Page 14 of Security and Submission
“Yes, it shouldn’t be a problem to handle from here.” Black Fox Security had been hired as additional security for Senator Aditi Marlin after a series of threats were made following her announcement that she would run for governor of Pennsylvania. Apparently, not everyone was happy about the idea of an Indian-American woman becoming governor.
The deeper background checks were necessary for anyone who might be in regular close contact with her to ensure they weren’t following a hidden agenda. As the tech guy on the team, Zeus was completely in charge of that.
“Great. Then just be here this afternoon for training, and you can go home early as soon as it’s over. I hope your neighbor is okay.”
“Me, too, thanks.” Relief filled him at Lincoln’s reaction. Even though he’d come to realize his boss was pretty easy-going about certain things, part of him still didn’t really expect that kind of accommodation. And not just because Devlin had been a control freak who wielded his power like a petty overlord.
Hanging up the phone, he turned when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Hope had abandoned the front door, but now she was walking around, sniffing, and whining, her big eyes full of accusation, as if he was hiding Sarah from her somewhere.
“Sorry, baby girl,” he murmured, going over to kneel beside her and give her ears a good scrub the way she liked it. Her tail wagged slowly, even as Tiger came barreling in on Zeus’ other side, almost knocking him off balance as the dog demanded an equal amount of petting. “Your momma’s not going to be home for a bit.”
He just hoped she did come home.
Tension wound through him, and he rolled his shoulders to ease it, though it did nothing for the knot that had hardened in his gut. He ignored it because there was no reason to think the worst until he actually heard something.
“Alright.” He straightened. “Let’s take a little walk around the block just in case you need it, and then I’m going to get to work. Hopefully, we’ll hear something soon.”
Hope wagged her tail at him as if she understood.
Chapter 6
Zeus
Work in the morning flew by, though Hope didn’t really settle down. Zeus was starting to worry she was going to wear herself down. She jumped up at every noise outside, and once she was up, it took forever to get her to lie down again. Was she doing herself harm with all of that? He wasn’t sure.
Right around lunchtime, he noticed a little blue car parked in Sarah’s driveway, just barely visible through the tree in his front yard. Maybe someone stopping by to pick up her work or something. He didn’t get a chance to go find out because Tiger chose that moment to barf in the middle of the living room, something he did when he drank his water too fast. By the time Zeus cleaned it up, the car was gone.
It didn’t really matter. He still hadn’t heard from Sarah, though he’d called the hospital and had been told she’d been admitted. They couldn’t give him any other information because of HIPAA’s privacy laws. But if he didn’t get an update soon, he would take a peek at the hospital records for himself, just to know what was going on.
Sometimes, having hacking skills came in handy for personal reasons.
As much as he hated to leave Hope when she was clearly struggling so much, Zeus had to go into the office. He got his stuff together, then hesitated. Hope was back to walking around, whining in that low, plaintive way that tugged at all his emotions. She was looking for Sarah.
With him gone, would she settle? Or would she keep looking without him there to coax her back onto the couch or into lying down? He’d done that multiple times now. Maybe it would be better to take her back to Sarah’s. She might keep looking for Sarah, but at least she would be in a familiar space.
He could at least try it.
“Come here, Hope. No, Tiger, you’re staying here.” Not that his dog gave up hoping he’d be included, his whippy tail thudding against the wall as he doggy-grinned at Zeus, sure that he’d be getting his leash on, too. Zeus just shook his head in amusement. Both dogs could have easily been named Hope; they certainly had it in their personalities.
“Come on, sweet girl,” he said, opening the door to let Hope out in front of him. “Tiger, sit.”
From the way she tried to zoom home, Zeus figured he was making the right decision. They got into the door of Sarah’s house, and she went around from room to room while he stood in the entryway, waiting to see what would happen when she realized Sarah wasn’t there. After a minute, she came trotting back to him, gave him a glance, then hopped up onto the couch, climbing quickly onto its back, which was pushed up against the large window at the front of Sarah’s house. Her view would be obscured somewhat by the bushes in front, but she would be able to see anyone coming or going.
She might be waiting a while.
Zeus rubbed a spot on his chest, going over to give her a last pet. Her head was resting on the back of the couch, between her paws, but she looked up at him and gave another little tail wag.
“I’ll be back to take care of you tonight,” he murmured. “Be a good girl.”
Her tail thumped against the top of the couch cushions as she watched him go. Zeus hoped she actually got some rest up there. He felt reasonably sure he was making the right decision about leaving her here instead of at his house.
Hopefully.
Still, he couldn’t help but worry, which meant he wasn’t in the best mood when he got to work. Thankfully, the only two people in the front office were Jennifer, the receptionist and office manager, and Jensen, who was one of the team members Zeus got along better with. He was also the youngest of their team, which was how he’d earned the moniker ‘Baby.’
“Hi, Zeus,” Jennifer said, smiling warmly as he walked through the door. A young Black woman with warm, light brown eyes and long braids pulled back into a high ponytail, she was way too young and sweet for him, but she had Jensen tripping over himself to flirt with her. Not just him, either; there was also a doctor—a surgeon—she was dating. So far, she didn’t seem in a hurry to choose between them.
“Hey, Jennifer. Baby.” Zeus nodded at Jensen, who was leaning against Jennifer’s desk. If Zeus had to guess, Jennifer had probably had lunch with her doctor today—Jensen always hovered around her desk in the afternoon when she did.
