Chapter 11 #2
Her gaze took in the lean muscled man on the right.
He was wearing a pair of slacks and a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
Even if she didn’t know this man was Conner Dillon, she would have picked up on it.
He might have left the FBI years ago, but it was hard to shake the aura—especially when he was wearing dress slacks in Hawai’i.
Lila turned her attention to the other man.
Lucian Warner, otherwise known as Luc. The former SEAL looked like an unmovable object.
An inch shorter than his boss, he was all muscle and no body fat.
He wore a t-shirt with the Dillon Security logo on it, cargo pants, and what she was sure were steel toed boots. He kept his dark hair in a crew cut.
They slipped out of the car, El coming to her side. She knew he was doing it to show his support in front of his two supervisors. She appreciated it. There had been two people who would always stand up for her, and they were El and Eden.
She moved forward, not waiting for any response from the two men. She was exhausted by the time they got to the top of the staircase. The last few days had been a bitch, and from the frowns these two were throwing her way, she figured it wasn’t getting better.
“Ms. Underwood,” Conner Dillon said.
“Mr. Dillon.” She looked at Luc. “Mr. Warner.”
She knew their backgrounds. Both men were lethal, especially Luc, but at the moment, that made her feel safe. They might be frowning, but she knew that they were at least taking her case.
“And please, call me Lila.”
Both men nodded, and she would have laughed if the situation wasn’t so damned serious.
“Let’s get inside so we can talk about your case,” Conner said stepping aside and waving with his hand.
Lila figured there was no reason to fight the man. Plus, she needed to sit down. Or take a nap. Yes, she had just had a short one on the flight, but the last week had been hard.
When she stepped into the foyer of the house, she marveled at the decor.
It definitely had a Japanese aesthetic. Paintings of what looked like Japan decorated the walls, along with pictures of samurais and various swords.
The dark furniture continued the theme, along with the Asian pottery that littered the surfaces.
“Lila,” Eden said as she hurried to her. The other person she trusted in this world wrapped her arms around her. “You scared me,” she whispered.
Although she knew it made her look weak, she responded in kind. The backs of her eyes stung with tears she would never let fall.
With one last squeeze, she stepped back.
She looked at everyone. “I guess we need to chat.”
“Let’s sit down,” Conner said, walking into a living area dominated by floor to ceiling bookcases and several comfy looking couches. She sat down and almost groaned. The couch cushions were as soft as down feathers.
Once everyone was settled, Conner got right down to business.
“We know a little of your background, but we need some holes filled in.”
“It would help if I knew what you knew.”
“Of course. Let me preface this by saying I’m truly sorry for everything you’ve been through. No one with your expansive background should have to go into hiding from their own government,”
He wasn’t just saying that. Lila was good at reading people, and he sincerely meant it. “Thank you.”
“Now, Ian told us a little, but he wanted to keep most of this under the radar. Talking on the phone is always dangerous, considering your former employer. So, your parents and brother were killed by a bomb when you were twelve, and then you went to live with your maternal grandmother. When you went to work for The Company, you started to dig into the investigation of their deaths.”
She nodded. “Well, not dig into it officially. I already knew we had a few avenues to follow, but truth was, there wasn’t much at all. Everyone seemed to think it was someone trying to punish my grandmother. But even that was thin. So, I started working my way through my mother’s work.”
“She was the one linking the early crypto to terrorist activity,” Conner said. “Not your father?”
She shook her head. “He dealt with something at a lower level. Well, I think he did cover it, but just for his region.”
Memories of the quiet anger in the house before her parents were murdered always filled her with sadness. As a child, she hadn’t really understood, but now she did to an extent. Certain men had an issue with their partners doing better than they did.
“You are convinced that she was killed for that and your brother and father were just collateral?” Luc asked.
“I think so. It wasn’t someone who was paying attention, because I wasn’t there. Of course, I was running late.”
Luc’s eyes narrowed. “You were late?”
She nodded and saw the implications hit him. Welcome to my life. Someone had wanted her entire family dead, and maybe they were after her now to finish the job because of her poking around.
“Let’s go over your suspects and see what we can garner from that.”
She opened her mouth to explain the situation better, but she heard the front door open.
Her heart hammered in her throat, her entire body lighting up with excitement.
She didn’t realize how attached she had gotten to Ian until she had been separated from him for just a little over an hour.
But when she heard the gait of the person joining them, she knew it wasn’t Ian.
Instead, a petite Asian woman stepped into the room.
“Sorry,” she said hurrying forward. “I’m still trying to find my way around this island and got lost on the way over.”
Conner stood. “No worries, Miko. Lila Underwood, this is Miko Andersen. Miko, this is Lila Underwood.”
“You’re new,” Lila said.
Miko’s eyebrows rose. “Just started this week, but mainly as a consultant.”
Lila looked at Conner. “Why would you need the former top profiler at the BAU?”
“I’m impressed,” Conner said.
“Don’t be. I’m sure my story was splashed across the news for months,” Miko said.
Lila looked at the other woman. Dr. Miko Andersen clocked in at just above five feet.
She wore her long, thick, dark hair in a chignon at the base of her neck.
Makeup was minimal, but with her flawless skin, she wouldn’t need much.
She wore a white shirt with small black pin stripes.
Her black, cropped pants completed the outfit.
Next to her, Lila knew she looked like the hottest of messes.
“Yes, but I read your files and a few of your articles.”
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise and possible admiration. Lila had studied everything she could about the woman’s work. That last fiasco at the FBI wasn’t even worth mentioning.
“Good to know you can hack the FBI.” She sat in one of the remaining chairs across the room.
Lila snorted. “The FBI was a walk in the park for me, but that’s because I worked for The Company.”
“Right,” Miko said with a nod. “I guess we’re going over the case now?”
Lila looked at Conner for an explanation. “We hired Miko for situations like this. She can look at the crimes and help us work out the motivations.”
“They want me dead.”
“Yes, but if I can look at their actions, I can help you whittle down the list.”
Lila liked doing things on her own. That way she knew they were done the right way and there were no leaks. But, at the moment, she would take all the help she could get before she went back out on her own.
“Then, I guess we should start.”