Deadly Testimony (3 page)

“Centurions? I thought this company was called Safeguard.” Austin probably tried to sound critical but he only succeeded in grumbling.

It was Diaz who answered. “We’re all still a part of the Centurion Corporation, Officer. Safeguard, as a specialized division, may have resources rotate in and out from other postings within the Centurion Corporation. Besides, what would you call us, Safeguard-ians? None of us uses a warhammer.”

“Okay, we got it. Centurions.” Weaver cut off whatever retort Austin was going to give and the two glared at each other.

That was part of the tedium of having the two of them assigned to Kyle’s witness protection. The only time they weren’t taking shots at each other was when they were mutually annoyed at him. The fun of it wore off after the first few hours. Their commentary got repetitive.

After weeks of following their directions, sitting in substandard hotel rooms and eating horrible fast food, Kyle had reached the end of his tolerance. It’d taken everything he’d had left to convince them to allow him to stay in a decent hotel for the past few nights and after last night’s incident, he was likely doomed to return to awful accommodations if he left it to them. No. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, go on with so little control over his situation.

This act, hiring a person with a vested interest in keeping him safe, was his way of taking control back. And preserving his sanity.

Kyle crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall. When Isabelle’s gaze returned to him, he addressed her, “I’m open to whatever expertise you’d like to share.”

Her brows drew together. “Protecting you is our business now. Per the contract, you follow my instructions. You don’t and you’re exposed. Maybe dead, if your concerns are correct. I still get paid. But I prefer for my clients to survive and be referenceable.”

He noted she didn’t say her clients had to be happy and chuckled. “At least our preferences are in alignment.”

Tiny muscles in her jaw tightened beneath her smooth skin and irritation flared in her dark eyes as she caught the innuendo. He was pricking her temper. It was probably not a good idea, but too often he was extremely entertained by indulging bad ideas. Riling up Isabelle Scott was going to be an exceedingly fantastic bad idea.

“I’m going to need some time to talk with the marshal and officers here.” She lifted her chin in the direction of the still-seated escorts. “Then I’ll decide what changes you’re going to need to make.”

That stopped him. They’d already taken him from his home and halted his search for employment. His life was on hold for this trial. “What changes?”

“Depends on what you’ve been doing up until now.” Isabelle shrugged. “Then we alter your pattern.”

Kyle opened his mouth to ask more but Diaz rose in a smooth economy of motion. “I’ll take Mr. Yeun to my office to finish signing. You can pick him up there.”

Isabelle nodded.

“Now just wait a minute.” Kyle wrestled with his own anger, an unfamiliar feeling. “This is going to go in accordance with—”

“No, Mr. Yeun, it’s not.” Isabelle’s flat statement cut over him before he could gain momentum. “If you want me protecting you, then you are not calling the shots. I’m the expert in this. Not you. And I intend to use my expertise to keep you safe. That includes not allowing you to run around leading the rest of us by the wallet. You are not the person in charge from the moment you sign that contract.”

Chapter Four

Think tank, that was what these new offices were supposed to be.

At the moment, Lizzy wanted to curl up in one of the hidden quiet cubbies and block out the rest of the world.

Okay, there were only a few of those cubbies tucked away behind the main office area and they were specifically for employees who became too overloaded too fast to take themselves home or someplace quieter. The cubbies weren’t just equipped with white noise. They were designed to give a person solitude, time to get their shit together, before they lashed out and became a danger to the people around them.

Friends and family were safer when the Centurions had an environment to handle those moments.

The missions they’d gone on overseas and the combat situations they’d seen left their mark. Lizzy was no different. And they were all good to go as long as they had the means to see to their own sanity. Call it self-care. Call it mental management. Whatever. It worked and this was one of those places designed with their particular histories in mind.

A normal, civilian workplace might have quiet spots or they might not. But the people around them wouldn’t necessarily understand.

Sometimes ex-military returned home and made new lives for themselves. They remade themselves and put their experiences in the past. Others didn’t, couldn’t, wouldn’t. Whatever. So they went into the private sector, joined organizations like the Centurion Corporation. And they found a sort of balance in the structure it provided. Not civilian life. Not military service.

But in her case, she was torn. Part of her wanted the rest and quiet.

The other part of her wanted to find a good brawl.

Instead of seeking out the quiet rooms, she headed to Diaz’s office. He and Kyle Yeun were seated in the armchairs in the corner. Huh. Apparently, Diaz liked Yeun. Otherwise, the two of them would be seated across from each other trading minimal discussion over Diaz’s desk.

Diaz had seen her through the glass and given her a tiny nod. She opened the door to the office without knocking.

“Mr. Yeun, if you’ll return to the waiting area you saw when you first entered, you’ll find your police and US Marshal escorts there.” Diaz stood and offered his hand. “Lizzy will be joining you momentarily to take you to your new safe house location.”

Yeun shook Diaz’s hand without hesitation, then turned and gave her a smile. “I’ll await Lizzy’s company with pleasure.”

She scowled. Both the smile and the commentary were sincere but the delivery was too polished and laden with innuendo. No need to encourage it. In her experience, even if it was intended as friendly at first, the man was fishing to see if more attention would be welcome.

Much better to shut that shit down before it got too irritating.

Yeun hesitated a moment, then apparently realized she wasn’t going to give him more of a response. Instead of looking put out, his smile only widened further and he took himself outside.

Both she and Diaz stood watching him until he reached the reception area. There wasn’t a direct line of sight, but if a person had a habit of using reflective surfaces to take note of what was going on around the corners, every part of the office space was visible from Diaz’s desk.

It required really good eyesight. Which she had.

And Yeun was in possession of a really nice ass.

Diaz chuckled. “Interesting guy.”

You betcha.

“Is there a reason you care?” She dumped herself into the armchair Yeun had just vacated, noting he’d left it warm. Normally that creeped her out but currently she wondered if the guy had a fever or if he just ran hot.

“He’s a businessman.” Diaz shrugged. “Not our usual type of client though. He’s not going for the political angle or the socialite status. Obviously has money. Prefers to spend it on what interests him.”

She snorted. “Women. Luxury junk. Food and booze.”

Assumptions. And not kind. But then again, she wasn’t inclined to overestimate people. They were less likely to disappoint that way.

“Background check says yes about the women.” Diaz was matter-of-fact about it. “But all discreet escort services and no black marks regarding him as a patron. Not even diplomatic commentary.”

Meaning he hadn’t used money to smooth over any issues that would’ve otherwise earned him red flags in an escort service’s point of view. Every escort service kept track of their customers. They might not share those records—in whatever unofficial form those took—with authorities conducting an investigation, but they might share with other information gathering personalities. And Diaz was building up a network of intelligence as part of Safeguard Division’s internal assets.

“So he’s not abusive and he pays up.” Good to know. She wasn’t going to judge the man for his choice in company or whether he paid for it.

“He does have expensive taste in cars and material items.” Dry tone there. “Also frequents some of the most expensive restaurants in town.”

Travel enough and people like her and Diaz didn’t tend to keep much in the way of things. Good food, on the other hand, was something worth spending on as far as she was concerned.

“There are worse things.” Yeun sounded like a normal guy, actually. She might’ve been less inclined to take a bullet for him if he turned out to be a horrible person. “Obviously, he’s done something to be on the naughty list in the corporate world though.”

“White-collar crime, and more than naughty. Anything involving Phoenix Biotech has more serious repercussions. That organization has serious funding and is involved in way more than cutting edge research.” Diaz sat in the other armchair and looked out the window, his gaze unfocused. A few months ago, they’d gone right into one of Phoenix Biotech’s facilities to extract a kidnapped woman—the younger sister of Diaz’s now-significant other, Maylin Cheng—and Diaz had barely come out of it walking. “It’s a slippery slope. A person starts out just with overlooking an email here, deleting an email there. Nothing intentionally wrong, per se. Then things slide into more questionable territory and they find they’ve dug themselves a hole.”

“Some of those corporate types do things they know are illegal and assume money and a good lawyer can get them out of it.” Maybe her comment came across a little sharp. But she’d met plenty of those during the social climber party she’d covered last evening.

“And we’ll get to know who those types are.” Diaz shook off his brooding and leaned forward in his chair. “We’re in shady territory here. We don’t know what to expect with Phoenix Biotech involved but they are willing to kidnap and kill their resources to accomplish their quarterly business goals. Keeping Kyle Yeun alive to testify against them in this case isn’t going to be easy.”

“Bring it on.” She wasn’t boasting, even though she liked a challenge. To be honest, she was spoiling for a fight and Phoenix Biotech tended to hire the kind of personnel who could give her a real one.

Diaz gave her a neutral look and continued without calling her on it. “Private security is going to be like this from here on out. The more we know, the more we can accept contracts on the right side of the law and maybe even help some people who otherwise find themselves in too deep for redemption.”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “This is starting to sound like one of those television shows Maylin watches.”

Diaz chuckled at the reference to his significant other. “The concept is worth considering. Most important thing I’m trying to keep in mind as I establish Safeguard is making sure we’re still doing the right thing. It means we need to make informed decisions and I need people smart enough and with enough of a moral compass to continue making them out in the field.”

Oh. Here it was.

“I’m going to need to know soon, Lizzy.” Diaz was serious now. “Harte has a new fire team for you, with a commanding position if you want it. You could go back into active duty with the squadron in Centurion Corporation. Or you could officially be assigned to Safeguard Division.”

“Not an easy decision.” She kept her tone light but making the choice was anything but.

Diaz didn’t even pretend to be fooled though. “You’ve had a lot of time to prove your point, Lizzy. You had your time in the military. You’ve been a tactical asset to the Centurion Corporation. All along the way, you’ve proven to the people in your teams and the clients we work for how valuable an asset you are. I’m asking you to start becoming a strategic part of this organization.”

“You think I’m ready.” She didn’t bother making it a question. She was, in terms of skill set and experience. No need to hear Diaz confirm it to validate what she already knew about herself.

“I think you’re dodging it.”

Yup.

Diaz sighed. “And trust me, I don’t blame you. But there are ways to burn off those anger issues of yours besides going out on the high-adrenaline, high-risk missions. Last night wasn’t just a good deed.”

No. She’d been spoiling for a fight. Otherwise, she’d have called the police and run interference until they could arrive on the scene. This wasn’t some faraway place. Here, on domestic soil, she was technically as accountable as any other US citizen when it came to the consequences of disturbing the peace.

There’d been a high probability Diaz would’ve had to come bail her out of jail when she’d made the decision to get into a physical altercation. And she hadn’t cared.

“Fortunately,” Diaz continued, “you happened on a lucky situation.”

“Lucky for Yeun.” The man was sitting comfortably slouched in the reception area, watching his police escort pace. For a person too restless to stay put in a hotel room, he was showing a lot of patience here. Probably because he was here on his own terms, pursuing something he wanted. “We could just keep him here for the next few days until his trial.”

“Negative.” Diaz cut the air with one hand. “We’re not a safe house. None of the facilities are intended for overnight stay, much less something longer. Plus, this is a joint operation. It’d raise the question of why the man isn’t being kept in protective custody on police premises or elsewhere in government facilities.”

Point. She had no desire to sit around at a police station for hours, much less days.

“It’s a good opportunity for us, actually.” Diaz sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

The motion drew her attention to him and his rare smile was there. He had surprisingly white teeth. Maybe because none of them smiled all that often. Well, except Marc. He smiled all the time, around a mouthful of food.

“You plan on expanding on your thought there?” She crossed her arms. Whatever this was, she wasn’t absolutely sure she wanted to know.

“Part of Safeguard Division’s longevity is going to rely on the contracts we acquire.” Diaz glanced in the direction of their guests and back to her. “Building a good working relationship with police and US Marshals would be an advantage. I’d rather work with them when the situation calls for it.”

Relations with local authorities were a major factor to consider in any mission. They could be a big help or could become a dangerous risk. She could see where Diaz was going.

“They don’t seem too eager about working with me.”

“Consider it a stretch for your diplomacy skills.” Diaz grinned. “Come out on the other side of this in one piece and maybe we’ll have established a solid precedent for working together in the future.”

“Huh.” She’d stay noncommittal on the idea.

Commitment was part of her problem.

It was easy when she was responsible only for herself.

“I’ll be going silent for the duration.” It was her preferred mode of operation. It should be a simple couple of days. If anyone was trying to find Yeun, they wouldn’t get his location from any intercepted communications between her and Safeguard.

They could take precautions against it, of course. Their technical expertise was some of the best. But the tricky thing in their business tended to be the knack their fellow mercenaries had in one-upmanship. There was always someone coming up with something better.

The only way to be sure there was no information leak was to have no communication at all.

Diaz nodded. “You know our schedule. Make contact if anything goes out of the ordinary.”

“It’s what I do.”

“Yes.” She’d tossed it out as an old joke. Diaz was serious though. “It is. For a few hours or a night. You excel at the short solo missions, even have issues with authority. It’s time to quit thinking of those points as badges of honor.”

She bristled, defensive. “Don’t go all big brother on me.”

“Consider it constructive feedback from your commander,” Diaz shot back. “We’ve worked together a long time. If there’s anyone I can send out solo, it’s you. If you can manage a mission in three or four hours, you can do the same over longer assignments. We both know it. But it’s time to acknowledge the fact that you don’t like taking responsibility for other people. You won’t take a team for longer than a few hours.”

“I can work in a fire team long-term.” Well, she’d done well in Diaz’s fire team. There’d been plenty of others where they could function but they’d never gelled as a group.

“And you used to be able to lead one.” Diaz had access to her file. He also knew her background. “Lead and pair with a spotter within the same team.”

She ground her teeth and didn’t respond.

“Most shooters work with a spotter.” He stood after a moment and walked over to his desk. “Whether you go back to the main Centurion Corporation with another fire team or stay here, it’d be optimal for you to be willing to partner up again, Lizzy.”

“Victoria and Marc are partnered. You lead.” She counted out her team members on the fingers of one hand. “Me as a solo distance shooter worked fine. It could in another fire team too.”

There was a chance. A small one. Theirs had been a particularly good combination. It’d take a long while to grow into the same sort of comfortable rapport with a new team.

“Or we could continue to give you specific contracts.” Diaz leaned against his desk. “There are good lead positions where you could provide cover from a distance and have eyes on the site without being down on the ground. Harte has several contracts where you’d come in handy.”