Page 24 of Mile High Baby

"What about Victoria?” For a man who was clearly devoted to his daughter, he was giving very little thought to how his mission to put Pitney away would impact her.

Pain filled his face. "If it is necessary for her to go in witness protection to guarantee her safety, I will support that." It was clear that he understood that if Victoria did that, he would never see her again.

"Do you think she’d do it?" I asked.

He shrugged but at the same time, shook his head. "I doubt it, but I don't know that she's ever been in a situation like this. She's smart and pragmatic, so maybe."

I headed out the back, onto the small terrace as I called Archer Graves in Los Angeles. Once Noel retired, Archer became my boss, and if I was going to be able to see this through for Henry and Victoria, I would need his permission. At least if I wanted to keep my job.

"Alex, how are you?"

"Can't complain."

"I understand you're in New York and have something going on with the George Pitney case."

I had to hand it to him, he kept his finger on the pulse of Saint Security. "That's why I'm calling. An old friend of mine has decided to take him on."

"Surely, you told him how dangerous that can be."

"I have, but he's adamant that he needs to follow through. And he’s not wrong. He has the resources to take George on, but I've told him that chances are he's going to lose. I was hoping that I could get more time here to put things in place to keep him and his daughter safe."

"How much more time?"

“Six to eight weeks. Cuthbert is solid, and I think he can handle running the London office for that length of time."

There was a pause at the end of the line that made me uneasy. "I have concerns with the increase in work that has been coming into the London office. In fact, I was consulting with Noel about the possibility of expanding it."

"Like I said, Cuthbert can handle it." I knew Archer was a man with a wife and kids. Like Noel and Dax, Archer was bitten by the love bug, something I didn’t understand and was thankful hadn’t happened to me.

But I understood that family was important to these men, and I decided to take advantage of it. "Henry is the closest thing I have to a brother." It wasn't a lie. Henry had been there with me when I made the decision not to go into the family business and was disowned. And I didn't mean by offering a handout. I meant by encouraging me to pursue my dream. It made the fact that I had slept with his daughter so much worse. And the fact that I wanted to do it again, even knowing that who she was, made me a fucking pervert. "The point is, he's important to me, and I need to make sure that he and his daughter are safe."

"I doubt six to eight weeks are going to be enough. Chances are they're going to be in danger as long as George Pitney is living."

"I'm aware of that, but maybe by that time, we’ll have a plan in place. Or maybe I can convince him and his daughter to go into witness protection."

There was another pause. "Okay. Six weeks. I'm assuming you're not doing this alone. You're building a team there in New York to help you, right?" Like a true businessman, Archer was thinking of the bottom line. I couldn’t fault him for that. The work Saint Security did was expensive. Keeping up on technology, hiring the best of the best in all areas... it couldn’t be done on a dime.

"Absolutely."

"Good. If there's anything you need on my end, let me know."

"The time is what I need now. Thanks."

When I hung up, I went back inside and found my way to the kitchen. It looked the same as I remembered back when Henry and I were in college and had gotten high on the rooftop terrace and then come down and eaten an entire pie.

As I entered, I saw their cook busy at the stove. At the table sat Knightly, Henry's Butler, and Mrs. Tillis, the housekeeper.

As I entered, Knightly stood. "Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Sterling?"

"I was checking on the guestroom."

Mrs. Tillis stood. "We set you up on the second floor, but we can move you up to the third—”

I shook my head. "I would like to be on the main floor."

The home was the most vulnerable on the main floor, but it had the added security of being two floors way from Victoria’s bedroom.

Knightly and Mrs. Tillis looked at each other for a moment. "I'm sure that Mr. Banion would prefer that—”