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“I can’t get Girard to take some fucking time off and go home to finish healing his arm properly.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“He’s intent on protecting that girl,” Brody continued. “And I’ve told him he should wait. Sure, he’s almost healed, but he should wait until everything’s better before he resumes his duties. Instead, he’s never fucking stopped.” He shook his head. “It’s like I’m not even charge of security half the time.” He laughed as he dropped into one of the small armchairs and kicked his booted feet onto the low table, crossing his ankles. “Why do I even bother?” He laughed again. “Telling the men what to do can be like herding goddamn cats.”
“Because you’re dedicated,” I reminded him. “And because you enjoy the work you do. Perhaps Girard is the same way?”
But Brody shook his head. “No…I mean, yes, of course he’s dedicated. He wouldn’t have risen up the ranks so quickly unless he was, but this feels like more. Like there’s a reason he’s doing this that he hasn’t shared with me. It feels quite personal, actually. Like he has a cause all of his own to answer with Jo Everly.”
“Well, perhaps he does.” I joined Brody in the seating area. “I appreciate his loyalty, though. I always will.”
“What do you mean,perhaps he does?” Brody met my gaze and moved his legs, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “What personal investment could Girard have in Jo Everly? He’s only been aware of her for about two nanoseconds, and he should want to have nothing to do with her after his first protection assignment with her led to his injury. This makes no sense, really.”
I sighed. “I think it makes perfect sense. After her accident, he came to me with concerns about how much danger she was in.”
“Yeah, that would have been a good thing for all of us to know.” Jackson walked the edge of my office, pausing at the window, still grinning, even though the subject matter was on the verge of becoming more serious.
“I had no idea that things would escalate so quickly,” I said. “Who could have predicted that?” Maybe I should have. I might have been more distracted by Jo than I wanted to admit, but there wouldn’t have been any particular reason to assume that since the death of her father and her sudden arrival into the corporate world, she had such a big target on her.
Besides, many CEOs battled the odd threat here and there, and the threats rarely became anything truly serious.
But if her father’s and my own suspicions about what was going on at Gold Moon were accurate, I should have been readier for something like this. I should have had people watching out for her from the get-go. Hell, her dad had died in mysterious circumstances. She’d referenced that fact herself.
I shouldn’t have let that escape my attention. Still, I was back in the game, now. Taking all necessary precautions to keep her safe as well as my pack.
I spread my hands. “Okay. Look, all cards on the table. I think it’s like this for Girard,” I said. “When we were at the hospital after the wreck, he approached me with some wider concerns about Jo’s protection detail. He’s worried that some other members of the pack might not understand why a non-pack member is being allocated so many resources.”
Jackson laughed. “Oh,Iunderstand completely, man. No worries here.”
I shot him a quick glare before continuing my conversation with Brody. “I think this might be Girard’s way of protecting me. If he does the job, no one else needs to be pulled into it, and we won’t ruffle too many feathers, you know?”
“Is she worth it?” Brody’s question was quiet but pointed.
Still, it was one almost not worth answering, and I only nodded once. It was really none of their business, anyway. It was nobody else’s business at all. My pack got a lot of leeway in terms of personal freedoms. I wasn’t quite the dictator other alphas were…but I wouldn’t tolerate any questions about my decisions around Jo. I wouldn’t stand for it, and my wolfcertainlywouldn’t stand for it.
I carried on talking. “It also fits with the direction I want to take the pack. We need to do more in the wider community for those who don’t have the same access to aid as we do when they need it, and our innate guarantees of help. Our pack has a lot of influence, and I think we can use it to benefit a lot of people.” I paused. “I think it’s the direction my dad would have wanted to take things as well.”
Brody nodded. “I get that. And how is your dad?” Each of my closest friends had witnessed Dad’s descent into his depression and seen his current state. They understood how his health still impacted my decisions, and none of them berated me for it.
“About the same.” I felt for my cell phone in my pocket. “But you’ve just reminded me. With Mom going on the trip, I need to hire extra help for Dad’s nurse for while Mon’s away.”
Brody scoffed and shook his head. “Don’t even get me started about that trip,” he grumbled. “Do you have any idea what kind of a logistical nightmare you’ve just thrown in my lap at the last minute? I mean, I get your mom needs a break, but couldn’t I have had more warning to get everything in place? Hours…you gave me literal hours.”
I shrugged, his plight falling on deaf ears. “I knew you could do it. You always do.”
“Damn right, I always do.”
He was funny when he grumbled like this because no matter how displeased he seemed, he thrived on a challenge.
I argued with him all the same. It was like a sport, even when we actually agreed. “I think I might have done you a favor, anyway,” I countered. “I gave Royce to the ladies, and I’ve arranged for them to go to Jamaica for a few days and stay put. Their situation is under control. It’s easy to monitor, and your attention won’t need to be so divided. I’ve bought you some time for the next part.”
Brody laughed. “And how do you figure that?”
I shrugged. “You’ve got time to get a team onto the cruise ship now, right? And Royce is certainly able to pick out the pack members best placed to help him. He knows his shit.”
“That’s for sure,” Jackson chipped in. “He’s one scary dude.”
Brody sucked air in through his teeth. “Getting a team onto a sold-out cruise is a tall request, though.”
