Close Protection

Chapter 1 Daphne

1 Daphne

‘Blue or grey?’

‘Huh?’

‘Blue or grey, your tie for tonight. I need to know so I can plan the rest of your outfit,’ I explain as I close the door and go to sit down on the chair facing my father’s desk.

‘Daddy, are you listening to me?’ I continue when he doesn’t respond.

The rising annoyance in my voice prompts him to lift his head and focus on me instead of whatever on his screen was causing him to frown.

‘I’m sorry, Daphne, I wasn’t listening. What were you saying?’ He exhales, removing his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

‘It’s fine, Daddy,’ I soften, placing the tie options on the mahogany desk in front of me. ‘But I need you to listen to me, please.’ I pause until his eyes come to meet mine. ‘Tonight we have Camilla’s engagement party and I don’t trust you to pick out your own outfit.’ I gesture to his current ensemble – navy trousers and a blue house shirt underneath a camel knitted cardigan.

‘When Amelia told me you wanted to see me in your study before breakfast, I assumed we’d be going over what I picked out for you, hence the ties.’ I pick them back up and watch him patiently as he stares down blankly at the material.

‘So… blue or grey?’ I encourage, giving the ties in my hand a little jiggle.

As if a lightbulb turns on, my father’s eyes illuminate with understanding, only to dim with confusion seconds later.

‘Camilla’s engagement party is tonight? I’m sorry, darling, I completely forgot.’ He sighs.

My father is a brilliant man. As CEO of Greenway Discoveries, he has to be. But even with all that intellect he somehow always fails to be organized.

Amelia, our house manager, takes care of the staff, their routine and the general running of the house but her role has never extended to keeping my father’s diary. Thanks to Julie, his assistant, he normally remembers all my extracurricular competition dates and kept up with our scheduled phone calls when I was at school in Switzerland, but when it comes to social events, his lack of organization is obvious. I mean. Julie can only prompt him so many times.

But ever since I returned home from school he’s been different.

Scattered.

Quiet and distracted. Even more so than usual.

‘Daphne, I’m sorry I’ve left it till the eleventh hour to tell you this, but we can’t go to Camilla’s party.’

‘What do you mean we can’t go?’ I ask as I rise from the chair, unbidden irritation crawling across my skin. ‘We RSVP’d “yes” months ago. It would be improper to just not turn up.’

In the last two weeks since I’ve been back, my father has been constantly locked away in his study, only resurfacing to eat or sleep. Yes, we’ve been having dinner together each night, but his attention has been elsewhere, most accurately on his laptop that he seems to be glued to.

The man who’s a stickler for etiquette has his laptop at the table. Ironic, isn’t it?

Amelia said his work has been stressful recently, but it’s been stressful before and he always made time for me then. So what’s so different about now?

‘Yes, it will be rude of us to cancel, but things have changed, Daphne, which is actually why I asked Amelia to call you in.’ He’s clearly nervous, which is not at all like him. Letting out a long sigh, he turns off his computer monitor, offering me his full attention. ‘There’s something I need to discuss with you. Come, sit back down, please.’

I move away from the door and settle into the uninviting leather chair, the air trapped in the cushion slowly dispersing as I sink into it.

‘Is everything okay, Daddy?’

‘Daphne, darling, you may have noticed that I’ve been a little preoccupied since you came back from school. You’ve been nothing but patient with me, so I thank you for that.’ I give him a small smile as he places his hand over mine from across the mahogany desk. ‘The reason I called you in is because there has been a security breach at work. Someone tried to break into my office – and the lab – a couple of weeks ago now. He got away before the security team could stop or ID him but the issue was dropped when they realized he wasn’t able to get in. However, two nights ago he tried again. Only this time he succeeded.’ I feel my father’s hand tense over mine for a moment before he swiftly releases it, turning his monitor back on and angling the screen towards me.

It illuminates with CCTV footage, the image grainy and distorted. ‘He didn’t take anything, thank goodness, but he was clearly looking for something specific. And evidently he has experience doing this, as he knew how to avoid the cameras completely.’ I can’t tear my eyes off the screen as I watch the man move. He is tall and well built, with his broad shoulders straining against his black hoodie, but Daddy is right, it’s impossible to make out his face.

We both watch silently for a moment as the man closes the door behind him with a gloved hand, moving through the office with ease as if the layout is already familiar to him. Opening and closing drawers swiftly and decisively.

‘What is he looking for?’ I ask, looking up.

‘We’re not sure, but clearly he doesn’t find it,’ Daddy responds, shifting his weight, not taking his eyes off the footage.

On screen, the intruder resorts to a different method.

Within seconds, he trashes everything in sight. Papers go flying, the computer monitor is smashed and thrown to the floor and all the desk drawers are yanked out. He’s getting desperate.

He grabs my father’s lab chair and throws it into the Perspex screen protecting the chemical room inside the lab. I flinch as the chair bounces off the window. Seeing that didn’t work, he resorts to attempting to kick down the door, the force knocking his hood off to briefly reveal a buzz cut and a short full beard before he harshly tugs it back into place.

Realizing his kicking is pointless, he stalks over to Daddy’s desk and effortlessly flips it over. How that action was supposed to break the lab window I don’t know, but hey, no one ever said criminals were smart.

But then my breath halts as he pulls out a gun.

A real-life gun.

As in, shoot-and-you-die gun.

He swiftly loads it and releases the safety, firing at the door. The thumbprint lock explodes, causing the electricity to short out and the door to open. He proceeds to look through all the serums and mixtures my father has in there before pulling out his phone and calling someone. The footage has no sound so I don’t know what he’s saying, but clearly he’s telling them what he’s found, or not found. After thirty seconds he nods, puts his phone back in his pocket and walks out the way he came.

‘I don’t want to frighten you, sweetheart,’ Daddy says, pausing the video and turning the screen back around. ‘But I wanted to show you just how violent this man is so that you understand why I now need to take measures to ensure your safety. What if they have our address and what they’re looking for is in this very study?’

‘Do you know what they’re looking for?’ I ask, surveying the room, feeling my stomach lurch.

As the children of Hezekiah Green, the founder of the Greenway Group, my father and his siblings have had multiple security scares over the years, so have always taken the necessary precautions to ensure their safety. With large security teams at their offices and smaller ones at their respective homes, I’ve always felt safe. Even the schools me and my cousins attended were highly secure, so I never had anything to worry about.

Until now.

None of this makes any sense. What in this study could they possibly want?

My father heads up the Greenway Discoveries division of the Greenway Group, which specializes in chemical engineering and new inventions. From what I know about his job, nothing confidential leaves his office and when he works from home he uses codewords when speaking about confidential projects so nothing can leak.

So what would they want from here that they couldn’t get from his work office?

‘Honestly, I don’t know,’ he responds, sighing as he rubs a hand down his face, looking back over to the screen. ‘A couple of other offices were ransacked as well, so at least I know they weren’t solely focused on me or what was in mine But that doesn’t mean that I won’t take extra precautions when it comes to you.’

‘Okay, but how did the security guards at work not hear the gunshots?’ I question.

‘They were in the middle of a shift change so there was no one on the top floors. Which means whoever these people are, or whoever they work for, they’ve been watching this building and everyone in it for far too long to just give up when they don’t find what they’re after.’

My stomach drops as I try to come to terms with the facts.

Bad man with gun.

Works for even worse man who has been planning this for a while.

Bad man didn’t get what he’s after. Now, bad man with said gun is angry he didn’t get what he wanted.

See now, that’s not ideal.

‘Hopefully there is absolutely nothing to worry about,’ my father continues, snapping me back to reality, ‘but I can’t take that risk, not when I have you to protect. So I’ve increased the security around the house, and I’ve also hired a close protection officer to stay with you until we can be sure this is over. His name is Milosh Petrov,’ he blurts out.

‘You’ve hired a close protection officer to watch me?’ I reply slowly. ‘Like a bodyguard?’

‘Yes, exactly like a bodyguard.’ Daddy eyes me carefully, almost bracing for impact as if I’m a bomb that might detonate.

‘So let me see if I’m understanding this correctly,’ I say, my voice as soft and measured as I can get it. ‘You saw that security footage, and instead of, oh, I don’t know, calling the police, you thought the best course of action would be hiring a random guy to follow me everywhere?’

‘Daphne, of course I’ve taken the necessary steps to report what happened. The house is completely safe, I’m sure of it, but this is just an extra step. I am a concerned father, give me this.’ He smiles softly. ‘You’re all I have, darling. I need to keep you safe.’

Before I have the chance to respond, there’s a soft knock on the door and Amelia pokes her head round with a friendly smile. ‘Sorry to interrupt, George, but Milosh Petrov is here.’

‘Wait. I’m sorry, the bodyguard is here? Now?’ I ask, appalled by the lack of notice.

‘Yes, he is,’ my father confirms. ‘I’m not wasting any time when it comes to your safety. Thank you, Amelia, please send him in.’ Amelia gives me an apologetic glance as she closes the door behind her.

‘Daddy, I can’t meet him now. I’m in my pyjamas first of all,’ I look down at my pink silk nightdress and robe revealing my long brown legs and bare feet. The only saving grace is that I flat-ironed my hair last night and it looks fantastic.

‘Oh, that doesn’t matter, darling. He’s going to be living with us anyway so I’m sure he’ll see you in much more unfavourable conditions than this,’ Daddy says in an oddly chipper tone.

‘He’s what?’ I practically shriek. But before I get the chance to continue, the door opens and Mr Milosh Petrov walks in.

Well…

This should be entertaining.