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He made notes and sketched a few things. They were in Santa Monica and close enough to the ocean that the breeze would make anyone targeting the guy Lucien was guarding difficult to shoot. It wasn’t an impossible shot, but most guys wouldn’t be able to hit their target with one bullet.
He sat where he’d sit if he were assigned to take out the target and made notes of the wind direction and the patterns as it changed. And, though he knew it was impossible, he could swear the ocean breeze carried the scent of Alysse on it.
Damn, he had no idea what he was going to do with that woman. He was no closer to figuring out his future than he had been when he’d ordered that special cupcake from her.
This job wasn’t the solution to the restlessness inside him and he was coming to realize that Alysse wasn’t either. It was as if he’d lost a part of himself when he’d been alone in the hospital recovering. He reached down and rubbed the top of his thigh where he’d had the injury. It didn’t hurt but he continued to remember the sensation.
Maybe he’d been meant to die and being here now...that was the mistake. He’d seen men with a hell of a lot more to lose than him die over there and that had bothered him. Why had he been spared when no one would have mourned for him? When men who had wives and kids back home hadn’t made it out?
There were some questions that were too hard to answer and Jay pushed them aside as he always did. For whatever reason, he was glad he was here now and that he had a second chance with Alysse. Maybe that was why he’d been spared?
His phone vibrated and he saw that it was a text message from Alysse.
Do you have plans for dinner? How does a sunset cruise from Dana Point sound?
I’m still working and won’t have an idea when I’ll be finished for another thirty minutes.
Okay. Text me when you know.
He finished his recon and met back up with Donovan. They’d driven up to L.A. separately so meeting Alysse wasn’t going to be an issue of transportation, but he was feeling as though they were doing Vegas all over again, not really being themselves. A part of him enjoyed being with her, but he knew that wasn’t going to be enough for her. And every day they were together he felt further and further away from her.
“Are the photos okay?” Donovan asked.
Jay took the camera from the other man and, using the small view window, scrolled through them. They were actually pretty good. There were one or two that showed some areas Jay thought might pose a problem.
“How was the visibility of this alcove?” Jay asked, pointing to an entryway on the side of the building that was covered.
“Not the best, but there is only one shadowy area and it’s not big enough to hide a man.”
“Are you sure?” Jay asked. The mission to protect the dignitary had been assigned to him, but the intel was going to be his. He wanted to give Lucien the best information he could. Make sure his friend didn’t get caught out by anything that Jay or Donovan overlooked.
“I’m sure. I watched it for about ten minutes and there was a lot of traffic in and out. No one just appeared. There’s a guard there, as well,” Donovan said.
“Good to know,” Jay said.
They finished chatting and then headed back to Oceanside and the Company B offices. Jay texted Alysse he was busier than he’d thought he’d be and that he’d get in touch when he was done.
She didn’t text back. That silence made him wonder if he’d done the wrong thing and finally put her off. He pushed it to the back of his mind as he entered the conference room and sat down at the table with the rest of the team. Lucien was at the head of the table with Donovan and Jay next to him on the left. Across from them were two men whom Jay didn’t know but he quickly learned they were both assigned to guard the dignitary.
The client was a foreign minister from Egypt who’d managed to escape the country before being arrested and was applying for diplomatic immunity.
After they reported on what they’d found in Santa Monica, Jay and Donovan both were done for the day and left the conference room. But Jay felt restless. He wanted to stay and offer his services as eyes in the sky. He knew that those two guards would do their job, but he felt that he could benefit the mission.
The only problem with that was that he didn’t work for them. Today had been challenging and the kind of work he liked to do, but yesterday he’d sat in a control room and monitored security cameras, which had been a total bore.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw that Alysse had texted him back that she was staying for dinner and if he decided to show up he could join her.
