Cobra (Blue Angel Security Book 1), page 4
“I wish more employers would treat their employees the way your boss does. He sounds like a good man.”
“He is. You’re not the first person who has came up here to say that. I try not to tell the big boss, though. I have a funny feeling it’d go to his head. Okay Jaycee, through here, please,” he opens a door, revealing his office.
Jackal’s office is like most offices. He has a filing cabinet, his desk, which I might add is a train wreck waiting to happen and what I’m certain of is another one of his boss’ trademarks, a second round table.
“Please, Jaycee, have a seat. We have some things to discuss before I bring in Cobra and Shadow,” he motions to the round table where a folder ominously sits. Even without him acknowledging it, I know it’s mine. Luna is efficient, sometimes too much.
“Cobra and Shadow?” I repeat their names with a teasing tone. “Interesting names. I take it they were obsessed with G.I. Joe as children?”
Puzzled, Jackal looks over at me expectantly, waiting for me to elaborate. The corner of my lip lifts up as I try to keep a straight face. “Why else would they give themselves code names like that? Only G.I. Joe obsessed little boys would do that.”
Softly, Jackal chuckles placing a hand on my file, “I’ll have to remember that one, but actually it’s our boss that gave us all our code names. After reading through our missions or positions we’ve held in the past, he assigned each of us a name. It’s safer for us to use them than our real names. And as you are about to find out, all of the members on my team have interesting names.” He kindly smiles at me as he waves his free hand toward an empty chair, indicating for me to sit.
“So Jaycee, let’s start with the basics. Blue Angel Security, or BAS as you’ll often hear us call it, is a small elite force of men and hopefully, one day women, who have sworn to protect those who need our services. Currently, we have six close body guards within our organization. They’re divided into two-man teams. In addition to protection detail, I have a cracker jack computer analyst. The kid is a genius behind the screen, but not so great with people, so it’s a good thing he usually stays in his lab. Lastly, there’s me. I’m the first one to see everyone’s files unless it’s sealed, and then that’s Gannon’s call. Most of the time, I’m also the one to assign our clients to their team. I will evaluate you and your team to see how you mesh together. If it’s not a good fit, I’ll remove that team and start again. We do this process until we get it right.”
“And what happens if you don’t get it right with the three teams you currently have?”
“Then I’ll protect you, personally.” My eyes grow as wide as Lake Placid, while I try to visualize how that might look. Do I really want the leader at my beck and call because of a crazed ex brother-in-law? While I haven’t admitted this to anyone, not even to Luna, I know it has to be him. Dalton and Bryant are locked up, so if there’s a concern for me, it’s a direct result of Damon. His interest in me had already been borderline obsession. I knew it only had to be worse now, after everything.
Jackal, noticing my reaction, tries his best to tease me and lighten the mood. “Don’t worry, that hasn’t happened… much.” Tapping the folder in front of himself he smiles at me, bringing me back to the present instead of fixating on things that I can’t control. “You must be a very special young lady. Your file was delivered by courier to us yesterday, sealed. You’ve already been cleared by our boss, Gannon, and he’s already hand selected your team. Now it’s your turn. Tell me Jaycee, what do I need to know about you?”
Gannon? His second mention of the name has my interest raised. I think I owe a certain lady a call after this meeting…
“Well, Jackal, Gannon has been my only protector for years and I’m pretty sure whatever he wanted you to know about me is already in that file. All I know is he arranged for me to meet with you all this morning. I’m not sure what else I can tell you.”
“So, no one has made contact with you, that shouldn’t have?”
“Not that I know of, but when they do, I doubt even your organization will be able to keep me safe. No one can.”
“Alright, well, let’s see if we can lay some of those fears to rest.” he grins, pressing a button, “It’s showtime.”
The door opens almost immediately and two large figures enter the room. They briefly glance at me, and my hand curls in a fist as my nerves ignite all over again. Together they move toward the side of the room, and stand still, waiting for Jackal to resume speaking. “Boys, I’d like to introduce you to your newest client.” As they walk around the table my heart begins to race and I feel the panic starting to build, suddenly feeling trapped in a room with three men I know nothing of and only one way out. I bite on my lip, forcing myself to remain calm. Luna trusts them. “These are two of the best men I’ve had the honor of working with, Cobra is on your right, and Shadow is straight ahead of you. Men, this is Jaycee, your latest client.”
Unable to respond quite yet, I clench my fists tightly together as I attempt to get a hold of the sudden onslaught of bitter memories. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, which happens to be mistake number two. Instantly my eyes pop open. Three concerned faces reflect on me as I scan the room zeroing in one man. I stare at him, remembering what Luna and Liam have taught me over the years. I’m stronger than I give myself credit for.
“Sugar? Are you okay?” Cobra asks me.
“Sugar?” I mock, turning to face Cobra. “I could’ve sworn Jackal introduced me with a name, not as a food sweetener,” he laughs, changing his approach to me.
“Jaycee, are you okay?”
“Yes, no. I’m okay. It’s the cologne your partner is wearing. It’s one I’ll never forget. The moment I smell that particular scent, my mind flashes back to a time I’d rather forget about.”
“And you associate this cologne with whom?” Shadow asks. I release a shuddering breath looking over at him.
“My ex-husband, he wore it daily.”
“Noted,” Cobra says as I finally look over at him and really see him. Leaning against the office wall he literally looks like he came straight off the cover of People’s magazine, Sexiest Man Alive.
I swallow hard, hazarding a glance at the rest of him. Oh hell. This man is easily my every fantasy of sex on legs. As he leans against the hall, I take my fill. He has broad shoulders, and very well-defined arms with more muscles than any one man should possess. And his tattoos? Lord help me. He has full sleeves of beautiful tribal art from what I can see. I wonder if it’d be too forward to ask him to remove his shirt? I’d love to see what he’s hiding under it. Oh, hell no, we can’t do that. Especially with it doing nothing to disguise his ripped abs.
I silently continue my perusal of this glorious piece of eye candy. I soak in every tight inch of his jeans that I’m sure are hiding a package that most women, me included, would love to take for a test drive. I’ve never been very good at driving a stick shift, but for him, I’d learn.
Curbing my lustful thoughts, my eyes travel the length of his well-chiseled body, appreciating every facet of him. He’s tall, at least six feet. Finally, my perusal lands on his gorgeous milk chocolate-colored eyes. As I gaze into his orbs, I realize the man must have an aversion to hair, because Cobra is nearly bald. I never thought that I’d find a bald man attractive but on him… it’s sexy as sin. The thing on this man that I have an inkling will gut me every time, is his smile, which right now is aimed at me with a smirk that promises to be filled with nothing but trouble. Three words describe Cobra to a T.
Sexy. Arrogant. Confident.
“See something you like, Jaycee?”
Intoxicated by him, I nearly miss his question, but I don’t miss the chuckle from Shadow. Busted. Luckily, Shadow breezes over Cobra’s question and immediately gets down to business.
“Your ex-husband, is he the one you’re running from?”
“Yes and no…” I fidget knowing it’s my turn to answer some questions and unfortunately for me I know that’ll lead to reliving it all over again.
Jackal interrupts me, “Jaycee, I’m going to put the cologne down as a trigger in your file. What’s the name of it? Is there anything else that needs to be added? Do you need us to reschedule this meeting for tomorrow?”
“Creed,” Shadow growls across from me. “This cologne is going in the trash when I get home. You have nothing to fear with me, Jaycee. I’m so sorry.”
“Shadow, it’s not your fault. You had no idea.”
“Still, it won’t happen again. I guarantee that,” he reiterates, clearly annoyed with himself.
Feeling out of my league with the protective vibe coming from of Shadow, I turn my attention back to the man sitting silently in his chair, waiting for my reply.
“No, Jackal, we don’t need to reschedule. I have plans for the remainder of the week, and I really can’t reschedule them.”
“Are you sure, Jaycee? We can do this another time.”
“I’m good as long as Shadow stays back against the wall near you.” I turn slightly facing Shadow, “As much as you want to help me right now, the best thing you can do is to stay back there. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it, Jaycee. I’ll stand perfectly still so you can check out the sexiest man in the room, without that cologne creeping into your senses.”
“Oh, and is that man supposed to be you?” I smirk at him. “I hate to break it to you, Mr. Smooth Talker, but I was brought up to be a good southern woman, and we don’t lie.” I laugh with him hoping, maybe Luna is right and this could soon be over. I would love nothing more than to be able to let my guard down and have real friends. Not friends that I have to protect from my past.
Jackal loses it beside me and busts up laughing, “I think she’s going to match perfectly with you two as soon as Shadow loses the cologne. Jaycee, are you sure you want to do this now?”
“As I’ll ever be. So, my ex-husband was a monster in disguise and so was his twin brother, Damon. When I first met Dalton, he was a kind, generous, understanding man. He spoiled me, made me feel loved and cherished. The night we got married, I thought all my dreams had come true. Only years later, would I learn it was all a con; he never loved me.”
“And what brought you to that conclusion, Jaycee?” Cobra hesitantly asks.
Thinking about how to best answer his question, I brace myself for the tidal wave of emotions that come with talking about that part of my life. “When Dalton and I got married, I thought I had it all. I had wonderful, loving, parents who doted on me my whole life, and I had an equally amazing husband. Dalton was six years older than me. He was mature, good looking, charming, and later I would learn very manipulative. I married him less than six months after turning eighteen. Foolish, I now see, but at the time I couldn’t see how premature that decision was. I was blinded by what I thought was my love for him and his love for me. For five years we lived in a fairytale world, he cherished me, took me on exotic vacations, spoiled me like any wife would love to be. I thought we would raise a family and grow old together. All the while, he, along with Bryant, my brother, and most likely his twin brother, Damon, were stealing from my father’s company. Apparently, his very sizable salary wasn’t enough to satisfy his greed,” I say, scanning the room occupied with three strangers, focusing on Cobra. There’s something about deep voice that puts me at ease, and looking into his eyes is definitely not any hardship on me. I blink back the tears as I explain how my world imploded into nothing but ash.
Tightly, I hold my hands together, allowing the memories from that night to flow through me. “About a year before my parents’ murders and my subsequent attempted murder, he started changing. Nothing drastic at first, which is why I barely noticed. As much as it pisses me off now to admit it, I really didn’t see it until my counselor started asking the right questions.”
“What kind of changes?” Jackal asks while looking at my file, jotting down notes.
“He began picking out my clothes for all of our social events, regardless of what I had chosen. He’d smile and tell me how much he loved seeing me in that dress, or how much he loved a certain color on me. The way he did it made me think it was more of a compliment than control. Then, he began to miss our dinners at least once a week, telling me business was booming and he had paperwork to finish that night. Only when he got home, he reeked of cigars and stale perfume.”
Lifting his eyes to me, Shadow quietly asks, “Was he cheating on you, Jaycee?”
“I don’t think so, but hell, I could be wrong. I was wrong about a lot of things.” I grind my teeth together, thinking about all the signs I clearly missed.
“Such as?” Cobra asks.
“Such as believing in Dalton, for starters,” I nearly growl. “For thinking that he really loved me. From the moment Dalton and I got married, it was all a lie, one that only his brother and my brother knew about.”
“Okay, Jaycee, its time for the hard questions now. Why are you running and from who?” Jackal finally looks up at me with the folder closed, waiting for my response.
“I’m running from three people, but only one can access me directly. My ex-husband and brother are in prison in California, while Damon is a free man.”
“Jaycee, can you explain that a little more in detail?” Shadow asks while still against the wall.
“Shadow, you can sit down. I’ll be okay now that I know it’s you and not my mind playing tricks on me. The answer to your question is hard to explain,” I say as I turn my head and meet Jackal’s eyes.
“Jackal.” I struggle voicing just that single word, knowing the hardest part is seconds from being exposed. Liam’s words slice through my anxiety, you’re stronger than this. Quickly I remember I came prepared for this moment and pull the end of my sweatshirt up revealing the spare hair tie I have on my wrist. I snap it, savoring the sharp bite to my skin as I speak. “I’m not very good with expressing my thoughts, and at times I come across as rude which is the furthest from my intentions. You have to understand the information I’m about to share with you, I’ve only shared with Gannon and the cops. Not even my closest friends know. But before I do, I want, no, I need a guarantee that what I tell you won’t fall into the wrong hands? I’m sure I don’t have to spell out the consequences for me if that happens.”
“Jaycee, I swear whatever information you share, will remain in this room. I promise, this room is as secure as Fort Knox, maybe more so. I don’t have to deal with government red tape. I assure you, you and your secrets are safe with us.” Jackal tries his best to convince me I can trust him; trust them. I nod my head, staring vacantly ahead.
“Maybe the easiest way for me to start this tale is with the names of the people after me. I’m praying that’ll be enough for you to understand my fear. I really don’t have the strength to open that box of horrors. Just know, it was one of the most gruesome cases California had ever seen. When it was all said and done, my brother and ex-husband were sentenced to life for two first degree murders and my attempted murder. They should’ve been condemned to a life of hell, like me. Their names are…” I swallow past the pain and bile that’s threatening to make an appearance, latching onto the final remnants of strength I have left. “Dalton Vanheisen and Bryant Barrenger.”
Shock morphs across Shadow’s face as he pulls out his phone, typing quickly into it. “Aw shit. Well, this explains a lot, and yes, you are most definitely going to keep us busy.”
“Shadow?” Jackal questions as I sit silently consumed with my thoughts. I knew once I started talking they’d uncover my true identity and what every one believes to be, my demise.
“She’s not exaggerating when she says it was the worst case California had ever seen.”
“Specifics?” Cobra growls at Shadow.
“Give me a second, I’m getting there. Okay, I’m in. According to court records, seven years ago, Damon Vanheisen filed a missing persons report on his sister-in-law, Phoebe. She was never found, and then, earlier this year Damon filed a petition to legally declare her dead. No judgment has been announced, yet. If I had to guess, he’s after the Barrenger estate now and that’s why he filed the necessary court documents.”
“Jaycee? You’re Phoebe, aren’t you?” Cobra gently asks. I nod as the tears flow.
“I was.”
“Jaycee?” Jackal calls over to me, “I know this is hard, and believe me we don’t want to make this harder than it already is, but do you know why he’d still be looking for you?”
“Honestly, I don’t know why he would try now. They were after the money, which I made sure didn’t exist anymore, declaring me dead won’t change that. If they’ve realized that, then they’re most likely coming after me to lead them to where I stashed it at.” My stomach churns at the very idea. “All I know is Gannon told me to come here, to see you guys. He wouldn’t have instructed me to this if there wasn’t good cause.”
I pause for a moment to gather my thoughts. “The three of them were nothing but leeches. All they ever cared about was their own greed. They never gave a second thought as to how their actions would effect those left behind.” I let out a small laugh, one that is comprised mostly of nerves. “I guess they wouldn’t because they didn’t expect to leave anyone behind.” I let out a long slow breath, my nerves still jumbled but my stomach no longer feeling like its going to let go of my breakfast. This may not be my whole story, but it’s a start, and for now, it’s more than I thought I’d share with anyone not directly effected by my case.
“So who gets first shift?” Shadow grins at me trying to lift the tension. Slowly he laughs as I look around the room completely confused.
“Until we know who or what kind of threat is after you, you shouldn’t be alone. My men will stand watch until such time.” Jackal picks up where Shadow left off.
“You mean babysitting me?”
“It’s not babysitting, Jaycee. It’s called close order protection. That’s why Gannon sent you to us. He knows his team is the best.” Jackal tries to smooth over my growing anxiety.
