Page 92 of The Light to My Darkness (The Light to My Darkness 1)

"I can see that." I flipped back to the picture of him. "And what about William?"

"What about him?"

"Is he ex military too?"

"He was in the navy."

I put my forehead in my hand. No wonder he was so serious. He was younger than Ian. He had probably seen terrible things more recently. "Can we transfer him to a position like yours instead?"

"Certainly. Or Ian could be in our office instead of on the line of duty. That's up to you and James."

I looked up at the camera in the corner of the room. I thought about the things that Porter and Briggs could see. "I don't want him to have to watch me. I'd rather h

im be out in the field."

There was an awkward pause on his end. "Of course." He cleared his throat. "I'll draw up the necessary paperwork for William's transfer. And for rehiring Ian. I'll run through it with James when he returns."

"That sounds perfect." I bit the inside of my lip. Exactly how far had they implemented themselves in my life?

"Is there something else?" he asked. He could probably see my expression through the camera.

"What about Ellen? Is she..."

Porter laughed, cutting me off. "Ellen is the best housekeeper and chef I know. But no, she is not a member of your security detail."

I laughed. "I just had to check."

"Rob and Scarlett have entered the building. He'll be knocking in about a minute."

"Okay. And Cole?"

"Yes, Penny?"

I could hear the smile in his voice. "I appreciate everything you do for us. I hope you know that."

"I do. Have a good afternoon, Penny. I'll call you when Mr. Hunter lands."

"Thanks." I hung up the phone and slowly got up. I was comforted by the fact that William and Ian were both members of the security detail. But now it made even less sense that James hadn't taken Briggs with him. Maybe it wasn't the reason I thought it was, though. Maybe James knew how hard it was to be away from his family. And he didn't want Briggs to be away from his own daughter. I smiled as I walked over to the door.

"Ow," I said out loud and put my hand on the wall. "What are you doing in there?" I stared down at my stomach. My son kicked me again. It felt like he was doing cartwheels in my belly. The pain seemed to grow, spreading into my chest. I took a deep breath and told myself that the pain wasn't real. That it was all in my head.

Chapter 32

Monday

I opened the door and smiled down at my daughter.

"Hi, Mommy." She looked up at me in a strange way. As if she were studying me.

"Hi, Scar, I missed you." I bent down to hug her but she ran past me.

"Ellie!" she screamed.

I tried not to show the disappointment on my face. I had told myself that she wanted to hang out with Rob because she missed her father and wanted to hang out with another male in James' absence. But that wasn't the case. She seemed perfectly content as Ellen picked her up.

"Hi, sweet girl," Ellen said. "Did you have fun at the office?"

"Yes! I got to play with the copy machine."

---