Page 10 of Falcon's Prey
“Her name is Ember,” he spat at me, and I bit my tongue. “I’m sending someone to cover for you. This won’t take long.”
“Sounds good.”
As soon as the line disconnected, I opened the camera feed on my cell, and once I saw Ember was still passed out in the living room, I threw my phone on the bed and changed. When the guard posted at the entrance of the building texted me to let me know my replacement was here, I left my room. The first thing I did when I walked out was to check what Ember was doing. Not surprisingly, she was still sleeping.
Before I left the house, I went to the couch and stared at Ember. She looked peaceful, with an almost angelic face. When I noticed still some powder on her nose, I poured some water on her face.
She was nothing like I thought she would be.
The penthouse had two exits. The front door led to a hallway with an elevator and fire exits. This was only accessible to Ember. The penthouse on the other side was this one’s mirror. My replacement, a light-skinned African American, was already in the elevator lobby waiting for me.
“Ren.” I nodded.
“Marcus,” he replied. He took a step toward the door but stopped. “What is she doing?”
“She just woke up,” I said as I walked into the elevator door and closed it.
It took me about twenty minutes to make it to headquarters. Here I was, an orphan from the streets getting around in a company Maybach. Talk about wasting money on unnecessary shit for employees.
“Here I am,” I said as I walked into Sam’s office.
He wasn’t as tall as I was, but he carried himself with an authority that came with years of experience. He spoke to all his men in the same hard tone, unflinching except when he talked to Ember. That’s when you saw the hard man soften a bit.
“Take a seat.” He motioned for the chair across from him.
Doing as he asked, I waited to see what he would tell me next. He didn’t say anything; instead, he pulled out a folder and handed it to me. My blood chilled the minute I opened the contents of the envelope. It was all cut-out pictures of Ember. Some were of her walking down the street, getting into a cab, at clubs, in alleys with guys.
“Normally, I don’t make it a habit to show her security this information.” As he said those words, I felt pride that he saw something different in me. “But things have escalated, and I can’t keep you in the dark, so for my sake and hers, I hope you last.”
“I don’t see myself quitting anytime soon,” I told him.
He gave me a look, but didn’t comment.
“Listen, kid, this job won’t be easy. Ember’s the kind of girl that makes you work double. Until we find a way to end this, I need to know that you will make her a priority in all things.”
“What do you mean?” I was already making more than enough just protecting this girl.
“I mean, you are her shadow. You basically don’t have a life outside of hers.”
This complicated things with Pam. I would figure it out, though.
“I don’t have much outside this job.” That wasn’t entirely a lie either. “May I ask why you’re concerned now?”
Sam took a deep breath and looked at the wall. “She’s always had a target on her back. She’s an heiress to the second-largest diamond distributor in the world. That kind of money doesn’t come without a price. Around her nineteenth birthday was when we received the first photo. We tried to trace it, but there was no way to do it. We assumed she had a stalker, so we added more security without her knowing. Her father has had a hit on him. That’s why he doesn’t want to be in the same place as her for long. If her target and his come from the same person, it would make it easier to get both of them.”
“Why is this happening?”
Sam looked at me now, and if I were a lesser man, I would have flinched. “Money. Power. Take your pick.”
I gave an understanding nod.
“You may go. Stay vigilant; you see anything out of the ordinary, report it. I don’t give a fuck how insignificant you might think it is.”
I moved to stand up. “Why haven’t you notified the authorities?”
“Boy, in this world, everyone has someone in their pocket.”
That was the damn truth. With power came corruption. I started to walk out when I remembered he hadn’t answered my other question.