The Chauffeur Page 23

  “Now, before we get any deeper into this subject, April, I have a document here that I need you to sign.” I watch as he slides it across the table to me. I’m totally flummoxed as I reach for the papers and begin to read.

  “Confidentiality Agreement?”

  “Yes. I am about to divulge some classified information to you for your safety. However, I need to make sure what is said here stays here,” he answers.

  I look across the table. “What about Kyle?” I ask while reading the agreement. Everyone around the table bursts out laughing.

  “Trust me, Kyle is covered,” Carl says, chuckling.

  “You are too cute, April,” Grace says, reaching for my hand.

  “Take a few minutes and read the document. Here’s a pen to sign both copies.” He passes me the pen and gets up to pour from a bottle of wine that’s next to Nicole.

  “Do you have any questions, baby?” Jason asks as I read.

  “Only that I don’t know why I have to sign this to begin with. You guys are scaring me,” I reply, almost shaking.

  “This document is nothing but a legal process to ensure that anything Carl tells you here tonight stays in this room. In repeating it, you could endanger all the Rowes and, that, too, will be explained after you sign. It’s painless and harmless,” Jason explains. Since I trust him with my life, I sign and date both documents, sliding them, along with the pen, back across the table toward Carl. Jason smiles at me and pours another bit of wine into my glass. Carl, in turn, signs both documents, handing one to me.

  “As you all know,” Carl begins immediately, pacing the room, stopping to kiss his wife, and begins again. “April has had threats made against her. One of which was made against her life. Jason came to me, asking me to intervene, which, of course, I did gladly. I found that the reason behind Kate’s wrath is that the Somalian cartels had entrusted a large sum of money to her to purchase the building that Jason was unfortunate enough to buy out from under her.” Carl stops to take a drink of water, then a sip of wine. We all take the same break, and I glance over at Jason as he holds my hand, running his thumb over the back of it.

  “Instead of buying the building with the funds as she was instructed to do, she used a portion of the money that was deposited into her off-shore account to invest in her own venture. She had hoped to purchase the Romeoville plant at a lesser price and tried to outsmart the cartel. When Jason outbid her, all hell broke loose. She now has the cartel after her for the full amount of the money they transferred into her Swiss account, plus interest. She’s now millions of dollars in debt to some of the cruelest of men. Rumor has it that she was able to secure a loan to pacify them temporarily, but she still owes a significant amount, which explains why she’s livid with Jason. She has devised several devious plots to ruin him, with threats to take down this family.”

  No one so much as twitches. Am I the only one shocked at this bit of news?

  “Kathryn has assured Jason that she is not behind the threats upon April, but I no longer believe her.”

  We listen as Carl explains the deeper details of Kate’s scheme.

  “Nicole, your task is to find Carolyn L. Good,” Nicole immediately turns on the recorder to her cell and sits back to listen intently. “She’s listed as the resident agent of S.O.S. Corporation. I performed a cursory search and came up empty handed. The sooner you can get that to me the better, okay, sweetheart?”

  “Yes, Daddy,” she replies sweetly.

  “Grace, darling, it looks like another trip for us. I’ll fill you in later.”

  “I’ll go anywhere with you; you know that,” she says, beaming up at him as though he walks on water.

  “Kyle, I need you to get me all of Kate’s travel history, as well as her mother’s. I want to know where they went, who they met and when they came back. You know the drill.”

  As I watch all of this unfold, my mouth drops open.

  “Jason, you’re not involved in this one. Your job is to protect April at all times and all costs.”

  “That goes without saying,” he says, squeezing my hand.

  “April, your job is to listen to Jason. You don’t know what’s at play here, and one bad move on your part could endanger all of us. Trust me, I will be very, very unhappy if you don’t follow my instructions and my family is put in jeopardy.”

  “Carl, let’s not scare the poor girl,” Grace says, placing her hand on his forearm.

  “You’re right, Carl,” I say, looking around at the faces in the room. “I don’t know what’s involved here. No one seems to want to share that tidbit of information with me. I’m happy to know what’s going on with Kate, but this family discussion sounds covert. Truthfully, I’m getting a little pissed that, again, I’m being kept out of the loop yet my involvement seems to be key, and a lot is expected of me.”

  “Well, Jason, it sounds like you have yourself a feisty one. Just like my Grace. You’re a lucky man.”

  “Carl, please! Stop treating me as if I’m a child. I’m infuriated that I’ve been brought into this mess just by existing. I deserve answers.” I stand up to look at him eye to eye.

  “I think this is the time you were mentioning to me the other day. She signed the agreement,” Jason says, sighing in exasperation.

  “Jason—”

  “Tell her, so she’s armed with information and so that she can help us help her. Please, Dad.”

  Carl paces the room, and I notice Kyle and Nicole glance at each other and then at Jason. Everyone is looking around at everyone but me.

  “Oh, for god’s sake, would someone just fill me in and quit the fucking drama?” I shout. The first snicker comes from Grace, then Kyle, and soon, they all join in. I’m not amused.

  “This is fucked up. You people are like a B rated spy movie. I tell you what,” I begin, smacking my hands on the tabletop as I rise to leave, “when you’re done laughing at my expense and feel I’m worthy of knowing what’s going on, you know where to find me.” I push myself away from the table and begin to walk out.

  “April, come back,” Carl shouts after me. “We weren’t laughing at you, we admire your spunk. Sit, and I’ll tell you.” Like a petulant child, I return to my seat and cross my arms while glaring at Carl.

  “First, don’t get angry with Jason. He did what I instructed him to do, even though it was against his wishes. You must understand that my wishes come first. I’m to blame, so you come to me, not him, if you’re angry, understood?” I nod in agreement, and then he clasps my wrist, fingering my bracelet,

  “See this bracelet right here?” I fight not to roll my eyes at him.

  Of course, I see the bracelet, Sherlock.

  “Grace has the matching earrings.” I look up and see Grace flaunting them. “Nicole has the matching necklace.” I look over and see a beautiful necklace around her neck. “And you complete the set with the bracelet,” he says, running his finger over the row of diamonds.

  “Each one of the ladies in this family is equipped with a GPS tracking device so that in the event something happens to any of you, we can quickly locate you.”

  I suddenly feel a little nauseous and begin to take the bracelet off; Jason stops me.

  “April, this is what Dad means by saying he expects you to do what he says so that no one gets hurt. That includes you, baby. It needs to stay on your wrist. Think about what I said to you the day I gave it to you. Those words were the truth, spoken from my heart.” I look up at him and recall how he said he wanted me to keep it on so that I would feel him close to me. I smile and nod, leaving it on.

  “Good, now that that’s taken care of, time for the heavy stuff.”

  Chapter 18

  ~Jason~

  “April,” Dad begins, looking around the room one last time for familial approval. “We’re affiliated with an elite agency that works more covertly than the CIA. The only agent I work in close collaboration with is my wife.” He strokes the back of Mom’s hair. “Grace and I met at Sector One when we were
agents-in-training and have been together ever since. We’ve trained our children in various aspects of the operation, and each has a role. Kyle and Nicole are involved in the research area of the operation. They’re my eyes and ears, so to speak. When we are on Sector business and need medical attention, Rita and Sully are there to help us. Garret’s specialty is getting us what we need when we need it. Jason uses his entrepreneurial skills to infiltrate targeted groups. Now that we’ve been given the authorization to proceed via Sector, he’ll be acting as an agent for MileHigh. There is so much more that I could tell you, but this is enough for now.”

  I see the look of concern that borderlines on fear when April whips her head around to look at me.

  “So MileHigh is one of your cases? If you’re involved in corporate stuff, why couldn’t you just hack into United’s computer and get your information back that way?”

  “MileHigh is my company and wasn’t a Sector case until late yesterday. Hacking is a sensitive business, April. One that is highly illegal and you do not want to get caught at it. Sector doesn’t want to get caught for obvious reasons. Besides, under the terms of the contract with United, all information was returned to me, and all data was removed from their company’s server.”

  “All this Sector stuff might explain that strange contraption in your Mercedes,” April says to my father.

  “You know about that?” Dad asks, surprised. She replies with a nod. “Yet you didn’t say anything about it?”

  “Why would I?” she answers, her brow furrowed in curiosity.

  “I’m impressed, April. You could have said anything about it to anyone, yet you kept it to yourself. Not even to Jason?” She shakes her head.

  “What did you think it was when you saw it?”

  “I don’t know. I know it’s custom and that you had it installed. But for what purpose, I haven’t a clue.”

  “That box is a mechanism that aids in tracking people, vehicles and organic properties at a much wider distance and range than the standard device,” he says, taking his seat at the table.

  “There’s a standard device?” My father chuckles along with the rest of us.

  “So, that’s why you drive yourself a lot of the time. When you do, you’re on Sector business?”

  “Yes,” my father answers, considering my very astute girl. I watch her with interest.

  “How do you feel about what we’ve told you here tonight? Do you have any questions?” My father asks. April looks up at me and holds my hand in both of hers.

  “I feel that you still have a lot to tell me, that’s for sure. This does explain why you’re all so cryptic. It makes me feel better knowing you have such resources available to reach the bottom of this. If all you ask is that I follow instructions, I will be happy to do so. It would kill me if one of you were placed in jeopardy because of my failure to follow directions.”

  “Well said, baby,” I whisper into her ear.

  “Okay, then, moving on,” my father says, changing the subject. “April, we have reason to believe that another attempt to harm you exists. Please, I can’t stress enough that you must stay close to Jason at all times. Because of this, as of right now, you’re on temporary leave. Your salary and benefits will continue; however, you will only be driving for Jason. If you need to do any personal errands, you take Garrett or Jason. But you do not go through those gates without one of us with you, all right?” She listens to my father, and I see tears begin to form in her eyes. I raise her fingers to my lips and kiss them affectionately.

  “Aww, baby, please don’t. It’s only for your protection until this is over. Trust me, it will be over soon.”

  “I know this can be claustrophobic,” my dad says, “but if you need to exercise, there’s the pool, and we have a full gym downstairs. You’re welcome to use it anytime you wish. You can remain at your apartment or here in our home if you’d like.”

  “Can’t I go stay with my parents? My father is a cop; I’d be safe,” she says, looking first at me and then my dad. She scoots to the edge of her seat, seemingly ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

  “This is what I mean by placing my family in danger, April. If you go out to visit your family and something happens to you, then what about my family? What about yours? What if you suddenly and mysteriously disappear? Everything we’ve achieved would be wasted. Do you understand? We need to keep you close, so they don’t harm you. They will try to get to us, through you. They would use you against Jason. We’re asking for you to be conscientious and take precautions, if just for a little while.”

  “I understand. This is scaring me, though,” she says, looking at me, her face pale.

  “I know, baby. We’re working on it as fast as we can without bringing the cartel down around us. These are ruthless and vicious people. We need you to cooperate, okay?”

  “Okay,” she says, shaking in her skin.

  Her reaction to my father’s explanation concerns me. His directness has frightened her. Subtlety is not one of Dad’s strong suits when he’s in Sector-mode.

  “I’m going to move into April’s place until this is all over,” I say, taking her by surprise.

  “I think that’s a good idea, Son,” Grace says, smiling at April. I can see that she’s relieved and even more so when mother suggests a job for her.

  “April, I have a task for you. I need to apply for a government grant that is coming available in February of next year. Would you be willing to get it started for me while Carl and I are gone?”

  “I would enjoy that very much,” she says, her eyes wide with excitement.

  “Perfect. You can ask Emily for anything you need to get the job done. Thank you.”

  “Thank you. It will keep me busy.”

  “Any more business?” Dad asks, looking around the table.

  “Yes,” I say, speaking up. “Kyle, Nicole, I was thinking about taking April up to the cabin for a long weekend getaway. Would you both be interested?”

  “When?” Kyle asks.

  “I thought we could leave on Thursday and come home on Sunday,” I answer, looking over at a smiling April.

  “We need to get our tasks done, but we could work on them from the cabin. I removed the computers, so make sure you bring your hardware with you.”

  “That sounds fantastic, Jase,” Nicole says.

  “I think that's a very good idea, too,” my dad says. “You kids need to get away from all this drama. I’ll call the Reynolds and ask them to get it ready for your arrival. That house hasn’t had any visitors in ages.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket and the next thing I know he has made arrangements for the cabin to be aired, cleaned and stocked for a long weekend.

  “I think it's an excellent idea, too, Jason,” April says. “I think getting away is exactly what we need.”

  After the travel plans are complete, I run upstairs to my room to pack a few things I’ll need while at April’s. I don’t see the need to haul clothes to her place when I can come home to shower and dress for the office. A new toothbrush, a few T-shirts and sleep pants for relaxing should be plenty for now.

  “Would you like a glass of wine?” she asks, once we get to her apartment.

  “Sounds great. I’m going to slip into something more comfortable,” I tease, taking my things to April’s room. “I’ll be back in a second.”

  While I change, I strategize ways to protect her. First and foremost, she doesn’t do anything or go anywhere alone. She’s going to be sick of me before it’s all over, but that woman is not leaving my sight until Kate is handled.

  When I walk through the living room, I find April sitting outside on the balcony with her feet propped up on the guardrail.

  “So,” I begin, taking the seat next to her. “What do you think?”

  “I’m shocked. No, shocked is not the appropriate verb. Stunned—staggered—disturbed, to name a few. Shocked that you have a secret life and shocked that Grace is an undercover agent masquerading behind charitable foundations an
d fashion.” I can see the humor in her eyes along with trepidation.

  “Whoa, wait a minute. My mother’s foundation is legitimate, and all of her charitable causes are near and dear to her,” I explain. “Not everything we do is clandestine, April.”

  She doesn’t say another word, so I break the deafening silence.

  “Are you frightened?” I reach for her hand.

  “Hell yes, I’m frightened! I’m fucking petrified! Knowing that the government is now involved and I’m in the center of it scares the shit out of me, Jason. Kathryn’s fucking with my life like I’m a piece of trash she can toss on the side of the road. Oh, wait, she’s already done that,” she says sarcastically.

  I recall my recent conversation with Kate, and how she seemed sincere about not being the one trying to harm April.

  “You know my dad is going to be livid for being kept out of the loop where his only child is concerned, don’t you? If anything happens to me, and he finds out that there’s more to this story than we’ve let on, all hell’s going to break loose. If you think you’re protective of me, wait until you meet my dad,” she says with a raised eyebrow.

  “April, if it gets to the point that he needs to know, my father will bring him in, but can you see why it’s important not to tell anyone? If Sector’s going to successfully take Kate down and possibly even take down the cartel itself, we need to do as we’re told. Your father will understand, considering he’s in law enforcement. I need to make sure that he knows I’ll protect you with my life. Knowing you were made safe will help, right?”

  “Yes, that might help,” she says, rolling her eyes at me rather sarcastically.

  I muster a small chuckle and say, “I hope so.”

  “Where do you suppose your mother and father are going on their mission?” I knew she’d ask me questions once we were alone.

  “I am never privy to that information. They protect us that way. We get our instructions from my father, do as we’re told and leave it at that. You should save your questions for him, and I promise you, I will keep you apprised of everything that involves you directly, all right?” I take a sip of my wine, looking at her over the rim of the glass.