“No shit?”
“That cabin right over there.” He pointed. "The one with the two little boys sitting on the steps playing cards."
“I like it here,” Doyle said, looking out across the trees toward the thin silver flash of water beyond the cabins. “This whole town. It gets under the skin, you know. The peace and quiet. The way everyone smiles, waves, and looks you right in the eyes. Don't get that most places.”
“No, you don't.” Sterling took another drink and thought of Juniper. How she fit in this town without even trying. She'd told him earlier how she'd felt like a real phony. But there wasn't one fake thing about her. Not even when she was lying to him about who she was. A strange fact that he'd so easily reconciled. “Some places are worth letting in,” Sterling said. "This is one of them."
Doyle lifted his bottle. “I’ll drink to that.”
They sat quiet for a moment—a calculated decision on Sterling's part. He didn't want to appear too eager to deliver his news so when it landed, it seemed like he was genuinely cut up about it.
A cicada started up somewhere in the tree line. From the office, the old ice machine kicked on, rattled like it had bones inside, then settled into a low mechanical hum.
“You didn’t come here to talk about the charm of Harvey’s Cabins, or this little town of yours.”
“You're right about that.”
“Then hit me with whatever's on your mind.”
"This isn't easy for me to say." Sterling turned the beer bottle between both palms. “But I’ve got some bad news.”
Doyle’s smile stayed where it was. “That so?”
“I've reconsidered the job."
Doyle sat forward, elbows on his knees. “Dude. You can’t do that to me.”
“I’m sorry, but I can't take it.”
“I already told my boss. He’s excited about working with the Aegis Network. Loves the reputation. Loves Buddy’s background. Loves the whole Everglades Division thing you’ve got going.” Doyle spread one hand. “He’s hoping this is the beginning of a beautiful new partnership.”
“It was a good pitch, but I still can’t take it.”
Doyle set his beer on the table with a soft thunk. “Why not?”
“The more I thought about it, the more I realized I can’t touch anything near that corridor.”
“That’s the reason?” Doyle leaned back and folded his arms. “The corridor? That's lame as shit and you know it.”
“I beg to differ.”
“Come on, man. This is an easy assignment. More grunt work than anything. You've worked through worse.”
“I have, and that's the point," Sterling said.
“You built half your career walking into things nobody else wanted to go near.”
“That was when the government asked me to do it.”
Doyle tipped his head. “This is threat verification and protection. Private side, sure, but clean. Frost is scared. He has reason to be. You know better than anyone that pieces from that pipeline didn’t vanish just because we pulled one man out of Bogotá.”
Sterling kept his face relaxed. “I know.”
“Then help me.”
“I can’t.”
Doyle rubbed both hands over his face. “Does this have anything to do with Nick being in town?”
