Chapter 3
The only thing Major disliked about his job was trading in his worn jeans and leather boots for a suit.
Normally, he wouldn’t dress up for a security job, but he needed to blend in with the other guests at the hotel instead of looking like a biker.
It was almost noon when he strode into the Heritage Hotel, bypassing the front desk.
After the text from Tabitha stating she was taking her client to the rental near Stone Mountain, Major reached out to Daniel Kilbrook, Craig’s manager and uncle, who gave Major the address to where they would be staying.
While waiting on his flight, he researched the rental, which was an eight bed, six bath home on the lake.
It was in a gated community, but that was easy enough to bypass with water access.
He and Tabitha would need to be diligent. Being shifters would help.
Major rode the elevator to the twelfth floor, turning left once the doors opened. Upon reaching the suite at the end of the hall, the guard-less suite, Major knocked, then clasped his hands in front of him. He had texted a photo of himself to Daniel so the man knew what he looked like.
The door opened, and at first glance, Major thought it was Craig standing there.
“Mr. Lazlo, please come in. I’m Daniel Kilbrook.
” Daniel stepped back, allowing Major to enter the suite.
Craig Kilbrook, who sat on one of the sofas in the living area, stood as Major approached.
If Major didn’t already know the two were related, he would have assumed so by how much they resembled one another.
The Kilbrook genes were strong with Daniel appearing closer to Craig’s age than old enough to be an uncle. Maybe he was a late in life baby.
“Mr. Lazlo, thank you for flying in.” Craig held out his hand.
Major shook it, careful of his shifter strength. “Please, call me Major. Where’s the other security specialist?”
“I let him go this morning, knowing you were on your way.” Daniel approached, gesturing at the luggage on the floor. “We’re ready to leave if you are?”
“Tabitha mentioned a prosthetic. Do you have it?” Major asked. He was familiar with the masks she and her family created, but he’d never worn one himself. He didn’t need to with his Gryphon’s abilities to voice others into believing what he wanted them to.
Craig reached down and snagged the prosthetic from the end table. “I have it, but I wasn’t sure how to dress.”
“Do you have a suit?”
“Yes, I have a couple in the closet. I only packed my casual clothes since we’ll be holed up at the rental house for the next few days. Once we have the all-clear, I’ll send Daniel back for the rest of my things.”
“Excellent. A suit will allow you to pose as a businessman leaving the hotel.”
“What about me?” Daniel asked.
“Do you have a vehicle here?”
“Yes, a rental. It’s in the parking garage.”
“My boss has arranged a table for you at Colden’s Key.
You’ll take a rideshare to the restaurant, enjoy a nice meal, then take another rideshare across town to Little Five Points.
There is a shop there called Solaralun, where your car will be waiting.
I need your keys so that one of my associates can retrieve it from the parking garage and drive it over while you are eating.
Afterward, you’ll make your way to Stone Mountain. ”
“Perry didn’t have to go through all this trouble,” Daniel muttered.
“Because Perry’s client wasn’t the one targeted.” Major turned to Craig. “While you’re changing, I’ll take the luggage to my car and drive it around front. Do you need help with the mask?”
“No, I tried it on earlier. It took a few minutes, but I figured it out.”
“Now, hold up.” Daniel grabbed Major’s arm, but the glare he bestowed upon the male had him turning loose. “You’re supposed to be his guard. How’s him walking alone safe?”
“He’ll be wearing the prosthetic. If he doesn’t speak to anyone, he won’t be recognized. Have you not seen him with it on?”
Daniel’s face turned red. “No. I, uh, wasn’t in the room when he tried it on.”
Major motioned toward the mask. “Go ahead and put it on so we can assure your uncle you won’t be recognized.”
“Is that necessary?” Craig asked Daniel.
“You have to put it on anyway. Don’t be difficult,” Daniel chided.
“Fine.” The man skirted around his uncle and went to one of the bedrooms. Major crossed his beefy arms over his chest and waited.
Daniel huffed before walking over to the mini bar where he poured himself a hefty tumbler of whiskey.
Maybe Daniel driving himself to Stone Mountain wasn’t a good idea, especially if he was already drinking.
Craig returned, and Daniel gasped. “Holy fucking hell.” He set the glass on the sideboard and walked to where Craig stood just inside the room.
Daniel lifted a hand toward Craig’s face, which looked nothing like him.
His short, dark hair was now a mop of reddish waves.
Daniel snapped his head toward Major. “I guess you know what you’re talking about. ”
“Steele Securities is the best at what we do.” The company had the best technology at its disposal along with the Trio aiding them.
It didn’t hurt that all the employees were shifters.
“Craig, please put your suit on so we can get on the road. I’ll be waiting out front in a black SUV with black wheels. ”
The actor retreated into his room without a word, and Major snagged the two pieces of luggage after getting the key fob and location in the parking deck to Daniel’s car.
After dropping the fob off at the front desk with instructions as to who would pick it up, Major retrieved the SUV Mason loaned him from the office.
After texting Tabitha to let her know they were on their way, he made his way to the front door of the hotel.
Craig strode to the SUV, slid into the passenger seat, and shut the door, nervous energy pouring off the man.
“Everything okay?” Major asked.
“Fine,” he lied. “Life would be so much easier if I had one of these masks to wear in my downtime,” Craig said as he buckled his seatbelt. “It’s bad enough that I’m recognized wherever I go, but Daniel is often mistaken for me too. Where did Tabitha get this?”
Major pulled away from the hotel, following the GPS’s instructions. “Either she or someone in her family made it. It takes a special technology, which they have, but certain special effects studios also have the technology, which you’re probably aware of.”
“Damn. She’s hot and brilliant,” Craig mumbled.
Major’s Gryphon bristled. “That she is. Then again, your wife is no slouch. Isn’t she an internal medicine specialist?” Major had read Craig’s profile during the flight. The man was married to a doctor.
Craig snapped his head around, eyes narrowed. “How do you know about Olivia?”
“I read your file. It’s my job to know everything about you so I can keep you safe.” Not only that, but Craig Kilbrook was a household name, and his photos and personal life were all over the internet.
“Yeah, Livvy is brilliant. Mind if we turn on the radio?”
Major wondered at Craig’s abrupt tone. Maybe he was protective of his family? “Sure. Choose whatever you like.” The drive was less than an hour, so Major could handle whatever the actor picked. Surprisingly, Craig chose hip-hop, but that was better than country.
When they were almost to the rental, the entertainment screen lit up with an incoming text, so he pressed Tabitha’s name, and the electronic device read the message.
She was asking if they wanted to add to the lunch order being placed at a local barbeque restaurant.
Instead of responding, he hit the call button.
“Well, hello, Mr. Lazlo.” Her voice was husky, and his dick twitched.
“Hello, Miss Stone. I have you on speaker. You didn’t have to wait on us to eat. We could have grabbed something on the way.”
“Trista slept in and had a late breakfast.”
“Can you tell us our choices? I figured this was easier than texting since I’m driving.”
“Oh, shoot. Yes.” Tabitha rattled off the various items on the menu. Craig huffed but told her what he wanted. Major added his selection. “We’re about five minutes out. Do you want me to stop and pick the order up?”
“I appreciate the offer, but the restaurant is in the opposite direction.”
“I don’t mind. That’ll keep you or Perry from having to go out.”
“Maybe I mind,” Craig muttered, but having shifter hearing, both Major and Tabitha heard him.
“I’ll have it delivered. They can drop it off at the guard shack, so no one will be put out. See you soon.”
“Sounds good.” Major disconnected. Already disgruntled with the man sitting beside him, his impression went down another notch.
“If they’re ordering food, that means no one can cook. I hope Perry called Florence to join us early. I doubt some Podunk town like Stone Mountain is going to have many food options.”
“Who’s Florence?”
“Trista calls her a nutritionist, but that’s just a gloried title for cook.”
Major wondered if Trista was as pretentious as her co-star.
He didn’t mention that he could cook well enough to feed them all because he was there as a bodyguard.
Tabitha could too. During the weekend they spent together, they had fun in the kitchen both with food and on the counter in sexy ways.
Their chemistry was undeniable both in the bedroom and out.
The sexy female was a badass who could recite Shakespeare as well as find top dead center on a Harley motor.
That was something Major couldn’t do. He left all the mechanical work to Kayden.
Spending time sequestered in the house was going to take all his resolve not to get her alone and naked.