Fearless Hero

“So, how’s it going, Brady?” he asked. Jordan was a middle-aged man, vibrant and in good shape. He was ex FBI and he always managed to speak in a friendly tone, even during the most trying of times. This had always been a trait I admired about him—until now. I could tell that something unpleasant was on the way, and I didn’t appreciate the false pleasantries he was attempting to show me. I wanted him to get to the point and stop wasting my time.

“Pretty good,” I said, deciding to keep my answers short and to the point.

“And how is Ms. Autumn Harper doing?”

“Fine.”

“Is she? Coping well with all the drama going on with her father at the moment? I know how close the two of them are. It has to be hard for them to be separated like this.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Sure. But Autumn is a smart girl. She understands that all of this is being done for her own protection, and that her father would have it no other way.”

Jordan nodded. “I understand that she’s a smart young woman. So I have no doubt that she understands logically why these measures have been put into place. I guess what I’m referring to is how she’s doing emotionally and psychologically.”

I tilted my head. “She’s fine…”

“So you haven’t seen any signs of emotional distress from her end?”

“No offense, sir, but if you wanted to ask questions about her emotional and psychological wellbeing, I’m sure you could have contacted her instead.”

Jordan laughed. “Oh, I don’t want to stress her out any further. I figured I could gather what I needed from you, since you’ve been spending every waking moment with her, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Just for clarification, I do mean every waking moment. Or have you been spending more than waking moments with her? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”

I froze in my seat, wondering if he was implying what I thought he was, or if I was just being paranoid.

There was no way anyone could have known that Autumn and I had…

I wracked my brain, trying to figure out how we could have possibly been caught.

Maybe you’re just jumping to conclusions, I told myself. First, find out what he really means…

“I’m sorry,” I said, “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking.”

“Really now?”

A long silence passed between us, and Jordan literally started twirling his thumbs. His brow lowered and he stared at the table for a moment, as if trying to find the right words to say. “Have you been getting a bit too attached to Ms. Autumn Harper, Brady?”

“No,” I answered immediately, the lie leaping off my tongue. Fuck.

“Hmm.”

It was evident that Jordan didn’t believe me, and I had no idea what else to say. I was treading on thin ice though.

“Well,” he continued, “just to be on the safe side, I am reassigning you to Speaker Harper himself. There have been some suspicious whispers about the relationship you’ve been developing with Autumn, and I would just hate for any issues or scandals to arise while the Speaker is in consideration for Vice President. Not to mention that Savage Soldiers have a stellar reputation to protect. You understand, right?”

I paused for a long moment. “I’m sorry, but I belong with Autumn,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I’m not trying to be difficult, but she trusts me. I think it would be detrimental to assign someone else to her right now, for…you know, psychological and emotional reasons.”

“Do you now?” Jordan said. “And whose psychological and emotional reasons are we talking about here, yours or hers?”

I swallowed. “I…I just don’t think it’s a good idea to reassign—”

“Can you promise me that you can refrain from getting too attached to Autumn Harper?”

“Yes,” I said, feeling a knot flip in my stomach.

“Then you may eventually be reassigned to her. For now though, please