Page 59 of Better Watch Out
Andrew frowned at his friend. His gaze moved over him, trying to figure out what was different about his colleague, and his gaze landed on Joey’s dark brown hair. It was always combed into place but now stood askew on the sides, giving him a disheveled look that did not fit the normally composed former Secret Service agent.
“Everything okay?”
“You owe me,” Joey mumbled under his breath before leaving Andrew at the door.
Stepping into the suite, Andrew surveyed the space that still looked as quiet and peaceful as the first time he’d been here. Doug was standing near the floor-to-ceiling window, talking on his cell phone with his back to them. Andrew followed Joey to the dining table.
“Where are the Malones?”
Joey sat at a spot where a glass of water and bottle of aspirin were. “Having a private dinner in the penthouse with Riggs Atwood.”
“Riggs Atwood?” Andrew’s brows rose. Riggs Atwood was Hollywood’s current Chris Evans, landing him headlining roles in just about every action movie released in the last five years. “He’s here?”
“Yep,” Joey said, making theppop. “He’s on a break from filming and invited Ms. Malone to dinner, which gave me the infinite joy of spending the last six hours helping a fashion team figure out the perfect sexy-but-not-like-she’s-trying outfit that would make him remember the night.”
Andrew crushed his lips together to fight the laughter bubbling in his chest at Joey’s dazed expression. “You, um, helped her fashion team?”
Joey shot him a hard glare. “I held up dresses, blouses, earrings, shoes, coats—she wasn’t even going outside.” His tone hardened. “But a coat might just be the accessory to pull off the look.” He said the words in a high voice before rolling his eyes. “I was a human clothing rack for the world’s most indecisive supposed fashionista. I don’t know if my shoulder muscles will ever recover.”
“Then you’re probably not going to want to hear about the soup and bread I had at St. Augustine’s tonight.” Andrew couldn’t help baiting him and he earned himself a look that transformed his exhausted friend right back into the severe posture of a Secret Service agent, daring Andrew to keep messing with him. “Sorry, man, I couldn’t resist.”
“I’m sorry to call you back here.” Doug sat at the head of the table. “I’ll make this quick so you can get some rest since Mac mentioned something about forcing you off the couch in the security office and to your room last night.”
Andrew would have a talk with Mac about team loyalty. “I got a couple of hours in.” Was that doubt shadowing Doug’s eyes? It shouldn’t surprise him that his boss was concerned given what happened with Frannie tonight. “Sir, I want to apologize for the incident tonight. I should’ve been more aware of our surroundings. Or taken Ms. Frost straight back to her hotel.” He slipped a look to Joey. If he could keep Valentina entertained inside of her hotel, Andrew could’ve done the same.Should have.
Though spending time in the privacy of her hotel room watching Christmas movies on the couch with her probably wasn’t going to keep him from getting distracted by his growing attraction. The only risk to Frannie was him doing something ridiculous like asking her out or … The words of the cute older couple on the train came back to him. Kiss her—no mistletoe needed.
“Did you hear me, Bishop?”
Heat burned the tips of Andrew’s ears. Doug was staring at him and Joey’s face had come back to life with the smirk he was giving to Andrew. “Sorry, I mean, I just wanted to apologize for dropping the ball.”
“You kept Ms. Frost from injury,” Doug said, giving Andrew a curious look. “Outside of your hunch, we can’t rule out that what occurred tonight wasn’t more than an unfortunate incident.” He flipped open the folder. “And we can be grateful that by this time tomorrow Mr. Malone and his daughter will be back home and under the protection of their personal security team and Ms. Frost will be on a flight to—” He looked up at Andrew.
“D.C.” The answer sent an ache through his chest. Frannie was leaving tomorrow. He knew this but something inside of him didn’t want to accept it. “She’ll be heading to her brother and sister-in-law’s home in D.C.”
“Right.” Doug nodded. “So, we have a little less than twenty-four hours to finish off this assignment without further incident.” He spared a look at Joey and Andrew thought he saw the edge of Doug’s lip curl. “Or providing fashion advice.”
Joey’s fingers threaded through his hair and he mumbled something about preferring to get his teeth drilled.
“Tomorrow morning Mr. Malone and Gerald Kline, will finalize their partnership with Hope Village.”
Andrew frowned. “What about the ransomware threat?”
“The FBI has advised Mr. Malone to delay the transaction but his attorneys have informed him that any interruption would be costly and might possibly set the deal back or void it altogether.” Doug released a breath. “I don’t pretend to have the brains these suits do to understand the logistics of it all and it’s not our job to figure out. We were hired to make sure we get everyone out of New York the same way they came in.”
Joey let out an audible sigh that sounded very much like relief. Valentina Malone couldn’t have been that bad. Personal shopping in the suite certainly wouldn’t be as high stress as presidential protection.
Andrew stretched his fingers along his jeans. “I would think Mr. Malone is smart enough to heed the FBI’s advice.”
“I agree with you, Andrew, and I’ve given Mr. Malone my assessment.” The lines at the edge of his eyes deepened. “You’ve worked with enough clients to know their adherence to our suggested security recommendations only happens when they don’t get in their own way.”
“I understand, sir, but if our goal is to get everyone back to their homes safely for Christmas, shouldn’t Mr. Malone understand that there’s still an unresolved threat against his daughter—or rather, an innocent woman? Even Gerald Kline received a threat. Going through with the deal tomorrow against the FBI’s advice could escalate the danger.”
“I’ve given Mr. Malone all the pertinent information for him to make the decision he thinks is best. Again, our job is to protect without interfering in our clients’ lives. If we do our jobs right, we should all be on the nice list this year.”
“For what I’ve been through I should have at least two years’ credit.”
Joey’s dry humor cut the tension but Andrew was still concerned Mr. Malone’s focus was being blinded by his pride. What if it had been his daughter attacked in the alleyway or nearly hit by the car tonight? Would that have put his pride in place?
