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“And the second is that my brother doesn’t think it’s necessary.”
Before I could ask for clarification, the door opened, and Boone stepped inside. “Lessia’s home, and we’ve been summoned to Gideon’s for burgers,” he said as he closed the door. “Royce is on crowd control, so we probably have about twenty minutes before both of our phones blow up and twenty-one before they get suspicious.” He spoke to Keene but kept his eyes on me, clearly assessing me.
I’d lived in and around alpha males long enough, and was old enough, that even though my natural knee-jerk reaction called for me to match his challenge stare for stare, I kept my attitude in check, letting him look his fill before turning back to Keene. “So, your brother Gideon is the one who’s in trouble?” I asked, remembering enough poker gossip and venting to know he had three brothers.
Keene shook his head. “Gideon is the one who thinks protection isn’t necessary, which makes no sense.” He looked over at his brother, who nodded in agreement. “Gideon is the most protective of all of us. He’s the oldest and a pain in all of our asses. He’s the reason we all have our own security protocols. I—we—don’t understand why he’d allow a family member to run loose with threats against them without doing something about it.”
“Who’s the family member?” Curiosity had gotten the better of me, and I snapped my mouth shut, wishing I could take the words back. It didn’t matter in the long run, and I still hoped I could get out of the conversation without being backed into a corner and forced to accept a job the client didn’t want anyone to have and one I certainly didn’t want.
Keene started to answer, but his brother cut him off. “That information is need-to-know. Unless you agree to the assignment, you don’t.”
“So, why haven’t you talked to Gideon? You know, asked him why he’s acting out of character?” I was grasping at straws, but I knew if push came to shove, I would do this favor for Keene if he asked. I owed him that. Owed him so much more than that. But damn if I wanted to. I might not be ready to join the dead, but I sure as hell wasn’t sure I wanted to be part of the living again.
Boone spoke up, “Told us to leave it be, that he had it handled. But we checked. The guard assigned to them wasn’t qualified to get a job as a mall cop, let alone protect someone like—” He cut himself off, took a breath, and paced over to his brother’s side table to pour himself three fingers worth of whatever alcohol was in the decanter before starting again. “The person in question has received quite a bit of hate mail, fans have tried and failed to gain access to their home in the past, and several groups have recently targeted them, protesting at events they attend. The threats have turned more and more serious as time has gone on. Now, particularly, they seem to have an individual whose obsession and focus has become past the point of creepy and deep into disturbed and dangerous. We’ve gotten reports of this person getting through security into what should have been secure dressing rooms and hotels. They’ve even snuck in and left ‘gifts’ at random locations that are not common knowledge or easy to access, like seats of vehicles or tables at restaurants.”
He downed the contents in the shot glass in one go, motioning to Keene and me in an unspoken question. We both shook our heads, and Keene continued. “I don’t understand why our brother is acting so out of character. But we aren’t going to sit back and let something happen to—”
Boone cut him off. “I know it’s not fair to saddle you with this, but Keene and I were able to strong-arm the company they work for into hiring you full-time. You don’t work for us, nor have you officially trained here, so we aren’t breaching any contract parameters. Make no mistake, the people who hired you are worried about the danger, but our family member is going to throw a fit that we interfered. This isn’t necessarily going to be pleasant.”
I took the warning for what it was, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I sighed, looking at Keene. “You calling a marker in for this?” I asked, wanting it crystal clear that I wasn’t accepting the job happily but that I would do it honorably. Our code might be archaic to some, but anyone who had fought in combat lived by it. Keene had saved my life—I knew that without a doubt. I literally owed him for every breath I took. He was my brother, though not by blood. If he wanted me on babysitter duty, I would take the mission on with as much gusto and attention as I had anyone assigned to me when I was enlisted.
“Yes.” The answer was immediate and resolute. I stood, extending my hand to his, grasping it at the wrist in a warrior’s hold. “Then I guess you have yourselves a personal security officer, gentleman.”
Boone plopped down in the seat next to me, and I realized just how worried he was. Whomever they were concerned about, they really loved them. “Now, can I know who exactly I’m supposed to be protecting?” I asked.
Keene smirked, his humor returning now that he knew I was on board. “Our baby sister.”
Fuck.
Chapter 4
Alessia
Somethingwasup.Iwasn’t sure what it was yet, but you could be damn sure I would get to the bottom of it. Boone had disappeared immediately after assisting me in taking out the trash—not that he’d let me join in on any of the fun. Royce hadn’t even let me say hi to Keene or get a better look at the excellent male specimen who was his friend, whisking Gideon and me out of the building before I had a chance to do much more than blink. Gideon looked just as suspicious as I did, and that in itself was a red flag. My brothers were like the four musketeers. All for one and one for all or, more accurately, all against one when it came to them and anyone else. That their leader was left out of the loop boded poorly for at least one of us. Normally, I would say that would be Gideon, but the looks Royce gave me when he thought I wasn’t looking had me worried.
“Aunt Lessia!” I turned at the excited shout, leaning down to hug the bouncing little girl and stumbling back a step as she flung herself at me.
“Hello, my darlin’,” I cooed, wrapping her in a tight hug. “How is it you grow even prettier every time I see you? And I hear you aced your science quiz. I’m so proud of you.” It was important to me that my niece saw herself as capable and smart as well as beautiful. We were born with our genetics—to me, that wasn’t something to be proud of. It was something one used, like wealth you inherited or knowledge your parents passed down to you, like learning how to change a tire. In my case, it was my father teaching me how to dismantle and reassemble a Glock when I was eight in less time than some people could blink.
She smiled at me, her deep blue eyes a carbon copy of her dad’s, and my heart jerked a bit. Family was everything, and that right there was what I needed. “How long are you in town this time? Do we have time for mani-pedis tomorrow?” She practically bounced from foot to foot in excitement, with my arms still wrapped around her, causing us both to sway.
Gideon rolled his eyes, and I forced myself to hold my family persona in place. I might need my family, but they didn’t know me, the real me, anymore. For a family that valued each other more than anything, we certainly kept a lot of secrets. We hadn’t even realized Gideon was married all those years ago—let alone expecting a baby—until he called to tell us that his wife had died in childbirth. I didn’t even know he was seeing someone, but considering it was ten years ago and I was just a teenager in high school, that wasn’t completely unexpected. Though I certainly got a crash course in baby rearing. With Gideon’s hands full of learning everything he could in anticipation of taking over Accardi Tactical, child care had been left largely to me. There was no better birth control for a sixteen-year-old than a newborn baby to take care of, that was for sure. Diapers and sleepless nights and endless crying were better than any sex-ed class.
“Do you need some girl time?” I asked with sympathy. We were two against a horde, and the overprotectiveness I had to deal with, having four older brothers, was almost as bad as being the only grandchild and niece surrounded by male relatives.
She nodded. “Do you think they can get us in last minute?”
I smiled and finally let her loose from my arms. “I think we can persuade them.” I winked at her before looking over her head at my brother. “As long as your dad says I can steal you away after school tomorrow.”
Gia laughed. “Tomorrow is Saturday, Aunt Lessia.”
Gideon looked grumpy, but I knew he realized how much his daughter needed a female role model, and heaven help her, I was it. If he knew what happened during our so-called “spa days” I wouldn’t be allowed to see the little munchkin until she turned eighteen.
“Of course, you can spend time with your aunt,” he said. “Though why a ten-year-old needs a mani-pedi, I will never understand or agree with. Can’t you guys just go to the movies or get ice cream, like you did when you were six?”
He would never know that those ice cream dates began with lessons in self-defense. I changed the subject before Gia could say anything that might give us away. “I’m thinking of taking a step back from modeling. Not quitting,” I said in a rush before anyone could cheer. It was no secret my brothers disapproved of my public profession, and Gia would love to have me around on a more permanent basis. “Just cutting back a bit. My contracted photoshoots with Valencia wrap up soon, and after that there are some public events I need to attend. But I’m not going to renew my contract with them. I’m going to start being pickier with what I do and who I do it with.”
“Getting burned out?” Royce asked, looking at me critically. Gideon did the same, and I averted my eyes, staring at the roaring fire Gideon had started. I loved his backyard—it was large, private, and comfortable. I could be myself there, apart from the rest of the world. But even being myself personality-wise, I couldn’t fail to remember that there were pieces of me even my loved ones couldn’t know about. Like the reason I was pulling back was that my popularity was too much. It was hard to do your work for your country when your cover persona was front and center in everyone’s minds. I couldn’t risk anyone piecing together my travel habits with the kills I made. True, I only completed a few assignments a year, and most were made to look like accidents or natural causes, but the fact was I walked a tightrope between being popular enough to get the jobs that took me to the places I needed to go and so recognizable that I couldn’t continue to do my current job. Though, Royce’s words made my chest tighten for just a moment.
