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“You got a what? A bad feeling?”
“Yeah. Dumb, huh?”
Penni shook her head, her ponytail swishing left and right like an angry bee. “Not dumb at all. If you had a hunch that something was off with him, then it probably was. Never discount your gut feeling. If I’ve learned anything, being married to a Knox and being around his team, is that they always listen to and trust their gut.”
Relief swept through Astrid—Penni didn’t think she was overreacting. “Thank you. I mean, it’s probably nothing. I’m just hyper-aware of things after what happened, but it was…unsettling.”
Penni nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. “As I’ve said, over the last couple of years I’ve seen a lot of things that I thought could only happen in movies. Hell, I was held at gunpoint in a convenience store and then kidnapped a few weeks later, so I think, until whoever was involved with the incident you witnessed last night is caught, your safety is a priority. You’re a well-known face, and your public appearances are listed on your website. I think you need some security, and I know just the people who can provide it for you.”
“Security as in a bodyguard?” Astrid’s voice pitched higher than normal. She was still trying to process the fact that Penni had said she’d been held at gunpoint and kidnapped so casually. “I don’t think that’s necessary at all. It’s probably nothing.”
Penni shook her head. “Nope, it’s not nothing. I’m surprised the studio hasn’t thought to provide you with security, anyway. Particularly out at these public events. Someone else may brush off your concerns. But not me. I’ll call Ox and set up a meeting.”
Astrid wanted to argue the point more, but the look of determination in Penni’s eyes and the way her chin jutted up a little told her that Astrid would be wasting her breath.
“Fine. I’ll come to the meeting and decide then if personal security is necessary.”
In all the years she’d been famous, she’d never felt the need to have any type of security. So what if her public persona was increasing? There were guards at the studio where she spent a lot of her time, and she’d always felt safe there.
Another sensation of being watched washed over her. Maybe a bodyguard wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Chapter Five
The sun beat down on Growler’s head as he jogged along the street. It wasn’t the same as running on the beach like he’d done every morning when he’d been part of the team. He did miss the soft sand beneath his feet. The rush of the waves in his ears and then the cool wash of the water over his heated skin as they swam for two miles.
Morning PT was something he’d never thought he’d miss, but he did. Swimming in a pool wasn’t the same as the ocean. Maybe on the weekend he could take a drive to the beach and battle the waves.
He turned down the street to his complex, coming to a stop outside so that he could catch his breath. He didn’t have to be in the office until ten this morning. Ox had flown over to New York to meet with Storm and Ash to discuss his idea of expanding the firm. He was due to land back in LA at seven, where they were going to discuss the next moves.
Climbing the steps, he took a moment to look around, scanning to see if anyone lurked in the shadows. A habit he couldn’t seem to shake, and perhaps not a bad one to keep. It always paid to be on the lookout for danger—whether to himself or someone else.
Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he made his way up to his apartment. Some days, like today, he missed being in the military. Missed his friends. Missed the knowledge that in an hour he’d been meeting with his teammates again to discuss the latest skirmish somewhere in the world where they may have to fly off to at a moment’s notice.
Were the team getting ready to leave right now?
What his team did wasn’t his issue anymore. That was his past. Things would work out. He had to believe it, and maybe it would be possible that he could have both. New life and old one combining seamlessly. If Ox had been able to leave behind his military career and forge a new one, then he could do it too.
The resolve was still strumming through him when he walked into the air-conditioned offices of Alliez Security. Today was going to be a good day. The day he embraced his new career.
“Morning, Cass.” Their computer guru was manning the front desk and gave him a wave.
“Hey, Callum.” She looked over the top of her glasses at him. “Kyle needs to see you. He said to tell you to go to his office when you arrived, not the conference room.”
He was still getting used to Cass, and Yolanda, the usual receptionist, using everyone’s given name instead of their nicknames—like he always used. “Any idea why? I thought we were all meeting in the conference room to discuss his trip?”
“Nope.” Cass shrugged. “I’m just passing on the message, seeing as Yolanda is out getting coffees and I was sitting here when he came in a few minutes ago.”
Growler nodded and headed toward his boss’s office. Things had been quiet while Ox had been away, and Growler couldn’t think of anything he’d done wrong to warrant the summons. He was glad he’d arrived a little earlier than he was scheduled to be there.
Knocking on the door, he opened it when he heard the faint “come in.” “You wanted to see me?” he asked as he paused behind the chairs sitting opposite where Ox was.
“Hey, Callum!” A familiar female voice floated around the room. Ox turned his computer monitor and Penni, Fort’s wife’s, face filled the screen.
“Hey, Penni, good to see you. How are you?” Growler always enjoyed being around his former team leader’s wife. She was fun and vivacious and cared for everyone she met.
“Good. Keeping busy. Knox says hi. He’s on diaper duty this morning.”
Growler nodded and smiled, still getting used to the fact Fort was happy changing a dirty diaper. He would ask why Fort wasn’t on base, but he swallowed the question down. He’d left that life behind and his new one was in this office.
