Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Julia Barone, office manager and strategic savant, didn’t live far from the Benson Security office. As a wedding present, her family of movie stars and entertainment industry legends had bought the couple a cottage in Battersea, across the River Thames from the office. Ryan loved Joe and Julia’s house. It was old and quirky, sprawling the width of their garden. The layout made very little sense, seeing as people had just added on rooms as needed, but the place had a homely, welcoming vibe that always made him feel relaxed.
Isobel rang the bell beside the wooden door set in the outer wall. Instead of answering it remotely, Julia’s sister, Belinda, swung the door open. Like their mother, Belinda Collins was a movie star; unlike their mother, who’d married a film director, Belinda had married John “Beast” Garcia—ex-MMA fighter and part-time Benson Security specialist as well as a full-time bodyguard for his wife. The tattoo-covered man stood at his wife’s side, looking grim.
“Hurry on in.” Belinda motioned urgently to them. “The press hasn’t found their way here yet, but it’s only a matter of time, and I don’t want Julia getting upset. She’s on bed rest because her blood pressure’s through the roof, and that’s bad for the baby.”
Ryan and Isobel hurried into the garden, and Belinda slammed the door behind them.
“Um, maybe we shouldn’t be here if Julia isn’t supposed to get upset,” Ryan said.
“Too late for that.” Beast started up the path toward the house. “Rachel texted her from the office before the police took everybody away. Julia’s been on her laptop ever since.” He flashed them a rueful smile. “She made us roll a couple of whiteboards into her bedroom. It’s our job to keep them updated.”
“Honestly.” Belinda’s perfect smile always made Ryan do a double take. Even after knowing her for years, he was still more used to seeing it on billboards than in person. “I think she’s better now she has a project. Just sitting around worrying about the baby has been hard on her.”
“Especially as she can’t get up and organize the contents of every cupboard into sets of three,” Beast added.
Ryan grinned at him. Julia’s OCD was legendary. “Has Sarah arrived yet? It took us a while to find a babysitter for Isobel’s kids.”
“Not yet,” Belinda said.
“It’s so hard to get a decent sitter,” Isobel said. “Callum scares most of them away with his interrogations and deep-dive background checks. Fortunately, Mrs. Moore was available. She used to nanny for the royal family back in the day. Now she’s retired and just takes on the odd job. She isn’t cheap, but Callum can’t have it both ways. Finding someone who passes all his tests and charges barely anything is an impossible task.”
“I’m surprised he doesn’t have a full-time bodyguard for the kids,” Beast said.
Isobel pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you dare put that thought in his head! You hear me?”
He held up his hands. “Loud and clear.”
“Claire’s here,” Belinda said quickly. “She’s talking babies with Julia. I never realized there was so much involved in giving birth. I just assumed nature took its course.”
“Bet listening to that was fun,” Ryan said. “Claire has nothing but war stories, and a helluva lot of them too.” He’d lost count of how many kids Grunt’s wife, Megan’s twin sister, had now. Four hundred? Five? There had to be at least ten sets of twins in there too.
“They were discussing epidurals when we left,” Beast said.
“Ran. We ran,” Belinda corrected with a shudder.
“I’m glad Sarah isn’t here yet,” Ryan said as they hit the sunny patio in front of the white-trimmed conservatory. “I’m hoping for a brother or sister for this baby, and if Claire freaks her out, Sarah will never let me touch her ever again.” He wasn’t joking either. “Do you have any idea how many childbirth statistics I’ve had to listen to? Or the cost of raising a kid? Or the chances of the kid being harmed or getting ill? She has it all listed in a spreadsheet. She says that, statistically, the risks of having children far outweigh any perceived benefits. Apparently, if any other endeavor had the same level of risk, no insurance company in the world would underwrite it.” He held up his hands in supplication. “What am I supposed to do with that?”
Isobel patted his shoulder. “Just let her get it out of her system. It’s how she copes. Last week, she explained to me why crochet’s a high-risk activity, something to do with RSI. But she did say it was harder to injure yourself with a crochet hook than a knitting needle, so I guess it gains points there.”
Beast barked out a laugh. “I’m still trying to figure out how somebody as fearless as Ryan Granger managed to marry the most risk-averse woman I’ve ever met.”
“Just lucky, I guess.” And he meant it.
They went through the conservatory instead of the main entrance, passing the wicker furniture with its soft white cushions. The room was filled with flowering plants and books piled high on rickety side tables. It was a space that invited you to rest for a while. To listen to the water feature in the little pond and gaze at the trees as the wind rustled their leaves.
The main bedroom was just off the conservatory, through a short, oddly shaped hall that seemed to serve no purpose at all—although Julia had tried to give it one by turning it into a memento room. Photos and knickknacks from various trips covered the walls, and there was a hand-woven rug on the wooden floor that he recognized as coming from Peru—where Julia and Joe had married.
Joe and Julia’s bedroom was huge, light, and airy, decorated in the same pastel shades that flooded the rest of the house. The office manager sat up in bed, an assortment of paperwork spread around her—neatly, because Julia did everything neatly—and her laptop and iPad in front of her. Her smile was worried.
“Any news?” she asked, resting a hand on her massive belly.
“No news.” Isobel threw herself into one of the oversized armchairs in the bay window. “But they’ve only just been taken into custody.” Her feet didn’t reach the floor, and they swung as she spoke.
“Any news at your end?” Ryan asked.
“I just got off the phone with Katrina; she’s in the office panic room and can’t get out because the place is crawling with police.”
Ryan did a double take at that. “That explains a lot. I wondered where she’d gone.”
“Do we need to get her out of there?” Isobel looked worried. “I mean, with the whole ‘trapped in a windowless room’ thing. I don’t want her to snap and end up in an asylum.”
“She won’t snap,” Ryan said. “She’s stronger than most everybody I know.” He looked at Julia. “Did she say she was struggling?”
“No.” Julia shook her head. “She just wants out. Mainly, she’s worried about what she can do to help.”
“See?” Ryan said to Isobel. “She’s fine.”
“Still.” Isobel wasn’t convinced. “We look after our people, especially when they’ve been through hell like she has. Or any trauma, for that matter. I’d be worried if you were around something that could hit you on the head. We all have our triggers. Or, in your case, our tendency to get shot.”
“That’s only happened a few times.” Ryan glared at her. “Three?” Crap, that was something he should be able to remember.
“Yeah, your brain is fine,” Isobel said as she folded her arms. “And Katrina’s treating being locked in the panic room like she’s at a day spa.”
Ryan turned back to Julia. “How desperate is her situation?”
“I think it’s okay for now. But we’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Good.” It wasn’t much of a plan, but then, there wasn’t a whole lot they could do to help her. Not without giving away her location to the cops. “Any word from our lawyers?”
Julia nodded. “I called Ms. Patel, and she appears to have everything in hand. And now we have Rachel’s latest message, so we know what’s going on.” She frowned. “It’s all very petty. I can’t believe one man’s causing this much anxiety over a decades-old grudge.”
"I can," Isobel said. "Bloody typical, if you ask me."
"I’d protest on behalf of my gender," Ryan said. "But she's not wrong.”
He glanced at the two whiteboards at the foot of the bed. A picture of Commander Fitzwater was pinned to the middle of one of them, his smug face smiling out at them.
"Have you found anything on him that will help?" he asked Julia.
“Not yet.” She tapped at her laptop. “His public record is unblemished. Not exactly exemplary, but nothing to write home about either. I can’t find a hint of a scandal in his background.”
“Doesn’t mean there isn’t one.” Ryan folded his arms and glared at the photo.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have the skills to dig deeper, and our hackers are behind bars or off the grid entirely.”
Claire grimaced. “We really could have used my cousin’s genius on this, but Harry’s in a cave somewhere.”
She sat on a kitchen chair near the head of the bed. Beast and Belinda had taken the other two chairs beside her. Obviously, they’d dragged the chairs in when they realized the house was about to become the operation’s headquarters.
Ryan looked around the room at what remained of his team. “Do we know any other hackers? Or computer whiz kids like Harry?”
There was a round of blank stares.
“We need more hackers,” Julia said solemnly. “Good ones.” She blushed. “As in, ones with a good moral code.”
Ryan wasn’t sure such a thing existed: hacking was addictive and could tempt a saint. “There has to be someone we could try. We need help digging up dirt on Fitzwater—if there is any.”
“Face like that,” Beast said, “there has to be.”
That smug smile was annoying all of them for sure.
“I’ve got an idea, but I’m not sure how smart it is,” Claire said hesitantly.
“We’re brainstorming here.” Ryan signaled for her to continue. “There are no dumb ideas.” Although, as soon as he said that he remembered he was talking to Megan’s sister. Dumb ideas were pretty much the only kind the twins had.
“Okay.” She shrugged, and Ryan marveled again at the differences between her and her identical twin. Megan was all black leather and hidden weapons, while Claire was flowery dresses and headbands. Megan would have shot anyone who suggested she wear a headband. “My cousin’s kid is good at computer stuff. I say we give her a call and see what happens. I mean, it can’t hurt.” She made a valiant effort to look innocent. And there was something about the Scottish accent that made you feel you could trust the person talking.
But Ryan had been bitten on the backside more than once after falling for that weird Scottish quirk. “You’re talking about Katy Boyle, aren’t you? Flynn’s kid.”
Sometimes, the wily Scots amongst them forgot he’d earned his stripes working out of the Highlands office. He’d played football on the Invertary team alongside Flynn and his brother, Harry, long before Harry worked with Benson Security.
“I forgot you know her.” Claire beamed at him, but there was a trace of panic in her eyes.
As well there should be. “Oh, I know Katy. She’s a deadly combination of Harry’s brains and Megan’s recklessness. And she’s what? Fifteen, sixteen? The kid’s a loose cannon. Always has been. Hell, I remember the way she ran rings around Flynn when he first met her mum. What did he call her? Oh yeah, the terrorist.” He shook his head. “Asking Katy to help is a very bad idea. Plus, I’m not even sure she has the skills.”
Claire straightened in her chair, suddenly looking almost as scary as her twin. “I’ll have you know that she hacked FIFA and tried to influence the draw for the last European Championship. And she’d have done it, too, if Flynn hadn’t caught her.” She beamed proudly. “She was trying to ensure that Scotland got a fair group.”
Ryan slapped a palm to his forehead. “You just made my point for me.”
“No, I didn’t.” Claire’s voice began to rise. “I made my point. Katy can hack. She’s smart, and she’s never been caught—officially. If she can get into the football federation, she can get into the Metropolitan Police database.”
Beast put a hand on Claire’s arm. “How about we ask her to look into Fitzwater and see what she can find, but we don’t ask her to hack the Met? Instead, we could ask your brother to tap his cop contacts to see if there are any rumors about the commander that way?”
Claire looked deflated. “You want my straitlaced brother to ask around about another cop? The same guy who locked me and my sister up? The guy who made Katy spend the night in jail after she harmlessly hacked FIFA? I mean, seriously, if he can’t bend the rules for family, he isn’t going to do this.”
“You were never charged with anything.” Ryan wasn’t impressed by her drama and felt the need to set the record straight. “He just locked you two up when you got out of control. We’re talking a night or two in Invertary’s local jail. Not the big house. And Katy could have ended up in serious trouble for hacking FIFA. Plus, knowing her, I’m fairly certain a stern lecture wouldn’t have had any impact.”
“Can we get back to the issue at hand?” Julia said more firmly than he’d ever heard her speak. Pregnancy made her formidable. “Beast’s idea is a good one. How about we try that? Plus, your brother might know who else we can contact for help because everyone we know with the skills we need has been arrested. I don’t have the kind of contacts Lake, Callum, or Elle has. None of us do.” She glanced at Ryan. “Right?”
He shrugged. “I was just the muscle, not a wheeling, dealing security specialist or soldier. I followed orders. So, no contacts here.”
“One of us could call your brother if you don’t want to do it,” Belinda offered, returning Ryan’s attention to Megan’s stubborn twin.
“No offense, but if an Oscar-nominated actress calls my brother, he’ll pass out and be of no use to anyone.” Claire let out a weary sigh. “I’ll do it. But I’m talking to Katy first.” She pulled out her phone and dialed.
“Put it on speaker,” Ryan said. “I don’t want you talking in code with your protégé.”
“No trust,” Claire muttered as she tapped the screen.
“Aunt C,” a perky voice answered. “What’s up?”
“I need a favor,” Claire said. “Aunt Megan, Uncle Grunt, and Uncle Dimitri have all been taken in for questioning by a horrible policeman who’s determined to shut down Benson Security for good.”
Ryan almost laughed at the ‘horrible policeman’ description. Claire would always be a preschool teacher at heart.
Katy sucked in a breath. “He’s got Lake too?”
Ryan rolled his eyes. Of course Lake Benson was her hero. The man seemed to attract females who flaunted the rules. His octogenarian sidekick, Evil Betty, was a case in point.
“The whole team’s been arrested,” Claire said. “Everyone who was at the conference.”
There was a moment’s silence before Katy’s angry voice replied, “How can I help?”
“We need you to dig up everything you can on a man named Garrison Fitzwater.”
“Ew, is that his real name? Doesn’t he have any self-respect? I’d totally change my name if the ’rents had called me that.”
Ryan caught Beast’s eye, and they shared a smile. The kid wasn’t wrong.
“Focus, Katy,” Claire said in her best teacher voice. “The man is a…” She glanced at Ryan. “What’s his title?”
“Hey, Katy, this is Ryan Granger. He’s commander of the Metropolitan Police’s Special and Organized Crimes Division. You got that?”
“Hey, Ryan, I wrote it down. Why aren’t you in jail?”
“I don’t work for Benson Security anymore.”
“Guess a bullet to the head will do that for you,” she said with all the wisdom of a teen. “What else do you need?”
“Check on his history with Lake because, apparently, he’s holding a grudge over that. Also, we want to know about Fitzwater’s family and connections. Who’s backing him or protecting him. Got it?”
“Got it,” she said firmly.
“And you’re not allowed to hack,” Ryan added.
“That’s what people tell me,” she replied in a sing-song voice. The line went dead.
“She is so going to hack,” Isobel muttered.
Ryan decided that was a problem for another day. “Better call your brother,” he said to Claire. “And has anyone called Lake’s wife… and Noah’s?” Remembering belatedly that his American colleague had recently tied the knot.
“I did,” Julia said. “Noah’s wife sounds lovely. She offered to help, but she’s got her hands full looking after Noah’s boys, so I told her we’d be in touch if we needed her. As for Kirsty, she’s at Disneyland Paris with the girls and her mum. I told her to focus on that, and we’d keep her updated. She said Lake’s never mentioned this Fitzwater man, but she also said that there’s still a lot of stuff in his past he legally can’t speak about. I’ve also messaged everyone’s families and started a group chat to keep everyone in the loop. So don’t worry about anyone not knowing.”
Of course she was on top of it. This was why they needed Julia. Even at nine months pregnant, she was still an organizational genius.
“Good job, Julia,” Ryan said before turning to Claire. “You dialing your brother yet?”
“This is a waste of time,” she grumbled as she made the call.