Zach glared at him, eyes narrowed. “What?”
“Nothing.” Nick’s tone was innocent. Too innocent. Dripping with amusement.
Zach turned back to the monitors. He pulled up another feed—this one showing the staff parking area. Empty except for a few scattered construction vehicles. There wasn’t anything else on the island other than golf carts.
“She doesn’t understand the risk,” Zach growled. “She thinks this is a prank. A disgruntled applicant or someone trying to scare her.”
“Could be.”
“It’s not.”
“You sound sure.”
“I am.” Zach gestured at the screen. “This was planned. Timed. Executed perfectly. That’s not a goddamned prank.”
Nick didn’t argue, but watched Zach with that calm, assessing look he got when he was reading a situation. “You seem deeply invested in Emma’s safety,” no longer amused, but thoughtful.
Zach ignored him.
Nick pushed off the desk and moved to the second monitor, studying the resort layout. “You usually delegate this type of threat assessment.”
“This is different.”
“How?”
Zach didn’t answer immediately. His eyes tracked across the screens, checking motion sensors, door logs, perimeter alerts. Everything was green. Everything was clear.
Except it wasn’t.
“She’s high profile,” Zach said. “Director-level, C-suite. Access to personnel files, hiring decisions, background checks. If she’s being targeted, it’s not random.”
That’s not the real reason. Zach ignored the inner voice. Shut it down before it could talk back more.
“So, assign Cole to shadow her. Or run it through Matt’s team.”
“I will.”
“But you’re handling it personally.” Amusement again.
Zach’s jaw tightened. “For now.”
Nick smiled. Actually smiled. “You like her.”
Zach tensed.
“You argue with her.” Nick’s smile widened. “You don’t argue with anyone else. You just make them do what you want.”
Zach turned in his chair, fixing Nick with a flat stare. “She’s refusing reasonable security protocols. That’s a problem.”
“Uh-huh. I believe you.”
“Then stop looking at me like that and fuck off.”
Nick raised both hands in mock surrender, but the amusement didn’t leave his face. He leaned back against the desk again, crossing his arms.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Nick’s expression shifted. The humor faded, replaced by something more intense. More thoughtful. “You’ve spent most of your life protecting other people.”
