“But why don’t you use the one at the house when you’re there? It would certainly save you money on your internet bill.”
She shrugged, smiled. “I have a prepaid, unlimited plan.”
He clasped his hands behind his back and rolled on his heels.
“Did you serve with Hix in the army?” she asked, steering his mind elsewhere.
“Five years. One of the best soldiers I’ve ever known. It’s too bad he had to leave when he had so many good years left.”
“Had to leave?” she asked. “Was he pushed out?”
“Oh, hell no. They begged him not to go. But once he knew about Bella, nothing was going to keep him away from her.”
Everly exhaled, relieved to hear her own assessment of Hix had been accurate.
She glanced around the patio, which was filling with guests. “I didn’t expect so many people.”
“Companies need courting before they spend millions of dollars.”
“Who all is here?”
“Titus Security brought five of their top executives,” he said, surveying the crowd, “and another twenty of their employees who are going to take part in the training. They were all allowed to bring their significant others. Add in our security guys and members of the teams coming in for training on our end, and yeah, we’ve got quite a crowd.”
A crowd perfect for her teammates to slide right into. Roman and Gianna had already penetrated the group, strolling arm in arm among the guests. Everly knew Ian had been dispatched to watch the beach because there was a chance Decker could identify him, but she saw two other Manhunters threading through the crowd—Granger Smith and Anders Sterling. They’d both been on the operation in Syria with Everly just before she’d been dispatched to Costa Rica. The men easily melted in with the other badass military attendees, dressed well and hoping to look civilized. Just like her.
“Mr. Hix told me about the four men he hired locally for added security,” she told Decker. “He said he would introduce them to me tonight, but he was swept away by the CEO as soon as we got here. Can I meet them? There are a lot of rough guys here. I’d like to know which ones are ours.”
“Of course. Grab Bella, and I’ll find them. Two are here, inside the event, the other two are stationed outside, one at the entrance, one on the beach.”
Everly tried to take Bella’s hand, but she kept pulling out of her grasp to play with the toy. “Jeez, I can’t win here.” She bent and lifted Bella into her arms. “Precious, you need to listen to me tonight.”
When she came up beside Decker, he said, “A lot of activity always distracts her.”
“I’m going to have to keep an extra tight eye on her.”
“We’ve all got eyes on her too.”
She smiled at him. “That’s good to hear.”
The more security there was, the less likely her teammates would be to contemplate an extraction. Roman had told her there was no definite plan in place—they were still investigating Everly’s suspicions about Paige Seaver—but they’d told her to be ready for anything. While distractions could aid in an abduction, she doubted it would be a smart tactic here. There were so many highly trained people together in one place, this had powder-keg implications for the Manhunters. And she had no doubt Austin would put every one of these men—his own and Titus’s—into action if Bella went missing.
Even deep in conversation with several different men, Hix had a dime on Bella. Everly watched him put eyes on her every two to three minutes.
Decker approached two young men, early twenties, one Hispanic, one Caucasian. Both wore suits and the telltale plastic spiral of a communication device over their ears. Decker introduced them, and both men, Ramon and Eric, greeted Everly with a cool professional air.
“Everly.” Hix’s voice drew her attention, and he waved her over.
“The master calls,” Everly told Decker with a grin. “Thanks for your help.”
“My pleasure.”
Everly walked toward Hix while speaking to Bella. “Your daddy wants to introduce you, Bella. Do you remember what we do when we meet new people?”
“Yeah.” But she didn’t look up from the spinner.
“Decker put sour gummies in the toy bag for you.”
Her head snapped up, gaze focused. “He did?”