when
Renee was sent to protect Yannick. Back then she’d been straddling two roles.
In her absence, CIG had sent Renee off into danger. If she’d known, she would
have stopped it.
The problem was her past was sticky. Renee hated that part of her
and it wasn’t like they’d been on speaking terms back then. She’d had to
navigate working alongside Renee before but it had forced a choice. She’d
chosen friendship but if anyone from back then had known she was working with
any kind of law enforcement, the consequences would have been painful. She’d
had to cut all ties but by the time she’d known Renee had been abducted, she’d
been missing for a year.
Frei had found the trail Renee had left but it was obvious how
deep the damage was. Aeron had fixed that. She was paying for their catalogue
of mistakes and Frei blamed herself.
“Look, you know the kid loves you. I know that it isn’t the way
you want it to be.” Frei looked out the window at the clinic across the way.
Doctor Montgomery had wandered out. “Maybe one day it might be, we don’t know
but, Renee, I saw her stick up for you. She knew you needed her when you saw
Sally.”
“You should have seen Sally’s face,” Renee said with a smirk. “It
took her . . . what . . . all of ten seconds to announce it to everyone who’d
listen?”
Sally was a great receptionist, an amazing nurse and the ultimate
gossip. Renee, being the legendary Colonel Black’s daughter, was akin to a
movie star. Her life had never been private. Which is why she got so defensive
when anything about her personal life came up.
It also meant that should those rumors ever reach higher up, they
would send in someone to weed out the truth. It had happened in the past. CIG
may be a joint taskforce but it wasn’t beyond being ripped in two by nosey
bureaucrats.
“In spite of the fact that you’re not getting roses or some sad
excuse for a love song, you’re still the most important thing to her.” Frei had
no doubt of that. When it came to Renee, Aeron’s loyalty exceeded even her own.
“So suck it up?” Renee sighed. “Take her as she is and stop
whining about it.”
“Yes.”
Renee laughed. “I’ve had my ass kicked by you for some weird and
wonderful reasons, but this has got to top them all.”
Glad that Renee was accepting the chastisement with grace, Frei
let through a brief, curt, smile. “I’m sure that it was the time you decided
getting drunk and climbing the assault course in your panties was a great
idea.”
Renee’s cheeks colored. “I was in a strange place.”
Frei nodded. “Seems love tends to drive you nuts.”
Clearing her throat, Renee got to her feet. “The less said about
it, the better.” She offered a half-hearted salute. “If you hear anything—”
“Aeron is your responsibility. You are the head of the protection
team. I’ll inform you in due course.”
Frei would do anything for Renee herself. She knew that, but duty
came first. There needed to be clearer lines if they were going to work
together and better communication. She’d addressed Renee’s side of it but Aeron
was going to have to hear it too. In all fairness to the kid, she wasn’t
military, she didn’t know what protocol was.
All Aeron knew was that she was loyal to Renee and there for her.
Renee couldn’t deal with drawing the line, she’d proven that, so Frei would
have to do it for her. She wasn’t looking forward to the attitude.
“Doctor Montgomery is outside,” Frei’s assistant said as she poked
her head through the doorway.
Frei sighed as Renee stopped and turned to her. Hopefully it was
good news. “Let her in.”
Doctor Montgomery strolled in, her black bushy hair held back by a
large band. Her skirt boring beige and her shirt the same but it was nothing
but a mask. Montgomery had taught Renee everything she knew in order for her to
go undercover and the woman was brighter than the sun outside.
“Aeron woke up a few minutes ago,” she