Daddy Devastating by Delores Fossen Page A

sale is off, and he finds another buyer.”

    Chapter Seven
    Russ pulled Julia’s Jaguar into the space at the far end of the parking lot of Mendoza State Park. In the hurried instructions he’d gotten on the drive over, it was where the head of the security detail, Chris Soto, had told him to park. It was a spot where the agents could keep Julia and him under surveillance.
    But it was also a spot that left them out in the open.
    Russ wasn’t sure he liked that. Yes, it would make it easier for security to keep an eye on them, but he felt too exposed. Normally, he would have just accepted it as part of the job, but with Julia there, he didn’t want to blindly accept anything.
    “The fifteen minutes are nearly up,” Julia pointed out. For the entire ride, she had her attention fastened to her watch.
    Time was indeed running out, but Russ still took a moment to check their surroundings. He didn’t see any agents on the security detail, which was probably a good thing, because that meant they were adequately hidden. But there were people milling about—families using the playground equipment and joggers on the red gravel track that wound through the park.
    If Milo was indeed planning some kind of attack here, he’d have to do it in a very public place. Hopefully, Milo wouldn’t want to draw that type of attention to himself.
    “Here’s the one rule you have to remember,” Russ told Julia, “if anything—and I mean anything—goes wrong, you run for cover.”
    She nodded and drew in several shallow breaths. She was pale and trembling, too, but she didn’t look to be on the verge of a panic attack. Well not yet, anyway. The meeting hadn’t even started.
    He checked to make sure his gun was in place in the slide holster at the back of his jeans. It was. Milo might search him and find the weapon, but Milo already believed that Russ was no saint. The man would no doubt expect Russ to be armed. Of course, Milo might also demand that Russ surrender the gun, but that was something he’d deal with if it came up.
    Russ opened the car door, and Julia got out with him. Russ waited until she was by his side before they started the short walk to the picnic table that was just off a grassy path. Above the table was a flat, wooden roof, but the sides were wide-open.
    Milo was there, sitting at the table and smoking a cigarette. And he wasn’t alone. There was a tall, auburn-haired woman with him. Not seated. She appeared to be pacing. She wore a pale blue business suit. Which meant she could be carrying a concealed weapon.
    “Who is she?” Julia asked in a whisper.
    “I’m not sure.”
    Russ stopped, even though Milo and the woman had obviously spotted them, and he fired off a text message to Silas asking him for details. He hated to use Silas for this or anything else, but with the rush on the meeting, there hadn’t been time to request another agent.
    Sylvia Hartman, Silas texted back, Milo’s asst. Not armed.
    Good on the “not armed” part. But it did make Russ wonder why Silas hadn’t called him about this possible glitch. Of course, with all the chaos going on to get Julia and him to the location, and arranging for an agent to guard Emily, Silas had likely had his hands full. For this, Russ would give the agent the benefit of the doubt.
    “Jimmy,” Milo greeted him. He didn’t stand, nor did he put out his cigarette. But he did turn his attention to Julia. “So glad you could make it.”
    “You didn’t give me a choice,” Julia fired back.
    Milo gave a brief, oily smile. “True. I thought your fiancé might want to speed things along if you were with him.”
    “And what about her?” Russ asked, indicating Sylvia. “Is she here to speed things along, too?”
    “Absolutely,” the woman insisted. “I’m Sylvia Hartman. I work for Milo.”
    She took what seemed to be a PDA from her purse, but it wasn’t a PDA. Russ knew what was about to happen next.
    Sylvia moved closer to them, and without actually