Then, I watched as he ran back across the property, slammed himself into the hole he’d dug, and closed it back up with the original dirt.
“What the fuck?” I said.
“The south side was triggered one minute and forty-two seconds after that man filled the hole. It wasn’t triggered, Mr. Steele. They ran a program that triggered it for them. After that guy escaped.”
“What the hell is going on? I hired you to protect this place.”
“Sir, if I may be bold,” the security guard asked.
“I don’t give a damn what you are right now. All I want is answers!”
“Well, sir. It’s not an answer.” He paused and cleared his throat. But it is a suggestion.”
“Listen to the man,” Griggs said. “He’s good.”
“Apparently, not good enough,” I glared, arms crossed. I was pissed.
“It wasn’t his job to catch this guy. It was mine. You wanna be mad at someone? Be mad at me. His job was to get you into this limo, and that’s what he did. Now, I suggest you listen to him since your life is literally hanging in the balance,” Griggs said.
I turned to the security guard and raised my eyebrows.
“I suggest some personal supplemental protection. I know a security firm that contracts personal security guards out to high-risk and high-value targets. At the moment, you’re both. I think you should hire them for one-on-one protection until we can get this all sorted out. You can put all the shit on your lawn you want, but nothing’s gonna help you if that asshole gets inside your home.”
I nodded as I sighed, leaning into the seat of my limo. “I appreciate your candor, Mr. ...?”
“Deacon. Call me Deacon, sir.”
“Mr. Deacon. I appreciate the suggestion. And while I think it is a bit of an overkill, some might argue that electronic gates infused with electric charges are a bit overkill as well,” I said.
“Some would say that, sir. Yes.”
“Do you happen to have their number on you?” I watched Deacon pull a card from his pocket before he handed it over to me.
“Tell them Deac referred you. They’ll give you their best,” he said.
“I thought you said I was right up their alley? Would they not give me their best to begin with?”
“They would. But there’s a particular contractor they employ who’s miles above the rest. Tell them Deac sent you, and they’ll be sure to put them on your detail. Immediately.”
“Then, I’ll tell them just that,” I said. “Thank you for your suggestion.”
“Anything to help, sir. Anything to help.”
Chapter 1
Derek
One Week Later
SITTING AT MY DESK, I started in on another mound of electronic paperwork. The well-placed phone call with Deacon’s reference had me on the line with someone who struck me as the type of person who didn’t do much customer service interaction with their security company. Instead of informing the man on the other end of the line what was going on, he explained to me that his most efficient bodyguard would be put on my case within the next week. There was no need to brief him over the phone, for security reasons, and that was that.
The phone call was short, sweet, and to the point.
That was a week ago, and now I sat waiting for the new guy—the best of the best—to show up. I was sent over a brief file of the man that would be guarding me until I no longer needed it. Sam Williams was his name, and he was more than qualified for this position. An Army veteran with an expertise in firearms, close quarters combat, and psychological warfare, he’d left the military to work with a private military contractor and did very impressive things with that firm. Hostage rescue, terrorist takedowns, and employed privately to help the finest FBI teams hunt down psychopaths. This man was a beast, and the more I read about his file, the more intrigued I became. The guy was good at what he did.
After a brief stint with taking down a child sex trafficking ring in Columbia, Sam Williams moved to the security business. And his record was still impressive. Sam had never lost track of a client, never been fired. But the most important thing was that Sam had a perfect record.
None of Sam’s clients had ever been killed.