Chapter 11

I t was still another two-hour drive from the Rockport Security offices to Coventry, where Senator Granger's house is located. Illeana was still pretty quiet for the drive, but she wasn't crying anymore, which I considered a win. This time, she focused intently on reading a book. I couldn't tell what the book was, but it didn't look like it was one for the classes we were in. Whatever it was, she was enjoying it.

"Ileana," I call out softly to get her attention as I begin to slow the car down. "We're about to pull up to the gates at your house." Knowing what her father is like, I fully expect him to be waiting at the front door for us when we arrive and give a lecture on timeliness despite the fact that we were four hours away in Westhill to start with. He probably would have wanted me to break traffic laws just to get here faster.

"Thanks," she states, placing her bookmark in her book and tucking it back into the purse that's been sitting at her feet for most of the ride. "I'm sorry for whatever my father is going to say to you," she states softly, almost ashamed of what is going to be said.

"Don't ever apologize for your father or his actions, as they are not yours. I can handle him. Just remember what you promised me. Don't you dare go looking for trouble. You need to stay safe," I demand. I can tell how similar she is to all the other women at Rockport Security. It's no wonder she fits in so well with them, but she can't do the things that they all would. Not because I don't think she's capable, but because she has even more at stake than many others. She hasn't even had any sort of training.

"I know, I promised Steel," she sighs, shaking her head. "Shit!" she calls out when she looks through the front window and sees her father standing on the front step waiting for us. He’s clenching his hands at his side as he stands there waiting for us. It almost looks as if Senator Granger has aged even more since the last time I saw him, and not in a good way. The stress of everything going on must really be eating at him. That or he just isn't taking care of himself at all.

As I slow the car down further before carefully putting the SUV in park, I can make out just how angry the Senator is. His face is almost beat red, and he is already storming over to the vehicle. Thank god I chose to park where he'd reach my door before his daughters. I can only imagine what he would do if he reached her first.

"YOU!" he shouts, getting into my face as he waves his finger pointing at me. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE PROTECTING HER AND YOU FAILED!"

"Dad!" Illeana shouts as she comes around the car. I can see the minute his anger increases even more when he turns to face his daughter. His hand is shaking as he storms in her direction, forgetting about me for the moment, which is a mistake. I won't let him blame his daughter for this. She did nothing wrong except try to live her life as best as possible, considering she’s a popular senator’s daughter. "It's not Steel's fault. Usually, there is never an issue there. I've gone with Morgan before and no one ever knew who I was."

"You've been there before!?" he snarls, getting into her face.

Nope. That's it. I won't let Illeana get hurt or blamed for something that was completely out of all of our control. Stepping around the vehicle, I slide between Senator Granger and Illeana, making sure to keep my body blocking her from her father's view. "Sir," I demand, drawing his attention to me.

"Steel, I suggest you move." His tone is stern as he stares me down. "This is a family problem. You brought her here as was your job. Now you can leave."

"Excuse me, sir, but I'm not going anywhere. My job is to watch over your daughter at all times. I'm doing that job. She is not to blame for what happened and those pictures being taken. I was with her all night, ensuring no harm came to her," I calmly explain, trying to keep this as professional as possible. I need to get him to see reason and agree to the plan I and the others came up with. If I piss him off right now, he isn't going to even hear me out. That I can't have. Before I can say anything further, I feel Illeana press her hand to my back. The movement surprises me and it takes everything in me to not turn around and ask her what she’s doing. I'm hoping she is just trying to provide some silent support and not try to get into the middle of this, as that will only make things worse.

"You're right. I did hire you to look after my daughter, but we have plenty of security here on the grounds that your services won't be needed. You should be out there figuring out who is," he pauses briefly, "doing all of this instead." That was a good save on the Senator's part. I'm not sure how much he has told Illeana, but I've tried to only tell her the bare minimum.

"My team is working on figuring that out, and we have a few things that I want to present to you and discuss. It's something that shouldn't be talked about while we stand in the middle of your driveway, in the freezing cold. How about we move this conversation inside? Illeana can say hello to her sister while you and I go into your office to talk." I word it as a suggestion, but it's anything but. It's freezing outside and I won't have Illeana standing out in the cold, risking getting sick all for her father's ego.

"Fine," he finally relents, taking a step back before turning and walking toward the house. "Illeana, go freshen up for dinner and make sure your sister is ready as well."

"Thank you," Illeana calls out softly as she moves to step around me. "You didn't need to do that."

"I did, and I always will. It's my job to protect you no matter what," I answer. There was no way I was going to let her father yell at her for something out of her control.

I watch as she walks away and heads into the house, completely forgetting about the two bags of luggage she has in the back of the SUV, as well as her backpack. Whelp, looks like I'm bringing those in along with my own.

It doesn't take me long to collect the four bags and head into the house. I'm not sure where to place them, so I settle for leaving them in the open doorway, and I'll take care of them later. I place them down gently. I don't want to be accused of scratching the white-tiled floor in the entryway. As soon as I stand up fully and begin to look around, a short older woman with gray, almost white hair enters the room wearing a black and white maid outfit. The white apron has a couple of spots on the front of it, giving away that she's probably just coming from the kitchen.

"Don't worry about the bags, Mr. Steel. I'll get them taken up to the rooms for you. Mr. Granger is waiting in his office. I'd hurry. He isn't a patient man, especially when he is stressed," she explains quickly, before reaching down to grab the bags.

"Uh, thanks," I smile hesitantly. People with money really do live a completely different life from the rest of us. "Care to tell me where his office is exactly? I don't want to wander around and take any longer trying to find it."

"Oh yes, of course, dear," she smiles softly. "Go down this hall on your right. It will be the second door on the right. Just knock once before entering and wait for him to let you know to come in. And you can call me Mrs. Francine. I'm the cook and handle most of the daily house affairs for the Granger family. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me. Good luck, dear."

"Thank you, Mrs. Francine. I'll keep that in mind, though I hopefully shouldn't need anything," I answer, before turning and heading in the direction she pointed. I had half expected their housekeeper to be a rude old man to fit Senator Granger's personality. How anyone like Mrs. Francine could work for him is beyond me, but good for her. I hope he pays her well.

After a short walk, I reach the door indicated by Mrs. Francine and knock once, before waiting for instructions to enter, which never come. After a long pause, I knock once again, harder this time to ensure it can't be missed. After hearing some shuffling of papers on the other side, I finally hear an answer.

"Come in," Senator Granger calls out sternly.

Opening the door quickly, I step inside and move toward one of the brown leather armchairs in front of his desk. Just as I'm sitting down, he begins to talk. "You said that your team came up with a plan. What is it? Because so far, it looks like whoever is threatening my daughter is making a big joke out of your company."

"I understand this may be how it looks, but you didn't give us all the information to start with if this latest threat you sent us is anything to go by. It seems there is an escalating pattern, but it doesn't match what Illeana does or doesn't do. She keeps to a pretty similar routine outside of some weekend activities. So, we are trying to determine why the threats to her are escalating. Some of these threats appear to be directed more at you than her, so we are looking at that angle as well, thinking that it's tied to your campaign in some way."

"So you're saying this is my fault?" he growls, rising to his feet as he places both hands on his desk to lean in my direction.

"Not necessarily. I'm just saying we are looking at this from all angles until we can begin to rule things out. If we don't, then we could miss something, and someone could get seriously hurt or, worse, killed. Is that what you want?" I don't mean to bring out the big guns like that, but he needs to understand the possibilities if we keep doing this his way. "You hired us to do a job and then didn't provide us with all the information. You tied our hands from the very beginning, and now we are playing catch up even more than we were before."

"It sure sounds like you're blaming me, Mr. Steel, and I don't take kindly to people doing that," he states firmly. His eyes flash with anger as he continues to stare me down, and his face begins to redden when he sees that I'm not going to back down. "This is not my fault. It's my daughter's fault for being reckless instead of doing what she was told. If she had just stayed living at home instead of insisting on going to a college four hours away she would have been protected. And if you had done your job watching her instead of letting her go out to party, none of those pictures would have been taken and then leaked to the press. It's your fault we are in this mess just as much as it is hers."

"Forgive me, Senator, but you really need to stop trying to push the blame onto everyone else. You chose to become a public figure, thrusting your family into the limelight. Your daughter has done everything in her power to not cause any sort of issues, but she is an adult who can make her own decisions. Where she chose to go to school is one of those. But you're right, I shouldn't have let her go to the club, but I knew she was going stir-crazy, and since almost no one at Westhill University knows who she really is, I didn't see an issue with it. I was there the whole time, keeping an eye on her, and not once did I see any cell phones or cameras pointed in her direction. She already feels bad enough for what happened and knows not to do it again, so I think you need to ease off a little on her." It may have been the wrong thing to say, telling him how he should and shouldn't parent, but I can't help but defend Illeana here. I've read her file, and I've followed her around for two weeks. She is always trying to be perfect and ensure she doesn't draw attention to herself in any sort of negative way. She messed up, so what? We all do it; it's a part of the college experience, or so I've heard. Things happen.

"I really hope you aren't trying to give me parenting advice," he states in an eerily calm voice as he sits back in his chair. "If you were, then I suggest you start coming up with something else to say because I know how to parent my own children. I've done it for twenty-one years and you don't even have a child from what I can tell, so you have no idea what you are talking about."

Well, shit, he has me there. I don't have a clue what it's like parenting a child per se, but I have watched Emma and Trevor parent Alexis as well as Shadow and Rachel with their two kids. I know it takes a village and at times you need to let the child learn on their own. A parent can't control everything despite how much they wish they could.

"Apologies, sir," I begin, trying to backtrack some and stay on his good side, not like he has one. "Would you like to hear about the plan my team has come up with to keep Illeana safe and hidden while we figure out who is behind these threats?" I'm hoping a change of subject will help me get out of the hole I just dug for myself while also trying to defend the woman who quite clearly is turning my life upside down in ways I had never expected.

"Please enlighten me as to what this plan is," he waves his hand to let me continue. I can't tell if he's being serious, but I'll give him what he's asking for.

"We want to take Illeana to a cabin. It's secluded, and she will be kept out of the public eye. She can still do her classwork online; we just need to make sure the Dean will allow her to do it for more than a week, considering the circumstances. No one will be able to find her there, and we won't allow her to use her cell phone at all. It's somewhere safe and very few people know the location. This will give us time to figure out who is behind the threats while also keeping her safe and out of the public eye." It's a long shot getting him to agree to this, I know that, but it also is our best shot. Because if someone does find her, then we know who could be behind it. It would narrow down our suspect list.

"Is she going to be there by herself?" he asks as he strokes his chin with his thumb and forefinger, contemplating the idea.

"No, I'll be there with her to protect her," I answer. It's not exactly what I want, but we already agreed I would be the best person to go with her since we are already familiar with one another. Plus, I know for a fact, Trevor does not want to go back to that cabin anytime soon after spending some time protecting Emma there.

"Would you consider taking her sister, Grace, with you as well? I'd feel better if she was out of the picture also," he explains. The anger I saw in him earlier has subsided greatly. Now it seems like he is really considering this as a possibility instead of immediately fighting with me on it, as I had expected.

"Sure, Grace can come along as well if that would make you feel better. I can watch over both of them. We will need to get the school work that Grace will miss while out of school for the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping we won't need to be there longer than two weeks, but to be on the safe side, I'd rather have enough to be there for a month in case something happens and this takes longer." It's true, I really don't want to be there for longer than two weeks. I hate being stuck in spaces for long periods of time. It wouldn't just be a matter of if Illeana and I could survive being around each other for that long of time. It'll turn into how long I can handle being stuck in one place without a change of surroundings for that long.

"That can be arranged. If Grace can go with you, then I don't see a problem with them going to the cabin. Then they both will be out of the way. Just keep the people who know about this as small as possible. I don't even want my household staff to know what is going on. Is that clear?" he demands leering at me as he places his hands in front of him on his desk.

"Understood, sir. The list of people who know where we are will be very minimal. Do you want me to tell the girls, or would you like the honor of doing that yourself?" I'd prefer this come from him, but I can totally see him making me give them the bad news and make me out to be the bad guy.

"I'll do it tonight during dinner, and I'll make sure most of the staff is cleared out while we talk. Go find Mrs. Francine. She can show you to your room so you can freshen up." Senator Granger turns in his chair and begins looking at his computer, effectively dismissing me from the conversation.

With that done, I stand and exit the room, heading back the same way I came. I’m hoping to cross paths with Mrs. Francine on the way so I don't need to wander around the whole house in search of her. I'd like to have a bit of time before dinner so I can get a quick nap in, but I doubt that will happen. It's almost four in the afternoon unless the Senator is one of those people who likes to eat dinner at like seven at night. Those people weird me out.