Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
“ I t was loaded with explosives?” Damian stared at Hawk. They stood under the cover of the open garage, a space filled with Damian’s collection of high-end toys and vehicles. The reality of the threat hadn’t fully hit him until now.
“Yeah. We shot it down over your field, and it detonated in the air.”
“Holy shit.”
“They’re getting desperate,” Thorn murmured.
Hawk nodded grimly. “We’ve boosted security around the property and have shooters poised to take down any more drones that might come our way.”
Damian ran a hand through his hair, trying to process the situation. “I can’t believe this. Alek actually tried to kill me.”
“Aleksandar Markov?” Hawk asked, his voice tense. “The arms dealer?”
“Yeah, he’s the only one I know who could pull this off.”
“Did you get a chance to study the drone?” Thorn asked, her tone all business.
Hawk’s jaw tightened. “It was a high-tech model. Commercial grade, modified to carry a payload. It had six rotors for stability and could fly long distances. The explosive was cleverly concealed to look like part of the drone’s structure. It was equipped with GPS, programmed to navigate through the estate’s perimeter undetected.”
Damian watched Thorn’s eyes narrow, her mind clearly racing as she processed the information. “It must have flown in low, avoiding radar and thermal detection. These drones are designed to be quiet, almost silent at high altitudes.”
A shiver ran down Damian’s spine. The fact that Alek had followed through on his threat shook him to his core. They had been close once, as close as father and son. He had trusted the man—hell, he’d idolized him, seduced by his wealth, power, and his beautiful daughter. Alek had filled a void in his life, a void he hadn’t realized was there until it was too late.
“Exactly,” Hawk confirmed. “Fortunately, we detected it just in time. Our snipers took it down before it reached the house. The explosion detonated mid-air, causing no damage to the estate.”
Thorn pursed her lips, and for a fleeting moment, Damian’s mind flashed back to their kiss. There was something about the way she held herself, a mixture of strength and vulnerability that drew him in, despite his better judgment. He still couldn’t get her out of his head.
“We need to figure out a way to detect these drones before they get too close,” Thorn said, her voice steady. “He might try again, and we can’t rely solely on visual confirmation and shooters.”
Hawk nodded. “We’re working on that.”
Damian’s eyes shifted from Hawk to Thorn. “Alek won’t stop. Once he knows this attack failed, he’ll try again.”
“There’s a lot of money at stake,” Thorn agreed, biting her lip in thought. Damian clenched his fists, resisting the urge to pull her lip from between her teeth and taste it himself. “Not to mention that Alek knows that once your update is implemented, he’s shooting to the top of the FBI’s Most Wanted list.”
Damian noticed Hawk’s gaze drifting over the equipment in the garage—carbon-fiber bicycles, golf clubs, scuba gear, and more. The toys of a man who was used to living on the edge, who needed constant challenges to keep his mind from spiraling. How long would it be before he got to use any of them again? He ground his jaw at the thought. That wasn’t going to happen. He wasn’t going to let Alek win.
Hawk turned back to him. “When we fly out to Miami next week, it would be best if we left at 0100 hours. Fewer people around, lower visibility, and reduced risk of an attack. Can you inform your pilot?”
“One in the morning? Sure, I’ll let him know.”
“Great. You guys get indoors.” Hawk nodded to Thorn. “Stay on comms.”
Thorn gave a curt nod. “Will do.”
As Hawk walked away, Thorn ushered Damian back inside the house and closed the garage door. Just as they stepped into the hallway, Damian’s phone began to buzz.
He glanced at the screen. “It’s Doug. I need to take this.”
“Who’s Doug?” Thorn asked.
“A friend,” he mouthed, moving into the living room for privacy. “Hey, Doug, how’s it going?”
“Hey, buddy. The real question is, what’s up with you? I leave for two friggin’ weeks and come back to find out you got married? What the hell, man?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty wild, right?” Damian sank onto the couch, the weight of the day pressing down on him.
“You could say that.” Doug’s voice held a note of skepticism. “Who is she? How come I’ve never met her?”
Damian hated lying to his friend, but he had no choice. The truth was too dangerous to share. “Thorn’s an old girlfriend,” he said. “We’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks now.”
“And you didn’t think to mention it?”
“With everything going on with Christine, I figured it was better to keep it quiet until we were sure.”
Doug paused, processing the information. “It’s not like you to date two women at once. I’ve known you for almost six years, and you’ve never cheated.”
Damian stayed silent, his mind racing for a response.
“How does Christine feel about this?”
He laughed dryly. “She quit. Can’t say I blame her.”
“And your new wife? I can’t believe you got married and didn’t invite me to the wedding.”
“We didn’t invite anyone. We wanted to keep it low-key.”
“Well, you sure didn’t succeed. It’s all over the newspapers. I was shocked when I read it. So, who is she? Can I meet her? When are you going to introduce her to the guys?”
The guys were their weekend rowing crew, the ones who knew Damian better than most.
“We’re laying low for now,” Damian said. At least that part was true. “Reporters are camped outside my place. I had to get security.”
“Serves you right, man.”
Damian chuckled, relieved Doug wasn’t too mad. Doug was one of the few people Damian could trust, one of the very few who knew about his past. Doug didn’t know much about computers—he was a real estate developer—but he had a brother who was in and out of jail and understood better than most the mess Damian was in with Aleksandar Markov. “But I promise I’ll have you and the guys over as soon as things settle down. I’ve got a conference coming up in Florida, then I might take a short honeymoon, but I’ll be back.”
Alone. He’d have to explain why his marriage had fallen apart in less than two weeks. He rubbed his chin, the stubble rasping under his fingers. Was all this trouble worth it? Maybe he should’ve just hidden away in Alaska or somewhere and flown in for the presentation. He’d dropped off the grid before; he could do it again. It would’ve saved a lot of hassle.
“You didn’t mention Doug when you gave us a list of names to vet,” Thorn said, coming into the living room.
Damian looked up, her presence pulling him out of his thoughts. “I forgot. He was away, and we just hang out sometimes at the boat club.”
“The boat club?”
“Yeah, I like to row. It helps me let off steam.”
She studied him, her gaze lingering on his chest and shoulders. Her eyes felt like a physical touch, and he had to resist the urge to pull her closer. “You like the outdoors?”
He grinned. “You could tell?”
“You have enough stuff in that garage to start your own adventure company.”
He chuckled, appreciating the way her eyes lit up when she smiled. “True. Maybe I’ll do that one day. I could use a change of scene.”
“I think that’s a great idea.” Her smile was tentative, but the warmth in her eyes was real. Gone was the prickly bodyguard, replaced by someone he was starting to care about—though he wasn’t sure who that someone was just yet.
“When do you find the time to use all of it?” she asked, her body angled toward him as she perched on the couch.
“Oh, you’d be surprised. I don’t work all the time, you know.”
She paused, her forehead creasing in thought. “I don’t understand you. You’re a computer geek, but you went to war. You developed your own cryptocurrency, but you also row and ride a motorcycle. How does that work?”
He grinned, leaning back. “What can I say? I’m a complex individual.”
She snorted, but he could see the curiosity in her eyes.
“I’ve always loved the outdoors,” he confided, feeling a strange urge to share more with her. “If I hadn’t gone into computers… If my life had been different… I’d probably be an engineer traveling the world. There’s something immensely satisfying about physically and mentally challenging yourself.”
Thorn nodded, understanding in her eyes. Her job required a similar blend of physical and mental resilience, and he could tell she got it.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he continued. “I love what I do. My brain just works that way—I see solutions where others see problems. But that’s only one side of me.”
He was opening up more than he ever had with anyone, and it was both unsettling and liberating. Why did it matter so much to him what Thorn thought? She was just his bodyguard, wasn’t she?
“What about you?” he asked, shifting the conversation back to her. “You said you were prejudiced because of what happened to you.”
Thorn stiffened, her walls going up instantly. “It’s not important.”
“It is to me.”
She turned back to him, her gaze hardening. “Why? Why does it matter? I’m just your bodyguard.”
He leaned forward, his voice low and intense. “I see. So you get to question me about my motives, but I can’t ask about yours? You bring your preconceived ideas about me into this job, and I’m supposed to just take it?”
She looked away, her jaw tight. “I’ve been emotional and unprofessional, I know that. If you want, you can report me to Pat.”
“I don’t want to report you,” he said, his voice softening. Thorn was as closed off as the reinforced door of the safe room. “I want to understand where you’re coming from.”
She stared at the floor, clearly struggling with whether to open up to him.
“Thorn, I opened up to you,” he pressed gently. “Don’t you think you owe it to me to do the same?”
Her shoulders slumped, and she glanced up at him, the sadness in her eyes hitting him like a punch to the gut. He braced himself, sensing that whatever she was about to share would change everything between them.
“My husband was killed on our honeymoon. We were at a beach resort in Colombia, enjoying what was supposed to be the happiest time of our lives. The resort was beautiful, with golden sands and turquoise waters, everything you’d expect from paradise. We had only been there a few days when it happened.”
“What happened?” he asked, his voice gentle.
“I was in the water, taking a swim, but my husband was on the beach when out of nowhere, a group of armed men stormed the area. They were part of a local cartel, targeting tourists to make a statement. They started shooting indiscriminately. People were screaming and running for cover, but there was nowhere to go.”
She shut her eyes, her voice thick with emotion. “I saw him get hit. He died right there on the sand, in my arms.”
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked away, unable to meet his gaze. Damian’s heart twisted at the sight of her pain. He wanted to reach out, to hold her, but he knew that was crossing a line they couldn’t afford to cross—not yet, anyway.
“I’m so sorry,” Damian whispered, his voice rough with emotion. He knew what it was like to lose someone, but this… this was something else entirely.
“They said it was part of a wave of violence orchestrated by a local cartel. They were trying to send a message, to show their power and instill fear. It worked. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life.”
“Is that why you joined the CIA?” he asked, understanding dawning on him.
She nodded, her voice barely a whisper. “I had nothing left.”
He understood that feeling all too well. After Rebecca’s betrayal, he’d run as far away as he could, desperate to escape the emptiness inside him.
“I get it,” he murmured. He knew what it was like to be driven by loss, to seek out danger just to feel something—anything.
She sniffed and wiped her eyes, her gaze meeting his once more. There was something different in her eyes now, something raw and real that hadn’t been there before. “It was when I started looking into you that I discovered that terrorist organizations, like the ones who stormed that beach that day, use cryptocurrency to purchase weapons. The anonymity enables them to do what they do.”
“Except if it wasn’t my currency, it would be someone else’s.”
“I know. Like I said, it was irrational and unprofessional.” She took a deep breath, composing herself. “I’m over that now.”
Damian nodded, his respect for her deepening. “No one should have to go through what you went through.”
“Still, I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
He shrugged, dismissing the apology with a wave of his hand.
Thorn stood up, her movements deliberate and controlled. “So, now you know. Can we move on?”
He cracked a smile, one she didn’t return. “Sure. Thank you for telling me.”
“Now we know each other’s secrets,” she said, giving him a hard look before turning and walking out of the room.
Damian watched her go, his mind spinning. He wasn’t sure what this new dynamic between them meant, but he felt closer to her now than he had to anyone in years. And damn, if that wasn’t a dangerous thing.