Deception, page 11
The receptionist raised a brow at me. “Do you have an appointment?”
My hands shook around the hard drive that was about to leave a permanent imprint on my hand. “No. But this is important. I have something for him.”
Her brows rose even higher. “If you give it to me, I’ll make sure he gets it.”
I stepped back, tightening my grip. “I need to make sure he gets this. I don’t even have to go up. He could meet me down here.”
“I’m sorry, but without an appointment, there’s nothing I can do.” Her pinched face lit up, and she smiled at someone behind me. “Mr. Olsen. How are you today?”
A guy in jeans and a T-shirt came up to the desk, holding a little girl who I guessed to be about six or seven. She had messy pigtails in her hair, and her dress was on inside out.
“Sofie, darling, say hi to Alyssa.”
The girl, who I guessed to be Sofie, buried her head in his neck.
Unperturbed by the girl’s behavior, the receptionist leaned forward, giving us an uninterrupted view of her ample cleavage. “You free tonight?”
I rolled my eyes and huffed. Really? I was standing right there. I could have been a paying customer. I’d researched Locked Security before coming here, and they did everything from bodyguard to installing security systems to bounty hunting. What if I wanted to hire their services?
Mr. Olsen patted Sofie’s back. “Sorry, got a date with this little cherub already.”
Alyssa’s face fell, and she pouted.
I rapped my knuckles on the desk. “I’m still here, by the way. And as entertaining as you hitting on someone is, can we please get back to finding a way to get me an appointment with Elijah?”
Her face soured, and I inwardly groaned. Way to mess things up, idiot. Now she’ll never let you anywhere near this Elijah guy.
“As I have told you already, you can’t go up there without an appointment. And his calendar is booked solid for at least three weeks,” she said, her nose turned up, using a schoolteacher voice.
Mr. Olsen seemed to notice me for the first time. I didn’t blame him. Alyssa was quite memorable. And it seemed like he had memories to fall back on.
“Maybe I can help.” He held out his hand. “I’m Carter Olsen. I work at Locked Security.”
I shook his hand, noticing the calluses and firm grip. So not just a pretty boy. But it was easy to judge him. He had the typical surfer look: lean body, tousled blond hair, tanned skin.
“Everleigh. Nice to meet you.”
Sofie peeked at me, and I waved at her. “Hi, Sofie.”
Her head disappeared again.
Carter studied me, and I squirmed under his assessing gaze, cringing at what he undoubtedly saw. Messy hair that was a few days past needing a brush and a good wash, rumpled clothes I’d worn since yesterday, and bags under my eyes. But despite looking like I’d spent a few nights sleeping on the street, he smiled at me. “What can we do for you?”
“I need to see Elijah Anderson. I have something for him.”
“It’s not a positive pregnancy test, is it?”
A wry smile snuck onto my face. “That would be hard to do, since I’ve never met him. But I have something he’ll want to see.”
Sofie whispered something to Carter, who nodded and kissed her head. “I need to get this little beauty upstairs. Why don’t you give me whatever you have, and I’ll pass it on.”
I clutched the hard drive and phone to my chest and shook my head. “I’m sorry, but I need to give this to him myself.”
Sighing, he nodded. “Come on, then. My instincts are telling me you’re harmless. And they’re rarely wrong. Don’t let this be one of those rare times.”
I scrambled after him. “Thank you so much. And I’m definitely harmless. I’ll only need a minute of his time. Promise.”
Carter nodded to Alyssa as he walked away. “I’ve got her.”
She watched us make our way to the elevator and get on, her gaze never wavering from mine. When the elevator door cut off her stare, I slumped in relief.
Carter bounced Sofie up and down, making her giggle. “So what do you have for Gunner?”
Startled, I frowned at him. “Gunner? I’m here to see Elijah.”
“Same person. But everybody calls him Gunner.”
I leaned my back against the elevator. “I have information for Elijah that a friend asked me to deliver.”
Sofie wiggled, wanting to be let down and cutting off any reply Carter may have had.
Once she stood on her own two feet, holding his hand, she stared at me with wide eyes. Eyes that looked eerily familiar. There was only one other person I knew who had the same spattering of green amid a sea of copper.
My breath hitched, and I stared back at her. Okay. This is fine. No need to freak out. So she looks like Lucius. She could be a niece? Cousin?
While this encounter was unexpected, it also put my fears at ease. Lucius was connected to these people somehow. And if he trusted them, then so should I.
The elevator stopped, and we stepped out into a large reception area with a long white desk on the left and a small table and chairs on the right. There was a large door at the other end, and two receptionists were seated behind the desk.
They sure liked their receptionists in this place.
And so did Carter, it seemed, as he grinned at them, receiving coy smiles and singsonged greetings in return. “Good morning, Mr. Olsen.”
He winked at them, and his grin widened. “Good morning, ladies. This is Everleigh. She’s here to see Gunner.”
Sofie stayed quiet next to him, her eyes on the floor.
“He’s in his office with Freya,” the receptionist with the perfect chignon answered, her white smile blinding.
“Got it. We’ll make sure to knock before we enter.”
The receptionist giggled, and Carter continued walking. I trailed behind, giving both women a nod in greeting.
Carter led me through the maze of offices, the large space bright and inviting, the atmosphere relaxed. But it did nothing to slow down my hammering heart that had decided to be apprehensive about what was to come.
I was here for a delivery. It would be quick. Then I could figure out how to get back to San Diego.
We stopped in front of a closed door, and Carter knocked. When a voice told us to enter, Carter opened the door and motioned me forward.
I stopped a few steps in, too nervous to continue. A huge guy sat behind a desk, a small crease forming between his eyes, looking annoyed at the intrusion.
“You brought a friend,” a voice to my right exclaimed, and a gorgeous blonde made her way over. The tips of her hair were dark purple, and instead of office attire, she wore a flowery summer dress. “Hi, I’m Freya.”
I waved at her, the gesture as awkward as it felt. “Hey. I’m Everleigh. Nice to meet you.”
Freya picked up Sofie, who’d put her hands up as soon as she spotted the woman. The girl’s head went into Freya’s neck, and her little arms closed around her.
Freya kissed her head. “Hello, gorgeous. I’ve been waiting for you all day. I brought a surprise with me.” She carried Sofie back to the couch she’d been sitting on and pointed to the floor. “Do you want to play with Killer?”
Killer? What the hell is that? And is it safe for a child to be playing with it?
I craned my neck to see what she was pointing at and spotted a fluffy little bunny hopping up to where the woman now sat on the floor with the girl on her lap.
Sofie giggled when the bunny sniffed her and tentatively stroked its back.
“What can I do for you?” Gunner’s gruff voice asked from where he was sitting behind his desk, arms crossed over his chest.
I forced my feet to move closer, shaking under the close scrutiny. I held up the hard drive and phone like a shield. “Lucius asked me to give these to you.”
The mood in the room changed as soon as the words left my mouth, the tension palpable.
Gunner nodded at Carter. “Close the door.” His attention shifted to me. “And you better sit down and explain.”
I immediately did as I was told, thinking it prudent to follow his directions. I took a deep breath and hoped my explanations would be enough to get out of the office unharmed. But I was almost certain that if he planned on hurting me, he wouldn’t leave Sofie in the room.
I placed the hard drive and phone on the desk and pushed them his way. “Not much to tell. Lucius gave these to me when I left Guyana, asking me to find you.”
Gunner took the drive and examined it. “What did he look like, and what did he say to you when he gave them to you?”
I faltered, not sure why he’d want me to describe Lucius. They had a little mini-Lucius in their office. They obviously knew him. “A little taller than Carter, dark, almost black hair, same eyes as Sofie.”
He stilled, his sharp gaze burning into me. I doubted many people would get away with lying to him. If anyone was stupid enough to lie to him in the first place, he’d probably know right away. “Where in Guyana did you see him, and what names can you remember?”
After listing as many names as I could recall and the town I was taken from, Gunner nodded at Carter.
“It’s Blake.” He gave the hard drive and phone to Carter. “Get this processed. It has priority over anything else.”
Carter rushed out of the room, calling out over his shoulder, “I’m on it.”
The door clicked shut behind him, and I rested my hands on my lap. They felt empty after clutching the hard drive and phone for so long.
“We’ll put you up in a safe house,” Gunner stated.
My head dropped, and I rubbed my burning eyes. “I don’t think that’s necessary. Lucius made sure I was safe.”
“Until I know what in the h-e-double-l is going on, you’re not leaving our sight,” he said, spelling out the word with a glance at Sofie.
I bristled at the implication that Lucius didn’t know what he was doing. “I’m safe. He wouldn’t have let me go if that wasn’t the case.”
“Blake—the man you know as Lucius—erased his tracks so well, not even my background checks found any connection to Guyana. He made himself a ghost. And while that’s an advantage in our line of work, it’s not helping him over there. Reputation is king. The bloodier your history, the better. And Lucius has none. If he’s smart, he’ll get out of there.”
I nodded, appreciating that he took the time to explain. But my confidence in Lucius was unwavering. He’d saved me. And he definitely had a history since he grew up there. But if Gunner didn’t know about it, I wouldn’t be the one to tell him.
But I also saw the logic in his offer. “I’ll stay in a safe house for a week. If you’re as good as you seem to be, that should be enough time for you to figure things out. And Lucius asked me to come here. He must trust you. And I’m willing to do the same.”
Gunner nodded and picked up his phone. “Dalton, get the closest safe house ready. We have a guest.”
“You want to play Uno with us while you wait?” Freya asked, shuffling cards at the small table off to the side. Sofie was sitting next to her, cuddling Killer on her lap.
I smiled at the beautiful little girl, whose attention had shifted from Freya to me. “I’d love to.”
I took a seat on a comfortable chair opposite them and watched Freya hand out the cards. Once done, she turned her attention to me. “So how did you end up in Guyana, of all places? It’s not exactly the number-one tourist destination.”
“My brother disappeared.” My voice wavered at the thought of Archer still out there. I’d been his last chance. “And I was looking for him.”
Freya’s hand froze halfway to the table, where she was about to place a card. “What do you mean, he disappeared?”
I cleared my throat. “He went on a trip to South America. Guyana was his first stop. A few days in, he disappeared. And since it’s been a few months, they closed the investigation. I went out there to try and find him.”
“By yourself?”
I nodded, knowing even before I’d left the States that it was a stupid idea. But I’d been stubborn enough to still do it. Not that it did him any good. He was still gone.
“That was reckless,” Gunner unhelpfully jumped in. “You should have hired someone.”
I rolled my eyes at him, thinking he might get that reaction a lot. “Don’t you think I would have tried that? But first, who’d be crazy enough to go to South America to find a missing person? Actually, don’t answer that one. And second, that would have cost more money than I have.”
I had a nice little nest egg saved up. I’d been planning on buying the apartment I lived in. But most of that money was now gone, thanks to my wild-goose chase. And now I was back to where I started, only more jaded and wearier.
Gunner sighed, then mumbled something that sounded like “I’m going to regret this” under his breath before directing his attention my way again. “I’ll get one of my guys to look into it. More times than not, there’ll be an electronic trace. Nobody just disappears. You probably didn’t look in the right place.”
I wanted to snap something back at him, but his offer was generous. So instead of telling him I did the best I could, I thanked him and accepted his help.
We played Uno for the next hour, Sofie winning every game. By the end, she’d warmed up to me and was consoling me when I pretended to be upset about losing.
A knock sounded on the office door, and an unfamiliar guy came in. He wore the same tactical gear that everyone but Freya and Sofie seemed to be wearing.
I had to admit, they looked impressive. And I could picture Lucius here.
“Dalton,” Gunner greeted the new guy, then pointed to me. “This is Everleigh. Can you get her set up? And I want eyes on her at all times.”
Not sure what that meant but going along with it for now, I stood up. “Thanks so much for taking my mind off everything.” I waved at Sofie. “I want a rematch, little lady.”
She giggled again and held her hand out. “Deal.”
I took her little hand in mine, surprised that someone her age would shake on a deal.
Freya got up as well. “Make a list of what you need for the next few weeks, and I’ll get it for you.”
I knew this wasn’t just going to be for one week. “That’s a very generous offer that I’ll take you up on. Thank you.”
She waved me off. “I know what it’s like to be stuck in a place with only the basics.”
I smiled at her, the first genuine one I’d managed in a while. “I appreciate it.” I turned to Gunner, who seemed to be deep in thought. “Thanks for all your help.”
He nodded at me, and I left with Dalton. We drove about an hour out of the city, and since I’d never been to Illinois, I had no idea where we ended up. It was a nondescript small town with a row of shops and not much else.
We eventually stopped in front of a cute little house on the outskirts of town.
Dalton showed me to my room, dropping my bag inside. “Someone will stay with you while you’re here. But there are cameras on the outside and in the living room and kitchen. I’ll take first shift, and then we’ll rotate. Yell if you need anything.”
“Can I call my friend and parents?”
Dalton nodded and pulled out a cell phone. “This is a secure line.”
I accepted the phone and dialed Thea’s number. Lucius had given me my phone back but asked me not to use it for a while, so I hadn’t spoken to anyone since I left Guyana.
She picked up on the fourth ring. “This is Thea.”
“Thea,” I pushed out, my voice shaky.
“Everleigh, is that you?”
“Yes.” I took a deep breath. “I’m back in the States.”
“I was so worried about you. I even reported you missing, but nobody took me seriously. After all, you took an extended leave from work to go on vacation. Are you okay? What happened? And why didn’t you call? You promised.”
“I’m safe, and I’ll be home soon.”
Home. The word didn’t have the same meaning as it used to.
“I miss you.”
“I miss you too. I promise we’ll talk as soon as I’m back.”
Her breath hitched. “You better.”
“Love you, Thea.”
“Love you too. Don’t wait too long to call me again.”
We hung up, and I dialed my parents.
Their housekeeper answered. “Bennet residence.”
“Hey, Lulu, it’s Ever. Are my parents around?”
“Good evening, Ms. Bennet. How are you today?”
She seemed happy to hear from me and didn’t sound like she thought I’d been missing the last few weeks. Have they even noticed I haven’t called in a while? “I’m good. Are my parents around?”
“They’re getting ready for a dinner party at the embassy. I’ll see if they’re free to take a call.”
I heard footsteps and then a muffled conversation. “Hello, darling.”
At the sound of my mother’s voice, my breath hitched.
“Hey, Mom.”
“I can’t talk long. We’re meeting the Sheffields in twenty minutes, and I can’t find my little black purse with the crystals on it. But it’s the only one that matches my dress.”
She trailed off, and I knew her attention would be on finding her purse, not on talking to her daughter. “Ah, there it is. I have to go, dear. We’re running late.”
Despite having lived with absent parents my whole life, her dismissal still hurt. “Okay, have fun.”
“Well, then, I’ll talk to you soon.”
She hung up, and I wondered why I’d even bothered calling her. She didn’t even mention Archer.
I returned the phone to Dalton. “Thank you. I better go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He nodded at me, and I went to the spare room that I’d call mine for the next few days. I didn’t bother turning on the lights or changing out of my clothes. Instead, I closed the door behind me and fell face first into bed.
Chapter 19
Lucius
“We have a problem.”
