Taken By the Pack

“Anyway.” I snapped back to attention when Vince talked a little sharper, demanding we all focus on him once more. “I will let you all get to know one another a little better. I still have the Vanderbilt family here and we might need to smooth over some cracks.”

Some cracks.Yeah, some definite shit went down here. Poor Renee, she was the only one I truly felt for in this situation. Diego really did seem like a piece of shit to me. It didn’t matter how much I didn’t want to judge a book by its cover, I could feel myself not liking him anyway.

There was a weird, thick air clinging to all of us once Vince left the room. It was almost as if no one quite knew what to say. I would usually jump in and make some kind of joke to break the ice, but that was when Stark wasn’t on jobs with us. I had a feeling he wouldn’t want to ease things with jokes. He didn’t work the same way I did, so I had to keep my lips pressed tightly together just in case. I had to take the lead from my boss.

“So, Miss Vaughn…” Stark started stiffly, making me cringe. We were definitely going the opposite way of jokes. This didn’t make me feel comfortable at all. All the air might as well have been sucked out of the room. “I think it is best for us to get up to date on your schedule. We need to know every you have upcoming event. That way one of us will always be around to ensure your safety at all times.”

“Well, I do have the wedding,” Renee started in a soft spoken, almost singsong tone of voice. “But the preparations for that are being done in house. Mrs. Vanderbilt and my mother will be in charge of most things.”

Interesting. I wondered why she didn’t want to have more of a say in her own wedding. Surely, it was her day, and she would want it to go exactly as she wanted. But then, I’d already figured out that Renee was different. So perhaps she just was not one of those women who cared too much about the details of her big day. Perhaps the most important thing for her was the dress and the man on her arm. Not that he seemed like much of a man to me.

“Anything else?” Stark asked, seemingly unaffected.

“Oh, well, I do have an art show.” That sparked my attention. A whole art show, that sounded awesome. I wanted to be in on that job to see more of her work. “And a charity gala.”

“We will need to have all the details for those events.” Stark remained clinical. It continued to make me feel awkward, but I didn’t fight it.

I caught Lucky’s eyes as Stark sat down at the small table within the library to write down the dates and locations of Renee’s events. He cocked a knowing eyebrow at me, stifling a laugh. We were all used to running the show on different RedEye operations, or at least smoothly working together as a well-oiled machine. There was a new weird dynamic to it now, with the big boss man around. None of us quite knew what to think or how to behave. It was wild. I wasn’t even sure where to stand and how I was supposed to act. It was just plain odd.

Eventually, Lucky and Toby also drifted over to the table and began talking about logistics. I could have easily joined in on their conversation, but it didn’t seem like the right thing to do. I was probably more empathetic than the others, more in tune with people’s feelings. I was getting the impression that Renee was already a little overwhelmed by everything and the last thing I wanted to do was make it worse for her. Instead, I drifted around the outskirts of the library, pausing to look at a couple of books. There were more art pieces in here that I hadn’t yet seen, but that I really wanted to examine.

I suddenly had a weird spine-tingling sensation. It was the feeling of being watched, which never really sat right with me. I guess it was the soldier within me. I quickly spun on my heels to find myself looking into the bright blue eyes of Renee Vaughn. My heart skipped a couple of beats as our gazes locked. I was stuck in time, frozen to the spot, unable to move even if I wanted to. She had me pinned. What the hell was going on? I could hardly move as she slowly rose from her seat and moved toward me. Her hips swayed as she moved. I was transfixed, utterly consumed by her. It was the weirdest sensation I had ever experienced.

“Are you a big art lover?” she asked me coyly, a pinkness staining her cheeks.

“Oh, well…” I couldn’t lie to her; it didn’t feel right. Even if it might have made her feel better to think of me as someone who she could discuss art with. “Not exactly. But I really do love these pieces of art. There is something magnetic about them.”

“You think so?”

I paused, waiting for her to admit that she was the artist, but she seemed too modest for that. It was up to me to confess that I already knew she was the talented one. “You are the artist, right?”

She nodded slowly.

“Well, that’s really something. You are extremely talented. I am not very often impressed, but I’m extremely impressed by these pieces.”

She blushed brighter and tucked a stray wavy strand of hair behind her ear. “Thank you very much. That’s very kind of you.”

“I would love to be able to paint like that. I would love to have any kind of creative talent.”

Renee turned away from me and focused on her painting. I could tell that there were so many things she wanted to say, but so many things she was holding back. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was something Renee did often. Did she always feel compelled to hide her emotions and keep her truth inside? I hoped I would be able to make her see that she didn’t have to act that way with me. I wasn’t in her fancy pants wealthy world, so she could say whatever she wanted to me. If she needed someone to confide in, that was. Maybe I was reading too much into things and making assumptions that just weren’t true.

“Hey, Wes.” Stark sounded sharp once more. “I need to talk to you about logistics as well. We need to work out who is going to do what, and who will be where at all times.”

I swallowed hard. Did Stark sense that I was getting a little too emotionally attached to Renee already? Shit, maybe it wasn’t a good idea for me to be a shoulder to cry on. Maybe it was much better for me to always keep a professional distance. “Yep, coming.”

I couldn’t follow Stark to the table, or outside the library, without shooting one last hopeful glance toward Renee. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but she wasn’t even looking at me, which kind of hurt. She had her eyes fixed on her shoes like I hadn’t had any impact on her at all. But then why would I have any effect on her? She was engaged and had her own intricate life to be worried about. I was just someone hired to watch her, to keep her safe.

“Come on,” Stark muttered, almost under his breath. “We can do this just between us now that I have Renee’s schedule with me.”

It wasn’t just me he wanted; it was all of us. Lucky followed Stark out of the library easily, as did I. But as I twisted back to take one last look at Renee, Toby closed the door on me. I was stunned. He was still in the library, with Renee, and looking like he wanted to talk to her on his own. Why did that make my feelings twist up all weirdly in my guts?

“Is Toby not needed” I asked Stark, hating the way I sounded petty and a little bit jealous. “I thought you wanted all of us.”

“Oh, someone needs to stay with Renee,” Stark replied dismissively, waving his hand behind himself as if the question bothered him more than anything else. “Mr. Vaughn wants someone with her at all times from now on. Even here, in her own home. That’s what we need to work out. We all need to know where we are going to be at all times.”

Why would Renee need a personal body guard in her own house? Did Mr. Vaughn sense something unpleasant about Diego, just like we all had? Or, again, was I reading too much into everything? I shook my head, trying to stop myself from overanalyzing everything. It wasn’t going to help anything here. I was here to do a job, to keep Renee safe at all times. Nothing else mattered.