“You were impressive out there,” Shiloh said, walking over to him. “Really showed that we could be doing a lot better.”
Julian smiled at the diminutive woman. “As long as you know you’re giving your best, that’s all that matters.”
“Bullshit! My goal is to beat all of you,” Sunny said.
“But now that Julian is here, you’ve come in second, our fearless leader,” Hakeem said, playfully punching Sunny in the arm. She beamed back at him, and Julian wondered about the closeness between them.
“Did I get third?” Simon asked.
“Not this time. That honor went to your wife. Good job, Zale. Your time in the swim gave you the edge over your hubby,” Hakeem said.
“Yes!” Zale said, jumping around in a circle. “I beat you, babe!”
“What’s next?” Julian asked as the team meandered around the wide-open grassy knoll, trying to recover from the brutal workout.
“Nothing, you get to go home. I’ll call you if something pops up,” Sunny said.
Hakeem rested an arm around Sunny’s neck and glanced at Julian. “How about you let Julian take my place at that fancy fundraising dinner tomorrow night?”
“Why would I do that?” Sunny asked. “He just got here.”
“Hell, I think he proved today that he can jump in and outperform all of us. Just like all the stories you told me about him,” Hakeem said.
“Just the good stuff, I hope,” Julian added, wondering what exactly Sunny had shared with Hakeem.
“Mostly good,” Hakeem said, breaking into laughter.
“And what will you do with your night off if I make the swap,” Sunny asked.
“What I always do, find some trouble to get into,” Hakeem winked and kissed Sunny on the temple. “What do you say?”
“Montgomery? Ready to jump into action this fast?” Sunny looked at him, eyebrow raised. “It’s a formal black-tie event to raise money for the campaign of the current president, Noah Thairu, hosted by our clients.”
“Yeah, Sunny hit it big when Timothy Irungu hired TIDES to supplement his security detail. There’ve been some anomalies in his team, and he wants us to assess the guys he’s hired. He’s worried about an attack on his family with the primaries coming up in April. Wouldn’t be unusual for al-Harakat or one of the other tribes to try to take out Thairu’s supporters,” Hakeem explained.
“And who is Timothy Irungu?” Julian asked as Enzo jogged over, joining their conversation. As a SEAL, he’d had more than his fair share of run-ins with the jihadist terrorist group, al-Harakat. But he wasn’t up on the social elite of Kenya.
“Only one of the richest motherfuckers in Kenya. He owns a huge horticultural empire. You know what that is, don’t you? Horticulture. It’s like fancy-ass gardening, growing all kinds of flowers plus fruit and vegetable farming. But mostly flowers in his case. They’re one of the largest exporters of flowers to Europe. The family is worth billions,” Enzo said.
“He has one heir, a daughter named Wangari, who he is extremely protective of. You and Enzo would be there as her personal bodyguards,” Sunny added.
“Which is ridiculous. Wangari’s husband is the Director of Public Prosecutions, kinda like the Attorney General in the U.S. Secret service will be protecting him. Not sure why Timmy wants extra coverage for her,” Enzo said.
“Simple. Tim Irungu never wanted his daughter to marry Okeyo Lagat, and he doesn’t trust the guy,” Hakeem said.
Julian rubbed the back of his neck, his head spinning with the sudden influx of information about Kenyan politics and social elites.
“Look. Job is simple. Protect Tim Irungu’s daughter. That’s all you have to remember. What do you say?” Sunny asked.
Julian raised an eyebrow. He was going to be assigned to protect Mena’s boss. Mena had told him that Wangari was from a rich family, but she’d never mentioned that the Director of the Tribal Museum was one of Africa’s one percent.
With Mena likely to be working late on Wangari’s special assignment, Julian didn’t have anything better to do. Now was as good a time as any to do his first assignment with the TIDES team.
Julian said, “Count me in.”
Chapter Ten
Standing in the center of the ballroom, Mena watched in awe as African dignitaries, business elite, and celebrities milled about networking and clinking glasses. The energy was palpable in the air, an excitement and decadence that only slightly distracted her from the disappointment of Julian not being by her side, sharing in this extravagant experience with her.
