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Jessie could hear the anxiety in her husband’s voice. It was a reflection of the tension he’d admitted to her that he was feeling. He wanted to keep her safe, to be her ever-present protector. But he was also the leader of the police unit searching for a serial killer. He couldn’t do either job effectively if he tried to do both. So this was the uncomfortable accommodation they’d made. Fortunately, Jessie’s independent wealth eased the financial burden of hiring multiple full-time bodyguards. But it didn’t ease Ryan’s feelings of inadequacy.
“A fair question,” Grover acknowledged. “To be honest, I think Jessie is in the most secure situation of anyone here. Because of all the personal threats she’s faced in the past, she’s turned this home into a veritable fortress. If she never left the house, I’d say my services wouldn’t be required at all. But that’s not realistic, what with visiting different doctors and such. Still, I think I can handle things on the whole. My bigger concerns are for Hannah and Kat.”
Jessie felt Hannah tense up beside her and gave her sister’s hand what she hoped was a comforting squeeze.
“I hinted at this earlier, but after further review, we’ve decided to bring in another security officer to focus exclusively on Kat Gentry. As you all know, she’s been spending the weekend with her boyfriend, Mitch Connor, who is a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputy, so we haven’t felt the need for imminent action. But Mitch has to head back to work today, and since that’s well out of town, we need to add some protection. So, I’ve chosen to assign our top female protection officer to Kat. She’ll keep a low profile while Kat works. The hope is that Ash Pierce will be on the lookout for some big dude sticking close to her and won’t notice our person.”
“Not to be offensive,” Hannah said, “but I’ve seen what Ash Pierce can do up close, even to big, experienced dudes. Are you sure your gal is up to the task?”
“I feel pretty good about our choice,” Grover replied. “Her name is Gila Jabarin. She’s a thirty-two-year-old veteran of the Israeli Defense Force. But she wasn’t just a regular soldier. She served in their elite counter-terrorism Oketz Unit before moving on to their special forces “Red Unit,” which was created to behave like the enemy in training missions, where they would challenge the Israeli version of the Navy Seals, called Shayatet 13. She has extensive experience with demolitions and weapons, including sniper training. And she's an expert in hand-to-hand combat. In fact, before I brought her on board, I had her spar with several other team members. The only one who bested her was Rufus, and it was pretty close."
“Sounds like she’s perfect,” Jessie said. “Why haven’t we met her yet?”
Grover and Rufus exchanged rueful smiles. The second in command, a former U.S. special forces soldier who looked like an Olympic gymnast and sported a dark-haired buzzcut, answered that question.
“Because she’s not the most client-friendly team member we have," he said. "Gila's personality has been described as…abrasive. So we've been giving her lower-profile gigs while she gets her feet wet. But we figured that charm wasn’t as high a priority as skill for this assignment. She’s headed to meet Kat right now. Fingers crossed it goes well.”
“So if Jessie and I are here?” Hannah asked Rufus, "What willyoube doing?”
Again, the two bodyguards looked at each other. Jessie didn’t love the vibe they gave off. This time, Grover took the lead.
“Actually,” he said tentatively, “we have a different recommendation for you, Hannah.”
Hannah’s expression suggested she was already suspicious.
“Why do I feel like the family dog being told it’s about to go live on a farm in the country?”
“I wouldn’t put it quite that way,” Grover replied.
“Howwouldyou put it?” Hannah demanded.
CHAPTER TWO
For a moment, neither former special forces soldier spoke, somehow both temporarily cowed by an eighteen-year-old girl. After an interminable silence, to Jessie’s relief, Grover finally answered.
“With everyone’s agreement,” he said, “we’d like to set you up in one of our safe houses for the time being.”
There was brief silence in which Jessie, Hannah, and Ryan tried to process the request.
“Why?” Hannah finally asked. “You just said yourself that this house is a fortress. What’s the point of moving me somewhere else?”
“It’s a fortress compared to the average home, for sure,” Grover conceded. “But it’s not impenetrable. In fact, my understanding is that it was invaded once, and you and Ryan had to retreat to the panic room. And it’s not a secret that Jessie lives here, at least not to someone with Ash Pierce’s resources. She knows about this place.”
Rufus took over from there.
“Our calculation is that, while Jessie faces some risk,” he told her, “it’s more likely from Haddonfield, who we know suffered a knee injury when he attacked you at the pier. We feel good about our ability to deal with him.”
“I wouldn’t underestimate the guy,” Hannah countered. “He may only be a college student, but he’s managed to stay ahead of everyone so far.”
“We’re aware of how big a threat he is,” Rufus assured her, “however, Pierce is a trained killer, and you are almost certainly her prime target. You’re the one who ultimately ruined her plan, costing her both a big payday and her freedom. From what I gleaned from the medical team up at the Central California prison where she was being held until her escape, you also left her with a concussion that causes constant headaches. We’re guessing that more than Kat or Jessie, she wants to get revenge on the teenage girl who outmaneuvered a former CIA assassin. That’s why we want to put you somewhere off the radar.”
“Where would you take her?” Jessie asked, not loving the idea but not ready to reject it either.
At the question, she noticed Hannah let go of her hand.
“We have multiple places we use,” Grover said. “The ownership for all of them has been carefully passed through multiple corporate entities so that they can’t be tied to Security Analysis Services. The paperwork has essentially been laundered to make it impossible for anyone looking for our protectees to link the safe houses to us. We’ve selected one for Hannah that we feel really good about. And Rufus would be with her.”
Jessie looked over at her sister, who seemed to be quietly seething.
