Her Shield (The Uncut Series Book 1) (20 page)

They both nodded. “Whatever you feel comfortable with,” Sean supplied.

Trent shrugged. “I don't know. Can I think about that?” he asked.

  “Of course, we just wanted you to know that you have that option,” Sean told him.

  Trent looked between his brothers, the two men who had taken him in and created a life for him. He could still remember how afraid he'd been to approach them, not knowing what they would do to him. To his surprise, they had not only accepted him, but nurtured and embraced him.

He smiled at his brothers. “I love you guys and I don't want you to worry about me.”

  “Of course we're going to worry about your ass boy,” Jordan said looking confused and Trent laughed.

  Jordan leaned forward. “Just so you know Trent, we're already proud of you. You have nothing to prove to us.”

  “Thanks Jordan, are you trying to be the nice brother now?” Trent joked.

Jordan looked at him. “I can still put my foot in your ass.”

Trent laughed some more. “Nope, that's okay. I'm cool.”

  “The women are really upset about you leaving. You'll have to spend lots of time with them before you go,” Sean informed him.

  “I'll be seeing my sisters and my new niece and nephews all the time before I leave,” Trent confirmed. “Callie loves kids.”

  “She's a good girl Trent. Don't mess this up,” Jordan warned and Sean nodded.

Trent gave them both a look. “Yep, she's the best. You guys did a good job.”

Jordan and Sean glanced at one another. “What?” they asked.

Trent smirked. “Come on guys, you know I'm a genius. You didn't think I would figure it out?”

  “Figure out what Trent?” Sean asked calmly.

  “That you both knew that I wanted someone in my life. I had told you both about
the one
and you both told me to slow down.” He stood from his seat. “Then the perfect girl shows up right under my nose, where I had to see her every day.”

He looked at Jordan. “
Callie reminds me of Sage
...remember that Jordan?” 

Then he turned to Sean. “
Callie is something really special
...remember that Sean?”

Trent laughed. “You two got me, but since I got Callie...I'm cool.”

  Jordan and Sean looked at each other. “The hard part was seeing if she wanted your ass,” Jordan told him.

  “Of course she wanted me. I'm a Harris, a Black and a Jackson,” Trent boasted.

  “You almost lost her,” Sean reminded Trent. “When you were confused...”

  Trent nodded and folded his arms. “Well I'm not confused anymore and I'll never lose Callie again.”

  Jordan and Sean stood. “Okay Trent, we're confident that you know what you're doing. Just know that we are just a phone call away for anything,” Sean said coming to embrace his brother.

  “Thanks Sean, I know you guys are here for me.”

  Jordan stepped up to him and dark eyes met. “Boy, don't make me have to come to Africa.” He embraced Trent solidly.

  “You just take care of little Justice until I get back. Hopefully he'll be a nice brother to Diamond,” Trent said smiling.

  Jordan smiled in return. “I think Diamond will need to be the nice sister to Justice. She's already trying to order him around telling him to stop crying and go to sleep, but Sage insists that she can't say Izzy or Ray.”

  Sean and Trent laughed as the three walked to the door. They stopped at Callie's desk and the men said their goodbyes before Callie turned to him.

  “How'd it go?” she asked concerned.

Trent smiled. “It was cool.”

  “They're okay with you going?”

  Trent shrugged. “Well it's not like they could really do anything about it, but yes.” He looked at her. “Are you okay with me going?”

Callie looked away. “I want you to be happy baby.”

  “Callie?” Trent waited until she looked at him. “You make me happy.”

She smiled sadly.

  “You will wait for me, right?” he asked frowning.

She looked away again. “If that's what you want.”

  “Whoa, wait.” He took her arm and helped her to stand. “What the hell Callie?

  “What do you want me to say Trent?” she asked.

He looked confused. “That you'll wait for me.”

  “If you wait for me, then I'll wait for you.”

  “Oh hell nah!” Trent grabbed her hand and led her into his office, closing the door behind them.

He turned to her. “Where is this coming from Callie? I thought we were cool!”

  Callie folded her arms. “Trent, you told me about all the girls you were with in Atlanta. You're going to be gone for two years!”

Trent stepped back. “You think I'm going to cheat on you?”

  “I can't ask that of you Trent.” Callie folded her arms. “You're only eighteen!”

  “So the ring I gave you means nothing?” he asked quietly.

Callie looked down at the ring on her hand. “It means everything,” she answered softly.

  He came to her. “I'm not the lost little boy I was in Atlanta, Callie. I'm a man now and I know what I want.”

  He took her hand. “I know that two years is a long time to ask you to wait for me, but trust, it's not a long time for me to wait for you. I want us to have a life together Callie, and not just any life...a good life. I've lived on the streets and I would never let my family live that way.”

  “You are my family Callie. You and the family we'll have together one day. I will do whatever I have to do to take care of you,” he said passionately. “Even it if it means being away from you for a little while, so that I can provide for our family for the rest of my life.”

  Callie looked into his handsome face. “I swear, I love you so much boy.” She put her arms around his neck. “I can't even bear the thought of losing you.”

  “You won't sexy girl, I promise.” He hugged her close.

  Callie held on to him tightly. She thought that by maybe breaking things off until he returned would make things easier, but he'd proven she had been wrong in her thinking. There was no way in the world she could walk away from Trent again.

  “Are we cool?” he asked looking down at her.

She smiled. “Yes baby, we're cool. I was just tripping for a minute.”

  “I promise, I'll call you every day and I'll have my brothers send the plane for me whenever I can get away,” he told her. “I'm not letting you go Callie.”

  “I'm not letting you go either Trent.”

He hugged her again and they stood that way for a few minutes.

  “What did your brothers say?”

Trent frowned and stepped back.

  “What's wrong baby?” Callie asked seeing the look on his face.

  “My brothers asked if I wanted to change my name to Black or Jackson,” he said quietly.

Callie touched his chest. “Why does that upset you?” she questioned seeing his emotions.

He shrugged. “I don't know.”

  She studied him for a minute. “Sit down Trent,” she instructed and he took a seat behind the desk as she stood next to him.

Callie took his hand. “Talk to me, tell me why this bothers you.”

  He looked at her. “I've always been Trent Harris ever since I can remember. Jordan always knew he was a Black and Sean always knew he was a Jackson. I never knew who I was, until I hacked and found my family.”

  His gazed moved to their connected hands. “I'm not a Black because my father never claimed me, and I'm not a Jackson because that was Sean's father. I'm Trent Harris, that's all I've ever been.”

  “Then be Trent Harris baby. It doesn't matter what your name is, you know who you are,” Callie told him squeezing his hand.

  He slowly looked up at her. “So you wouldn't mind being Callie Harris?” he asked holding her with that sexy dark gaze.

Callie touched his face. “Baby, I'd be Callie Upside Down, as long as I'm with you.”

He smiled at her. “See, that's why I'll never let you go.”

  After meeting with Ray and Isabelle at the Parker Estate that same morning, Marc and Isis drove to Parker Security to see Trent and Callie in order to brief them on the mission. The couple entered the building and found Callie seated at her desk.

  “Hi Callie,” Isis greeted.

Callie looked at the pair. “Hey Isis, Marc. Ray's not here right now.”

  Marc answered, “I know. We just left him at his house.” He glanced at Isis. “I came to see you and Trent.”

She looked at him. “Me and Trent?”

  “I have a mission for you,” Marc informed her and she nodded before standing from her chair and walking to Trent's office, where he'd been since his brother's departure earlier. She knocked softly on the door and he turned to her.

  “Hey, what's up?” he asked.

  “Marc is here. He says he has a mission for us,” Callie told him with a frown.

Trent stood. “What's wrong?”

  “He has Isis with him.”

It was Trent's turn to frown. “Isis? Why?”

Callie shrugged. “I guess we're about to find out.”

  They found Marc and Isis seated in the conference room and took the seats across from them. Trent looked at Marc in his dark glasses and suit and Isis dressed in a light sundress. The two couples greeted each other before they all were seated.

  “We have a mission and I need your help to gather some information,” Marc informed them.

Callie looked at Marc. “Is Isis on the team now?”

Marc looked over at Isis before turning back to Callie. “We're testing it out.”

  “What is she going to do?” Trent asked confused.

Isis frowned at his tone and turned to Marc.

  “Isis is going to help us gather intel.” Marc explained looking across the table.

  “How?” Callie asked skeptically.

  “You two don't have to be so rude,” Isis told them. “I have skills as well.”

  Marc reached over and took Isis' hand. “They're just asking questions Isis.” He turned back to Callie and Trent.

  “Our subject is Dr. Camille Smith. She was Milton Martin's heart specialist. She's under investigation for possible crimes. We need to question her without her knowing she's being questioned. Since she is acquainted with Isis and her family, Isis will be the perfect decoy.”

  “What crimes Marc?” Callie asked.

  “Right now everything is pure suspicion so I'd rather not say until we have more concrete evidence,” he answered Callie.

  “Trent, I need you to find me everything you can on her,” Marc directed and Trent nodded.

  “Where am I supposed to question her?” Isis asked joining the conversation.

  “There's an annual event hosted by The Black Foundation where Dr. Smith is the Chair. Trent will escort you to the ball using your family's invitation.”

  “Trent?” The women in the room questioned in unison and Trent looked confused.

  Marc nodded. “Yes, Trent.” He turned to Isis. “I can't escort you because Dr. Smith knows who I am.”

  “Is this what Ray ordered?” Callie questioned.

Marc turned to her. “I'm leading this mission.”

Callie folded her arms. “So when it blows up in your face, Ray will be on your ass...not ours.”

  “Why do you want me to escort Isis?” Trent asked with a frown.

  “Because I want her protected and you're the best left on the team. I know the skills you have if something pops off. Kyle is not experienced enough yet to handle this so I'll keep him as back up, just in case.”

Trent looked at Callie as she stared daggers at Marc.

  “So you want Trent to take Isis on a damn date?” she asked incredulously. “To question some woman about alleged crimes based on pure suspicion?”

  Isis turned to Marc as he started answering Callie's question. “It's complicated Callie. You know we can't always divulge everything that's going on with a case...not even to ones that we love.” He looked from her to Trent referring to their mission in Colombia.

  He continued, “And it's not a date, it's a mission. We should all be over past issues, ready to move on and work together as the team Ray designed us to be.”

  He looked at Trent. “I have no problems with it. Does anyone else?” Marc turned to Isis who shook her head.

  “I can do it,” Isis answered then looked across the table where Callie sat with her arms folded.

  “I'm cool,” Trent answered before everyone looked at Callie.

  She unfolded her arms. “Marc, I hope you know what you're doing or else all of our asses are on the line.” Callie got up and walked out of the room and they watched her go.

Trent turned back to the couple. “Why isn't Ray involved?” Trent asked.

  “Ray is busy with his wife and unborn child. I can handle this,” Marc told him.

  Trent got to his feet and sighed. “Like Callie said, I hope you know what you're doing dude.” He left the room and Isis turned to Marc.

  “I don't think your team likes you as the leader,” she told him.

  “They'll get used to it.”

Isis squeezed his hand. “I know I asked you to do this, but I don't want to cause problems.”

Marc brought her hand to his lips. “It's not a problem and I need you.”

  “You're not worried about Trent escorting me?” Isis asked.

He shook his head. “Not at all, I know I'm the man you want.”

She smiled at him. “I always said you were arrogant.”

  “Not arrogant, just truthful.”

  “Do you really think this is going to work with Dr. Smith?” she asked. “I can't believe she's suspected of a crime. She was so nice to me when Daddy died.”

  He shrugged. “I don't know if it's going to work. Dr. Smith is very clever.” Looking at her he said, “I'm going to need you to give one hell of a performance that night.”

  “I won't let you down,” she whispered. “Just tell me what you need me to do.”

  Marc got to his feet and helped Isis from her chair. “We can go over all of that later. I should get you home so you can get ready for the theater.”

  “Okay,” she said allowing him to lead her out the door.

  “How are things at the theater?” Marc inquired as they passed Callie's empty desk.

  “They're good. The performances have been sold out.”

  “The lead actor?” he questioned as they made their way to the car.

  Isis shook her head. “He doesn't even talk to me anymore and if I come into a room, he leaves. I don't know what his problem is, but I don't care.”

Marc nodded as he opened the door for her. “Maybe he doesn't have any more questions.”

  Isis shrugged as she climbed inside then Marc walked around to the driver's side and took his seat.

  He turned to her and smiled before starting the car. After taking off and entering traffic he reached for her hand, holding it gently. He watched her stare silently out of the window.

  “Are you worried about the thing with your father?” Marc asked breaking into her thoughts.

  Isis shook her head. “No, Isabelle and Ray assured me that I don't have to worry about that. I believe the attorneys they are hiring will be able to prove that I knew nothing about those transactions.”

  He nodded and turned his attention back to the road before asking, “Are you concerned about what happened this morning between us?”

Isis turned to him. “A little.”

  “Don't worry about it sweetheart. You know that I love you,” he told her gently.

  “I love you too Marcus.”

He smiled at her. “Then everything is fine and there's nothing to worry about.”

Isis watched him. “You would be okay?”

  “I would be more than okay Princess. Tasha would be ecstatic and my mother would be in glory,” he said rubbing her hand. “What about you?”

  Isis looked at their joined hands. “Honestly, I'd never thought about it, but this morning I thought it wouldn't necessarily be a terrible thing.”

Marc kissed her hand. “No, it wouldn't be a terrible thing at all, sweetheart.”

*********

  Back at Parker Security, Callie sat in Trent's office and he watched the anger on her pretty face. Her fists were tight as she sat frowning.

  “You mad?” he asked smiling.

She looked at him. “Shut up Trent. This isn't funny.”

  “It's a mission Callie, calm down.” He told her. “You know, like the one where you allegedly died?”

  She glared at him. “This is a mission that Ray knows nothing about and Marc wants to add his untrained girlfriend.”

  “Marc is almost as good as Ray. If Ray put him in charge then we have to follow him,” Trent explained.

Callie frowned. “Didn't you say you pulled his own gun on him?”

  Trent sighed. “I told you he had let his guard down because of the situation. If I tried that today, he'd probably kill me on the spot.”

He smiled again. “You don't have to be jealous Callie.”

  She gave him a look. “I'm not, because if you're still hung up on your Wonder Woman then you know where you can go.”

  Trent stood and walked around his desk to stand in front of her. “First of all, Isis isn't my anything anymore. Secondly, you know I'm never, ever leaving you. Finally, I think you're just trying to turn me on because you know I like it when you get mad.”

He pulled her quickly into his arms. “Trent!”

  Trent lowered his head above her lips. “Let's go home and see if I can calm down my Shero.” He kissed her firmly and Callie touched his face.

  “I'm so damn mad...” She whispered against his lips.

  Trent gave her a sexy look with his dark eyes. “I've got all night to work that anger out, sexy girl.”

*********

  After dropping Isis at her apartment, Marc went to his office. His first stop was to meet with his supervisor and get an update on the case against Isis. Satisfied with the results of the meeting he made his way to his desk to order two bouquets of pink tulips to be delivered tonight at the theater. One for Isis and one for Denzel...to make sure his ass stayed in line. His next call was to Sean to update him on the Dr. Camille Smith situation.

  “Hello Marc,” Sean answered.

  “Just calling to update you. Is this a good time?” Marc asked.

  Sean stood to step away from where his wife, mother, Lavender and Lotus sat on the sofa. Lily looked up at him and he nodded at her on his way out of the room.

  “I'm good now. What's going on?” Sean said when he'd reached his office.

  “I've recruited two of the Uncut Diamonds to help. I didn't give any specifics about the case. I know that you didn't want to include Trent, but we need him,” Marc explained.

  Sean sighed. “If I'm right about Dr. Smith, he'll find out about it anyway so do what you need to do.”

  “We're going in at The Black Foundation Annual Ball in two weeks. I'll make sure everyone is ready.”

  “Have you mentioned anything to Ray?” Sean asked.

  Marc shook his head while on the phone. “No, he has other things on his plate right now. I'll fill him in when I have something concrete.”

  “Good work.”

Marc paused. “I'm also bringing in Isis.”

Sean frowned. “Isis? Why?”

  “She's going in undercover to pump Dr. Smith for information. I've uncovered that Dr. Smith has an affinity for Isis, so I'm going to try to use it to our advantage,” Marc told him.

  “Is she ready for that?” Sean questioned.

  “She will be.”

  “Okay Marc, you're the leader. I'll trust your judgement for now. However, be prepared for Ray and Jordan to lose their minds if something goes wrong,” Sean warned.

  “It won't. I've got it under control,” Marc assured him.

  “Keep me posted,” Sean said before disconnecting the call.

  Marc blew out a breath and looked at the phone. He had a million things going on simultaneously right now and he had to make sure he tracked all the moving pieces or his ass was going to be in some steaming hot water.

   He had the case involving Dr. Camille Smith and trying to figure out and prove if she was indeed a murderess. He had to lead the Uncut Diamonds, who seemed not to be exactly thrilled with him right now. Then, he had the case with Isis and her father's illegal companies and the possibility that she was now carrying his child. He also had to keep an eye on both Denzel and Jeremiah when it came to Isis and on top of everything, he still had a job as a Special Agent with the FBI.

  He put his head back on his chair. How in the hell did Ray juggle all of this on a daily basis? Picking up his phone, he dialed his sister.

  “Hey handsome,” she answered.

He smiled. “Hey gorgeous, I need your help with something.”

  “Of course, what do you need?”

  “I know that Jeremiah brought you some things for your project. I'm going to need to borrow some of them for a case I'm working on,” he told her.