Deadly Testimony (Safeguard #2)(9)
Chapter Four
Think tank, that was what these new offices were supposed to be.
At the moment, Lizzy wanted to curl up in one of the hidden quiet cubbies and block out the rest of the world.
Okay, there were only a few of those cubbies tucked away behind the main office area and they were specifically for employees who became too overloaded too fast to take themselves home or someplace quieter. The cubbies weren’t just equipped with white noise. They were designed to give a person solitude, time to get their shit together, before they lashed out and became a danger to the people around them.
Friends and family were safer when the Centurions had an environment to handle those moments.
The missions they’d gone on overseas and the combat situations they’d seen left their mark. Lizzy was no different. And they were all good to go as long as they had the means to see to their own sanity. Call it self-care. Call it mental management. Whatever. It worked and this was one of those places designed with their particular histories in mind.
A normal, civilian workplace might have quiet spots or they might not. But the people around them wouldn’t necessarily understand.
Sometimes ex-military returned home and made new lives for themselves. They remade themselves and put their experiences in the past. Others didn’t, couldn’t, wouldn’t. Whatever. So they went into the private sector, joined organizations like the Centurion Corporation. And they found a sort of balance in the structure it provided. Not civilian life. Not military service.
But in her case, she was torn. Part of her wanted the rest and quiet.
The other part of her wanted to find a good brawl.
Instead of seeking out the quiet rooms, she headed to Diaz’s office. He and Kyle Yeun were seated in the armchairs in the corner. Huh. Apparently, Diaz liked Yeun. Otherwise, the two of them would be seated across from each other trading minimal discussion over Diaz’s desk.
Diaz had seen her through the glass and given her a tiny nod. She opened the door to the office without knocking.
“Mr. Yeun, if you’ll return to the waiting area you saw when you first entered, you’ll find your police and US Marshal escorts there.” Diaz stood and offered his hand. “Lizzy will be joining you momentarily to take you to your new safe house location.”
Yeun shook Diaz’s hand without hesitation, then turned and gave her a smile. “I’ll await Lizzy’s company with pleasure.”
She scowled. Both the smile and the commentary were sincere but the delivery was too polished and laden with innuendo. No need to encourage it. In her experience, even if it was intended as friendly at first, the man was fishing to see if more attention would be welcome.
Much better to shut that shit down before it got too irritating.
Yeun hesitated a moment, then apparently realized she wasn’t going to give him more of a response. Instead of looking put out, his smile only widened further and he took himself outside.
Both she and Diaz stood watching him until he reached the reception area. There wasn’t a direct line of sight, but if a person had a habit of using reflective surfaces to take note of what was going on around the corners, every part of the office space was visible from Diaz’s desk.
It required really good eyesight. Which she had.
And Yeun was in possession of a really nice ass.
Diaz chuckled. “Interesting guy.”
You betcha.
“Is there a reason you care?” She dumped herself into the armchair Yeun had just vacated, noting he’d left it warm. Normally that creeped her out but currently she wondered if the guy had a fever or if he just ran hot.
“He’s a businessman.” Diaz shrugged. “Not our usual type of client though. He’s not going for the political angle or the socialite status. Obviously has money. Prefers to spend it on what interests him.”
She snorted. “Women. Luxury junk. Food and booze.”
Assumptions. And not kind. But then again, she wasn’t inclined to overestimate people. They were less likely to disappoint that way.
“Background check says yes about the women.” Diaz was matter-of-fact about it. “But all discreet escort services and no black marks regarding him as a patron. Not even diplomatic commentary.”
Meaning he hadn’t used money to smooth over any issues that would’ve otherwise earned him red flags in an escort service’s point of view. Every escort service kept track of their customers. They might not share those records—in whatever unofficial form those took—with authorities conducting an investigation, but they might share with other information gathering personalities. And Diaz was building up a network of intelligence as part of Safeguard Division’s internal assets.
“So he’s not abusive and he pays up.” Good to know. She wasn’t going to judge the man for his choice in company or whether he paid for it.
“He does have expensive taste in cars and material items.” Dry tone there. “Also frequents some of the most expensive restaurants in town.”
Travel enough and people like her and Diaz didn’t tend to keep much in the way of things. Good food, on the other hand, was something worth spending on as far as she was concerned.
“There are worse things.” Yeun sounded like a normal guy, actually. She might’ve been less inclined to take a bullet for him if he turned out to be a horrible person. “Obviously, he’s done something to be on the naughty list in the corporate world though.”