Hacker Wedding (White Hat Security #9) - Linzi Baxter Page 0,2

wrapped his hand around Rochelle’s bicep. “I’ll make sure she gets off palace property immediately.”

Wes nodded. “Make sure to have her security disabled right away.”

“This isn’t over,” she growled as the guard escorted her out of the gym.

It wasn’t the first time I’d heard those words. Scarier men made those threats and didn’t live to carry them out. Patty and my daughter were my concern. My daughter would one day take over for Patty, and I wanted a country she would be proud to lead, not the mess we were still working on cleaning up.

“I do have to give her credit for tracking you down,” Wes said. “Maybe we should start closing off the gym for when you want to use it or have another gym built for you.”

“No, we are not closing this place down when I need it. Our background check on staff isn’t working,” I muttered.

Brock and his team were busy in the states. I’d used the staff put in place years before to run background checks, but it was time I looked deeper into what they were doing.

“It will take years to recheck everyone’s background,” Wes said.

I nodded and headed for the showers. When I came out, Wes was standing in the locker room, wearing a perfectly pressed suit. He sat down on the bench near my locker as I got ready. His jaw clenched. The entire time we worked out, I could tell there was something on his mind, but he wouldn’t have asked many questions at the gym. Too many people listened to everything I said.

Once I was ready, he followed me to the left of the building and into the secret passage that led back to my office. Only a few people were allowed to use the tunnels. Dim lights glowed in the narrow walkway. I could hear Wes’s steps behind me. I knew he wouldn’t leave me alone until he’d said his piece.

“Out with it, Wes,” I growled.

“Have you told her?” he asked. I couldn’t help but wince. “Her father doesn’t want her to know yet.”

“He doesn’t want her to know he’s back in the country or that he’s planning to shift power over to her?”

“Both,” I sighed.

“How about the news that you found five more of her siblings?”

“I’m not sure she needs the added stress!” I barked.

Wes was the only person who pushed me about the fact that I was lying to Patty. If Brock or Antonio knew what I was doing, they would do the same thing—tell me I was an idiot for keeping something from her. I planned to tell her. I just didn’t know when I was going to do it. Wes seemed to be pressing the sibling issue even harder than usual.

“Bullshit,” he said.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?” I hated myself for keeping the secrets. Lashing out at Wes didn’t make any of the shame go away. The longer I thought about it, the more it stressed me out. “I’ll tell her tomorrow.”

“Today would be better,” he said.

I opened the old oak door to the back of my office, the one place where I could escape from everything in the world. In my office, I could lock out the troubles. Except that Wes had followed me from the gym. There was no escaping the conversation we’d been having since Patty’s dad arrived in Shialia.

Luckily, the palace was so massive that William Beckett could stay in the guest quarters, and nobody would even realize he was there. He’d made me promise that I would wait a few more days before telling Patty about his plan and that he was back in the country. I needed my close friend Brock and his wife, Jessica—Patty’s twin sister—to come to Shialia early. Brock would help me wade through the family drama that would unfold over the next couple of weeks.

“Instead of worrying about what I’m not telling my fiancée, you could work with the local police to figure out how these women are disappearing.”

“Throwing the missing women’s case in my face isn’t going to take away from the fact that you’re keeping things from my...from Patty.”

“Fuck. I know you’re working with the police. It’s frustrating that every lead we get is blown. It’s also fucked-up that the royal guards aren’t allowed to interfere in police matters. The only thing the chief has to do is meet with us and explain what is going on. If they would work with us, we could find these women sooner. And I