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“The house hasn’t been stocked with food yet, so I went to get you food. But I forgot to, you know, ask you what you wanted until I was faced with three options, so I got a little of everything hoping you might find something to your liking in here.” While his words still held a professional confidence, his pink ears and the buffet before me let me know he was nervous that he’d screwed up.
“So we have,” I started, moving to the table and eyeing the various options. “Greek, Chinese… and McDonalds.” I couldn’t control the laughter that bubbled over and broke free. Evan took a step back, ready to flee in embarrassment when I shot a hand out, fingers clamping down on his wrist. “I’m not laughing at you, just the fact that I know the Greek restaurant is overpriced, the Chinese place can be iffy depending on whoever is working that particular day, and where did you even find a McDonalds?”
“Across from the Greek place, I think it’s new.” His rigid posture was due to the contact, I knew, so I released him and watched as he visibly relaxed. A very different reaction than the lingering touches on my hand and elbow from his boss.
“I’ll travel the culinary world and take a bit of everything on one condition.” I met his gaze and gave him a warm smile. “You have to join me.”
“I’m on duty, Ms Harrington.” He glanced back at the door like he was expecting to be caught in my room by my father, or worse, his boss.
I let out an irritated growl as I glared up into his green eyes. “Your job is to protect me, which you are still doing if you sit your ass down and eat with me. You’ve got me in your sights and are on hand in case I choke on anything. Imagine if youdidn’tjoin me. I could have an accident with a piece of sweet and sour pork and you wouldn’t be there to help. Thenno onehas a job.”
Evan’s focus shifted from the door to me, his eyebrow raising as he looked at me like I’d grown another head. “That’s a pretty elaborate scenario you thought up just now.”
“It’s a gift. Sit.” I took one side of the Victorian style sofa and held out a hand to the other side for him to join. A shimmer of self satisfaction spread through me when he slowly moved around the table and sat on the opposite side of the sofa. I grabbed an eggroll and Evan grabbed a single chicken nugget, tossing the entire thing in his mouth as I took my first bite. “So,” I ventured when we’d fallen into a good eating pattern. I wasn’t one for silence when I had a chance to learn more about the agency protecting me than what I could scrounge up on the internet. “How’d you come to work for the Four Musketeers?”
He couldn’t hide the surprised and amused chuckle that burst from him. “I was looking for something after my discharge, and strangely enough it was Fitz who found me at the VA and offered me the job after physical therapy was completed. Not to mention that RP took over the medical costs and actually got me out of the VA and into a private hospital.” There was admiration in his tone that I felt in my heart. Whatever had happened to him during his service, he’d felt broken, and Remington Security had given him a second chance. It was clear in the way he recounted the introduction, emotion just under the surface of each word.
“Why’d you get discharged? And from where? What branch?” I couldn’t help the rush of questions that were all incredibly personal and none of my damn business. But it was the first glimpse at the humans behind my protection, and I was starving to know more about even one of the men guarding my life. I wasn’t sure if he’d answer, but let out a small breath as he finally did.
“Marines,” he answered first, a subject easier to answer, I assumed. “And it was a medical discharge if that weren’t obvious. One IED and a shredded calf later, I was back home before my first tour was up.” Evan pointed to the Quarter Pounder sitting untouched and I held up a hand to let him know I wasn’t taking it. He fisted the burger and took a huge bite.
“You’re more open than your boss, you know.” I sighed and grabbed another eggroll; my bite more agitated than I’d meant. Both at him and into the eggroll.
“More open than you too.” At once, that pink was back to the tips of his ears and he was slowly putting down the burger, a look of horror on his face. “I’m sorry, I don’t know-”
“What are you talking about, Evan.” The even tone of my voice was for both of us. I was trying to hide any sign that I was worried about what he’d uncovered, and I wanted my tone to reflect that I expected him to spill his guts immediately.
“It’s.. Really I…” he stammered for a few moments before his shoulders slumped in defeat. “I came across your degree shoved into a drawer in the library.” He looked apologetic. “I wasn’t snooping or anything; it was just there when I was looking for a stupid piece of paper. But still, we were briefed that you’d never attended college.”
In my inherent need to protect any part of my private life, I bit back the urge to lash out. It was second nature when cornered and on the ropes to start hitting wildly back. Defend, deflect. But his other words halted me. They’d been briefed about my lack of higher education, by Jack Kasey, no doubt. They’d found nothing.Damn, Scout, she thought bemused.You’re as good as you always bragged you were.
“You have a man that can probably hack Russia, and you found my degree by opening a drawer?” I asked, trying to hide my giggle at the absurdity of our entire conversation. Even he seemed to smirk at that. “Yes, I have a masters in finance. Yes, I hid it from my father and his minions. I guess I physically hid it too by keeping it here instead of on display back at the condo.”
“Why?” It was his turn to be blunt.
My humor dimmed into a small huff of exhaustion as I contemplated how much to expose to this man I’d only known a few hours. He’d already gotten more out of me than I had shared with anyone in years. I studied his pale green eyes, looking for an explanation of what made it so easy to open up to him.
I picked up a fork and stabbed a cucumber sitting atop my Greek salad, nibbling like a distracted bunny before giving a small shrug. “Honestly, I spent a lot of time making people think I didn’t give a shit, and I like having something that’s all mine. My secrets might be lame, but they’re all I’ve got.” I eyed Evan suspiciously. “Who else knows?”
“About your degree? No clue but I haven’t told anyone. It doesn’t alter the job we do, doesn’t put you in danger, and if you kept it hidden, you had reasons that weren’t mine to investigate. But you should know, Mullins ordered what one could only describe as a probe into your life. Kasey will find out pretty quickly.”
I wanted to break apart at that moment. To grieve the end of my last shred of happiness. Though how happy had I ever been playing the role of two different people? I’d always felt hollow in both worlds, like pieces of me were missing. Hell, maybe the forced merging, at least in the eyes of the men hired to protect me, might ease some of the ache I’d felt for so long. I couldn’t change the facts, just mitigate the fallout.
“As long as it doesn’t get back to my father, I don’t care. God forbid the men protecting me know that I have a head for finance.” I rolled my eyes and gave a dismissive wave, hoping he’d take my acceptance at face value.
I noticed the frown on Evan’s face and mirrored it myself before systematically letting the muscles in my face relax. “What?” I finally asked when I knew it wouldn’t come out as a bite.
“You might want to tell Mullins sooner rather than later if you don’t want your father looped in. His reports are forwarded to Harrington’s camp daily.”
That was the moment I felt every drop of blood leave my face, fleeing only to crowd my already pounding heart. “His camp? Like… Dominic?” Was that my breathy panicked voice? Funny, it didn’t sound remotely close to my usual tone. I guess it fit since I couldn’t seem to catch a full deep breath.
“Dominic Parker? Yeah.” He seemed to think his response over before continuing. “He’s your father’s assistant and probably as close as family, I highly doubt he isn’t the one who delivers the reports to Harrington.” He eyed me warily. “What’s wrong with Dominic Parker?”
“How much time do you have?” I replied with an acidic tone without stopping to think.
All at once, Evan’s body language changed. He’d gone from someone resembling a casual friend and confidant back to the trained and highly effective guard he was. His eyes narrowed, not in anger but in a move of studying my own body’s response to the man we were discussing. His brain was working all of the ways Dominic could be a threat.
“Dominic has been in my life in some way or another since I was 15,” I explained with an exasperated sigh. “He worked his way up from an aide on my father’s re-elections and became invaluable to the senator.” My voice lowered in a mocking tone that was a subpar imitation in sound but dead on in words. Dominic had been glued to my father’s hip for most of my remembered life. I’d only had two years without my mother before I’d watched my father slowly but surely replace me with a smug young man who seemed to embody everything Robert had wanted in a child. Everything I never was. Still, I continued. “You’re wrong about him being as close as family though.” Evan raised an eyebrow questioningly. “I’m his only family and Dom has always been treated with far more devotion and respect. He’s the family dad wanted.”
