Protecting Lulu (Global Protection Agency) (26 page)

She
took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye. “Thank you.”

Stunned,
he studied her. “Did you just say ‘thank you’?”

“Yes,
I did,” she said with a roguish tilt to her head. “I don’t have time for a ride
on the pity train.”

“That’s
my girl,” he said with a chuckle, preferring the gutsy, take-no-prisoners Lulu
to the vulnerable one of a moment ago.

She
slipped her arms around him and kissed him. His lips parted and a flash of heat
spiraled through him. He gripped her tightly pulling her closer, pressing
against her. All professionalism went out the door despite all the promises he
made to himself to keep his relationship with her cordial and non-committal. But
it was Lulu Bennington, after all. How could he say no to what she offered? No
one ever said no to her, which was why he pulled away and stood up to put
distance between them.

“Noah,”
she said with a flirtatious nod and a hint of a pout.

“This
isn’t a no-no,” he explained, “but a no-not-now thing.” Even as the words
formed he felt regret rise inside him. “Until your stalker is caught, I need to
completely focused on keeping you safe. I want you take your sweet little ass
up to the empty bedroom next to mine and get some rest.”

“I
think I’ll bunk with Aiden tonight instead.”

“You
sleep with your personal assistant?”

“We
have slumber parties all the time. His room has queen sized beds, I’ll be
perfectly safe with him. You’re just across the hall.” She stood and smoothed
her skirt. “Good night, Noah,” she said and kissed him lightly on the cheek. She
turned and left the living room.

Noah
stared after her for a moment. The room felt empty and all he could do was tell
himself that he was a fool. He should just take what she offered and stop
worrying about being professional.

The
living room door flung open and Aiden straightened from his slouch against the
wall. Lulu looked flushed and something else he couldn’t quite name. She
grabbed his hand and he grinned at her. “Slumber party,” he said.

She
nodded. “Slumber party,” she said and half dragged him down the hall.

As
he passed E.J., he grabbed her hand and pulled her along in his wake. E.J. looked
startled. Aiden grinned. “G-squared time,” he said and pulled her after Lulu.
“Girls and gays only.”

E.J.
laughed and followed behind him.

Lulu
pushed open the door to Aiden’s bedroom. “I’m going to get some pajamas. I’ll
be back in a minute. Don’t start the party without me.” She stalked down the
hall toward her bedroom.

Aiden
entered his bedroom, half smiling. E.J. followed and grinned at him. “Nice
bedroom.”

Aiden’s
bedroom was large and modern looking with upscale Italian designer furniture
and minimal color. Lulu had allowed him to decorate the room himself and he’d
chosen a sleek look that suited him in black and white with bits of greens and
blues throughout the room. His favorite piece was the floor to ceiling bookcase
he’d found at the New York City Public Library when they were selling off
unused bookcases. He’d refinished it and painted it stark white with black trim.

“I’ll
need pajamas,” E.J. said.

He
pulled open a door in the huge wardrobe against one wall and she stared into
the depths. E.J. opened the small refrigerator with a microwave resting on top.
“You keep a fridge in your wardrobe.”

“Doesn’t
everybody?”

She
pulled out a bottle of wine and read the label. She handed him the bottle. “My
favorite merlot. Unfortunately, I’m on duty so I’ll have a can of soda.”

“I
have popcorn, too,” Aiden said.

“Later.
If I’m going to be a part of this party, I want pajamas.”

Aiden
opened a drawer in the bottom of the wardrobe.

E.J.’s
eyebrows flew up. “Hello Kitty,” she said, “in red, green blue, brown, pink?”

“I
have Hello Kitty slippers, too,” he said opening another drawer to show
matching slippers. “Besides giving me my own room, Lulu has always been kind
enough to let me indulge in my Hello Kitty fetish without judging.”

E.J.
pulled out a top and bottom of a purple Hello Kitty set and headed for the
bathroom. “I’m not judging either. At least your taste doesn’t run to Bugs
Bunny or Road Runner. ”

“This
is camping, Aiden style,” he said with a chuckle.

E.J.
laughed. “You call this camping?”

“I’m
a glamper—glamour camper,” he replied. “When things are stressful out, I have
someplace to relax and Lulu and I can have a slumber party.”

“Do
you do this often?”

“The
last time we had one was when my apartment was broken into and my big screen
TV, my stereo system, and my Mac were stolen. I was a wreck.”

“Your
computer was stolen,” E. J. asked, her voice sharp.

“Along
with my cufflink collection,” he moaned. “Cartier, circa 1936, the panthers
with the emeralds. The worst was my Mac. My entire life was on that computer. Lulu’s
life was on that computer.” Just the memory made him want to cry.

“When
did this happen?” E.J. asked.

“About
seven weeks ago.”

“You
didn’t you tell Noah about this?”

“Why
should I? Stuff like that happens in the Bronx every ten minutes.”

“I
thought you lived in Chelsea.”

“I’ve
only been there for seven weeks. The day after the robbery, Lulu gave me an
apartment in one of her buildings.”

“We
need to tell Noah. He needs to get copies of the police reports, any crime scene
reports, and …”

“Do
we have to tell him right this minute? We’re having a slumber party.”

E.J.
closed the wardrobe, her Hello Kitty choices draped over her arm. Aiden
approved. He loved his jammies. The only place he allowed his playfulness to
come out was in the privacy of his bedroom.

“Aiden,
trust me, Noah needs to know.”

“Are
you saying Lulu’s stalker is my fault?” Aiden felt dizzy with remorse.

“No,”
E.J. said. “What I’m thinking is that the stalker got access to Lulu through
whatever files were on your computer.”

“But
I changed all the passwords.” What a pain that had been, he thought.

“How
far ahead do you keep her schedule?”

“I
already have dates for next year.”

“Times,
dates, places?” E.J. asked, her face intent.

“Yes.”

“Just
business, or business plus personal?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,
we need to tell Noah.”

“I
just didn’t think the break-in was important.” Aiden tried to push away the
panic threatening the engulf him.

“Have
you ever dealt with a stalker?”

“No.”

“We
need to tell Noah.” E.J. reached into her pocket as she headed toward the
bathroom. “Noah, I need you. Now.”

Noah
paced around the room looking tired. Aiden sat cross-legged on his bed, his
Hello Kitty pajamas clung to his thin body. Lulu sat curled up on the second
bed in her pink Hello Kitty pajamas. E.J. lounged in a black leather chair at
the foot of Lulu’s bed, looking like a drowned cat with the pant legs and
sleeves rolled up to accommodate her petite stature. Lulu and Aiden held a
glass of wine while E.J. dug into a huge bowl of popcorn. Instead of wine, a
can of soda sat on a TV tray at her elbow. They all watched him warily.

“I
cannot take any of you seriously when you’re wearing Hello Kitty pajamas,” he
said.

Lulu
just laughed. E.J. frowned at Lulu as though telling her not to make him angry.
Aiden simply sipped from his glass of wine and Noah wondered how he would
handle this situation tactfully because Aiden looked like he was going to break
down and cry.

“I
don’t want you to feel bad, Aiden,” Noah said. “When we investigated your
background that report didn’t surface.”

“I
filed one,” Aiden said in a quivering tone, “and with all the stuff going on, I
forgot to follow up.”

“I
have John Hathaway looking into it,” Noah replied.

“I
didn’t think it was important. Break-ins in the Bronx happen constantly.”

“It’s
okay,” Noah held up a hand. “I think we found a major key.”

“I
changed all my passwords,” Aiden said after taking a huge gulp of his wine.

“E.J.,”
Noah said, “when you were looking to rob someone, what did you do first?”

“Research,
research, research,” she said. “And you never go directly to your target, but
start with the people around them. They have tons of information they don’t
even realize they’re sharing.”

“I’m
sorry. I’m sorry,” Aiden cried.

Noah
hesitated, but finally patted Aiden on the shoulder. “It’s okay, we’ll handle
this.”

Aiden
leaped to his feet and hugged Noah tightly. Noah stiffened, then realized Aiden
would take that wrong and relaxed. He glanced at Lulu who mouthed ‘thank you’
at him and smiled as she sipped her wine. Even in Hello Kitty pajamas, she
looked delectable with her hair loose about her shoulders and the top two
buttons open to reveal a bit of cleavage.

Noah’s
phone rang and Aiden stepped back. Noah spoke into it, “John, what did you
find?” He listened to John’s explanation and then disconnected.

“What?”
Aiden asked with a panicked cry.

“You
can stop worrying about the police report. It was never filed.” Noah pushed
away the anger at the carelessness of the detective who’d taken the report and
didn’t bother to enter the info into the system. He felt a bit better himself. He’d
been worried that he’d screwed up and that was the kind of mistake that got a
client killed. “You can all go back to your party.” Noah turned toward the door.

“I’d
ask you to join us,” Aiden said, “but Hello Kitty doesn’t come in a big man’s
size.”

Noah
tried not to shudder. Lulu burst out laughing. When he turned to look at her,
he saw a reflective look in her eyes that sent heat spiraling through him. He wished
this case was over so he could pull her into his arms and kiss her until she
surrendered. E.J. watched him, her face telling him nothing.

“Thanks
for the invite,” Noah said, “but I’ll pass. Maybe some other time.” He stepped
out of the bedroom into the hall to find half his men leaning against the walls
watching the door.

“What’s
going on in there?” Gideon asked his eyes alight with curiosity.

“You
really don’t want to know.”

Dante
said, “But we do.”

“It’s
a slumber party and the only way you can get in is to own a pair of Hello Kitty
pajamas,” Noah replied wondering where he could find a pair in his size, though
the only time he’d wear it was if Lulu was in there alone. “Break it up, guys. Don’t
you have work to do?”

Dante
simply grinned as he sauntered off down the hallway.

“I’ll
guard the door,” Gideon said.

“Not
tonight,” Noah replied. “E.J. has everything in hand. Get some sleep, you’re up
tomorrow.”

Noah
opened the door to his bedroom and went inside to sit on the bed. The sight of
Lulu in her cute pink pajamas sent fire roaring through him. He didn’t think
there was enough cold water in the house to get him through the night.

With
Noah gone, Aiden felt he could breathe again. That man was so intimidating. He
filled a room and seemed to suck all the energy out of it.

E.J.
flung a leg over the arm of the chair she sat in. “When this assignment is
over, we’re having an official slumber party with cocktails I can drink.”

Aiden
took another sip of his wine. He studied Lulu. She leaned against the headboard
and looked relaxed, but her one foot twitched in agitation. This whole scenario
was wearing on her. She had more people in the house than normal and even
though she loved the spotlight, this home was her haven.

“What
do we do now?” Aiden asked E.J. but looked at Lulu. Lulu gazed back at him, her
face calm and relaxed.

Lulu
gave a dramatic sigh. “I’m tired of talking about being stalked. I don’t want
to talk about it anymore.”

“I
want to know all about you, Ginger.” Aiden leaned forward.

She
looked startled. “My story is boring.”

“You
have a story, sweetie.” Lulu shook her finger. “You’ve talked about your life
and said absolutely nothing.”

E.J.
simply laughed. “There’s really nothing to tell,”

“Right,”
Aiden said with a grin not believing one word of her statement. “Come on,
tantalize us with a tidbit.”