Chapter 1

1

LANA

A line of cars creeps along the curb outside Avon Preparatory Academy just before 8 AM. Children hop out of the vehicles to walk, skip, or begrudgingly stroll toward the front doors of the prestigious elementary school. My years doing security for a diplomat’s daughter have every nerve in my body tingling.

There aren’t any security guards at the entrance, but one sits lazily at a desk when I step inside.

My voice snags his attention, but not for long, as he looks down in his lap while I speak. “Good morning, I’m Lana Casey. I have an appointment with the principal, Mr. Drummond.”

The guard sighs, peers up at me, and points to the ledger sitting on top of the desk. “Please sign in.”

“Don’t you want to see any identification?” I ask him.

He huffs and shrugs. “If you want. The guards at the front gate should have checked it.”

The guards at the gated entrance to the school’s parking lot aren’t following protocol either. My car is sitting in the parking lot like I’m already a part of the staff.

Instead of fussing over the lax security measures, I sign the ledger and make my way to the administration office a few feet away. Anxiety sparks as this is probably my thirtieth job interview in the past six months.

None of my achievements seem to matter. My experience doesn’t inspire these companies to pay me what I’m worth. I’m a few weeks away from taking my talents onto the criminal side of things. Everyone wants to be protected, but there aren’t as many openings for private security personnel as expected.

“Where are we going? Dad’s on his way to work already,” a child says from behind me, forcing me to glance over my shoulder.

Something feels off as I watch a woman in an Avon Preparatory blazer grip the child by the wrist. They’re pulling the young boy toward the desk, where the lazy security guard sits, his eyes glued to the phone in his lap.

“Miss Casey?” Mr. Drummond emerges from his office, steering my attention back to him and the reason I’m here this morning.

“Yes, Mr. Drummond. It’s a pleasure to meet you?—”

He interrupts me before I can get my greeting out. “Oh dear, I’m sorry. I thought you got the email I sent. The position’s been filled.”

Mr. Drummond’s voice trails off as I walk away from him without another word. Fuck him and this job. I can tell they don’t take the proper precautions, which would make any job I do here an absolute nightmare.

Following my gut, I hustle toward the door. The woman’s now tugging the child out of the front entrance. I can’t let it go.

The sun’s glare isn’t enough to hide the panicked woman frantically looking around, scanning her surroundings. Her hand trembles as she fumbles with her phone while the small boy pulls away from her. They’re too far for me to hear what’s happening, but everything about this is wrong.

The navy blue blazer with the school's crest on the breast pocket sways loosely around her torso. The sleeves swallow her hands as she fights with her phone and the kid. Every nerve ending tickles as I pick up my pace to get closer.

I'm only five steps away when an SUV with windows tinted too dark to be street-legal pulls up to the curb. The engine is still running as the back door opens.

"Excuse me, ma'am," I call out to her, but the fear in her eyes is the only thing I see.

My pulse skyrockets as she hoists the child under her arm and takes off in a mad dash for the SUV. I immediately give chase, gaining on her easily, and jumping forward to grab the boy.

My arms get a firm grip around his legs as I pull him out of her grasp and down to the ground. The force of my back hitting the concrete knocks the wind out of me, and I land with a thud, the boy landing against me. I kick my leg out to trip the woman to stop her from fleeing the scene.

The woman stumbles onto her hands and knees as the waiting SUV shuts the door, speeds away, and nearly crashes through the front gate of the school’s parking lot. I pull out my phone just as Mr. Drummond and the lazy security guard run out of the building. The would-be abductor doesn't wait for them to reach us before she takes off in the same direction as the SUV.

After helping the boy to his feet, I stand beside him, protective and scrutinizing our surroundings.

"Are you okay?" I ask the young boy who clings to my arm. I gently pull my arm away from him and ask, "What's your name?"

"Jeremy." His voice trembles as a shade of crimson blankets his little face. Panic and fear pour out of him. It triggers something maternal inside of me. He reminds me of my teenage years when I had to take care of my little brother.

I kneel beside him to grab his attention from the staff running toward us. There’s something inside of me that needs to ease his fears. I attempt to put on my most soothing tone when I speak. "Thank you, Jeremy. You really saved me a minute ago. Thanks for being really brave."

"You're welcome?" Jeremy says, unable to hide that he doesn't believe me. He spares a glance at my black leather boots and offers me a timid smile for my attempt to get his mind off how scary this is.

Mr. Drummond keels over at the waist, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath as he pushes out a few words. "My goodness, you're okay, Jeremy. That’s good."

"Okay? Good?" I question angrily.

Mr. Drummond’s noticeably taken by surprise at my tone. I'm not going to minimize what happened.

The rage growing inside of me laces every word. "What is so good about someone being able to simply put on a blazer and waltz through your halls? What’s okay about someone who can take a kid and walk out of any exit? No one stopped her. No one said anything. Especially not that lazy piece of shit next to you. Sorry, kid."

Jeremy chuckles at my apology for cursing in front of him.

"I'd like to know the answer to that as well." A dark voice speaks harshly from behind me.

"Dad!" Jeremy releases me to run to his father.

The man gazes sternly in my direction. Handsome and stunning are an understatement. His devil-arched eyebrows are set in a scowl above his light blue eyes. A thin and pristinely trimmed goatee accentuates his angular jawline. Thick wafts of dark brown hair are gelled down and slicked back.

The charcoal gray suit he's wearing fits his body perfectly. The anger riding his face fits this situation perfectly, and it’s definitely a face worth riding.

"You see, um," Mr. Drummond stutters. "Mr. Archer, I was in the process of grabbing young Jeremy out of his classroom when-"

Mr. Archer is menacing with his icy glare and height towering over me and Mr. Drummond.

Mr. Archer says, "Why were you going to get Jeremy when I called to tell you he was already traveling away from his classroom?"

Mr. Drummond hesitates, unable to find any words to excuse his actions, letting his lips tremble before clamping them shut.

Mr. Archer’s annoyance with Mr. Drummond is palpable as he turns to me. His menacing glare fades to gratitude. "Good morning, I'm Aiden Archer. Thank you for what you did."

"I’m Lana Casey, and it's not a problem,” I reply, extending my hand to shake his.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lana." Aiden's voice is low, his gaze dropping to my mouth. Maybe he's simply happy I kept his son safe.

Either way, the moment his hand wraps around mine to shake it, a shock of sexual anticipation ricochets across my body. My eyes dart to his to see the same glimmer of seductive surprise.

Aiden breaks the tension between us as he says, “I'd love to take you to lunch to thank you. Surely, Mr. Drummond doesn't have an issue with one of his guards taking an early break?"

"I don’t know her. She doesn't work here," Mr. Drummond says frantically.

"So, not only did you allow strangers to enter the building, you let one take my son while another was able to identify this kidnap attempt? But she's not on your payroll?" Aiden questions. He nods slowly, considering what he’s just learned. "Interesting. In that case, Miss Casey, if you have some time, I'd love to get to know you. Perhaps we can talk about an opportunity for you to work for me."

"I'd love to. Thank you."