Her blonde hair is piled on top of her head, and she's wearing some kind of jumpsuit overall outfit that makes her look zen and open to the universe. Looks can be deceiving. When Naomi's pissed, the world better watch out. When I showed up last year to find out why the hell she was getting married practically overnight to a guy she'd just met, she laid into me for hoursabout my shitty communication. By the time she was done, I was agreeing with everything just to make her stop.
She flicks her blue eyes at me and narrows them as if she knows what I'm thinking. "Take a picture. It'll last longer."
I snort at the childish jab, but the older brother in me refuses to stop looking at her now that I know it's bugging her. The longer I go between visits, the more she looks like my mom.
Naomi moved to Duhring Park a year and a half ago for a job. This is my third visit, after the one when I thought I'd have to bury a body and the one where she married said body. She looks happy, which means my new brother-in-law will live through another one of my visits.
"Are you going to meet up with Jett while you're here?" Naomi asks, pointedly ignoring my gaze.
I finally give up trying to annoy her. "Yes. Tomorrow night."
Jett is an old friend of mine from when I worked security on a base in Antarctica. We parted ways in New Zealand years ago with our friend Silas, but somehow our paths keep crossing even halfway around the world. He lives up the mountain with his new wife. They joke about something being in the water in Duhring Park, but I'm not taking any chances. I'll be drinking bottled water for the rest of the week.
Naomi's eyes crinkle as she hands me the plate loaded with hot quesadillas. "Am I going to get more than three words the entire time you're here?"
"Thank you," I say, taking the plate from her. I suppress a chuckle when she rolls her eyes. I speak when necessary, when I have something to say. Too many people fill the space with noise.
As I lift the crusty tortilla to my mouth, Fred gazes up at me, cocking his head.
"Don't feed him!" Naomi says, swatting at me with a towel before I even have a chance to sneak him a bite.
"Okay, Mom."
She grins. "You know, the older I get, the less that comparison bothers me." She shakes her finger at me. "You need to call Mom and Dad more."
I nod. "Yes, I agree." This three-word game is going to be fun.
Taking a bite of the delicious food, I savor it. I spend a lot of time on the road as a bodyguard, which means homemade meals are few and far between. I usually stick to protein shakes and quick-grab items, but coming to Naomi and Jameson's house means I'll be eating like a king this week.
I'm about to start on the second one when my phone buzzes with an incoming call. I glance at the screen and almost don't answer it.
"Dane, here."
"I have an assignment for you." The no-nonsense voice of my boss, Sloane Archer, fills my ear.
I sigh, darting a quick glance at Naomi before heading down the hallway to the guest bedroom. She won’t be happy about this.
"Sloane, I just got to my sister's house," I say, already knowing it’s a lost cause. Sloane wouldn't be calling unless it was urgent, and I was granted time off with the stipulation that they would call me in if needed. "I need a few days off."
"I know that's what you asked for, but this is a special request, and well, I'm not asking," Sloane says, all business.
He started Sunbreak Security after getting booted from the Coast Guard Investigative Service for refusing to bury a lead. He turned the town's decommissioned lighthouse into headquarters as he built his business from the ground up.
"Special request? A former client?" I ask, irritated by the swirl of anticipation in my stomach at the thought that it could be... no. That ship has sailed.
"Yes. I need you here by tonight. Sounds like it's mainly escorting and fan control. Three days max, and then I'll give you five days off."
I can hear Sloane typing in the background, which tells me he has already moved on from this conversation.
Still, I have to ask. "And the name?"
"Silver Langford."
"No."
The silence from the other end of the line is deafening.
"And your reason?"
