4. Grayson

4

GRAYSON

“ W hy don’t you wait out in the lobby, Charlotte?”

Jax gestures toward his office door.

“I just have a couple of things to go over with Grayson here and you guys can be on your way.”

“Okay.”

Charlotte gives me one last, apprehensive look before exiting the office. I watch her leave, then turn back to Jax. The second the door shuts, he turns up the dial on his stare.

“Grayson, are you taking the threat of the Order seriously?”

I cock an eyebrow at him.

“I take everything seriously. Why do you ask?”

“Your attitude is kind of, I don’t know, ‘to hell with it,’ I’d say.”

I narrow my gaze, fighting down a hot flash of anger.

“I know all too well what happens when you don’t take a threat seriously enough. The last time I made that mistake, my sister paid the price. I’ll never do it again.”

Jax is taken aback. He blinks several times before letting out a long sigh, visibly deflating before my eyes.

“I know exactly how you feel. I lost my sister, too. Madison.” Jax reaches up to touch the St. Michael medal hanging on a chain around his neck.

That’s right. I’d forgotten that Jax and I had that in common.

“It never really goes away, does it?” I ask softly.

“The pain? No, it doesn’t go away. It does get easier to deal with, though. You know what they say about time healing all wounds?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, it’s horseshit, because time never really heals anything. It does dull the pain, though.”

I lean back against the wall and cross my arms over my chest.

“Is that where we are, Jax? Two used-up former grunts dulling our pain the best we can?”

Jax laughs, and his eyes brighten.

“Well, Easton helps me feel other things besides the pain. And I don’t just mean in the obvious way, either. I never would have said it before, but human connection can help you cope with loss. You should try it sometime.”

I scoff. The idea of being with anyone for a long term relationship seems absurd to me. No one would put up with me except in small doses. It’s better that way.

“I’ll make that a priority. Is there anything else you wanted to discuss with me?”

Jax strokes his chin, his eyes boring into me.

“Can you put your pain aside and do the job?”

“Yeah,” I say without hesitation. “I made a career out of stuffing the pain and getting the job done, Jax. That’s why you hired me.”

Jax looks at me for a long time, not saying a word. I can tell he’s not sure if he believes me or not. But in the end, he gestures for the door.

“All right. Keep her safe, Grayson. She’s a high profile client with a huge following. If you screw this up, I don’t know that the firm can take the PR hit.”

“I’m sure your wife knows some excellent public relations people. But don't worry. I won’t let anyone harm a single hair on Charlotte’s head. I’ll die first.”

Jax blinks and drops his hand to the desk.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Good luck, Grayson, and never forget that your Platinum Security brothers are just a phone call away. We stand together, or we die alone.”

I grunt. I never got much into the team-building platitudes. In the CIA that’s the first thing they break you of. Platitudes. Reality is far more complex and a lot less jolly.

I head into the lobby and find Charlotte hanging with Easton, Griff, Lexi, and Avery, who balances a bubbly infant on her hip. Easton holds a small black object in her palm, displaying it to Charlotte.

“So, when you flip this switch, it’s powered up. See the red light is on, now?”

Charlotte nods. “Yeah, I see.”

“All right. Now it’s ready, and you just shove the metal prongs into your attacker and press the button on the side.”

I realize that Easton is showing Charlotte how to use a stun gun. I pause at the doorway, not wanting to interrupt.

“Will this really work?” Charlotte asks.

“I’ve seen it take down a three hundred pound man before. Trust me, it will work,” Easton replies, handing the device over to Charlotte, who stuffs it in her purse.

“Not that you’ll need it, with Grayson around,” Griff says.

I take that as my cue. They look up when I enter and Griff gives me a nod.

“Here he is, the man of the hour. Ready to pop your cherry on your first Platinum Security job?”

“I’m ready to show you how it’s done, Griff. Just like I do on the basketball court.”

“Damn, Griff, I think he just got the better of you.” Lexi says.

“A minor setback,” Griff says.

Lexi and Griff have been an item ever since she hired him to help find her brother. From what I’ve heard, they ended up on a wild treasure hunt adventure. Avery is Ryker’s baby momma. Their story is pretty epic too.

Avery settles Luka into a carrier and turns toward Easton.

“Hey, Easton, you got any of that Taittinger’s Blanc bubbly stashed around? This is turning into a party.”

“Yes, of course, but I’ll have to abstain.” Easton runs a hand over her rounded belly.

“That makes two of us,” Lexi adds, grinning ear to ear. “You’re lucky, Avery. You can drink again already.”

“Did somebody mention bubbly?”

All our gazes draw to Ryker, who is still wearing gym clothes. He wipes his hands on a small white towel and hangs it around his neck. Ryker walks up to Griff and they do their signature hand slide/fist bump handshake.

“Oh, hey, Gray is here. Is he finally going to earn his keep?”

“Nice to see you too, Ryker. Come back when you can’t stay as long.”

Laughter rolls through the room.

“Yeah, real funny,” Ryker says. “You want me to pour you a glass?”

I shake my head. “I’ve got to drive soon.”

“You drive like shit anyway, Gray. Anyone who looks at that beat up Jeep of yours knows it.”

I chuckle, and then turn to Charlotte. My heart quickens when our gazes meet. If she’s going to have this effect on me all the time, it’s going to be hard to do my job. Very hard.

“Are you ready to go?”

She nods, waving goodbye to the group, and I hold the door open for her. We both squint in the afternoon sunlight as it lances down from the sky.

“Did you drive yourself up here?”

“Yes. I have the Lexus over there.”

“It will be fine in the lot. Let’s take my Jeep.”

She looks from her sleek, fancy car to my beat up old Jeep.

“Why? What’s wrong with my car?”

“The Order knows what you drive, so we take the Jeep.”

Her lips tighten up, and I can tell she wants to argue. To her credit, she doesn’t give in to temptation. I guess she knows that I’m right, even if she doesn’t want to admit it.

I go to open the door for her, but it sticks. Cursing, I slam my shoulder into the door panel a few times and give it another try. This time the door opens.

She keeps her face carefully neutral as she climbs into the passenger seat. I try not to be distracted by the sinuous way she moves. The aqua yoga pants cladding her legs show every exquisite curve in amazing detail.

This is bad. I’m too attracted to her. Why couldn’t I have gotten an ugly ass old producer as my first gig for Platinum Security? I promised Jax I wouldn’t ruin the firm’s reputation, but Charlotte is going to be a distraction. Period.

I move around the front of the jeep and get into the driver’s side. As I yank down the seat belt across my body, I remind myself to be the portrait of cool professionalism. I will not talk to her unless it’s necessary. I will not get comfortable with her. And I will most certainly not flirt with her.

I repeat this to myself like a mantra as I put the Jeep in gear. We rumble out of the lot and onto the road, angling for the highway. I glance over at Charlotte. Her expression is grim, but that might just be because we’re driving into the sun.

“The Order is probably just using your name to get attention for itself. It’s entirely possible you’re not in any danger at all.”

“Yeah,” she replies, without even looking at me.

I suck at being reassuring. I have to get better at it. It’s part of the job.

“Look, these kinds of people are not professionals. I’ll see them coming a mile away.”

“Okay.”

0 for 2. I really am bad at this. I’m better at playing a role, and pretending to be someone else. Being myself and reassuring at the same time seems impossible.

Her phone rings. Her eyes narrow as she takes the call.

“What’s up, Steve?”

I can hear a voice on the other end, but I can’t make out what they are saying. Whatever it is, it frightens Charlotte.

“When? On all of my accounts? Jesus Christ, I thought we changed all the security and passwords and everything!”

She lets out an exasperated grunt.

“Fine. I’m going to look right now. Give me five minutes to see it and then take every last bit down.”

Charlotte practically assaults her phone with finger pecks as she navigates to her many social media apps. She brings up one of her accounts. My eyes widen slightly when I see that the profile pic has her wearing a skimpy red bikini.

She navigates down to the most recent posting, which looks like a black screen at first. Then the video begins to play.

I pull off onto the shoulder so I can watch, too. Traffic zips past us, stirring her midnight black mane as her eyes are glued to the screen.

“We are the Order, and we will not be ignored. Charlotte Gilroy has failed to comply with our just and moral directives. If she does not comply, we will escalate.”

The video changes from a black screen to a lightning quick cut of a blindfolded hostage being shot in the head. It melts into an image of a nicely appointed house on Rodeo Drive.

Charlotte shakes so badly, she drops her phone.

“Are you all right?” I ask. What a stupid question. She just saw a disturbing, threatening video. Of course she is not all right. Who would be?

“That was…”

She swallows audibly before she can continue, her eyes filled with fear.

“That was my house. They were outside my house.”

“Probably not. They most likely used Google Earth or a random search to find it.”

I can tell I’m doing a shit job reassuring her again. In the CIA, I couldn't overstate threats enough. Now I’m going to have to learn to mitigate them with words, if nothing else.

“Look–” I begin.

Charlotte interrupts me, holding up her index finger and then showing me her phone. A call from ‘Mom’ lights up the screen. I nod and pull out my own phone to give her some privacy. But I can still hear the frantic tone that comes through from the other end.

“Hi Mom, no, I’m okay. You saw it? No, the hostage video wasn’t real. I’m safe. Yeah, it’s a little freaky, but it’s going to be ok. I’m with my bodyguard now.”

After another minute of comforting words, Charlotte wraps up the call and turns toward me.

“I’m worried about my parents. They have practically zero social media presence, but the Order could think they’re guilty by association, right? Can you have someone keep an eye on them?”

I nod. “I’ll text Jax about it and see what he can do.”

“Thanks,” Charlotte says.

“Look,” I begin again, putting my hand on her smooth, bare shoulder. “Maybe it’s a bad idea for you to stay at your place. We should grab your things and then move you somewhere more secure. Somewhere the Order doesn’t know about.”

“I have all of my stuff at my place! My lights, my recording equipment, my microphones…”

“If you pack it up, I’ll put it in the Jeep for you. Assuming it all fits, of course.”

She gives me a look like I’m not helping, and then hides her face in her hands.

“I can’t believe this. I’m not even allowed to be in my own house. What did I do wrong?”

Seeing her upset stabs me in the heart. I give her shoulder a squeeze.

“Everyone who gets into these types of situations feels the exact same way. You didn’t do anything wrong. This is something that’s happening to you, and it sucks, but it’s not your fault.”

I guess I’m a little better at this psychotherapy thing than I thought. She perks up a little, nods, even graces me with a weak smile. If her tiny smile is this dazzling, I can’t imagine what a full blown expression of happiness would do to me.

“Thank you. I guess anyone in the public eye has this sort of thing coming.”

“Nobody deserves this, no matter what they do for a living. The Order is playing the propaganda game, and using your fame to draw attention to their cause. It could have been anyone in your position that they chose to pick on.”

“Yeah, well, I wish they had chosen someone else. Does that make me a terrible person?”

“It makes you a human being.”

I put the Jeep in drive and pull back onto the highway. I keep a careful watch both ahead and behind. Near as I can tell, no one is following us or trying to keep watch on our route. Just in case, I take a wildly illogical path to her place, going about ten miles out of the way.

“Hey, can we stop for something to drink?”

I glance over at Charlotte, and notice the sweat glistening on her skin. I’m used to the jungles of Colombia, where it’s a hundred degrees in the shade with nearly one hundred percent humidity. But Charlotte is probably used to cars with things like air conditioning.

I pull into one of those gigantic gas stations with showers for truck drivers and a restaurant built in. I tail Charlotte inside, keeping watch for danger. She picks up a bottle of some green chunky shit that looks like vomit and probably tastes worse. I go with plain old bottled water, something you can rely on.

I spring for the drinks, using the Platinum Security stipend card. We get back into the Jeep and I start digging the keys out of my pocket. Charlotte digs out her phone and then holds it out in the air in front of her.

“Heeeey! Hello to all my peeps in Charlottesville! I just want to thank you all for being worried about me. It really means a lot. I have some good news, though. Meet my new bodyguard, Grayson!”

My jaw drops as she turns the camera toward me.

“Are you seriously filming this?” I sputter.

“Don’t mind Grayson, he’s a little camera shy. But don’t worry, what he lacks in camera presence he more than makes up for in credentials. Grayson used to work for the CIA, and he’s a certified badass!”

“Knock it off!”

I grab the phone out of her hand and toss it into the center console. Charlotte looks at her empty hand, then looks at the phone, and finally turns her incendiary gaze on me.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m stopping you from making a terrible mistake! The Order is hunting you, Charlotte. You can’t just go and broadcast your location to the entire world.”

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t live streaming. I have to send the vid to my team for edits before it’s fit to post, anyway.”

I grind my teeth in frustration, but when I speak I manage to sound calm.

“Charlotte, you’re going to have to stop posting content.”

Her dark eyes shine with bristling dissent.

“For how long?”

“I don’t know…until this mess with the Order is cleared up.”

“And how long is that going to take?”

I open my mouth, close it, and then sigh.

“I don’t know, Charlotte.”

She takes a deep breath, pursing her lips as she gathers her thoughts.

“Okay. Let me just make one thing perfectly clear. I’m not going to stop posting content because of threats.”

“Why the Hell not? It makes perfect sense.”

“Not to me, it doesn’t. Look, I know how tenuous my grip on fame is. Influencers come and go all the time, all right?”

Her nostrils flare, and her chest heaves. I didn’t realize she would be so worked up about this.

“If I don’t maintain my brand and keep generating revenue–which I need to support my family, by the way–then people will forget about me pretty quick. I have to post content or my career is over.”

She heaves a long sigh, and then deflates a little bit.

“Besides, my parents watch these videos. I don’t get to see them much and it makes them feel better, all right?”

Well, shit. Now I feel like a total fucking asshole. I know I’m right, or at the least, not wrong. It is dangerous for her to post videos.

But she is my client, and I don’t want to see that look of miserable disappointment on her face for one more second.

“All right. Here. But we’re going to need some ground rules.”

I hand her the phone back. She takes it up and smiles, but not in an arrogant or mocking way. Gracious in her victory, Charlotte starts filming again like nothing happened.

“Just don’t tell them my name or that I worked for–” I say, but it’s too late. She’s already started.

“So here I am with my bodyguard, Grayson.”

She leans in close enough that her hair brushes my arm. All of the sudden, I can feel her body heat. I swallow the lump in my throat and try to ignore the throbbing between my thighs.

“Say hello, Grayson.” She moves the camera so both of us are visible.

“Charlotte…”

She laughs, a sweet sound that I crave hearing again.

“As you can see, Grayson is new to this whole video thing, but we’ll get him up to speed. I’m about to head to a secret location, so don’t tell anyone! Peace!”

She turns the phone around and begins tapping out a text message. I assume it’s to her team. I struggle to maintain my composure. I can’t believe she just told millions of people that I’m taking her to a safehouse.

Obviously, this job is going to be a lot harder than I thought.