Page 15 of You Found Me
Ward smoothed his expression to one of polite professionalism and got out of the car.
He usually spoke with new protectees first to establish a bond. It was hard to protect someone if they didn’t trust you. Once he thought they were on the same page, then he would address the situation at hand.
Most protectees didn’t already have a six-foot-five bouncer in the way.
He didn’t want a confrontation with Diggs in front of his principal, but he had a job to do.
His second rule of personal protection: be nice. It paved the road and inspired trust, but he wasn’t sure how far nice was going to take him given the fact that two of the three faces looking back at him were either not engaged or actively pissed off.
Ward stopped short of the steps so that he didn’t encroach on anyone’s personal space. “Good morning. I’m Donovan Ward of Storm Security. I was hired by Jackson Renic to provide additional protection for Ms. Bellamy until the threat is eliminated.”
Ms. Bellamy didn’t look up from her phone.
“Hi, Donovan,” Piper said. He detected the faintest hint of Southern charm in her accent. “Thanks for coming.”
“We don’t need additional protection,” Diggs muttered.
“Greg,” Piper said in a warning tone.
Diggs glowered at the ground. “I told you I could handle it.”
“And I toldyouthat Self Evident Records is providing this service inadditionto your own.” Piper’s voice took on a no-argument finality. “Because at the end of the day what weallwant is Della’s safety. Right?”
Diggs’s arms tensed as if he were preparing to fight, but then he deflated. Ward could tell he’d conceded the point, even if he wasn’t thrilled about it.
It was enough. For now.
Ward stepped into the silence and gestured at his team. “This is Annie Laurence, who’ll be doing a risk assessment today, and Spencer Mathews, who’ll take care of the tech side of things. Once we get those underway, we can go over particulars for the week.”
“I still say this is ridiculous.” His principal’s tone held a heavy dose of frustration and not even a hint of Southern.
“Della, we talked about this,” Piper said.
“Wedidn’t.” Ms. Bellamy turned toward her sister, effectively dismissing Ward and his team. “You, Lizzie, Mattie, and Renic did all the talking. Even Romi got her shots in. I was assigned the role of sit still and be quiet like I was still ten years old.”
“This is serious, Della.”
“Oh, I know,” Ms. Bellamy said. “You’ve all told me a thousand times how serious this is.”
“Della…”
His new protectee was everything he’d expected her to be. Spoiled. Self-Indulgent. Petulant.
She held up her hands in mock surrender. “I know, I know. There’s a lunatic after me. I’m in danger. You’re all worried. I get it.Believeme. I get it. I’m here, aren’t I? I’m doing what you want. You can bring in that”—her gaze raked over Ward, and he felt the full force of her irritation—“thatextra security. Just don’t expect me to jump for joy about being trapped here.”
She turned her back on him and stalked inside. Diggs followed her a few heartbeats later.
The whole thing had been like watching the main star of a play make their exit offstage.
Ward scowled at the open door. He couldn’t protect someone who didn’t want to be protected. They made it ten times harder by sheer lack of cooperation.
But this job meant funds and opportunity and a huge leap forward for his business, so he stuffed his attitude into a box in the back of his mind and stepped forward to shake Piper’s hand. “Glad to be here, Ms. Bellamy. Can you take us around the property and show us what we have to work with?”
Chapter Three
Della dangled her feet in her sister’s retro Hollywood pool and wished for what felt like the millionth time over the past week that she could be somewhere,anywhere, else.
This, Della decided, had to be one of the circles of hell.