Page 101 of Nanny for the SEALs

It made me realize that she wasn’t a perfect angel, and that she was growing up.

I didn’t like either revelation.

I tossed and turned that night. I neededtwocups of coffee the next morning, rather than my usual single cup. Tonight was a big night, and I needed to focus. But it was difficult while thinking about Cora.

It’s just one lie, I thought.It doesn’t mean anything.

“Asher?” Rogan snapped. “You with us?”

“Yeah, sorry,” I replied. “I was just thinking about tonight.”

We were in the conference room. A map of a Los Angeles plaza was displayed on the screen at the front of the room. Rogan nodded at me, then continued his briefing.

“The big party is tonight. The entire cast of the movie will be there, because filming starts in two days. There’s a lot of social media chatter. Threats to Amirah’s life are intensifying, just like they did right before thelastattack. If something is going to happen, it will happen at this party.”

Rogan pointed at the map. “The party is taking place here, at the Warwick Hotel. The ballroom is on the third floor, with a massive open balcony overlooking the outer courtyard. Cooper will be with Amirah at all times, watching her from inside and preparing to cover her if anything happens. But the balcony is a weak point. The platform blocks all view from the ground, but it is completely exposed to the rooms above. Rooms which have their own balconies. Someone above could spit down on the ballroom balcony.”

“Too bad spit’s not all we have to worry about,” Brady muttered.

Rogan gestured on the map. “We’ve rented a room in the Executive California, the hotel across the street. From there we’ll have a full view of the balcony and everyone above it.”

I leaned forward and squinted. “What if the threat comes from within the Executive California? Won’t someone there have a perfect angle down on the party?”

“The Executive California has no rooms with balconies,” Rogan explained. “And the rooms have earthquake-resistant glass. That’s glass with several plastic interlayers to reduce shattering. If someone tries to shoot through that, it will severely alter the trajectory of the bullet. Trust me, I called some experts on this: it’s functionallyimpossibleto accurately shoot through this glass and hit a specific target on the balcony across the courtyard.”

Brady raised his hand like we were in homeroom class. “Then how willwereturn fire if we see a suspect above the party?”

“You won’t,” Rogan replied simply. “We’re acting as spotters. If we see a threat, we note the location and radio Cooper so he can extricate Amirah from the party. Security within the Warwick will take it from there.”

“Makes sense,” I said. Brady didn’t seem to like it, though.

“We’re taking four-hour shifts, to ensure we’re all fresh and rested,” Rogan continued. “Asher will watch from six to ten. Brady has ten to two. I’ll take two to six in the morning.”

Brady snorted. “Two to six? They’ll all be asleep by then.”

“It’s a Hollywood party,” Rogan said simply. “I actually expect that to be the busiest shift, which is why I took it myself.”

We prepped all afternoon. It was a good distraction from my Cora concerns. I went upstairs to change into some casual clothes, and then we told Heather what was going on.

“A stakeout!” she said excitedly. “I wish I could go. I’ve never done anything that cool before.”

“You want to go?” Rogan asked. “I’ve been meaning to bring up the fact that this nannying job is only supposed to be five days a week. I was going to offer to watch the kids tonight, until my shift at the hotel. If you want a night off, you’re welcome to it.”

Heather looked at each of us. “Are you serious? You’d let me go?”

“Only if you promise not to be a distraction,” Rogan warned. “We’re there towork. This is important.”

She dragged her finger across her chest in an X pattern. “Cross my heart, and hope to die. I’ll be helpful! An extra set of eyes looking out for anything suspicious.”

Normally, I would have pushed back on such an invitation. Heather wasn’t an expert in this sort of thing, and we were. But I longed for her company, so I smiled and nodded.

“I’ll monitor the kids until my shift,” Rogan said as we packed up and prepared to leave. “As long as one of you is back by then.”

“I’ll come back before then,” Heather agreed.

The three of us—everyone but Rogan—got in my SUV and drove over to the hotel. Heather was practically bouncing with excitement.

“Stakeouts are boring,” Brady warned her. “There’s a lot of sitting. Not much happens.”

---