Obsession: The Hollow Universe Read online

  Obsession

  Some passions are meant to consume.

  Shayne McClendon

  Obsession by Shayne McClendon

  Copyright © 2010-2018 Shayne McClendon

  Published by Always the Good Girl LLC

  www.alwaysthegoodgirl.com

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author and publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Dedication

  Pain is pain.

  No matter who you are, what you are, or how you walk through your day…pain is an equalizer.

  It’s unlikely you’ll make it through your life without scars. Improbable that you’ll take your last breath on this planet without regrets, trauma, or pain in one form or another.

  No matter the source, you can survive your pain. You can make it through a journey over broken glass and to the other side where there’s green grass and cool streams.

  Holding on, keeping on, moving on.

  Take your pain and put that shit in a box. Slam the lid as tight as you can and keep slamming it when it tries to break out. Find your focus. Find your tricks to making it through because you damn well can.

  Your pain doesn’t control you. It doesn’t dictate the life you live from this moment. Believe in your power.

  Right now. This minute. Breathe it your power and hold it close. Nothing strips it from you…but you.

  Fight, then fight some more.

  Pain is a little bitch.

  Much love,

  Shayne

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Epilogue

  The Barter System Series

  About Shayne McClendon

  Also by Shayne McClendon

  Special Acknowledgments

  Prologue

  January 2009

  He picked up the phone on the first ring. “Hyde.”

  “Hollow.”

  “You have an assignment?”

  “Yes.” There was a pause. “I heard you were back from the Middle East. Everyone alright?”

  “As well as we can be. The Ghonims went above and beyond after the dust settled.” Hyde cleared his throat. “We’re good. Back to work. Tell me.”

  “This is an unusual mission. Outside your usual wheelhouse. It would require years of commitment for your entire team. Perhaps a decade.” There was a long pause. “Hyde. It could end up being a retirement position.”

  Such a thing was practically unheard of in their circles.

  Lowering to the bumper of the Humvee in their loading bay, Hyde frowned. “Who has the resources for a long-term hire of that scale? Have you explained our rates?”

  Hollow grunted. “Yeah, I explained them and even bumped them a bit. It’s for Samuel and Monica Fields.” Hyde whistled low. “They consider your rates a bargain.”

  He said firmly, “It must be for their child.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “They employ dozens of men already. Several I’ve trained myself in various organizations. I’ve kept in touch. Why hire a dedicated team if it isn’t to protect their most valued asset?”

  “You’re right. They require a unit concerned with their daughter’s safety only. Her name is Elliana.”

  “How annoyed will I be?”

  The silence drew out. “She’s grounded, Hyde. I’ve met her several times. She’s…different.”

  “How old?”

  “Eighteen.”

  “Why now?”

  “Ellie’s a freshman in college. Her parents aren’t handling it well. They’ve chosen not to share the extent of the threats with her. They want her to feel normal.”

  “Does she know about a new team?”

  “The Fields have men with her now. They want you to observe before you make a final decision. Due to the length of the contract, they want assurances regarding your commitment. Your rates plus a bonus whether you take the job or not.”

  “Salt Flats. Call me back with a time we can meet.”

  “Done.”

  They disconnected and Fiaaz approached. “New job, boss?”

  “Maybe. Not sure it’s really up our alley.”

  The others came out of the barracks and he explained the parameters without specifics. All of them were intrigued.

  Si shook his head in confusion. “Guarding a girl on American soil? How much danger could she be in?”

  “She’s the only child of Samuel and Monica Fields.”

  All of them went still and Bianca murmured, “Whoa.”

  “A decade. That’s what they want.”

  Absolute silence.

  Then Fiaaz said quietly, “They want to pay all of us for a decade to guard their daughter?” Hyde nodded and his driving expert said quietly, “Man. They could buy a country with that cash.”

  Bianca elbowed him. “They already did. Not worth much if they don’t have anyone to carry on their work.”

  The full bio of their possible charge downloaded to his phone and he was surprised that it didn’t include typical spoiled heiress photos.

  Almost all the ones of her taken in public were at children’s charity events, dressed in shorts and t-shirts, running shoes. There weren’t many of her in formal attire.

  * * *

  A week later, they assembled in the Salt Flats to meet with the parents of young Elliana Fields. The meeting was done at midnight and the couple arrived via helicopter to the coordinates Hyde provided.

  Introductions were made and he got right to the point. “Trial period of six weeks. Anything discussed, reported, or observed is highly classified.” He crossed his hands at his back. “That discretion applies to both sides of this arrangement.”

  As the team stepped from concealment, Monica Fields’ eyes widened and Samuel Fields opened his mouth to speak and quickly closed it.

  After a long pause, she stared at Hyde and inhaled carefully. “Agreed.”

  “Agreed.” Her husband asked, “You’ve read Ellie’s dossier?”

  Hyd
e nodded.

  Mrs. Fields folded her hands. “You must be gentle with her. I agree to your terms during the six-week trial period. At the end of that time, you’ll tell us what resources you’re willing to commit to our daughter.”

  “We’ll have no contact with Miss Fields during the observation period.” He gave her a small smile. “Unless we see we’re needed. Then we’ll definitely make contact.”

  “I appreciate that.” Mr. Fields held his gaze. “Your group comes highly recommended through channels we trust. It’s my understanding that you’ve trained some of our best men?”

  “I have.”

  “The security staff on the estate might not make the right judgment call if there’s a situation. They’re accustomed to responding with Monica and myself as their focus. I need your people to watch Ellie, to protect her, no matter what else is happening. She has to be your only priority at all times.”

  “I hate that she insisted on an out-of-state college. So many things have already gone wrong in her first semester.” Mrs. Fields shook her head. “She’s our only child. To us, she’s so much more than our sole heir. She’s our miracle.”

  Her husband growled and clenched his fists at his sides. “Ellie’s listed on an international sex trafficking website. She’s been there for several years. Even her eighteenth birthday didn’t see the end of it. We’ve offered to pay the bounty ourselves to see her safe but it changes nothing.”

  The implication was clear.

  Elliana Fields was a medically confirmed virgin. It raised her value substantially for the type of men willing to do anything to add such a trophy to their collection.

  A virgin worth billions was a target many who existed in the underbelly of humanity couldn’t resist.

  “Our dossiers are encrypted and classified to the highest levels of government.” He handed the couple a laptop. “You can only open them on this. They’re viewable for twenty-four hours. Long-term, if we accept, we prefer to fill key positions. It will appear at all times that I’m her sole bodyguard.”

  “I like that. It won’t make her feel so smothered.” The woman lifted her eyes. “We can be overprotective. She’s been trained to assist in her defense but I-I’d love it if she didn’t have to.”

  “Understood.”

  “Thank you, Hyde.”

  “Ma’am. Sir.”

  The team watched as the Fields returned to their helicopter and flew out of sight a minute later.

  Bianca murmured, “A sweet heiress? Is that even possible?”

  “I guess we’ll see,” Hyde responded. “Let’s go over some specifics.” For the next hour, they finalized details of the trial period for covering Elliana Fields. “We’ll rendezvous on her campus before her arrival. Let’s lock down headquarters.”

  * * *

  The first day Hyde shadowed Ellie, he realized she was far different than even he’d assumed. She had two speeds. Walking slowly with her eyes in a book or running.

  He kept his distance but it was easy to see that the security assigned to her struggled with the common distractions found on a college campus.

  They regularly lost track of her, found their eyes drawn to random sounds, and repeatedly broke cover.

  Fiaaz posed as a member of campus security and twice interacted with Ellie until her team could reassemble.

  Si took over the campus café kitchen and monitored her food personally after he identified two separate chemicals in specific drinks she always ordered.

  As an assumed housekeeper for Ellie’s dorm, Bianca removed cameras hidden in her air vents and two bugs from beneath her bed and in the small attached bathroom.

  Their observation period neared its’ end and Hyde allowed her to glimpse him as he took up a closer position. He’d been noticing several boys who seemed intent on her attention but the men officially assigned to her protection hadn’t intervened.

  She jogged every morning with headphones in her ears. She loved to run. He paced her at forty feet and was amazed at the way she tuned out.

  On one such morning, as she entered the lightly wooded area on the trail, the idiots he’d been watching ambushed her.

  Baiting her verbally, she maintained her poise and logic in her responses, attempting to reason with the men. That she wasn’t screaming or crying spoke highly of her character.

  One of them lunged for her and she punched him in the throat with a simple but powerful move. Returning to a calm stance, she again tried reason.

  The second hit the ground when she took out one of his knees. She again gave them the opportunity to walk away but a third man attacked.

  She feinted with one leg while the other came up to rack the man in the balls.

  Hyde stood a dozen feet away, amazed at the physical ability of a woman who was always calm and studious.

  He moved to intervene when a fourth man tackled her in a football play. She hit the ground hard and Hyde saw red. The others went to their hands and knees around her like a pack of wild dogs, pulling at her.

  Entering the scuffle, he ended it quickly and painfully.

  Five minutes later, her attackers were restrained and campus security arrived on the scene. He stood within one foot of her at all times. She wasn’t hysterical or demanding.

  Hyde took her gently by the upper arm and returned her to her dorm without a word. One of her team was unconscious at the head of the trail, having been struck in the head with a rock. Si knelt at his side.

  Another was on the verge of a nervous breakdown trying to find Ellie and Bianca calmly explained who they were and that she was safe with their team leader.

  The other security people were too far away to recognize the trouble. Fiaaz worked to rally everyone to a central location in the quad for briefing.

  Ellie stared at everything going on with wide eyes. In her room, Hyde dropped all the shades and called her parents. She lowered herself to the edge of her bed and watched him in silence. He appreciated her restraint.

  When a police photographer arrived, Ellie was asked to remove her t-shirt so they could catalog her injuries. Standing in a sport bra and running shorts, the woman turned on all the lights in her room and began snapping photos.

  Hyde ground his teeth at the bruises and abrasions she’d received. Her parents entered as they took pictures of the back of her body.

  After answering questions asked by the local police department, Ellie went to shower and her mother insisted on staying with her.

  Samuel Fields asked him to talk in the hall.

  Hyde wasted no time. “We’ll assume Miss Fields’ protection.”

  “That fills me with relief.” It was apparent on the man’s face.

  “Did you find a secure location? This dorm isn’t going to work. There have been too many breaches into her personal space already. Too many people have access.”

  “You’ll have security clearance in a place by tomorrow morning along with the rest of your team. Outfit it in whatever ways you deem necessary. I own the building and the staff has been informed of your status.”

  “You were confident.”

  “Hopeful. My daughter is…unique. I hoped her gentle nature would inspire your team to agree.” He shrugged. “It makes her an incredible asset in our charity work.”

  Hyde’s smile was slow. “Well done.”

  “Thank you. Ellie’s assistant Padme will be joining you. I sent you her bio and qualifications.”

  Hyde nodded. “Si knows her. He vouched for her skills. I need three days to secure the residence. We’ll require a dedicated armored vehicle.”

  “Done. We’ll keep her at our hotel until your team finishes upgrades to the apartment.”

  Hyde turned to leave. “Hyde?” He glanced over his shoulder and Samuel Fields smiled. “Thank you for being there, for stepping in.”

  Turning back, he chose his words carefully. “I waited one minute to see if her detail would appear and evaluate her skills.”

  “Your verdict?”

  “Your
daughter is smart, quiet, and kind. You should be proud of her ability to keep her head and I was impressed that when given no choice, she used force.”

  “You agree to the length of the contract?”

  “We’ll commit to one decade as her personal protection detail. You have the details. Should any of the team be unable to fulfill their obligation, I’ll personally train a replacement. I’ll see you in three days, Mr. Fields.”

  Back at the hotel, Hyde stared out at the California sunset.

  Elliana Fields was lovely. Over weeks of surveillance, he’d started to feel protective of her on a personal level. It wasn’t an emotion other clients inspired.

  He dialed a number he’d come to know well over the years.

  “Hollow.”

  “We’ve taken the assignment.”

  There was a long silence. “You committed to a decade?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your entire team?”

  “Yes.”

  “The Fields offered to make a substantial donation to the organization if you took the job. Did you know that?”

  “No. It wouldn’t have mattered.”

  Another protracted silence. “You like her. Ellie.”

  “I want her safe,” Hyde hedged.

  “Do you need me to send Red out to coordinate the systems? She and Padme have worked together before.”

  “I’ll need her for two days. Fiaaz returns tomorrow with Bianca. They’re on their way to shut down headquarters and move everything here. Gear and Finn are bringing you a few things we no longer need.”

  “Presents? I love presents.” The line was quiet for almost a minute. “This will be good for you, I think. All of you. You’ve been in the field too long.”

  “She’s different than what we’re used to.”

  “Different is so often an omen for amazing things.”

  Staring at the photo of Ellie in her bio, he allowed himself a small smile. “I think you might be right.”

  Chapter One

  Being Elliana Monica Fields, the only child of Monica and Samuel Fields, means I live an odd life.

  My parents are incredible. They don’t mean to smother me.

  They tried to have children the first dozen years of their marriage without success. They adopted a little boy a decade before I was born but he died of a genetic lung disease when he was a toddler.