6. Hayden
Hayden
That’s all it takes for every backup plan I have in place to get activated. A single box, unattended, untagged, and unmarked. Glancing it over, I know in seconds that it didn’t go through the new protocols I set up, and whoever’s leaving these shitty little gifts is too fucking close for comfort.
I need to get Gia out of here, now.
“Initiate evac protocol,” I command. “We’re going with the foxtrot plan, folks. I repeat, foxtrot plan.”
Within minutes, a team comes in to scan the box, bag it, and examine its contents. When they’re done, they’ll send it up the chain for further analysis.
In the meantime, a team I hand-selected and had Rafi send over close their ranks around us as I usher Gia out of the dressing room, down the hall, and toward the exit leading to the underground parking lot.
“What’s going on?” she asks, glancing over her shoulder. Her eyes are wide and worried, the layers of makeup on her face starting to run after nearly two hours of nonstop singing and dancing. “Is it a bomb?”
“I don’t know what it is, but it’s not a bomb. That wouldn’t have got past any of the security checks we go through when people arrive and get their daily access passes. Whatever it is, though, I’m not sticking around to find out.”
“What if it’s just another gift?”
“I’m not taking any chances, Gia. I swore I’d keep you safe. That’s what I’m doing. The team will fill me in once they’ve inspected whatever’s in the box.”
One of the escort team hands her a pair of sunglasses and one of my spare black button-down shirts before nudging her into the passenger seat of my car.
I hop in, wave my thanks, and peel out of the pavilion parking lot while the team filters back into the venue to execute the next step in my altered security plan.
No one outside our little bubble will even know we’ve left the premises until it’s too late. All I can do is hope and pray we’ve moved fast enough to avoid detection.
“So, where are we going?” Gia asks, sinking down into the plush leather seat and holding my shirt around her shoulders while the air conditioning blasts her at full power.
“Somewhere I can keep you safe.”
“A safe house?”
I cast a sideways glance at her. “My house.”
Her mouth forms a silent little ‘o’ as we emerge from the underground parking lot, and I issue a quick verbal command for my phone to dial the Beacon. Through the car’s Bluetooth connection, the line rings twice before it’s picked up.
“Rafi, I need an update.”
“Hello to you, too, Choi. My update is that I’ve gotten through thirty percent of the names you sent me. Considering you asked me to run backgrounds on a population equivalent to a small town, and we’ve got a team dealing with a kidnapping, I’d say that’s excellent progress.”
“And the other situation?”
“Is there something in the water today? Everyone’s having a crisis.” Rafi sighs. “Sloane’s looking into it. Let me transfer you.”
Two clicks later, the head of Sunbreak Security answers. Sloane’s voice is calm, steady, and full of reassurance.
“Archer here. I’ve been digging into the history files Allie sent over, like you asked. The only references I can find to boxed gifts aren’t ones that have been sent to her at shows. At least, none for a long while. All the others were sent to her private residences.”
I glance over at Gia questioningly.
“Um. If they were, I never saw them. I only ever saw the ones that turned up at shows. Another team handles stuff sent to my houses because of my travel schedule.”
Sloane doesn’t miss a beat. “You got me on speaker, Choi?”
“Sorry. I’m driving. Gotta keep the hands free.”
“Ms. Golding, let me assure you we’ve got the situation in hand. Hayden’s one of our very best.”
She looks over at me, a tremulous, brave smile pasted on her face. “I trust you.”
I glance over and meet her gaze. Hold it steady and feel my heart thud in my chest. Then, I reach across the divide and thread my fingers through hers. She responds by cradling my hand in both of hers, and the weight of her trust in me feels like a physical thing binding us together.
“I got her, Archer. I won’t let anything happen to her. I’ll protect her like she’s family.”
Because that’s exactly what I plan on making her.
My brain’s been so busy working out next steps in securing Gia’s movements and security that I haven’t considered the gravity of what I’m actually doing until I’m parked and watching Gia step over the threshold into my home.
For the first time in over a decade, I’ve brought a woman home.
Not just any woman, either.
I’ve brought Gia Golding home.
And I have no idea how I’m going to explain any of it to my kid or my mom.
Turns out, with a tech-savvy thirteen-year-old at home, there isn’t much to explain.
“Dad, Dad, Dad! Guess what I saw online! Gia—” My daughter skids around the corner in bare feet and then stands at the end of the hall, gaping like a fish. “Ho-o-o-ly shit. You’re Gia Golding.”
“Chloe,” I warn. “What’d I tell you about cursing? Not in my house. Not in front of me. Or our guests.”
“Our… Our guests,” she repeats, eyes so wide they’re nearly going to pop out from behind her glasses. “Right. Guests. Um. Hi. I’m Chloe. Big fan. There are posters of you on my wall. Wanna see?”
I drag a hand down my face and swallow a groan.
“No, of course not. Don’t be silly.” My daughter lets out a too-loud laugh and pushes her glasses higher up her nose.
“Why would you want to look at pictures of yourself? You know what you look like.” Then she takes in the full picture of us standing together, and her nose wrinkles.
“Hold up. Did you come straight here after the show?”
“Yeah.” Gia grins, extending a hand. “It’s really nice to meet you, Chloe.
Your dad mentioned you liked my work. That’s really flattering, and I can’t thank you enough for the bracelet you made me.
Hope you don’t mind, but I decided to wear it as an anklet.
” She sticks her leg out, showing off the braided hemp.
Then, she drops her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
“It’s easier to slip it under my stylists’ noses if it’s on my ankle. ”
“Are you kidding? No way! That is so cool.” Chloe flips her phone’s camera on and bends low, arm extended. “Gia Golding is wearing one of my bracelets! I can’t wait—”
I clear my throat and catch Chloe’s eye. With the slightest shake of my head, she snaps her mouth shut and nods.
“Right. No bragging about celebrity encounters because it’s just a job.” Chloe recites the long-held household rule in her best imitation of my serious voice while I sling an arm around her and give her a big hug.
“Thanks, kid. Way to prove you’re an excellent listener.
” I lean in and give her a kiss on the temple, then look up to see my mom blinking at us from the doorway of the kitchen.
Her small, dark eyes bounce between all of us, shrewd and assessing.
To Chloe, I say, “Do me a favor and make up the guest bedroom for Gia, okay? She’s going to stay with us for a while.
Just until we can sort out a few security things. ”
“Okay,” she says, not quite able to hide the little squeal of excitement she makes as she goes. “I’ll make sure to use the good sheets!”
“She’s really sweet,” Gia says, grinning as she tucks her hand in mine.
“Thanks.” I lead her across the tiled floor to my mom.
“This is my mom, Young-sook. She lives in the granny annex out back and stays with Chloe when I work nights. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without her.
” I press a kiss to my mom’s leathery cheek, then draw Gia before me. “Eomma, this is Gia Golding.”
My mom smiles wide, clasps her hands around Gia’s extended one, and, in Korean, asks, “Are you hungry? Did you eat?”
Gia showers while I help my mom in the kitchen. The entire time we’re separated, I’m having to deal with tempering Chloe’s excited chatter with a mini-lecture from my mom, who moves around the kitchen only to press everything into my hand. The knife, the chopping board, the vegetables.
“You fix, you feed,” she says, muttering in rapid-fire Korean. “My son always has expensive, high-class taste in women.”
“Eomma!” My voice is sharp as heat climbs up my neck. “I do not. She’s a client.”
“If she’s a client, why you holding her hand, then?” She turns to me and plants a hand on her hip. “Even if you weren’t touching, I have eyes. I might be eighty-two, but I’m not blind.”
Across the kitchen island, Chloe partially hyperventilates on the bar stool, helping me prep by scooping banchan into little bowls.
“I can’t believe Gia Golding is in my house! And she’s going to stay! Think she’ll want to do a movie night, Dad?”
“She just finished a show, honey. I don’t know if she’s up for it tonight.”
“Are you saying there might be another night in the future she might be up for a movie night?”
I choose to say nothing, adding rice to the pan like it’s the most interesting thing in the world right now, which makes Chloe laugh.
“Oh, Dad. You are so bad at this.” Chloe digs out the dishes and sets them on the table as my mom passes her, still mumbling in Korean. “What’s she saying?”
“None of your business,” I grumble.
In English, Mom tells her, “I say, your dad likes her.”
“Oh. Yeah, totally.” Chloe shrugs. “Caught him checking out her, uh, assets when I showed her where the bathroom is.”
“Watch it, kid.”
She rolls her eyes. “Dad, I’m going to be fourteen. Really not a kid anymore.”
“So long as you live in my house, you are.”
“I think she might like you back,” Chloe adds, letting my comment slide without a retort. “Or at least, she’s curious. She stared hard at all the photos along the hallway. The ones you’re in, anyway.”
Then, she finishes setting the plates and gives me a spontaneous hug.
“Hey, Dad. I have to tell you something important.”
I stir the kimchi fried rice together and automatically move the hot pan out of reach of Chloe’s elbow.
“What?”
She flashes a mischievous grin at me. “If you’re gonna smash, wear protection.”
Then she hightails it out of the kitchen, laughing like a hyena while I shout after her that she ought to sleep in the granny annex with her grandma tonight.
“Don’t worry, I will! There are some things a child should never have to see. Or hear!”
I’m probably as red as a lobster when Gia strolls out wearing one of Chloe’s oversized concert tees and a pair of my gym shorts. Her wet hair hangs in loose waves, leaving wet patches across her shoulders and causing my mom to scurry off in search of another dry towel.
“Everything okay?” she asks.
“Everything’s fine. I’m sorry about my family.”
Gia looks at me in surprise. “Why? Your family is lovely. You all talk to one another, at least.”
“Yours doesn’t talk?”
“Mine… keeps busy. We’re scattered all over the world, you know. There are time zones and travel schedules, so despite our best efforts, getting all the Goldings together in one place is a pretty rare thing these days.”
I can’t fathom being away from mine for more than a few days.
“Do you miss them?”
Gia offers me a soft, watery kind of smile and shrugs this off like that’s just the way it is without answering.
Then, she comes up beside me and peeks over my shoulder at what I’m making.
“Kimchi fried rice? I ate loads of this stuff when I was last in Seoul. This and all those savory pancakes are my favorite.”
“You been to Korea?” My mom blinks and offers Gia a fresh towel to help dry her curls.
“Oh, yeah, several times. Thank you for this.” Gia takes the towel, then bends low to twist it around her locks. “My sister, Iseul, works out there. She’s an actress. Maybe you’ve heard of her. She’s been in a few K-dramas.”
She straightens up just in time to see my mom’s eyes go round with recognition.
“Ah! Iseul Golding. I know her. I like her.” Then she motions for Chloe to come close and starts dragging her backward. “You enjoy your dinner, okay? See you tomorrow. Good night.”
Then, she turns to me with a steely hard eyes that speak volumes above her over-bright smile, and inclines her head. She issues one last command in Korean before she slips out the sliding glass door, pulling a spluttering Chloe along with her.
“Marry her.”