Chapter 5. Ace #2
“No, it was getting dark and there weren’t many people around.
The few videos the police got from witnesses are blurry and they haven’t been able to track the van.
Honestly, I don’t think the police are taking it that seriously.
I talked to the detective in charge of the case right after Haley called to tell me what had happened, and he thought it was likely an opportunistic grab for a human trafficking ring.
” She sighed and put down her cup. “I think it has to do with me.”
Janice frowned. “How could it have anything to do with you? It happened in Chicago.”
The senator’s hand trembled the tiniest bit.
“The detective I spoke with told me Haley had mentioned that someone had approached her earlier that afternoon and asked if she was Senator Chapman’s daughter, but it wasn’t the same person Paige saw dragging Haley into the van, so he discounted that interaction.
However, last week my husband Steve was attacked while he was running the Mount Vernon Trail in DC.
Two masked men grabbed him and beat him up.
He got away with a few bruises and a broken rib after some bystanders intervened.
He reported it to the police, who wrote it up as a mugging, but the strange thing about it was that they didn’t take his phone, credit cards, or his cash. They just wanted to hurt him.”
My pulse kicked up a notch. “Do you think the two events are connected? Have you had any threats?”
“As a woman in politics, I get an inordinate number of threats,” she said, drumming her thumb on the table.
“In the last few weeks, however, the threats have ramped up and some of them have specifically named Haley and Steve. I suspect it’s because I’m up for reelection and I’m considered a strong front-runner in the Senate race.
I’m also spearheading several contentious bills that will likely fail if I’m not reelected.
Even so, I wasn’t convinced Haley was truly in danger until yesterday, when I received this.
” She held up her phone and showed me a picture of Haley standing behind the counter of a coffee shop.
Someone had edited the picture with a scrawl over Haley’s face and the words “Drop out or she drops dead.”
Haley. Danger. My protective instincts flared, and my pulse pounded in my ears so loud I could barely hear Janice’s gasp of horror.
“I received similar pictures of me and Steve in public places, and I went straight to the Capitol Police. They are going to provide Steve and me with a protective detail and they suggested we might want to get the US Marshals involved to protect Haley. The Chicago police don’t have the manpower for that kind of protection. ”
“Jesus.” I was halfway out of my seat before I caught Janice’s stern look and forced myself back down.
“Haley doesn’t know about all this yet,” she said. “I’m flying to Chicago tomorrow morning to try and convince her to come back to DC with me where we can keep her safe, but—”
“She won’t go.” A statement. Not a question. Haley was too much of a free spirit. There was no way she’d let anyone clip her wings, especially if it involved living with her mother and stepfather.
A smile tugged at her lips. “You know her well, which is why I came to see you. I’m ninety-nine percent sure she won’t leave Havencrest, but I don’t think having a US Marshal following her around is the best solution, especially at college. And you know what Haley’s like…”
Stubborn, willful, capable, independent, and yet at the same time irreverent, funny, and caring.
I knew all her qualities. I knew she was fiercely loyal to her friends, trusting of people who often didn’t deserve it, and I shouldn’t know that when she kissed, she kissed with utter abandon. “It would be a challenge.”
Senator Chapman nodded. “The Capitol Police suggested that it might be better to keep Haley’s protection low-key. It would send a message that I’m not afraid of the people behind the threats, but she would be safe, and her day-to-day life wouldn’t be interrupted.”
“They might come for her again if she has no visible protection,” I warned. “You could be putting her at risk.”
“She’s already at risk.” Her shoulders slumped. “I never wanted this for her. I’ve already lost one child. I can’t lose another. I need your help, Ace. I need you to protect her. I’ve come to ask you to be her bodyguard.”
Haley. Bodyguard. My brain couldn’t process the information.
Haley was the only woman I had ever wanted and the one woman I couldn’t have.
She was my best friend’s little sister, three years younger, and my friend, too, at least until she turned fifteen and my feelings changed into something that could have put a rift between me and Matt.
I couldn’t betray him that way. He was the only true friend I’d ever had.
He’d saved me, shared his family with me, and he’d had my back more times than I could count.
So, I did what I had to do, put a lid on those feelings, and some distance between Haley and me.
“She would never agree,” I blurted out. Haley hated me and I didn’t blame her.
The night before Matt and I left home, when I thought I might never see her again, I’d given in to years of temptation and kissed her.
Then I ghosted her for four long years. I didn’t see her again until Matt’s funeral.
She didn’t speak to me that day, and I didn’t think she ever would.
Not only had I kissed her and walked away, I’d broken my promise to bring Matt home safe.
“I’d like to help,” I said. “But—”
“I got in touch with your boss, Tony, this morning,” Senator Chapman continued.
“He told me you were only two years into the job, but he considered you one of his best—professional, competent, and very good with difficult clients. Apparently, you’ve developed a stellar reputation in celebrity circles.
He said you were taking some much-needed vacation so he offered me someone else.
” She folded her hands on the table. “I don’t want someone else, Ace. I want you.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t do it. Haley and I—”
“You had some kind of falling-out,” she said.
“She didn’t tell me the details, but I knew there had to be a reason we never saw you again after you left.
And then at Matt’s funeral you didn’t speak to each other.
But you were part of our family, Ace. You were a loyal friend to Matt, a joy to have around, an incredible support to all of us when Dave died, and you were always so protective of Haley.
I can’t think of anyone I would trust more with her life. ”
Fuck. Janice must have been cutting onions in the kitchen before Senator Chapman arrived, because the fumes were affecting my eyes.
“Tony said he’s happy to put you back on duty if you agree, and of course we’ll pay you well.” Consummate politician that she was, she didn’t mention the onions.
I shook my head. “I can recommend three or four good guys from the company. I’ve worked with them before and—”
“I want you,” she said firmly. “I know you, and I know you care about Haley. You understand her in a way few people do. You’re also young enough to blend in on campus.
There is no one else.” She reached across the table and squeezed my hand.
“I know you and Dave were close. He always thought of you as the rock in our family. I need you to be that rock for us now. If not for me and Haley, for him.”
In the short time I’d known Dave Chapman, he’d been more of a father to me than my own father had been in the thirteen years we’d been together. I’d loved Dave as a father and I’d grieved him. There was nothing I wouldn’t have done for him, or for his family. I couldn’t let them down.
And this was about Haley. The senator was right. There was no one more qualified to protect her than me.