“Sounds good,” she replied. “Justgive me three minutes.”
I nodded and made my way downstairs to greet the guys as they arrived.
Jack had left the apartment complex right behind us to make sure no one we didn’t know had followed us.Diego, however, had stayed behind for a little while longer to see if anyone tried to get near her apartment after we left.Sure, we had put up cameras, but people who were highly trained—as hitmen often could be—would either see the cameras or could stealthily scope out her apartment in other ways.
“All clear,”Diegoannounced whenIstepped into the living room. “Nosign of movement or anything odd after you left.”
“Good,”Ireplied asWadeandAxelwalked in the front door.Theymoved to joinVince,Diego,Ruthie,Jack, and me in the living room.
“Where is she?”Wadeasked as he sat down on my couch next toRuthieandJack.
“She’s upstairs in the guest room but should be down in a minute,”Itold them.
“What do you need from us in the next few days?”Diegoasked from the recliner on the far side of the room.
“OnceIfigure out her schedule, we’ll need to set it up so she has round-the-clock coverage,”Iexplained. “I’malso hopingIcan talk her into taking some time off work and going off the grid somewhere.”
“No can do,” she replied, coming down the stairs on my left while carrying her dog in her arms. “Ihave several big stories and events lined up this week, butImight be able to finagle some days off the following week afterItalk with my boss.”
She turned left at the bottom of the stairs toward everyone in the living room, her dog now growling ferociously—well, as much as a fifteen-pound dog can.
Ruthie, who had been across the room from me on the couch, stood up and walked over toAce.
“Hi,I’mRuthie.Niceto meet you.Whois this precious friend?”Ruthieasked her, extending her hand out to let her dog sniff her.
“I’mAnna, and this isPercy.It’snice to meet you, too.”
“They may look like a bunch of grumpy assholes, butI’llfill you in on all their secrets so we can make them fall in line,”Ruthietold her, causing grunts and chuckles from the rest of the room.
Ace smiled back at her. “Thankyou.Ijust might need that.”
We all stood there for a few silent seconds beforeIspoke up. “Ace, can you tell us…”
Ruthie interrupted me with a high, dramatic sigh. “Sinceall of you are heathens,I’llbe the civilized one in the group.”Sheturned toAceagain but made sure to speak loud enough for all of us to hear. “Wouldyou like a drink,Anna?Sincenone of these men have any manners,Ican get it for you.”
Ace’s grin got even wider as she replied. “I’mokay for now, but thank you for the offer.”
Ruthie nodded and then looked at me pointedly.WhenIonly raised an eyebrow, she sighed and put a hand onAce’sarm. “You’llget to know them all well, but for now…quick introductions.”
She pointed at everyone, minusVinceand me, tellingAcewho was whom, before giving me the stink-eye and then making her way back to the couch.
Feeling properly scolded but also ready to move this conversation along,Iturned to face the whole group. “Ace, can you tell us what your schedule is like for the next few days?Yousaid you will have some work events to go to, butIneed you to be covered and protected at all of them, so we need to know what we’re up against, and we can plan ahead, especially if they’re in public places.”
“I have a feeling you won’t like my schedule for tomorrow, then,” she started to explain. “Ididn’t have to work the late show tonight—whichIusually do—becauseIam covering a 5k charity race tomorrow morning.”
Of course she was.Anevent that would have tons of people and a security logistics nightmare.
“That starts at nine a.m. tomorrow, and thenI’llhead back to the station to write a script and get a piece ready that can run for the later shows.ThenIhave a meeting with my personal trainer tomorrow afternoon.”
“What gym do you go to for the trainer?”Vinceasked.
“The one at my apartment complex, though we usually just run outside at a park,”Aceresponded and then turned to me. “Iwas thinking maybeIcould invite her here and we could run around your property and then use your small workout room if that’s okay?”
That wasn’t a half-bad idea.I’dhaveAxelrun a background check on the trainer, but keeping them on the property would be safer.
“What’s her name?”Axelasked, sitting on a stool he’d brought over from the kitchen, clearly on the same page as me.
“SaraGarrett.I’veworked with her sinceImoved here—she’s great.”
