3 Austin

Austin

“Pizza or Chinese?” Reed asked, pulling out his phone to order whatever the majority of us agreed on.

Honestly, most of us were so easygoing that the room would usually fill with uncaring grunts and lazy shrugs of whatever until everyone was looking at Milo. I wouldn’t call Milo picky, but if he was in the mood for something, it was the team’s unspoken rule that he got to choose.

The meeting might have been over, but Reed had surrendered to the fact that we weren’t done working. With the thought of being exposed whispering at the back of our necks and the whole Agent Priestley thing, we were going full steam ahead. The agent had done a lot for us and now that we were on the same page about his innocence, it was time to repay him for saving our asses and cleaning up our messes more than a time or two.

“Well, considering it’s almost sun up, I think breakfast would be more appropriate,” I said with a smartass grin.

Reed’s face fell as he noticed the time on his phone. The conference room had windows to the outside, but currently, they were set to privacy and made to look like dark gray frosted glass.

“Okay, diner food it is.” The moment he locked eyes with me, I knew what was coming next. “Austin, you’re with me.” He moved toward the door. “Everyone, text me what you want. We’ll be back shortly.”

Remy shot a sympathetic smile at my scowling face, while Jameson looked slightly pleased about my discomfort.

“Coming, boss,” I said as I pushed my chair back and stood, but Reed was already halfway to the elevator on the opposite side of the office.

I jogged across the space, getting there just in time to slide inside the elevator before the doors started to close.

“What do you want?” he asked, looking at his phone where the note app was open.

“I could just order when we get there since I’m tagging along,” I pointed out.

“Yes, but this way I can have everyone’s orders ready to go, and hopefully make things easier on whoever has to deal with this large order.”

I rolled my eyes but told him exactly what I wanted, which consisted of three eggs scrambled, ham, and grits topped with lots of butter. There was only one way to eat diner food, and that was to give in and drown your arteries in cholesterol.

As we cut through the main lobby on the ground floor of Willis Security Tech, Reed’s company, I gave a wave to the security guard who was just setting up for the morning shift. His large smile in return was the very thing I needed to jump-start this day.

Did it technically count as a new day if you hadn’t slept?

It certainly didn’t feel like it to my brain, which was threatening to turn into mush if I didn’t take a break soon.

I clamped my mouth shut to fight against a yawn as I opened the passenger side door to Reed’s SUV and threw myself into the seat.

Reed was cool, but there was something unnerving about being in a car with your boss, especially when he knew all the things you didn’t want anyone to know. He knew the ugly, the real. The parts I didn’t let anyone see.

“Is there something you wanted to say?” I asked, getting it out in the open. I didn’t want him to beat around the bush if there was a reason why he’d picked me to go with him on this little outing.

I held my breath, the minutes ticking on. A feeling like ants crawling under my skin took over my body.

Finally, he sighed, and his shoulders sagged with the deflated breath.

“I heard rumors about a documentary in the works.” As vague as his statement was, it still sent an icy chill down my spine. He didn’t need to tell me what the documentary was going to be about because there was only one reason why he’d bring such a thing up. “If they start harassing you, let me know and I’ll do what I can to put an end to it.”

Swallowing hard, all I could do was nod.

It would happen. I had no doubt about that.

Anger rose inside of me and I tried to push it down.

Reed parked the car on the street, the little diner a few feet up ahead, the red and white striped awning giving it away. Undoing his seat belt, he turned to face me. I was too full of shock and rage to look at him. This was the last thing I wanted to talk about.

Lucky for me, his phone started ringing before he could open his mouth to speak.

I didn’t hesitate to jump out of the car, trying my hardest not to slam the door behind me. I left him to his call, or that was the excuse I was going with. Reed was an important, well-known person. He not only owned a company with two branches— the one here in Atlanta and the original back in Chicago— he also headed this secret project I was a part of. More often than not, he needed privacy for his calls. But in all honesty, it was probably one of his men checking on him or wanting to video chat because the baby was awake. Heaven forbid she didn’t get to see her daddy for a whole day.

Okay, that wasn’t fair. They were amazing parents, and that little girl was so lucky.

My steps were heavy and hard as I made my way down the block. My entire body was vibrating.

I forced myself to stop. Closing my eyes, I leaned my back against the building of a store that wasn’t open yet.

It took a few deep inhales for me to calm down.

A fucking documentary.

I wasn’t going to have a damn thing to do with it, that was for sure. But I guess I was glad Reed told me. I knew it was bound to happen at some point. At least this way it wouldn’t be such a shock when it came out… or if they tracked me down for an interview.

I’d spent too long running, too long hiding, too long pretending to be anyone but who I actually was.

Panic set in hard enough that I felt the need to reach for my chest. Was it possible that my heart could beat out of my body? Because that was what it felt like it was trying to do.

“Hey!” Reed called out, causing me to flinch and push off the building. I turned to face him, hoping like hell that I was playing it cool. I didn’t need him to see me on the verge of a breakdown because of what he’d told me. The weight was bearing down on my shoulders, and it was all I could do to shake some of it off as his steps brought him closer to me.

But my panic didn’t seem to matter at the moment. His face said it all, looking more somber than it had earlier, if that were even possible. Which, strangely, helped me push my shit away quickly. Like a snap of my fingers, practically.

I let out another long breath, preparing myself for the favor that he was about to ask, because there was no denying the expression on his face. Yeah, I could read him like an open book at this point.

“Ford called,” he said, eyes a little sympathetic as he stepped so close to me that our toes were an inch from touching. “He’s in a bit of a bind. Do you mind going to get him? And, maybe, keep watch over him?”

Great, another fucking bodyguard job.

Why was it always me? What had I done to the universe to deserve this shit?

My face dropped, showing my excitement over this request. I’d do it. And he knew it. Fuck loyal to a fault, I was loyal to my own detriment.

I guess I really shouldn’t have been grumpy. The last bodyguard job did have me staying with a super cool movie star, and we were kind of friends now. I also couldn’t hate the way that job had brought Jameson and me closer… in the loosest sense of the word. He was less grumpy with me now, which I rather liked, even if I did still try to push his buttons all the time. It might have had to do with the fact that he was totally in love with said movie star now, but I’d take a less grumpy Jameson no matter how it happened.

Not that this time would have similar results. The agent was the last person I wanted to be around. The last person I wanted to be close to. The last person I would give a chance to see any of the real parts of myself.

“Fine,” I said grumpily. “But I’m getting my breakfast first.” I spun around and headed for the door of the diner.

“That’s fair,” he said, catching up with me. His tone nearly made me snort.

“And you’ll get the documentary squashed,” I added, forcing myself to hold a lighter tone. I knew it might be possible with the amount of money and connections he had, but I also figured it wouldn’t be easily done if he could do it. Still, I had to put it out there. Reed loved to protect his people, so really, I was only feeding his savior complex.

I caught his cringe expression in the reflection of the glass door right before I pulled it open.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he promised me.

If he could, then doing this job would be worth it.