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“What’s wrong?” Steph asked as he moved swiftly toward her.
“I’m not sure,” he replied, sliding his sweater over his head and slipping into his loafers. “Lock the door after me when I leave and—no—” he said, suddenly changing his mind. “You shouldn’t be alone.”
Striding across the room and entering his closet, he found a long-sleeved, fleecy sweatshirt, a pair of running pants, and fetched a pair of socks from his dresser.
“I don’t want to scare you,” he declared as he carried the garments back to her, “but I’ll feel better if you’re with one of my guys if I have to leave.”
“Leave? Now?” she exclaimed, climbing from the bed.
“Put these on,” he said, handing her the clothes. “I don’t think that will happen, but just in case you shouldn’t be by yourself.”
“Can you please tell me what’s happening?”
“I have some uninvited guests,” he said as she dressed, “and I don’t like it. Yeah, that’ll work,” he continued, eyeing her in the black top.
Though the clothes hung loose around her, at least she’d be comfortable and warm.
“It’s really cozy, like being wrapped in a blanket, but I wish I had my own stuff.”
“That’s the least of your problems,” he retorted, taking her hand and leading her out the door. “You’ll stay with one of my men in the security room. That’s the safest place in the house and he’ll be monitoring everything. If the situation goes south and he needs to get you out of here, he can.”
“Who are these visitors?” she pressed, almost having to run to keep up with him.
“I suppose you may as well know,” he muttered, turning down another hallway. “A car stopped at the gate claiming Oleg and Ivan Zeppelin want to see me, but until I know it’s them for sure, they’re not getting in.”
“Holy crap. How will you keep them out?”
“This place is like Fort Knox,” he said confidently, stopping at the double doors and punching the code into the keypad. “Even if it is Oleg and Ivan, I might tell them I’m busy. It’s bizarre they just showed up with no warning.”
“What do you think it means?”
“I have no idea,” he replied, walking inside, the door automatically clicking shut behind him. “Steph, this is Benny. He’s head of security.”
“Hi, Steph.”
“Hello, Benny.”
“Sit here,” Marco continued, guiding her to a couch, then lowering his voice, he added, “and stay put, understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Any luck, Benny?” Marco asked, marching across the room to stand behind him and stare at the monitor. “Do we know who’s in that car?”
“Not a chance, the windows are heavily tinted, but Joe’s on his way to check personally. He’s just waiting to get the okay from you before he does.”
“What do you make of this?” Marco asked solemnly.
“Well—it seems to me if they were here to cause trouble they would have by now.”
“I had the same thought,” Marco remarked. “They certainly haven’t arrived with guns blazing. Mind you, they’d be sitting ducks where they are.”
“I wonder if there’s a problem and they don’t trust your normal channels of communication.”
“That’s a thought,” Marco said, “but it would have to be a pretty big problem for them to show up like this.”
“There’s something else. They must have been keeping tabs on you to know you were here.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Marco muttered. “Liam’s been keeping tabs on them, and he’s bound to be close by as well. Okay, Benny, hit the bright lights over the car, tell Joe to wear his earpiece and proceed, but make sure he takes a few guys with him.”
