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“That’s Star,” Dalton told him. “She didn’t make it through basic.”
Xander squatted down so that he could pet both dogs at once.
“What are you doing now that you’re out?” Dalton asked.
“Not much at the moment,” said Xander. “Like Russ said, I’m here with Tori visiting her mom, but where we go from here…”
Russ gave him a look that he didn’t understand. “There’s no rush, is there?” he asked.
“It’s up to Tori,” he said.
Lucky was watching him closely. “Any reason that you’ve taken so much time off since you got out?”
Xander knew what he was really asking – a lot of the guys needed to take their time in transitioning back into civilian life. PTSD is real.
“I didn’t really take any time. I was working security for a while.”
Dalton cocked an eyebrow. “Wait, Tori was a backup singer for Calypso Rayne, right? Were you on her security team?”
“Not exactly.” Xander didn’t particularly want to explain that although Calypso – Callie – had hired a professional security outfit, he hadn’t been a part of it. He’d volunteered his services to protect Tori.
Russ grinned at him. “The team was there to look out for Callie, Xander was there for Tori.”
“Who was the contractor?” Lucky asked.
“It’s an outfit run by another couple of team guys – in fact, you may know them. The MacFarlands. Cash and Maverick.”
From the way Dalton and Lucky grinned at each other, Xander had to assume that they did know them.
“Damn!” said Dalton. “Do you still have a way to get in touch with them?”
“I do. As a matter of fact, I need to talk to Cash soon. He offered me a job.”
Russ gave him an inquiring look.
“I need to tell him that I’m not going to take it.”
“You could do worse than working for those MacFarland boys,” said Lucky.
“Oh, I know. It’s a great opportunity, it’s just that…”
Dalton smirked at him. “There’s Tori, right?”
He smiled. “Right.”
“So, does that mean whatever you do next you’ll be doing it in Napa?”
Xander made a face. He wasn’t sure how much he should give away; he didn’t know how well these guys would know Alexandria – or more importantly what Russ would make of his answer. “We’re playing it by ear for now.”
Russ winked at him. “Nicely dodged.”
Xander shrugged.
“You should stick around here,” said Dalton. “Dan’s always on the lookout for good guys.”
“Like I said, it’s up to Tori, but I appreciate the thought.”
Lucky checked his watch. “It is good to meet you. Always good to meet a team guy.” He smiled. “Even better to meet one who Echo vouches for. You need anything while you’re here you let us know, okay?”
