Protecting Lulu (Global Protection Agency) (34 page)

She
pointed at a brownstone down and across the street from Lulu’s. “I saw a guy on
the roof of that building. I saw his outline briefly when the moon came out
from behind a cloud. By the time I got to the roof, he was gone.”

“Could
you describe him?”

“It’s
dark,” she said. “But he looked to be about six feet tall wearing dark
clothing.”

Which
pretty much meant nothing, Noah thought. Flashlights showed on the roof of the
building as officers searched the space. Most of Lulu’s neighbors had retreated
back into their homes. The only people left were the cops, Noah and his team,
and the media people. Two more media vans had pulled up and now had news
reporters trying to ferret out information on the shooting.

“I
have a suspect,” Noah said.

“You
were going to tell me this when?” John asked.

“I
have a job to do to.”

“You
can’t push a shooting underneath the carpet. And,” John informed him, “My boss
is on his way.”

Noah
tried not to groan. Of course the police commissioner would make an appearance.
Lulu was a high profile New Yorker and with the media gathered around trying to
figure out what was going on; this was a perfect-photo op. “This is for your
team.”

“What
is it?”

“Her
clothes and I’ll send you the photos I took of her.”

John
took the bag, but before he could answer, a black sedan turned onto the street
and double parked. Wilder shot out of the car and raced toward the house, panic
showing in his eyes.

“Lulu,”
Wilder said.

Noah
put a hand on Wilder’s shoulder. “She’s safe in the panic room.” For the first
time, Noah saw Wilder looking mussed and frantic, not his usual sophisticated
self.

“I
want to see her.”

“For
the time being, I think she needs to be by herself,” Noah responded. “Look, she
finally gets it.”

“I
know,” Wilder said, calming down. “That’s why I came. She wasn’t snarky with me
on the phone. When Lulu’s not sarcastic or making jokes, I start to worry. So
tell me what happened here. The news wasn’t very informative and according to
them, someone died. Who died?”

“No
one,” Noah replied glaring at the media trucks. “Ian was shot, but he’ll
recover. He’s on his way to the hospital.”

“Anyone
else hurt?” Wilder look around. His gaze settled on E.J. talking to John
Hathaway while he scribbled in his notebook. “She has blood on her.”

“Ian’s
blood,” Noah responded, seeing Wilder relax slightly more.

“Can
we get her out of town?”

Noah
took a deep breath. “I don’t know if she’s scared enough to leave.”

“What
the hell has to happen for her to be scared shitless?”

Wilder
ran a hand through his hair. “Your sister’s not a runner.”

“Oh
God, don’t I know,” Wilder said with a sigh. “All her life, she’s faced every
challenge with such tenacity I used to shudder. If she couldn’t go through
something, she charmed her way around, she smoozed her way over, or giggled her
way under and made people feel grateful for giving in to her. Dammit, she sees
the world as belonging to her and we’re lucky to be living in it.”

Noah
stifled a chuckle. Wilder was saying everything about Lulu that Noah wanted to
say, but kept to himself. Thankfully, he wasn’t alone in how he felt. For the
first time, Noah felt a sense of camaraderie with Wilder.

“Can’t
you just conk her over the head, throw her over your shoulder and drag her
somewhere safe?” Wilder asked.

“Mr.
Bennington,” Noah started to say, sympathy in his tone

“For
crying out loud, just call me Wilder.”

“Wilder,”
Noah said, “we’re in the same boat; we’re equally frustrated by Lulu.” They
fell into silence, watching the street while the cops held the media back and a
team of men with flashlights searched the rooftops. Overhead a helicopter had
arrived and added its own searchlight to the hunt.

A
limo turned onto the street and stopped at the barricade. A door opened, a tall
man with graying hair wearing a black coat and white muffler emerged.

Wilder’s
eye flickered with annoyance. “Look who just arrived.”

“Why
don’t you just let me handle him?”

“I
can deal with this man,” Wilder said.

“Wilder,
let me take a moment to be honest with you,” Noah said with a half sigh, “The
man is here for publicity. If you walk up those stairs and go into the house,
nothing will insult him more.”

Wilder
looked surprised and then half-smiled. “Noah, you’re a crafty bastard.” Then he
turned on his heel, walked into the house and closed the door without looking
back.

“Commissioner
Barrett,” Noah said holding out his hand.

Neil
Barrett was a slim man who kept himself in shape. He had the look of an
executive who never got his hands dirty. He was the consummate politician who
knew a photo op when he saw one. Tall, elegant, and impeccably dressed, he knew
how to work a crowd. He glanced at all the cameras pointed at him and smiled
slightly before turning back to Noah.

He
held out a gloved hand to Noah and shook firmly. John Hathaway hurried over,
annoyance flashing across his face and then was quickly bland again.

“Are
you the detective in charge?” Barrett asked Noah.

“I
don’t work for you. That would be Detective Hathaway.” Noah nodded at John.

Barrett
glanced at John and dismissed him in the same moment. “Go right ahead detective
and finish what you’re doing.” He looked at Noah. “I want to talk to
Bennington.”

Like
hell, Noah thought. “Mr. Bennington is with his sister. Any questions you have
I will be able to answer.”

“Who
are you and why are you here?” Barrett asked, his gaze sharp.

“My
name is Noah Callahan, Global Protection Agency. Mr. Bennington hired me to
protect his sister.”

Barrett’s
expression hardened. “I understand Lulu was being stalked, but I don’t have any
officers investigating the stalking other than whoever is working on the
break-in. Why wasn’t a complaint wasn’t filed?”

“Mr.
Bennington chose not to contact the police.”

“Lulu
is a prominent citizen. She pays her taxes just like anybody else. She has a
right to police protection.” Barrett glared at Noah. “Now that a crime has been
committed, it looks like NYPD is definitely involved and I want to have a complete
report on my desk by tomorrow morning, Mr. Callahan. We’re taking over now.”

Noah
eyed the other man. “I’m happy to cooperate with the NYPD and Detective
Hathaway, but until Mr. Bennington says different, I’m still in charge of
protecting Ms. Bennington. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to check on my client.”
Noah turned and walked up the steps to the front door. He shoved it open and
walked inside the warm foyer. For a moment he allowed himself to smile. Even
though he shouldn’t have been quite so abrupt with the commissioner, he felt
good putting the man in his place. He hated pompous asses and he understood
exactly why Wilder felt the way he did about Neil Barrett.

Wilder
stood in the living room in front of the fireplace a frown on his somber face
was contrast to the cheerful crackle of the fire. “Lulu won’t talk to me. She’s
acting like she’s five years old.”

Noah
eyed the other man with sympathy. “No, she’s not.”

“Do
you call this the behavior of a grown woman?”

Noah
pinched the bridge of his nose. “She doesn’t want to be told ‘I told you so.’ Right
now she feels bad because Ian was shot. She’s scared and feeling a little out
of control. She doesn’t enjoy feeling that she’s powerless, scared, and guilty.”

“How
is Ian?” Wilder asked.

“It’s
barely a flesh wound. He’s probably done worse shaving.”

“But,”
Wilder started to say.

Noah
held his hand up. “Listen, get some rest. I’m going to go up to the panic room
and talk her down.”

“Talk
some sense into her while you’re there.”

“I
would love nothing better than to hide her somewhere until this is over, but
she’s not going. You know your sister better than anyone and you know she’s not
going into hiding.”

“I
was hoping you’d bully her into it.” Wilder ran a shaking hand over his face. “”I
know that will never happen.”

“She
doesn’t respond to threats, but you know that better to me.” Even though she
made Noah’s job so much harder.

“You
like her.”

Just
like Wilder to see into Noah’s soul. Noah thought he’d kept his feelings under
control. “Besides her stalker, who doesn’t like her?”

“That’s
not what I meant. You care for my sister.”

“That
would be inappropriate.”

Wilder’s
eyebrow rose. “You’ve never done anything inappropriate in your life.”

“Not
on the job.” Noah had done a lot of inappropriate things in his life, but kept
them separate from his professional life. Though Lulu did make him want to
change the rules.

“I
see the way you look at her.”

“I
don’t have time to get all girly and talk about my feelings right now. Go
upstairs and get some rest. In the morning, everything will look different. I
need to check on your sister. Please excuse me.”

Noah
turned and left the living room, running up the stairs two at a time.

Instead
of going to bed, Wilder poured himself a glass of scotch. He turned off all the
lights and then stood at the window, watching the scene on the street below. Neil
Barrett stood off to the side surrounded by media people who thrust microphones
in his face. Wilder wanted to go out and punch the self-important bastard in
the face.

 “What
are you looking at so intently? You don’t seem like the sulking type.”

Wilder
whirled around startled by E.J.’s approach. The scotch sloshed inside the
glass. “You are very good. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I
came in through the back. You should see me when I mean to be stealthy. I
didn’t want any more camera time.”

“How
long have you worked with Mr. Callahan?” Wilder walked back to the fireplace
and sat down. E.J. sat across from him, the firelight casting flickering
shadows across her face.

“Over
two years,” she replied. “He recruited me when he started the company. Told me
I needed to go legit and the offer came along at the right time.” She crossed
her legs and settled more comfortably in the chair.

“What
kind of a man is he?” he asked as casually as he could.

“Lulu
is safe with Noah if that’s what you’re really asking,” she replied, a knowing
look on her face that told him she knew what he was getting at.

“He
wants her,” Wilder replied.

“She
wants him,” E.J. promptly said. “Do you think he’s not good enough for her?”

Wilder
rubbed his eyes. “Actually, I think he’s perfect for her.”

“Then
why ask?”

“Lulu’s
love life has been eclectic.”

“Eclectic?
You need to explain that.”

“She
doesn’t have any specific type of man she gravitates toward. She seems to like
a wide variety of men, most of whom I don’t much care for. They are charming
and nice, but not right for her. He’s right for her.” Actually, Noah was
perfect. He didn’t give in to her.

“I
still don’t get why you’re asking me all these questions.”

Wilder
finished his scotch and placed the glass on the table at his elbow. “I just
like talking to you.” He pushed himself to his feet and left the room, walking
up the stairs to the room Lulu kept for him when he was too tired to head back to
his own home.

Noah
opened the door to the panic room. Lulu sat on the bed talking on her phone. He
frowned at her, but she ignored him.

“Thank
you, Bethany,” Lulu said. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine and I
appreciate you calling.” She disconnected, and set the phone down, and folded
her hands calmly on her lap. “Who knew Bethany reads Aiden’s tweets? I wish he didn’t
let the whole world what’s happening in my life.”

“I’ll
have a talk with him about it…again.” Twitter was an amazing thing, but too
much information was too much information.

Lulu
lay back on the bed curling up on her side, her eyes closed, face tight with
worry. He sat down next to her.

She
opened her eyes and looked at him. “How’s Ian?”

“He’s
fine. You don’t need to worry about him. He’ll spend the rest of the night in
the hospital and be free in the morning.”

“He
was shot because of me.”

“He
kept you safe. That’s his job.” Noah gently touched her hair. She looked so
vulnerable, not at all like the self-assured woman he’d come to know.

She
took his hand and brought it to her mouth. Gently she kissed the palm of his
hand. “I need you.”