Page 2 of Taylor’s Warrior

“You’ll probably find him in the office,” Brand replied. “Anything we can do to help?”

“Oh, it’s nothing important. Have a good day.”

Rachel’s smile broadened. “You, too, Taylor. Catch you later.”

Taylor carried on into the house and made her way to Nick’s office. When she reached the door, she wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. Once she set this ball rolling, the truth about her past would come out, and there was a very real risk she could lose friends who meant the world to her.

Yet, she had no choice. As much as she loved her father, he’d asked too much. Taylor did not have the resources to handle this alone. What she’d read between the lines of her father’s message terrified her.

She raised her hand and knocked on the door. The brisk sound shattered the ice freezing her ability to think, and as she normally would have done, she entered Nick’s domain.

“Tay? Is everything all right?”

Her face must have given her away—Nick was instantly on his feet and across the office before she could respond.

He opened the door wider. “Why don’t you come in and sit down? I’ll grab some coffee for us, then you can tell me what’s worrying you. Would you like Charity to join us?”

His genuine concern momentarily overwhelmed her and sent her ability to think haywire. “Yes. No. I don’t know.”

She took a seat as he’d indicated, perching on the edge of the armchair at the less formal end of his office. Watching him prepare two cups of coffee provided an effective if temporary distraction from the heavy weight of the matter that had brought her there.

“Here. Have some of that, and when you’re ready, tell me what’s happened. Then we can decide whether we need to bring Charity in on this.”

After a fortifying gulp of coffee, she lifted her gaze to meet that of the man who was more friend than employer. “Nick, I’m in trouble, and I need your help.”

CHAPTER 2

“Wow. I was not expecting that.”

Nick Blackmore glanced at his wife and rubbed the back of his neck. “Neither was I.”

When Taylor had asked for his help, he hadn’t expected her to tell him she needed to retrieve something from her cabin first. He’d used the opportunity to bring Charity in on the meeting, and given the turn of events following Taylor’s return, package in hand, he was glad he’d followed his instincts.

Taylor’s distress at the moment when she revealed how little time she’d lived in Texas before she and Charity had met had been heartbreakingly genuine. Nick had watched something close to awe as his wife had yet again put the meaning of her name into action and comforted her friend. He was one hell of a lucky man.

He looped his arms around her waist and tugged her gently toward him. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

On tiptoe, she kissed him gently on the lips. “Of course, I am. I’m not about to let what Tay just told us affect our friendship. It doesn’t matter how long she’s lived here—it’s just details. Our friendship means way more to both of us.” She chewed her lower lip. “I know it was a hard thing for her to do. I wish she hadn’t left so quickly, though. Do you think she’s all right?”

Despite all their efforts to persuade her otherwise, Taylor had refused to stay once she’d finished telling her story. Nick wondered if she was embarrassed—totally unnecessarily—or perhaps was even afraid they might judge her.

Two facts, however, were crystal clear. One, Taylor loved her father—it was there in everything she’d told them. Two, in Nick’s opinion, the man was pulling a dick move on his daughter, and had been from the moment he told her to leave New York. How the hell could any parent tell their child to rip up their entire life like that?

As for his wife’s worried question, Nick wanted to say yes, that he was sure his wife’s best friend was fine, but the truth was, he wasn’t sure at all. “I have an idea. Why don’t you go and check on her?”

“I will, but before I go, what’s your gut telling you about this?” She pointed at the items Taylor had left with them.

Nick picked up the flash drive and turned it over between his fingers. “That it’s bad news,” he said gravely. Wondering what was on it that warranted such a high capacity, he was about to slot it into his laptop when Charity slapped his wrist.

“Really? Just like that? You’re going to plug a drive into your laptop without taking any precautions?” She folded her arms and leveled a piercing glare at him. “See, this is why I can’t leave you alone for five minutes. Have I taught you nothing?”

He’d clearly committed an almost unforgivable computing faux pas. “Would it help if I said words like ‘firewall’ and ‘anti-virus’?”

If his wife’s stony expression was any indication, clearly not. Not enough, at any rate. He braced himself for the incoming lecture.

“You have no idea where that drive’s come from, if the source is trustworthy or not… there could be any kind of malware on it, and it could do untold damage to our network.”

“True, but in my own defense, I wasn’t planning to do it without scanning the drive first.” He wasn’t quite that much of an idiot. At least, he hoped he wasn’t.