Page 42 of Her Ruthless Protector

A.J. turned on Amber. “Get your shit together. You’re years older than this girl, you have the world at your feet. Be a human being.” For a moment A.J. thought she saw a flash of remorse in Amber’s eyes, but then it was gone. Must have been a trick of the light.

A.J. got Pinky to her feet. She’d stash her in her trailer and then hand her over to her assistant, Shelly, when she arrived. Shelly would be kind and make use of her, and then A.J. would assess the she-bitch at her rehearsal later on to make sure it was safe for Pinky to go back.

* * *

This was a cluster.Kane was in a tiny out-of-the-way office that had no air conditioning with five people, one of whom was the airport manager who had cut his vacation short, and the other was the head of airport security.

“So, we have been defrauded?” The airport manager asked.

“I’m not going to go over your T.O.S. with the consulting firm,” Kane said. “That’s for the lawyers to do and I’m not a lawyer. What I can tell you is that the scope of work that they outlined and what they provided are two different things.”

Kane had spent all of the morning and afternoon doing a comparison so that he could show the airport manager and security manager what they should have received and what had been delivered.

“So, you’re saying that everything highlighted in yellow has been provided, and we’re missing these five items?” the older airport manager asked.

“No, he’s saying the opposite,” the security manager said with disgust. “He’s saying they only delivered on those five things, and now those other items have to be completed, isn’t that right?” The young man looked at Kane for confirmation.

He had been briefed by his two subordinates who were also in the room.

“Yes and no,” Kane answered.

“Don’t talk in riddles,” the airport manager said.

“Mr. Mohit is right, sir. Those were the five items that they had actually accomplished, the items highlighted were the things they had failed to deliver on.” Kane pulled out another piece of paper with blue highlights. “Everything in blue I corrected yesterday.”

“How is this possible? You’re an American SEAL. You kill people.”

Nice to be well-regarded.

“My specialty is computers, sir. Cyber warfare. As my lieutenant has explained to you, we’re concerned about the grand opening of the new terminal, it could be a terrorist target. He has tasked me to assist you in getting your security in excellent working order so that we can ensure nobody does anything to harm any Omani citizens or anybody else.”

The man’s dark eyes looked Kane over carefully. Kane waited to see whether he would pass muster. He must have, because finally he gave a slow smile. He held out his hand.

“Thank you very much for your assistance in this matter Mr. McNamara, or should I call you something else?”

“That will work,” Kane said as he shook the airport manager’s hand.

“How long will it take you to finish closing all of the gaps in the rest of the electronics?”

“Two to three days,” he answered.

The man turned to Mohit and started speaking in Arabic, saying he wanted Kane to be closely watched to ensure that he did not sabotage the electronics. He went on to say as much as he appreciated all of the assistance, he didn’t want to be taken for a fool twice.

Mohit gave Kane an uncomfortable look.

“Mr. Nair,” Kane started in Arabic. “You are more than welcome to have someone else do the necessary repairs on this system. There is another assignment that I can go back to.”

Kane didn’t take any pleasure from Nair’s look of discomfort—he’d been in this situation all too often, and it was only through good words and good works that this kind of suspicion and prejudice would be eliminated. Kane wanted to be on the front lines of bringing friendship and peace, that was part of the reason he joined the Navy. Yes, he definitely believed in protecting his country, but a big part of protecting his country was building bridges.

“I apologize, I should not have assumed you did not know how to speak our language. I also apologize for doubting your sincerity in wanting to help us.”

“Mr. Nair, I want you to know that your head of security has already put in appropriate measures to ensure that my work will be monitored. I highly approve of his caution and it is nothing more than what we would have done in your place. Additionally, I am working with two of your engineers to explain the patches I am putting in so that they can learn.”

Mr. Nair bowed his head. “It seems I owe both of you an apology, I should have had more faith in my head of security. I will concentrate on the contracts’ Terms of Service with our lawyers and trust you and my team to get the necessary fixes accomplished.”

He again shook Kane’s hand and left the tiny room.

“I’m so sorry for that,” Mohit said in English.

“You have nothing to worry about,” Kane assured him. “Let’s get this done.”

As they walked out of the room, Kane thought about the almost round-the-clock hours he would be putting in. He wondered if there was any way that he would be able to tempt A.J. into coming out this way to meet him.