Brutal Obsession (The Safeguard Series, Book One) (7 page)

“I’m well aware of how busy Victor is,” Ashlyn countered, reaching into her draw for the bottle of Motrin she always kept on hand. She first squeezed then unscrewed the cap and shook out two of the orange capsules. “He can send someone else over in the morning then. He doesn’t have to handle it personally. He has good people.”

Ashlyn stood and walked across the carpeted floor, wishing she could have kicked off her heels. She would never appear anything other than professional in front of Jarod though, so she toughed out the soreness that still remained from where the shard of glass had embedded itself on that horrible night. She poured herself some water from the pitcher she kept on the small side table beside the coffee maker. She tossed the two pills into her mouth and then washed them down before walking back to her desk, cataloging what was to be left of her evening.

“Fine. Call Victor and set something up for tomorrow morning, but don’t wait too long. Give him time to assign one of his people before the end of the day. As for Safeguard Security & Investigations, they’re a good alternative for personal security while the FBI investigates the case.” Jarod appeared firm in his stance on contracting out her protection away from the office. Ashlyn could hear his cell phone rattle once more and wondered if he ever got tired of being at the end of that leash. “You and I both know it’s most likely some momma’s boy who has a thing for women in power because his mother never cut the apron strings. Maybe he saw you in court or he sweeps up the grass clippings around your apartment complex. Either way, he’s taken things a step too far and will most likely run for the hills the moment he realizes the feds are nipping at his heels.”

“A step too far?” Ashlyn repeated in complete disgust, leaning back in her chair and wishing she could take the tight clip out of her hair. The throbbing in her temples had only gotten worse as the child pornography case currently on her docket came to a close. If only they could send these scumbags away forever and never have to worry about them seeing the light of day again. Add in the stress of not knowing how far this fanatic was willing to take things had her one step away from snapping Jarod’s head clean off. “Are you paying attention at all? Let me explain to you in detail why we aren’t just dealing with some random lawn care guy who’s
taken things a step too far
. Sending me complimentary emails on my looks and clothing were nonthreatening. Sending me small gifts in the mail to my office were nonthreatening. The moment this guy started leaving notes on my vehicle saying he’d find a way for us to be together changed the tone of what we’re dealing with. He’s delusional and believes we have a relationship. He’s only escalated from there and now he knows where I live,
watching
me in the privacy of my own home. That wasn’t a step too far, Jarod. What this guy did was commit a felony and it isn’t a sporting event where he can be forgiven for committing a foul.”

“Which is why I called Townes Calvert,” Jarod replied, confident in his decision to recruit outside assistance. He rested an ankle over his leg as he settled in to explain his reasoning. His confidence didn’t bolster hers in the least. “He’s an old friend from my military days who recently went into business for himself. As I said earlier, the firm’s name is Safeguard Security & Investigations. SSI is now one of our new first-line contractors. Every hire Calvert employs has a military background with experience on a high-priority protective detail, a solid reputation, and a security clearance the government will maintain during their time working for SSI. The company will provide you protection until Agent Coulter can resolve this problem of ours. Calvert is sending someone to watch over you twenty-four seven until this is resolved. His gentleman should be here within the hour.”

“There’s no way in hell I’m allowing someone to shadow my every move, Jarod,” Ashlyn warned off, looking past him to see Victor Wright standing in her doorway. She waved him in, grateful for the interruption and a chance to make Jarod see that she didn’t need round-the-clock security when all of this was going to be over in the next day or so. “This child pornography case is closed from any media coverage and I won’t take the chance of any information being leaked until a verdict is handed down. Victor, tell Jarod you’ll make it so that my apartment is more secure than Fort Knox. You’ll make it impossible for this guy to have the capability to watch me in the privacy of my own home.”

“You’re assuming we’re looking for a man. And I wish it were that simple,” Victor said somewhat regretfully with a slow shake of his head. Ashlyn’s headache was now on the verge of a full-blown migraine. “Whoever hacked into your security feeds and private network is damned good at covering his or her tracks. I know this has been handed off to the FBI, but I had a few spare minutes today. This perp has no traceable digital footprint that we can track down to any one specific person or any money trail leading to a bank account with any kind of significant amount of funds. Finding this type of person isn’t going to be easy.”

“What exactly are you saying?” Ashlyn asked cautiously, refusing to believe that such an evidence trail couldn’t be followed. Even Chenglei Haung, backed by the full resources of a major world power, had left a digital footprint for Victor’s team to follow. “Are you saying the individual we’re looking for is some type of professional?”

“I’m saying that since Jarod wanted me to upgrade your security system, I took the time to look at how this individual was able to access the network. He or she is better than most of the experts I employ here in our IT department, Ashlyn. I mean, we’re talking this person might even be considerably better than anyone on my team.”

Victor looked at the buried guest chair next to Jarod, spreading his hands open in a gesture of defeat and decided to lean against the wall. He’d always been proud of his abilities and there had never been a case given to him where he wasn’t able to prove innocence or guilt. Now he was standing here telling her the man or woman who’d become fixated on her couldn’t be rooted out of the system.

“Look, this is going to have to be investigated from the ground up by Agent Coulter and their cyber terrorist unit. Effective network monitoring needs to be done in order to find active efforts to bypass your security measures. Coulter came into my office asking if we’d seen anything unusual on our networks. We haven’t, but I did share with him what I found on your private network. He no doubt already has his cyber super geeks department all over it, but I’ll keep following the endless trail of digital footprints this hacker has used to disguise his efforts,” Victor promised, lifting one side of his mouth in what was most likely supposed to be a reassuring smile. He failed…miserably. Ashlyn hadn’t considered this wouldn’t be an easy thing to resolve. How could this guy circumvent the entire technology and information systems’ security efforts of the United States government? “Ashlyn, I’ll follow you home when you’re ready. I have one of our technicians coming with me and he’ll install a new firewall system that far surpasses your old one.”

Ashlyn’s desk phone emitted a low-toned beep, indicating it was an internal call. She glanced at the black and silver unit and confirmed it was Gina. Work didn’t cease for personal issues, but she had been hoping for a moment’s reprieve to gather her thoughts.

“Yes, Gina?” Ashlyn inquired after leaning forward and pressing the speaker button, doing her best to keep the despair out of her tone.

“Agent Coulter is here to see you,” Gina announced, her professional manner telling Ashlyn the man was standing next to her assistant’s desk instead of taking a seat in the small row of chairs opposite her door. “Along with another agent.”

Ashlyn was a bit surprised by Agent Coulter’s visit. Was he here to tell her he’d figured out who had been stalking her? It was the only way to realistically view what had been happening to her over the last few months. The implied intimacy of the emails had left her feeling somewhat uneasy, but the letters and gifts had caused her to be downright worried for her safety and that of her team. She’d taken self-defense classes and was very proficient at shooting a weapon, but that didn’t mean she wanted to test any of those skillsets.

It wasn’t as if Ashlyn had time to have a personal life. Yes, she would spend an occasional evening with a man who understood her free-time limitations, given her profession. She had needs and she saw to them when time permitted. For the most part, she’d spent the majority of every waking hour since she’d graduated law school advancing her career to its current level. Now was no time to rest on her laurels and she’d like to continue marching forward without the threat of some jerk popping up in her apartment one evening hanging over her head.

“Send them in, please,” Ashlyn finally instructed in resignation, knowing full well her team of paralegals were most likely wondering why the chief of the criminal division, the head of their cyber unit, and now two federal agents were gathering in her tiny office. She’d have to meet with them soon to give them an update on the situation and she was hoping to announce an arrest had been made. “Let’s hope he…”

Ashlyn’s words trailed off as Gina appeared in the doorway with only one federal agent and someone else entirely. Both Jarod and Victor turned around at the sight of the obvious surprise written across her face, no doubt wondering what had brought about the utter destruction of the most enduring poker face they’d been acquainted with. The other man…well, he wasn’t with the FBI. He was from her past. He was also her one and only regret.

“Ashlyn, it’s good to see you again. I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances.”

Ashlyn could feel the intensity of Jarod’s curious gaze, but she didn’t know how to show any other emotion than dumbfounded surprise as she slowly stood from her desk chair. It didn’t matter that she broke out in a light perspiration or the fact that her heart was experiencing a slight twinge of pain. She’d learned long ago to never display what she was thinking in the courtroom. She had that practiced air about her and it had never failed her before today. It put her at a disadvantage and that was the last thing she needed right now.

Jarod stood and Victor pushed off the wall as they turned to make introductions to the man who would be protecting her twenty-four seven. Gina had it wrong. The man standing next to her wasn’t a federal agent nor did he work with Agent Coulter. That left only one reason he would be here and Ashlyn couldn’t wrap her mind around that with any amount of clarity. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. It was the perfect storm and she wasn’t ready for the explosive impact.

SSI would just have to send another one of their agents to do the job. Her heart wasn’t capable of beating this hard for that long. This man was already biased toward her welfare and it was through no fault of her own. He would have to go for the good of all concerned.

Keane Sanderson.

The man who had singlehandedly saved an entire courtroom of innocent people from the threat of death.

The man who Ashlyn rejected when he’d asked for more than she could give and vanished before she could realize her own mistake.

He hadn’t changed in the five years since she’d seen him last. His dark brown hair was still cut short, but not short enough to prevent the soft waves from lying in the exact manner in which he’d trained it this morning. His matching brown eyes were flecked with gold and she recalled that those specks lit up when he was content. She realized he wasn’t remotely pleased at the moment either and the muscle along his jawline was as taut as a guitar string with what she assumed was irritation.

“Keane,” Ashlyn managed to say without the tremor she knew to be at the back of her throat. She forced her legs to move and walk around her desk. She made the mistake of breathing in when he was close enough to shake hands. He wore the same captivating cologne he wore all those years ago, and she had to mentally block the memories of their time together as she steeled herself for the heat of his hand. She failed miserably. “It’s been quite a long time.”

*

All he’d wanted
to do was love her.

Why couldn’t she have just returned his affection like she wanted to?

He drummed his fingers on the fabric of his pants, wishing he could hear the soothing, rhythmic sounds of her sleeping breath to ease the rage building inside of his head.

Now things had to change. She needed to accept God’s truth.

‡