Contracted Defense Read online

  Dr. Edwards took a long, steadying breath and dropped his arms to his sides. “Yes. You are correct. I apologize for my sharpness. I’ve been unsettled recently, and it is good for you to start right away for my peace of mind. Why don’t you both come inside the grounds? And call me Roland. When you say Dr. Edwards, I look around for my father.”

  It took effort not to raise an eyebrow. Roland was well into his late forties and an independently wealthy entrepreneur. Yes, he had a PhD in something. Adam didn’t remember exactly what. But Roland Edwards had made his fortune investing in small ventures, startup companies, not in academic research. He didn’t seem the type to be looking over his shoulder for his father.

  “Where is your security team?” Victoria had stepped inside the now-opened gate, watching it retract to one side automatically.

  The gate opened slow to admit visitors on foot or wide enough for a vehicle to come up the longer driveway. It could and did stop midway and reverse to close once Adam had come within the grounds. Adam considered the speed and mentally timed it as it closed after him. It wasn’t going to be crushing anyone by accident. “Can this gate be locked closed?”

  “Of course.” Dr. Edwards—Roland—sounded somewhat defensive.

  Adam gave Roland his best friendly-but-professional smile. He’d save the real grins for Victoria. “No time like the present to start asking the questions we’ll need to redesign your security.”

  The corner of Roland’s mouth quirked in transient response. “Indeed. Why don’t I take you for a walk of the grounds then, while my security team prepares to meet us.”

  “Is it standard practice for you to answer the gate?” There was an edge to Victoria’s question this time, and Adam wondered if Roland had an issue with answering questions from women.

  It wouldn’t be the first time a woman like Victoria had to deal with testosterone-poisoned brains. Adam figured it’d be best—and safest—to let her handle it her own way. He’d be ready to back her up if she needed it, but if he read her right, she’d be establishing the way of things fairly quickly.

  Fortunately, Roland seemed to pull himself together. “I owe you answers to two questions, don’t I? I was in the middle of something when you arrived, and I admit I am still distracted. To your first question, the security team has a small building separate from the main house. They monitor the grounds but have instructions to remain as unobtrusive as possible. Unless they are needed to respond to an emergency, I wanted to be able to traverse my own home as if they aren’t here. They are most assuredly watching us.”

  Victoria nodded. Otherwise, her face was a pleasant mask of polite attentiveness. There were no lines on her forehead or around her eyes to give away amusement or worry or temper. “A good foundation but I had the impression you have need for enhanced security. We may have to revise your current instructions.”

  Roland’s lips pressed together. “Yes. As necessary.”

  “We’ll discuss each change with you prior to implementation.” Her calm assurance was impressive but Roland’s shoulders were tightening. “We want to be sure any changes are explained so you feel comfortable inside your home.”

  “Safety is the primary objective.” Roland’s voice had grown taut with anxiety. “It is my habit to answer my gate personally when I am available. That may have to change. I am a private man and I have made enemies in business. It’s become clear I’ve need to take serious measures. If I need to sacrifice convenience or comfort to ensure this property becomes impenetrable, then we will make the necessary changes. I appreciate the offer to include me in the process, but if my approval should become a bottleneck to what you as the experts see as a critical need, do it first and explain to me after.”

  Victoria smiled finally, a genuine and breathtaking expression lighting her entire face. “Understood and agreed. Let’s walk the perimeter of your property, then, and see what we have to work with at the moment.”

  She turned to a security camera installed at the top of the pillar framing the gate. Leaning forward slightly, she peered directly into the camera and made a beckoning gesture with her hand.

  “I imagine that should summon someone out to meet us.” She straightened and turned to them. “Shall we go?”

  Roland paused. “I always run a reference check on any vendor or services provider. Initially, the references for Safeguard Division and Centurion Corporation were impeccable. The negotiations for the statement of work were very quick by necessity, a matter of days. In the same timeframe, one or two of my references noted a change in the reputation of Safeguard, with the ability to fulfill your contracts in question. They hadn’t experienced the issues themselves, but felt the need to warn me of the risk.” He stared hard at Victoria. “Is Safeguard capable of honoring our contract and keeping not just me, but my entire household and property safe?”

  Victoria didn’t blink. “Yes.”

  Chapter Five

  “You have a lovely estate.” Victoria meant it. It was beautifully landscaped with an eye for privacy. The hedges and trees would foil any snooping, law-abiding citizens who wouldn’t think of actually trespassing. In normal circumstances, it would be more than sufficient for an eccentric, wealthy homeowner. The level of security indicated as necessary in the statement of work and the acute anxiety her new client was projecting hinted strongly toward serious issues though.

  Whether they were in his mind or tangible might not be a concern. Or they could be. She’d treat them as real in any case, because the new security design would be most effective that way.

  “Well, you’ve seen just about the whole of the property at this point.” Roland came to a stop once they reached the back of his grounds facing Eagle Harbor. He even had a small dock, extending out into the harbor with a deck boat and a few kayaks at the end. Directly across the harbor was the ferry terminal where they’d arrived. “What do you propose?”

  Adam shifted his weight and turned his head, ostensibly to look out over the harbor. She thought he might be hiding a grin.

  “We haven’t seen everything yet.” She kept her voice level and upbeat. “We’ve only walked along the one side of your property from your front gate to the back here. You’ve been very helpful telling us about your neighbors on each side and some of the history of your estate. Next, we’ll want to walk the full perimeter. Then we’ll do another, slower walk and take pictures of everything. We’ll do the same around your actual house and any other buildings. Then we’ll work our way from the inside of those buildings outward.”

  Adam had been capturing images as they walked with his smartphone. He’d been so discreet, she thought Roland might not have noticed as he’d been engaged in conversation with her. She approved. No need for the client to be caught up in all the details of their work.

  Roland opened his mouth to say something but what they heard was a sharp bark.

  Adam coughed into his fist as they all turned to see a low-set, sturdy dog running toward them on very short legs. Mostly black, the dog had accents of tan with white splashed down its chest and paws. Its erect, triangular ears and tapered muzzle gave it a fox-like expression. Following behind the little dog was a group of four men.

  These were likely to be Roland’s existing security team. Now was as good a time as any for them to get a good look at each other. All cut from the same cloth, fit and crossing ground with an economy of movement. They ranged in age from silver fox to Adam’s age. In fact, one of them was staring hard at Adam.

  “Not a place I expected to see you, Hicks!” the man called out.

  Adam chuckled. “The world is full of weird coincidences. That’s for sure. What are you doing out in the wops?”

  “The what?” The other man’s face twisted with confusion and a shadow of something uglier, there and gone again as soon as Victoria blinked. “Man, you went native on your trip down under.”

/>   “I spent time with family in New Zealand, bro, not Australia.” Adam’s smile faded a fraction and his jaw tightened.

  “Same difference, right, mate?” The other man laughed. The rest of the security team remained relaxed but didn’t join in their teammate’s amusement.

  Kiwis didn’t particularly like being grouped in with Australians, if Victoria remembered correctly. The sentiment was mutual to her understanding. They had a somewhat amicable rivalry going in many aspects of culture, most especially sports. This man had an East Coast, US accent. Perhaps he wasn’t particularly...global.

  The little dog had reached them, coming to a skidding halt next to Roland. It appeared to sit next to their client, but it was a bit hard to tell. His legs were so short, his rump only sank down a couple of inches, and with the grass around the dock high enough to brush the dog’s belly, well, she was fairly certain the dog was sitting. Panting, the dog regarded her with what looked like a smile and a lolling tongue, his dark eyes full of intelligence and genial interest. Ah well, always a plus to have a well-behaved dog on the property. This one might not be particularly built for intimidation, but it had better hearing and sharper sense of smell than humans. It would be worth the effort to get to know the dog’s habits so the security team could note if the dog sensed something out of place.

  Roland sighed and stooped to give the little dog a scratch at the shoulders. “This is Tegan. He lives in the main house with me.”

  “Head of security, aye?” Adam laughed and knelt to hold out his hand in a loose fist for Tegan to sniff.

  Tegan stretched his neck and sniffed Adam’s knuckles. Then the little dog stood and approached, his butt wiggling. Victoria guessed his tail would be wagging, if the dog had a tail. Instead, he had a nub denoted by a heart-shaped patch of tan fur at his hind end. Once the dog seemed to have greeted Adam to his satisfaction, she knelt down to make acquaintance as well.

  He really was a cute dog.

  “So you’re the consultants here to give this place an overhaul?” Adam’s acquaintance had approached in the meantime with the rest of the security team. His tone was friendly enough, but there was an edge underneath his words. This man was not going to be a champion for the upcoming changes.

  Victoria straightened to face them. Her toes warmed in her shoe as Tegan promptly sat on her foot. She decided to leave him there. “Yes.”

  The man gave her an assessing once-over. It started out professional and turned into blatant interest quickly. “Pleasure to meet you.”

  Sure.

  Luckily for the man, Roland stepped in and made introductions. Dante had the lead with the most experience in private security. The man was aging well and his silvering hair suited him. His weathered skin had the look of a perpetual tan, a contrast in the Seattle area where there weren’t enough sunny days. He’d worked for Roland for about a decade and held his position both based on seniority and continual efforts to maintain knowledge in up-to-date security concepts.

  “If you have any questions, I’d be happy to sit down and provide whatever information I can.” Dante met her gaze and held it, then looked at Adam in turn as he spoke. It was good of him to include them both in his offer. She could appreciate the career the man had built for himself and respected his continued development. Many others might let themselves get comfortable, stagnate.

  Ray and Brian were close partners.

  “Hey.”

  “Yo.”

  Neither of them was much for words but they each gave her a solid handshake. The former was a stocky man with sandy-colored hair and eyes, who looked like his fair skin would burn on the few sunny days Seattle did get. Brian was quite possibly the largest Chinese American she’d ever met, built like a hockey player with no need of the protective gear. The two of them seemed to trade wordless cues. A nod here, and look there, the unspoken communication tended to result in grins between the two of them as they shared a private joke. Close friends for certain, though she didn’t get the impression of a more intimate relationship. She didn’t particularly care if they had one, but it was good to be able to take any relationships into consideration when assigning shifts.

  Adam’s acquaintance, Jay, was the newest addition to the team. In fact, he’d only joined in a few days prior. Apparently, Roland had decided to expand his personal staff in addition to hiring Safeguard.

  “However I can be of help, don’t hesitate to let me know.” Jay kept his focus on Victoria, but his gaze wasn’t directly meeting hers. Instead, he seemed to be looking at her forehead or her nose. If he could’ve gotten away with it, she was sure he’d be staring at her breasts. He’d taken his time looking her up and down a moment earlier.

  He had auburn hair, pale skin under a fading tan and hazel eyes. He was attractive enough but the way he tended to wear his emotions all over his face—especially when he was thinking lascivious thoughts about Victoria—set her teeth on edge. For his sake, she hoped he proved to be an asset to his team. Otherwise, she was going to end up shoving his face into concrete.

  Tegan decided to choose the moment to jog down the dock with a sharp bark. A seabird squawked and took off from the edge of the dock, landing a few feet away on the water. Undeterred, the dog launched off the dock, his long body stretched full length and short legs extended. He hung in the air for a moment in a Superman pose before hitting the water with a splash. The bird took off in a panic of flapping wings. Having successfully defended his territory, Tegan came swimming back up to the shore and climbed out on his own. He waited until he had returned to the group and shook out his fur right next to Jay, sprinkling the man with cold water.

  “What kind of dog is he?” It was either ask the question or laugh directly in Jay’s face as he cursed at the little dog with the big-dog personality.

  Tegan gave her a happy doggie grin.

  Roland’s eyes sparkled with humor. “Pembroke Welsh corgi.”

  * * *

  “Now we’ve seen the entire exterior, you have any thoughts you want to share?” Adam had kept pace with Victoria as they’d completed not only the first walk around the perimeter, but also the second lap. Tegan had opted to keep them company, which was good because the stocky dog looked to be somewhat chunky despite his earlier antics.

  “Mmm.” Her gaze swept up and down the walls. “We’re going to need to clear a lot of this landscaping, unfortunately. There’s too much dead-space.”

  “Agreed.” He had thoughts of his own but he was waiting to add them to hers.

  “We’re going to want to make a few copies of the property survey and plans of the buildings. I want to mark up several of them and want a set of clean copies too.”

  “I’ll suss it out with Dante before we leave for the evening.” Far as he knew, they would be commuting back and forth from Seattle. “You live in downtown?”

  “Yes.” She was somewhat distracted, still taking images.

  “If you don’t mind dropping me off back at Safeguard, I’ll head back to my flat and upload my pictures. Diaz’s second, Scott? She sent me access to the cloud storage secured for our teams.” He admired how thorough Victoria was, but she obviously had a chip on her shoulder. She was going back over ground he’d covered, taking images of the same things he had. At first he’d thought she’d caught something he’d missed or wanted different angles. He’d see tonight if her shots were any different from his own.

  Could be he could learn something from her. Or he’d know for a fact she was burning energy repeating work already done. It’d be best to talk it out with her early in the project rather than let her go on doing it until she began to resent him.

  He took a deep breath and let it out slow. Patience. They were learning to work together. He could build her confidence in him. She seemed reasonable so far. It’d be a better discussion once he had tangible examples to make his point to her.


  Of course, if she did decide to butt heads with him on it, at least he enjoyed the glory of her temper. She was beautiful when she’d worked up some anger, and he’d bet her rage was glorious.

  “No. Sit.” She straightened and stood glowering at Tegan. The tri-colored corgi sat and looked up at her expectantly. “You can’t go sniff everything I’m taking a shot of, pup. You’re getting into all of my pictures.”

  Adam grinned. “He’s interested in what you’re interested in. Sounds like a wise male to me.”

  She shot him a scathing look over her shoulder before trying to retake her intended image. “Yes, I can drop you back at Safeguard.”

  He considered her for a few more moments as they wandered across the property to study the main buildings. “Is the ferry closer to your flat than Safeguard is?”

  She stopped in her tracks. She chewed her lip, considering. “Yes. Traffic tomorrow morning will be annoying too. People do use the ferry to commute. We’ll be going in the opposite direction of the majority of it though.”

  “Could save you some time if I meet you at your flat.” He watched her lips press into a line. Lifting his hands and holding them palms out, he figured he should adjust his offer. “Or I could meet you at a coffee shop nearby. Whatever you’d be comfortable with and still save you the trouble of having to head to Safeguard and double back through downtown to catch the ferry. We’re going to be doing this every morning for a while so it makes sense to work out an efficient routine.”

  “True.” Her mouth quirked into the ghost of a smile at his mention of efficiency. The corners of her eyes creased a little with humor. “Yes, it’d be helpful if you met me at a coffee shop. There’s one on the street a few yards up from my apartment complex. I’ll show you as we head home.”

  Well, if a man wasn’t invited up to a lady’s innermost sanctum, her favorite place to acquire caffeine was a close second. He’d take it.