Wanting to move the conversation on from Alastair, Scarlett gestured to the counter. “We just ordered. Tell me what you want, and I’ll add it to our order.”
“Thank you,” said Cass, turning toward the menu.
A few minutes later, she was seated across from Brayden and Scarlett. Scarlett placed her phone on the booth’s dock and activated her noise-canceling app. The sounds of the coffee shop faded around them as white noise streamed out of the booth’s speakers. The air hummed, barely noticeable but enough to reassure them the technology was indeed working.
Brayden stared at the phone curiously.
“These booths were designed with this technology in mind,” explained Scarlett. “No one will be able to overhear us.”
“That’s neat,” he said, looking impressed.
“Soleil has some things right,” said Cass with a nod.
Scarlett took a sip of her iced coffee before pulling a folder from her handbag. “Now that we have privacy, would you be open to signing a nondisclosure agreement before I get into the details of why I need a bodyguard? To explain the job, I’ll need to tell you sensitive information.” She took a piece of paper out of the folder and set it on the table in front of Cass, along with a pen she’d pilfered from her father’s desk that morning. He’d always had a pen to hand.
“Of course,” said Cass as she signed. “That’s no problem. I’m good with secrets.” She sounded genuine.
Can I trust her with the whole truth?Scarlett asked Nori.
“Yes,” replied her light.
Scarlett told Cass everything. She didn’t seem surprised at all and listened carefully, interjecting only with clarifying questions.
“Last night I checked my family’s bank accounts. There weren’t any direct payments to Dr. Turner, the man who helped my stepmother keep me and my grandmother in a medically induced coma. I could meet with him, but without anything linking him to Laylani, it’s a dead end. And it would definitely show our hand.” Scarlett sighed.
“I can certainly see why you need protection and whyyouwere eager to come back to Soleil with her,” Cass said, looking at Brayden.
“Right. I’m living with her currently, but I’ll have to go back to Clair de Lune soon,” he said. “Especially given the Evory situation. I want round-the-clock protection in place for Scarlett before I get called back.”
“Makes sense,” said Cass.
“And what about you?” asked Scarlett. “What happened after the police raid? Have you been permanently shut down, or would you need time off to work the boxing matches?”
“We decided to shut down for the summer, so no, I won’t need nights off right now,” said Cass.
“Can I ask why?” asked Brayden.
Cass’s lips pressed into a thin line. “We can’t trust the cops we were bribing. We’d never been raided before because of the small fortune we were paying the police. They swear the raid was a one-off mistake, but I’m not willing to risk opening until we have further assurance it won’t happen again.”
Scarlett shifted in her seat. “Does that mean the police have lost all their bribery revenue from the black market?”
Cass shook her head. “No. There’s far more than the boxingmatches happening. They’ll still be taking in heaps of bribes for all the magic that’s bought and sold in the rest of the black market.”
Then that motivator for the cover-up of her dad’s death was still in play.
“It’s possible we’ll open the border by the end of the year, and then perhaps legal magical boxing matches won’t be off the table.” She had such a good feeling about Cass and was already praying she’d accept the offer Scarlett knew she wanted to make.
“It would be nice to run a legit business.” Cass’s eyebrows rose. “Meanwhile, it would be my pleasure to guard you while you work on that legislation. You said round-the-clock—that means live-in. For how long?”
“Moving in would be ideal, but in the future, if things stabilize, you could easily move out again if you’d prefer. My dad’s security team lived with us on and off,” said Scarlett.
“I’m open to moving in, and we can reassess at any point if that’s not working for either party,” said Cass. “I have one request.”
“Yes?”
“I’m married. He’s why I’m still in Soleil, and we’re a package deal. My husband, Tyler, works with surveillance technology, among other things. I’d highly recommend letting him review your home security and perhaps making improvements if he suggests any.”
Sounds ideal.
