Page 107 of Good Enough

Waters caught the smirk on TB’s face before he turned it away as if he were scanning the area for hidden assailants. “Having you close, where I know you’re safe, and Demon there helping to clear the house is preferable, yes. But I would understand if you can’t go inside.”

Indecision and a touch of fear sparked in her eyes again as Kubrick bit her bottom lip and ducked her head. But a moment later, when she raised her face to Waters’, her voice was solid, like it had always been on the set. “Okay.”

Waters’ eyes lit up, and he smiled for the first time that day. Probably in six weeks. “There’s my girl. Knew she was in there somewhere.” He smoothed the hair back. “Okay. Nemo, I’ve got her six, you lead.”

She slid out of the truck, and reluctantly, he let go of her only for her hand to reach back for his as they walked.

Well, fuck.

42

MAY 20TH

Kai

She was pacing the length of the conference room. It didn’t matter that she knew someone was watching her through the hidden cameras. She couldn’t sit. She couldn’t stand still. This whole situation was freaking her out, and no one was talking to her. Not that she really wanted them to talk to her. Whatever they had to say wasn’t going to be good.

Despite holding her hand as they went back inside her house, Waters had not said anything else to her other than an occasional direction of where to stand or where to go.

Demon had given her face another quick once over, focusing particularly on her eyes. He’d asked a couple of quick, cursory questions, probably checking for a concussion, then he’d moved on to the body in the middle of the floor. When he was done, he’d looked up to see her staring at it, then pulled a quilt from off the edge of the sofa and used it to at least take the face out of her sight. He offered her a small nod, then disappeared to whatever his next task was.

While the men had gone through the entire house, none of them had spoken to her, nor had they appeared to be looking at her. But she knew without a shadow of a doubt they were aware of everything to do with her.

The door of the conference room opened, and she whipped around to see Waters come into the room, followed by the rest of his team. He placed the starfish in the center of the table and engaged the security protocols. The windows shielded, the lighting muted to the red emergency tones, and everyone was seated around the table except for her, clutching the back of the chair in front of her.

“Sit, Kubrick.” Waters’ voice was soft, but it was clearly a command.

“I…”

“Please,” he added.

She nodded and nervously sat in the chair she’d been standing behind.

This is not going to go well.

God’s disembodied voice chided, “We don’t usually see clients once a job is completed.”

Kai sneered at the starfish. “I wasn’t aware the job you’d been hired for had been completed. You abandoned me mid-consultation and when I was still in danger, despite our not knowing that it had nothing to do with Ka-Bar. And speaking of my brother, he’s still swinging out there, so you’re not even close to finished with this ‘job.’” Someone in the room coughed. She hung her head, eyes closed.

All right, shut that shit down right now. You are in a fucking mess, and vocalizing your panic is not going to help your cause.

Inhale. Exhale. Eyes opened. “What do you need from me?” she asked.

“Top to bottom, what happened,” Waters encouraged her.

She expelled a deep breath before speaking to the group. “Like I told Waters, I spent the night at the studio. I watched the final cut of the film. I went to breakfast. Then I went to a meeting with Big Bird.”

“Was it a scheduled meeting?”

“Yes. 9 a.m.”

“His request or yours.”

“His. Ish. It was the final audit of the budget. He always requires an exit meeting when everything is complete.”

“Was anyone else there?”

She spared a glance at Waters before answering. “No. It was just me.” His face didn’t change, but she swore she saw a tic in his cheek. “His secretary was out front the entire time, though.”