Page 47 of Beau
“Aurelie,” he started again, “Beau got the assignment because the other members of the team were unavailable.” He spread his arms wide. “I’d take you myself, but I can’t today. If you can wait until tomorrow, I might find room on my schedule.”
Her brow furrowed. “That’s fine. I’ll find my own ride.”
“Miss Anderson—Aurelie,” Remy said. “You’re in mortal danger. No matter how you feel about Beau, he will keep you safe. Let him do his job. If you still feel the same tomorrow, I’ll take you to Baton Rouge myself. But, please, let Beau provide the protection you need until then.”
Her pretty lips pressed into a thin line. For a long moment, she didn’t respond, as if going over her options in her mind.
Finally, she nodded. “Okay. Only until tomorrow. Get me to Baton Rouge, where I’ll have a discussion with my father, and Brotherhood Protectors will be relieved of responsibility for my safety.”
Remy dipped his head. “Agreed.”
No! No! No!
Beau’s instinctive reaction was to argue and shake some sense into Aurelie. He sensed she was too angry at that moment to listen. He might as well talk to a wall. The hard-headed woman needed time to cool off.
He’d apologize and promise to be completely transparent from that moment forward. It might not make a difference, but he had to try. She might be the client, but she was beginning to be more than just the job. Hell, she’d been more than just a client from when he’d pulled her into his arms on the dance floor.
Something about her drew him to her like no other woman had ever achieved.
She was strong, independent and knew what she wanted and didn’t want. He couldn’t let anything happen to her. If she fired him, he’d still follow her around to make sure she didn’t end up in the bayou with the alligators again, or worse.
Remy met Beau’s gaze. “Let me know what you need me to do in the morning.”
Beau gave a brief nod. “Yes, sir.”
Remy’s gaze returned to Aurelie. “Beau will protect you. You don’t have to like him but let him do his job. I’m sure you’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, but you don’t have eyes in the back of your head. Beau has your six. He’ll make sure you’re safe. The Brotherhood Protectors are trained to work as a team, to have each other’s backs. It’s how we survived on the battlefield.”
Aurelie sighed. “I hear you.”
“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Remy said. “I want to feed your information to our computer guru in the main office. Swede is a master at finding information on the internet and the dark web.”
Aurelie’s eyebrows shot up. “Dark web?”
Remy nodded. “He checks all the information on all the databases he can access. If someone has a dark past, he’ll find it.”
She nodded again. “Good.”
“I’ll have him look into your father’s opponent, too.”
“Why would his opponent target me? If he didn’t want competition, wouldn’t he eliminate it? Why would he go after me?”
“We need to cover every angle,” Remy said. “Sometimes, the most bizarre ideas prove to be the ones that solve the case.”
“We’ll be at Old Man Pearson’s house. Do you know where that is?” Beau asked.
Remy nodded. “We used to go swimming off his dock in the summertime.”
Beau chuckled. “Elise mentioned that it was a favorite of her peers. I don’t remember swimming there as a teen.”
“Old Man Pearson never minded. It was in a cove that few boats entered. We didn’t have to worry about being run over by fishing boats or party barges.”
Beau shook his head. “I must have spent too many summers in Bayou Miste with my cousins. I’ll have to give it a try.”
“You should,” Remy said with a smile. Let me know if you need backup. I’ll have my phone on me in case of emergencies.”
“Will do.” Beau glanced at Aurelie, who still wasn’t meeting his gaze. His heart pinched hard in his chest. All he could do was to keep moving. Hopefully, Aurelie would come around. “Ready?”
She gave a quick nod, spun on her heels and marched for the door.