Free Protecting Lulu (Global Protection Agency) by J. M. Jeffries

desk.
    Wilder
forced his throat to relax. He tried hard to not let the other children see him
hurt, but the childhood cruelty still existed in his head. By the time he was
ten he’d started to stutter less and one therapist discovered that he loved to
sing. From that moment the therapist handed Wilder his first guitar, the
stuttering stopped for the most part. Now it only showed up when he was under
severe stress, and seeing his sister’s photo on the cover of a magazine with a
target surrounding her definitely fell under the heading of severe stress.
    “Sweetie,”
Lulu said, “you are Wilder Bennington. One of the richest men in the world. Trust
me, no one judges you and if they do, you can fire them.”
    Wilder
wanted laugh.
    “God
knows you own everything,” Lulu said. “You are gorgeous, charming, occasionally
when you want something, you’re impeccably groomed, you have elegant manners,
and are considered one of the world most eligible bachelors ...’” her voice
trailed off softly as she listed all the strengths she saw in him.
    This
was his sister’s way of helping him ground himself, distract his mind and keep
the moment light. He took a deep breath and forced his body to relax. He closed
his mind to meditate and when he took a second to breathe, he said, “Thank you,
Lulu.”
    She
patted his hand. “You’re welcome, sweetie.” She picked up the magazine twisting
and turning it as she gazed at the cover. “Do you think I should wear more pink
lipstick?”
    He
grinned. “You can’t fool me, Lulu Bennington.”
    Her
eyebrows rose. “Really?”
    “You
keep making your little jokes and thinking everything is okay, let people think
you can’t be bothered by—”
    “I
don’t like being scared.” Her voice trembled.
    “Then
I need you to follow every instruction Noah Callahan gives you to do.” He put
an arm around her and pulled her head to his shoulder. In his office she could
drop her little happy face and be frightened.
    “I
promise I will do everything Mr. Callahan wants me to do.”
    “Good,”
he replied, “I don’t like being scared either.”
    She
broke away and studied at the cover. “Why did someone send this to you? All the
previous threats have been directed to me.”
    “I
can’t pretend to know how a stalker acts, that’s why I hired Callahan. If I
did, I would take care of this myself.”
    “Oh,
sweetie, you’re too pretty for prison.”
    He
chuckled as he rubbed his forehead. A headache was beginning to throb. “What
would I do without you?”
    “Half
the time you don’t know what to do with me,” she replied, turning toward the
door, but stopped with her hand on the knob. “Start playing Magical Mystery
Tour in your head, take a deep breath, count to ten, and everything will be
fine. Remember to take the time to think before you speak.”
    She
twisted the knob, opened the door, and stepped aside for Noah Callahan and
Harrison Bain to enter with a strange man following them.
    Wilder
handed the magazine to Harrison who dropped it into a brown paper bag. “I’ll
get that sent to the lab immediately.” He opened his briefcase and dropped the
paper bag inside.
    “Mr.
Bennington,” Noah said, “Let me introduce Mark Desha. Mark is our bloodhound. If
someone has hacked your security, he’ll find out who they are. He’s going to be
going through your security files. That envelope was delivered directly to your
assistant and left on her desk which means someone used a key card to gain
access to this floor.”
    Lulu
glanced at Mark. “My, aren’t you interesting.”
    Mark
Desha had the strong featured face of a Native American but with the added
bonus, if it could be called a bonus, of tattoos, piercings and a fierce look
that made Wilder want to hide. He gestured for everyone to sit down. Both
Harrison Bain and Mark Desha perched their iPads on the coffee table and opened
them.
    “The
magazine being sent to you changes things,” Noah said.
    “In
what way?”