Page 115 of Nanny for the SEALs

Okay, the crosshairsmightnot be metaphorical. But I was trying not to think about that.

To sweeten the bait, Amirah’s agent put out a press release about her being on sight for filming even though she personally wasn’t in any scenes that day. They even announced that she would be giving out autographs to fans near the set.

“That autograph session is when we plan to catch Heimdall,” Rogan explained to me the night before everything would go down. The kids were all asleep, and the dads were having drinks in the man cave to settle their nerves. I abstained because my stomach had been in knots all week, and I didn’t trust it. “The autograph session was announced for two o’clock. At noon, two hours before that, the real Amirah will go out and give someunscheduledautographs. It will be quick—less than a minute. The attackers won’t be expecting it.”

“What’s the point of that?” I asked, confused. “Don’t we want toavoidputting her in danger?”

“She won’t be in danger, because the Heimdall guys will be making their move at two,” Brady explained. He seemed unhappy by all of this, but was still participating. “By sending her out there for a quick hello, it will show everyone that Amirah really is on set. There will be selfies and cameras and other up-close evidence. That way, when you walk back out for the autographs at two, Heimdall will be champing at the bit to do something. And they’ll know exactly what you look like.”

“Bait and switch,” Asher said. “We’ll put you in the same exact clothes, same sunglasses and hat. We want you to be recognizable around set once you take her place.”

In general, I wasn’t a nervous person. I threw myself into things fearlessly, whether it was a relationship, a new job, or a suite I was sneaking into at the Lakers game.

But this felt different. Men would be watching me tomorrow.Badmen. They wouldn’t exactly hurt me, but they intended to frighten me.

It kind of felt like preparing to bungee jump off a cliff. Sure, plenty of people had done it before, and it was exciting, but it was a hell of a lot more dangerous thannotgoing bungee jumping.

I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed. Asher was waiting for me in the hallway.

“Are you certain you want to do this?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I’m the one who suggested it.”

He smiled softly. “There’s a tremendous difference between making a suggestion, and following through on it. Especially when danger is involved. If you want to back out, it’s not too late. Nobody will think less of you.”

That wasn’t true. It was absolutely too late to back out. Plans had been made; Amirah and her agent and the film studio had been involved. If we backed out now, it would look terrible for HLS Security.

“I’m positive,” I replied. “I just want to help end this threat so we can all go back to normal.”

Asher gave me a long hug, and a soft kiss on the cheek. “Try to get some sleep.”

I crawled in bed and stared at the ceiling. I tried to walk through tomorrow’s events in my head, but I was having a tough time. My imagination kept interjecting, forcing me to picture the worst-case scenarios that might happen. I could be injured. Or maybe we wouldn’t flush Heimdall out after all, and the entire thing would be a waste. Interestingly enough, the latter scenario scared me more than the former.

I want to help them,I thought firmly.If we catch Heimdall, then Rogan, Brady, and Asher can relax and resume their normal jobs. We can all be happy together, without this looming over us.

Selfishly, I also knew that if HLS Security lost Amirah as a client and ruined their reputation, then they wouldn’t be able to give me the career boost they had promised. But that was only a small concern to me at the moment.

A knock came at the door, so soft I almost didn’t hear it. The doorknob turned silently and the door opened a crack.

“You awake?” Brady asked.

I sat up in bed and nodded. “Can’t sleep.”

“Me neither.” He slipped inside and closed the door behind him. “It’s important to get a good night sleep before these kinds of things, but I keep thinking about tomorrow.”

I slid sideways in bed so he could join me. “Youare worried about tomorrow?”

He nodded. “Fucken right I am.”

“But you’re a former Navy SEAL,” I said. “You’ve probably been on a thousand missions.”

“Notthatmany. But a lot.” He stroked my hair over an ear. “There’s a difference between risking myself, and risking someone I care about.”

“Aw, shucks,” I said. “I’m an actor, Brady. I know what I’m doing.”

“Not worried about you,” he replied. “Worried about what might happen to you.”

I kissed him. “Then you’d better make sure I’m safe, huh?”

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