Ready for Danger by CV Silk Page B

Kathleen
Rhinebolt.”
    “What?”
    “Kathleen Rhinebolt, do you know her? Is
she here?”
    She nodded. “It’s me, I’m Kathleen.”
    “Palmer Fash. Your father sent me to
protect you.”
    *   *   *
    Grabbing his luggage, Palmer followed her
away from the truck. She stopped by the school and dismissed her class in rapid
fire Burmese that actually impressed him.
    “This way,” she barked.
    The village essentially had two roads
laid out in a cross. Each was lined with houses built on stilts, no doubt to
protect against floods common during the monsoon season, which was still a
couple of months away. The houses were made of planks and had no doors or glass
windows.
    He followed her all the way to road
number two. Professionalism dictated that he shouldn’t stare at her body as she
walked ahead but it was a challenging task.
    The woman was small but in no way
delicate. In her T-shirt and shorts, her curves were spectacular, and even
though she had a bitchy attitude he considered her quite attractive. He loved
the way her ponytail bounced as she walked.
    He hated himself for thinking this about
his principal and focused on following her up the steps and into her house.
    “Nice digs,” he said when they were
inside, shielded from the scorching sun.
    The place was perhaps 15 foot square and
completely devoid of furniture. The walls and floor were covered with weaved
bamboo strands and when he spotted a pile of blankets he figured it served as
the master bedroom.
    She spun on her heels and her expression
had hardened even more. “What are you really doing here?”
    “I told you, ma’am. Your father hired my
security firm to keep you safe. I’ve been searching for you for two weeks. You’re
a hard lady to find.”
    “Well, maybe I didn’t want to be found.”
    “It’s not my problem, ma’am. I’m being
paid handsomely to do two things. One, I’m supposed to convince you to come
back to New York. Your father says all is forgiven if you come back with me.”
    “That’s not gonna happen,” Kathleen said,
crossing her arms which only highlighted her generous chest.
    “Your father said you would say that. So
two, I’m to stay here with you to offer protection until you decide to leave.”
    “That’s not gonna happen either. So you’re
just gonna stay here in this village, for years if I want to?”
    “I don’t have a family back home and the
money is good. So yes, you’re stuck with me.”
    “You have no right! My father has no
right to keep tabs on me! I’m a grown woman and if I wanna spend my life doing
humanitarian work that’s my business. Just because he runs that financial
empire, that he’s the king of Wall Street, that doesn’t give him the right to
control me like one of his damn portfolios.”
    “There is a third option,” Palmer said
calmly.
    “What?”
    He set his luggage down on the floor and
ignored her inquiring look. He rummaged through his suitcase and pulled out a
satellite phone. It was the middle of the night in Manhattan but his
instructions were clear. He dialed a number he had memorized and waited.
    “Mr. Rhinebolt? This is Palmer Fash from
Greenbrier Global Security. Yes sir, she’s with me.”
    He handed the phone to the woman and he
took a step back to let them talk. It went as he expected, her protesting
having a babysitter, arguing that she was old enough to make her own decisions.
But Palmer also knew that a billionaire like her father was used to getting his
way.
    The phone call lasted $27 – it was a
habit of Palmer’s to measure the length of satellite calls in money rather than
in minutes. She gave him the phone back.
    “So that was your precious third option?”
    He shook his head. “No. The third option
is if you refuse my protection, I’m to bring you back by force.”
    She started laughing. “That’s funny. You’re
kidding, right?”
    “No, ma’am. My company has a rapid
deployment team on standby. By the time I carry you back to Yangon, we’ll