“A security manager? No one mentioned him.” She spun to look down the road at a tall, broad-shouldered man. His face was turned toward the fire, and he marched toward them, purpose in his step.
“Sorry, I figured Tobias told you he’d hired the guy.”
The owner hadn’t said a word to her. Now why was that? Did this new guy plan to fire Steele Guardians? “What’s his name?”
“Oh, man, sorry.” Ward rubbed his forehead with a sooty hand. “I don’t remember. An unusual name though.”
She changed her focus to the manager as he strode her way. Sure steps. Confident. Authoritative. Would he become a problem for her and their company account?
“What do you want me to do now?” Ward asked.
Ryleigh faced him. “We need to set up a perimeter and make sure anyone who arrives stays behind it until the property is deemed safe. That includes us and this manager.”
“But what if someone needs our help down there?”
She glanced at the devastation. Could anyone survive that blast and inferno? Doubtful. “They’d likely be calling out. With the possibility of another bomb, I can’t risk anyone else’s life. Emerson County Sheriff’s Office isn’t big enough to have a bomb squad, but hopefully, when they get here, they’ll have someone with explosive experience who can clear the area.”
Ward made a grumbling sound. “It’s hard to stand down. I’m sure you get it since you just left law enforcement too.”
He got that right. If only she were still an agent. This bombing could well be domestic terrorism, and the FBI would offer their services to the local sheriff. As an agent, she’d be in the thick of finding whoever committed this crime instead of standing on the fringes and watching her family’s company lose a much-needed account. Maybe lose their reputation.
That was if the ATF allowed the FBI to get involved when they usually had priority on bombings. The sheriff would have to notify them as soon as possible.
“I have to ask you both to move back for your safety,” the deep male voice came from behind, familiar to her as it had often filled her dreams.
She spun. Stared at the man who’d walked up the driveway. The man who’d walked out of her life a few years ago.
“Finn,” his name whispered out on the last breath she could manage.
She blinked. Blinked again.
“What are you doing here, Ryleigh?” he asked through a mask, sounding none too pleased.
She drew in a breath and let it out. Tried to draw in another one, her brain acting sluggish as if every bit of oxygen had burned in the fire. She knew why she was there. She just couldn’t find the words.
Ward looked at Finn then at her, his forehead creasing.
Ryleigh couldn’t think about her guard right now. She couldn’t think at all.
“Excuse me. I…I gotta make a call.” Ward bolted toward Eckles’s truck.
“As far as I know, no one has called in the FBI,” Finn said, ignoring Ward’s movements. “Means you can’t be here in an official capacity. So what gives?”
She took a step back and lifted her shoulders, a reply finally forming in her brain. “I came to check in with Tobias on how my guards were performing and happened upon the fire. Why are you here?” she asked. She knew the reason but needed to buy time to digest the fact that he was standing there. In front of her. All six-foot-two of him, solid as a rock.
He cocked his head, drawing her attention to his red hair that fit his Irish heritage on his mother’s side. “I’m the new head of security. Didn’t Tobias tell you?”
Best to stick to short replies before she said something she would regret. “No.”
“That’s odd. He said he was going to send an email to the Steele Guardians rep to introduce me. You sure you didn’t get it?”
Trust me. If I saw an email containing your name, I would remember.
“No email.” She needed to move on. “Took you long enough to get here.”
“Had to evacuate the office and depot, then checked the area to be sure a bomb hadn’t been planted there as well.”
Of course he’d done the right thing. And likely without hesitating—unlike her. SEALs were trained to assess and act. Not that she hadn’t been trained for emergencies too, but he had far more experience in facing life-threatening situations. She ought to know. She’d worried for his safety long after he’d bailed on her.
