Chapter 24

Luke was seated at the conference table with Caden, discussing the extensive list the office still needed when Nash came in with a courier that was at least a foot shorter than Nash, and maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet. The courier's eyes darted from Nash to Luke to Caden, then back to the open conference room door.

"I have a package for a Mr. Caden Ford?" the courier announced, holding up a small box, as if to prove he had every right to be in this room.

"That"s me." Caden pushed his chair back with a bit too much force and stood up, causing the courier to flinch. He met the courier halfway and snagged the box.

"If you could please sign here."

After signing the paperwork, his friend brought the package back to the table, and used the pocketknife he was never without, to slowly and dramatically open the box. Luke was one step away from losing his shit and snatching the box to do it himself.

"Is that the tracker?" Luke asked excitedly.

He sure as hell hoped so. He would feel better knowing that he had a way to locate Monica if anything happened. Right now, he was seconds away from begging her to move her office to his building so that he had eyes on her at all times. Since that wasn"t an option she would consider, this was the next best thing.

"It is. Tex sent me instructions this morning. Once you get Monica to agree, I can get it set up and make sure Tex has the information he needs. He"ll be able to track her movements immediately if needed."

Oh, he would get Monica to agree. There was no doubt about that. He caved when it came to Ryker because he understood she needed to look strong in front of her employees, and honestly, he wasn"t a huge fan of her spending all that time with his friend. But this was different. He needed this in order to feel better. He would go crazy with worry otherwise.

Luke pulled out his phone and shot a quick text off to her.

LUKE: Can you stop at the office when you"re done for the day? Ryker and Dom can follow you over.

Monica didn"t make him wait for an answer.

MONICA: Sure. I"m hoping to be done by six. I don"t want to stay too late tonight.

Six still meant that Monica worked an eleven-hour day. How Niles Carmichael could say she wasn"t dedicated was beyond him.

LUKE: See you later.

MONICA: Yes you will.

He smiled down at his phone. It was easy to read the teasing tone in her words. He hoped that meant she was having a good day. They rarely discussed her work, aside from her relationship with Carmichael and how what was happening affected that. He knew that by the time she got home, she didn"t want to think about work anymore. He didn"t blame her. There were better ways to spend their time.

"If that ain"t the look of a man in love, I don"t know what is." Nash teased him but Luke couldn"t deny it. He might not be ready to say the words out loud, but Nash wasn"t wrong.

He changed the subject instead. "Monica will be in around six. She"s worn the same pair of earrings since I met her, so I think those are best to use."

"Are we going to have to convince her?"

"Probably," he answered honestly.

"This should be fun to watch!" Nash banged his fist on the table with a laugh.

If he didn"t think he might need his friends' support to convince Monica, he would've kick them all out. Except Caden. He appeared to be the only one taking this seriously.

"Have we heard from Jayce and Austin?" Luke figured talking about work was a better option than punching his best friend.

"They got tied up but promised to be back tomorrow morning. Apparently, the assignment is a bit of a doozy and Jayce isn"t sure he wants to take it on yet, but we have time to decide. It"s not for a few weeks."

He should probably check in with his friend. It wasn"t like Jayce to pass on assignments. Out of the seven of them, Jayce worked the longest hours. Luke knew it was because his friend preferred to run away from his demons and he used work as an excuse. It wasn"t the healthiest lifestyle, but it seemed to work for Jayce. Passing on an assignment was a big red flag.

The afternoon passed quickly.He, Nash, and Caden met with two local regional representatives about possible assignments. Both required minimal manpower and could be handled within a couple of days.

Granted that was the same thing they thought when they accepted the Fletcher assignment and look how that turned out for them. They were still unofficially dealing with that headache. Although, it landed him Monica, so who was he to complain?

It was a little before six when Monica strolled into the building. Like a moth to a flame, he met her halfway and wrapped her up in his arms.

"I missed you today."

Monica sighed and snuggled into his hug. He apparently wasn"t the only one who needed their connection.

"Is it crazy to miss someone after only a week of knowing them? Two weeks ago, I would stay later at work and go home like nothing was amiss. Now I"m itching to leave at a decent hour just so I can see you."

Monica had no idea how happy she'd just made him. "I don"t think it"s crazy at all," he whispered into her hair.

She pulled away before he was ready to let go, but considering they were in his office, he reluctantly stepped back.

"You asked me here for a reason."

It wasn"t a question, so instead of giving her an answer, he guided her to the table where Caden was already set up. Better to jump right in.

"Caden received the tracker this morning and we'd like to attach it to your earrings."

Monica"s hands went to the diamond studs she seemed to never take off. He wondered if they were a gift from someone or something she rewarded herself with.

"Will they be noticeable or damage my earrings in any way?"

At least she wasn"t writing the request off. Luke hadn"t been sure what her initial reaction would be, now that it was no longer a hypothetical question.

"No, I"m told they are microscopic and won"t damage anything. From what Tex tells me, dozens of women have them because of their significant others" line of work."

"Who"s Tex?"

Caden smiled. "A computer genius who makes me look like an amateur. He works with some of the best teams in the world. His resources are endless and the kind of guy you want in your corner if the shit hits the fan."

Luke hoped things never got that bad, but he would rather be safe than kicking himself in the ass later for not taking every precaution imaginable.

"Are you going to let us put the trackers on your earrings?"

Monica looked to be thinking it through. It was a good sign that she had asked questions rather than shutting the idea down. If push came to shove, he would promise sexual favors to get what he wanted. It was a shitty thing to do, but desperate times and all.

"Yes, but only because I feel like Fletcher isn"t going to stop until he"s ruined my life. If he comes after me, I would want you all to find me."

He would always go after her no matter what. This just made his life a little easier.

"Thank you." He leaned into her space and kissed her neck. "You don"t know how much this means to me. I'll feel better knowing you"re safe."

Monica dazzled him with her smile. "And that"s reason number two I"m doing it. I don"t want you to worry every day."

Damn, she was amazing. He was going to do everything in his power to keep her safe.