the voices and the violent impulses they inspired.
What would happen when those few hours were reduced to mere minutes?
The question haunted him long after he returned to the network.
Chapter Twenty-One
Emma stared, unseeing, at her computer screen.
She couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything today. She was supposed to be arranging new identities for five Immortal Guardians and facilitating their transfer, along with their Seconds, to new locations here in the States and overseas. But she’d gotten nothing done.
She blinked hard. Her eyes felt as if she had rubbed salt into them. Her shoulders slumped with weariness.
Cliff hadn’t come by last night.
It happened from time to time and almost always stemmed from a psychotic break.
But he’d seemed so much better two nights ago. They’d made dinner together. They’d danced. He’d smiled and laughed more than he had in months. And despite his concern that he’d been too rough when they’d made love, his touch had carried hints of the tenderness he felt for her. The tenderness the madness rarely let him show now.
Had something happened?
Had Aidan changed his mind about taking Cliff into the sun?
Cliff had been struggling more lately and—
Ding. A message popped up on her computer screen.
She frowned at it.
Good afternoon, Emma. Mr. Reordon would like to see you in his office. Please make your way here without disclosing the contents of this message to anyone you encounter.
Best,
Kate Buchanan
Executive Assistant to Mr. Reordon
What the hell? Was he pissed because she hadn’t finished fabricating the new identities and—?
Her eyes widened.
Oh shit. Had he found out she and Cliff were seeing each other?
Her heartbeat picked up.
The message vanished. Another appeared.
Be advised, Mr. Reordon does not like to be kept waiting.
Best,
Kate
Pushing back her chair, Emma rose.
The message vanished.
Limbs stiff, anxiety coursing through her, she left her office and headed for the elevator.
It opened at her approach. Three guards waited within.
“Ms. Williams?” one said.
“Yes.”
Nodding, he moved aside and motioned for her to enter.
One of the physical therapists who worked on this floor approached the open doors of the elevator.
The same guard who spoke to Emma held up a hand to keep him out and addressed the man. “We’ll send it back for you.”
Crap. She wasn’t being fired, was she? Were these guards here to ensure she didn’t make a fuss when Mr. Reordon handed her her walking papers?
She looked at the burly, heavily armed men who towered over her despite her average height.
How big a fuss did they expect her to make?
Once the elevator completed the short climb to the ground floor, the guards guided her down the hallway that led to Mr. Reordon’s office. Emma had only been there a couple of times. The last had been after the mercenaries attacked. One by one, Mr. Reordon had called every employee who had been working the morning of the mercenary attack into his office to ask how they were doing, if they needed anything. Counseling? Maybe a change of hours?
She glanced at the guards from the corners of her eyes.
Something told her this visit wasn’t going to be as pleasant.
A dozen guards manned the entrance to the reception room at the end of the hallway. There had been no guards outside it the last time she’d come.
Inside the reception room, Kate Buchanan sat at a large desk situated in front of a wall of file cabinets. An elegant, formfitting business suit hugged the lines of her hourglass figure, making Emma feel dowdy in her jeans and blazer.
Todd and a dozen more guards bracketed the entrance to Mr. Reordon’s office.
Seriously, what the hell was all this?
Kate glanced up as Emma and her armed escort entered. When she rose, Kate’s unbuttoned jacket gaped just enough for Emma to glimpse what looked like a weapon housed in a shoulder holster. “Thank you, gentlemen.” As she rounded the desk, she addressed Emma. “Thank you for coming so quickly, Ms. Williams. Would you follow me, please?”
Emma could detect no rancor in the woman’s tone. She could detect no emotion at all. Kate was all business as she led Emma to Mr. Reordon’s office, motioned for her to enter, then slipped inside and closed the door behind them.
Emma frowned. The large office was empty.
“It’ll be just a moment,” Kate murmured.
A door on one side opened. Chris Reordon stepped into the doorway and glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
A minute? Was that all it would take to fire her? Closing the door behind him, he met Emma’s disgruntled gaze and pressed a finger to his lips.