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“Of course, I’ll do anything to keep Julie safe,” Nash replied, standing and acknowledging Steve, then he locked gazes with Aaron. “I’ve also called in a few favors from friends in the force in Brisbane, as well as a few of my…other contacts to help me dig into the reputation of this security company, Shield, and this gentleman’s profile.” Nash’s cheery smile was nowhere to be seen tonight. His blond surfer good looks trained into a frown, and mouth drawn down into a hard line.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Aaron replied lightly. “And what did you find?”
“That Shield has an excellent standing in the field,” Nash replied. “The company has been around for nearly ten years and has grown their clientele as well as their good name over that time. And the owner of the company has great respect for you.”
The last comment seemed to take Aaron a little by surprise, as he drew back into his seat.
“So, I’m happy to leave Julie in your capable hands,” Nash said, eliciting a smile from Aaron. “For now,” he qualified, and Aaron narrowed his gaze.
“That’s great, thanks, Nash,” Daniella’s voice broke the simmering tension in the room. “My brother, Dean, also highly recommends Shield. So, I think we can rest assured that Aaron will do a good job of guarding Julie, as well as guiding us through the next few days. Along with your help, and that of the Queensland police force, if we need it, of course,” Daniella added quickly.
Just as Nash sat down, Dale stood and took his place, garnering everyone’s attention. “What does it all mean, though?” He drummed his fingers on the table. “How is it going to affect Julie? And us? And the station? I want to know what your plans are to protect her.” It was Dale’s turn to cast a belligerent glance toward Aaron.
What was it with all the men in her life? It was nice that they all cared so much about her, and were determined to protect her. But really? Couldn’t they tone down the testosterone a little? All this male posturing was getting a bit much. Aaron seemed to be taking it all in his stride, however.
“I mean, we’ve been through all this before, when Skylar was under threat. Even with a damn good cop by her side, he still couldn’t stop her from being abducted,” Dale’s voice was a low growl. “What does this guy want? How much of a threat does he pose?”
Steve and Daniella exchanged glances and then indicated that Aaron should answer this one.
“Unfortunately, I can’t answer you, yet. What I can say, is that Skylar’s case was very different. You had an armed and dangerous ex-military criminal hunting her down. Julie’s stalker is most likely a disgruntled, slightly unhinged member of the public. We don’t have a reliable profile put together on this guy yet, so I can’t say for sure what he will and won’t do. But…” Aaron held up a hand as Dale started to mutter under his breath “…in most documented stalker cases, especially the ones I’ve worked, the stalker rarely, if ever, becomes physically violent. It rarely escalates to a state where the client is under immediate threat. And if that does happen, we often have plenty of warning. These sorts of guys become absolutely obsessed with their target, and will try and contact them and get close to them in any way they can. Of course, we’ll take nothing for granted. We don’t have a lot to go on yet. I’ve got a specialist looking into the last letter he sent to Julie, so he’ll be able to give us a hint as to what kind of threat this guy is soon.”
This surprised Julie a little. Aaron seemed to be downplaying the seriousness of this stalker to the group around the table. Perhaps it was a deliberate ploy, so they wouldn’t freak out.
“I’ll also remain close by Julie’s side at all times, that is the role of a personal protection agent.”
Julie stifled a groan. They’d talked it over this afternoon, and she’d conceded that his presence as a consultant had been thrown out the window when the stalker called. He was determined to be her bodyguard, after all. Just what she needed, Aaron Powell invading her personal space, twenty-four-seven.
“And as to how this will affect the rest of you, Steve and I are working on getting a raft of security measures up and running. That’ll entail things such as an upgrade to make the front gate work via remote control, so you can lock and unlock it from a car, or even from the lodge. It’ll mean more cameras around the outside of the lodge, the stables, and other outbuildings, as well as the perimeter fencing. But nothing intrusive or personal,” Aaron added, when he noticed a look of dismay pass between Bindi and Sasha. “This will all be legal and above board. These security measures are designed to help keep an eye on the sections of the station that are usually out of sight. They’re not intended to spy on the staff in any way.”
Julie heard his unspoken message loud and clear, as long as everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing, there wouldn’t be a problem. She hoped the others understood that, too.
“But other than that, we’ve decided the station will keep operating as per normal. Everyone should continue on with their daily routine like nothing has changed, but of course you should keep your eyes and ears open for anything out of the ordinary, and report it to me at once. There is no need to put this whole place into lockdown. At least, not yet.”
Skylar gave a horrified gasp. “Is that something that might happen?” Her gaze flew to her mother, and Nash lay a soothing hand on her shoulder. Julie clearly remembered that when Skylar had been under threat, Daniella had wanted her to come back and shelter at Stormcloud. But Nash and Skylar had decided she’d be safer staying with Nash, that way the resort could continue to run as usual. Should Julie do the same thing? Offer to leave the station, to remove the threat from everyone around her? Like Aaron had just said, this was a completely different scenario than that of Skylar’s, but still…perhaps she could keep it in mind. She didn’t want to leave the security of Stormcloud, but if it came down to it, she would, if it meant keeping everyone else safe.
Sasha, Bindi, and Alek all looked alarmed at the idea. They wouldn’t want to lose their jobs if the station shut down.
“Not if we can help it,” Daniella replied. “I’m sure that between Aaron and Nash, they’ll find this guy in a day or two, and we can all go back to our normal lives. And jobs.” Julie knew that last words had been meant to soothe the team’s fears. But even if they did shut down Stormcloud, they’d always look after their staff. They were the backbone of the resort, and without them, this would all be nothing.
“What about the muster?” Dale said into the silence. “We’ve got a crew coming in three days.” He cast a worried frown in Steve’s direction. “Do we go ahead with that?”
“Yes, that will continue as planned,” Steve replied calmly.
Julie had almost forgotten about that in all the happenings today. Was now the right time to bring up the fact she’d be going on the muster as well? Because she wasn’t going to miss this for anything. She’d been delighted when Skylar had asked if she’d like to take the job. Usually they hired in a cook; it would’ve been too much for Skylar to prepare all the guest’s gourmet meals and cook for up to twenty hungry ringers as well. The cook needed to be out at the muster site, as they could often be a half-day drive away from the main lodge. It’d be too late to hire a cook now, on such short notice. They hadn’t discussed it, but if Aaron said they should all just go about their daily business, as if nothing had changed, then surely mustering fell into that category.
“Well, it looks like you’re going on the muster then, too.” Julie smiled brightly at Aaron. “Because I’m the camp cook this year.” Aaron would fit in just fine out on muster. All his years as a jackaroo would stand him in good stead. A memory of him in worn jeans, hugging his impressive thighs, wormed its way into Julie’s mind.
Aaron’s head shot up. “Not a good idea. You need to stay here, where I can control things.” His handsome face remained impassive, but she saw the telltale lines around his eyes that meant he wasn’t giving in on this one.
Now hold on just a minute.Julie’s smile turned into a frown. She might’ve just agreed to take Aaron on as a bodyguard, but that didn’t mean he could dictate the whole of her life.
