Chapter 168
[ 462 words ]
Chapter 168:
Brenna let out a loud sigh of frustration. “What the hell are you doing in Georgetown on your day off?”
Caroline laughed. “You are such a health freak. Fine. Since you’re already in Georgetown, let’s just meet on M Street. We can grab coffee at that French place on the corner before the movie.”
“Perfect,” Caroline exhaled, the crushing weight lifting off her chest. “I’ll see you there in thirty minutes.”
She hung up the phone and tossed it onto the table. A cold sweat had broken out across her lower back. Lying to her best friend made her feel physically sick. But Jarrod’s world was a lethal warzone; she could never let Brenna get caught in the crossfire.
Caroline sprinted down the hallway into the massive walk-in closet. She needed to find something normal to wear.
She started pulling hangers aside, and a wave of absolute despair washed over her.
Jarrod’s team had stocked the closet. There were no cheap cotton T-shirts. Everything was “stealth wealth.” There were no visible logos, but the fabrics and tailoring screamed astronomical wealth.
She frantically grabbed the most basic-looking items she could find: a plain beige cashmere sweater and a pair of straight-leg denim jeans. The sweater was Brunello Cucinelli, probably worth three months of her nursing salary, but it looked boring enough to pass.
She pulled the clothes on, grabbed her purse, and marched to the front door.
She yanked it open. K. C. Bell immediately stepped forward from the hallway, ready to follow.
Caroline stopped and glared at him, her eyes flashing with absolute authority.
S𝘁o𝗋ieѕ 𝘺𝗼𝘂 𝘸o𝘯’𝘁 𝗉u𝘵 𝖽𝘰𝗐𝘯 o𝘯 gаlnov𝘦l𝘀.c𝘰𝗆
“Listen to me,” Caroline ordered sharply. “You follow from a distance, and don’t let me or my friend see you. Use whatever professional, stealthy methods you guys have so we don’t spot you. If my friend sees a giant man in tactical gear following me, you are fired. Understood?”
Bell nodded sharply. “Understood, ma’am. We will maintain a ghost perimeter.”
Caroline walked past him, took the elevator down to the underground garage, and completely ignored the fleet of black armored SUVs. She pulled out her phone, her thumb hovering over the rideshare app. It was a test. She watched Bell out of the corner of her eye, waiting to see how he would react.
As expected, he immediately stepped in front of her. He pressed a button on his remote, and an unremarkable gray Honda sedan flashed its lights in the corner of the garage.
“This is a non-tactical vehicle from our fleet, ma’am,” Bell reported smoothly. “The driver is our security personnel, and the car has been fully inspected.”
Caroline let out a tight breath, realizing arguing was pointless, and climbed into the backseat of the sedan, staring out the window at the D.C. traffic, bracing herself for an exhausting day of maintaining her fragile lies.
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