend to do. Stay out of my way.” She steps around me and stomps off toward the vans.
This woman is going to be the death of me. She clearly isn’t going to listen to a damn thing. I growl in frustration while following her back out to the van. I’m about to have it out with her, but I pause to watch her at work.
Rachel is directing the staff like a pro. I stand back to watch her in action, awestruck. She has everyone on task and organized. She pulls a long, heavy tray out of the van. I move up to take it from her, putting the argument we need to have off for the time being.
I can see her indecision, not wanting to let me help her, but at last she relents. I take the tray, stepping back for her to lead me where to go with it, but she turns back pulling an equally heavy tray from the back before striding toward the large tent. I follow along behind, secretly impressed with her tenacity.
It doesn’t take us long to have everything unloaded and organized to Rachel’s satisfaction. The hostess’s staff shows us to the kitchen where the final preparations will be done before the event gets underway.
I send Jason and Matthew to make a sweep of the perimeter. I have a foreboding feeling that isn’t going away. I learned a long time ago to trust my gut.Why would the hostess have armed guards?
A few hours later, everything seems to be going well. Jason and Matthew have been reporting in every fifteen minutes and nothing seems to be amiss, other than Jason has confirmed all of the guards are armed.
By some miracle, I’ve managed to keep Rachel close, much to her annoyance. I’d texted Enos early this morning reminding him to join us, but he hasn’t arrived yet. The luncheon is almost over.Where the hell is he? I text Enos, again, to check his ETA.
Me:Where u be?
Enos:On the way. I had something to take care of.
Me:Kristen again? What the hell are you doing with her anyway?
Enos:Stay out of it! I have everything under control. We’ll be there soon. Where’s the fire anyway?
I chose to drop it for now. I have more urgent matters than that lying, betraying, backstabber.
Me:What do we know about these people?
Enos:Not much, but initial background check was clean. Why?
Me:There are armed guards watching the place. It’s discreet, but I know what I’m seeing. I have a bad feeling.
Enos:I’ll have Kelvin pull up the file on them and deep dive. Should be there in fifteen.
Looking up, I pocket my phone and scan the kitchen in search of Rachel, but she’s nowhere to be found.
Fuck!I told her not to leave my sight. I should have known she wasn’t going to listen.
“Where’s Rachel?” I ask Cindy heatedly.
“I’m not sure, exactly,” Cindy answers with a shrug. “She went to look for a bathroom.”
I storm out of the kitchen, determined to find her and remind her who’s in charge. Marley and Shelby might trust her to take care of things, but I’m in charge of her safety. She will come tolearn that and let me do my job, or so help me, I’ll spank that ass like I’ve been dreaming about.
I turn a corner at the end of a hall running into Jason as I go. “Have you seen Rachel?” I question. He frowns shaking his head.
“No, not in a while,” his tone sounding concerned, his face turning serious. “Is something wrong?”
“I don’t know,” I say blowing out a breath. “Maybe I’m just paranoid, but I’ve had an uneasy feeling since we arrived and saw the guy guarding the gate is packing, not to mention the other men we’ve seen roaming the estate.”
“Yeah, my hackles have been up, too,” Jason replies. “What do you think is going on here?”
“No idea, but that’s what I’d like to know,” I answer shaking my head. “Why would the hostess need armed guards? If she’s in danger, why continue with a public event like this? Moreover if she needed a bodyguard, why didn’t she hire Invictus to head up her security?” Jason’s face pinches as he considers my words.
