Page 42 of In The Darkness

Nick pulled her hand away from Julian’s and slid his arm around her waist. “And that’s Julian. Save the act for when we serve drinks.”

The man chuckled wickedly and stepped back, putting his hands up in front of him as he did. “No problem, boss. I didn’t mean to step on any toes.”

Ignoring his apology, Nick moved on to the man sitting in the chair. “And this is Marius Grisham, former CIA black ops. He’s the epitome of the underground man. Expert at infiltration. If you want to find someone, he’s your man.”

Persephone focused her attention on the man who seemed to suddenly appear in front of her. Dressed in black dress pants and a white button down shirt, he looked like he could handle himself as well as any of the other men. Quiet confidence practically oozed out of every pore and his impressive size added to that feeling.

“It’s nice to meet you, Marius,” she said as she extended her hand to shake his much larger hand.

“Very nice to be here, Persephone. I have to say I was intrigued when Nick told me what you had in mind, and if this place is any indication of how this all will be run, I can see myself fitting in just fine.”

She smiled, happy that all her efforts to make their home base everything she thought they’d need hadn’t gone unnoticed by at least one of them. “I want you all to have a place that lets each one of you do this job as effectively as possible. Everything I spend my money on is in pursuit of one goal. To help the women who need you.”

Marius smiled and looked around the great room. “I like the way you think.”

Of all of the men, Persephone had a feeling she might end up liking Marius the most. He seemed to appreciate her efforts, and she liked that.

“Finally, the one holding up the fireplace over there is Dax Sturgis, one of my closest friends from the bureau and a whiz at forensics, among many other things.”

Nick smiled at his old friend, and Persephone watched as the enormous man slowly walked toward her. As confident and assured as the others, he smiled warmly at her as he shook her hand. She couldn’t help but notice how good looking he was with his dark hair and his chiseled cheekbones and strong jaw, even though he wore red workout pants and a yellow t-shirt with some bar’s logo on it that resembled something vaguely sexual.

“It’s good to meet the woman who got this guy to give up that life of rootlessness. We former bureau guys need something honorable to keep us out of trouble. I’m happy you’re giving him and me a chance to do good again.”

Persephone wanted to look down at the folders in her left hand to find out more about Dax so she could know what he’d been up to since leaving the bureau if he hadn’t been spending his time like Nick. She made a mental note to read up on him after this meeting.

Dax made his way back to his position next to the fireplace, and she began to address the group on what she wanted this project to achieve. She knew she had lofty goals for the team, but she believed they could do it.

She had to. The women they would help couldn’t afford for them to fail.

“I know Nick has told you what this team will do, but let me give you my speech on it. This is not just something this rich girl has decided to do with her money for the time being until something more interesting or sexier comes along. I know what women go through, and if it hadn’t been for Nick, I might still be held hostage in that house my kidnappers had me at. Or worse, I’d be dead.”

She looked at the man she loved and smiled. “But he was there to help me when I needed him. There are women across this country who need help like that every day. Some go to the police and are told there isn’t anything they can do until the person stalking them or the person threatening them actually harms them. That’s unacceptable. The policy of being reactive puts women in more harm. I want this team to be as proactive as possible. The minute I hear a woman is in danger, one of you will be assigned the job of protecting her and helping her get away from whoever and whatever is threatening her.”

Xavier raised a finger and asked, “How do you hear about these women needing help? No offense, but from what I know of you, there’s no connection to law enforcement in your past.”

She did enjoy when people underestimated her. Nodding, she acknowledged the truth of what he’d said.

“You’re right. I haven’t been involved in law enforcement whatsoever, but I am the daughter of one of the most powerful news media giants in the world. My father’s connections with police forces around the country will pave the way. Already through my dealings with some of them, I’ve found them more than eager to pass along information about women in danger they wish they could do more for. There’s not a cop in this nation who wants to see a woman hurt, but often the laws tie their hands. Since this organization will be outside law enforcement, those laws imposed on the police won’t affect you.”

She heard one of the men murmur “extralegal” under his breath and quickly moved to quash any ideas that she had assembled a group of vigilantes.

“I’m not here to say I will condone anyone breaking the law. I won’t. But this group won’t be forced to concern themselves with the rights of men who want to terrorize women. Your only concern will be protecting the client and ensuring she’s safe and out of harm’s way.”

Roman cleared his throat and asked in a low voice tinged with disgust, “Are we talking about us being bodyguards here then?”

Persephone shook her head. “No. Your work is going to be of far more consequence. A woman being stalked needs more than just a bodyguard. She needs someone to help her find out who’s out there who wants to do her harm, if she doesn’t already know. On the other hand, a woman being threatened might know who’s trying to harm her. Your job is to not only protect her but find out what’s behind the threats. If we just wanted bodyguards, we could have hired bouncers. I’m paying you all top dollar for far more and expect you to use your considerable skills each one of you brings to the table on every assignment.”

She sensed as Roman nodded and leaned back against the windowsill that she’d given him an answer he could respect. Scanning the room, she saw the men’s expressions said they liked what they were hearing.

“I’m sure there will be many questions, but for now, I want to thank you for joining Nick and me in this. We’re dedicated to seeing this succeed. You’ll find your rooms have been stocked with everything you could possibly need, in addition to the kitchen having enough food in every variety to feed an army. The cook’s name is Summers, and he works from six in the morning to six at night. After that, you’re on your own to cook whatever food you like. Everything will be taken care of for you—housekeeping, laundry, and meals. Your salaries will be deposited into the accounts you provided. Other than that, there is a game room equipped with whatever you may want to play in your off time and a media room where films can be shown. I have some connections in that area, so first run movies are available.”

She stopped as they all seemed to hang on every word she spoke. She knew how good they’d have it there, but if she wanted to get the best out of them for their clients, she had to offer them more than just money.

Because what they gave up to be a part of Project Artemis was a hefty price.

“One final note. You may come and go from this place as you like. There are cars enough for everyone. Each of you knows how to lay low and stay out of the limelight. That’s one of the reasons you were chosen. But in exchange for all you have here, there is one requirement. You must remain unattached. If at any point you decide that your love life is more important than your job, you will have to resign your position. Other than living here, which won’t be too much of a hardship for anyone, your remaining single is the only other non-negotiable. If that’s impossible for anyone, please let us know now and you can leave. No harm, no foul. If not, the first assignments will be handed out today.”

She waited for any of them to speak up and say they couldn’t abide by the rules, but not a single one did. Nick had told her he made sure to only recruit men he knew could accept the structure of the job, but she’d wanted to make sure. Giving up the chance of being in a relationship would certainly give her pause. She knew it was a lot to ask of the team, but she needed their focus to be entirely on the women they would help.

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