Nanny for the SEALs by Cassie Cole

44

Heather

The plan materialized over the next few weeks.

The studio was on board with the whole scheme. Due to certain road closure permits, the first day of filming was in downtown Los Angeles, using some special effects to simulate the aftermath of a building collapse. These scenes didn’t include Amirah at all, so they could let me hang around on set posing as her without getting in the way of their film schedule.

But that meant we had a small window to flush Heimdall out and catch them. We had to make this one count.

Due to the nature of the demolitions, they were closing off a four-block radius around the set. Rogan and the dads liked this because it meant bystanders were even farther away than normal. The situation was controlled in a way that was conducive for catching Heimdall at whatever they intended.

Amirah was enthusiastic about any effort to catch the people threatening her. The Weiman Agency was also helpful since someone other than their client was being put in the metaphorical crosshairs.

Okay, the crosshairs might not be metaphorical. But I was trying not to think about that.

To sweeten the bait, Amirah’s agent put out a press release about her being on sight for filming even though she personally wasn’t in any scenes that day. They even announced that she would be giving out autographs to fans near the set.

“That autograph session is when we plan to catch Heimdall,” Rogan explained to me the night before everything would go down. The kids were all asleep, and the dads were having drinks in the man cave to settle their nerves. I abstained because my stomach had been in knots all week, and I didn’t trust it. “The autograph session was announced for two o’clock. At noon, two hours before that, the real Amirah will go out and give some unscheduled autographs. It will be quick—less than a minute. The attackers won’t be expecting it.”

“What’s the point of that?” I asked, confused. “Don’t we want to avoid putting her in danger?”

“She won’t be in danger, because the Heimdall guys will be making their move at two,” Brady explained. He seemed unhappy by all of this, but was still participating. “By sending her out there for a quick hello, it will show everyone that Amirah really is on set. There will be selfies and cameras and other up-close evidence. That way, when you walk back out for the autographs at two, Heimdall will be champing at the bit to do something. And they’ll know exactly what you look like.”

“Bait and switch,” Asher said. “We’ll put you in the same exact clothes, same sunglasses and hat. We want you to be recognizable around set once you take her place.”

In general, I wasn’t a nervous person. I threw myself into things fearlessly, whether it was a relationship, a new job, or a suite I was sneaking into at the Lakers game.

But this felt different. Men would be watching me tomorrow. Bad men. They wouldn’t exactly hurt me, but they intended to frighten me.

It kind of felt like preparing to bungee jump off a cliff. Sure, plenty of people had done it before, and it was exciting, but it was a hell of a lot more dangerous than not going bungee jumping.

I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed. Asher was waiting for me in the hallway.

“Are you certain you want to do this?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I’m the one who suggested it.”

He smiled softly. “There’s a tremendous difference between making a suggestion, and following through on it. Especially when danger is involved. If you want to back out, it’s not too late. Nobody will think less of you.”

That wasn’t true. It was absolutely too late to back out. Plans had been made; Amirah and her agent and the film studio had been involved. If we backed out now, it would look terrible for HLS Security.

“I’m positive,” I replied. “I just want to help end this threat so we can all go back to normal.”

Asher gave me a long hug, and a soft kiss on the cheek. “Try to get some sleep.”

I crawled in bed and stared at the ceiling. I tried to walk through tomorrow’s events in my head, but I was having a tough time. My imagination kept interjecting, forcing me to picture the worst-case scenarios that might happen. I could be injured. Or maybe we wouldn’t flush Heimdall out after all, and the entire thing would be a waste. Interestingly enough, the latter scenario scared me more than the former.

I want to help them, I thought firmly. If we catch Heimdall, then Rogan, Brady, and Asher can relax and resume their normal jobs. We can all be happy together, without this looming over us.

Selfishly, I also knew that if HLS Security lost Amirah as a client and ruined their reputation, then they wouldn’t be able to give me the career boost they had promised. But that was only a small concern to me at the moment.

A knock came at the door, so soft I almost didn’t hear it. The doorknob turned silently and the door opened a crack.

“You awake?” Brady asked.

I sat up in bed and nodded. “Can’t sleep.”

“Me neither.” He slipped inside and closed the door behind him. “It’s important to get a good night sleep before these kinds of things, but I keep thinking about tomorrow.”

I slid sideways in bed so he could join me. “You are worried about tomorrow?”

He nodded. “Fucken right I am.”

“But you’re a former Navy SEAL,” I said. “You’ve probably been on a thousand missions.”

“Not that many. But a lot.” He stroked my hair over an ear. “There’s a difference between risking myself, and risking someone I care about.”

“Aw, shucks,” I said. “I’m an actor, Brady. I know what I’m doing.”

“Not worried about you,” he replied. “Worried about what might happen to you.”

I kissed him. “Then you’d better make sure I’m safe, huh?”

“Oh, I intend to.” He kissed me back, longer this time while sliding under the covers with me.

“I thought you said it was important to get a good night’s sleep,” I murmured into his lips.

“I intend to. Right after I help distract you from your worries.”

He laid me down on the bed with his kisses, a hand sliding into the waistband of my pajamas. His touches were soft and caring as he undressed me, massaged me between the legs, and then removed his own clothes.

We sighed together as he sank into me, fulfilling the ache I had felt for him. His lips never left mine, a never-ending kiss of tenderness and love. Brady barely moved inside of me, the tiniest little pushes back and forth while we made out. I surged upward with need, pressing myself against Brady’s chiseled body, savoring the warmth that moved from him to me.

While I was in his arms, I felt safe. I felt like nothing could hurt me.

But, like many thoughts that happened in the throes of lovemaking, I was wrong.