Avery clicked her tongue in annoyance and looked away. She couldn’t argue with the woman. She hadn’t been paying close enough attention to notice the men who broke into her apartment complex. It was a foolish mistake on her part. Still, now that she knew about the danger she would tread more carefully. She could take care of herself, just as she had been doing all those previous years when her father didn’t seem to care about her. What was up with that, anyway? He suddenly sent in a bunch of bodyguards to look out for her, as if he was concerned about her safety. Why was he choosing now to act like a father rather than just a reluctant caretaker?

Fletcher snapped at the others to shut up and the van grew instantly quiet. Avery almost wanted to keep chattering just to be defiant. Maybe she could pester him enough that he would kick her out. She smiled at the thought, even though she knew that would never happen. Instead, she sat back in grudging compliance until they reached their destination.

Avery climbed out of the van – with an unhelpful shove from Fletcher – to see that they had arrived at an old warehouse. She let out a curt scoff. It was such a stereotypical hideout. She looked back at the others and raised a brow as if to say, [i]Are you people for real?[/i] The way things were going, she half expected the inside of the warehouse to be set up with a couple of rickety lawn chairs and a PC computer.

What she did find, however, was a base that took her breath away.

As the door slid open, Avery gaped at the high-tech weaponry spread all across the warehouse. But what really drew her eyes was the computer. It was a sleek laptop, equip with all the latest military-grade software. She stared at it hungrily. [i]Just imagine all the things I could get away with, using a beauty like that,[/i] she thought. [i]A computer on this caliber would make my job so much easier.[/i]

Avery was jerked from her daydreaming when Fletcher shoved a vest at her and told her to put it on. She shot him a poisonous look as she snatched the article out of his hands and slipped it on over her shirt. While she didn’t want their help, it was a nice vest. Maybe she could sneak it out with her once she was rid of these ridiculous guards.

“Now what, guard boy?” Avery flipped her blonde hair out of the vest so it fell freely across her back and shoulders. She tilted her chin up haughtily at Fletcher. It was meant to be a confident gesture but it probably looked ridiculous to him, as she was only half his size.