Dane

Chris shifted under Dane's glare and snapped. "We sort-of had a blind spot. Not really."

​​

"What the hell kind of answer is 'sort-of'?" Dane asked, leaning forward. "Could you imagine if someone had been waiting for her. Or what if it was me?"

"You wouldn't have left a priority car without talking to the driver," Chris pointed out.

"I don't care—I wasn't the ride! Does he expect every person to be as aware as me?"

"Of course not, but—"

"So, we have a blind spot that hasn't been identified for the four years we've been in this building and we're just lucky it came on the radar now?"

"We knew about the blind spot. We just…never told the staff about it."

Dane sat back, mouth open in disbelief. "You knew about this?"

"Dane, it's a stairwell exit. Of course we knew about it."

"You never told me."

"Because you'd never use it—"

"So we're only running risk assessment on stuff we think we're probably going to use?"

"Of course not."

"Then why wasn't it part of our briefings? Why hadn't I been notified? Why would we allow new staff to use the service and not tell them about it?" Dane's rage was growing. Small of a detail as it was, this little hiccup had revealed a massive hole in their security that anyone could have been exploiting for years. Why would Chris look at him like it was no big deal? It was exactly these kinds of details that his father had taught him to recognize—to use.

Dane got to his feet and started pacing. Chris sighed, but didn't move.

"I want a full sweep of the building—I want to know what's behind every pipe and power socket from the basement to the helicopter pad."

"Dane, that isn't necessary—"

"If you give me one more reason to think you're working against me, Chris, I swear to God, I'll fire you and to hell with the consequences."

"Working against you? I'm telling you to fucking relax. It's under control. It's always been under control."

"Didn't seem to under control a few hours ago when we didn't know where Lila was. Did the stairwell come to mind then, Chris?"

"No, but—"

"No, so stop acting like we don't have a problem and fucking fix it!"

Chris sat with his arms on the table, popping his knuckles. Dane glared at him, and he glared right back. "Fine," he finally spat.

"Every inch of that building, Chris. I want to know how many mice are living in the pipes."

"I understand what a full sweep is, Dane," Chris seethed.

"Good. Then this time bring me everything. Not just the stuff you think is important. And tomorrow we're building a new plan for the cars and deliveries. The whole thing. There's too many things going wrong at the same time—until we have it all sorted out, everyone's on extra watch."

Chris swore. "The overtime, Dane-"

"I don't care. We're looking weak out there and we can't afford it. We have eyes on us, Chris, you know that, right?"

"Yes, I know."

"Good." Dane leaned over the table towards him. "Then also know my eyes are on you and the teams. If anyone gets hurt on your watch, you'll answer to me."

"Sure, boss," Chris muttered.

"And I want a tail on Lila. Twenty-four seven."

"What?" Chris stopped packing up his things and stared at Dane.

"You heard me."

"What the hell for? Because she slipped our car one time? You don't think that's a little bit of an overreaction?"

"If you want to see an overreaction, I'll show you an overreaction," Dane snarled, quivering with rage.

"You already are," Chris stood, hands clenched at his side.

Dane shook his head slowly, forcing himself to think. He needed Chris on his side. Couldn't have him complaining to other staff in case the wrong person was listening and started wondering why the boss had got so focused on one new staff member.

"She's out there dealing with the press. She's speaking for us publicly. At a time when we know we're under fire—on top of all the normal threats. She slipped our security today—"

"Because she left her phone at home then didn't even check it. Who does that?"

"Apparently our staff member does! Regardless, we need to make sure she's safe while she's working for us, and as long as she's in the public eye, I want a security detail on her. Just in case."

"But—"

"If you aren't careful, I'll do the same for you," Dane snapped.

Chris put his hands up and shook his head, but he went back to packing the table into his bag and gathering up his papers. Though he was clearly pissed. He shoved the last handful of papers into the bag and stood again. "I guess I'll see you and our entire staff tomorrow," he snapped.

"Yes, you will," Dane barked back.

Chris stalked past him, but stopped before he got the door. "You know, you're becoming more like your father every day," he shot at Dane over his shoulder.

Dane almost went for him, but Chris just smiled and kept walking, Dane following him to lock the door behind him, though it was unnecessary. The amount of security in this room alone… Dane leaned his head on the door, his hand still on the lock.

What was he doing? He had to calm down or someone was going to suspect. Really fast. He couldn't be so obviously emotional about Lila. But it was so hard…

His mind turned back to that moment, just those minutes ago when they'd been on the floor of her apartment together. She was in his lap, his hands at her waist. As he'd leaned her back and kissed and nipped his way down her neck, she arched her head back to give him better access. But even as he tasted her skin he could feel her hands at the bottom of his sweater, then on the skin at his waist, his sides, his ribs.

"Dane, please," she'd gasped.

He'd groaned with impact of the desire that shot through him in response. He'd knelt between her knees, then, intending to strip them both. She'd whimpered, but as he'd pulled off his sweater to give her more freedom to touch him, her eyes widened even as her pupils grew larger.

Swallowing hard, he'd thrown the shirt off to the side as she pushed herself up to sit, then raised a hand. Her fingers trembled as they started at his throat then trailed down, down, down, her eyes following their progress.

"My turn," she'd breathed.

Snapping out of the memory, Dane pushed away from the door, groaning through his teeth. He'd wanted her so badly it was a force of will not to rip the door open and go to her right then. But he knew he couldn't. He had to get a grip on himself and think clearly. If he didn't, he'd create danger for her.

And if anything happened to her… Dane stopped in his tracks.

If anything happened to her, it would be entirely his fault.