“Well, yeah. Let me make a list. And tell whoever you send, if they go through my panty drawer, I’ll strangle them myself.”
Art snickered.
“This is not funny, Art.”
“No, it’s not. I’ll send a female agent. How’s that?”
“Fine.”
Art shook his head. Then it was my turn. “Acer, what about you?”
“I can have my brother bring my things here. I’ll be fine with what I have until tomorrow. I don’t want to wake them this late. But can you tell me a little more about the safe house?”
“Nope. You’ll find out when you get there. That’s why it’s safe.”
He was good with Brax bringing my things over and an hour later I was sitting on a bed in a hotel room, wondering how my life changed so quickly. A soft knock sounded on the door.
I checked the peephole, and it was Isla. There were two other armed guys out there sitting on chairs with tall cups of coffee. I offered them a key to my room in case they needed the bathroom. They refused.
“Why? It’s better than running down the hall.” Our rooms were on the first floor.
“Because if someone finds out you’re here, and they get to us, we won’t have a way for them to get inside your room.”
“You really think that’ll happen?”
“We hope not, but it adds an extra layer of security.”
I opened the door to let Isla in.
“Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to grab a beer.”
“Sounds good, but how?”
“We can send one of the guys to get one. I’ll take his place while he’s gone. There’s a convenience store right across the street.”
That would sure hit the spot, but I didn’t want to take advantage of them. “Only if you ask.”
She grinned. “No problem.” I listened as she opened the door and made her request.
“Anything else, princess?”
She looked at me.
“Nah, I’m good, but thanks.”
“I’ll be out there until he gets back.”
She disappeared and I figured I may as well join them too. I was too jacked up to sit.
They were chatting when I opened the door. “Do you mind if I hang with you two?”
“Not at all.” The guy left behind was named Scot. He was maybe in his thirties and seemed pretty cool. “Isla was saying you were interested in law enforcement.”
“I am if I can get my degree. I figured I’d start school in January, but now with this, I’m not sure how.”
Isla waved an arm, and said, “You should be good. The next couple of days will be more telling than anything. But you can still apply and get your classes in order. You’re not too late for that, are you?”
“From what I could tell, no. As long as I’m in good standing with my transcripts, I should be fine.”
Our beer supplier, Thomas, came back and handed Isla the six-pack. “You owe me one.”
“Hey thanks,” she said.
“If you two need anything, just knock,” I said.
They nodded and we went into my room.
We both sat on the bed and took long swigs from our cold bottles.
“This hits the spot,” I said. Then we clinked bottles. “Thanks for thinking of it.”
That night we learned a lot about each other. She liked movies, especially ones that made her laugh, even the slapstick type. I was on board with that. She loved pizza. Who didn’t? Ruffles was her number one. I needed to meet this pooch. Her brother gave her hell about her job but the two of them could not be any closer. Tomorrow was her grandmother’s birthday and she hated to miss it. Her mom had thrown a party tonight and since she’d been on duty, she had to miss it. She’d planned to visit her the following day, only now this came up. Her dad had walked out on the family when she was only five, so she didn’t have great memories of him. What she did remember was him constantly yelling at her mom and his slurred speech.
“When I was old enough to understand, Mom told me he was an alcoholic and used to hit her. I’m glad Lenox wasn’t the size he is now because the man would’ve gotten the beating of his life.” It must’ve been tough for her to talk about because her hands were clasped together and her gaze was focused on them.
“Is that why you went into law enforcement?”
She licks her lips before answering. “Maybe. I didn’t think so at the time. It might’ve been in my subconscious, but I’m not sure, to be honest. All I know is from the time I was in junior high, it’s all I wanted to do. I’d see the troublemaking kids in school and knew they’d end up in jail one day. Me, all I wanted to do was be the good guy. I never did anything remotely bad. I didn’t drink until college, and I’ve never smoked weed. You’re probably laughing at me.”
“I think it’s admirable. With peer pressure the way it is, I’m sure that wasn’t an easy road to walk down.”
“No, but I had big bad Lenox too. Everyone was afraid of him because he’s huge. And you’re not small yourself. I’m sure you didn’t get bullied.”
“Bullying comes in many forms, not just the physical kind. I was taunted because of Brax and the fact I wasn’t as good as he was. I was a better baseball player, but that’s it.”
As a kid, I was the youngest and always looked up to my brothers. Brax was the super athlete. He was damn smart too, but not as smart as my other brothers, Raiden and Cruze. Both of them were brilliant and blew even Brax away. Trying to compete with my brothers was impossible.
“Why the frown?”
Shaking the memories away, I said, “It’s nothing really. I grew up in a loving home but I was always competing for attention. It was probably in my head, but I could never live up to the successes of any of my brothers. Brax, well you know his talent. And my other two brothers are super smart. Like Mensa smart.”
“Have you ever applied yourself?”
Her question was unexpected and something I hadn’t thought of. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in school and was interested in anything, so I don’t know.”
“Fair enough. Maybe this time around you’ll find your niche and really go for it. I’m sure if the smarts run in your family, you must have a healthy dose of it too. You just haven’t accessed it yet.”
I laughed. “I hope so, but I like the way you think.”
It was after one when she mentioned the time.
“Yeah. The guys are probably thinking I’m in here banging you.”
She broke out into a loud cackle. “I doubt it. They know me too well to think that.”
“What? Are you some kind of a hard-ass?” I teased her.
“You might say that.”
“I’m glad you told me. Then I won’t embarrass myself by trying my smooth moves on you.”
This time, she really howled. “Oh, my. Care to tell me what those are?”
“Not a chance. I’d never give away my secrets. Besides, I’m still holding out so that you won’t punch me if I try anything.”
All hints of laughter disappeared. “I’d never punch you. The worst that would happen is I’d kiss you back.” Then she jumped off the bed and when she got to the door, she blew me a kiss. “Goodnight, smooth mover.”