“Wait outside,” Colton demanded.

  Ace shook his head. “I’m sorry, Colton, but I go where you go.”

  “We’re on the fifth floor in my father’s office. There’s no one here but him. What, is someone going to parachute in through the window?”

  “Maybe.”

  Wow, the guy actually managed to say that with a straight face.

  Colton slammed the office door, then spun to face his father. “Do you see this? This is my life now. He’s like my fucking shadow.”

  Paxton sat back in his chair with a sigh. “Please watch your language, Colton.”

  “Get rid of him.”

  “No.”

  Colton marched over to his father’s desk, slammed his hands down, and leaned forward, his voice a low growl when he spoke. “How could you do this? How could you go behind my back like this? Like him?”

  “Son, this is nothing like that. I tried to reason with you, but you wouldn’t take this threat seriously.”

  Colton threw his hands up in frustration. “My God, Dad. If I freaked out every time someone called me a fag or told me I should die or burn in hell because I was gay, I would never have made it out of high school.”

  Paxton flinched, and Colton hated that he’d caused it. His father was a good man. What was more, he was supportive. Always had been. Did that mean Colton was supposed to feel bad about what his father had done behind his back? After what Colton’s son of a bitch grandfather had done? How long had it taken him to trust his family again after that? He’d known his parents hadn’t been involved, understood now, but the damage had been done.

  Paxton ran a hand through his thick hair. “The fact I went and did this against your wishes despite what your grandfather did has to tell you how scared I am for you, Colton. This sick bastard knows where you work and where you live. Please, it’s not permanent. Until the threat is over.”

  “And how long is that going to be? Days? Weeks? Months? I have a life, a business to run.”

  “My retirement isn’t official for another three months, and if I have to postpone it until I know it’s safe for you, then so be it.”

  “They’re going to make changes to my home whether I agree or not,” Colton countered angrily. He was losing the battle, he knew it, but he wasn’t going down without a fight.

  “Because you’re not cooperating, Colton. You want input? Work with the Kings. They’re here for your protection. Stop fighting them. Wasn’t it you who stood in front of the board weeks ago, making your case on bringing in a new, more technologically advanced security firm who could do more than keep up with the growth of Connolly Maritime, who could predict the changing trends and be one step ahead? Did you not propose putting a system in place to run more inspections and perform regular audits of all our client accounts and the freighters coming in on our shipping liners? You proposed an entire security overhaul, Colton, and now when there’s a threat, one the company believes requires your protection, you’re refusing to cooperate? How do you think that will look to the board?”

  Shit. His father had him by the balls, and he knew it. Paxton was right. Colton had never been the kind of man who didn’t practice what he preached. He preferred to lead by example. The way the world was going, they had to be smarter about security. Too many companies had crumbled due to cutbacks or laziness when it came to security. As one of the largest shipping and logistics companies in Florida, they couldn’t afford to be complacent.

  “Okay, fine.”

  Paxton blinked at him. “Okay?”

  “Yes, fine. If this will put your mind at ease, and that of the board, I’ll deal with it.”

  Paxton came around his desk and pulled Colton into a hug, patting his back. “Thank you, son.”

  The anger drained out of Colton as he returned his father’s embrace. “Sure, Dad.”

  Paxton pulled away to cup his face. “If you need anything at all, you call me, all right?”

  “I will,” Colton promised. “I better go. I have some work to catch up on.”

  “Son, take the damn vacation time.”

  “Maybe. No promises.” Colton said his goodbyes and headed for the door. As soon as he’d closed it behind him and they were out in the hall, he turned to Ace.

  “Do whatever you have to do on my property and to the house, but I’m not changing my schedule. You want to stay? Do your job and earn your fucking keep. I want this mess over with.”

  Ace narrowed his eyes. “Yes, sir, Mr. Connolly.”

  Before leaving, Colton dropped by Nadine’s desk to check in with her but was pleased to hear she was in the middle of a conference call with Joshua. He made a mental note to give her a call later to see how it went. After years of working together, he and Nadine were in sync when it came to business matters, and he was sure Nadine would agree that Joshua was a great fit for Connolly Maritime.

  Spinning on his heels, Colton turned to head back toward the elevator when he smacked right into Nolan, their senior vice president and a close friend of the family’s. “Jesus, Nolan, I’m so sorry.” He put his hand on Nolan’s shoulder to steady him. “I didn’t see you there.”

  “No problem. I was going to see Paxton before I headed out to lunch with Annie. She’s bringing Lily.”

  Colton smiled at the mention of Nolan’s adorable five-year-old granddaughter. “How is she?”

  “A bundle of giggles and hugs like always.” Nolan’s warm brown eyes got a little teary, but he swiftly wiped the wetness away with his thumb. “Like she was never sick.”

  “We were all praying for her. She’s a strong little girl.” It had been horrible seeing how broken Nolan had been while he watched his granddaughter fighting to stay alive. They’d all done everything they could to support him and his family during that terrible time. The whole company had been worried for them.

  Nolan sniffed, but his eyes were filled with pride. “Like her mother. We’re all so proud of her. Thank you for all you and Paxton did. For the fundraiser.”

  “You’re family, Nolan. We wanted to help however we could.”

  “You did.” Nolan turned his attention to Ace, his friendly smile wide. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Nolan Stewart.”

  Ace returned his smile and took Nolan’s hand. “I’m Ace. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Stewart.”

  “He’s my new warden,” Colton grumbled.

  Nolan looked confused. “I’m sorry?”

  “Dad thinks I needed babysitting over some stupid letters.”

  “Letters? What kind of letters require hiring private security?” Nolan asked quietly. “Colton, what’s going on?”

  Colton let out a heavy sigh. “Some jackass has been sending me threatening letters. It’s nothing, but you know Dad. He worries, and with him retiring and me taking over, he’s not taking any chances. Personally I think he’s overreacting, but if it will set his mind at ease….”

  Nolan looked horrified. “I’m going to have to agree with Paxton. If there’s any chance someone’s out to hurt you, Colton, then he was right to hire protection.”

  “Grandad!”

  They all turned, and Nolan dropped to one knee, his arms wide open for Lily, who sped right for him in a flurry of colorful tulle. She launched herself into his arms, and he picked her up, pretending to gobble her up and sending her into fits of giggles. It was hard not to smile from ear to ear like a sap when faced with the adorable little girl. Her mother, Nolan’s daughter, kissed Colton’s cheek.

  “Hi, Colton. It’s good to see you.”

  Colton kissed her cheek in return and squeezed her tight. “You too, Annie. How’s hubby?”

  “Handsome as ever,” Jeremy replied with a wink as he strolled over. Arrogant as ever was more like it. Sadly, the man wasn’t wrong. He was handsome. Too bad he was also a total douche.

  Jeremy Lynch was the poster boy for corporate America. He was tall, blond, broad-shouldered, with perfectly straight white teeth, former captain of his football team and prom king—because those were the sorts of things people needed to know—with a vast investment portfolio. He was a member of several distinct polo and yacht clubs, owned several cars that collectively cost more than a small country, and owned his own successful import company. As of two years ago, he was also a client of Connolly Maritime, thanks to his father-in-law, Nolan.

  The man was also a bigot who claimed he had nothing against “the gays”; he simply didn’t understand why they couldn’t be happy with what they had and stop pushing their agenda in everyone’s faces. Colton tolerated him for Nolan and his family’s sake. Jeremy tolerated Colton, because he might be an asshole, but he wasn’t stupid. How the guy ended up married to such a sweet, kind-hearted woman like Annie was anyone’s guess. In the years Colton had known him, he’d never once seen Jeremy think about anyone but himself.

  Colton held his hand out to Jeremy, who hesitated for a split second, like he usually did, before he took Colton’s hand and shook it, smiling that fake toothy grin of his.

  “How are you, Jeremy?”

  “Never better.” Jeremy beamed. “Did Annie tell you about the new cabin in Aspen?”

  Annie’s smile dimmed, and she reached for Lily, her smile once again filled with warmth and love as soon as she had her little girl in her arms.

  “Lily, did you say hello to Colton and his friend?”

  Jeremy scowled at her. “Honey, I’m discussing something with Colton.”

  “Hello, Col,” Lily chirped happily, waving at him.

  “Hi, munchkin.” Colton tickled her, and she squirmed, giggling loudly. She looked at Ace and shyly hid her face against her mother’s neck.

  “She’s a little shy with people she doesn’t know,” Annie told Ace.

  He chuckled warmly, reached into one of his cargo pants pockets, and pulled what Colton first thought was a box of cigarettes but turned out to be a deck of cards. Why was he carrying around playing cards?

  “Would you like to see a magic trick, Lily?”

  Lily turned her head, nodding timidly.

  Ace removed the deck from its case, then tucked it back into his pocket. He shuffled the cards, then fanned them out for Lily.

  “Pick a card, but don’t let me see what it is.”

  Lily pursed her lips in great concentration before she took one and slipped it out. She kept it close to her chest and peeked at it, then nodded at Ace.

  “Okay.” He shuffled the deck again, then split it. “Pop it back on there for me.” Lily did as asked, and Ace shuffled the cards again before handing them to Colton. “How about giving those a good shuffle for me.”

  Colton arched an eyebrow at him but followed directions for Lily’s sake. She was enthralled, her little body leaning forward and her eyes wide. Colton shuffled the deck, then handed it back to Ace. He turned the deck over, and started going through the cards, his frown deep.

  “That’s strange.”

  Jeremy snickered. “Guess we can’t all be winners, champ.”

  Can’t all be jerks either, but you seem to do so well.

  Ace ignored Jeremy and tapped his lip thoughtfully. “Now where could that card be?” He gasped and pointed at Lily. “You know magic too?” He reached behind Lily’s ear, flicked his wrist, and drew back his hand, his expression comically surprised as he showed her the card. “It was hiding behind your ear the whole time!”

  Lily gasped and turned to her mother. “Mommy, that’s the card! Did you see?”

  “Wow, I did!” She tickled Lily, making her squirm and giggle.

  “You should do kids’ parties,” Jeremy said, and Nolan rolled his eyes from next to him. “I’d be happy to recommend you to my friends. Though you might need to wear something a little more colorful.”

  Colton smiled apologetically at Jeremy. “I’m sure Ace would love that, but he’s a little busy running one of the top security companies in the state.”

  If Ace was surprised by Colton’s words, he didn’t so much as blink. Jeremy on the other hand was stunned. He looked Ace over, and Colton could see the man’s calculating wheels turning.

  “Really? Which company?”

  “Four Kings Security,” Ace replied, tapping his cap and the logo in the center of it, his smile friendly.

  Jeremy stared at the logo. “You work for Four Kings Security?”

  Ace shrugged. “You could say that.”

  “So humble.” Colton tsked. “He’s actually one of the Kings.”

  Jeremy’s mouth formed an O, and suddenly he was all over Ace. “Well damn, son. You should have said something.” He patted Ace’s shoulder and shook his hand again. Jeremy was all about status, and even though Colton had never done business with the Kings, anyone who ran any kind of successful business in the state of Florida knew who they were.

  “Dad, we better get going,” Annie said, and Nolan nodded.

  “Right.” Nolan pulled Colton into a tight hug, and when he stepped back, he gave him a pointed look. “You listen to your dad, okay?”

  Colton nodded. “I will. You guys have fun at lunch.” He kissed Annie’s cheek, then Lily’s before shaking Jeremy’s hand. He started walking away when Jeremy called out after them.

  “We’ll do lunch, Ace. I’ve got business to discuss with you.”

  “Sure thing, Mr. Lynch,” Ace replied, giving him a salute as he walked backward.

  “Call me Jeremy.”

  Ace gave him another salute before turning and accompanying Colton to the elevator. As soon as they were inside the empty elevator and the doors closed, Ace turned toward him.

  “What was that about?”

  “Sorry, but the guy is a pretentious jackass. He loves looking down his nose at people. I’ve known him for years. I have no idea what Annie sees in him. You should see him at the company parties. The way he kisses my father’s ass? You’d think he wasn’t such a raging homophobe.”

  “That so?”

  “Yep. He’s learned to hide it well. The first time we met was at one of the company Christmas parties. He didn’t know who I was, but I was there with a date. Annie introduced us, and the disgust in his eyes is something I’ll never forget. Then he told me he’d pray for my soul.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Oh, but it gets better. He had the audacity to ask what my parents thought of my lifestyle. I pointed to my dad and told Jeremy he could ask my father himself. Watching him turn green was the highlight of my evening. After that, he was on my ass like he wanted to ride it.”

  “And yet he wants to do business with a security company owned by four nonstraight guys?”

  “I said he was a bigot, not an idiot. The only thing Jeremy values more than his supposed righteousness is the all-mighty dollar.”

  “Ah, I see.” Ace was quiet for a moment before he spoke up again. “Why did you tell him I was one of the Kings?”

  “Because he was judging you.”

  “And you didn’t like that?”

  “I may not want you here, Ace, but I won’t stand idly by while someone tries to belittle you.”

  “Because he called me a children’s entertainer?”

  “No, because he thought you were below him. What someone does for a living is their business. It’s not anyone’s place to judge, especially when they don’t even know the person.”

  Ace nodded. “I agree.” The elevator pinged, and the doors opened. They met Oscar at the security desk, placed their thumbs to the scanners, and were soon on their way to the car.

  “Do you mind if I ask what happened to Lily?”

  Colton’s heart squeezed in his chest. “A couple of years ago, her heart started to fail her and she needed a heart transplant, but she was low on the list. Nolan and his family were preparing for the very real possibility Lily wouldn’t live long enough for a heart to become available. We tried everything. Poor Annie was inconsolable, and Nolan was beside himself. His only grandbaby. Anyway, Nolan received a call that a heart had become available, and Lily was prepped for surgery. It was a miracle. Now look at her.”

  Ace opened the back door for Colton. “I’m glad it all worked out for them. She’s a sweet kid.”

  “She is.” Colton climbed in and fastened his seatbelt, sitting thoughtfully as Ace closed the door and went around to the driver’s side. Maybe he was being too hard on Ace. The man had been hired to do a job, and that’s what he was doing. Outside of being one of the Kings, Ace appeared to be a guy like any other. Well, maybe not like any other, considering the man had been Special Forces, but he’d shown a different side of himself with Lily. Would it kill Colton to give the guy a break?

  Ace headed toward the interstate, and Colton frowned. “Where are you going?”

  “Home. We still have to go over your schedule.”

  “You didn’t think to ask me where I wanted to go?”

  “Seeing as how the only thing you have scheduled for today is work, and you’re currently on leave, I’m taking you home. This is why we need to go over your schedule. I need to know your plans. No surprises.”

  Colton glared at Ace through the rearview mirror. “What if I want to go out?”

  “Then we’ll discuss it and make the necessary preparations, though you should limit any outside activity that’s not obligatory.”

  It might not kill him to give Ace a break, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t feeling murderous tendencies.

  Chapter 5

  For a moment, Ace thought Colton had called a truce. Oh, how naïve he’d been.

  On arrival at Colton’s Ponte Vedra mansion, Colton was out of the SUV before Ace even put it in park. He ran inside the house, forcing Ace to go chasing him, and then the little shit proceeded to play hide-and-seek with him. He knew Colton was in the house, but the guy clearly knew his property better than Ace. He might have studied the blueprints of Colton’s mansion, but Colton had lived in it for years. Ace checked every damn room in the house, growing more and more pissed off by the minute that no one had spotted the guy.