Lisa Phillips - Security Detail

Kayla crouched and hugged her jacket tight to her chest with her purse in her lap. Lord. She was a whole different person now than she’d been all those years ago, a “new creation,” God called her. She had peace with God. She needed some of that peace now.

A floorboard in the hall creaked.

She looked around for something to defend herself with, spotted an umbrella in the corner where she hung her coat and rushed to grab it. She couldn’t hide; she had to fight. Brandishing the thing like a weapon, Kayla waited as the sound of her own breath rushed through her ears.

The door handle twisted.

“Hey!” A man’s voice. But not from the other side of the door. This was farther away. The handle was released and the heavy steps pounded down the hall. A second set followed, giving chase to the far end. Bang. Bang. Glass shattered. Kayla dropped her purse on the floor and covered her ears as she stepped back until her shoulders hit the wall.

“Stop!” A man’s voice.

Then all she could hear was the thump of her heart in her chest. She lowered her hands. What was happening? Should she run? Call 911 again? Scream for help? Her phone lay on the floor by the desk, the screen lit but too far away for her to see if the call was still active.

Again, cold fingered the back of her neck. All too reminiscent of the night she’d snuck into a club so many years ago and had been slipped something in her drink. If Conner hadn’t found her, who knew what might have happened that night. But Special Agent Conner Thorne hadn’t thought his actions anything special. Just doing my job, Ms. Harris. She’d rolled her eyes, but inside, she’d been about to cry at the fact that he could be so impersonal with her. Especially when the feelings she’d had for the twenty-six-year-old Secret Service agent were anything but. Like a four-year age difference really made him “too old for her.”

Conner had been her first real crush. Her first real sense of what love might be. She’d never met anyone in college who brought out those feelings. Then he’d come along that last year her father was in the White House and she’d never met anyone else since who measured up.

More recently, Kayla had heard he’d been fired from the Secret Service. Something else she’d put behind her to add to the list of things she’d moved on from.

Still, thinking of him gave her peace. Thank You, Lord.

A shadow darkened the office doorway. The door was cracked only a few inches, but she saw it. The person pushed open the door slowly, hesitantly. A killer on the prowl? Kayla wanted to run to her phone, but was it worth the risk when the move might cost her her life?

After a deep breath, Kayla called out, “If you take one step in here, I’ll blow your head off!”

“You don’t like guns.”

That voice.

The light flipped on.

That face.

Kayla dropped the umbrella.

The lips on his scruffy face curled up at the corners. “Were you planning on skewering me with that thing? I’m having a bad enough day already.”

Kayla pressed one hand to her throat. “You scared me half to death with that cloak-and-dagger entrance, Conner Thorne.”

“Ah, so you haven’t forgotten me.” His lips broke into a smile. Conner Thorne. He still gave off that air of boyish charm, but there was nothing boyish about this man. Dark jeans, heavy boots, a button-up shirt and a leather jacket. His chocolate-brown hair needed cutting, and he badly needed to shave.

“You look like a thug.”

“And you look like a lawyer.” He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. “Though I guess that’s the point in both cases.”

“What are you doing here?” This was so weird. “Do you...live here in town or something?”

“Or something.” Conner glanced around the room. “Nice place. Nice town, too. I’ve been here and around for almost six months now.”

“Six—” She choked. “And you’re just coming to say hi now?”

He smiled again. “Not exactly.”

“Was that you in the hall?”

“I shot wide and chased him off. He ran down the fire escape at that end. But he saw my face.”

That seemed to be a bad thing, as Conner’s brow furrowed over his blue eyes.

“Who was it?”

He looked around her office like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. “Did you make this mess?”

Kayla exhaled and crossed the room. “Yeah, I just love cleaning so much I make messes on purpose.” She swiped up the phone. The call to 911 had disconnected. Did that mean Sheriff Johnson was on his way? “I figured whoever that was, he did this after I left work. I was picking up a file I’d forgotten that I need to work on this weekend.” She laid a hand on her roiling stomach and tried to take a deep breath. “He must have done this, then come back. Maybe he followed me. Who was it?”

“Someone I...work with.”

So he was a thug, for real? Kayla had heard he got fired after he was discredited. Too many indiscretions committed and too few orders followed. He’d never been one to toe the line, but she never dreamed he’d go this far.

Kayla glanced at the window, suddenly feeling less safe with this man who’d once been a friend.

How long until the police arrived?

The sheriff was a friend, a nice older man who protected this county fiercely. Sheriff Johnson referred battered women to her when they wanted to get help but didn’t know where to go. She’d done some good in this county that had nothing to do with her job and everything to do with a desire that no woman should ever feel the way she’d felt that night years ago. A victim.

The fear sat in her middle, unfurling like a snake ready to strike at her again.

Conner studied the room, then glanced at her. “When the sheriff gets here, tell him everything.” He checked his watch. “I don’t want to read about your grisly demise in the paper while I’m drinking my morning coffee. Okay?”

Kayla folded her arms. He couldn’t have known that man had tossed her office, couldn’t have faked that surprise. He knew that he didn’t need to do that with her when they’d always been honest with each other, even when it was hard. So why had he shown up tonight? “One condition.”

“What’s that?” He shifted his stance. Was he really so eager to leave her?

“Tell me why you’re here.”

* * *

Conner ignored the question. Being in the same room as President Harris’s daughter again was messing with his head. The cute young woman had grown into a strikingly beautiful lady who looked nothing like the Ivy League princess he’d imagined she would eventually become. She’d certainly straightened herself out from those days of pink streaks in her blond hair just to annoy her father and risky outfits her mother never would have approved of.

Conner couldn’t say the same for himself. Not if he wanted to keep his story straight...and in line with what the world believed had become of him. His handler had agreed Conner should check on Kayla, but Greg had also told him that under no circumstances should he read Kayla in on his secret.

But that was before Pete had seen his face. No doubt he was here with Manny, the only one of Andis Bamir’s men who actually had brains. But the boss couldn’t have meant for them to break in and then try to grab Kayla. Could he?

Either way, Pete knew Conner was here. His cover was blown. He’d interfered with whatever they had planned, and they knew it. Manny was probably calling the boss right now. The order would go out, and Conner would have a target on his back.

He glanced at Kayla. He could slip out before the sheriff got here. They still had a minute to talk, and then she’d be safe again. “Tell me why someone wants to scare you. What do you have in here that they need?”