Executive Protection(54)

Lucy rested her head on Thad’s shoulder and watched Cam’s arrest, safe and secure against him. He tightened his hold, giving her the comfort she needed and letting Cam know she was more to him than his mother’s nurse.

While police patted him down, Cam glared harder at Thad. Lucy’s obvious welcome of Thad’s embrace left no doubt who she preferred and Cam’s sick mind couldn’t accept that. Lucy belonged to Thad.

* * *

Leaning back, Lucy put her hands on his chest and looked up at him, staying close in the wake of her ordeal. It stirred primitive male instincts that made him keep her against him.

“Are you all right?” he asked to be sure.

She nodded in the safety of his arms. “How did you find me?”

He told her about Mike and guided her toward the garage. Outside, Sam and Mike waited. Lucy went to Mike first, wrapping her arms around him for a hug. “Thank you.”

Wearing an awkward grin, he mumbled, “You’re welcome,” and stepped back.

“Sam,” she said.

“I just came along for the ride.”

Lucy laughed a little and hugged him anyway. Then she moved back to Thad’s side, her arm going along his back. He held her beside him, struggling with how warm she made him feel.





Chapter 13


Tracking down Jaden had been easy. Mike had, indeed, been stealthy in following him to Cam’s house. The special ops soldier had managed to remain unseen. Thad had found an unsuspecting Jaden at his home. His car was in the driveway and lights were on inside the house. Jaden hadn’t known he’d been followed, wasn’t aware Cam had been arrested or that he’d been caught tampering with the security at Kate’s estate. So desperate for money, Jaden hadn’t taken into consideration that Thad had seen him at Cam’s house. He may know Cam, but he wasn’t the one who’d planned to hold Lucy captive. He’d thought he could get away with his part in the crime.


With a team of agents that Todd had assembled standing by in cars parked out of sight, Thad knocked on Jaden’s door. Todd had agreed to help instead of excluding him in Jaden’s arrest. He’d told him that Jaden had deceived the gatehouse guard and relieved him for the night. Todd’s team spirit convinced Thad he was one of the good guys, and a good man to have on his mother’s security detail.

Jaden answered the door with a look of perplexity.

“You and I need to talk,” Thad said.

After searching the front of the house, Jaden didn’t resist when Thad pushed the door open wider and stepped inside the newer home he’d rented after his wife had kicked him out. Sparsely furnished and nothing on the walls, only a chair and a TV decorated the small living room. An overhead light hung in the middle of the room, blinding in its brightness. There was no dining table and the overhead light was on in there, too.

“What brings you here at this hour?” Jaden asked.

Thad couldn’t decide which question to ask first. He wanted to keep Cam’s arrest secret for now.

“How much do you know about my mother’s shooting?” With Jaden’s cautious look, Thad said, “You’re a member of her security detail. They keep you abreast of any progress made in the investigation, don’t they?”

Jaden eyed him a bit longer. He must know there was a reason Thad was here. He was concerned about why but not concerned enough. “They told us the shooter is still at large. I’m not involved in the investigation. Why are you asking me about that?”

“Do you know who the shooter is?” Thad asked, more of a taunt than a question.

Jaden’s brow twitched with intensifying confusion...and worry. “Why would I?”

The guilty ones always got nervous. “Leaving a window unlocked and then the side door... It’s almost as though you were trying to let someone in.” The slight blanch of Jaden’s face revealed enough. He hadn’t anticipated being seen at the side door.

“Why did you do it?” Thad asked.

“That’s what you came here to ask?”

“Why did you unlock the door?” Thad demanded.

Jaden held his silence. But after a few seconds, he said, “You can’t prove I did anything.”

Thad reached into his front pocket to show Jaden the USB device. “Actually, I can.”

Looking from the jump drive to Thad’s face, Jaden’s nervousness became palpable. Now his concern mounted.

“How did you get the guard to leave the gate?” Thad asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I left the estate and came straight here.”

Liar. “Why did you unlock the door?”

“I didn’t mean to. I was checking it. If I unlocked it, I didn’t mean to.”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Thad was an experienced crime scene investigator. The reminder of that registered with Jaden.

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Jaden insisted.

“What about the gatehouse guard?”

“What about him?”

“He said you let him go for the night.”

“He’s lying.”

Thad angled his head to show his disbelief.

Jaden said nothing, but he had to know he was caught by now.

Thad walked into the living room, going to the back of the sofa and facing Jaden again. “I know you’re having trouble at home. Your wife is leaving you and you’re close to bankruptcy.”