Aryn's Desire: A BOLD Security Novel (Finding Submission Book 1) (3 page)

“Will I have to work with this idiot?” I ask.
 

“No,” Mills states firmly. “We’re working to reassign him to someone who is on a much smaller scale than Alyssa. Someone who can afford a distracted guard.”
 

I curl my lip. “Why not just fire him?” I ask. “I mean, it’s none of my business, but obviously he’s not doing his job very well.”
 

“Well, we’re getting there. But often times when we see a distraction, there are other underlying factors and in this case, I’m pretty confident that is the issue,” Cami tells me.
 

“Regardless of that. You’d have a small team of three, including yourself. One spot is already filled with Troy.” I nod my approval. Troy joined 69 Bottles’ security team about halfway through the tour, after a couple of unfortunate incidents involving Addison. He’s good people, and very efficient at what he does. I’m honored to have him as part of any team I am on. “And the other spot is up to you.”
 

“What about Casey?” I ask. Casey is a great choice as a third person. He’s efficient enough and he follows directions well. Not to mention that the little shit is quick and has an uncanny ability to sneak up on you. A great tactic when trying to stay incognito.
 

Mills and Cami both look at each other, before Mills turns back to me and replies, “We’d planned on asking him.”
 

“Good, I think he’d be a good bet,” I tell them both. “When does this so-called tour start?” I ask them.
 

“You’re scheduled to return from the album launch on the fifteenth, so that will give you a little over a week. The tour starts here in Los Angeles on the twenty-fourth.” She looks to Mills. “We’ll have to figure out Dex and Raine’s schedule, whether they’re going from North Carolina to New York or coming back here then going.”
 

“Dex and Raine are going to North Carolina?” I ask, puzzled. Neither one of them has said anything to me about this trip.
 

“Yeah, they’re leaving later this week.” Cami gives me a puzzled look in return.

I raise an eyebrow. “That’s news to me.”
 

“Oh,” Cami says, surprised. “I’d only heard about it this morning, so…”
 

“We have plans tomorrow to get together, unless they call me before then.”
 

“Oh, okay, good,” Cami says, flustered.
 

“If you take the new assignment; which we’re not giving you much choice,” Cami smirks, “When you return from the album launch, we’ll need you to get together with Alyssa to start working and figuring out your plans.” She hands me a stapled stack of papers. “In there is the itinerary, schedule of events and things of that nature. It is a promo tour, so there are premieres, as well as the radio station and TV events that will fill up your days in the various places. Los Angeles and New York are up first, followed by Nashville, London, Berlin and finally Sydney, Australia. Travel will be intense, hitting many places quickly. Alyssa is the lead, so she is required by the studio to be at all these events. There are several hundred other ones, but she’s only taking these main markets.”
 

“That’s a hell of a lot of pond hopping. Though I’ve never been to Berlin or Sydney before,” I tell her honestly.
 

“We’ve made arrangements with some of our affiliates to step in and help out on the foreign stops. We can’t expect you to handle transportation and the likes when you barely know the city itself,” Mills tells me, and I nod my understanding and approval.
 

We continue talking about the finer points that I need to be aware of before I sign my contract and I’m out the door. All the information I need is in my hands. Mills catches up to me after I leave the office. “Thanks for doing this,” he says.
 

“No problem. I’m assuming you’ve got Dex, Eric and Calvin covered while Casey and I are away?”
 

“Absolutely. I’m pulling in Leroy, so between Rusty, Tori, Leroy, and myself, it’s handled. They don’t have anything else on the schedule until well after you’re back home.”
 

I nod and give him a smile. “Thanks for giving me my own team,” I tell him, and I honestly mean it. Though I’ve worked with Mills for a few years, I’ve never tried to step on his toes, which is hard as fuck when you’re trying to advance in this business.
 

“You’ve earned it, and you deserve it. I’ve met Alyssa and she’s very nice, cooperative, she shouldn’t give you too much hassle.”
 

I smile again. “That’s good to know, but I’m sure I could handle her if that wasn’t the case.”
 

He smiles then and extends his hand. “I know you can.” I take his hand and he grabs my shoulder, giving it a squeeze as the elevator arrives. “I’m a phone call away. But I’m sure I’ll see you before then. There’s that dinner thing on Wednesday this week.”
 

The light bulb goes off. “I’d nearly forgotten. Then I will see you Wednesday.”
 

We part ways when I step into the elevator and descend back to the first floor and to the parking garage.
 

I text
Dex
: What the hell is in Nashville?
 

Dex to Beck
: How the hell did you find out?
 

Beck to Dex
: Been reassigned…tell you more tomorrow.
 

Dex to Beck
: Fuck that, come over tonight.

Beck to Dex
: Yeah, alright, be there in an hour.

Dex to Beck
: We’re home.

Beck to Dex
: Duh, I’m not there…LOL

Dex to Beck
: Shut it and hurry up.

I climb into my truck and pull out of the parking garage, turning right instead of left as I head toward Dex and Raine’s condo.

FOUR

“WHAT’S WITH THE monkey suit?” Dex asks when he opens the door.
 

“I had to go into Cami’s office today.” I hold up my duffle bag. “Mind if I change?”
 

He opens the door for me to come inside. “Not at all, seeing you dressed like that is unnerving. I want to ask you where the funeral is.”
 

I shoulder check him when I pass and he laughs.
 

“What’d Cami want?”
 

“Reassignment.”
 

“I knew that. Who? When?”
 

“Nosy much?” I cock an eyebrow at him.
 

“Well, I need you to come to North Carolina and Nashville with us, so yeah, you gonna be able to go?”
 

“What makes you think I want to go?” I snicker.
 

He rolls his eyes. “Because you’re having so much fun here,” he says, and he’s right. I get bored when I’m stuck in one place too long and Los Angeles is getting on my nerves.
 

“Yeah, since Cami seemed to know more about it than I do, she would have picked someone else if it would interfere with your trip. So when are we leaving?”
 

“Friday,” Raine says as she comes down the stairs. She’s shorter, maybe five-five or five-six with multi-colored hair, everything from blonde, black, red and even some shades of brown about shoulder length. Despite being short, she’s confident and well, gorgeous.

“Hi, sweetheart,” I tell her and she smiles at me.
 

“Hey.” She smiles as she rounds the banister and comes over to give me a hug.
 

“You doing alright?” I ask.
 

“Never better,” she smiles up at me. “We’re gonna be gone for almost two weeks. That won’t be a problem, will it?” she asks honestly.
 

I shake my head. “Over Christmas and New Year’s?” She nods. “No, so long as I have a couple days back home before taking off for New York. Unless we’re going straight to New York from there?”

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Raine adds. “Maybe we should just make arrangements to get up there afterwards, rather than coming back here?” She looks at Dex who shrugs.
 

“Whatever you guys decide is fine, I just need to know whether I have to pack all my shit for New York too,” I add.

“Our friend Derek, the one we’re staying with, is sending his plane here to fly us to North Carolina, so whatever luggage you need won’t be an issue,” Raine tells me. Are private planes flying across the country to pick up these two knuckleheads? Must be nice to have friends in high places.

“Well, you guys decide. I’ll let Mills know one way or the other.”
 

“Oh, that won’t be a problem,” Dex chimes in. “Go change, that suit is making me crazy. Get comfortable. We’re ordering in and we have booze,” he laughs as he heads into the kitchen with Raine in tow.
 

Their condo is nice. It’s modern, open, with massive eighteen to twenty foot ceilings. Their room is upstairs, a loft. They have a guest room downstairs and another room, but that door is always closed. I don’t know what’s actually in there, and frankly, I’ve never asked.
 

I go into the guest room and toss my bag on the bed and undo my shirt. I’d taken off my jacket before getting in the car, but I threw it back on so I could hang it up when I got inside.
 

I quickly change into a pair of black button-up flannel pants that look like jeans, but they’re fucking comfortable as hell, and a t-shirt. I left my shoes off. Being here at Dex and Raine’s is nothing unusual for me. In fact, I’ve spent many nights here since they moved in. Usually too tired to drive home after a night out. Or on nights like this when we’re just chilling, talking, drinking, eating, or having a movie marathon. It might be corny, but being around them is often a relief. I actually feel like I belong somewhere.
 

The fantasy from last night plays through my mind as I leave the bedroom, and thankfully, I don’t get hard from it. That would be a little awkward and impossible to explain, especially in these pants.
 

“Here you go.” Raine hands me a cold beer as I step into the kitchen.
 

“Thanks,” I tell her and I take a seat on the stool at the breakfast bar of the kitchen and watch as she and Dex do normal everyday things.
 

There is something odd about the way Raine moves around him. This isn’t the first time I’ve noticed this about the two of them, but each time, it becomes a little more pronounced. The fact that it’s Raine who hands me my drinks and food doesn’t go unnoticed by me anytime we’re together, and there is always a sparkle of approval in Dex’s eyes when she does things like that.
 

I’ve often wanted to ask him about it, but it’s never quite the right time, place or circumstances to do so. I toy with the idea of asking now, but instead, I swallow down some beer.
 

“What’s on the menu tonight?” I ask.
 

“That Chinese place you like so much,” Raine says with a smile and I smile back.
 

“Sounds great,” I tell her before taking another sip of my beer. “You sure we’re not going anywhere tonight?” I ask before I keep drinking. If I keep it up, I’ll be good for nothing.

“Nope, we’re staying in,” Dex says as he turns around, holding up his own beer and we clink our bottles together.
 

“So what’s in North Carolina and Nashville?”
 

Raine looks at Dex quickly, but goes back to putting dishes away and he answers, “We’re going to see Derek and his wife Dacotah. He’s got a ranch house in the mountains and then Nashville has a couple of things we want to go do.” His voice holds a hint of mischief and is cryptic even for Dex. I want to pester him for it, but I let it go, for now.
 

“So why do you need me? Doesn’t Derek have his own team?”
 

“He does,” Raine answers as she sets plates down on the breakfast bar. The door buzzer rings and she scurries off to answer it.
 

“So then, why do you need me there?”
 

“Just thought you’d like to get out of town,” Dex replies before going to the fridge for something.
 

“I do, but I’d hate to be the fifth wheel for you guys.”
 

He smiles. “Well, I don’t see how that would be possible. Besides, we’ll be going out frequently and if his team has the detail, well, then you can just relax and hang out.”
 

Raine comes bounding back into the kitchen with two plastic sacks tied up and stuffed full of the best Chinese food I’ve ever had. She and Dex start unpacking and scattering cartons across the breakfast bar and when they’re done, we all dig in.
 

“So what’s wrong with you?” Dex asks.
 

“What do you mean?” I respond before I finish off my fourth beer, my second since finishing dinner.
 

“You’re just so… I don’t know, you seem off. Not getting any?”
 

I roll my eyes. Leave it to Dex to turn it sexual. “Nothing worth mentioning,” I mutter.
 

“That bad?” he probes.
 

I shrug. “I don’t know. I’m just bored I guess.”
 

“Bars and easy women no longer your thing?”
 

I stare at him, unsure of how to answer that. Raine delivers another beer and takes my empty. “Thanks, love,” Dex says and Raine lights up from his praise.
 

“You’re welcome.” Her voice trails off like she was going to say something but then stopped herself.
 

“Alright, enough of this cryptic crap. What is the deal with you two?”
 

“What do you mean?” Dex counters.
 

“Oh, don’t play coy with me. I see how you two act around each other, I’m not stupid.”
 

Raine looks at Dex, gives him a small smile and shrugs. “Master,” she says and I’m not sure if she’s finishing her statement from a moment ago or acknowledging him.