After the meeting and Lexi's short episode, I focused on making sure no one was going to die tonight. Sha'Kera and Hayden were hard to keep up with. They fluttered from person to person like they actually had friends here. It was so boring. Once, I was able to leave them and talk to Luca for a bit. Talking about his ex-girlfriends wasn't something I would call interesting. After leaving him I found Sha'Kera and Hayden once again.
"Hayden, it's been a while," I greeted. "How is the office without me?"
"It's alright, I guess. Not as busy as I hoped," He said. "There haven't been many problems since you left."
"What can I say, no one can cause trouble like me." I chuckled. "Sha'Kera, I heard you got a great promotion. How's your new position?"
"Sucks," She said. "It's like being you, but without all the fun. Have you seen Lexi? I've been meaning to talk to her."
"I don't know where she's not." I offered a smile. "She's a busy woman tonight. Now that everyone knows about Vincent and Asher, she hasn't been able to hide much."
"That sounds like fun. I should find her and join her."
Well, that was a bust. How can one couple be so bubbly in public, but hate each other behind closed doors. I've seen their relationship first hand and the arguments almost never ended well. I left them to their business and went to find my fiancée. There was a place we had set up for the children, so she might be there.
Might wasn't the word I was looking for. Kathryn was definitely there. I heard her arguing with someone before I even got close. Couples were coming to get their kids now, so it meant I didn't have to worry much about injured kids later. At least the people were doing us all a favor I hadn't thought about.
"Nice party, yes?" I asked casually.
"Scram before I shave you bald," She sneered. The waiter scurried away into the crowd. "What do you want, Cameron?"
"You're scaring the children."
Kat sighed and smiled a bit. I nudged her and put my arm around her waist.
"So, I talked to Hayden and Kera and got nothing. They haven't had any huge cases like this one since I left."
"That was a long time ago. I think they know we're onto them."
My phone buzzed. I took it out my pocket and sighed in both relief and disappointment.
"It's not in the house," I said. "She must have gone somewhere after leaving the company, because it wasn't there either."
"Of course not. She must know there's something on there that could ruin us all," Kathryn said.
"It would affect her also. Brad isn't feared because of his ruthless killings." I put my phone up. "If it falls into the wrong hands, just know that we're all going to either die or go to prison."
"I'm too pretty for prison."
"Our president won't think so."
"Not my president. I'm not even from here."
"You're a citizen here."
"There's a huge difference, Cam. His rules don't apply to me."
This woman. We finally went our separate ways to see what we could do about this situation. We didn't know when the NYIA would attack. I was antsy and desperate for answers and I wasn't getting them. At least I had been assured that the drive wasn't in the house. If they started a fight for no reason, I would get to pin all the blame on them for ruining a normal birthday party. Wouldn't their boss be mad? That's funny.
While security kept an eye on the remaining children, I struggled to get into the house. Many people were blocking the entrance. I was about to threaten to kill them all when someone came out. It was one of the rich people. Yes, rich people. I never bother to know any of their names. They all act the same, so why give them individual names? Anyway, I took that as a chance to force my way inside.
When I closed the door, I stopped confused. What the heck was happening here? Lexi was being held back by Asher and another female was being held back by a familiar face. I think I know who that is. No one could forget that face. I whistled to gather their attention.
"Lexi. Asher," I said calmly. "Outside. I plan on stalling for another couple of hours. You need to make yourselves known. Alexandria wants you both for an interview. What the hell is wrong with you all?"
"Come on, Lexi," Asher muttered. "Karli, we need to talk later."
"You two." I pointed to the other two females. "I want to see you both after the party. I have photographic memory, so you can't hide."
⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️
I had come up with an idea on how to stall for time. No one had really gotten a personal picture with Lexi since she debuted as an actress. She had been so busy to the point she was barely seen without her agents. So, in spite of what I was hoping not to happen, I gathered her, Luca, Asher, and Paige to take pictures with the partygoers. Ian, Lexi's twin brother, was found and dragged into the mess.
"Ian!" Lexi exclaimed. She pulled her brother into a hug. "I have been looking for you ever since you arrived with Jennifer."
"Really? I was actually here since last week, but I had something to do," He said and pulled away from her. "Just so you know, I was planning to annoy you every chance I got. Can't do that when teenage girls are chasing you everywhere."
"You're hilarious. Why would they be chasing you?"
"When your step-mother is a freaking model, no one cares how famous you aren't."
That was true, but I had never experienced something like that. Everyone knew of Kathryn and Asher and their daring teenage years. No one cared when Kat got engaged or when she suddenly got citizenship in America. It's not that I wanted to be chased, it's because I chose not to step into the spotlight. It was already enough Asher was going to be my cousin really soon.
"Hey, Cameron," Ian greeted me. "I didn't expect you to actually come here."
"What do you mean?" I asked confused.
"...Nothing. Never mind. It's nice to see you without a gun in your hand."
"Ah, that's not me anymore. California isn't much of a dangerous state, so I keep my gun put away until I need it."
"Mmm. You must not know the state I grew up in that well."
Whatever. I led them over to the red carpet where a lot of guests were leaving. It was great they were doing that on their own. Last year was much harder, because the liquor had been found. I guess Lexi learned to lock her cabinets. I looked at my watch and realized that it was nearing time for everyone to leave anyway. Midnight wasn't a time for everyone to be out anyway. Not in Palm Springs.
A backdrop was brought in to capture better lighting. Kathryn and I stayed for a few minutes to make sure guests were leaving after the pictures. I wanted less and less people to be here when things turned for the worst. Speaking of turning for the worst, I hadn't seen Hayden and Sha'Kera since I left them to themselves. As if my guards were reading my mind, they came up to me with the most disturbing news.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"We noticed a large group gathered around the house towards the kitchen. I thought it was normal until I noticed it wasn't a group of teenagers."
"Most of those families would have left already, right?"
"Most definitely. There aren't any more little kids here except for Lexi's kids and your son. Most of the teens have gone to take pictures or hang towards the pool area."
Weird. No way Sha'Kera and Hayden could have gotten into the house. Actually, there was. The guard at the stairs would most definitely believe they were allowed to roam wherever they please. I also didn't know who was inside besides them. All the rich people seemed to be outside. They could be alone searching for the drive. They wouldn't find it, so I was somewhat assured of everyone's safety.
"They're not doing anything, but it looks too suspicious."
I began walking towards the side of the house.
"Let's go check it out," I said. "Kane, could you go get Wayne? We need to raise the alarm without looking too suspicious ourselves."
"Yes, sir."
"Mason, take Crew with you and make sure the van isn't being taken."
"You got it."
I walked with the rest of the guards to the kitchen. From where we were, I could see the staff looking uncomfortable as they took things in and out of the house. Cameron was watching this all with the most angriest look on his face. I was sure that if he could take on all the men at the door, he would. Before I could say anything to him, he stormed back into the kitchen and locked the door. Good call.
My mind wandered as I walked innocently over to the group. I stopped when one of them seemed to step forward. Oh. You want to do it the hard way? Lucky for you all, I love the hard way. It's my specialty. A muscular man stepped forward with his arms crossed. I did the same thing and looked him in the eye. Just then the alarm went off. Loud enough for us to hear, but soft enough for only us to hear.
"Hi," I said. "That alarm doesn't go off by itself. Who did it? Who tried to break into an unlocked house?"
"Who are you?" The guy got in my face. Ever heard of a breath mint?
"You don't know who I am?" I guess I am a nobody to some people. "Let me tell you who I am then. I am Cameron Nguyen. Former special operations agent of the 14th government division who was known to kill on command. Sometimes...the dark agent who betrayed his division if they didn't do like they were supposed to."
"Was I supposed to fall back in surprise and fear?"
"...You could. It would make a great headline for me."
The man laughed, throwing his head back. Right then I could have throat chopped him and broken his trachea. Would have been nice to do. I haven't done that in awhile. He seemed to have noticed what I was thinking, because he stopped laughing and looked at me again.
"Give it up, former leader," He growled. "We know you have it."
"Had it." I smiled. "Got it stolen from me a couple of days ago."
"How do you know what I'm talking about?"
"Flashy gold hard drive. Encrusted with millions of pieces of priceless diamonds. Only works on an Apple MacBook Pro which I have and you don't. It holds all the secrets I have seen in the mafia and the government. No one wants them to get out to the wrong people. It's gone. Vanished right before my eyes. There's only one person who could possibly have it right now."
"You?"
"Me?" I laughed. "You really think I would be here if I had it? No. I would have been flown off to an unknown country and given it to someone else I trust by now."
I guess he got tired of my games, because he took a huge step back and pointed at me. I got ready to fight, praying that Wayne had already gotten people to start leaving the property. The side of the house was nearly empty. Just me, some guards, the men in front of us, and a few party stragglers.
Just as I was about to try and stall for some extra seconds, a gunshot rang out. It didn't sound like it was from outside. I could only guess that something had gone terrible wrong in the house. Two of my guards left to go see what it was and I was left with three guards and no plan.
Another shot went off and the first thing to pop in my head was my son. I hadn't seen him since he went off with some friends. I don't even know if Kathryn saw him since then either. Then I thought of the partygoers and what if one of them got hurt. I couldn't risk Lexi being the blame for this, so I had to make sure we kept the fight fast and contained.
The screaming took too long to hit my ears. I was pulling the man into a headlock and froze at the wrong time. That cost me time and an elbow in the guts. The air was knocked out of me and I fell to the ground. I was immediately pounded by fists, but I whipped back to reality in a second. I grabbed his wrists mid punch and twisted him off of me.
I got back to my feet and was grabbed by my collar and shoved me up against the house. His hand flashed before my face before latching around my neck. I gasped for breath and dug my nails into his wrists.
"Where is it?" Hayden growled.
"What's it to you...Hayden?" I gasped.
"Where did you hide the hard drive, Cameron?"
"Somewhere where you'll never find it."
"This is no time to play games. Tell me or I'll have to kill you right here."
"Kill me," I taunted breathlessly. "You'll never find it, because I'm not the one who has it."
Hayden growled and released me. I fell to the ground and gasped for breath. When he least expected it, I kicked his legs out from under him and he fell like a sack of potatoes. I got up and ran only to have my leg grabbed, causing me to fall face first onto the concrete patio.
I'm more than sure it was supposed to knock me out, but I just happened to break my nose. Hayden jumped over me. I flailed and made him fall. I took this time to get up and run in the opposite direction. Hayden was fast. He kicked out his legs, causing me to trip.
So...we're going to do this the hard way? Gladly.
"Hayden, come on," A female voice called out. It was Sha'Kera. "Hurry up!"
I struggled to sit up and watched helplessly as Hayden got up and ran my way. He jumped over me, kicking me in the head. The last thing I saw was the couple running off the property amidst the terrified partygoers. Then I blacked out.
⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️
I winced as I opened my eyes and immediately closed them back as the light burned my eyes. I slowly sat up and a rag fell from my forehead. I popped my neck and sighed. What was I even doing here? The second my head stopped throbbing, I looked around. Lexi's living room. Then I noticed the two women staring at me intently. I jumped a little and raised a brow.
"You told us to meet you as soon as the party was over," The shorter girl said. "It's been a while since then."
"I have--had a drive for the two of you," I said. "...Where's Lexi?"
"She's resting upstairs. She sort of passed out when she couldn't find her kids." She smiled. "I'm Lexi's half-sister, Karli Roberts. That's Natasha." She pointed to the taller girl behind her.
"So...you're the one who caused Lexi misery." I held out my hand for her to shake. "It's nice to finally meet--Wait, aren't you supposed to be dead?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Natasha claimed. "Let's go, Karli. Apparently this man hit his head too hard."
"I came to visit Lexi. Why don't you go and I'll meet you at the hotel?"
"Sure. I'll be asleep within the hour if you don't hurry up."
Natasha turned to leave, but I wasn't about to let her go that easily. I wanted to know what she was doing here. I wonder what happened to her father and why he didn't have her hiding from the world. There were smart people out there and if they happened to put two and two together, she wouldn't be able to live a quiet life anymore.
"You know...I could have the police at this doorstep in less than three seconds," I threatened.
"My father is the sheriff," She snapped back and kept walking.
"Forget the police. I personally know the acting director of the FBI if you want to play dirty."
Natasha stopped walking and turned back to me. Yes, I do have my little secrets.
"Karli, could you go find Kathryn Thibault?" I asked. Karli nodded and scurried out the front door.
"What do you want?"
"Why did you and your father fake your deaths?"
"You'd have to ask my father that," Natasha said. "Why do you want to know anyway? I don't even know you."
"Your father knows me. Everyone you know knows me. I am not someone you can play around with. Don't test me and you'll live a long life."
"What do you want from me?"
I sighed and got off the couch. She was making this situation harder than it really was. I could get anything I want out of her and she wouldn't even know until it was too late. Just wait. She was going to beg me to let her live.
"You know exactly what I want from you." I was standing directly in front of her. Close enough to choke slam her if I had to and far enough to not look like a creep. "It's not everyday someone who was supposed to be dead comes back alive. That could be something the thief could use as leverage."
"What are you talking about? You sound really psychotic!" Natasha exclaimed.
"I have one question for you, Natasha and I want you to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. One lie and you're dead. Where. Is. My. Hard drive?" I demanded.
"I don't have it."