the eye, I reply. “You’re right. Thanks for the words of wisdom. One grave for Harrison. One grave for Sophia. Got it.”
Shadow chuckles lightly and shakes his head. “Whatever you say.”
“You know something I don’t?” I ask incredulously.
Shadow’s smirk is honestly the only answer I need, but I continue to stare him down and wait for a verbal response. “I know plenty, Mr. Powers. Like I said, I know when the show my cards and when to play them close to the vest. This is how I operate and it’s not negotiable. There’s a reason you hired the best. Take my advice and it’ll be fine. I will update you as soon as it’s time to update you.”
“You’re right in that I hired Steele Security because of the agency’s reputation. But this is my life and if you have information, I deserve to know it,” I demand.
Shadow turns his huge frame to face me in a covertly aggressive manner. His voice deepens, the corners of his eyes narrow, and his gaze hardens. “I have contacts working on this case that you wouldn’t dare even look at , Mr. Powers. The information they get comes in small bursts and then we have to piece it together to get the full picture. Our intel says your life is still in danger,” he pauses for effect, and I am instantly filled with dread. “The most recent chatter says Sophia’s life may be in danger and she is possibly the primary target at this point. So maybe you should get to digging that grave a little faster.”
“You just let me pull Tucker off of following her knowing that?” I bellow.
“My job is to protect you and yours. She’s not yours anymore, now is she?” he asks pointedly.
“That doesn’t mean I want her to be hurt or killed!”
“This is exactly why I don’t share information until I’m absolutely certain it’s time. Now you’ll second-guess your every decision, trying to determine what’s best for everyone else. You’re already distracted. You didn’t even notice that we’ve been sitting in the hotel parking lot for the last five minutes. Leave the security concerns to me and you focus on running your business,” Shadow demands.
He’s right–I wasn’t paying attention to anything else. I know I won’t be able to get this veiled threat against Sophia out of my mind now. Jumping out of the car, I call Tucker’s phone. It rings several times and goes to voicemail. After several more attempts, my aggravation has increased one thousand fold.
“Tucker!” I yell into his voicemail. “Call me as soon as you get this message.”
Pacing back and forth in my hotel room, I oscillate between worry and anger. I’m worried that something has already happened to her and I’m angry that I care about it at all. She sided with my fucking enemy. She helped to try to bring me down. Then, she filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against me and has been demanding an extraordinary amount of money to keep it out of court and out of the press.
Cheryl, my lawyer, has reminded Sophia’s lawyer many times that there is a motion filed for a gag order. We both know that won’t mean shit if it goes to court, though. It’ll be a media circus and every aspect of my life will be torn apart for the world to make snap judgments. I have no doubt that my whole lifestyle will be called into question and used against me by those who don’t have a clue of what a real Dominant/submissive relationship even looks like. I’ll be portrayed as an overbearing, heavy-handed man who uses my position and authority to abuse women.
On the off chance that Christine, my housekeeper, has heard from Tucker, I quickly call her. “Christine, have you seen or heard from Tucker? I can’t get him on the phone.”
“No, I’m sorry, Mr. Powers, I haven’t been to the lake house since you told me to stay away. I haven’t heard from him. Should I go to the house and check?” she asks, her voice filled
Shadow chuckles lightly and shakes his head. “Whatever you say.”
“You know something I don’t?” I ask incredulously.
Shadow’s smirk is honestly the only answer I need, but I continue to stare him down and wait for a verbal response. “I know plenty, Mr. Powers. Like I said, I know when the show my cards and when to play them close to the vest. This is how I operate and it’s not negotiable. There’s a reason you hired the best. Take my advice and it’ll be fine. I will update you as soon as it’s time to update you.”
“You’re right in that I hired Steele Security because of the agency’s reputation. But this is my life and if you have information, I deserve to know it,” I demand.
Shadow turns his huge frame to face me in a covertly aggressive manner. His voice deepens, the corners of his eyes narrow, and his gaze hardens. “I have contacts working on this case that you wouldn’t dare even look at , Mr. Powers. The information they get comes in small bursts and then we have to piece it together to get the full picture. Our intel says your life is still in danger,” he pauses for effect, and I am instantly filled with dread. “The most recent chatter says Sophia’s life may be in danger and she is possibly the primary target at this point. So maybe you should get to digging that grave a little faster.”
“You just let me pull Tucker off of following her knowing that?” I bellow.
“My job is to protect you and yours. She’s not yours anymore, now is she?” he asks pointedly.
“That doesn’t mean I want her to be hurt or killed!”
“This is exactly why I don’t share information until I’m absolutely certain it’s time. Now you’ll second-guess your every decision, trying to determine what’s best for everyone else. You’re already distracted. You didn’t even notice that we’ve been sitting in the hotel parking lot for the last five minutes. Leave the security concerns to me and you focus on running your business,” Shadow demands.
He’s right–I wasn’t paying attention to anything else. I know I won’t be able to get this veiled threat against Sophia out of my mind now. Jumping out of the car, I call Tucker’s phone. It rings several times and goes to voicemail. After several more attempts, my aggravation has increased one thousand fold.
“Tucker!” I yell into his voicemail. “Call me as soon as you get this message.”
Pacing back and forth in my hotel room, I oscillate between worry and anger. I’m worried that something has already happened to her and I’m angry that I care about it at all. She sided with my fucking enemy. She helped to try to bring me down. Then, she filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against me and has been demanding an extraordinary amount of money to keep it out of court and out of the press.
Cheryl, my lawyer, has reminded Sophia’s lawyer many times that there is a motion filed for a gag order. We both know that won’t mean shit if it goes to court, though. It’ll be a media circus and every aspect of my life will be torn apart for the world to make snap judgments. I have no doubt that my whole lifestyle will be called into question and used against me by those who don’t have a clue of what a real Dominant/submissive relationship even looks like. I’ll be portrayed as an overbearing, heavy-handed man who uses my position and authority to abuse women.
On the off chance that Christine, my housekeeper, has heard from Tucker, I quickly call her. “Christine, have you seen or heard from Tucker? I can’t get him on the phone.”
“No, I’m sorry, Mr. Powers, I haven’t been to the lake house since you told me to stay away. I haven’t heard from him. Should I go to the house and check?” she asks, her voice filled
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