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“If that’s what he wants to do,” I insisted.
“Ugh, you’re so frustrating.” She rolled her eyes, pushed her door open, and got out, mumbling the whole path to the front door and giving me the stink eye.
Bryants & Walker was set on a huge property. It used to belong to a two-story warehouse of a building and decoration supplies store. The owner ended up shutting down his business and selling the space to us. He didn’t want the rest of his supplies, so he left them in the storage. Instead of reselling them, we decided to keep the stuff for a while and use the space to hide sensitive information amongst the many items still stored.
At the entrance, we could see Haley’s reception space on the right. The pretty flowers on the counter, Gabe’s drawings on the wall behind her seat, her colorful cup that she probably used for tea, it all suited her.
The first door to our left was where we met our clients. We tore down the wall that divided two offices and turned it into a huge conference room, but we decided to keep the two doors that led to the storage facility.
We could also access the storage from the door at the end of the reception area, beside the stairs heading up to our offices.
Each one of the four of us (Mia, Zach, Danny, and me) had our own space. We also installed a kitchen-slash-breakroom and playroom for the kids. Apart from the storage, the whole place was covered by a dark gray linoleum floor. Even though it looked cool, it was tiring sometimes.
Besides the obvious rooms, we kept our gems well-hidden.
The storage resembled a library, with tall shelves full of books, gadgets, and boxes with our assignments hidden between machinery construction and decoration appliances from the previous business.
One could think the improvised gym was our popular space. But at the end of the storage, right behind an unassuming wall, was our vault. Our most sensitive information was hidden inside. The security system on our homes, our phones, our vehicles, and our families was controlled inside.
Behind its heavy walls, our arsenal was safe. Our weaponry could be the cause of envy for a lot of people. Not that we were a bunch of crazy weapon-heads. Mia herself didn’t like them. But in our line of work, and after having made more enemies than friends, we needed ways to protect ourselves in case of an attack.
We weren’t expecting one any time soon. Better safe than sorry and all that. It was also why we had weapons safely scattered around the place.
We could also access the vault from a hidden door on the raised platform. Since we had to climb the stairs up and down for that, it wasn’t our usual route. It was just an option. One we never intended on using.
If that wasn’t enough, our paranoia led us to create a bunker, something like a panic room, right under Haley’s desk. If there was someone whose protection we prioritized, it was her.
Mia and I strode inside the company and saw Zach leaning over said reception desk, talking to Haley. He jumped back when they heard us, and she turned a dark shade of pink, as if they were doing something they shouldn’t.
“Hey, you guys are back.” Zach ambled our way and pulled his sister into a tight hug. The Bryants were nothing if not huggers. I always assumed it was a Brazilian thing. “How did it go?”
Mia leaned against him, her glasses twisting, but she didn’t seem to care. Sometimes you just need your big brother’s cuddle. “A waste of time.”
He sighed in frustration. “I’m sorry to hear that. Not much progress here either.” I groaned and headed behind the counter to kiss Haley on her head, right before Mia hugged her and asked about Gabe.
“He missed you guys. He kept asking when Auntie Mia andUnkowBee would be back to play with him and Hugo. Hugo is also fine,” she answered before Mia could ask.
Hugo. The furry beast who pranced on all fours, ate my food, and barked at everything. The little shit Mia adopted a few years ago. I was still waiting for the gold he should be retrieving.
Zach inspected our faces closely, always attentive. “What happened?”
“Is Danny around?”
He tensed at his sister’s worried voice. “He was closing a new job out of town, I’m not sure when he’ll be back.”
Right on cue, we heard his car approaching, the tires crunching the gravel. Mia expelled heavily, her right eye twinkling in distress.
“We need to talk.”
The conversation was tough. I’d never seen Danny so wild and angry. Rightfully so. What that meant for his marriage, we still didn’t know. His main concern was how their possible divorce could affect Sofia, but staying together was causing even more harm.
But as much as I needed to worry about that, my attention was torn, my mind going back to Isabella despite my better judgment. I should be worried about that new development—and I was—but I also couldn’t stop myself from feeling excited about our first date.
I shouldn’t be gleeful to call it ourfirstdate.
Yet there I was, thirty minutes earlier at the front of the coffee shop, urging the clock to run faster so I could see her again. I needed to make myself busy, so it seemed like a good time to reach Ethan.
“It’s been a while,” his gravel voice greeted me.
