Protecting Lulu (Global Protection Agency) (19 page)

“E.J.
has always looked like a girl, you just think of her as your little sister and
little sisters aren’t supposed to be all pretty and soft.”

Noah
closed his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about this.” Lulu was running him
ragged. How come he hadn’t followed his first thought to just turn the job
down? He could have saved himself a ton of grief. Instead, he asked Harrison,
“What’s on your mind?”

“I
thought we’d go over some of the suspects we’ve been investigating.”

Noah
waited patiently while Harrison shuffled through some papers in front of him.

“Gideon
found Fiore in D. C. for a banking summit so he was able to talk to him. The
man offered the resources of his rather vast group of friends to hunt this
bastard down. And I use the terms ‘friends’ loosely,” Harrison said as he
perused the piece of paper in front of him.

“You
are joking?”

“Oh
no, he’s ready to come here and help personally.”

Noah
rubbed his tired eyes. “Tell me Gideon told him to kiss his ass.”

“He
declined the offer.”

Thank
God for small favors. “What’s next?”

“I’ve
talked to at least ten of the men Lulu has dated over the last few years with
the exception of Jake O’Malley. He’s been out of town and only popped back in
briefly for the premiere and then left again. Everyone has been incredibly nice
about her. A couple of the men told me that Lulu even introduced them to their
current girlfriend or wife. They all admire her, I damn well thought my teeth would
fall out from all the sweetness. I don’t even get a read on anyone who dislikes
her.”

Noah
rubbed his temples. “I find it really hard to believe that she has no enemies. We
know she has at least one enemy or she wouldn’t be in this predicament.”

“Then
we’re looking for a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

“We
keep digging. Someone out there hates Lulu.”

“Lulu
runs her business ethically. She gives generously to a number of charities. She
treats her fans with a level of kindness other celebrities can’t be bothered
with.”

“Lulu
is a paragon,” Noah replied sarcastically, yet he felt there was a darkness to
Lulu that she kept strictly under lock and key.

“Has
she said anything about her parents’ death?” Harrison asked.

“Not
much. It’s still painful.” That subject seemed to be off limits.

“I
had Roman contact the original investigator in France who handled the case. The
inspector is retired, but he’s never given up. Inspector Leroux says it’s the
biggest stone cold case in French history. There was no DNA evidence left at
the scene. The shooters policed their brass. No motive was ever found. Wilder
and Lulu’s survival was a miracle.”

“A
miracle or dumb luck,” Noah stated. Lulu had been ten and Wilder around
fifteen. They must have been terrified, yet Lulu had acted courageously in
saving her brother.

“I
also spoke to a reporter who was in France at the time. She told me Carter
Bennington and his wife, Gabrielle, were great parents and considered the ‘it’
couple of their generation. Gabrielle came from money, but she modeled and made
her own respectable fortune.”

“What
did you find out about her family?” Noah asked.

“Titled,
wealthy vintners. Have a very well-run winery in Bordeaux and a shipping
business. Gabrielle’s parents are dead. Her younger brother runs the winery. The
older brother inherited the title and runs the shipping business. The uncles
are married, only the oldest one has children. From what I can find out about
them, they all lead boring, ordinary lives and love Lulu and Wilder but aren’t
particularly close. Roman is digging deeper into their backgrounds, but there
doesn’t appear to be any big scandal there either. Interesting thing is Gabrielle’s
parents sided with Julia as Wilder and Lulu’s caretaker.”

“Sounds
like a dead end,” Noah said. “Who would benefit from Lulu’s death?”

“Most
of the money goes to her brother if she dies unmarried and without children. There
are some people who get money on her personal staff, Aiden and woman named
Isabel Montgomery get ten million and a number of charities get the rest. Isabel
is an old school friend. I checked on Aiden, and according to the Geek he
didn’t start out as Aiden Montez, but as Hector Juan Benivides. Raised in
Norco, California, the fifth of seven children. The Father runs a horse ranch and
Mother cleans houses part time. The Geek says they weren’t into Aiden’s
lifestyle and pushed him out of the proverbial nest as soon as they decently
could.”

“I
think we should talk to Aiden,” Noah said.

“Want
to let Mark handle it? He and Aiden have hit it off and are dancing around each
other trying to figure out what their next step is.”

“What?”
Was everybody on the team falling off the professional wagon? Falling in love
should be the last things on their minds. And on his mind, too.

“You’re
not the only one mixing business with pleasure.”

Noah
wasn’t sure, but he thought Harrison snickered. “I’m not trying to date Lulu
Bennington.”

Harrison
grinned. “Really? You could have fooled me. Though I’m surprised. She doesn’t
seem like your type.”

Noah
glared at his friend. “My type?”

 “Generally
you go in for blonde marathon runners, who don’t do commitment. I didn’t think
you went in for the juicy booty girl.”

What
language was he speaking? “What the hell is a juicy booty girl and how the hell
do you know that?”

Harrison
laughed. “Juicy booty? You know. Big girl.”

“Are
you making fun of Lulu?”

“Since
I have my own big girl, no. My wife would kick my ass if I did. I don’t fear
much, but I do fear the wrath of Debra.”

Noah
thought about that. “Now that you mention it, so do I.” He settled back in his
chair trying to study the reports Harrison handed to him. His mind refused to
leave the idea of Lulu alone. She was as close as the United States came to
royalty and he’d come from nothing. The fact that she even looked at him
thrilled him.

That
she was so different from any woman he’d ever dated made him a little
uncomfortable. Lulu was uncharted territory. He’d spent a majority of his
career in dangerous territory, but Lulu was something different.

He
liked talking to her and being around her. He loved the way her mind worked, even
if she did expect him to cater to her every whim, which he refused to do.

He’d
liked his sisters a lot and he felt regret that they had all been separated
after his parents murder. The guilt almost killed him because he hadn’t
searched for them when he’d had the chance. He wondered what they were like. What
kind of women had they become?

He
tried to go back to reading the reports in front him, but his mind skittered
away. He’d never been so unfocused on a job before. He wasn’t bringing his high
level of professional ethics to the table. Lulu wreaked havoc with his senses
and he felt he wasn’t doing his job because she was messing with his head. He
glanced up at Harrison to find the other man watching him.

“You
want to talk about it?” Harrison asked.

“I’ve
said all I’m going to say.”

“Then
I’m going to say some stuff,” Harrison said looking proud of himself. “Other
than a brief lip-lock with Lulu, have you ever been unprofessional with her?”

“This
is my point exactly,” Noah said pointing a finger at Harrison. “All of us
thinking of her as Lulu and not as the client. We’ve never called a client by their
first name before, but you use ‘Lulu’ all the time.”

Harrison’s
eyebrows rose. “Lulu expects—”

“Exactly.
Lulu expects us all to like her. We’re not here to like her. We’re here to keep
her from ending up dead. Instead, E.J. runs around looking like a girl now. Dante
went with her to get a ‘mani-pedi’. What the hell is a mani-pedi? Roman and
Lulu have these long, intense conversations in French and no one knows what
they’re talking about. They laugh and giggle like best friends. When has Roman
ever treated a client like a friend before? Maybe the reason nothing has
happened to Lulu is because we’re damn lucky. We’re no closer today to finding
out who her stalker is than we were ten seconds after accepting this job.”

That
was a lot to get off his chest. Clients weren’t supposed to be friends, they
were jobs. He had the feeling that no matter when this job ended, Lulu would
continue be a part of their lives. There would be no getting rid of her and
returning to the high level of professionalism Noah expected of himself and his
crew.

Harrison
took a gulp of water. “She’s really gotten under your skin, hasn’t she?”

“She
has not gotten under my skin,” Noah half shouted.

“Then
why are you protesting so much?”

Noah
ran a hand over his face. Why was he? Lulu was like the Pied Piper. She tooted
her flute and everyone fell over themselves to please her. “There’s no future
for Lulu and me.”

Harrison’s
eyebrows rose. “That’s a pretty big assumption to make.” He glanced down at his
laptop. “When are you going to stop paying for your father’s sins?”

“I
didn’t know that I was.”

“Lulu
reminds you of your sisters, doesn’t she?”

Noah
placed the report he’d been holding down on the table. He watched Harrison carefully.
One of the problems with having Harrison as a best friend was that, as a best
friend he could say things that Noah never wanted to hear. He didn’t quite know
what to say.

“Do
you think if she knew about the man who fathered me, she’d want anything to do
with me? I’m the son of a murderer.”

“Your
past made you who were. Your step-dad made you who are. The fact that your real
dad was an evil, murdering son of a bitch is always going to be apart of who
you are. You could have turned out just like him, but you didn’t. You took a
different road. You’re a good man, Noah.”

“I’m
a killer.”

“But
you’re not a murderer.”

“There’s
a difference?”

“The
job you did in Iraq was done under orders. If you didn’t kill them, they would
have killed you. Or they would have killed someone on your team, or they would
have killed innocents. You never took anyone’s life out of anger, only
necessity. There’s no telling where this relationship with you and Lulu could
go. Enjoy it. She’s a beautiful woman. She’s a lot of fun and seems to like
you. And you like her. Why fight her? Why fight yourself?”

“Romantic
advice coming from a man who’s only been with one woman his entire life?”

“I
found Debra when I was fourteen and I was done. I’m efficient like that. If
anything is interfering with the job, we will let you know.”

“Smack
me over the head if I need it.”

“With
pleasure,” Harrison said with a grin.

Aiden
sat in the conference room, legs crossed, hoping he looked innocent. He didn’t
know why Noah and Harrison wanted to talk to him, but he felt a momentary chill
as he tried to keep his emotions under control. He knew they’d been interviewing
everyone who came in close contact with Lulu and it was only a matter of time
before they got to him.

He
watched Noah read a piece of paper. He tried to figure out why Lulu was
attracted to this man. She was falling hard for this one and Aiden wanted to
know why. This man would never fit in Lulu’s world. He couldn’t imagine Noah
having cocktails with Lady Gaga or dinner with the President. He started to
giggle.

Harrison
looked at him, eyebrows raised. Aiden took a deep breath pulling the giggles
back under control trying to assume a bland face. “I don’t know where Lulu
keeps the rubber hoses.”

Harrison
grinned back, but Noah looked annoyed. Didn’t that guy ever lighten up? A
person would think that being in Lulu’s company would prepare him for anything.

“We
just have a few questions.” Harrison studied him. “Why did you change your
name?”

That
wasn’t the question Aiden expected. Should he be honest, or snarky? “Do I look
like a Hector Benevides?” Snarky, he decided.

“You
don’t exactly look like an Aiden Montez.” Harrison replied. “Aiden Montez
sounds so…so...”

“Not
from Norco, California. Did you know Norco is Horse Town USA? Do I look like a
horse person?” In fact, he was a bit intimidated by horses when all his
siblings were horse mad, something his parents had never understood. They’d
been unhappy because he’d wanted to go to go the theater when they wanted him
to shovel horseshit. Then he’d turned out to be gay. They’d never forgiven him
for that last revelation.

“No,”
Harrison said. “Why did you change your name?”

Aiden
thought about how to answer the question. “I don’t like to tell this story, but
I understand you need to know. I left because my family disowned me. I wasn’t
the son they wanted and I didn’t want to stay on the ranch. I didn’t like
getting dirty. Not only was I not going to contribute to their financial
future, but I wasn’t going to contribute to the gene pool.”