Page 70 of Merciless Protector

30

TAYLA

I gave up on sleeping at dawn. After moving the side table in front of my bullet-hole-riddled door, I took a long, hot, much-needed shower until the water cooled against my skin.

How had Ruin known I was back? That thought had plagued me all night. The only things I could think of were either my apartment was bugged, there was a mole in Griffin’s company, or Ruin had paid someone in my complex to rat on me if I returned home. It made me more resolute in my choice of staying here. Two of those options would have still left me vulnerable in a place I didn’t know if I choose to leave.

I was in the middle of making breakfast when the landline rang.

“Hello,” I answered, not expecting anyone.

“I’m here to install your new door.”

I opened my mouth but closed it. I shouldn’t be surprised. However, Griffin’s company likely knew about the shooting through their network of spies.

“Who sent you?”

Because it was early, I could hear the rustling of paper. “It looks like Shawn Rook placed the order.”

My heart leaped in my chest. “Give me a minute.” I set the phone down and went to find the burner phone. I called Griffin, and when he didn’t answer, I tried Kelsey.

“Hello,” she said groggily.

“Who is that?” I heard in the background. Was that Griffin?

“Kelsey. Did you guys order me a new door?”

“What? Just a minute.” There were muffled words exchanged in the background. “Sorry. Late night. Heard about your little shoot-out. Disappointed you didn’t call.”

“Sorry. I didn’t want to bring you all in my mess,” I said.

“I know you’re the big bad FBI, but we both know this has something to do with everything we’re dealing with. Keep us in the loop, okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, but I thought about my divided loyalties. Once I went back to work, there would be things I couldn’t share.

“To answer your question, no. We didn’t send the door. But Griff says Shawn ordered you one.”

“Is Griff—”

Kelsey cut me off. “Look, babe, I didn’t get much sleep last night. Can I call you later?”

“Yeah, sure.”

The call ended. For a second, I wondered again if Griff was with Kelsey until I remembered the guy at the door. I picked up the landline receiver. “Come up,” I said and buzzed him in.

Shawn knew about my brush with death, and he hadn’t come. I ignored my disappointment as I let two men into my apartment.

“This is a reinforced steel door,” the first one said after they had it installed. “The peephole doubles as a camera.”

“How will I access it?” I asked.

“I have to install the panel. My guy will also install another camera above your door to give you a hallway view.”

Shawn had thought of everything, but I wished he were there to explain all of this. Part of me had wanted to refuse the gift. But I needed a door. I would find out how much it was, and I would repay him.

When they were done, I had a wall panel as well as a portable remote screen that I could move around with. It also had security, which would send me an alert to my phone if my door opened. They refused a tip and said all had been taken care of before they left. I headed to work shortly after.

I drove the short ride to the downtown field office. I could have taken a train, but we were required to have access to a vehicle if needed. Using my access card, I pulled into the garage. I parked in an open spot, which was far from the elevator.

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