Chapter 8

CHAPTER

EIGHT

The next morning, Heidi was still shaken from the events of last night. What happened almost seemed surreal.

After Stephen left, the police and fire department had shown up. Heidi had explained that something had been thrown through her front window. Had told them she had security detail outside due to the nature of her job. She'd let the police discover that Beau was dead instead of telling them herself.

Then the cops had come inside to investigate. There had been questions. So many questions. Heidi had told them what she could while trying not to tell them too much.

She didn't want them to know all the details of her job. Rafferty wouldn't want that information exposed. So she told them she worked for Blackstone, and she gave them Rafferty's number so they could follow up. He could decide what he wanted the cops to know.

One of Heidi's neighbors had come over with some plywood and helped her to secure the broken window. She'd rolled up the rug that had caught on fire and had tossed it out the back near the trash can. She kept her coffee table, hoping she could salvage it with a fresh coat of paint.

None of this seemed real.

Now it was a new day.

But she was on edge as she fixed herself some oatmeal for breakfast. She'd gotten out of bed early. Showered. Dressed in some jeans and her favorite comfy sweatshirt.

She halfway expected danger to pop up again. Or for Stephen to be hiding in her house. Or for someone to throw something else through another window.

But none of those things had happened.

Not yet at least.

Just as she took the last sip of her coffee, her phone rang. She saw Rafferty's number and quickly answered.

He bypassed any greetings and jumped right into the heart of the conversation. "Well, that was a catastrophe last night. An utter catastrophe."

It almost sounded as if he were blaming her, though she had nothing to do with what happened. And would it have really hurt him to ask how she was doing after the traumatic events?

She'd tried to call him last night and give him a report on what had happened. He hadn't answered, which wasn't totally unusual for him. But it was still frustrating.

Her resolve hardened. "I need to know what's going on."

She thought Stephen would be proud of her for her direct approach to getting information.

Though if she truly did get information, she wasn't sure if she'd share it with him or not. She thought she could trust him. But in this line of work, one had to be very careful about whom they trusted. Putting her faith in the wrong person could get her killed.

"I can't tell you what's going on." Rafferty's voice remained steely. "Besides, it's better if you don't know."

The muscles across Heidi's chest tightened, and she ran her hand over them. "You have to tell me something. I don't know how much longer I can live like this. My life is also in danger."

Those words were absolutely true. The past twelve hours had painted her future in a different light. The situation felt impossible.

"Hopefully, it will be over soon. I have Donald working your detail. He's sitting outside your house right now."

She stood and walked to her door. She peered out the window atop it and saw another black SUV parked outside. "How do I know Donald isn't going to end up dead like Beau?"

"You don't. You let me worry about that."

"I don't want someone else killed on my account. And what about Beau? Did he have a family?"

"No, he didn't. We'll honor his legacy as soon as we're able."

As far as Heidi knew, none of the guys who worked for Rafferty had a family.

Really, it was strange. But she'd always told herself it wasn't her business. She constantly fell back on that logic. The less she knew, the better. Keep things professional. Mind your own business.

Those were all things she'd constantly told herself.

She could see now where that had been a mistake.

From the sounds of it, Rafferty wanted to keep her locked up inside indefinitely. The thought made her want to panic. She couldn't settle for that.

She leaned against her door, her heart pounding harder. "I don't want to hide out in my house."

"If you want to stay alive, then you don't have much choice."

Her jaw hardened. Rafferty wasn't making this easy. Then again, she hadn't expected him to.

"I'm not so sure it's safe being here," she countered. "Someone tried to burn my house down last night."

"What stopped them? Why didn't this person make sure he succeeded?"

She froze at his question. All she could hear was her heart as it pounded in her ears.

That was an excellent question.

Had it been because Stephen was inside?

For that matter, did Rafferty already know Stephen had been here? Was he testing her?

She had no idea.

She paced back to the table and sat down. "I assumed someone drove by, and that's what scared this person off. Then my neighbor called the police. Thankfully, there was a cop car close. First responders probably got here in less than five minutes."

She held her breath, waiting to see if Rafferty would fall for her excuse.

"I'd say you're very lucky then," he finally said.

Heidi released her breath. It appeared he'd bought her story. "I wish I could say the same for Beau."

"We all do. I'll keep you updated. I'm sending some work over soon. One more thing: If the police start asking questions, whatever you do, don't share too much information. I don't need them poking around in my business. You've already created quite the headache for me. You know I like to stay off the radar, yet you gave them my name and number last night."

Indignation rose in her. "I didn't know what to say when they questioned me. But I tried to handle it the best way I could."

"Try harder."

The line went dead.

She pressed her eyes closed as she mentally replayed the conversation.

Thinking of what Rafferty had said and what he hadn't said.

She had so many mounting questions.

Suddenly, she felt restless.

Maybe it was partially due to the fact she was trapped in this house. Maybe the whole idea that she wasn't allowed to leave made her want to leave.

Wasn't there some kind of psychology behind that? She wasn't sure.

But all she wanted to do right now was to take a walk. Get some fresh air. Clear her head.

Instead, she glanced at her computer and remembered she had work to do.

She opened her laptop and skimmed her emails.

Her gaze stopped at one from Howard Monarch. What could Mr. Monarch want?

Something about the man had always given her bad vibes. He owned a tech firm, and he'd hired Rafferty's men on many occasions to act as personal security.

He must have lots of threats to his life if he needed bodyguards. But it seemed strange because she'd talked to him on occasion and the man came across as so low-key, like the type who didn't like attention and who liked to keep mostly to himself.

Heidi clicked on the email, curious as to what he had to say to her now.

Stephen sat in the driver's seat of a white van with Ronnie's Drywall and Plaster written on the sides. It was parked on the side of the neighborhood street—but only as a cover.

Gage Pearson, one of his new colleagues, was with him. They both wore coveralls over their tactical pants and black T-shirts.

They were here to keep an eye on Heidi's house.

More than anything, he wanted to go inside and see for himself that she was okay. But he couldn't. Not only was it too risky, but Rafferty already had another one of his men stationed outside.

If worse came to worst, he and Gage could go to the door and pretend to be there to fix up her place after last night's fire.

But there was always the chance he'd be recognized.

From where he sat in the van, Stephen saw the new bodyguard sitting in an SUV in front of Heidi's place. It was Donald Jackson, another former colleague.

One he didn't hold in high esteem. The man was too much of a hothead.

All muscle, little substance. The guy often didn't use words. He used brute strength instead.

Stephen blew out a long breath.

His mind had been racing ever since everything happened yesterday. Instead of finding answers, he'd found more questions. Who had left those bugs and the camera in Heidi's house? Rafferty? If so, why? So he could keep an eye on her and make sure she was loyal to him?

His stomach roiled at the thought.

"Who do you think killed Beau?" Gage asked. "You've had some time to think about it now. Any theories?"

"I can't honestly say who it was." He needed more information first on Beau's latest assignments. On his enemies.

He needed information on Rafferty.

There were too many holes that had to be filled before anything would make sense.

"Just so you know, it wasn't one of our guys from the Shadow Agency. That's not how we operate."

The Shadow Agency was the company Gage worked for—and now Stephen also. It operated similar to Blackstone, only they took assignments that didn't require setting their morals aside.

"I never thought it was one of us. I also don't think it was one of my former colleagues at Blackstone."

Gage's gaze remained on Heidi's townhouse. "So then, who was it?"

"I wish I knew. Maybe we all have enemies we didn't even know about coming out of the woodwork."

Stephen shifted in his seat, tired of sitting here doing nothing. Yet he wouldn't leave—he had to know Heidi was safe.

The minutes ticked by.

"Any updates on Larchmont?" Stephen asked.

Alan Larchmont headed up the Shadow Agency. He was the one in ICU after a device implanted near his own heart had caused damage.

"Last I heard, he's still in a coma," Gage said. "I'm not sure if he'll come out of it or not."

"Any updates on Cynthia?" Cynthia was Larchmont's wife—only none of Larchmont's guys had known she existed until she arrived at the hospital and began calling the shots.

Even though Stephen didn't have a history with the team, he could see where her showing up would be unsettling.

"We have a couple of guys looking into her background," Gage said. "It turns out she was a lobbyist for military reform. Before that, she had a multimillion-dollar hair care company she sold for a huge payout."

"So she's been the one financing the Shadow Agency?"

"Seems like a good guess. She's also Larchmont's top advisor."

"But he kept her a secret, you said?"

Gage shrugged. "My guess is so he could protect her."

"I suppose that makes sense."

"She's a force to be reckoned with in her own right."

Too many secrets made everything feel uncertain. Now the whole agency was in peril.

Two hours into their surveillance, Donald opened the door to his SUV.

Stephen sat up straighter.

The man stretched before starting toward Heidi's house.

"What is he doing?" Stephen muttered.

At once, images of the man doing something horrible to Heidi filled his mind. What if Donald was heading inside to finish off Heidi? What if Rafferty decided to get rid of anyone he considered disposable?

Stephen reached for the door handle when Gage's hand came down on his shoulder. "Not yet."

His heart pounded in his ears. "What do you mean? We don't know what he's planning to do."

Stephen continued to watch as Donald walked toward the front door. He saw the gun at the man's side. He knew what that man was capable of.

"Let's just wait a minute," Gage said. "We don't want to show our hand yet."

"But if we wait too long, Heidi could die."

Stephen's words hung in the air as time seemed to stand still.