AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Harrison doesnottake kindly to outsiders.”
“He’ll like her just fine if it means seeing Kaylee every day.”
I glanced over at him.
“Okay, maybe not,” Jordy admitted. “But he’ll accept it if we both do.”
I gave him another look.
“Okay, he’s as stubborn as a bag of rocks,” Jordy said. “But maybe he’ll like the plan.”
We’ll see how that goes.
When we got home, Kaylee immediately ran upstairs to play in her room. Jordy and I found Harrison, the third part of our mercenary team, inside the gun locker in the garage. The bull-sized man had a customized M9A1 taken apart on the table, and was meticulously cleaning every individual component with a wire brush. His messy red beard was covered in grease.
“Jordy’s got something he wants to tell you,” I said as a greeting.
Harrison wordlessly put down the rifle butt and turned his intense green eyes onto Jordy.
“So, uh, I’ve got an idea… but it involves bringing someone new in…”
The last thing I heard was a low growl from Harrison as I walked back into the house. I unloaded the groceries and started prepping dinner. It felt like such a small, mundane thing to do. Going through the daily routines as if weweren’tgoing to be gone for two months.
It would be easier if Kaylee were with us…
A small part of my mind began making a case for it. Kaylee would never have to be in danger. For our first mission, she could stay in the city center while we completed our contract with the peace summit. The other two jobs would be more complicated… but it could work.
Would we get along with Trish, though? The three of us were a difficult group to get along with in the best of circumstances. While out fulfilling a contract, our nerves would be frayed and tempers would run high. She would be seeing the worst of us.
I’m afraid of that, I realized.If Trish gets to know me, I want it to be on my own terms.
After Jordy emerged from the garage, he pulled out his laptop and did some work at the kitchen table. There was a lot of paperwork and logistics to handle regarding the equipment we were sending ahead of us tomorrow—three different sets of gear for three completely different missions. Not to mention the equipment we would be acquiring in situ. While I continued making dinner, Jordy got up and paced back and forth a lot. He was more nervous than I had seen him in a long time.
When the doorbell rang, he practically jumped up and ran to the door like a nervous teenager waiting for his prom date. I finished stirring the pasta sauce and set the spoon on a towel, then turned to face the open room.
Trish was an attractive woman. That was obvious at the gym. But when she strode into our home, she was wearing a pencil skirt and a blouse like she was applying for an office job. Rather than being pulled up in a ponytail, her blonde hair hung past her shoulders in waves.
She cleans up nicely. I could understand why Jordy liked her. Not least of all because I had been admiring her at the gym too, although I showed considerably more restraint than Jordy. If he wasn’t around…
“You look… professional,” I said.
Trish gave an awkward smile. “I don’t know how to dress for these kinds of interviews! I usually err on the side of too dressy. It’s better than sweatpants!”
“I don’t know if we’ve ever officially met? I’m Jordan Mackey, but you can call me Jordy. Or J-Mac.”
“Nobody calls him J-Mac,” I said.
“I had a boot buddy call me J-Mac for years!”
I made eye contact with Trish. “That’s not even close to true.”
Jordy gestured. “My wet blanket of a friend is Archibald Caspian, but we call him Archer. Or Archie, if you’re feeling frisky.”
I reached across the kitchen counter and shook her hand. “Archer is fine. Pleased to meet you, Trish.”
“It’s nice to actually meet both of you,” she said. “And to know what yourrealnames are.”
“Real names?” I asked. “As opposed to…?”
