Page 23 of Under Arthur’s Protection

Almost? No, it did sound logical. The sword’s travel case would pass for a musical instrument to anyone not X-raying it. Maybe a saxophone. But if it were X-rayed, there would be questions. Swords weren’t allowed on commercial flights, but this one was so corroded I’d have to swing it like a mace to hurt someone.

Arthur continued, as though he were making a pitch. “My family has a cottage in Cornwall, and we can use it as a base.”

“And I’ll be there,” Lance said. “Not just Arthur.”

Great. Me, my ex-boyfriend, and Sex-on-a-Stick Penn. All of us in a little cottage in the English countryside. How was this my reality?

Sam tucked her phone into a pocket. “Do you want to take the sword with you?”

I hadn’t even considered not taking it. “Cross-checking what I find in Cornwall would be significantly easier if I had it with me.”

She nodded. “I have legal custody of all items from the auction, so if you’re taking the sword, you’ll need FBI approval. I’ll talk to my contact about a quick security audit, but I expect they’ll decline. On the other hand, if I can tell them the sword’s traveling with a vetted security detail, they’ll most likely accept.”

I pulled one of the printouts closer to me. This was a real lead, and if I agreed to their plan, it would mean I could focus on my research rather than logistics. I wouldn’t have to book my own travel, my own hotel, or a vehicle. No maps. No possibility of getting lost on a back road.

And if the FBI required the sword to travel with bodyguards, that meant I had to travel with bodyguards. “Fine. But I’m going for the research. I’ll take the protection. But the work comes first.”

“Understood.” Arthur took his phone out. “When do you want to leave?”

“As soon as the FBI clears it?”

With a nod to Sam, Arthur began dialing and left.

“Shoot me a text when you’re ready.” Lance let out a long sigh and stood. “But we’ll probably be at the Lansing airport within the hour.”

An hour? I looked at Sam, as though she could explain what had just happened.

“Let’s get your things packed,” said Sam. “I’ll call my contact on the drive over to the condo.”

To Lance, I said, “I guess I’ll see you at the airport in an hour.”

Chapter 8

Arthur

“And you never leave our sight.” My protocol briefing was the same whether the client was a Fortune 500 CEO or a reality TV star who thought rules were suggestions. Don’t go anywhere alone. If I say move, you move. If I say stop, you stop. I need to know your schedule, your plans, and your intentions before you act on them. You don’t leave a building without telling my partner or me first.

Simple. Clear. Non-negotiable. I’d delivered it to a pop star who kept climbing out of bathroom windows to ditch her detail. I’d delivered it to a diplomat’s wife who liked to shop without a shadow. I’d delivered it to a tech mogul who informed me, on the first day, that he didn’t take orders from employees.

Most of my career had been with the SEALs or working alongside them for Pendragon. Executive protection wasn’t as exciting, but every man on my team had done it, and done it well.

Gwen was in the forward-facing chair across from me, notebook open on the small table between us, pen in hand. Lance was on the divan behind her, stretched out like he owned the jet. Outside the oval windows, lazy clouds drifted over the Atlantic, forty-two thousand feet below.

“What about inside buildings?” she asked.

“One of us will be with you or within immediate reach.”

“At the church while I’m working?”

“Yes, while you’re working.”

She frowned at me and made a note. “And if I want to follow a lead? If I see something at the church and want to look at it?”

“Then you tell me, and we go together.”

“And if you think it’s not secure?”

“Then we discuss it.”