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But Grant wasn’t the only one who needed to “get” a few points. Holt needed Lindsey to get one major one, as well. “You were supposed to stay put.”
“You should know that’s not likely to ever happen.” She waved a hand in front of him, up and down his torso. “This bossing-people-around thing you do doesn’t work for me.”
Yeah, she’d made that clear. Looked as though he had to find a new way of handling her, because his usual skill set kept misfiring. “Noted.”
“We’re in this together.”
The words sent an odd sensation spinning through him. One he couldn’t pinpoint or identify. “On that subject.”
Wariness washed over her, changing everything from her facial expression to her stance. “I almost hate to ask, but what?”
Smart woman. “We’re about to get company.”
She looked around. “Another attacker?”
“No, but I’d say we have two seconds before you meet the rest of my team.” Not that he thought bringing them all together was a great idea. He just didn’t have a choice since he’d already sounded the silent alarm.
She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m not sure I’m ready.”
“From what I’ve seen, you can handle anything.” Including him...which scared him more than he wanted to admit.
* * *
SIMON PLANNED ON an evening of research. He had stacks of paperwork on Hank Fletcher. The guy left a trail. A difficult one, which was part of the reason Simon had thought the other man would fit in so well at New Foundations.
Give him a purpose and a home, build his confidence and loyalty. Hand him enough responsibility to feel secure, then begin to plant the seeds. Simon had been using the same system for years.
Some men took longer to convince. Some bought into the program from the beginning. No matter the amount of time it took, Simon won. The days of him waiting and following had long passed.
He had folders sitting on the edge of the desk. The content in front of him highlighted potential recruits. Most of the time people found their way to New Foundations without any help. The disenfranchised and disillusioned.
Every now and then they’d target someone and spend the time luring him or her, usually him, in. Simon set aside time tonight to analyze the people outlined in those folders, but Todd’s call interrupted his plans.
Todd and Grant stood in front of his desk. Todd, tall and sure and full of fury, while Grant looked down and shuffled his feet. Simon had heard the report, but he wanted the live version.
“What happened tonight?” When no one talked, Simon’s patience slipped. He looked from one to the other and settled on Grant. “Now.”
His breath came out in a gasp. Then he started talking. “I went to Ms. Pike’s house again.”
The words grated across Simon’s nerves. His orders had been clear. No one disobeyed his orders. “Why?”
“I thought I could gather some intel.” Grant lifted his head and didn’t break eye contact. “Show you what I could do.”
An interesting idea, but Simon already knew what needed to be done. He did not need assistance from a novice. “What made you think you were qualified to devise strategy?”
Some of the color drained from Grant’s face. “I’ve been trained.”
Simon glanced at Todd. “Apparently not well enough, since this is your second failure in two days. Both of you.”
So much promise, but Grant continued to be a disappointment. Simon teamed him up with Todd, thinking the match made sense, but Todd taught by yelling and hitting. Grant didn’t appear to respond well to that tactic, which was unfortunate.
“Training or not, Hank found you and issued a threat,” Todd grumbled.
“I will hear the explanation from Grant.” Simon made a mental note that all the men needed a reminder lesson on boundaries. “Continue, Grant.”
“I thought I could slip in, watch and report back.” Grant shifted around, waved his hand. He’d gone from the collected man who welcomed the assignment of grabbing Lindsey to a man on the edge.
This would not do at all. Simon had no other choice but to make Grant an example. “But you did not ask my permission before acting. You know about the concept of chain of command from your time in the military.”
There was no room for independent thinking in this group. They had one leader. One agenda.
“I thought—”
Simon gritted his teeth. “Do not waste my time with justifications.”
All the life ran out of Grant. “No, sir.”
Seeing the big man humbled in front of him gave Simon an idea. Grant might not be useful as a follower. Somewhere along the line he’d developed this sense that he could make calls, which was absolutely not the case. But that didn’t mean he didn’t have a use.
