Chapter Thirteen
Liam sat in a squat at the top of the mighty brick wall surrounding the property, his attention split between watching the rhythmic pan of the newest camera and the exercising dogs and their trainers.
There was plenty of property to work the animals on, and he had told the handlers to keep them down near the walls of the south lawn.
The dogs were familiar with all the team members, but they weren’t familiar with Devon and he wanted them kept as far apart as possible.
Liam rose to his full height and walked the wall carefully.
Installers were in the process of adding razor spikes to the smooth, flat top he now walked on too easily.
Unlike razor wire, spikes were not visible from the ground.
The perpetrator wouldn’t know they were there until he began to get hung up on the three-inch triangles of honed blades.
It was particularly vicious, but Liam was not about holding back the tricks of his trade.
“Hey, Liam.”
Liam keyed his radio in response. “Yeah?”
“Our principal would like a word with you when you get a chance.”
Liam automatically looked up toward her office. The drapes were drawn as usual. “Tell her it’ll be a while. I’m in the middle of something.”
“Uh … I think maybe you should see her sooner than that, boss. I have a feeling she’s thinking of going out.”
“What gives you that feeling?” Liam asked sharply.
“She’s wearing one of those dresses that ought to have a lot more fabric considering what they probably cost her.”
“Shit.” Liam didn’t even bother to respond.
His temper was on instant simmer. She had to be out of her mind.
First of all, she hadn’t had anything planned, so this was too little notice for him to properly prepare for an outing, especially considering what had happened last time.
What could possibly be so important? Another business ‘meeting’ with an uptown jackass?
Liam’s temper spiked from simmer to boil at the very idea of her sitting with and dancing with another man who would stare at her with lust in his eyes.
What manner of business was she conducting anyway in dresses that left her half naked and required a meal and wine?
Lunches maybe, but dinners where these bastards were manhandling her?
Liam crouched down and leapt off the wall.
Devon was sitting at her vanity with her maid styling the finishing touches of her hair in an elegant upsweep.
She looked up in her mirror to apply lipstick and saw him behind her, a heavy presence in black standing like a steadfast sentinel.
She pulled the earbuds from her ears, the dissertation from the latest name in biophysics continuing on without her attention as she smiled at him.
“Hello,” she greeted. “I’m sorry to give you such short notice, but I need to go out tonight.”
“I don’t like this, Devon. I don’t like having only a couple hours to prepare,” he said darkly, his frown creasing his features deeply.
“Nonsense. You’ve been preparing to protect me for the better part of a week. Unfortunately, I can’t put this meeting off. I needed to make it last minute and I need it to happen without delay.”
“Fine. Have your meeting here then.”
“Impossible,” she said with a shrug, as if it explained everything.
“Why?”
Devon couldn’t answer that, of course. Nor should she have to, according to her way of thinking. “Because I say it is,” she said with an even chill in her tone. She turned, dismissing her maid with a wave of an impatient hand. “Are we going to have an argument every time I want to go out now?”
Liam’s eyes narrowed on her as she crossed her legs.
She was definitely wearing one of those dresses again.
This time, it was midnight blue silk that made the jade of her eyes stand out.
The material wasn’t transparent anywhere except across her middle.
However, the plunge in the front reached to just below her breasts and was held in place by a single bar pin of gold right between them.
Unlike the other dresses, this one had only a swath of sparkling midnight blue for a skirt, the short, snug material showing off every single inch of her legs.
This included the sheen of black thigh high stockings.
She wore elbow-length evening gloves in black and strappy heels that accented the shape of her calves.
A diamond cuff bracelet wrapped one wrist and he saw matching earrings and a necklace waiting on the vanity table.
“I just don’t understand what would be so important that you would risk your life on it,” he snapped.
“No. You wouldn’t understand because you have made no effort to acknowledge the political shit storm I’m trying to negotiate among my own people, have you?
” she sniped back at him, irritated he would treat her so unreasonably.
“Look, I refuse to argue about something that an argument will not change,” she said tightly as she rose.
She walked past him to one of her closets and decided on a wrap.
With the weather turning cooler, it didn’t surprise him that she chose an exquisite double lined, reversible fur cloak to counterbalance the brevity of her outfit.
“Devon, I’m only asking you to think about this,” he tried again, attempting to erase the anger from his tone. Provoking her would not help him win his argument for her safety.
“And I’m asking you to stop harassing me about it and just do your job, Liam. Please.”
The stiffness that whipped so suddenly between them was hard and harsh. Just as harsh as her cold treatment.
“Right. Got it. One mindless grunt, coming right up,” he barked furiously. He turned hard on his heel and stalked out of her room like a thundercloud on the move.
Devon sighed in frustration, wishing she could explain the unexplainable to him. She would just have to find a way to fix this problem later. There was no time or opportunity to do it now. Perhaps there never would be. Unfortunately, she had to make that sacrifice.
Just as she had made so many others.
Liam and Inez, and Kellen and Victoria, were dining on opposite sides of their principal.
Colin was positioned in the limousine and Malcolm was strolling the restaurant perimeter.
It was a smaller place than before, more intimate, and easier to take everyone’s measure.
However, as far as Inez could see, Liam wasn’t at all pleased.
He wasn’t even making a pretense of eating, and he was being far too obvious in his glaring attention toward Devon.
It wasn’t like him to make those kinds of mistakes.
Still, all he did was stare coldly at Devon and her handsome date.
Ms. Candler looked utterly stunning in the dimmed lighting as her dress shone and jewels flashed brilliant fire.
In Inez’s opinion, Ms. Candler’s date of the evening seemed a little better behaved and somewhat more sophisticated than the last one, albeit in a strangely rugged way.
There was a familiarity in his body language that picked at Inez’s attention, though she couldn’t immediately figure out why.
The conversation between the two never waned and Devon barely once looked away from her companion, her focus and attention completely riveted.
And the more intense Devon’s conversation and body language toward her date became, the darker and more thunderous Liam’s presence became across the table from Inez.
And that was how Inez Flores figured out her boss had the hots for their client. In a huge way. She took it pretty well, considering how potentially disastrous the situation was.
Devon’s date reached to cover her hand and Inez felt the table tremble when Liam tensed with poorly contained fury.
The female soldier was once again faced with the boundaries of friendship versus professionalism, but quickly opted for instinct.
Her hand reached out to take hold of her boss’s, her fingers squeezing his clenched fist as his amber eyes flew from his obsession and locked with her meaningfully focused gaze.
“Liam, I’d be much more comfortable if you tried to neutralize your emotions.
Considering what happened last time, I want you to be aware of the danger we’re all in.
” Inez’s gentle redirection took a moment to sink in, and in that moment his eyes were back on Devon.
“I don’t know if this helps,” Inez continued casually as she rubbed her fingers in a relaxing rhythm against his tight fist, “but as a woman, I can assure you that she has no interest in that man.”
Liam’s gaze slammed back to her and he frowned. “How do you know that?”
“The same way you would if you weren’t letting emotion cloud your reasoning,” she scolded gently.
“Look at her body language, mi amigo. Even though she is leaning forward toward him and holding his hands, she is not in any way being flirtatious. She’s a very naturally sensual woman, I’ve noted.
Almost like a spicy Latina I know.” She smiled at him when he chuckled softly.
“So I think for her it’s almost second nature to try to attract everything male in the room.
However, none of her energy is being devoted to that man.
The eagerness you see is almost … familial.
As if he were an old friend … or even a brother. ”
“Then why dress like that? Why be here at all?” he demanded with a frown.
“She dresses consistently. She always wears provocative clothing. I believe she does it for herself and no other. I doubt she has any concept of the effect she has on men. Either that or she’s so used to it, it has become passé for her.
She has no insecurities about her body. That is rare in this day and age. ”
“No. She isn’t shy or self-conscious. I like that about her,” he said offhandedly. Inez wondered if he even realized he was confirming his feelings to her. “It’s a quality that many men would find irresistible in her.”