Chapter 4
King
Cass summoned us to Heartline early in the morning.
Too early. Not all of us, though. There were only three of us there.
Mack Hawthorne, Chase Corbett, and me. Cass was already sitting at the table when we walked into The Watchtower.
He tapped the bottom of a folder upright against the table to straighten the papers inside and said, “Have a seat, gentlemen.”
We took our seats and listened up. Cass continued, “We’ve got a new assignment, and I’m putting the three of you on it.
King, I want you to take the lead.” I was shocked to hear him say that.
It meant a lot to me that Cass trusted me enough to take the lead on a case.
I’d seen him hand leads to assignments over to other guards who were up for promotion.
He didn’t say it, but I knew that if I did well, I’d have a chance at a raise, at least.
“You got it,” I said. “What are the details?”
Cass passed us the folder. “Serayah Flores. She’s a romance author. She thinks she has a stalker. She’s requesting a security detail to keep some creep at bay. If not, and this person tries anything, then you three will be there to stop them.”
There weren’t any photos of Ms. Flores or details regarding why she thought she had a stalker, so I asked Cass, “Why does she think she’s being stalked? There isn’t much detail here.”
Cass leaned back in his chair. “You expect me to do all the work?”
“Uh, no, of course not.”
“Good, because that’s what I expect to find out from you.
Go meet with her and learn everything you can.
Ask about her associates, her job, etc. I trust that you gentlemen will do a great job protecting her.
King, after you read her file and meet with her, come up with a security plan and have it on my desk ASAP for review.
No matter what, don’t let anything happen to her. ”
Nodding, I said, “Will do.”
“Good. You have an appointment to meet with her in about forty-five minutes.” Cass got up and left the room.
I went back to reading the file.
Preliminary Details: Name: Serayah Flores
Sex: Female
Age: 35
Occupation: Romance Author
Marital Status: Single
Family: Tabitha Flores: Mother. Lives in Cupid City. Father unknown.
Associates:
Best Friend: Tasha Williamson. 30 years old. Bank Teller.
Friend: Jesse Harrington. Male. 33 years old. Firefighter in Whispering Pines.
Virtual Personal Assistant: Cara Wells. 25 years old. Does not live locally but will travel occasionally to attend book tours with Ms. Flores.
The next page included Ms. Flores’ contact details. She didn’t have many friends, but she did have several loose associates in the publishing industry, and who knew how many readers around the world? It looked like a tough case to crack.
I said to Chase and Mack, “Alright, guys, let’s head out to meet Ms. Flores.”
***
We arrived at Ms. Flores’ apartment building.
It was tall and made of brick. Before we entered, we took in the exterior surroundings and searched for entrances, exits, and any hiding places around the building where someone could jump out at her.
It was open, so there was a lot to look at just walking into the lobby area.
I was surprised that you didn’t need a key to get into the building.
It meant anyone could go in there, whether they lived there or not.
She was on the third floor, close to the elevator and the stairwell, which meant that if anyone might come to her apartment, they would have a fairly quick escape route.
My mind was moving at warp speed, trying to process everything before we reached her door.
Mack knocked three times. When the door opened, it felt like I was punched in the gut. “Sara?” I asked.
Mack looked at us and said, “You two know each other?”
Sara, for a brief moment, looked like a deer caught in headlights, but quickly recovered to say, “No, my name is Serayah. You must be from Heartline.”
Clearing my throat, I said, “Yeah…sorry. I must’ve thought…
” but I didn’t finish the sentence. “Hi, Ms. Flores. My name is King Wilder, and this is Mack Hawthorne and Chase Corbett. We’ll be your security detail for as long as you need us.
I’m the lead security officer on your detail, so here’s my card if you need anything while we’re providing security for you. ”
She took the card, tried to hide a smirk, and said, “Thank you, King.”
I tried to hide my own smile, and said, “Of course,” thinking to myself, Well done. Sara sounds so close to Serayah. I couldn’t believe I was standing in front of her again. I could see her even better in the bright light of her apartment. She was as beautiful as ever.
“Nice to meet you guys. I’ve already reported everything to the police. I just need security until this stalker is caught and behind bars.” She stood to the side and gestured for us to come in. “Please, come in. Can I get you anything to drink? Water? Coffee?”
I said, “No, ma’am. Thank you, though. I’d like to talk more about the case in a bit, but for the time being, do you mind if we walk around and familiarize ourselves with the apartment layout?”
“Not at all, that’s a good idea.” She led the way.
Her apartment was big with an open layout.
The front door opened to a large living room, with the kitchen on the far left and the dining room on the far right.
Closer to us and off to the left side, a short hallway led to the bedroom, bathroom, and laundry room.
I drew a rough sketch of it in my notebook as she showed us around, making sure to note all the doors and windows.
I would add the sketch to her file and the security plan, later.
After some small talk, she showed us the rest of her apartment.
In her bedroom, she had a queen bed and directly across from the bed was her dresser with a giant mirror attached.
Meticulously placed trinkets covered the top of the dresser.
There was one window, and it went from the ceiling almost to the floor.
There was enough room under it so that she could put a little bench if she wanted.
I thought, That might be fun and remembered our night at Velvet Arrow.
Another smile started to appear on my face before I wiped it away.
As we walked back out to the living room, she stopped me, placing her hand on my arm and whispered, “This is a bad idea.”
I glanced down at her, then at her hand on my arm.
Mack and Chase had already migrated to the hall and out towards the kitchen in conversation.
I whispered back, sternly, “It’s my job, Ms. Flores.
Gimme a minute.” Her hand dropped from my arm swiftly before she nodded and then walked to the kitchen without saying a word.
Maybe I was a little more adamant than I should’ve been, and a small part of me felt bad about it, but it was business, and I had a job to do.
Too many eyes were on me. I said to the guys, “Mack and Chase, I’m going to sit and talk with Ms. Flores for a bit about what happened and how to move forward.
I need you guys to go downstairs and keep an eye out for anyone snooping around the lobby or our vehicle.
Someone could be watching us right now to see what we’re up to.
If you see something, say something. Just holler at me on the radio. ”
Chase said, “ten-four,” as they went downstairs.
When the door closed, I turned around and saw Serayah staring at me. “Your name is Serayah?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“You lied.”
Serayah rolled her eyes at me and folded her arms across her chest. “You were a stranger, and we said we would never see each other again. I wasn’t going to tell you my name. I didn’t even know you.”
“Fair enough. Back to business. Listen, I’m assigned to your case and I will protect you, no matter what. What happened that night in the club, let’s just forget it. It won’t affect my ability to carry out my job. Sound good?”
Serayah looked at the floor and then back up at me and said, “I haven’t decided yet.”
“All right, well do you at least want to tell me what happened?”
She handed me an envelope. “I received this note from someone who was apparently in my apartment. And of course, these photos of me.”
I read the note, thumbed through the photos, and said, “Yeah, this is a problem. I can see why you’re concerned. Your file says you’re an author. What kind of books do you write?”
She looked a little embarrassed. “Stalker romances, mostly.”
“Are you serious?” I asked.
Seraya huffed, “Yes, I’m serious.”
I instantly regretted offering, “You may want to consider a change of genre.”
Her glare cut through me like a laser. “Don’t do that.”
“Sorry.” I was being an ass, but I was desperately trying to keep the lead on the case. I changed the subject. “Is there anyone you think might have done this?”
“No.”
I moved on, “We’ll be parked downstairs and posted around the building, keeping watch while I draft a security plan and organize shifts. If you need anything, you have my card.”
“Okay,” was the only response I got from her. I couldn’t tell if she was angry, hurt, or annoyed, but guessed it was all three.
“Alright.” I got up and went to the door, pausing briefly. I wanted to say something to her. Something to make her feel better, but the words were stuck and I didn’t think they would help. So, I said, “Please lock the door behind me, and lock your windows.”
She said, “Yep,” as I left without looking back.
I spent the rest of the night working out the details of the security plan and fired it off to Cass in an email. Thankfully, he replied, “Great work. Let me know if anything significant changes or there’s a break in the case.”
I replied with my usual, “Will do,” and thought about it for a while.
I wanted to catch the guy and wondered if it was the same guy at Velvet Arrow.
I felt bad for not thinking of it sooner and blamed myself for being too focused on me and Serayah.
I decided to bring it up to Serayah as soon as possible, and I was determined to not let our past get in the way of her safety.